Lookin' for a Breakthrough

Another full week of running and a little bit more racing, nothing too bad and nothing too good either. It's that time in the training cycle where one expects a breakthrough race or training run. That hasn't happened, which honestly has me a bit concerned. I guess I should be happy that I am able to complete all my workouts and do well in my races, but I want some indication that I have reached another level. Maybe I am a bit spoiled after last years training, when I set PR's in 3 distances. What I'm thinking is that I have pretty much maxed out my abilities right now and am really just working around the edges. I'm only looking for a 2.5 minute improvement in my marathon time, so a "breakthrough" will be hard to detect at this point. Raced the Old Sod Days 8k on Saturday. I won the race, but there was only two of us running, so not a big deal. I did manage a 30:39 time which is respectable considering I ran a 5:54 first mile then faced a nasty headwind on the way back. It was my hometown's 125th city celebration and it appeared to be a successful event. They had 430 folks turn up for the all school reunion, which for a town of only 400 people is pretty impressive. Happy Running!

Big Racing Week

I am currently on the tail end of a major string of races. It's difficult because I am walking a fine line of racing to the best of my ability, but not let the races get In the way of my training schedule. I am pretty happy with how I have handled this. I did not set any PR's, but diweekly in the middle of some significant mileage and intense training weeks. First race of the week was the Victory 10k on Labor Day. A fast, flat course, one on which I PR'd last year. It was a warm morning, so it was not a PR kind of day. I did manage a 38:30, which according to the marathon pace caculator is sub 3 material. The fun doesn't stop there. Tuesday was a 12 miler, Wednesday was a tough track work out and Thursday was a mid week 14 miler. I took it easy Friday and Saturday and raced the City of Lakes 25k. My training plan called for a 14 mile marathon pace run in the middle of an overal run of 20 miles. So, my plan was to warm up for 4 miles, run 10 at MP the race the last 5.5 miles. It went remarkable well having a half marathon split of 1:29:59 and also running the final miles in 6:44, 6:38, 6:35, 6:27, 6:29 and the final half mile at a 5:56 pace. All in all, a good day's work. I was 4th in my age group and 51st overall unofficially. I didn't get much sleep on Saturday night, as I spent a good part of the evening in the ER. I received a call late in the afternoon from sister-in-law telling me that my brother had severely injured his left hand using his table saw. He was in the ER and underwent a lengthy surgery to try save his fingers. The surgery went well and now it's a waiting game to see how things will heal. Thoughts and prayers are with my brother right now. Six weeks of training until race day and I still feel good about where I am at and how Iam progressing. Lastly, I enjoyed running in my super bright, construction cone orange Brooks Pure Connects. The loudest and most obnoxious shoes ever! Happy Running! Rick

Geezers and a Little Bit of Politics

On Thursday I ran the 9th annual Geezer Chase, a 2 mile cross country race to benefit the St. Louis Park CC team.  The Geezers (anyone not a member of the CC team) gets a 2-minute head start and tries not to get run down by a CC runner.  It's a fun run and I ran it pretty well.  I bring it up because I was feeling like a Geezer for much of the week.  I raced a half marathon last Saturday and did almost 19 miles the next day, followed by 10 on Monday.  Tuesday was 12 miles with a 6x1K work-out that left me completely frieded for Wednesday's MLR.  I did complete the 12.5 mile on Wednesday and and the 6 miles Wednesday PM, but barely had any quality miles.  I just couldn't get my body to go any faster than a 9:00 pace.  I'm not particularly worried about this, but it does point out that I may be overdoing it a bit in the mileage department.  I don't think I am over training yet, because I am still racing well and nail my quality workouts, but not being able to shift out of second gear is a bit worrisome.

 

That being said, I did my long run (18 miles on Saturday) and managed to run at an easy, although not a general aerobic pace.  I hovered around 8:30 for the majority of the run and was able to shift into marathon pace gear for the final mile.  I have to add that the remainder of Saturday I was feeling quite tired and roughed up.  An easy run today and looking ahead to a speedy 10K race on Labor Day, the Victory 10K.  Shooting for a sub 37:30.  I get to race again next Sunday in the City of Lakes 25K, which I plan to use as a 15 mile MP work-out.

 

Lastly, I keep this blog strictly about running, but in the last couple of days politics and running have co-mingled.  VP candidate Paul Ryan said in an interview with Hugh Hewitt that he had run a marathon when he was young and when asked about the time he said 2:50 something.  2:50ish is a very good time and knowing about his background, I wouldn't have been that surprised.  However, after Runner's World did a bit of checking into this, turns out that impressive 2:50 something was not so impressive, closer to average time of 4:01 something.  My only defense for Mr. Ryan is that he really isn't a runner and not that concerned with what his marathon time was and probably can't remember, but the fact that he honed in a 2:50 something is what bothers me.  I realize that I take my running a little too seriously, but why lie about something like this?  Did he not want to admit that his marathon time was slower than Sarah Palin's or Michael Dukakis'?  Did he really think that anyone would care?  I admit it is fun to see how celebrities do in the marathon (beating Oprah's time is a goal for many) but it truly isn't important in the grand scheme of things.   Here is another way to look at it.  When Paul Ryan was 20, he was active, atheletic and could run a marathon in 4-hours.  The current occupant of the White House was doing lots of blow and smoking weed in his buddies car.  One was honest about it and one was not. 

Happy Running!

Rick

Ramping Up the Intensity

Total mileage peaked last week at 96, so the trick is a balancing act of maintaining that big base while simultaneously introducing intensity. This week, I had a track work out of 5 x 600 meters at 5k pace (5:44) and on Saturday the plan called for a marathon paced run of 12 miles. Since there was a half marathon on the Grand Prix schedule, this was a perfect opportunity to get in my run and complete another race on the circuit. It was a nice morning, a bit on the humid side, but nothing that would effect my pacing strategy. The trick was not to all out race this thing, but be aggressive enough to make a good showing. In that regard, I think I ran a successful race. I went out a fast pace (at least compared to how I usually go out) and maintained a very comfortable 6:44 pace through mile 4. There was a major hill at the 4.25 mile mark, so my pace dropped to 6:54 for mile 5. At the halfway point, I was done with running easy and chatting with other runnes and decided to open it up a bit. Mile 6 was just under 6:30 and that is the pace for the next couple of miles. I was hoping that I would be able to comfortably get under 6:15 pace for the last 4 miles, but the course moved to a bike bath, that was very cruvy and hilly and broke my stride and concentration. I did manage a a 6:19 mile 13, but nded up with a a 1:26:44 time, good enough for a 3rd place AG finish and 15th overall. I ran just shy of 19 today on very tired legs. I am looking ahead to some more intense track work this coming week along with a lot more racing. It is truly crunch time and this is where a sub 3 hour race is made. I am still feeling good with where my fitness is and remain confident that I will nail this thing. Happy Running!

Monster Week Not So Scary Afterall

Yes, week 11 is in the log book and even though I did not hit every work out as well as I would have liked, it was big success. I had some big mileage numbers to hit and accomplished that and set a weekly PR of 96 miles! I thought about a short 4 mile recovery run to hit the century mark, but after a few hours of yard work, I am done for the week. A 100 mile week is cool, but not that important in the grand scheme of things. What was scary about this week? Well outside of the heavy, heavy mileage there was a 12 mile run on Firday, with 7 at HMP followed by a 25 miler on Sunday with no recovery day in between. I did not quite hold HMP pace on the tempo run, but did get thought the 25 miler today and even had gas left in the tank to tackle a few hours of yardwork later in the day. Normally, I would be in a napping/comatose state for the rest of the day, but luckily I remained menatally and physically sharp all day. I think that's a good sign. So, looking ahead to week 12 what do we have? Some 600 meter intervals on Tuesday, 19 miles on Wednesday, a half marathon on Saturday and 18 miles on Sunday. Piece a cake right? Happy Running!

It's Haftime

I've completed 10 weeks of my 20-week plan.  The body is still holding up well, but am feeling a little bit fatigued today.  Wasn't a high mileage week, but did get in some speed work including my 6x800 meter workout on Wednesday morning.  I was shooting for a 2:50 average, but that was a bit too optimistic.  My average was 2:53, all done with 3 minute easy jogging between intervals and  part of an overall 10-mile run.  After watching the Olympians run 800 meters in 1:40 you realize just how slow you really are!

I need a good recovery day today and get myself ready physically and mentally for the 2nd half and week 11 in particular.  This is one of the most key weeks of the entire program.  There are 94 miles planned with strides, 800 m intervals and a half-marathon pace tempo work-out all on the docket.  Following week 11, I get to measure my fitness with lots of racing.  Rochester Half-Marathon, Victory 10K, City of Lakes 25K and Old SOD Days 8K, all within a 30-day span.  I'm really looking forward to getting out there and doing some racing.  I don't think I can all out race all four, so I still need to choose which ones I am racing and which ones will just be used as key work-outs.  My showing last year in the COL 25K was terrible, so sometimes my body decides for me.

The Olympics were great fun.  The men's marathon was a bit of a let down from an American standpoint; even though 37-year old Meb had a great race.  Not sure Ryan Hall has what it takes to compete internationally.  Usain Bolt was hands down the most impressive and dominant athlete of the games and I really admire the way Allyson Felix runs.  She made all here races look very easy.  Mo Farrah was phenomenal as well.

Happy Running!
Rick

Speed Intro

Well, here we are in week 9 of my 20-week plan for the Des Moines Marathon.  I mentioned last week that the I built the foundation over the first 8-weeks and starting the next cycle with close to the same mileage, but introducing some speed work into the mix.  Nothing to crazy in week 1, the only speed specific work-out of the week was today's 20 miler with 12 of them at or below marathon pace (6:52 or better).  It still takes me a mile or two to find that rhythm, but once I was locked in, I was locked in.  I even managed a 6:44 mile 17 and a 6:42 mile 18.  I did the work-out on a flat trail, but it is all gravel, which definitely slows me down a bit.  This was a confidence building work-out as I felt very good afterwards and had some gas left in the tank.  In addition to this work-out, my GA (general aerobic) runs for the week were all a notch or two faster than in the first cycle.  In the first 8 weeks, these GA MLR's were hovering around 8:30 and this week I was dropping below 8 minute pace for most of these miles.  This is a very good sign.  Looking at my running log from last year, I was missing these quality runs because of some severe plantar fasciitis, but all systems go so far this summer.  Plus, we had a big break in the temps and humidity, which was truly appreciated.

Looking ahead to next week, I see a slight drop in mileage, but some 800 meter work-outs on Wednesday.  I'll try to run these (6 of them) in 2:50.  Certainly not blazing Olympic kind of speed, but will definitely be a challenge.  Then in week 11 the mileage gets ramped back up again, with 94 miles planned.  I may make the attempt to break 100, but only if I think my body will hold up.  No sense in trying to make some arbitrary mileage goal and risk injury.

So, things are still looking up and I am hoping that October 21st gets here very soon.

Happy Running,
Rick