Another week of highs and lows. I was a bit disappointed with my race pace run this week since I was behind pace by a couple seconds per mile. That may not sound like much, but spread over the course of a marathon those seconds add up quickly.
I am learning I need to focus on better nutrition before my race pace runs, particularly when it comes to how much I am eating prior to these hard workouts. I don't run on an empty tank but I can tell I don't quite have enough to keep me going at the pace and distance required, so I need to adjust my food intake accordingly.
Thankfully, my long endurance run went very well this week. I used a hilly route and was able to finish within my required pace range, not to mention a solid final mile at close to race pace.
So overall not a bad week...just not quite where I wanted it to be.
Let's meet at the downtown airport at 8am on Saturday, July 13 for our next run. As a reminder, the loop around the airport is approximately 3.6 miles. Here is the info from the first blog post about running at the downtown airport, if needed. See you all there!
Time for another Workout of the Week... Warm-up: Five-minute brisk walk or jog. Main set: Eleven-minute run at a moderate pace, followed up with a nine-minute run covering the exact same distance as the eleven-minute run. If you run one mile in eleven minutes, you'll have to push and run that same mile in nine minutes to finish the main set.
Cool-down: Five-minute walk.
This is a great workout to teach you to run intelligently and at different paces. It is therefore important to monitor not only how far you run during the eleven-minute interval, but your intensity, as well. Go out too hard too early and you may not have enough gas to finish the nine-minute portion.
Bit of an up-and-down week this week. Had some stubborn muscle tenderness in my left leg persist for a handful of days (still lingering, actually). Not enough to derail training, but noticeable, particularly after hard runs.
On that note, this week was my first week with a race pace tempo run. I survived, but it was challenging. My long run went very well, particularly since it was on a notably hilly route. I ran with a friend of mine, which made it more tolerable, and dare I say enjoyable, than if I ran alone.
I also had another unscheduled rest day, but given the problem in my left leg the extra day off is probably a blessing in disguise.
Nothing too exciting during Week 2, which is a good thing depending on how you look at it. Using bicycle rides for active recovery as opposed to running "junk miles" feels good so I'm hoping that continues to pay dividends as my training progresses. I had an unexpected rest day due to my family schedule so my overall mileage dipped a bit this week. Overall things are going well, though, so it's just a matter of staying on course. Total Mileage: 21 miles Workouts:
One bicycle trainer workout
Three-mile interval run
Five-mile hybrid run
2.25-mile Time Trial
2.75-mile moderate pace
Five-mile maintenance run
Eight-mile long run
I'll add the average paces soon to keep it simple to track progress.
I was thinking a good addition to our blog would be to add a workout each week for any of you to try. I will try to keep things varied to avoid boredom at all costs. I'll also do my best to provide workouts that can be done easily both indoors or outdoors.
Here is a simple, yet effective, workout anyone can try. In addition to the time spent on each interval, take note of the recommended intensity. Intensity is based on a scale of zero to ten, with ten being an all-out sprint you can hold more no more than 30 seconds. The cumulative time is listed in parentheses for each step; as you can see, you are working out for a total of only 30 minutes, including warm-up and cool-down.
Warm-up: Five-minute brisk walk / Intensity 3 (5:00)
Seven Rounds of the Following Interval-Recovery Segment:
Interval: One-minute run / Intensity 7 Recovery: Two-minute jog / Intensity 4
(8:00, 11:00, 14:00, 17:00, 20:00, 23:00, 26:00)
Cool-down: Four-minute walk / Intensity 2-3 (30:00)
Another word about intensity: USE YOUR HEAD!
Don't force yourself to hold a certain pace if your body isn't up to it. If running at 6mph for one interval feels like a level 7 but that same speed feels too hard on the next interval, adjust accordingly. It's better to check your ego at the door than it is to run beyond your ability and injure yourself.
Well, I'm not quite to that point yet... Week 1 of my formal training for the Prairie Fire Marathon is in the books. It feels good to have a finite goal in mind after being rather aimless the last several months. I plan on modifying a training plan I used in the past from the Hanson Brothers, a pair responsible for the Hanson-Brooks Distance Project. Their plan is solid as-is (it helped me knock 21 minutes off my PR) but I plan on substituting some indoor cycling for a couple of the short run days. This should help me get some low-impact active recovery while still reaping endurance benefits. Previous plans, including the Hanson plan, sometimes leave me feeling a bit too worn-down. Taking two cycling sessions a week will knock my running down to four days, leaving one day each week for nothing but rest or, at most, stretching and mobility work. As for training itself, nothing too noteworthy this week: Total Mileage: 29 miles Average Pace (Endurance Sessions): 7:56/mile Average Pace (Speed Session): ~6:07/mile (didn't record exact intervals) I'll enjoy this training while I can...challenging race-pace runs and longer endurance sessions are just around the corner!
I forgot to mention a couple important pieces of info in my last post about the Prairie Fire Marathon.
If anyone is interested in participating in any of the events be sure to reach out to me directly for a discount code!
There are also two great hotels located mere yards away from the start and finish line. Both offer discounted rates for runners, making them go-to choices for any of us that make the trip.
After weeks of putting it off I finally registered for the Prairie Fire Marathon scheduled in October. Having run the event in 2011 I originally planned to run it last year but my work schedule derailed my training to the point where I could not perform at level I preferred.
I plan on using the blog to document my training as it progresses, culminating with a race report after the event. I have found race reports can be very useful tools for not only the runner himself, but also others to get a glimpse of the "good, bad, and ugly" of a race. If nothing else maybe you'll learn something from my experience so you don't have to learn the hard way!
I encourage any of you to participate in the event, as well. A half-marathon, 5K, and one-mile Fun Run are available in addition to the full marathon. Having training partners for the same event always adds a welcome layer of accountability, at least for me. So if anyone wishes to join me for any of the events at the race I welcome the company!
The race is in Wichita, Kansas, making it a reasonable drive. I'll also quickly add the courses are all rather flat, making for favorable running conditions. The event is also well-organized despite being a more modest-sized race.
