Ugh... It's a great thing to be reminded of one's weakness, a little demoralizing but a step in correcting it.
3 mile warm-up. I warmed up a mile at Fairview before realizing the track was locked and closed. Then I drove to Louisville to continue.
1 mile at HR 160-165. My interpretation of the result is that I have approached the end of my aerobic ("base") training. I stopped at 1 mile simply because I saw what I needed to. It wasn't a 100% indication but I saw enough.
Then: 5 X 1000 on 200 walk.
3:06
3:06
3:06
3:07
3:03
These sucked and I didn't enjoy these. If it weren't for Justin I would have stopped at #3. My brain was incredibly weak on these and every 200 seemed to take forever. I'm completely unused to the feeling of lactate over load and today I felt demoralized by the feeling... and here is my weakness. When I start to suffer I don't want to continue. It's less of "can I continue" and much more "I don't want to continue". Physically I was fine but my brain was a pile of mushy crap. The solution will have to be an intuitive guess on my part. A combination of raising my lactate threshold and simply going to that dark place more often.
So with the 1 mile "test" and seeing my weakness it's time to shelf the HR monitor a bit and start to use this huge base I have to start kicking my own ass with some hard efforts.
Weird workout for me. And thanks Justin.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Friday 15 miles
Thursday was an easy 9 mile jog.
Today- am) 7 miles with my friend and former athlete of mine- Josh. It was good to catch up and talk Ironman shop. Josh is tapering for Ironman Lake Placid.
pm) 8 miles. The first 4 miles went in 26:00 and my HR hadn't broken 145. I felt very good. I eased up on the bigger climbs and saved my energy for tomorrow's track session. I'm considering a 4 mile AeT test with my HR at 165 just to see what pace this yields for me. Then I'm running 1000's (hopefully) in 3:00-3:05 until I start to struggle. No goal number of repeats- I just want to stop before it gets hard. It might be 1 and it might be 6, my body will let me know.
Today- am) 7 miles with my friend and former athlete of mine- Josh. It was good to catch up and talk Ironman shop. Josh is tapering for Ironman Lake Placid.
pm) 8 miles. The first 4 miles went in 26:00 and my HR hadn't broken 145. I felt very good. I eased up on the bigger climbs and saved my energy for tomorrow's track session. I'm considering a 4 mile AeT test with my HR at 165 just to see what pace this yields for me. Then I'm running 1000's (hopefully) in 3:00-3:05 until I start to struggle. No goal number of repeats- I just want to stop before it gets hard. It might be 1 and it might be 6, my body will let me know.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Wednesday Longish run
East Portal of the Moffat Tunnel.
am) 16 miles. I ran an out and back starting at 8400ft and turning around at 9200ft altitude (above is a pic of my turnaround point). 2700+ ft of total climbing with an average pace of 7:04 per mile and average HR of 148. On the return 8 miles (downhill) I ran a heartlek (that's my version of a fartlek by heart rate). I would start at HR 145 and push to HR 165 then ease up and jog back to HR 145. I was consistently hitting 5:30 pace on each push for roughly 1:00-2:00 before HR elevated. The recoveries took a bit longer to get HR back down but I was able to hold ~6:30-6:40 pace and still get HR to 145.
I was also happy with the climb out. Holding 7:20--7:30 pace for much of it with a max HR of 150.
For the locals... I ran from Rollinsville up to East Portal Moffat Tunnel.
Below is my data.
Note: I weighed 138 pounds this morning after drinking 1 liter of water then peeing clear. This makes me nervous but my training logs don't show any problems. Crazy to think that I raced my best Ironman weighing 155-160 pounds. I'm 20 pounds lighter.
am) 16 miles. I ran an out and back starting at 8400ft and turning around at 9200ft altitude (above is a pic of my turnaround point). 2700+ ft of total climbing with an average pace of 7:04 per mile and average HR of 148. On the return 8 miles (downhill) I ran a heartlek (that's my version of a fartlek by heart rate). I would start at HR 145 and push to HR 165 then ease up and jog back to HR 145. I was consistently hitting 5:30 pace on each push for roughly 1:00-2:00 before HR elevated. The recoveries took a bit longer to get HR back down but I was able to hold ~6:30-6:40 pace and still get HR to 145.
I was also happy with the climb out. Holding 7:20--7:30 pace for much of it with a max HR of 150.
For the locals... I ran from Rollinsville up to East Portal Moffat Tunnel.
Below is my data.
Note: I weighed 138 pounds this morning after drinking 1 liter of water then peeing clear. This makes me nervous but my training logs don't show any problems. Crazy to think that I raced my best Ironman weighing 155-160 pounds. I'm 20 pounds lighter.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Tuesday 14 miles + group run
am) Met up with Steve Jones' group. The workout was 6 X 3:00 on 2:00 rest. I was last in the group on every interval and stopped at #5 trying not to kill myself. My paces were all over the place but I was happy with them...
1- 5:24
2- 5:18
3- 5:16
4- 5:06
5- 5:02
I was off the back on every interval by ~10"-20" but I think I was the only one training for a marathon? Not sure. It was awesome to run while Steve Jones biked around asking people how they were doing. I've met Jonesy a few times before and I can't say enough good things about the guy. Zero ego when he has every right to have one. He's a former world record holder in the marathon!
On my way in to town this morning I saw a bear! My first one since moving up here. He was almost completely blond, just his belly was brown.
pm) 6 miles recovery jogging with 2 X 30" strides.
1- 5:24
2- 5:18
3- 5:16
4- 5:06
5- 5:02
I was off the back on every interval by ~10"-20" but I think I was the only one training for a marathon? Not sure. It was awesome to run while Steve Jones biked around asking people how they were doing. I've met Jonesy a few times before and I can't say enough good things about the guy. Zero ego when he has every right to have one. He's a former world record holder in the marathon!
On my way in to town this morning I saw a bear! My first one since moving up here. He was almost completely blond, just his belly was brown.
pm) 6 miles recovery jogging with 2 X 30" strides.
Le Tour...
The Tour is getting insane. Regardless of what you think of Lance or what you think of cycling in general, this is going to go down as one of the greatest races (in ANY sport)of all time. At this point there is a crazy mix of talent, politics and "legend" status all boiling together. Fun!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Monday 14 miles.
am) 9 miles in Louisville. First 2 miles in 16:00, then pegged my HR at 140-145 for 7 miles in 44:06. 6:18 pace... flat terrain is a beautiful thing.
pm) 5 miles. No watch. No HR. Just ran. Included 4 X 20 step strides.
Tomorrow I am meeting some guys in Boulder for my first structured hard session in this Chicago build up. I had planned on not allowing myself to run more than 5% faster than goal pace. But since I don't know what goal pace is, I have some leeway. My goal at Chicago is not sub 2:20. The first goal is to break my 2:30 curse. I've run 2:30-2:32 in 3 of my 5 marathons and it's starting to piss me off. So, if I go with a goal of 5:40 (2:28 marathon pace), tomorrow I should run no faster than 5:23 pace. I may start with that and see where I feel. As the race gets closer and Iget a feel for where my specific marathon fitness is, I will be able to see my goal pace a little more clearly. 14 weeks is a bit far out to judge things.
One thing that will be more of a benefit to me than the workout, will be the group run setting and pushing myself against others which is a huge weakness of mine.
pm) 5 miles. No watch. No HR. Just ran. Included 4 X 20 step strides.
Tomorrow I am meeting some guys in Boulder for my first structured hard session in this Chicago build up. I had planned on not allowing myself to run more than 5% faster than goal pace. But since I don't know what goal pace is, I have some leeway. My goal at Chicago is not sub 2:20. The first goal is to break my 2:30 curse. I've run 2:30-2:32 in 3 of my 5 marathons and it's starting to piss me off. So, if I go with a goal of 5:40 (2:28 marathon pace), tomorrow I should run no faster than 5:23 pace. I may start with that and see where I feel. As the race gets closer and Iget a feel for where my specific marathon fitness is, I will be able to see my goal pace a little more clearly. 14 weeks is a bit far out to judge things.
One thing that will be more of a benefit to me than the workout, will be the group run setting and pushing myself against others which is a huge weakness of mine.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Sunday 7 miles. Week total 100 miles.
I over slept this morning and woke up at 7:50am. Since we had planned to go to the Mile High Flea Market today, I missed my chance to run long this morning. We bought Ben a tricycle (or as he calls it, a yikel) and we stocked up on fresh roasted chiles and mangos. I also spent my monthly splurge money on a 3 pound bench vise. Since I won shoes yesterday I can buy something less practical for myself.
pm) jogged 7 miles easy. Felt lethargic after all day on my feet. Average HR 121.
Next week starts a training period referred to by Canova as "fundamental". I'll give a few hard interval sessions a go and see how I handle them. 14 weeks to Chicago.
pm) jogged 7 miles easy. Felt lethargic after all day on my feet. Average HR 121.
Next week starts a training period referred to by Canova as "fundamental". I'll give a few hard interval sessions a go and see how I handle them. 14 weeks to Chicago.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Saturday Scar Top Mountain race (edited). 10 miles.
Here a couple of pics from the race-
My son Ben negotiating with me for more watermelon, his 5th piece.
I'm excited after today. I raced and won a 12k in the mountains, in my own neighborhood to be exact. When they have a mountain race in your neighborhood at high altitude you're living in a cool place I think. I broke 90 miles for the week at mile 4 of the race and felt awesome. I think this shows a lot in terms of how hard a 100 mile week is for me now. I put a HR cap (surprised?) of 170 (my marathon HR is ~165) on my effort with the option to actually race if I had a chance to win. At mile 2 there is a climb that hits 18% and I held my HR down to under 170 and dropped the field with the exception of Bill Fanselow. I was able to hold him at ~20" until mile 5 when we hit the last big climb before descending for 2 miles to the finish. Having my HR below 170 left me with a full tank and tons of reserve effort(GZ- we have discussed this aspect of HR training). I was holding what felt like marathon effort and I felt very comfortable. So I sprinted, very suddenly, up the hill and elevated my HR immediately to 180 and caught Bill and passed him, holding on to my lead to the finish. The first half mile of the descent went in ~2:25. There is a climb in the last mile that hurt, but other than that this was a tempo run. I'm psyched about two things from today- being able to elevate after 90 miles of solid running (tempo run yesterday during a 20 mile day), and being fit enough aerobically to drop most of a field of runners with a relatively low HR cap. These point straight towards the level of fitness I have right now.
Note: I ran 45:35 (6:10 pace)which would have had me beaten by over 2:00 in previous years by true mountain studs like Ames, Batliner and Vail. I simply got lucky with the win today. Partly because of who didn't show up and also the fact that Bill Fanselow is coming off a blown achilles. He's only been training a little bit. He is a mountain stud when he's healthy and has come within 8" of making the US team that goes to the mountain running world championships. So ya, I got lucky.
Results.
My son Ben negotiating with me for more watermelon, his 5th piece.
I'm excited after today. I raced and won a 12k in the mountains, in my own neighborhood to be exact. When they have a mountain race in your neighborhood at high altitude you're living in a cool place I think. I broke 90 miles for the week at mile 4 of the race and felt awesome. I think this shows a lot in terms of how hard a 100 mile week is for me now. I put a HR cap (surprised?) of 170 (my marathon HR is ~165) on my effort with the option to actually race if I had a chance to win. At mile 2 there is a climb that hits 18% and I held my HR down to under 170 and dropped the field with the exception of Bill Fanselow. I was able to hold him at ~20" until mile 5 when we hit the last big climb before descending for 2 miles to the finish. Having my HR below 170 left me with a full tank and tons of reserve effort(GZ- we have discussed this aspect of HR training). I was holding what felt like marathon effort and I felt very comfortable. So I sprinted, very suddenly, up the hill and elevated my HR immediately to 180 and caught Bill and passed him, holding on to my lead to the finish. The first half mile of the descent went in ~2:25. There is a climb in the last mile that hurt, but other than that this was a tempo run. I'm psyched about two things from today- being able to elevate after 90 miles of solid running (tempo run yesterday during a 20 mile day), and being fit enough aerobically to drop most of a field of runners with a relatively low HR cap. These point straight towards the level of fitness I have right now.
Note: I ran 45:35 (6:10 pace)which would have had me beaten by over 2:00 in previous years by true mountain studs like Ames, Batliner and Vail. I simply got lucky with the win today. Partly because of who didn't show up and also the fact that Bill Fanselow is coming off a blown achilles. He's only been training a little bit. He is a mountain stud when he's healthy and has come within 8" of making the US team that goes to the mountain running world championships. So ya, I got lucky.
Results.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Friday 20 miles + a run with Mzungo Uli.
am) 6.5 miles with Uli from blog Mzungo. Very enjoyable jog with a fellow blogger. We talked more about old Ironman friends and our favorite bikes than running. It was fun to have company on one of my favorite run routes.
Noon) 13.5 miles (gotta get an even number... it's all about the numbers). Average HR 149. Average pace 6:59. I ran this in the foothills below my house at ~7000 ft on a rolling course. The last 2 miles was uphill with a build to a hard effort. Maxed out at HR 175 for the last few hundred meters.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Thursday 8 miles.
The stars conspired to not align for me today. I'm a little superstitious and think that often times life is telling me to chill. Like the time the raccoons stole one of my shoes- it was time to toss them anyway... I jogged 8 this morning starting with a goal of 20. My ego got the better of me and I decided to do the hilliest route I have available... I called the game at mile 8. My hamstring was achy, not the muscle I tweaked last week but another. I was also having a very hard time elevating my HR above 140 and averaged 132 for the run. This evening, as I was getting up to get my jogging suit on, my wife asked if I wanted to go out for dinner. We eat out maybe 2 times a month and I wasn't going to refuse. So I'm resting. I had secretly planned for 135 miles this week- skipping my run this evening and yesterday will put me in the 115-120 mile range. I'm a notorious over planner.
And if my hamstring is iffy I won't race Saturday.
And if my hamstring is iffy I won't race Saturday.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Wednesday 14 miles
pm) No second run today. I was tempted to run a big week but I'm stepping back from the edge and will rest tonight. Tomorrow is a 20+ mile long run and Saturday might be a race. Another one of those hill climb things... it's in my neighborhood and would fun!
am) 14 miles with 9 mile tempo-ish. Warmed up 2 miles easy then intended on running 12 miles of progressing HR. My Garmin HR strap seems to have died after changing the battery. How did we get a man on the moon? I went through 9 miles in 53:09 running comfortable. HR (by feel) progressed from ~150-160 for the first 6, then up to 170 at mile 9. At mile 9 my hamstring felt "off". No pain or even a twinge, it just started to feel different, so I pulled the plug and cruised in easy. 1:12:50 for the 12 miles. No fatigue, that I could feel, from the last 2 days.
Below are a few pictures Jeff took.
am) 14 miles with 9 mile tempo-ish. Warmed up 2 miles easy then intended on running 12 miles of progressing HR. My Garmin HR strap seems to have died after changing the battery. How did we get a man on the moon? I went through 9 miles in 53:09 running comfortable. HR (by feel) progressed from ~150-160 for the first 6, then up to 170 at mile 9. At mile 9 my hamstring felt "off". No pain or even a twinge, it just started to feel different, so I pulled the plug and cruised in easy. 1:12:50 for the 12 miles. No fatigue, that I could feel, from the last 2 days.
Below are a few pictures Jeff took.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tuesday 20 miles
am) 13 miles. HR avg. 140. Max 148. It was chilly when I started.
pm) 7 miles. HR average 136/ max 152. Same course as yesterday but I felt ridiculously strong for this.
Tomorrow is a 12 mile tempo run in Louisville. Jeff is riding support and Ewen North is joining me.
pm) 7 miles. HR average 136/ max 152. Same course as yesterday but I felt ridiculously strong for this.
Tomorrow is a 12 mile tempo run in Louisville. Jeff is riding support and Ewen North is joining me.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Monday 21 miles.
am) 14 miles avg HR 144/ avg. pace 7:44.
pm) 7 miles in 49:58 avg HR 146/ avg. pace 7:08.
pm) 7 miles in 49:58 avg HR 146/ avg. pace 7:08.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Sunday 0 miles. Week total 54 miles
Saturday was a15 mile point to point run with the last 8 miles up a steady 4%-13% hill to 9500ft. Then we camped for the night and I never recovered lost hydration. Today I worked and spent the day with my boys and drank what felt like 374 gallons of water. Not how I wanted to end the week for sure but I feel great tonight and my hamstring is 100%. My sickness is gone. From now to Chicago it's just nails. My motivation is crazy up right now and I'm heading in to the last 15 weeks rested and hungry.
I have a scheduled vasectomy on July 7th and am going to reschedule it for after Chicago. No more bumps in the road...
I have a scheduled vasectomy on July 7th and am going to reschedule it for after Chicago. No more bumps in the road...
Friday, June 26, 2009
Friday 21 miles
am) 13 miles HR 140.
pm) 8 miles HR 142. Felt nothing. No fatigue, no sickness, hamstring is 100%. I ran a few quick strides at the end to test it and it feels perfect.
pm) 8 miles HR 142. Felt nothing. No fatigue, no sickness, hamstring is 100%. I ran a few quick strides at the end to test it and it feels perfect.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Thursday 9 miles
am) 9 miles avg HR 133. Same pace as yesterday so definite improvement. Max HR 146. Laid down at noon for a short nap and woke up at 5pm. No second run.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Wednesday 9 miles
The header pic is of my bib for the 2001 Hawaii Ironman. 16 weeks to Chicago.
am) Jogged 3 very easy and slow to test my hamstring. It felt tight but no pain.
pm) 6 miles at average HR 141, max HR 150. Pace was definitely off in relation to HR. Slower than normal which is 100% expected. After 3 days of no running my legs felt ok but not fresh. Hamstring was faintly noticeable but solid. I think I avoided an injury for sure. Tomorrow I'll start back for real and see.
am) Jogged 3 very easy and slow to test my hamstring. It felt tight but no pain.
pm) 6 miles at average HR 141, max HR 150. Pace was definitely off in relation to HR. Slower than normal which is 100% expected. After 3 days of no running my legs felt ok but not fresh. Hamstring was faintly noticeable but solid. I think I avoided an injury for sure. Tomorrow I'll start back for real and see.
Wednesday
When it rains it pours... my own personal "resting disorder" has reared it's ugly head again and I woke up this morning sick as crap. I remember now why I hate to rest! I always seem to completely break down only when I rest. I tweaked my hamstring after a rest week and now that I have taken a few days off my immune system has decided to tweak me. If I ever get healthy I'm not resting again :)
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Tuesday .5 miles.
I tested my hamstring today. I had no pain and even full flexibility with no pain. I ran to the end of my street and back and it tightened up a little bit, but I don't think it hurt. This is a learning experience for me. I've had plantar fascists (spell check doesn't recognize fasciitis and suggests I go with fascists) but it never stopped me from running. I ran through it and it went away with daily deep tissue massage in my soleus and gastroc. And that's it. So I have to figure out what is injury pain and what is just a runners malady. I think everyone suffers from minor aches and pains but where's that line? I have done what I would tell my athletes. Rest until it feels good, then test it. A friend of mine who is a lifetime runner and PT said to rest it for 3 days. Then run. If I still feel something then I can try to run 100 miles a week and see if it goes away. Caution is important but so is toughening up. We'll see.
Friendly fox.
Our friendly fox Olivia is getting more bold. This morning I went out to empty the trash and left the kitchen sliding door open... when I came back she was sitting in the kitchen. A couple of weeks ago I looked out the window and saw our big boy cat Flynn rolling around on the ground acting silly. He would playfully roll on to his back and squirm around... 2 feet off to his side Olivia was sitting and watching him. They seem to be getting along quite nicely and will sit on the deck together. Olivia is really tiny and petite. I would guess she weighs 13-14 pounds? The same as Flynn. She's super skinny without her winter coat.
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