Chasing 3 Hours: Forgot How Difficult This Is

Chasing 3 Hours: Forgot How Difficult This Is: I planned a very aggressive ramping up of mileage for the first month of this training cycle.  It looked good on paper, running 80 plus mile...

Forgot How Difficult This Is

I planned a very aggressive ramping up of mileage for the first month of this training cycle.  It looked good on paper, running 80 plus mile weeks in June and be doing some 90 plus mile weeks by mid-July.  But, with the body another year older, it ain't that easy.  I did break 80 this week, but just barely, but this week I overslept on Thursday and missed some miles and with the day's getting warmer, the long runs can become more and more of a slog.  So, the 90 mile weeks may be delayed a bit, as I want to keep my weekly increases just under 10%.

Even though the mileage increase wasn't there, the quality was pretty good.   My Tuesday morning progression run was faster than last week's, plus I had a Friday tempo run where I killed 7 miles at Moose Mug MP of sub 6:30.  I then capped off the week with back to back long runs of 14 miles on Saturday and 17 plus on Sunday.  Well shoot for high 80's next week, then may back off a bit the following week, to make some room for the Richard Hoska Mile on Wednesday, July 8th.  Looking forward to doing some racing in July and August.

Also, I can welcome back Malena Larsen to the world of running again this week.  She has been out of commission for weeks and has had to resort to biking.  Oh the horror!  Looking forward to some long runs with my daughter and the gluttonous trip to Cherry Berry after!

Happy Running!
Rick

Chasing 3 Hours: Thankful this Week

Chasing 3 Hours: Thankful this Week: I am very thankful this week as I inch towards the high volume portion of my training cycle.  I was able to run every day (sometime twice pe...

Thankful this Week

I am very thankful this week as I inch towards the high volume portion of my training cycle.  I was able to run every day (sometime twice per day), logged 80 miles, feel good and have no back issues.  As I wade back into the deep end of the high mileage pool, I am always reminded how difficult it can be to train for a marathon; the fatigue, the soreness and the 4:30 am alarms can be overwhelming at times, so I am also very thankful that I still have the motivation and drive to get this done.  I still get excited to plan out my workouts and I still look forward to a Tuesday morning progression run; how cool is that?  Overall, just thankful that I have a hobby that I can be so passionate about.

The Williston Runners with Heart crew was well represented at Grandma's yesterday.  We had folks PR, run their first marathon and all were an inspiration in their own way.  Congrats to Mary Brown, Samantha Hackbart, Karen Wiersrum, Barb Sampson, Daniel Bach, and Noel Pollen on your races yesterday!  Also, shout out to Molly Jacobs; you weren't able to run Grandma's, but showed great support and enthusiasm for your fellow runners.  Thankful that I am part of this group!

Looking forward to another big mileage week.  One training cycle is in the rear view mirror and we now look ahead to summer racing and fall marathons.  

Chasing 3 Hours: Banner Week for this Old Man!

Chasing 3 Hours: Banner Week for this Old Man!: Last week was good, running everyday with no back pain, getting to the starting line of a race and doing better than I thought I would.  But...

Banner Week for this Old Man!

Last week was good, running everyday with no back pain, getting to the starting line of a race and doing better than I thought I would. But this week has been so much better. Again, I ran everyday, totaling 70 plus miles for the week and the back still feels good. It was also my birthday this week, which is always fun, even if I did turn 54. How did that happen? But the big excitement came on Monday afternoon when I received this e-mail:

2015 USA Masters Marathon Championships

Based on your race times, we will offer you a professional athlete entry into the 2015 USA Marathon Championship at the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.

Elite standards, prize money and current race details are posted online at the USA Masters Marathon Info page. This page will be updated as complete and update the plans for the Championship.

Masters Professional Athlete Recruiter

Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon

Pretty stoked about this and sure is added motivation to train exceptionally hard this go around. Hey, maybe I'll get drug tested; how cool would that be?! Now, I'm not delusional enough to think I can place, even in my age group. Looking at last year's finishers I would need to shave off another 5 minutes off my PR, but like I always say, you gotta have goals!

Happy Running!

Rick

Chasing 3 Hours: Made it to Week One and the Starting Line!

Chasing 3 Hours: Made it to Week One and the Starting Line!: Big week for me, it was the first week of marathon training, I was able to run everyday and I finally made it to the starting line after two...

Made it to Week One and the Starting Line!

Big week for me, it was the first week of marathon training, I was able to run everyday and I finally made it to the starting line after two scratches in May.  I was very happy with the result, an 18:20 with very little training!  My splits were 5:58, 5:58, 5:54 and 30 seconds for the final tenth.  I finished 4th overall, but was beat out by Rob Class in my AG.  As an all out race effort it was just okay, but as a gauge of my fitness, it was very positive.  I didn't think I had it in me to run below 18:30 and now very confident that I can run under18 minutes by the end of summer.

Mileage wise, I ended up about where I wanted, easing into this marathon cycle with a 60 mile week. Not a bad total considering that I didn't have a long run this week.

Overall, I am just very thankful; thankful that I was able to run and race at all.  This latest round of back spasms had me worrying that this may be the end of the road, at least in regards to racing at some level.  Thanks also to Dr. Ross at Marty Chiropractic, who played a big role in getting me back on the road again.

Happy Running!
Rick