Since I posted last, I have been keeping with the training. I'm starting to feel better about the Lincoln Memorial in a little over a week but i wish I was feeling better. I set a goal last year that I wanted to turn in a time around 1:38. I'd still like that but anything under 1:45 will satisfy me.
Last Thursday, March 19, I ran 5 and some change starting at Lincoln Park, running a lap through the cemetary, and then heading back to the park via the pond hills. It was an up-tempo work-out. I finished the evening with my Tri swim class. We finally got to swim a bit. YEAH!!!
Friday was a day off for a long run on Saturday. I dropped my son off at WHS at 5:30 and headed to Lincoln Park to run the LM course. I started at about the 5.5 mile point so all the hills were done first. I averaged an 8:30 pace with the last 3 miles being 8:00 or under.
Sunday was spent relaxing with some weights. Other than the weights, it was a pretty relaxing day.
Monday after work, I rode the recumbent bike for 30 minutes. I tried to keep a cadence of 90. I guess the number to shoot for while riding is between 85 and 95. It felt good over the 30 minutes. I covered 7 miles and felt very refreshed.
I decided to do some speedwork on Tuesday. I am going to start the speedwork pretty heavy when the LM is over in order to get ready for the spring/summer/fall races. I'd like to PR by 1 minute for the 5K. That would put aroung 18:57. The workout was 8 x 400 with equal recovery which was half a lap. The 400 were run at 9.3 mph (6:27 pace). I do all my speedwork on the treadmill. The last lap was actually a 600. I ended up running 5.25 miles if you count the 1 warm-up and cooldown in just under 39:00.
Wednesday was recovery day. 3 easy miles on the treadmill at about 9:00 pace. I followed the run up with dinner and then weight training.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Little of This... Little of That
In three days, I've biked, ran, and swam. I guess I'm a triathlete??? No... Not really but I think I might be on my way. I'm a little gun shy about entering a triathlon but I will have to sometime.
On Monday, I spent 1 hour riding the cross-train program on the recumbent bike. Mondays ALWAYS used to be cross-training day and I think I'm going to get back in that routine. I set the bike on level 2 and I obviously forgot how hard it was. It topped out @ a resistance of 6. Each segment was about 1 minute 10 seconds long. I totalled 16 miles with tired legs.
I fremembered I was going to take it easy on Tuesday after the hard bike ride but not until after I completed 6 x 800 @ 8.7 mph (6:53/ mile pace). I definately felt the bike work-out from the first 800. I made it through fortunately and totalled 5.25 miles that included .5 mile warmup and cooldown.
Today (Wednesday), I headed to the pool at the Y to practice the drills I've been learning in my Triathlon swimming class. I didn't keep track of the distance I swam but I did swim for 1 hour and covered everything I supposed to.
On Monday, I spent 1 hour riding the cross-train program on the recumbent bike. Mondays ALWAYS used to be cross-training day and I think I'm going to get back in that routine. I set the bike on level 2 and I obviously forgot how hard it was. It topped out @ a resistance of 6. Each segment was about 1 minute 10 seconds long. I totalled 16 miles with tired legs.
I fremembered I was going to take it easy on Tuesday after the hard bike ride but not until after I completed 6 x 800 @ 8.7 mph (6:53/ mile pace). I definately felt the bike work-out from the first 800. I made it through fortunately and totalled 5.25 miles that included .5 mile warmup and cooldown.
Today (Wednesday), I headed to the pool at the Y to practice the drills I've been learning in my Triathlon swimming class. I didn't keep track of the distance I swam but I did swim for 1 hour and covered everything I supposed to.
Monday, March 16, 2009
A Few Good Day
I've had a few good days but I don't think I am in any shape to run a good half in a couple of weeks. To be honest, I can't wait until this race is over so I can decrease my mileage a bit and get rejuvenated for the spring/summer/fall races.
I ran 5.25 on Thursday evening. The course consisted of about 8 hills. I ran through Lincoln Park and the cemetary in order to get some hills in since the course for the race is pretty hilly. I struggled at the beginning due to my sickness I'm trying to get over but finished strong... sub 7:00 over the last mile and a half.
Friday was a rest after running 13.25 from Tuesday- Thursday. Saturday was a long run. I ended up with 13.4 and sore legs. I was only going to do 10 but the weather was absolutely gorgeous. I set out about 11:00 AM. As I was running, I decided to do a negative split run. The idea is to run out a certain distance/time, turn around, and see if you can make it back to point A in less time it took you to do the intial distance/time. I ended up running out 1 hour (6.7 miles)and beat my time back by about 4 minutes. I ended up with a total time of 1:56 and some change.
Sunday was spent relaxing, taking a nap, and doing some strength/core training.
I ran 5.25 on Thursday evening. The course consisted of about 8 hills. I ran through Lincoln Park and the cemetary in order to get some hills in since the course for the race is pretty hilly. I struggled at the beginning due to my sickness I'm trying to get over but finished strong... sub 7:00 over the last mile and a half.
Friday was a rest after running 13.25 from Tuesday- Thursday. Saturday was a long run. I ended up with 13.4 and sore legs. I was only going to do 10 but the weather was absolutely gorgeous. I set out about 11:00 AM. As I was running, I decided to do a negative split run. The idea is to run out a certain distance/time, turn around, and see if you can make it back to point A in less time it took you to do the intial distance/time. I ended up running out 1 hour (6.7 miles)and beat my time back by about 4 minutes. I ended up with a total time of 1:56 and some change.
Sunday was spent relaxing, taking a nap, and doing some strength/core training.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Back to Running
As the title suggests, I'm back to running. It feels like I have been idle for 5 years. I rode the bike for 45 minutes on Monday and Tuesday I hopped on the treadmill for a 4 mile run. Although I was out of breath and my legs were like jello, It felt good to have completed a run. My chest hurt quite a bit and I'm sure it will for a few more days.
I'm going to hit the treadmill for a 3-4 mile recovery run tonight. Tomorrow night, I have my Beginner's Tri swim class. I might run after work and before class. I'm getting way ahead of myself though. :)
I'm going to hit the treadmill for a 3-4 mile recovery run tonight. Tomorrow night, I have my Beginner's Tri swim class. I might run after work and before class. I'm getting way ahead of myself though. :)
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Walking That Fine Line
Man!!! It's been so long since my last post, I almost forgot my sign in information. Just because I've been absent from posting doesn't mean I haven't been training. I was keeping pretty busy. Notice the word was???
I've been training for a Half Marathon in my home town on April 4th and I set a pretty lofty goal for myself. I picked out a pretty aggressive training plan & threw some stairs in the mix. I was running hard 3 days a week with 1 day recovery and a long run. I knew there was a fine line betweening training right AND smart and over-training. How would I know I had pushed my limits was a question I asked myself a lot over the past several weeks.
I knew I was getting tired from all the high intensity workouts and last week it finally hit me. I crossed that line into over-training. I hadn't been sick in I don't know how long but it hit me hard. I was WAY down and out for three to four days. As I write this, it is still sitting down deep in my chest.
As runners, we seem to always try to push our envelopes (at leats I do) without enough rest and our bodies give up on us... for only a short time. I'd been training the past year and a half pretty much non-stop and it finally caught up to me. On the bright side, my legs feel refreshed and rested up. I have 3.5 weeks before the race and my goal now is to just PR.
I've been training for a Half Marathon in my home town on April 4th and I set a pretty lofty goal for myself. I picked out a pretty aggressive training plan & threw some stairs in the mix. I was running hard 3 days a week with 1 day recovery and a long run. I knew there was a fine line betweening training right AND smart and over-training. How would I know I had pushed my limits was a question I asked myself a lot over the past several weeks.
I knew I was getting tired from all the high intensity workouts and last week it finally hit me. I crossed that line into over-training. I hadn't been sick in I don't know how long but it hit me hard. I was WAY down and out for three to four days. As I write this, it is still sitting down deep in my chest.
As runners, we seem to always try to push our envelopes (at leats I do) without enough rest and our bodies give up on us... for only a short time. I'd been training the past year and a half pretty much non-stop and it finally caught up to me. On the bright side, my legs feel refreshed and rested up. I have 3.5 weeks before the race and my goal now is to just PR.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Ended Up OK!
After 4 easy miles on the treadmill on Monday, Tuesday called for a much harder workout. It was my final week for mile repeats. After marathon pace, and 10K pace, this week was supposed to be at 5K pace which is 6:28. I haven't ran this fast since last September when I PR'ed in the 5K distance. For some reason, I just didn't think I had it in me to run that fast. After a .5 warm up, it was time to ramp up to 9.3 mph. The first mile came and went and I felt pretty good. The second was a little harder. I started feeling it with a lap to go. The third was really tough. After 2 laps, I was ready to give up but I stuck it out... tired legs and all. I totalled 5 miles @ around 36:00. I was already dreading the morning work out as stairs was in order.
I woke Wednesday and headed to the Y to meet Scott at 6:00. We set out for the Hilton. It is about a .6 mile warm up. The plan was to go to the top... all 31 floors with a couple of rest stops. After about 5 floors, my legs were burning. I'm guessing it was mostly due to the work out the night before. We made stops at floors 12 and 20. We should be good in a couple of weeks for no stops. We concluded the morning work out with a little over 3.5 miles for a total of 4.25 and 31 floors of steps. My legs are beat!!!
All my worrying was for not as everything ended up OK.
I woke Wednesday and headed to the Y to meet Scott at 6:00. We set out for the Hilton. It is about a .6 mile warm up. The plan was to go to the top... all 31 floors with a couple of rest stops. After about 5 floors, my legs were burning. I'm guessing it was mostly due to the work out the night before. We made stops at floors 12 and 20. We should be good in a couple of weeks for no stops. We concluded the morning work out with a little over 3.5 miles for a total of 4.25 and 31 floors of steps. My legs are beat!!!
All my worrying was for not as everything ended up OK.
Monday, February 9, 2009
And Then It Was Back To Normal
The week-end started at 5:30 on Saturday with a temp of about 46 degrees. Today's long run called for shorts... at the beginning of February??? I know it sounds crazy but we set a record high of 67 degrees on Saturday. 10 miles was the distance in this 3rd recovery week.
We met at 7:00 at Cafe Moxo, a local downtime eatery, where we were going to run the front part of the Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon and add 3 miles in the middle. The pace started a little slow (8:40) but we picked it from there. We hovered around 8:15-8:10 pace for the next several miles. It was a quicker pace but felt pretty good. We ran into Tom and Mike Burk in the park so mile 7 or 8 was a little slower (8:40) since stopped and gabbed for a minute. The last 2 miles were pretty quick as we ran 8:04 and 8:03. I could definately feel the run later that day.
And then it was back to normal on Sunday. I believe the high was 36 degrees and I decided to stay in for a treadmill run. I set the speed for an 8:58 pace and completed 5 miles in 44:57. This was an active recovery run as I actually thought about taking the day off completely.
I totalled 28 miles for the week with a few stairs included.
We met at 7:00 at Cafe Moxo, a local downtime eatery, where we were going to run the front part of the Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon and add 3 miles in the middle. The pace started a little slow (8:40) but we picked it from there. We hovered around 8:15-8:10 pace for the next several miles. It was a quicker pace but felt pretty good. We ran into Tom and Mike Burk in the park so mile 7 or 8 was a little slower (8:40) since stopped and gabbed for a minute. The last 2 miles were pretty quick as we ran 8:04 and 8:03. I could definately feel the run later that day.
And then it was back to normal on Sunday. I believe the high was 36 degrees and I decided to stay in for a treadmill run. I set the speed for an 8:58 pace and completed 5 miles in 44:57. This was an active recovery run as I actually thought about taking the day off completely.
I totalled 28 miles for the week with a few stairs included.
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