Yesterday I ran my second speed workout at the Tufts Gym. The DFMC group meets there Tuesdays at 8:00. This week we ran 20 x 400m intervals. We executed these in 5 sets of 4. Between each set we ran a 400m easy. Between each other 400m we ran 200m easy. In total, with warmup and cool down I ran almost exactly 10 miles. For those of you counting, thats 30 miles in 3 days! The day in between, Reef and I did a craptastic swim workout at the Y. Luckily for me, all I needed was something to flush out some lactic acid in my legs from the day before, which I think I got. For Reef, however, he had to cut his workout short due to a very crowded pool (6 people per lane?!) and some ridiculously slow swimmers. But I digress.
So our 200m laps were averaging 0:53 which is about a 7:04 pace. We managed to keep that pace incredibly consistent through the entire set of 20. Now, here's something I learned at last week's speed workout, regarding how to gauge your marathon pace and preparedness. For some reason or another, it works out very well that your mm:ss pace on an 800m interval workout tends to correlate very well to your hh:mm pace for a marathon. This assumes you can sustain that 800m pace for 10 or more intervals with perhaps no more than 200m rests in between. But let me break down an example:
We were running 55sec laps for our 800m strides last week. So that correlates to a 03:40 (mm:ss) 800m (i.e. a 7:20 mile) Now, assuming you can sustain that pace for an extended 800m workout with little rest between sets, that implies you are prepared to run a 03:40 (hh:mm) marathon (an 8:23 pace). So this in other words, this is a fantastic way to gauge your goal. Now, we (Eric and I) were able to run that pace consistently but we did 8x800m with 400m rests (not 200m). So I don't think we're there yet. But Jack seems to think with enough speed work, we can get there by race day.
Now, I'm going to do a similar thing to translate our 400m workout yesterday to a half marathon:
We averaged a 53.5 sec 200m yesterday, or a 01:47 (mm:ss) 400m. This is a 7:08 min/mile btw. So tht 01:47 400m correlates to a 01:47 (hh:mm) half marathon (an 8:09/mi pace). So this is fascinating because the last half marathon I ran, with Jenn in October, was at an 8:10 pace. Now, I'd like to believe I've improved a bit since then, but perhaps more in endurance and less in speed, so I would believe those numbers. So as I am to improve these speeds, I can expect to see some corresponding improvement in my longer races.
At any rate, these workouts are a lot of fun, because they add variety, and a new challenge. Eric and I alternated taking the lead every other 400m and we kept each other motivated to keep up the speed. So it works out great.
Unfortunately today, I'm feeling some real tightness in my right calf, up high, just about behind my knee. I'm continuing to stretch it throughout the day. But I'm EXTREMELY grateful to be keeping my shin and ankle problems at bay. I'm continuing to take Advil before each run, and increasing the amount of icing I'm doing after tough runs.
Tonight is Runner's Meeting in Boston. And tomorrow I hope to make my first Crossroads run and get an 8-10 miler in (which will include heartbreak hill).
Here are the splits from yesterday, there are many of them:
400m Splits
53 days and counting down...
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
A Big Start to the Week
First and foremost, I ran my first 20-miler on Sunday. It was an out-and-back run starting at the Mount Auburn health club which put us out right at the top of heartbreak hill after running two miles to get to the course. So from the top of heartbreak hill, we ran down Commonwealth Ave and followed the course (in the reverse direction) down Rt 16 towards Wellesley. The turn-around point was at approximately the Wellesley tennis courts. The ones I used to spend time at before committing my legs to running. I plan to use them again soon by the way (Reef??).
Anyway, it was a couple miles before the turn-around point where I started feeling tired. In the reverse direction of the course, Rt 16 has a pretty nasty uphill. That was the start of some heaviness in my legs. I should also mention that Gill and I skiied a half day at Loon Mountain the day before, and the day before that I logged a decent bike workout at the Y. So my legs were certainly not fresh to start the run. And by the time I eventually hit heartbreak hill area, I was REALLY feeling my quads. Every single step was an immense effort up those hills. While I was cursing the previous day of skiing at the time, I'm grateful for the difficulty it added. I hope that it more accurately mimics what my legs will feel like on April 19th when I hit those hills. I also want to mention that the wind on the last mile of the run was so cruel. I looked at my watched an observed that I was clocking a 10:40 pace at one point giving it all I had into the wind.
There were some watch glitches/mistakes during the run, which really ticked me off, but I averaged JUST below 3:00 even on the run, I think about 2:58. This translates to about an 8:55 pace. Factoring in my legs, the wind, and the distance, I was really happy with that effort. Here's the run overview. Again, the time and total distance is a little off due to my screwup with the watch:
20 Miles with Heartbreak Hill
After the run Gill, myself, and three DFMC teammates (Eric, Marci, and Maggie) went out for some lunch at a local diner. We had to wait (painfully standing in the cold) for about 30 mins before being seated. I got me some eggs, toast, etc with 2 tall glasses of Chocolate Milk (great recovery drink). Gill and I then proceeded home where we spent the rest of the day lounging watching a movie (500 Days of Summer... pretty good) and the Olympics. I think I was in bed by 8:30 where I continued to veg. In the end, it was an awesome day.
Anyway, it was a couple miles before the turn-around point where I started feeling tired. In the reverse direction of the course, Rt 16 has a pretty nasty uphill. That was the start of some heaviness in my legs. I should also mention that Gill and I skiied a half day at Loon Mountain the day before, and the day before that I logged a decent bike workout at the Y. So my legs were certainly not fresh to start the run. And by the time I eventually hit heartbreak hill area, I was REALLY feeling my quads. Every single step was an immense effort up those hills. While I was cursing the previous day of skiing at the time, I'm grateful for the difficulty it added. I hope that it more accurately mimics what my legs will feel like on April 19th when I hit those hills. I also want to mention that the wind on the last mile of the run was so cruel. I looked at my watched an observed that I was clocking a 10:40 pace at one point giving it all I had into the wind.
There were some watch glitches/mistakes during the run, which really ticked me off, but I averaged JUST below 3:00 even on the run, I think about 2:58. This translates to about an 8:55 pace. Factoring in my legs, the wind, and the distance, I was really happy with that effort. Here's the run overview. Again, the time and total distance is a little off due to my screwup with the watch:
20 Miles with Heartbreak Hill
After the run Gill, myself, and three DFMC teammates (Eric, Marci, and Maggie) went out for some lunch at a local diner. We had to wait (painfully standing in the cold) for about 30 mins before being seated. I got me some eggs, toast, etc with 2 tall glasses of Chocolate Milk (great recovery drink). Gill and I then proceeded home where we spent the rest of the day lounging watching a movie (500 Days of Summer... pretty good) and the Olympics. I think I was in bed by 8:30 where I continued to veg. In the end, it was an awesome day.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Discouraging and Painful
I don't know if I'm just starting to hit my first major hump in training or if I'm starting to actually accumulate some more serious injuries, but my last two runs have gone from bad to worse. On Sunday, I ran a half marathon that got off to a very tough start. As usual, my ankles were in just a little pain but I popped a few Advil before the run so they were kept in check. The more prominent pain (or maybe its more accurately described as tightness) was in my left shin. Its been quite a while since I've had shin splints, and I used to get them seriously in high school, but I'm pretty sure that's not what this is. This is more in the meaty part of my shin where there's a bit of muscle. That muscle has been real tight after the first half mile that I've had to stop and massage it and stretch it out. On Sunday's run, I had to do this at mile 3 and mile 4 as well. I was very seriously considering quitting on a run for the first time in training. The thought of running another 10 miles or so with that discomfort was incredibly daunting. Luckily, on Sunday the pain ended up subsiding around mile 5 or 6. I actually ended up feeling really good from that point onward. I ran into strong cold wins on the return trip back home, but I was feeling incredible. So I brushed Sunday's run off as a bad start but a solid overall run.
Today's run was a different story. The same thing happened with my left shin. I stopped at mile 1 and again at mile 3 to massage and stretch. From there it was just a matter of pressing onward through the discomfort. I couldn't get my pace up to its natural speed because my gate was affected by the tightness. So instead I ended up moving about 1 min/mile slower. I was determined just to finish my 6-milerm(which was supposed to be 7) and get back home. I could feel my left foot clomping on the ground with very little grace because my shin didn't seem to want to do any leg work. Consequently, my left knee starting feeling some pain because my stride was a bit F'd up.
Anyway, I was totally discouraged for the entire hour of the run. I think it's just starting to get to that point in the training where its not new and exciting anymore and my legs are getting both fatigued and tight. I'm hoping its just a hurdle but its made running a bit less fun. Getting excited for workouts has been difficult. On the other side, I had a great swim workout Monday and a good simulated 5-miler at the gym yesterday on the Arc Trainer. Admittedly, I've been a bit light on my cross-training workouts lately because they seem to be the first workouts to fall by the wayside when time doesn't permit a workout during a hectic week. I'll plan to change this in the coming weeks
The last thing I want to mention is that I have a 16-18 mile run scheduled this weekend. This will be my longest run yet by a couple miles. I'm desperately hoping that my ankles and shins improve a bit between now and then. I'll be singing a very different tune if that run goes well on Saturday so check back in then.
Taking things in stride... thanks for checking in.
Today's run was a different story. The same thing happened with my left shin. I stopped at mile 1 and again at mile 3 to massage and stretch. From there it was just a matter of pressing onward through the discomfort. I couldn't get my pace up to its natural speed because my gate was affected by the tightness. So instead I ended up moving about 1 min/mile slower. I was determined just to finish my 6-milerm(which was supposed to be 7) and get back home. I could feel my left foot clomping on the ground with very little grace because my shin didn't seem to want to do any leg work. Consequently, my left knee starting feeling some pain because my stride was a bit F'd up.
Anyway, I was totally discouraged for the entire hour of the run. I think it's just starting to get to that point in the training where its not new and exciting anymore and my legs are getting both fatigued and tight. I'm hoping its just a hurdle but its made running a bit less fun. Getting excited for workouts has been difficult. On the other side, I had a great swim workout Monday and a good simulated 5-miler at the gym yesterday on the Arc Trainer. Admittedly, I've been a bit light on my cross-training workouts lately because they seem to be the first workouts to fall by the wayside when time doesn't permit a workout during a hectic week. I'll plan to change this in the coming weeks
The last thing I want to mention is that I have a 16-18 mile run scheduled this weekend. This will be my longest run yet by a couple miles. I'm desperately hoping that my ankles and shins improve a bit between now and then. I'll be singing a very different tune if that run goes well on Saturday so check back in then.
Taking things in stride... thanks for checking in.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Me vs. Chuck... 15 Miles on the Charles River
First and foremost: My Fundraising Page
I loved spending time there in college and miss it now, so I decided to execute my 15-miler along the Charles River. I parked my car on Mass Ave just before the bridge. Since the meter had a 2 hour limit and my run took about 2.5, including stretching, I got my first parking ticket in a long time. Compared to the toll my body paid, the $25 was in the noise.
Well I was particularly nervous about this run. I guess that's because I've had some rough runs lately. And 15 miles is nothing for me to shrug at. I've attached a little clip I took before I left the condo. And here's a pic I took of all my gear strewn out on the bed before I packed up and left.
So how'd the run go you ask? I'd say pretty well. Aside from some mild-to-severe blisters on my right foot (its always the right because its smaller) and some mild-to-severe chafing (I should've put body glide on my legs even though I had spandex on) the run went extremely well. As a matter of fact, I shaved about 10 seconds off my pace as compared to my 14-miler 2 weeks ago. So that's an average of an 8:20 mile! That puts me 11 miles away from the marathon but 10 seconds UNDER my goal pace. So I'm feeling pretty darn happy about it with almost 3 months of training still ahead.
My legs started getting very heavy around mile 11. But thanks to my miserable 12-miler last weekend, I was used to heavy legs and was able to shake it off. I expected a sense of nostalgia running along the Charles since I really haven't done so since college. But it felt somewhat foreign. I think the reason here is that I never spent much time there in the dead of winter. There's a bit of snow still in Boston and parts of the river were even frozen over.
Please checkout the run data, I worked hard for it:
Splits
Graph
I loved spending time there in college and miss it now, so I decided to execute my 15-miler along the Charles River. I parked my car on Mass Ave just before the bridge. Since the meter had a 2 hour limit and my run took about 2.5, including stretching, I got my first parking ticket in a long time. Compared to the toll my body paid, the $25 was in the noise.
Well I was particularly nervous about this run. I guess that's because I've had some rough runs lately. And 15 miles is nothing for me to shrug at. I've attached a little clip I took before I left the condo. And here's a pic I took of all my gear strewn out on the bed before I packed up and left.
So how'd the run go you ask? I'd say pretty well. Aside from some mild-to-severe blisters on my right foot (its always the right because its smaller) and some mild-to-severe chafing (I should've put body glide on my legs even though I had spandex on) the run went extremely well. As a matter of fact, I shaved about 10 seconds off my pace as compared to my 14-miler 2 weeks ago. So that's an average of an 8:20 mile! That puts me 11 miles away from the marathon but 10 seconds UNDER my goal pace. So I'm feeling pretty darn happy about it with almost 3 months of training still ahead.
My legs started getting very heavy around mile 11. But thanks to my miserable 12-miler last weekend, I was used to heavy legs and was able to shake it off. I expected a sense of nostalgia running along the Charles since I really haven't done so since college. But it felt somewhat foreign. I think the reason here is that I never spent much time there in the dead of winter. There's a bit of snow still in Boston and parts of the river were even frozen over.
Please checkout the run data, I worked hard for it:
Splits
Graph
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Good, Bad, and Ugly
Well a few things have happened since my last post. Mostly, the last week and a half has been very tough for me. I think the most difficult thing for me has been recovering from some of these longer weekend runs. Following the 14-miler a couple weeks ago my legs were pretty sore. This contributed to a very difficult 12-miler a week later. From the start of the group run last Saturday, my quads felt pretty heavy and tight. To add insult to injury, the pathway along the Minuteman trail was mostly iced over. Especially on the return trip, which is slightly uphill the whole way back, my legs were really starting to burn as I lost traction. So anyway, the bad news is that the runs have been getting a little tougher as my body adjusts to the recovery period for the longer runs.
The good news is that I logged a 5-miler at a respectable clip, averaging a 7:48/mi before my 100m strides. This is a bit of a milestone for me as I've been dying to log a medium distance run at a sub-8 pace.
The Ugly is the running conditions outside. I already alluded to the icy path on my Group Run last weekend. Well, I was restricted to a treadmill run on Monday. And yesterday, I completed a 7-miler outside in the slush, snow, and rain. My feet were completely drenched by mile 1. The sidewalks were half covered by slush which made running especially challenging too. So I'm starting to get a bit worn out between juggling the time and finding decent conditions. But this is exactly what i expected when signed up for this race to begin with. So there's nothing wrong with par for the course.
Some of you have been asking for more data, on a summary level. Below is some stats from my runs. Note: this doesn't include any workouts on the stationary bike, pool, or Cybex Arc Trainer/Elliptical.
Since training started on December 14:
17 Runs
Distance Run - 114.36 Miles
Avg Run Distance (6.7 Miles)
Time Spent Running - 17:46:43 (h:m:s)
Avg Speed - 6.5mph (9:14 min/mile which includes walking between 100m strides at end of workouts)
Calories Burned: 12,733
The good news is that I logged a 5-miler at a respectable clip, averaging a 7:48/mi before my 100m strides. This is a bit of a milestone for me as I've been dying to log a medium distance run at a sub-8 pace.
The Ugly is the running conditions outside. I already alluded to the icy path on my Group Run last weekend. Well, I was restricted to a treadmill run on Monday. And yesterday, I completed a 7-miler outside in the slush, snow, and rain. My feet were completely drenched by mile 1. The sidewalks were half covered by slush which made running especially challenging too. So I'm starting to get a bit worn out between juggling the time and finding decent conditions. But this is exactly what i expected when signed up for this race to begin with. So there's nothing wrong with par for the course.
Some of you have been asking for more data, on a summary level. Below is some stats from my runs. Note: this doesn't include any workouts on the stationary bike, pool, or Cybex Arc Trainer/Elliptical.
Since training started on December 14:
17 Runs
Distance Run - 114.36 Miles
Avg Run Distance (6.7 Miles)
Time Spent Running - 17:46:43 (h:m:s)
Avg Speed - 6.5mph (9:14 min/mile which includes walking between 100m strides at end of workouts)
Calories Burned: 12,733
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Longest Yet
For those reading, my apologies for waiting so long in between posts. My work schedule has been insane since Christmas break. I've been in Columbus, GA working at Ft Benning. I managed to get time off from work this weekend which allowed for me to pick up the pieces of the lost training opportunities during the week. The only workout I logged this past week was a slow 5-miler on the hotel treadmill on Tuesday. With yesterday off, I spent an hour on the stationary bike. My intent was just to get a decent workout in without wearing myself out. Because I knew today would be the longest run of my life.
In addition to my longest run, this was also one of my favorite runs in a long time. This is because I got to run completely along a river for the first time since I ran the Mississippi in Iowa for my first half marathon. This time, the river separated Alabama and Georgia. I ran a 14 mile out-and-back route of 7 miles. And whats more is that I exceded my expectations for speed. I beat my goal of an 8:30 pace and squeezed out an 8:29 average. And per Jack Fultz's instructions, I ran the second half a good clip faster than my first.
I drank only 2 fuel-belt bottles and ate one Gu pack along the way. The temperature was about 32 deg (better than Massachusetts' 5 deg today). But I faced a pretty good head wind on the return path. Cardiovascularly, I felt spectacular. My legs felt a bit heavy into the wind from 8 or 9 miles on. But all and all I was quite pleasantly surprised. I believe the next long wind is actually a shorter distance, at 12 miles.
I know this next week will be another very long one on base. My hopes are to just get 2 decent medium runs in.
I have no data to share this week because I don't have my Garmin dock to upload the run. When I get home, I'll try to compile some more intersting stats, including total milage to date etc. Reef, that's for you.
Thanks for reading!
In addition to my longest run, this was also one of my favorite runs in a long time. This is because I got to run completely along a river for the first time since I ran the Mississippi in Iowa for my first half marathon. This time, the river separated Alabama and Georgia. I ran a 14 mile out-and-back route of 7 miles. And whats more is that I exceded my expectations for speed. I beat my goal of an 8:30 pace and squeezed out an 8:29 average. And per Jack Fultz's instructions, I ran the second half a good clip faster than my first.
I drank only 2 fuel-belt bottles and ate one Gu pack along the way. The temperature was about 32 deg (better than Massachusetts' 5 deg today). But I faced a pretty good head wind on the return path. Cardiovascularly, I felt spectacular. My legs felt a bit heavy into the wind from 8 or 9 miles on. But all and all I was quite pleasantly surprised. I believe the next long wind is actually a shorter distance, at 12 miles.
I know this next week will be another very long one on base. My hopes are to just get 2 decent medium runs in.
I have no data to share this week because I don't have my Garmin dock to upload the run. When I get home, I'll try to compile some more intersting stats, including total milage to date etc. Reef, that's for you.
Thanks for reading!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Yaktrax
Well it snowed today, pretty good for a couple of hours. Total snow accumulation was about 3 inches. By the time I wanted to get my run in, none of the sidewalks had been plowed or shoveled. It sounded like the perfect opportunity for me to try out my Yaktrax. I got them for Christmas, courtesy of my sister, Jenn.
I gotta say, these things worked like a charm. I have zero-slippage to report on what would have otherwise been an impossible 6-mile run. I won't say that it was ideal running conditions, but it was certainly doable. A 9:30 pace in the snow was enough to get me VERY wiped out, as compared to a normal 6-mile run. But it was actually a good bit of fun. For the few bursts of cleared pavement, it was actually less pleasant than the snowy part, when wearing the Yaks. The way my feet land with them on was just the slightest bit different and caused some aggravation over time.
Also, I forgot to pop a few Advil before I left so my old Post-tib injury got a bit inflamed over the run. Anyway, here are a couple of pics of the yaks. And please checkout the Run Data too.
Yaktrax Splits
Yaktrax Chart
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I gotta say, these things worked like a charm. I have zero-slippage to report on what would have otherwise been an impossible 6-mile run. I won't say that it was ideal running conditions, but it was certainly doable. A 9:30 pace in the snow was enough to get me VERY wiped out, as compared to a normal 6-mile run. But it was actually a good bit of fun. For the few bursts of cleared pavement, it was actually less pleasant than the snowy part, when wearing the Yaks. The way my feet land with them on was just the slightest bit different and caused some aggravation over time.
Also, I forgot to pop a few Advil before I left so my old Post-tib injury got a bit inflamed over the run. Anyway, here are a couple of pics of the yaks. And please checkout the Run Data too.
Yaktrax Splits
Yaktrax Chart
.jpg)
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