Training Report 03/04 - 03/10

Yes. There are actually some green lines on last week's picture.

Monday - 1.6 miles. The family took a nice walk after I got home from work.  We took both puppies. I love the way the kids alternate between running ahead and complaining that they are so tired and exhausted that they can't possibly take another step. 
Tuesday - 3.5 miles in 1:03 walk.  This was to be the first run day in over a month.  Yeah... until I pulled my clothes out of my bag and realized I had no running bra. I took a nice walk to the park instead and found a $5 on the way back to the office.
Thursday - 2.6 miles in 35 minutes. First run in over a month.  I have lost a lot of cardio fitness with the time off and the cough/cold but it felt good to do at all.  I did a 1:00/1:00 and walked 5 minutes before and 15 after. 
Saturday - 2.0 in 40 minutes Walk. More on this later.
Saturday - 10.5 miles in 58 minutes.  I took an easy bike ride which included stops at two different Redboxes to get Wreck-it-Ralph and Twilight. Wreck it was awesome and Twilight was terrible even if you grade it on a curve and consider that it was a Twilight movie.
Sunday - 3.2 miles in 60 minutes.  Lovely walk and it had rained to very little pollen in the air.

Training Report 02/18 - 02/24

I had a pretty slack training week again last week as I recovered from my cold.  I actually think I felt worse as I was "getting better" than I did during the first part.  Mostly it's been a lot of coughing my lungs up. 

Wednesday - Walked to the Credit Union and Post Office on lunch.  Probably about 1.5 miles.
Thursday - 3.2 miles.  I walked over to the park in very nice weather.  Felt fine except for a lot of coughing.
Sunday - Went to the park for a hike with the kids, wife, dogs.  It wasn't fast or hard but it was so fun.  I sometimes think I would give up running entirely if the family hiked at least one day every weekend.

Other - I'm basically released from my Chiropractic. I'll be going every 2 weeks or so for a while but mostly I've got my assignments to stretch and work on my strength and core and to take it easy when running and ice if needed.  I probably spent 3 - 3.5 hours working on those things last week.

Training Report 02/11 - 02/17

Another Monday... another Training Report.  Such as it is.

Tuesday - 3.37 mile walk in 1:00. A very nice day out and a walk with no low back pain.  I concentrated on tightening my core throughout.
Wednesday - 3.2 mile walk in 57.  Another nice day and another walk without back pain.
Saturday - 1.5 mile walk.  I'm guessing on distance.  The kids and I walked from the Marathon expo over to the park to play.
Sunday - 5.6 in 1:38.  I walked the first part of the Austin Livestrong Half-Marathon.  Due to my back injury and having a cold, this was all I could do. But I wanted to do something. I planned this and quit after just under 6 miles.  I carried the names of those I walked for and am glad I got up to do this race. 
Week - Monday and Wednesday I saw the Chiropractor and did strength and core work.  I did stretching every morning and evening and some middays when I could. I am definitely becomming more flexible.  I believe that when I am done having a cold, I will feel ok to start running again. Or at least to try to run again.  We will see.

Training Plan Week 3 - 12/10 - 12/16

Planned:Tuesday - 3 miles
Wednesday - 4 miles
Thursday - 3 miles
Saturday - LSR 6 miles
Sunday - Cross train

Actual:
Tuesday - 3.44 in 45 (13:04) plus walking warm up/down.  Surprised at how slow this one was. I felt good while running.  2:00/:45 run/walk up and down some hills and on trails.
Tuesday - Core work for 30 minutes. I did the work after dinner and felt sort of crummy but got it done.
Wednesday - 12.75 miles in 1:00 biking. Schedule was wonky so I came home early and decided to take the chance to bike rather than run. 
Thursday - 4.15 in 50 minutes (12:02) plus walking warm up/down.  Ran a nice 2:00/:45 ratio.
Saturday - Core work for 30 minutes. I got this done before dawn so a good start to the day.
Saturday - Bike 13.66 in 1:06.  A very busy day meant I did my bike ride in the only time available. The ride was just lovely once I managed to avoid being hit by two different vehicles running stop signs at the same intersection.
LSR - Did not.  Sunday was not a good day.  Not good at all. Very upsetting and I'm still having trouble sleeping.  

Notes:
Weight unchanged.
Feelings about weight unchanged.
My fundraising for Livestrong is over $950! 
Four more days of work until I have a week off.
I've biked/run > 1000 miles this year.

Training Plan Week 1 -- 11/26 - 12/02

Yay!  Week 1 of my Training Plan. 

Planned: 
Tuesday - 3 miles
Wednesday - 3 miles
Thursday - 4 miles
Saturday - 4 mile LSR
Sunday - cross-train
Actual:

Tuesday - 3.29 in 38 minutes (11:28/mm) plus walking warm up/down.  Wow. I pushed myself on this one.  I ran 3:00/1:00 and for me it was faster than race pace and really working. 

Tuesday - 30 minutes core work.  Basically I did the pre-dawn routine with ball crunches mixed in. 
Wednesday - 3.15 in 40 minutes (12:39/mm) plus walking warm up/down.  I went easier than Tuesday with a 2:00/1:00 but really enjoyed the run.  I'm still struggling with a cough so it feels good to run hot and try and cough up the congestion.
Thursday - 3.43 in 45 minutes (13:07/mm) plus walking warm up/down.  I went back to my winter work schedule so I'll run at lunch time 3 days a week.  I love running at the park but probably lost 2-3 minutes waiting to cross streets.  Without street stops, my pace was more like 12:23.  I ran 1:30/:45 ratios and am considering dropping all my walk ratios to :45.  I feel like I'm mostly recovered by then. 
Saturday - Core work.  30 minutes of Pre-dawn runner's program with some ball crunches mixed in. 
Saturday - 4.8 miles in 1:00 (12:30) plus walking warm up/down.  Saturday was probably the worst I've felt as far as my cough and cold went.  But I went running anyway hoping the heat would help and it did as it has for weeks.  I felt very tight in the chest but enjoyed the feeling.  I wore no HRM because I didn't feel a need it on a LSR.  Unfortunately my phone had no music on it and wouldn't hook up any GPS so it was a naked run.  As it turns out the phone has nothing and after a while on the phone with the company I will be getting a replacement next week.  For the time being I'm using my old phone. 
Sunday - No workout but I knew that in advance. My niece had her fund-raiser for her upcoming Bat Mitzvah and I got up, drove to Houston, umpired, and drove home.  Tiring day but no workout.

Drinking enough water and watching what I eat is going well although I'm not sure how much progress I'm seeing weight-wise in just the first week.  More importantly, I'd like for the entire family to completely kick this cold/cough rather than just sharing it eternally.

Half-Marathon Training Program

Friday I signed up for a new half-marathon training program.  I actually signed up for the training before signing up for a race.  I’m leaning toward the Dare to Ascend half-marathon.  I think I’d enjoy a trail half marathon although I know a trail race is, by definition, harder and slower than a road half.  But I do like running on trails and the race is at the right time.  If the See Jane run Half Marathon were happening, it would be at the perfect time and would cost only $30 or perhaps nothing (I forget) but they are not running the race so that’s out. 

I’ve been feeling like without a goal race until next February, my training was just sort of plodding along.  I didn’t have a real compulsion to get out of bed and run one day versus another and while out on a weekend run, I didn’t feel like I was committed to any given distance or pace.  I would just run a bit and feel done and walk the rest of the way.  And the truth is that I’ve read blogs, books, recommendations, training plans, and everything else in the world and it’s just an overwhelming amount of input.  I can look at one plan that says run this much and these days and another that says the opposite.  One says race this often at race pace and one says don’t push too hard. 

One of the podcasts I listen to is produced by a set of trainers and he is frequently a guest on other podcasts.  One of the things I’ve heard him say is that every workout should have a purpose.  Another is that most people train too hard.  They are trying to do every run at race pace.  Both of those things really struck a nerve for me.  My race pace (based on Galloway formulas) would be 11:36 mm but I’m trying to do all my training (except LSR) at <12:00 which seems quite close to race pace.  So if not at race pace, how much slower should it be?  And am I training too hard? Running too long?  Too much?  Not enough?

So I signed up for some training that seems to be sort of hybrid pricing and setup.  The cost is not as high as one-on-one training would be but higher than buying a book or a prefab program or something.  I’m still trying to come to an understanding of the logistics of the training. It appears that I have a coach who will give me a weekly program that’s sort of customized and I’ll use the online tool to enter my training results, comments, metrics etc.  I don’t know how much direct interaction there will be.  Saturday she posted my first week of scheduled workouts which are sort of structured to give the coach an idea of my baselines.  It includes 3 strength workouts, 3 run workouts, 1 bike workout, and one core workout.  But the total time is just 5:55 so it’s not vastly different from my current time investment. 

I’m sort of simultaneously excited and anxious about the training.  I would certainly like some guidance and would like to see some improvements in my fitness and pace. 

Week 11 Half-Marathon Training Plan

I had a good training week. 

Tuesday - I didn't get up and run but I think I really learned something from it.  I didn't get up but then I spent the entire day wishing I had.  I felt like it was a turning point in thinking about that saying that you never regret the runs you take, only the ones you miss.

Wednesday - 4.32 miles/58 minutes (13:25/mile). Includes warm-up and warm-down.  I ran with a 3:1 ratio and the weather was lovely - 64 degrees but smoky. 

Thursday - 3.65 miles/47 minutes (12:52).  Here's where my Tuesday paid off. Again, I didn't want to get up but I remembered Tuesday and I got up.  Did a 3:1 ratio, then acceleration gliders and cadence drills.  Later a lunchtime walk to the credit union of .95 miles and walk from the bus to the store and store to dinner.

Friday - 3.18 miles/52 minutes.  Nice morning walk. Later walks to and from the bus stop and car place.

Sunday - I had a 15 mile LSR planned and was strangely excited about it.  My last LSR I did at 60:60 and I wanted to try a harder ratio so I decided on 90:60.  The night before I smashed my right pinky-toe on a plant in the house (see picture below).  Ouch.  I wasn't sure I would be able to run at all.  I got up at 5:00 to try and beat the heat and also not use up the entire day.  About 3.5 miles into the run, I tripped on a sidewalk and fell (see picture below #2).  It was the first time I've actually fallen since I started running although I've tripped many times.  My right arms is pretty bruised as well but the pictures don't seem to show it.  I also got a blister on my left foot from a new pair of socks that are thinner than my usual. 

Nonetheless I got up and walked for a minute or two and then resumed my run.  I can hardly describe how happy I was with the run.  I did the 90:60 for the first 11 or so miles, then dropped to 60:60.  I ended up at 15.13 miles/3:33 time (14:04/mile).  My target time should have been between 15:20 and 15:50 depending on exact temperature so it was a good pace. 



Toe I smashed on a plant



Banged up knee from falling during the run.

My total mileage for the week with estimated walks was 29.55 miles.  I think that's my highest week ever.

Last Week's Run

Yes. You read that right. Run. Not Runs. After my Sunday LSR which I wrote up last week, I took the week off from running to try and heal my blisters. They are much much better now so I did my 800 repeats on Saturday. It was my first time to do 800 repeats (or any repeats) and I followed the Galloway instructions as closely as I could. According to his formula, I would get the goal pace for the 800s by taking my magic mile time X 1.2 then divide by 2 because it's an 800 and subtract 15 seconds. For me that meant 10:40 x 1.2 = 12:48 / 2 = 6:24 - :15 = 6:09. So that was my goal pace for 4 800 repeats.

For each 800, I ran the first 400 (between 2:25 - 2:32), then walked 30-40 seconds as directed, then ran the last 300 or so. My times were 5:14, 5:16, 5:25, 5:25. I'm finding that both in these and the LSRs, I can run faster than the predicted or goal time pretty easily. Maybe this will get harder as they increase (I think 2 more repeats every 2 weeks). The entire workout from warm-up to warm-down (including picking up all the plastic bottles at the track for recycling) was 1:04 and 4.83 miles.

When I got home KeeBee wanted to run so she got dressed and put her stuffed puppy in her shirt so she could be pregnant and we ran to the pool and back (.5 miles).

Right now I'm at 66 miles in July so I've dropped off quite a bit from my pace earlier in the month. Yesterday I attended a Chi Running clinic but I'll post about that separately.

Looking at the graphic (which blogger isn't letting me post for some strange reason), I see that I also walked to the courthouse on Monday at lunchtime. That was 2.3 or so miles.

Half-Marathon Training Week #3 (Really)

Monday - Scheduled 35 minute run. 47 minutes, 3.23 miles. Included 5 minute walking warm-up, 10 minute walking warm-down. 3:1 slowing to a 2:1.
Wednesday - Scheduled 35 minute run with speed drills. 51 minutes, 3.68 miles including warm-up, down. 3:1 (x9) then. Did cadence drills (5) and acceleration gliders (5).
Thursday - Scheduled Easy walk. 58 minutes. 3.49 miles.
Saturday - I should have run but I woke up and it was raining and thunder and lightening and we had friends coming over for breakfast and I decided to wait until Sunday.
Sunday - (not shown on the picture). Saturday's 7.5 mile LSR. 1:56, 8.26 miles (14:07). Did warm-up, down and then 1:1 ratio throughout. Unlike last week I was able to maintain the 1:1 and didn't have to drop from that. I ran from 7:00 - 9:00 so temperature ranged from high 70s to mid 80s. That is a challenge and I can imagine it will become a bigger challenge as my LSRs get longer.

As slow as the LSR is, it's actually not as slow as the Galloway formula indicates for me. Their formula shows.

Magic Mile Time 10:41 x 1.2 to get Predicted race pace = 12:49/mile.
Predicted race pace 12:49 + 2:00 to get LSR pace = 14:49
LSR Pace + :30 for every 5 degrees over 60 or 14:49 + 2:00 = 16:49/mile.

I'm pretty sure that I could do a LSW(alk) at 16:49 or close to 16:49. I'm pretty much using the ratio in the book (1:1) and not pushing myself on the run and letting the pace go where the pace goes.

Oh, I also am pretty happy because I have an online friend who started posting on FB about starting to run. I commented on some of her posts and encouraged her to sign up for the See Jane Run Austin Half-marathon rather than the 5K and to look at the Jeff Galloway stuff. She's now fully training and committed to the half and it's awesome to read her enthusiasm and training reports every week.

Revised Half-Marathon Training Plan

So last week I was looking at my plan to figure out my runs for the week and I realized that I had done the first 2.5 weeks of the plan a week off. The good news is that I'm a week ahead rather than a week behind. The bad news is that apparently I'm dumb. Or bad a planning. Or maybe bad at reading a simple table.

I also think that I'm going to shift the days of the plan so that the long run happens on Saturday rather than Sunday. I don't like one of the weekend days spent making sure to not do anything strenuous. I would rather spend Friday making sure not to do anything strenuous. Then Sunday I can hike with the family or take a walk or swim or whatever and not worry. So here's the revised plan:

Week	Monday Date	Monday	Wednesday	Thursday	Saturday
1	06/27/2011	30 min run	30 min run	easy walk	5 miles
2	07/04/2011	35 min run/MM	35 min run	easy walk	6 miles
3	07/11/2011	35 min run	35 min run	easy walk	7.5 miles
4	07/18/2011	45 min run/MM	40 min run	easy walk	4 x 800
5	07/25/2011	45 min run	40 min run	easy walk	9 miles
6	08/01/2011	45 min run/MM	45 min run	easy walk	6 x 800
7	08/08/2011	45 min run	45 min run	easy walk	11 miles
8	08/15/2011	45 min run/MM	45 min run	easy walk	8 x 800
9	08/22/2011	45 min run	45 min run	easy walk	13 miles
10	08/29/2011	45 min run	45 min run	easy walk	10 x 800
11	09/05/2011	45 min run	45 min run	easy walk	15 miles
12	09/12/2011	45 min run	45 min run	easy walk	12 x 800
13	09/19/2011	45 min run	45 min run	easy walk	17 miles
14	09/26/2011	45 min run	45 min run	easy walk	easy 5 miles/MM
15	10/03/2011	45 min run	45 min run	easy walk	Goal Half Marathon
16	10/10/2011	45 min run	45 min run	easy walk	4 miles
17	10/17/2011	45 min run	45 min run	easy walk	6-12 miles

Week #3 (more on that later) Half-Marathon Training

I had a very good week of running and walking this week. Since I was on vacation, I got to workout in the daylight which meant it was warmer than I'm used to but also meant I could see and could listen to various podcasts. I totaled over 33 miles which may be my highest weekly mileage ever.

Sunday - Scheduled long run of 6.0 miles. 1:33, 6.87 miles (13:40/mile). That included a 5 minute warm-up, 10 minute warm-down, and 1:1 ratio.
Monday - Walked 1:04, 3.55 miles (18:08/mile).
Tuesday - Scheduled 35 minute run with a magic mile. I missed it entirely.
Wednesday - 1:28, 4.76 miles (18:35/mile).
Thursday - Scheduled 35 minute run. 51:31 4.18 miles (12:19/mile). That included 5 minute warm-up, 10 minute warm-down, and a 10:41 magic mile. Run/walk ratios varied.
The day also included an hour of kayaking, and taking the kids to Deep Eddy which was super awesome.
Friday - I walked home from the car place after dropping off the car for an inspection (they were out of stickers and said it would be a few hours). 51:02, 3.66 miles (13:55/mile). That speed seems quite strange but I actually used the GPS to get the mileage right. Then we walked to and from lunch which was about a mile each way and very hot. Coming home, I pretty much carried one of the kids or ChocolateDaughter's balance bike the entire way.
Saturday - Scheduled 7.5 mile (which I thought was a 7.0 mile run). 1:47 7.76 mile (13:49/mile) including 5 minute warm-up, 10 mile warm-down. I used a 1;1 ratio most of the time (31 times), then switched to 30:45 second. It was a very very hot run - about 80 when I walked out the door and up to about 86 by the time I got home.

Last Week's Runs

Sunday - Was supposed to be a LSR of 5.0 miles. I went 5.65 in 1:15 which included walk to warm-up and warm-down. I started with a 2:1 ratio and then dropped to 1:1.
Monday - Walked 3.12 in 54 minutes at lunch. It was darned hot.
Tuesday - Ran 46 minutes - 3.37 miles. Walk warm up and warm down and 4:1 otherwise. I did my first magic mile in 11:22.
Thursday - 54 minutes. 3.76. Walk warmup and down. 3:1 otherwise.
Thursday - 18 minutes. 1.05 miles. Walked to and from haircut from tire place. Brutally hot.
Friday - 48 minute walk. 2.58 miles.
Saturday - 1:09 walk. 3.64 miles. First with ChocolateDaughter. Then without.

First Magic Mile

I did my first magic mile this morning while out on my 35 minute run. I actually tried to do one the week before last but I had marked the mile out a few days earlier in the neighborhood and when it came time to actually run the mile, I couldn't decide which concrete square and manhole cover marked the finish line. It might have been the one I hit at 9:59 or maybe at 10:40 or maybe the one past that.

To avoid any confusion today, I looked at my GPS when I started, then took it out of my waist pack when I neared the end. My time was 11:22. That doesn't sound so bad until I use the formula to figure out my predicted half-marathon pace. 2:58. 2.58?! I ran 2:50 in the spring! 2:58?! Honestly, I have in my head a thought of running a 2:40 or better half-marathon in the Fall. My predicted half-marathon time wouldn't become 2:40 unless I get my magic mile down to 10:11 which seems pretty unlikely. Arggghhh.

The training program calls for either 2 or 3 more magic miles so we'll see if I can get faster with training. I guess the good news is that with the walk breaks I am feeling very good about my runs in spite of the heat.

Half-Marathon Training Week 1

I officially started my half-marathon training program last week. Would it be silly to say I'm on track so far? Well, either way, I'm on track so far.

Sunday - Took a walk. It was really 5.82 miles but I was still trying to adjust the calibration to get credit for the 5 miles on Saturday that I missed.
Monday - Walked to and from lunch. About .8 miles each way.
Tuesday - Plan day schedule of 30 minute run. 40 minutes: 3.12 miles. I did a 5 minute walk warm-up, then 6 x 4Run/1Walk, then walked home.
Thursday - Plan day schedule of 30 minute run. 52 minutes. 3.55 miles. I did a 5 minute walk warm-up, then 7 4Run/1Walk, then walked home.
Friday - 38 minute walk. 2.2 miles.
Saturday - 47 minute walk. 2.51 miles.
Sunday - Plan day schedule 5 mile long (slow) run. 1:15 and 5.65 miles. I did 5 minute warm-up then 2:1 ratio for about 45 minutes, then dropped to 1:1 for the last bit. I ran to the red-box to return a movie which was nice. There aren't a lot of places I can walk or run to so I always like it when I can think of some errand to do. According to my Nike+ the redbox is 2.52 miles from home so that worked out well.

On Saturday morning I had to work for a while. I stopped at the pulse machine but it was out of cash so I stopped at a grocery store. On the window of the store was a poster announcing that Jeff Galloway would be there the next day from 3:30 - 5:00 speaking and answering questions. It was very random that I was at that store and learned about his visit. Unfortunately we had friends come in from out of town to visit and stay the night so I did not go. Hopefully I will have another chance to hear him speak.

Oh... also if I do well this week, this will be the first month that I have ever logged 100 miles. I am in a 100 mile challenge on Nike Running and hope to make it.

Last Week's Runs (sort of)

I had pretty good runs and walks last week. Today I officially started my 1/2 marathon training program with a 30 minute run (plus walks at the front and back). More on that later.

Sunday -1:04, 4.3 miles. It was very hot and humid and I felt sluggish. I walked 5, then ran 30 at 3/1 ratio, then walked the rest of the way home. Given that amount of walking the pace was quite good.
Sunday - 1:00. 3.64 miles. Evening walk in the very hot. I don't remember if this was a stroller walk to get the baby to sleep or just an extra walk. I think just a fun walk.
Monday - 1:10 4.01 miles. A rare morning walk in the daylight since I took the day off work because it was ChocolateSon's first day at summer camp.
Wednesday - 1.01 4.63 miles. I recorded no notes for this run but I remember being very happy with it at the time.
Thursday - 30 minutes, 1.58 miles. Stroller walk. Very very hot.
Saturday morning - I went to Walnut Creek to run. As soon as I got out of the car and turned on the IPod, it said that the battery was dead. Boo hiss. That means I couldn't record my run on my Nike+. I used Runkeeper. First I ran using a 2/1 ratio. I ran about 45 minutes logging 3 miles which is not bad for trail running. Then I walked another 2 miles. The pace isn't great but I enjoy running on the trail some days.
Saturday evening - 2.5 miles, 45 minutes. Stroller walk. Because I'm trying to get the Nike+ to give me credit for the 5 miles Saturday morning, I up-calibrated the walk so it actually recorded 3.72 miles.

I feel pretty good about my progress heading into the training program. This time I am doing the "time goal" program rather than the "to finish" program. What's my time goal? I don't know yet. Obviously I'd like to lower my 2:50 time but by how much? I am going to follow the Galloway program completely including doing the magic miles and using them for prediction/goal and doing the speed work it calls for.

Last week I tried to do a magic mile but the vagueness of my mental note of where the mile ended (by the manhole cover on the cement extension that's across from the other cement extension) didn't quite work. I might have done a MM in 9:59 or maybe 10:40 or maybe I stopped too early to have done one at all. Next time, I'm going to the track to record it or I'm going to mark the sidewalk with chalk.