Following the 30K race on Sunday, Oct. 21, I decided to take some down time to recover and get ready for a couple of weeks of solid training before backing down for the Louisville Marathon. Of course, with days off, my mileage was really low, but I was able to run the longest long run I've run a long time of around 25 miles (though it was brutal) and I feel reasonably fine heading into another week of training. Here's what the week consisted of:
(Sunday: 30K race in 2:05:00)
Monday: Did not run, very sore!!!
Tuesday: Did not run, still sore!!
Wednesday; Did not run, still sore!
Thursday: 4 miles easy, pushing Emma. Still sore but couldn't take another day off
Friday: 4 miles easy, still sore but feeling better
Saturday: Did not run, decided to do a long run the following day so took off to rest up
Sunday: 3 hours, 40 minutes, 40 seconds = around 25 miles I calculated. Started out at what I felt like was around 8-minute miles, slowed down to 8:30's after about 2 hours, then struggled in the final hour. Ran from my house in Pleasureville to the Game Farm in Frankfort. The last 30 minutes were really brutal, but I worked through it and got in a good long run.
So my mileage for the week was around 33 miles in just three runs. This week, my plan is to do one workout at marathon-pace or faster, one session of hill sprints to work on power and strength, and run one semi-long run at a faster pace.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Louisville Downtown Doubler 30K
Sunday's Louisville Downtown Doubler 30K went according to plan, but I'm a little more sore than I wanted to be two days afterwards. I finished at 2 hours and 5 minutes on the dot, which I think was 5th-place overall (the results aren't posted yet as of Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.).
I started out at a 6:49-mile, ran in the 6:50s for a while, then dropped to 6:40s, then dropped to 6:30s. I think my fastest mile was 6:27 at around mile 14. I felt relaxed but really started to feel it the final two miles. I ran in a new pair of Nike racing flats I recently bought, and I'm glad I did because now I know not to use them in the actual marathon. My feet were burning those last few miles. My pace went above 7 minutes, but I didn't push too hard at the end.
I didn't feel too bad for the rest of the day on Sunday, but when Monday morning rolled around I was definitely feeling it in my legs. It felt about like it does the day after racing a half-marathon all out. Actually, with the limited training I had the two weeks leading up to the race, I might be a little more sore. And I was just as tight Tuesday morning when I woke up.
I'll take two days off following the race, then jog for a couple of days before resuming normal training. I now have four weeks left until the marathon. My plan is to run 6:30 to 6:45 miles, which should be easier to maintain in four weeks. My key runs from now until then will be a 3-hour long run to build the all-important endurance, hill sprints to increase my strength and 2 x 5K on the track to work on pace. Hopefully I'll be ready.
I started out at a 6:49-mile, ran in the 6:50s for a while, then dropped to 6:40s, then dropped to 6:30s. I think my fastest mile was 6:27 at around mile 14. I felt relaxed but really started to feel it the final two miles. I ran in a new pair of Nike racing flats I recently bought, and I'm glad I did because now I know not to use them in the actual marathon. My feet were burning those last few miles. My pace went above 7 minutes, but I didn't push too hard at the end.
I didn't feel too bad for the rest of the day on Sunday, but when Monday morning rolled around I was definitely feeling it in my legs. It felt about like it does the day after racing a half-marathon all out. Actually, with the limited training I had the two weeks leading up to the race, I might be a little more sore. And I was just as tight Tuesday morning when I woke up.
I'll take two days off following the race, then jog for a couple of days before resuming normal training. I now have four weeks left until the marathon. My plan is to run 6:30 to 6:45 miles, which should be easier to maintain in four weeks. My key runs from now until then will be a 3-hour long run to build the all-important endurance, hill sprints to increase my strength and 2 x 5K on the track to work on pace. Hopefully I'll be ready.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
I'm back...
Man, has it really been more than five months since my last post. I guess I've been a busy, busy bee. Actually, I got stung by a bee last week when I stepped on one trying to pick up Emma's outside toys, my foot swelled up and I had to go to the doctor. I'm all better now though. Hopefully.
As for my running, it's sad to say but I haven't run a race since the 50K in February. I've been training on and off since that time, but haven't felt fit enough to enter any races. My inconsistent training and zero racing during this span is due to some injuries, including a bulging disc about four months ago, lots of illnesses (not sure what that's all about?) and some other nagging problems that have cut into my schedule. After the bulging disc, I took three weeks off and started training again by running just 10 minutes — increasing each run by just one minute each day until I reached 30 minutes of total running. This strategy worked perfect as I was able to shack off my back problems (for the most part), and started feeling fine after the 20 days. Then, I started adding some faster runs but limited my weekly long runs to around 60 minutes. Starting with the running camp I put on at General Butler State Park (I camped out with some guys and ran on some wonderful training trails twice a day from July 30 until Aug. 2), I put together four solid weeks of training that included 50-60 miles. My long runs were 13, 16, 18 and 20 miles. But then I went on a trip to Gatlinburg Sept. 3 until Sept. 7 and got sick once again, so my training has been limited since. With the bee sting happening last Sunday, I ran just twice, totaling 12 miles, in around two weeks.
Currently, I just started back running again yesterday (Wednesday) and I'm thinking about racing the Louisville Doubler 30K (18.6 miles) this Sunday as a prep run for the Louisville Marathon in four weeks. If I do the 30K, I plan to start at 6:30 miles (goal marathon pace), then either continue with that pace or slow it down and just enjoy a longer run. After that, I will re-evaluate my training during the next four weeks and set my goals for the Louisville Marathon. My No. 1 objective is to PR (2:59:13).
For training yesterday, I ran 31 minutes at 6:30 a.m., 32 minutes at 12:30 p.m. (pushing the baby jogger with Emma), and another 30 minutes at 7:30 p.m. (running with my wife and pushing Emma again), which totals around 12 miles. This morning, I ran 40 minutes with 10 1-minute surges. I'll probably run easy tomorrow, take off Saturday and run the 30K Sunday. From there, who knows?
As for my running, it's sad to say but I haven't run a race since the 50K in February. I've been training on and off since that time, but haven't felt fit enough to enter any races. My inconsistent training and zero racing during this span is due to some injuries, including a bulging disc about four months ago, lots of illnesses (not sure what that's all about?) and some other nagging problems that have cut into my schedule. After the bulging disc, I took three weeks off and started training again by running just 10 minutes — increasing each run by just one minute each day until I reached 30 minutes of total running. This strategy worked perfect as I was able to shack off my back problems (for the most part), and started feeling fine after the 20 days. Then, I started adding some faster runs but limited my weekly long runs to around 60 minutes. Starting with the running camp I put on at General Butler State Park (I camped out with some guys and ran on some wonderful training trails twice a day from July 30 until Aug. 2), I put together four solid weeks of training that included 50-60 miles. My long runs were 13, 16, 18 and 20 miles. But then I went on a trip to Gatlinburg Sept. 3 until Sept. 7 and got sick once again, so my training has been limited since. With the bee sting happening last Sunday, I ran just twice, totaling 12 miles, in around two weeks.
Currently, I just started back running again yesterday (Wednesday) and I'm thinking about racing the Louisville Doubler 30K (18.6 miles) this Sunday as a prep run for the Louisville Marathon in four weeks. If I do the 30K, I plan to start at 6:30 miles (goal marathon pace), then either continue with that pace or slow it down and just enjoy a longer run. After that, I will re-evaluate my training during the next four weeks and set my goals for the Louisville Marathon. My No. 1 objective is to PR (2:59:13).
For training yesterday, I ran 31 minutes at 6:30 a.m., 32 minutes at 12:30 p.m. (pushing the baby jogger with Emma), and another 30 minutes at 7:30 p.m. (running with my wife and pushing Emma again), which totals around 12 miles. This morning, I ran 40 minutes with 10 1-minute surges. I'll probably run easy tomorrow, take off Saturday and run the 30K Sunday. From there, who knows?
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