May the Mass x Acceleration be with you

Military Road route - 6 miles in 45:14

6xLM, 6xCM
I felt pretty tired and sluggish the first half, so I stopped to rest for a few minutes before heading back. Then I intentionally started out quicker, just to get my legs moving quicker and was able to run much quicker on the way back (23:11 - 22:03). It also felt a lot better.

Splits:
1 - 7:53
2 - 15:31 - 7:38
3 - 23:11 - 7:40
4 - 30:17 - 7:06
5 - 37:46 - 7:29.5
6 - 45:14 - 7:28

Warmup:

6xLM, 6xCM

2 mile warm up in 14:55

Skipping exercises

Workout - LT run @ under 6:30/mile pace

Military Road route - 4 miles in 25:42 (6:25.5/mile)

The pace felt a little faster than I wanted it to feel, but the down hills and flats were pretty easy. My breathing would recover to almost normal running breathing during the downhills. The uphills got progressively more difficult, until the last uphill portion, from 3-3.5 miles was a struggle, and my upper diaphragm became heavy. Overall, the pace was what I wanted. I was at 6:30 pace through 3 1/2 miles, then the last downhill brought the average down almost 5 seconds/mile.

Splits:
0.5 - 03:16.75 - 3:16.75 - uphill
1.0 - 06:34.50 - 3:17.75 - up/flat
1.5 - 09:39.75 - 3:05.25 - down
2.0 - 12:50.75 - 3:11.00 - up/down
2.5 - 16:09.00 - 3:18.25 - down/up
3.0 - 19:23.75 - 3:14.75 - up
3.5 - 22:44.50 - 3:20.75 - up
4.0 - 25:42.00 - 2:57.50 - down

Miles: 6:34.5 - 6:16.25 - 6:33.0 - 6:19.75

Cooldown:

2 miles in 15:18

Vickory route - 13 miles in 1:35:30

I ran the first 7 miles at a comfortable easy pace, gradually accelerating. Then picked it up to mp the last 6 miles. The mp pace felt fine at first, but the last couple miles I was pretty tired. I don't know if I could've handled much more without having to pick up the pace to an uncomfortable level of effort.

Splits:
1.0 - 0:07:58
2.0 - 0:15:32 - 7:34
3.0 - 0:23:13 - 7:41
4.0 - 0:30:51 - 7:39
5.0 - 0:38:29 - 7:37
6.0 - 0:46:00 - 7:31.5
7.0 - 0:53:37 - 7:36.5
8.0 - 1:00:36 - 6:59.25
9.0 - 1:07:43 - 7:07.0 (3:35.25, 3:31.75)
10. - 1:14:34 - 6:51.00
11. - 1:21:36 - 7:02.25
12. - 1:28:31 - 6:54.75 (3:27.25, 3:27.5)
13. - 1:35:30 - 6:59.5 (3:34.25, 3:25.25)

Warmup:

2.35 mile warm up in 18:15

2x500m @ 1/2 marathon pace (1:57.79, 2:05.04)

4x150m @ 5k pace or faster (31.90, 33.26, 32.46, 31.42)

Workout:

3x800@5k pace (3:00 goal) - 2:59.45, 3:01.31, 2:58.70
400 recoveries
2x800@10k pace (3:07.2 goal) - 3:07.30, 3:07.44
400,800 recoveries
1x3200@10k pace (12:28.8 goal) - 3:07.38 + 3:08.66 + 3:06.45 + 3:01.89 = 12:24.4
400 recovery

The 2nd interval my body was thinking it didn't want to run hard today, but I told it I was in charge so too bad. The first 800 at 10k pace it was difficult to find the right pace. I was too fast, then too slow, back and forth, but finally got it right in the end. The second one was much easier.
The last 3200 was a real challenge after already tiring myself out with 5x800. The last 1600 felt like the last mile of a 10k race. Hopefully Sunday's race will go similarly.

 

Strength:

2 sets of:
20 pushups
30 squats
40 ab crunches
10 scorpions
15 wideouts

2 sets of:
15 bench dips
15 burpees
15 lunges
40 back arches
10 iron crosses

Cooldown:

2.4 miles in 19:35

Easy run on trails - 7.7 miles in 1:00:20

I felt pretty good today, so I decided to extend my 6 miler to 7.7 miles

6xLM, 6xCM

3.05 mile warmup in 24:16

5 hills of approx. 150m, with 170m recoveries
30.24, 29.70, 30.84, 30.12, 28.78

Cool down of 4.65 miles in 36:14. Instead of just running back the 3.05 I ran further out the trail and then back, to add a bit more volume to the day/week.

Military Road route - 10 miles in 1:15:24 (7:32.4/mile)

I wanted to make this a pretty easy run, overall, so I had to really work at slowing down to 7:40-7:50 pace. The whole run felt pretty easy. However, my legs were starting to get a little fatigued in miles 6-9, which just goes to show that it is the distance, not the pace that is tiring. If I had been running at 7:00/mile, or even 6:50 I wouldn't have felt significantly more tired during those miles. It's just the constant rythym of a steady pace. To prove my point, I decided to speed up on the last mile, running the first half at marathon pace and the second half at 10k pace. The first half felt better than the previous few miles, just because of the change of pace/stride/effort.

Splits:
1 - 07:47
2 - 15:15 - 7:27.5
3 - 22:57 - 7:42
4 - 30:22 - 7:26
5 - 38:05 - 7:42
6 - 45:45 - 7:40
7 - 53:28 - 7:43
8 - 1:01:00 - 7:32
9 - 1:08:44 - 7:44
9.5 - 1:12:17 - 3:33.0
10 - 1:15:24 - 3:07.50

Vickory route - 4 miles in 31:17

I was going to run 6 miles, but wasn't feeling it today. Since I have a race in two days I thought it would be prudent to cut it short.

8:06 - 15:56 (7:49) - 27:26 (11:31) - 31:17 (3:50)

Vickory route - 4 miles in 30:40

Normal run with 1/2 mile at 10k pace. I didn't actually get up to race pace, though. I was supposed to be running 3:08, but it was 3:14, so quite a bit off. In retrospect it did feel more like a tempo pace.

Splits:
4:05
8:16 - 4:12
12:13 - 3:56
16:08 - 3:56
19:54 - 3:46
23:08 - 3:14
26:46 - 3:38
30:40 - 3:54

Warmup:

10 minute warmup jog

2x2:00 at 1/2 marathon pace, with 2 min recovery jogs

2x150m @ 10k pace

Race:

Bank to Bay 10K race - 37:59  (18:51.25, 19:07.75)

After last year's abysmal performance at this event (41:01 while shooting for 37:40), I was a little more anxious than usual to run a good race this year. I was shooting for 39:00 because my earlier 4 mile time indicated this was a roughly equivalent performance. Also, McMillans said that my goal of 3:03 for the marathon was equivalent to 39 min, and I wanted to prove to myself I am on target for such a performance.

Bank to Bay is a fairly challenging course, with a few good hills scattered throughout, but also features a downhill finish the last 1/2 mile. So, I knew whatever time I ran here would be a legitimate time.

In order to run 39 minutes, I needed to run 6:16/mile, so I aimed for 6:15 so it would be easier to track during the race.

The first mile, we start uphill the first half, and then plunge down to near sea level. I wanted to hold back so I went out at what felt like temp run pace. There was a big pack in front of me that was pulling away from me, including another guy who was shooting for the same time as me (Mark), but I was pretty sure I didn't want to go out as fast as they were. I ended up running by myself by 1/2 mile, as people behind me fell away, too. I figured I was running the first mile with the right effort, so I was very surprised to see the mile mark at under 6 minutes. Since, on the downhill, I wasn't even breathing hard at all I didn't panic. I just told myself that this meant I could relax. Not slow down, but relax.

I caught up with and passed all of the previously mentioned pack by the 2nd mile, passed in 12:03, including Mark. After that I was able to reel in a few more people here and there until just after the halfway point where I passed the #2 girl. After that there was no one anywhere close to me in front of me. One guy came along and passed me around 5 1/2 miles, on the uphill. He kept pulling further away from me all the way to the finish. No one that I passed was anywhere close to me. The #2 girl, who I passed just after the 1/2 way point was 45 seconds back by the finish.
Each mile I got progressivley slower, but I never ran as slow as my goal pace.  My slowest, most uphill split was 6:14.5 - the 6th mile, but I kicked in a 68 second last .21 miles.

When I got close enough to the finish line to see the finish clock I realized it said 37:39, not 37:59, so I knew I had a chance to not only break 39 minutes, but 38 minutes as well. I gave it everything I had and just made it according to my watch. When official results were posted they agreed with my watch. More than a minute under my goal! And I won my age division to boot!

Now I have to reset training paces and marathon goals. McMillans says 37:59 predicts a 2:58:15 marathon. It will take a bit to wrap my brain around that one. That would be a PR by more than 13 minutes!

Splits:
1 - 5:58.5
2 - 12:03 - 6:04.5
3 - 18:11.5 - 6:08.75
      3.11 - 18:51.25 - 39.6
4 - 24:23 - 6:11.5
5 - 30:36.75 - 6:14
6 - 36:51.25 - 6:14.5
      6.21 - 37:59 - 1:08

 

Cooldown:

2.1 miles in 17:10

SEJ-5 Mile Loop - 5 miles in 37:52

I felt surprisingly good today. Not very tired, and only a little sore from yesterday's race. Consequently, rather than running the usual slower than 8/mile recovery day I ended up running a fairly brisk pace.

Splits:
1 - 7:40
3 - 22:55 - 15:15
4 - 30:20 - 7:25
5 - 37:52 - 7:32

Vickory route - 8 miles in 1:00:51

Felt good and quick today. My quads are still a bit sore from Sunday's race, but energy-wise I'm feeling great. Earlier run than usual. Going to the fair today!

Splits:
1 - 8:04
2 - 15:48 - 7:43
3 - 23:35 - 7:45
4 - 31:13 - 7:38
5 - 38:33 - 7:20
6 - 46:02 - 7:29
7 - 53:29 - 7:27
8 - 60:51 - 7:23

Easy run on trails - 6 miles in 48:45

6xLM, 6xCM

Military Road route - 12 miles in 1:28:33

The whole run felt pretty easy. In fact, I felt like I was holding back, rather than pushing. Even some of the quickest miles felt easy. I did do 4 30 second strides during the 2nd to last mile, which is why it was so much faster than the others.The top of my left foot started hurting last night and was a little sore during the run. Temp was in the 60's with a little rain off and on, but it was very muggy, so it felt pretty warm.

Splits:
1 - 0:07:34
2 - 0:15:08 - 7:34
3 - 0:22:50 - 7:42
4 - 0:30:11 - 7:20.5
5 - 0:37:40 - 7:29
6 - 0:44:50 - 7:10
7 - 0:52:15 - 7:25
8 - 0:59:34 - 7:19
9 - 1:06:54 - 7:20
10 - 1:14:00 - 7:06 (3:42,3:24.5)
11 - 1:21:05 - 7:05
12 - 1:28:33 - 7:28

SEJ-6.5 loop - 6.46 miles in 50:32

SEJ-7 mile loop + Vickory route - 18 miles in 2:12:57

I ran the first 9 miles easy, then 8 miles at mp pace, then a mile cool down. I felt sore and tired from the beginning, and was already making a bailout plan before I started the mp part of the run, in case I got a mile into it and it wasn't working. However, once I sped up to the mp pace I found it was not very difficult to run 7 min pace, and even faster. The last few miles felt like the end of a marathon, and I really struggled to push the last half mile, then died on the cool down. Mostly it was my upper quads that were so sore and tired that it was hard to lift my legs. Hopefully this was because of the new strength training I started this week.

I was surprise by how quickly each half mile split came up, especially the fist 6 miles or so of the mp part. I feel more confident that a sub-3 hour is possible.

Splits:
1.0 - 0:08:06
2.0 - 0:15:50 - 7:44
3.0 - 0:23:32 - 7:42
4.0 - 0:31:07 - 7:35
5.0 - 0:38:45 - 7:38
6.0 - 0:46:18 - 7:33
7.0 - 0:53:48 - 7:30
8.0 - 1:01:32 - 7:45
9.0 - 1:09:13 - 7:41
-- Start marathon pace --
09.5 - 1:12:42 - 3:29.5
10.0 - 1:16:09 - 3:27
10.5 - 1:19:41 - 3:32
11.0 - 1:23:06 - 3:25
11.5 - 1:26:36 - 3:29.75
12.0 - 1:30:03 - 3:27.0
12.5 - 1:33:29 - 3:26
13.0 - 1:36:50 - 3:21.5
13.5 - 1:40:21 - 3:30.25
14.0 - 1:43:47 - 3:26.5
14.5 - 1:47:07 - 3:20
15.0 - 1:50:32 - 3:25.25
15.5 - 1:53:57 - 3:24.5
16.0 - 1:57:27 - 3:30.5
16.5 - 2:00:52 - 3:24.5
17.0 - 2:04:11 - 3:19.5
-- End marathon pace -- 8 miles in 54:58 (6:52.25/mile)
18.0 - 2:12:57 - 8:46

Warmup:

2.35 mile warm up in 18:15

2x500m @ 1/2 marathon pace (1:57.79, 2:05.04)

Workout:

2 circuits of:
100m stride
  16 Plyometric Pushups
  10 1-leg body squats
100m stride
  15 burpees
  50 crunches
100m stride
  10 1-leg high bench step-ups
  30 Back arches
100m stride
  8xCalf matrix
  20 Bench Dips
100m stride
  18 walking lunges
   12 feet-elevated pushups
  60 1-leg hops
100m stride
Finishing with an extra 100m stride
Times: 20.66, 21.40, 20.88, 19.30, 20.45, 20.59, 21.04, 20.31, 20.92, 20.29, ,17.91

Cooldown:

2.35 miles in 18:20

Warmup:

6xLM, 6xCM

2 mile warm up in 14:48

Skipping exercises

Workout - 6 mile LT run in 38:29.5 (6:25/mile)

Kind of an odd run, but fun. I started out still recovering from a bout of hypoglycemia. I was still pretty shaky on the warmup run, so I stalled for a little bit, did some other warmup exercises, etc. I was just a little light-headed during the first mile of the LT run, but by the 2nd mile I was back to normal. I was also hampered a bit by fatigue in my quads from yesterday's session and the long run on Saturday. As a result, I ran the first half of the run slower than expected. But the odd thing was that on the return trip, which is mostly uphill, I ran as fast or faster than I did on the earlier downhill parts, and still didn't feel like I was pushing too hard. Even though the legs were kind of tired I was never pushing into oxygen debt.

Splits:
0.5 - 03:14.50 - 3:14.5  up
1.0 - 06:29.00 - 3:14.5  up
1.5 - 09:41.00 - 3:12.0  d
2.0 - 12:55.50 - 3:14.5  d
2.5 - 16:09.25 - 3:13.5  d
3.0 - 19:25.50 - 3:16.5  up
3.5 - 22:36.25 - 3:10.75 d
4.0 - 25:52.75 - 3:16.5  up
4.5 - 29:09.25 - 3:16.5  up
5.0 - 32:19.75 - 3:10.25  up
5.5 - 35:33.25 - 3:13.5   up
6.0 - 38:29.50 - 2:56.25  d

Cooldown:

2 miles in 15:41

Easy run on trails - 6 miles in 49:45.

Feeling pretty tired after the last few days of hard running. Hopefully I will be feeling pretty good tomorrow.

Warmup:

6xLM, 7xCM, 2 mile warmup in 15:38

Skipping exercises

2x2 min @ 1/2 marathon pace, recovery to 1/2 mile mark. I think I ran a little fast on these. I usually complete this exercise in about 7:15 on the track.

Workout - 3 sets of 1/4 mile@5k, 1/2 mile@10k, 1 1/4 mile@ marathon pace (with no rest between these), 1/2 mile jog between the sets

It was raining non-stop the whole way. By one mile into this workout all of my clothes, including my jacket and shirt, shorts, shoes were soaked. I actually heard water squishing and sloshing in my shoes on the second set, and not because I stepped in a puddle. Not ideal conditions, but who knows if it will rain on race day? I had trouble hitting the paces today, due to the hills and the rain. But it was still a good workout, and kind of fun. Not as hard as I expected. I ran the faster parts too slowly and the slower parts too fast. It's tough trying to pick out marathon pace immediately following 10k pace, but add a hill into the mix, and then water-logged clothes and now you're really talking some fun!
1/4 mile - 1/2 mile - 1 1/4 mile
Goal splits: 89 - 3:04 - 8:36

Actual:
1st set: 90.25 - 3:10.75 - 8:03.0 (3:08.25, 3:16, 1:38.75)
2nd set: 92.5 - 3:06.25 - 8:28.5 (3:20.5, 3:25.5, 1:42.5)
3rd set: 92.0 - 3:12.5 - 8:24.0 (3:32.25, 3:07.5, 1:44.25)

Cooldown:

1.75 miles in 14:15

Strength Training:

2 sets of:
15 pushups
10 1-leg fast squats
15 Burpees
50 Crunches
20 Bench Dips
15 Heel raises

2 sets of:
10 High Bench Step-Ups
30 Back Arches
18 Walking Lunges
10 Feet elevated pushups
60 1-Leg hops in place.

Easy run on trails - 6 miles in 46:26

I felt better than usual for this run, so was able to run more quickly, and even throw a few light surges in to mix it up a bit

Ran with Carl on the Foothills trail - 14 miles in 1:50:55 (58:27 - 52:28)

We went out pretty relaxed the first few miles, over 8/mile, but gradually sped up after about 4 or 5 miles, so that we ran the 2nd half more than 6 miles faster than the first half). My right upper thigh is still pretty sore, and the run was not as comfortable as I had hoped.

Splits:
1 - 8:38
2 - 8:19
3 - 8:22
4 - 8:16
5 - 8:13
6 - 8:15
7 - 8:08
8 - 8:10
9 - 7:45
10 - 7:43
11 - 7:29
12 - 7:30
13 - 7:09
14 - 6:49
14.5 - 20.9

SEJ-5 mile loop - 5.125 miles in 39:24

Felt pretty good and comfortable.
Splits: 7:53 - 7:40 - 7:53 - 15:58

Warmup - 2 miles in 15:25

Sometimes you have to make adjustments to your running plans on the fly. And sometimes you have no choice in the matter. Your body simply is unable to perform according to plan.Such was the case today, when I set out to run an 8 mile LT run at sub 6:30 pace. Perhaps it was the residual fatigue from last week's series of challenging workouts. Or perhaps it was the unusually warm and balmy day (78 degrees with humidity pushing 90%). Or a combination of things. It was not long into the workout that I saw it was not meant to be. At the half way point I had to go into serious negotiations with my body to come up with a reasonable compromise.

Workout

1x4 mile, 2x2 mile LT intervals

The first half mile of the run felt great and was way under goal pace. So, I slowed up a bit. After that I couldn't get my pace down again. At four miles I was forced to stop due to fatigue, dizzyness, the heat and humidity. I wrung out my shirt and stuck it in my shorts. That helped a great deal. While stopped I decided to stop trying to run an 8-mile tempo run, and instead break the 2nd half into 2 two mile intervals, and I backed off the pace a bit, too. Resulting splits, below:

4 miles in 25:57 (6:29/mile)
0.5 - 3:06 - 3:05.75
1.0 - 6:22 - 3:17.00
1.5 - 9:43 - 3:20.75
2.0 - 12:58 - 3:14.75
2.5 - 16:16 - 3:18.00
3.0 - 19:28 - 3:12.25
3.5 - 22:44 - 3:15.75
4.0 - 25:57 - 3:13.00

2 Miles in 13:12 (6:36/mile)
0.5 - 3:20 - 3:20.50
1.0 - 6:37 - 3:16.75
1.5 - 9:48 - 3:11.00
2.0 - 13:12 - 3:23.50

2 Miles in 13:16 (6:38/mile)
0.5 - 3:10 - 3:10.00
1.0 - 6:31 - 3:21.25
1.5 - 9:55 - 3:24.00
2.0 - 13:16 - 3:21.50

Cooldown:

Cool down - 1 mile in 7:45

Strength Training:

2 sets of:
15 pushups
12 1-leg fast squats
15 Burpees
50 Crunches
12 High Bench Step-Ups
20 Bench Dips

2 sets of:
15 Heel raises
30 Back Arches
18 Walking Lunges
12 Feet elevated pushups
60 1-Leg hops in place.

Easy run on trails - 6 miles in 49:09

7xCM, 6xLM

4.75 miles warmup - 38:11
5x200m hills with 200m jogs (1.25)
46.15, 44.50, 44.25, 44.17, 43.53
3.3 miles cooldown - 26:41

Warmup

Warmup run over the 5k course during the girls race. I gave them a couple minute headstart, then cheere them on as I passed them.

Race: WHS Alumni XC race - 5K in 19:01 (6:08/mile - 10k pace)

Fun day and race. It had been pretty warm during the warmup, but was starting to cool off by the race. I went out at a moderate effort, making sure I was able to talk while running during the first mile. My hope was to go through the first mile at around 10k race pace at the fastest. Since I just ran hills yesterday, and I really want to be fairly fresh for my last long run on Saturday I didn't want to push too hard, so I backed off a bit during the second mile, but then picked up a bit in the 3rd and kicked in decently. I started out probably around 10th by the 1/2 mile, but passed people throughout and moved up to 4th with 1/2 mile to go. I gained on 3rd place but came in just behind him - a freshman who shows some promise. I'm sure the high school athletes were not running all out, either. The winner came through in about 17:05 - not bad for an early season race! I was very happy to finish in 19:01, though if I knew I was that close to breaking 19 I would've sprinted in a little bit harder. We need better turnout for the alumni team next  year. I expected there to be a few recent grads who could run with the leaders. I didn't expect almost 40-year old me to be our top runner. We got trounced 18-47. Next year the score will be much closer I think!

Splits:
1.0 - 6:07.5
2.0 - 12:28.75 - 6:21.5
3.1 - 19:01.00 - 6:32.25 (5:53/mile over this segment

Cool down jog over course

I ran backwards over the course for about .95 miles in 7:25.59. Then we had an awards ceremony and I ate a couple fudgecicles. The ideal post race recovery snack! Then I ran the whole course again for more cooldown, fueled by the treats in 23:23, a few seconds faster than the warmup. For the entire 10.25 miles I averaged 7:09/mile.