Monday, December 26, 2011

Half-Marathon Training Plan Week 3

Training Plan Week:

WeekMonday DateTuesdayThursdayFridaySunday
312/19/201145 min run45 min runeasy walk11 mile LSR



Actual Week:




Monday - 2.28 miles 40 minutes (17:32 (walking)). I walked to get ChocolateWife a gift at lunch. Rainy.

Tuesday - 4.8 miles 57 minutes (11:52 pace). I found a track near work (actually a friend told me about it) and I reran my first magic mile. The time was 9:52 but it turns out that each lap was 4 yards longer than a 1/4 mile so I adjusted proportionally and am assuming/believing a 9:46 magic mile. Total pace includes 11 minutes warm up/down so it's a good pace overall.

Thursday - 11.25 miles 2:30 (13:20). I took the day off work to finish shopping and getting ready to go to the in-laws' for the next 6 days. I asked ChocolateWife when she wanted me to run and she said anytime. When I pointed out that it would be either Thursday or Saturday (in the rain) or Sunday (Christmas day) she said, run Thursday.

My target overall training pace was 13:36. Pace included stops for potty breaks, reapplying foot glide, and eating a bar and gel. 1:1 ratio.

Saturday - 5.74 miles 1:14 miles (12:53). I don't know about the mileage. It seemed longer but my phone wouldn't get a satellite signal so I had to trust Nike+. 40 degrees and raining for most of it. Chased by dogs. 2:30/1:00 ratio. I actually felt like after 2-3 miles I really got into it and it became easier and easier.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

First Magic Mile Redo

Yesterday I went to Clark Field to try again to run my first magic mile. It took me about 8 minutes to get there so I had done my walking warm up and a little jogging before I arrived. The track was quite nice and not quite oval. I finished 4 laps in 9:52 which is a little slower than I was hoping for but I'm also very excited that I broke 10:00 for the first time. After I got back to the office, I looked at the website and realized that each lap is actually 444 yards so 4 laps is just over a mile. (1776 yards completed rather than 1760). If I extrapolate, my mile time would have been 9:47 which I think is a pretty reasonable extrapolation.

Assuming 9:47, my training pace would be 13:43/mile and my race pace would be 11:44/mile or 2:33:48. Of note, my predicted finish time would not drop below 2:30 until I ran a 9:32 magic mile.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Week 2 Half-Marathon Training

Training Plan Week:



WeekMonday DateTuesdayThursdayFridaySunday
212/12/201145 min run/MM45 min runeasy walk6 x 800


Actual Week:



Tuesday - 4.15 miles 54 minutes (13:00). Includes warm-up/down. I tried to run the magic mile but had no GPS coverage so don't know mileage. Might have been 9:40 or more. I will try again next week on a track.

Thursday - 4.35 miles 51 minutes (11:36). 2 minutes/40 seconds interval. Very good run. Also did another .5 miles walking in 9 minutes warm up/down.

Friday - 3.15 miles 48 minutes (15:14).

Sunday - 5 miles (?) 1:05. 6 x 800 repeats. Goal time was 5:33 (assuming 9:40 magic mile). Actual times were 5:07, 5:06, 5:07, 5:00, 4:55, 5:05. I could have done more but trying to actually follow the plan.

Another good week training and fund-raising.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

First (Attempted) Magic Mile

Tuesday I tried to run my first magic mile. I used my phone/RunKeeper which I've done in the past. Unfortunately it was a cloudy day and the phone (obviously) could not get an accurate satelliteposition. Why do I say obviously? I was pushing myself pretty hard and in spite of a previous 10:02 magic mile, the phone announced that I had run 1/2 mile in close to 6 minutes and 1 mile in around 13. Clearly that was not accurate. Timing myself against my Nike+ I got 9:40 but it occurred to me that 1. My Nike+ is not always accurate and 2. I didn't know the distance on my Nike+ when I started timing myself. I stopped timing myself when the Nike+ was at 1.52 miles but what did it say when I started? And third... I was running on some hills. They weren't major hills but they were hills.

I need to try the magic mile again. I found out that the track at the university is open so (even though it will be boring), I am going to plan to time myself there next week for an accurate magic mile. Nonetheless... if my magic mile was really 9:40, what would my race pace and finish prediction be? With a magic mile of 9:40, I should do training runs at 13:34 and do my race at 11:36 or 2:31. Wow. I'll be really interested to see about that magic mile and I'd be thrilled to run my HM under 2:35.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Tracking my Water

A daily mile friend who is also the Team Livestrong mentor posted recently about needing to monitor her water intake better. I generally think of myself as drinking plenty of water but I also know that I could drink more if I drank less Ice Tea. On a normal day I drink Ice Tea in the morning (I take 14 oz of tea to work) and when it is done, I drink water. Lately I have been drinking tea when I get home and with dinner. The exception is that I don't drink tea within a few hours of a run or before donating blood.

Anyway, the mentor mentioned downloading a free app to track water so I looked at the Android marketplace. I tried a few apps but settled on Drink more Water by Firecracker. I like that there are 6 buttons to click to say you drank water and you can set how much each is worth. I think they defaulted to 4, 8, 12... 24 but I changed them to 2, 4, 6, ... 12. You can customize your goal. You can also add multiple reminders that pop up and say "you have only drank 12 of ... ounces". I set my daily goal as 80 oz but I also decided that if I am not at 64+ oz, I don't get to drink tea at dinner.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Week 1 Half-Marathon Training

Training Plan Week:

WeekMonday DateTuesdayThursdayFridaySunday
112/05/201145 min run40 min runeasy walk9 miles

Actual Week:

I had a pretty good running week although I missed one (walking) workout due to scheduling/sickness (more on that).

Tuesday - 4.61 miles 57 minutes (12:17) including walking warm-up/down. 3:1 ratio for about 1/2 time then 2:1 ratio. 37 degrees out. I have found a route near work/University that has some nice hills and a long stretch (.75 miles or so) with no streets to cross. I have to cross one major intersection to get there but that's the tradeoff.
Thursday - 3.98 miles 54 minutes (13:29). This included 20 minutes walking warm-up and five down. I was on a phone call and couldn't start running for a while. The running was at 2:1.
Friday should have included an easy walk but our weekend plans meant I would be doing my Long Slow Run (LSR) Saturday making Friday rest day.
Saturday - 9.5 miles 2:05 (13:09). A really enjoyable LSR at 1:1. It was 45 out so I wore a hat and gloves the entire time. My target by Galloway prediction should have been 14:00/mile but that's not a realistic target. I actually think that would be TOO slow unless I did 40 run/60 walk or something like that. 1:1 at this pace was quite comfortable.
Sunday - I had a sort of vague thought that I'd go for an easy walk sometime between going to volunteer at a race with ChocolateSon and going to shop for gifts with ChocolateWife in the afternoon. Instead the day consisted of the volunteering and both ChocolateKids getting quite stomach fluey and everything that entails.

After I posted my Saturday LSR on dailymile I posted a status update saying that I had run 9 miles and please donate $9 (one for every mile) for my Livestrong Half-marathon. Three friendsFour friends made $25 donations which I really appreciated so I'm not over 50% to my goal.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Half-Marathon Training Plan

It's now time for me to start my training plan. I'm actually entering this one from the Galloway Training Plans book on week 5. The plan is the same as the "to time goal" plan on his website. I've been maintaining 9-10 week LSRs every weekend or every other weekend since my canceled half-marathon so I'm skipping the first 4 weeks on the plan (5 mile, 6 mile, 7.5 miles, 4x800).

WeekMonday DateTuesdayThursdayFridaySunday
112/05/201145 min run40 min runeasy walk9 miles
212/12/201145 min run/MM45 min runeasy walk6 x 800
312/19/201145 min run45 min runeasy walk11 miles
412/26/201145 min run/MM45 min runeasy walk8 x 800
501/02/201245 min run45 min runeasy walk13 miles
601/09/201245 min run45 min runeasy walk10 x 800
701/16/201245 min run45 min runeasy walk15 miles
801/23/201245 min run45 min runeasy walk12 x 800
901/30/201245 min run45 min runeasy walk17 miles
1002/06/201245 min run45 min runeasy walkeasy 5 miles/MM
1102/13/201245 min run45 min runeasy walkGoal Half Marathon
1202/20/201245 min run45 min runeasy walk4 miles
1302/27/201245 min run45 min runeasy walk6-12 miles

Monday, December 5, 2011

Last Week's (Paltry) Runs

I ran very little last week.  Excuses range from heavy thunder & lightening to lazy.  I had planned to run this weekend, possibly both days but I think the combination of the dark and rainy days and just not feeling like it did me in. 

Monday - 3.01 miles, 51 minutes (16:56 mm) Lunch time walk.  Rather than getting up and walking at 5:00 when it was 39, I went to work early and walked at lunch. It was 59 and gorgeous.
Tuesday - YaYog Push/Pull workout. 
Thursday - 3.94 miles, 52 minutes (13:11 mm).  Includes warm up/down and nice hills. Again I ran at lunch time.  I concentrated on leveling my pelvis and opening my hips while running. I'd never done the hip focus and felt like it was much smoother and faster.

In spite of the bad week, I'm looking forward to more training for a few reasons. 
  • Officially I'll start my training plan this week.  That means 2 week day runs, 1 week day walk, and the LSR or 800 repeats each weekend. I'll post the plan in the next few days. 
  • I've changed my work hours so that 3 days a week (the days I run and walk) I will go in at 6:30, run at lunch, and go home at the normal time.  Advantages are running in the light, running when it's (theoretically) warmer, and getting to run some hills. 
  • My chances of completing the run 1000 miles in 2011 challenge are pretty much nil but I still think I can finish the run across Texas East to West (941 miles) challenge.  That is my December goal - to finish that challenge.
My Nano is no longer playing music in such a way that I can hear it.  It may play complete static or I can detect a word every 10-15 words. I don't know whether to take it to the Apple store or just give it up.  I feel pretty frustrated that a $150 product would only last 16 months or so.  At the same time, I've found an app that will let you listen to any podcast with a webpage either by streaming it or by downloading it (while you're near wifi) and then listening to the recording later.  I've also got all my music on the Ama zon cloud so theoretically I could listen to the music that way.  So currently the Nano just functions to record my miles with Nike Running.  I may give that up after the new year and just convert completely to daily mile. 

Friday, December 2, 2011

Christmas Present Afghan

Back when I finished the filet crochet afghan for my niece, my mother-in-law was very taken with it.  ChocolateWife started making noises about how much her mother would love an afghan like that but I just ... wasn't committed.  Then earlier this year I started playing with the idea.  What color would she like? What size? What sort of pattern? 

I knew from my experiences making the earlier afghan and trying to make a filet crochet baby blanket this summer that I had a few constraints for the afghan. 1. I would make it all one piece as I had done the earlier afghan so I didn't have to sew pieces together. 2. I wanted the pattern to be symmetrical both vertically and horizontally.  I chose the pattern (poseys I think) from the same book that I got the other pattern (poinsettias) from and I was off.  The yarn is Caron Simply Soft which is very smooth to work with.  I also made the transition to a more ergonomic hook which I think was easier on my hands.  I started the project in September so it took me two or three months.  I'm very excited and proud about it and I think that my mother-in-law will be thrilled and very touched. 


Panel detail - the blanket has a 5 x 3 grid of these flowers

The blanket laid out on our king-size bed (my mother-in-law's is queen).

Another laid out view