Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Fall 2013 Base Training, Week 10

Monday, November 25th:

Off.  Really wrenched my back good somehow.  Hurts to turn my neck right now let alone pound out some miles.  Using the heating pad at night and popping ibuprofen to see if that helps.  Scheduled an (overdue) appointment with my massage therapist for Wednesday.

Tuesday, November 26th:

Off again.  While I could probably push myself out the door, I figured it would be best to see Holli first to see what kind of relief she can provide for my back/neck.  I really want to be able to run by Thursday if possible.

Wednesday, November 27th:

11:25am, 43 degrees, 84%, 10-20mph, rain.  3x Neighborhood Loop.  Adidas Supernova Glide 5.

6mi easy - (7:45): including ~ Beer Half Mile (:29 beer/5:32 pace)

So I saw the massage therapist this morning and finally got some relief for my back.  Went out for an easy run around the neighborhood before picking it up the last 1/4mi followed immediately by ~ Beer Half Mile.  The loop was only .18mi but it was good practice drinking while breathing hard followed by running fast.  Had some difficulty burping today, which made it tough to drink the second one.  I will have to make sure I really get some good burps out tomorrow. :)

Thursday, November 28th:

6:55am, 30 degrees, 48%, 10-20mph.  Maple Shade and back.  Saucony Cortana 3.

4mi easy - (7:51)

Shakeout run before the Beer Mile later.  Regardless of what happens at the Beer Mile, I know there will be zero chance of any running later in the day so I better get in some easy miles now, haha.

10:45am, 32 degrees, 45%, 15-25mph.  Memorial Field.  Asics Japan Thunder.

2mi total - 1mi warmup, Beer Mile 8:32 (1:40, 2:05, 2:23, 2:24)

The winds were howling and the track was an icy slop fest!  Still enjoyed taking part in the festivities.  I got the first beer down fairly easy and maintained reasonable contact with the leaders at the end of the first lap.  Got some good belches out on Lap 2 and was still able to keep the leaders in sight.  Had a tough time getting Beer #3 to go down and I felt some nice air pockets built up in my chest that I just couldn't get out.  Wasn't able to turn over as fast as I wanted and I lost a lot of ground here.  Beer #4 took awhile to go down also, and I felt like I was just jogging the first 150m or so of lap 4 when I finally got out a really good belch.  I hauled ass the last 250m at about 5:20/mi pace!

Felt good to finally finish and be over with.  I was just glad that I kept everything down and didn't make a fool of myself, haha.  Keep belching for about 10-15 minutes after the race and then felt relatively normal.  A little light-headed/dizzy for 45-60 minutes total, but once I got home and got some coffee in me I was cool.  I didn't even need a nap the rest of the day. :)

Friday, November 29th:

8:40am, 29 degrees, 55%, 5-10mph.  Hialeah-Kilmer-Neighborhood.  Adidas Adizero Boston 3.

7.5mi easy - (7:46): with 4x :20 fast strides after

Still working out some of the kinks in my back.  It started out tight and loosened up as I ran.  It helps to run with a taller posture and with my chest out - which, I also noticed, helps me breathe easier as well.  Felt strong during the fast strides after.  Ran those around mile race pace (4:55-5:15/mi). 

3:35pm, 40 degrees, 44%, 5-10mph.  2x Neighborhood Loop.  Nike Pegasus 29 USATF.

4mi easy - (7:57)

Felt much more relaxed and smooth this afternoon.  Very easy first mile (8:27) before settling in a great rhythm running 7:40-:50 miles 2-4.  Back loosened up and stride felt much more natural.  I am sure the bump in temps helped also.

Saturday, November 30th:

9:30am, 32-36 degrees, 48%, 5-15mph.  Moorestown.  Saucony Cortana 3.

11.5mi easy - (7:30)

Nice run with Tom from MRC to the Nature Trail and back.  Had headwinds for most of the way out but then we cruised on the way back in.  Hit a couple sub-7:20s in there.  Wore an icy/hot patch on my back which really helped.  Hard to believe tomorrow is December.

Sunday, December 1st:

7:00am, 29 degrees, 83%, calm.  Hialeah Loop.  Adidas Supernova Glide 5.

5mi recovery - (8:08): including 4x :15 fast strides afterward (~4:50/mi)

Took it very easy this morning.  Back/neck finally feels like it might be loosening up for good (knock wood).

12:00pm, 46 degrees, 55%, 0-5mph.  2x Neighborhood Loop.  Nike Pegasus 29 USATF.

4mi easy - (7:49)

Remarkably consistent splits this afternoon (7:52 48 50 46) which I checked after the fact. 

Weekly Total: 44 miles

Feeling strong and confident again.  Tomorrow is the start of a new cycle.  I feel like a moth before a metamorphosis - about to become a chrysalis, and then something completely different after that.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Fall 2013 Base Training, Week 9

Monday, November 18th:

Rest.  Quads are pretty beat up from 22+ miles and 3+ hours on my feet yesterday.  As much fun as I had running with everybody in Philly, I now distinctly remember why I don't run 20+ miles in training anymore! :)

Tuesday, November 19th:

6:00pm, 41 degrees, 46%, 5-10mph.  Merchantville Loop.  Adidas Supernova Glide 5.

5mi recovery - (8:11)

Legs are still a little sore/tight from Sunday, but much better than yesterday.  Kept the pace very easy.  Might wait until Thursday/Friday to do any other quality stuff.

Wednesday, November 20th:

8:20pm, 31 degrees, 46%, calm.  Moorestown and back.  Adidas Adizero Boston 3.

10mi easy - (7:41): including 8x1:00 pickups (6:00-:40/mi pace) during each of the middle 8 miles

Cold, cold night for running.  Mixed things up by throwing in 1:00 surges at the start of each of the middle 8 miles - nothing crazy, just focused surges ~HM-MP.  My left calf/soleus cramped a little bit during the last couple miles - did a lot of stretching and rolling afterward.  I think I was partly dehydrated and just partly fatigued from running late at night.  Will be sure to take it easy tomorrow.

Thursday, November 21st:

12:30pm, 51 degrees, 55%, 5-10mph.  Cooper River Golf Course-Garden State-Home.  Nike Pegasus 29 USATF.

7.5mi easy - (7:46)

I was a little cool in shorts today with the wind and cloud cover.  Deceptively cool out.  Maintained a pretty steady pace (7:56-:33) throughout, even mixing up some running on the grass along Cooper River.  Still getting my legs back under me from the weekend.  Might try some MP running tomorrow.

Friday, November 22nd:

5:00am, 47 degrees, 85%, 0-5mph.  Moorestown and back.  Saucony Cortana 3.

10mi total: 2mi warmup, 2x 2.5mi Goal Marathon Pace (GMP) w/1mi recovery jog (6:24, 22), 2mi cooldown

Finally got my legs turning back over again.  The effort probably felt more like current half-marathon pace (HMP) effort, which is okay at this point.  I have heard Dathan Ritzenheim say that he "walks around" in 14:00 5K shape, meaning that in the offseason without having done any specific training, he can roll out bed and run a 14:00 5K.  By the end of the season, he is running low to mid 27s for 10K, meaning his specific training gets him to extend his ability twice as far.  I think I "walk around" in about 1:24 half-marathon shape, and my hope is that I can extend that ability to twice that distance by the end of my next cycle and put me in that 2:47-:48 marathon range.

One encouraging sign today is that I was really able to attack Heller's Hill at the start of the last mile putting on a really nice surge.  Had been averaging ~6:25/mi pace for the first 1.5mi of the second interval and then probably closed about 6:18/mi pace or so for that last mile.

2:55pm, 57 degrees, 73%, 5-10mph.  Neighborhood.  Saucony Cortana 3.

"Beer 1/2 mile" in 3:45.

So I am thinking about jumping in the team's annual Beer Mile on Thanksgiving this year.  Since I don't even drink beer, I figured I better practice.  I have a 1/4 mile loop around my block so I just had my wife time me (without laughing too hard).  I didn't have a hard time guzzling the first one at all.  After the first 50 meters of belching 2 or 3 times, I settled into fast running with no problem.  The difficulty came in drinking the subsequent beer when breathing hard.  I could only get in a few gulps at a time and wasted a lot of precious seconds drinking the second beer.  The good news is, I can still run very fast afterward.  As long as I don't give the leaders too much of a lead, I am hoping to at least be in podium contention.  If I break 8 minutes without puking I would be thrilled.  :)

Saturday, November 23rd:

6:15am, 39 degrees, 56%, 15-20mph.  Moorestown.  Adidas Supernova Glide 5.

10mi easy - (7:31)

Cold, windy morning.  Met at Tom's house with Colleen for a faster pace easy run.  Took me a couple miles to settle down at that pace - clearly their easy pace is naturally faster than mine.  Legs also felt a bit heavy this morning.  Tomorrow is supposed to be even colder/windier, so I will probably use it as an opportunity to run very slowly and get my legs back under me again.

3:30pm, 44 degrees, 36%, 10-20mph.  Neighborhood.  Nike Pegasus 29 USATF.

4.5mi easy - (7:51): including 4x :20 strides after + :39 beer chug

I am planning on incorporating short doubles into my next training cycle and figured today would be a good day to start.  I also tried chugging a beer after finishing my strides to again try to get used to drinking while breathing harder.  I am hoping I can keep the first beer to :20 seconds and the 2nd/3rd/4th beer to :30-:35 seconds.  I figure if I spend 2:00-2:15 drinking beer, I have to run a 5:45-6:00 mile to break 8:00.  Should be interesting.

Sunday, November 24th:

8:00am, 25 degrees, 28%, 25-40mph!  Moorestown.  Adidas Adizero Boston 3.

12.5mi easy - (8:01)

Brutal conditions this morning!  Most of it was manageable but man, when the gusts kicked up, it was rough.  Thankfully I had Ashley to keep me company.

Weekly Total: 60 miles

Solid week.  Next week will be a planned down week with Thanksgiving, and then hopefully I will start formal workouts the week after.

Monday, November 11, 2013

Fall 2013 Base Training, Week 8

Monday, November 11th:

5:10am, 45 degrees, 47%, 0-5mph.  Hialeah-Kilmer(R).  Adidas Supernova Glide 5.

7mi easy - (7:50)

Had a little bit of left calf tightness but I stretched it well afterward.  Pretty smooth the entire way for an early Monday morning run.

Tuesday, November 12th:

6:35pm, 37 degrees, 43%, 10-15mph.  Maple Shade Loop (L).  Adidas Adizero Boston 3.

7mi easy - (7:48)

Very steady running, despite the cold wind/temps tonight.  Felt loose and strong.

Wednesday, November 13th:

6:55pm, 36 degrees, 49%, 5-10mph.  Home-CHW Loop x2-Home.  Saucony Cortana 3.

8mi total - 2mi warmup, 5x "5 Gears" - 5 sets of 1:00/each at (7:30/7:00/6:30/6:00/5:30) - 25:00 continuous run at 6:21/mi average, 2mi cooldown

Paces per set:
7:21/6:35/6:28/5:53/5:31
7:26/7:00/6:14/6:00/5:32
7:28/6:48/6:26/5:59/5:30
7:28/6:50/6:27/5:59/5:29
7:26/6:51/6:30/5:56/5:30

A very fun and challenging workout, especially on the roads.  I kept wanting to go from Gear 1 (7:30/mi) straight to Gear 3 (6:30/mi), so I would catch myself having to slow down during each Gear 2 (7:00/mi).  Gear 5 (5:30/mi) was fast and fun, but it was nice knowing there was some recovery afterward.  Continually switching gears definitely makes you stay focused and the workout seem to fly by - a much more fun way to run 6:21/mi pace for 4 miles than a straight tempo run.

Thursday, November 14th:

5:55pm, 49 degrees, 27%, 5-10mph.  Hialeah-Kilmer(R).  Adidas Supernova Glide 5.

7mi recovery - (8:11)

Very relaxing recovery run.  Weather was much more comfortable than the last couple nights.

Friday, November 15th:

4:50am, 33 degrees, 77%, calm.  Moorestown and back.  Adidas Adizero Boston 3.

10mi easy - (7:48)

Nice, crisp breathable air this morning.  Eased into the first two miles, than stayed pretty steady around 7:40 pace.  Started practicing taking Gatorade (3mi/7mi) and Gu (5mi) during runs again to get into the habit of fueling, especially since I will be getting a lot of practice at that on Sunday pacing friends in the Philly marathon.

Saturday, November 16th:

5:40am, 44 degrees, 90%, calm, light rain.  Hialeah loop - Neighborhood.  Adidas Adizero Tempo 4.

6mi easy - (7:56): w/4x:20 fast strides after

Eased into the pace again (8:36 first mile) and by 3 miles I was just rolling along the Hialeah hills.  The fast strides afterward felt SO relaxed/smooth/controlled.  I felt really fast and sharp today for the first time in awhile.

Sunday, November 17th:

7:00am, 52-59 degrees, 88%-75%, 0-10mph.  Philly Marathon Course.  Adidas Adizero Tempo 4.

22mi total - 11mi @ 7:10/mi, ~10:00 break, 6mi @ 8:00/mi, ~10:00-15:00 break, 5mi @ 7:10/mi

Paced Steve, then Erin/Michelle/Annette, then Jamie for part of the Philly Marathon.  Great weather day, and had lots of fun joining in the camaraderie.  Little sore afterward, but well worth the fun.  Longest run since Gettysburg in April.  We'll see how I feel when I wake up tomorrow morning. :)

Weekly Total: 67 miles

I really liked the "5 Gear" workout on Wednesday, and today's pacing run was a blast.  It reminded why I love the marathon so much, and why I hope to run another one this spring.
 

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Fall 2013 Base Training, Week 7

Monday, November 4th:

Off.  Due for a day of rest.  A VERY LONG day at work sealed the deal. :)

Tuesday, November 5th:

8:00pm, 48 degrees, 76%, 0-5mph.  Hialeah-Kilmer-Valley Run-Hialeah-Neighborhood.  Adidas Adizero Boston 3.

10mi easy - (7:48)

Very consistent splits the entire way.  Solid run on a rolling course.

Wednesday, November 6th:

6:00pm, 57 degrees, 77%, 5-10mph.  4x Neighborhood Loop.  Saucony Cortana 3.

8mi total - 2mi warmup, 4x5:00 Threshold (5:55-:58/mi) w/:75 recovery jogs (7:47-8:10/mi), 2mi cooldown

Very nice threshold workout.  Ended up averaging 6:15/mi overall for the 4 middle miles.  Felt pretty comfortable and relaxed the whole way.  

Thursday, November 7th:

5:40pm, 50 degrees, 62%, 10-15mph.  Maple Shade Loop (L).  Nike Pegasus 29 USATF.

7mi recovery - (8:18)

Felt so good to run this easy after yesterday's threshold workout.  Felt really rejuvenated at the end of the run.

Friday, November 8th:

4:45am, 40 degrees, 60%, 5-10mph.  Home-Tavistock (L+)-Garden State-Neighborhood.  Adidas Supernova Glide 5.

13mi easy - (7:47): w/8x100m strides after

Nice medium long run.  Gatorade at 3.6/7.9/10.4mi.  Although the overwhelming aroma of freshly baked cinnamon rolls wafting out of Panera Bread at mile 10 was cruel and unusual punishment.  Strides after were fast but controlled.

Saturday, November 9th:

5:30am, 33 degrees, 77%, 0-5mph.  Moorestown-Maple Ave out-and-back.  Nike Pegasus 29 USATF.

7mi recovery - (8:19): 2mi warmup, 4mi@7:51/mi, 1mi cooldown

Paced Larry's 3:20-:30 marathoners for one of their last tempo workouts before the Philly Marathon next weekend.  Supremely comfortable and relaxed this morning, although the first mile or so was a bit chilly.  Felt light on my feet with a quicker turnover today.

Sunday, November 10th:

6:00am, 40 degrees, 76%, 5mph.  Moorestown.  Adidas Adizero Boston 3.

9mi easy (7:33) - 3mi warmup, 5mi moderate progression (7:09 02 6:56 51 45), 1mi cooldown

Paced Steve for one of his last workouts before Philly next weekend.  Felt great this morning - temps were just enough warmer than yesterday to feel comfortable from the start.  Steve looked great - we both had to hold back the last two miles of the progression because the effort was feeling easy.  Great way to end the week.

Weekly Total: 54 miles


I didn’t get in my planned 60 miles since I took a needed rest day on Monday, but I got in my own two quality sessions (threshold workout and medium long run) and then acted as a pacer for two others.  A very gratifying week overall.  Whether I am working on my own running goals or helping others achieve theirs, it feels great to just do my part.