sixteenth

Thursday's run: 1.5 easy split between warm up and cool down.

3 x 1mile repeats at 6:10/mile with 30 second rest between intervals.

My first definately hard workout in a while. I focused a lot on my stride and foot landing. It is incredible how much more efficient the stride is (and because of this, how much faster you move while maintaining an even level of exertion when running with an efficient stride) when you hit closer to a flat-foot landing and when the leg turnover rate is closer to 3 steps/second. I have a lot of practice to do when it comes to establishing an efficient stride, and these longer repeats at somewhere near 5k pace make for an ideal practice.

I still have 12 miles to get in over the next 2 days, so I moved my long run to saturday and will take today as a short recovery run from this last workout.

fifteenth

3.5 miles in 28 min.

Easy run today. I had no problem keeping it at easy pace, cause it was warm (mid 60's) and I felt pretty tired.

Ever since I committed to building a base and building up my mileage, I think through my week and plan each run around my current schedule. So far I haven't been so busy that I can't get the running in that I want to. It's crazy how high of a priority you have to make running in order to get any level of training in.

fourteenth

5 miles. 4 in 31:40ish. plus 1 in 6:30.

My first "progression run" went well, even though I didn't feel completely rested. I made the transition from starting my week on monday to starting it on Sunday (since pretty much every calendar starts with Sunday as the first day. Frustrating considering we call it the weekEND. I'm definitely not the first to be annoyed, but whatever the case) and I had to pack my miles for last week into monday through saturday. I got them all in, but I felt sluggish today. A little overdressed by the time the run ended and it warmed up.

Hudson teaches to incorporate goal marathon pace in small increments early on in your marathon training, and that's what I tried to do today. 

I have a LONG way to go before I will come even remotely close to running 6:30 miles for a marathon, but well, I am shooting high. I might not come close for a couple years and if that is the case, I better adjust my "marathon pace" pretty quick.

This whole workout/typing about it kind of highlights one of the more bothersome parts about marathon training: setting a goal time and/or predicting your pace.

Most runners have experienced at one time or another the very sad ending to a race where the beginning was run too fast. I don't want that to happen, so here is my plan to avoid it:

1. Set an ambitious goal pace and train to run it.

2. Modify that goal pace as necessary to ensure that it reflects my training progress

3.Start the marathon around 15-20 seconds per mile slower than the final goal. This should be a pace that I successfully ran in long progression runs towards the end of the training cycle, and one that I feel confident I can maintain for 26miles.

4. Negative split the race.

I don't want to run really well for 23 miles only to have the race and time ruined during the last 3 miles run at 2 or 3 min/mile slower. So yes. I will be cautious and conservative.

eleventh

3 miles. 24 min.

I did my best to keep the pace honest and not push it too much. I am planning my longer run for tomorrow, so hopefully I will be fresh for that. It really helps me get out for the run when I know ahead of time what I need to get done that day. I know that a lot of people have an easier time with planning their runs and perhaps wouldn't even consider not having a written training plan and sticking with it. Oh well. I'm working on it.

I am excited for this week and (hopefully) having my training plan in pencil by the end of it. It is looking like I will be able to get in at least 3 or 4 weeks at 50 miles/wk. I have wanted to get to that milestone, not just because it sounds good, but because of a statistic that I heard somewhere regarding a correlation between higher training mileage (min. of 50miles/week) and less heart risks during the marathon race. I should look into/research this stat a bit more.

I got my run in just an hour or so before the snow hit hard. I would have been tempted to skip it entirely had I waited much longer. I am glad to get it in and stay on track for 6 days of running this week.

tenth

3 miles, 24 minutes.
10 x 10 sec hill sprints.

I stretched after the 3 miles and found a small steep hill. Incorporating the hill sprints will hopefully add some strength to my legs and help build more resistance to injury.
I'll be adding the sprints in after at least one run per week for the next 4 weeks. I need to read some more and figure out how often to do these during an official training cycle.

I'm still not sure how the sprints will balance out with the strides. Perhaps I will alternate between the two, following easy runs.

ninth

5 miles in 40min. On the treadmill.

Too cold and windy to want to run outside. In the last 4 weeks of training, I have kept the majority of my runs outside and on asphalt or dirt. I am hoping that this can help prevent injury (and keep me motivated).
I felt strong the entire run, and did not feel any foot pain. I get nervous every time I start to get a small pain in the ball of either foot. I have had trouble with foot pain (two years ago) and I attributed it to an irresponsibly large amount of treadmill running. To be honest, I was running about 25-30 miles a week. I ramped up the volume too quickly and the week I got hurt I ran 10miles on the treadmill, then 8, then 8 again on 3 consecutive days. Dumb.

My goal for this week is 25 miles. I want to formulate an "official" 20 week training plan, so depending on whether I run the Boulder or Denver marathon, I have 5-8 week(ish) of base building left and would like to start my training at 30 miles/week minimum. Hopefully... Assuming all goes well.

I am basing a lot of my training planning off of Brad Hudson's Run Faster. He focuses on high milage and adaptive running. Peaking for a race by incorporating larger and larger portions of race pace running as training progresses. Flexible training schedules to avoid injury (not forcing a workout simply because it is written on the schedule). And several other key points, that offer only a simplistic analysis of his training philosophy.

I will provide more details as I continue to read and continue to flesh out my own training plan.

eighth

4.5miles  in 34:15

I ran faster than I should have, considering a 3 day break this week (I was having some slight knee pain, and decided to consider walking around the hotel at work all day to be my "workout.")

but I was rested and wearing tights, so how could I not run a bit faster?

The lake/pond I ran around is 1.1 miles, so after 4 laps, I had to go extra and make it a sort of even. 4.5. It is some psychological thing. Either point-0 or point-5 for me. 

This will be the first week of not running 5 days. It worked out well to have a rest week when there was a lot of hours at work to be had.

seventh

3 miles. 24min. 2x30sec strides@ end of run.

I tripped. On a rock. The sun had set and it was getting pretty dark. It is not very fun to fall ever, but especially while running. And holding an iPod.

Got the run in, though, and since this week is just going to get busier, it is a good thing.

sixth

3 miles in 24min

I did 2 30sec strides at the end of the run. Just about ever running book I have read incorporates strides into easy run workouts. Usually after the run, but I just did mine over the last 2min of the run. I will try and fit in strides after my easy runs. It seems strange to me that I would know that strides are important and are emphasized in so many training guides, yet I would not take the extra 5 or 10 min after each run to fit them in. It's similar to stretching, I suppose. Knowing that one should, but often skipping it. Speaking of, I am writing in this blog instead of stretching. 

This run marks the beginning of my 4th official week of marathon training.

second

20 minutes. 2.5 miles.
normal route, outside the apartment, around the lake/ponds. 60% asphalt, 25% concrete, 15% dirt. Or so.


One of major pieces of my running plan (as it takes shape over the next weeks/months) is to keep my running spread over 5 days/week minimum. I think it will help reduce the risk of injury because as the milage increases, I am only adding a mile or half a mile to each workout, instead of 2 or 3 miles per workout. It takes some discipline because I get nervous going for only 2.5 miles today, wondering if I will get much running in this week. As long as I stay consistent, I have nothing to worry about and a few 3 or 4 mile runs will add up quickly.
Hopefully, after this week and next, I can look into adding another workout in the week, or upping the mileage to the low 20's. Everything is still up in the air. I am not getting impatient yet, so that is a good thing.