As I was doing my research on the splits today I looked at the online race results and saw that I had been moved from 4th to 3rd. For now it is staying at 4th as I have no clue why the guy was taken off the results but I emailed one of the race organizers today and am still waiting on a reply.
As for the return to blogging hopefully next week after my first full week back.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Kansas City Marathon - Oct. 17
Well this is going to be my reattempt at opening up this blog. It has been about 4 weeks since the marathon and most of that time was spent not running, but I have returned and now it is time to get down to business and get ready for Boston.
Here are the results:
2:38:16 - 3rd Place
All in all it was a great first effort and I think that I have learned a lot from getting the first one done with. There is still a lot that I have to learn but I think that it is something that will be developed over the next couple marathons. I really have no idea on what the limits of my abilities are going to be when it comes to the marathon, but I do know that I am going to try my best to figure out what it is.
Here is the breakdown of my splits
1 - 6:08
2 - 5:52
3 - 5:59 (5k - 18:39)
4 - 6:21
5 - 5:55 (30:17)
6 - 5:52 (10k - 37:22, 18:43)
7 - 5:44
8 - 5:52
9 - 5:57 (15k - 55:35, 18:13
10 - 5:58 (59:42) (29:25)
11 - 6:02
12 - 6:11 (20k - 1:14:35, 18:59)
13 - 6:03 (Half - 1:18:33)
14 - 5:59
15 - 5:59 (1:29:59) (30:17) (25k - 1:33:09, 18:34)
16 - 5:58
17 - 5:59
18 - 5:52 (30k - 1:51:34, 18:24)
19 - 5:54
20 - 5:57 (1:59:42) (29:43)
21 - 6:03 (35k - 2:10:26, 18:52)
22 - 6:16
23 - 6:12
24 - 6:04 (40k - 2:29:14, 18:47)
25 - 5:45 (2:30:04) (30:22)
26 - 5:49
.43 - 2:22 (2:38:16) (5:59 pace)
Last half mile - 2:47 (uphill)
Last mile - 5:43
Last 5k - (18:01)
Last 10k - (37:13)
These are the results from my watch. There were some fairly heavily treed areas on the course and the GPS is only so accurate. But none the less if you look at what the race website says I ran my last 10k in about 39:13. There is no way that I ran my last 6 miles averaging 6:18 pace when I only had one miles that was slower than that all day.
Okay, so now that you have looked over the splits here is the mildly in depth report about the race. First of all the course was FAR from easy by any stretch of the imagination. If you want a real in depth detailed outline of the course there is some great documentation on the course website. Here are what I consider the key areas of the race and what happened during each section.
Start - 1.3 miles
For the most part all up hill. I think that there was a little downward dip right at the start but from .25 until about 1.3 was all uphill. For the most part it was real gradual so you didn't really notice it that much but the end of the segment was real steep 5oft elevation change over about 1.5 city blocks. It was early in the race and everything felt good.
1.3-3 miles
Almost all downhill. I had already got with a group of guys and just kind of latched on to there pace. There were some half marathon guys in the mix as well. Real easy and conserved for pretty much the whole section. There was a little rise over a bridge right at the first water station that me and one other guy made a little move to drop someone.
3-4 miles
Started at the very bottom of a road that leads you up to the WWI museum. Nasty little climb that the guy I was running with really slowed down on. There was a flat section at the top as we looped by the memorial and the another nasty little climb that brought us to mile 4
4-6 mile
For the most part this was down to flat to gradual uphills that you did not even really notice at all.
7-11.4 miles
Mile seven was a real long downhill that the guy I was running with caught a couple other people on. We rolled mile 7 and then continued to run together with a group of 6 of us until 11.4 miles. This section was more or less flat. Very little changes in elevation.
11.4 - 12.75 miles
ALL UP HILL. We made a really sharp turn at this start of this to start the climb and our group of 6 quickly went to 3 and by the end of the hill it was down too 2. The last guy to drop off did it about 200 meters from the top of the hill. I had also found out while climbing the hill that he had just run the Chicago marathon 6 days before.
12.75-14 miles
Rolling and then some downhill. Pretty boring section
14 - 20 miles
This section was pretty boring too. It was a two mile straight stretch, then turn a corner and see that there is a runner that is just dying. This happened at about 16 miles and the runner was caught just a little after 17. Once we caught up with him he stepped in behind us and just latched on for awhile. His breathing was ridiculous and I know that this was not going to last very long. He would try making moves every once and awhile but we would catch him within 30 seconds. He lasted until about 19 miles. The guy I was running with (Jay who ended up 5th) and I just laughed at the stuff this guy was trying to pull. It was a flat to slight downhill section from 18 - 20.
20-22 miles
So there was no elite water stations so I had to deal with what was on the course and I had brought one Powerbar gel with me during the race. Both Jay and I took them at the 20 mile aid station. And this is where the mile marks started to get really off. According to Jay's watch our 20th mile was around 4:30, can't remember the exact time but I know it was around 4:30. Something tells me that this was far from correct. This is also where there got to be about zero people on the course, including people that tell you where to go on confusing intersections. Jay and I ran together until about 21.5 and then I kept the pace going and he didn't.
22-23.75
Well the last up hill section started at about 20.75 and continued until the end of this section. This was by far the hardest climb of the day and could not have come at a worse time. Not only was there the hill but we also got the pleasure of meeting up with the half marathon people as well. So at this point we are at 21.5ish miles leaving us with about 4.5 miles to dodge people that are on pace for a 3+ hour half. This was a blessing and a massive distraction all at the same time. It was great having people cheer you on as you blew there doors off but man did it suck trying to dodge people all the time. There was one intersection where a policeman was stopping the runners and letting cars go by. I came really close to getting hit by a car there cause there was no chance in hell that I was stopping I know that. So choice words were yelled at the cop as I was coming and I think he felt like kind of a dumbass but that is his fault not mine.
23.75-26
This was where it started to get fun again. I could see a guy that was actually running in front of me which meant that he was in the marathon. Now I had been told at mile 13ish that Jay and I were in 4th and 5th maybe 5th and 6th the girl was not real sure. But then at mile 21 I was told 7thish. This made no sense at all as I never got passed and by that time I had dropped Jay and passed another guy which would have put me in about 4th. So upon passing this guy I go into 6th at about 24.75. Then I see another guy and pass him at about 25.25. It was a little bit of and up hill and then a long gradual downhill that was the same as the start of the race but the opposite way.
To the finish.
There was a bridge right before the finish that was a lot steeper that it needed to be about 200 meters from the finish. There were people everywhere and I was freaking tired. I crossed the line and that was all she wrote. I had no clue what place I finished and did not find out for a couple hours. 4th place it was. I also found out that that 2nd and 3rd were 32 and 34 seconds ahead of me also and that I had made up 10 minutes on them over the last 10k. If only it would have been another 600 meters I would have been second.
And that is the race. For the few of you out there that read this if you have anymore questions feel free to ask.
Here are the results:
2:38:16 - 3rd Place
All in all it was a great first effort and I think that I have learned a lot from getting the first one done with. There is still a lot that I have to learn but I think that it is something that will be developed over the next couple marathons. I really have no idea on what the limits of my abilities are going to be when it comes to the marathon, but I do know that I am going to try my best to figure out what it is.
Here is the breakdown of my splits
1 - 6:08
2 - 5:52
3 - 5:59 (5k - 18:39)
4 - 6:21
5 - 5:55 (30:17)
6 - 5:52 (10k - 37:22, 18:43)
7 - 5:44
8 - 5:52
9 - 5:57 (15k - 55:35, 18:13
10 - 5:58 (59:42) (29:25)
11 - 6:02
12 - 6:11 (20k - 1:14:35, 18:59)
13 - 6:03 (Half - 1:18:33)
14 - 5:59
15 - 5:59 (1:29:59) (30:17) (25k - 1:33:09, 18:34)
16 - 5:58
17 - 5:59
18 - 5:52 (30k - 1:51:34, 18:24)
19 - 5:54
20 - 5:57 (1:59:42) (29:43)
21 - 6:03 (35k - 2:10:26, 18:52)
22 - 6:16
23 - 6:12
24 - 6:04 (40k - 2:29:14, 18:47)
25 - 5:45 (2:30:04) (30:22)
26 - 5:49
.43 - 2:22 (2:38:16) (5:59 pace)
Last half mile - 2:47 (uphill)
Last mile - 5:43
Last 5k - (18:01)
Last 10k - (37:13)
These are the results from my watch. There were some fairly heavily treed areas on the course and the GPS is only so accurate. But none the less if you look at what the race website says I ran my last 10k in about 39:13. There is no way that I ran my last 6 miles averaging 6:18 pace when I only had one miles that was slower than that all day.
Okay, so now that you have looked over the splits here is the mildly in depth report about the race. First of all the course was FAR from easy by any stretch of the imagination. If you want a real in depth detailed outline of the course there is some great documentation on the course website. Here are what I consider the key areas of the race and what happened during each section.
Start - 1.3 miles
For the most part all up hill. I think that there was a little downward dip right at the start but from .25 until about 1.3 was all uphill. For the most part it was real gradual so you didn't really notice it that much but the end of the segment was real steep 5oft elevation change over about 1.5 city blocks. It was early in the race and everything felt good.
1.3-3 miles
Almost all downhill. I had already got with a group of guys and just kind of latched on to there pace. There were some half marathon guys in the mix as well. Real easy and conserved for pretty much the whole section. There was a little rise over a bridge right at the first water station that me and one other guy made a little move to drop someone.
3-4 miles
Started at the very bottom of a road that leads you up to the WWI museum. Nasty little climb that the guy I was running with really slowed down on. There was a flat section at the top as we looped by the memorial and the another nasty little climb that brought us to mile 4
4-6 mile
For the most part this was down to flat to gradual uphills that you did not even really notice at all.
7-11.4 miles
Mile seven was a real long downhill that the guy I was running with caught a couple other people on. We rolled mile 7 and then continued to run together with a group of 6 of us until 11.4 miles. This section was more or less flat. Very little changes in elevation.
11.4 - 12.75 miles
ALL UP HILL. We made a really sharp turn at this start of this to start the climb and our group of 6 quickly went to 3 and by the end of the hill it was down too 2. The last guy to drop off did it about 200 meters from the top of the hill. I had also found out while climbing the hill that he had just run the Chicago marathon 6 days before.
12.75-14 miles
Rolling and then some downhill. Pretty boring section
14 - 20 miles
This section was pretty boring too. It was a two mile straight stretch, then turn a corner and see that there is a runner that is just dying. This happened at about 16 miles and the runner was caught just a little after 17. Once we caught up with him he stepped in behind us and just latched on for awhile. His breathing was ridiculous and I know that this was not going to last very long. He would try making moves every once and awhile but we would catch him within 30 seconds. He lasted until about 19 miles. The guy I was running with (Jay who ended up 5th) and I just laughed at the stuff this guy was trying to pull. It was a flat to slight downhill section from 18 - 20.
20-22 miles
So there was no elite water stations so I had to deal with what was on the course and I had brought one Powerbar gel with me during the race. Both Jay and I took them at the 20 mile aid station. And this is where the mile marks started to get really off. According to Jay's watch our 20th mile was around 4:30, can't remember the exact time but I know it was around 4:30. Something tells me that this was far from correct. This is also where there got to be about zero people on the course, including people that tell you where to go on confusing intersections. Jay and I ran together until about 21.5 and then I kept the pace going and he didn't.
22-23.75
Well the last up hill section started at about 20.75 and continued until the end of this section. This was by far the hardest climb of the day and could not have come at a worse time. Not only was there the hill but we also got the pleasure of meeting up with the half marathon people as well. So at this point we are at 21.5ish miles leaving us with about 4.5 miles to dodge people that are on pace for a 3+ hour half. This was a blessing and a massive distraction all at the same time. It was great having people cheer you on as you blew there doors off but man did it suck trying to dodge people all the time. There was one intersection where a policeman was stopping the runners and letting cars go by. I came really close to getting hit by a car there cause there was no chance in hell that I was stopping I know that. So choice words were yelled at the cop as I was coming and I think he felt like kind of a dumbass but that is his fault not mine.
23.75-26
This was where it started to get fun again. I could see a guy that was actually running in front of me which meant that he was in the marathon. Now I had been told at mile 13ish that Jay and I were in 4th and 5th maybe 5th and 6th the girl was not real sure. But then at mile 21 I was told 7thish. This made no sense at all as I never got passed and by that time I had dropped Jay and passed another guy which would have put me in about 4th. So upon passing this guy I go into 6th at about 24.75. Then I see another guy and pass him at about 25.25. It was a little bit of and up hill and then a long gradual downhill that was the same as the start of the race but the opposite way.
To the finish.
There was a bridge right before the finish that was a lot steeper that it needed to be about 200 meters from the finish. There were people everywhere and I was freaking tired. I crossed the line and that was all she wrote. I had no clue what place I finished and did not find out for a couple hours. 4th place it was. I also found out that that 2nd and 3rd were 32 and 34 seconds ahead of me also and that I had made up 10 minutes on them over the last 10k. If only it would have been another 600 meters I would have been second.
And that is the race. For the few of you out there that read this if you have anymore questions feel free to ask.
Monday, July 6, 2009
June 29th - July 5th
Well this week was quite a bit better than the last with one minor flop in it. I got no long run in this week which I was not really happy about.
Monday - 9 (1:02:47)
Tuesday - 8.7 (1:00:22)
Last run in Portland :( A very sad day indeed
Wednesday - 13 (1:30:08)
One of the worst runs that I have had in a long time. First off we drove from Portland to Bismarck and then ran when we got there. This was about a 19 hour drive and I was awake for about 24 hours. I made the mistake on the way out of getting really tired and then not being able to drive when it was my turn but this time I made sure that I had coffee. WOW was that a mistake. I guess when you don;t drink the stuff that often it hits you a little harder. Anyways I had about 1.5 hours of sleep, not enough water or food in my body, and it was about 85 degrees with no clouds in the sky in the peak of the noon time sun. What on earth was I thinking...
Thursday - 10 (1:11:00) HR 144
Friday - 6.5 ( 47:01) HR 140
Real easy run that I was just not having today. Plus I have to race tomorrow. Was only going to do 8 anyways.
Saturday - 4.5 (33:00) warmup and cooldown on race day
Race - 10K (33:41) 5:24 pace 1st place
1mile - 5:31
2mile - 5:24 (10:56)
3mile - 5:24 (16:21)
5k - 16:57
4mile - 5:23 (21:45)
5mile - 5:22 (27:07)
6mile - 5:18 (32:25)
10k - 33:41
The race was pretty even for the most part. Started out a little slower and then ended a little faster. 3:27 first kilometer and then the next 7 were between 3:20-3:23 and the last two were 3:18 and 3:17. They sure felt like they were a lot faster but I has a pretty comfortable lead so I didn't really have to worry about pushing it in too hard. A good effort and at least I now kind of have something to base my work off of. McMillian race converter shows an approximate estimation of 2:38 for a marathon based on that level of fitness which I know will increase over the next couple months quite a bit. We shall see where I am really at come mid September at the Dick Beardsley 1/2 marathon.
Sunday - 9.5 (1:08:20) HR 144
Week: 67:5
June total - 261.5
July to date - 50
A good week that hopefully will have a much better week following it this coming week. Long run on monday to make up for none last week and then hopefully another one on Saturday or Sunday to get back into a regular schedule. The race was good and who knows what I could have done with others around me but I hate doing the what if...thing after the race. I felt good and I thikn once I start doing some faster stuff it will be much better. 33:41 is pretty good for not doing a bit of speed and running pretty much every run at about 7:05-7:10 pace. I was happy that is all I got to say. Plus I made a $100 in beer money for the weekend too :D
Happy running!
Monday - 9 (1:02:47)
Tuesday - 8.7 (1:00:22)
Last run in Portland :( A very sad day indeed
Wednesday - 13 (1:30:08)
One of the worst runs that I have had in a long time. First off we drove from Portland to Bismarck and then ran when we got there. This was about a 19 hour drive and I was awake for about 24 hours. I made the mistake on the way out of getting really tired and then not being able to drive when it was my turn but this time I made sure that I had coffee. WOW was that a mistake. I guess when you don;t drink the stuff that often it hits you a little harder. Anyways I had about 1.5 hours of sleep, not enough water or food in my body, and it was about 85 degrees with no clouds in the sky in the peak of the noon time sun. What on earth was I thinking...
Thursday - 10 (1:11:00) HR 144
Friday - 6.5 ( 47:01) HR 140
Real easy run that I was just not having today. Plus I have to race tomorrow. Was only going to do 8 anyways.
Saturday - 4.5 (33:00) warmup and cooldown on race day
Race - 10K (33:41) 5:24 pace 1st place
1mile - 5:31
2mile - 5:24 (10:56)
3mile - 5:24 (16:21)
5k - 16:57
4mile - 5:23 (21:45)
5mile - 5:22 (27:07)
6mile - 5:18 (32:25)
10k - 33:41
The race was pretty even for the most part. Started out a little slower and then ended a little faster. 3:27 first kilometer and then the next 7 were between 3:20-3:23 and the last two were 3:18 and 3:17. They sure felt like they were a lot faster but I has a pretty comfortable lead so I didn't really have to worry about pushing it in too hard. A good effort and at least I now kind of have something to base my work off of. McMillian race converter shows an approximate estimation of 2:38 for a marathon based on that level of fitness which I know will increase over the next couple months quite a bit. We shall see where I am really at come mid September at the Dick Beardsley 1/2 marathon.
Sunday - 9.5 (1:08:20) HR 144
Week: 67:5
June total - 261.5
July to date - 50
A good week that hopefully will have a much better week following it this coming week. Long run on monday to make up for none last week and then hopefully another one on Saturday or Sunday to get back into a regular schedule. The race was good and who knows what I could have done with others around me but I hate doing the what if...thing after the race. I felt good and I thikn once I start doing some faster stuff it will be much better. 33:41 is pretty good for not doing a bit of speed and running pretty much every run at about 7:05-7:10 pace. I was happy that is all I got to say. Plus I made a $100 in beer money for the weekend too :D
Happy running!
June 22nd - 28th
Just a week of running out in Oregon at the USATF championships. A good week for the most part but there was a lot of travel involved and very sleep deprived people. The mileage was not quite what I wanted it to be but I did what I could.
Monday - 9.5 (1:07:18) HR 149
Tuesday - 11 (1:20:37) HR 138
Easy run in the morning the day that we left.
Wednesday - 8.3 (58:04)
First run in Portland forgot my heart monitor so no more for the week.
Thursday - 5 (35:30)
First really short day since the real training began at the beginning of June I was really hot and really dehydrated and a little hung over. Oops :S
Friday - off
First day off in 28 days. 27 days on 1 off was a pretty good run. I was a little mad that I didn't get time to run but we were late getting to the meet in the morning and then didn't have time to run after it was over.
Saturday - 8 (56:00)
A little shorter than I wanted but we thought that the race that we wanted to see was an hour later than it was so it had to be cut short.
Sunday - 15.5 (1:50:00)
Great long run in Eugene. Me and one of the guys that I was with opted to stay in Eugene for the night and get up and run in the morning before the meet. Best decision of the weekend. What a great town to run in. There was probably only about 3 miles that was not on wood chip or dirt trails. Great run.
Week: 57.25 (6:46:40)
MTD: 244
Overall it was an okay week that could have been a lot better. Without the day off and the half day I would have bee right around the low 70 range that I wanted to be at but these things happen when you drive across the country. So the next week will hopefully be a little more consistent as I will sadly be back in good old ND :S
Monday - 9.5 (1:07:18) HR 149
Tuesday - 11 (1:20:37) HR 138
Easy run in the morning the day that we left.
Wednesday - 8.3 (58:04)
First run in Portland forgot my heart monitor so no more for the week.
Thursday - 5 (35:30)
First really short day since the real training began at the beginning of June I was really hot and really dehydrated and a little hung over. Oops :S
Friday - off
First day off in 28 days. 27 days on 1 off was a pretty good run. I was a little mad that I didn't get time to run but we were late getting to the meet in the morning and then didn't have time to run after it was over.
Saturday - 8 (56:00)
A little shorter than I wanted but we thought that the race that we wanted to see was an hour later than it was so it had to be cut short.
Sunday - 15.5 (1:50:00)
Great long run in Eugene. Me and one of the guys that I was with opted to stay in Eugene for the night and get up and run in the morning before the meet. Best decision of the weekend. What a great town to run in. There was probably only about 3 miles that was not on wood chip or dirt trails. Great run.
Week: 57.25 (6:46:40)
MTD: 244
Overall it was an okay week that could have been a lot better. Without the day off and the half day I would have bee right around the low 70 range that I wanted to be at but these things happen when you drive across the country. So the next week will hopefully be a little more consistent as I will sadly be back in good old ND :S
Sunday, June 21, 2009
June 15th - 21st
Well another week down and I really ahve not to much to update on. I have been running and that is about it. Nice and slow and really just focusing on trying to stay healthy and not get tired of running or tired from running. Here is the week.
Monday - 9+ (1:04:30) HR 152
Tuesday - 10 (1:10:26) HR 153
Wednesday - 7.5+ (54:00) HR 148
Thursday - 8.5 + (1:03:20) HR 151
Friday - 7 (50:14) HR 145
Saturday - 14.5 (1:42:40) HR 151
Sunday - 8.5+ (1:00:54) HR 141
Week: 65.5 (7:46:03) HR 149
MTD: 187
The week overall went really well. Since the summer has started I have been really consistent and my body has adapted to it quite well. Being that my month of May kind of sucked I was not sure if I was going to be able to jump right into the mileage like this. Not that this is a lot by any means but it is way more than I had been doing over the past 6 months which was basically nothing.
This next week should be a good week for running as I am heading out to the US track championships in Eugene, OR. Wednesday is going to be the tough one for the week just cause I will have been in a car for about 24 hours before I run. I might try and get a run in somewhere along the way just to break up the drive but none the less it is going to be a long day. Especially with a longer run on Tuesday before we leave. All I know is that I can't wait for the trails in Eugene and Portland for a week. It is going to be a great change from Grand Forks.
I have been trying to get to turtle river state park a couple of times a week which has been great just to break up the monotony of running in Grand Forks. If you looked closely at the time that it takes for most of these runs the average right around 7:05-7:10 pace. This has been my thing for the last couple weeks and it has took some getting used to but in the long run it should be more beneficial to my training. The days out at turtle river on the trails give some added challenge with the trail running and "hills" and keep me slowed down which I like as well.
My heart rate over the last two weeks has been a bit higher than I thought it would and maybe it is just due to the fact that I have never changed the battery in the thing and it is almost two years old. But on Sunday's run it was finally down to what I was expecting it to be at. 140 is about 70 percent of my max heart rate so I was thinking that it would be right around there but it has been quite a bit higher than that. I asked someone about it and they thought that maybe it was just due to the fact that my body had gotten so used to running at 6:40-6:50 pace that it was not working efficiently at the slower paces. So maybe this was the turning day in my training. Only another week shall tell. planning on right around 70 miles for the week and a great week of track and field.
Happy Running!!
Monday - 9+ (1:04:30) HR 152
Tuesday - 10 (1:10:26) HR 153
Wednesday - 7.5+ (54:00) HR 148
Thursday - 8.5 + (1:03:20) HR 151
Friday - 7 (50:14) HR 145
Saturday - 14.5 (1:42:40) HR 151
Sunday - 8.5+ (1:00:54) HR 141
Week: 65.5 (7:46:03) HR 149
MTD: 187
The week overall went really well. Since the summer has started I have been really consistent and my body has adapted to it quite well. Being that my month of May kind of sucked I was not sure if I was going to be able to jump right into the mileage like this. Not that this is a lot by any means but it is way more than I had been doing over the past 6 months which was basically nothing.
This next week should be a good week for running as I am heading out to the US track championships in Eugene, OR. Wednesday is going to be the tough one for the week just cause I will have been in a car for about 24 hours before I run. I might try and get a run in somewhere along the way just to break up the drive but none the less it is going to be a long day. Especially with a longer run on Tuesday before we leave. All I know is that I can't wait for the trails in Eugene and Portland for a week. It is going to be a great change from Grand Forks.
I have been trying to get to turtle river state park a couple of times a week which has been great just to break up the monotony of running in Grand Forks. If you looked closely at the time that it takes for most of these runs the average right around 7:05-7:10 pace. This has been my thing for the last couple weeks and it has took some getting used to but in the long run it should be more beneficial to my training. The days out at turtle river on the trails give some added challenge with the trail running and "hills" and keep me slowed down which I like as well.
My heart rate over the last two weeks has been a bit higher than I thought it would and maybe it is just due to the fact that I have never changed the battery in the thing and it is almost two years old. But on Sunday's run it was finally down to what I was expecting it to be at. 140 is about 70 percent of my max heart rate so I was thinking that it would be right around there but it has been quite a bit higher than that. I asked someone about it and they thought that maybe it was just due to the fact that my body had gotten so used to running at 6:40-6:50 pace that it was not working efficiently at the slower paces. So maybe this was the turning day in my training. Only another week shall tell. planning on right around 70 miles for the week and a great week of track and field.
Happy Running!!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
June 8th - 14th
Another week of running with a new twist too it. For the few of you out there who actually read this I have taken a page out of some of the other blogs that I follow and have acquired what I am calling my own "mystery coach." I figured, I know how to train for a 10k and 5k but the marathon is a whole different beast. So I figured I would find someone who knows what they are doing and ask them for some guidance.
Monday - 8 - (54:30)
Easy run
Tuesday - 8 - (50:26)
2 mile w/u, 4 mile tempo (5:52, 5:51, 5:45, 5:38), 2 mile c/d
Wednesday - 7 - (50:29) HR 152
Thursday - 8.75 - (1:04:17) HR 150
Nice easy run out at turtle river
Friday - 7 - (50:27) HR 159
Saturday - 13.75 - (1:37:28) HR 153
Nice and easy long run
Sunday - 8.75 - (1:02:30) HR 153
Week total: 61.25 - (7:10:06)
MTD: 121.5
The week was good and the main thing that I am doing right now is running slow, mainly to build up my low end aerobic level. Also I started implementing the heart rate monitor back into the daily runs. So for the next couple of weeks I am really just focusing on getting in the miles and making sure that I have a good, solid base before the real specific training begins. It is still a little bit up in the air on what marathon I am going to run but it is probably going to be Kansas City.
Monday - 8 - (54:30)
Easy run
Tuesday - 8 - (50:26)
2 mile w/u, 4 mile tempo (5:52, 5:51, 5:45, 5:38), 2 mile c/d
Wednesday - 7 - (50:29) HR 152
Thursday - 8.75 - (1:04:17) HR 150
Nice easy run out at turtle river
Friday - 7 - (50:27) HR 159
Saturday - 13.75 - (1:37:28) HR 153
Nice and easy long run
Sunday - 8.75 - (1:02:30) HR 153
Week total: 61.25 - (7:10:06)
MTD: 121.5
The week was good and the main thing that I am doing right now is running slow, mainly to build up my low end aerobic level. Also I started implementing the heart rate monitor back into the daily runs. So for the next couple of weeks I am really just focusing on getting in the miles and making sure that I have a good, solid base before the real specific training begins. It is still a little bit up in the air on what marathon I am going to run but it is probably going to be Kansas City.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Back to the blog...June1st - 7th
Well the month of May was a pretty crazy. School was getting done vacations were happening work was starting up for the summer and a multitude of other things were coming to a close. So now that my life is back in order it is time to start up the blog again.
May had its good weeks and its bad weeks. I was running really well for awhile and then had a workout in the middle of the month that really seemed to kill me. It was not even that much of a workout but my body did not handle it well. It came at the end of a fairly big week for where I was at in training and I think that it was a little too much. I helped pace one of the high school kids to a 10:15 2 mile the day after an 11 mile run and a week full of 8-9 mile runs. I thought that it would be no big deal but I didn't run for a couple days after and just felt exhausted when I tried to run a couple days latter. I don't really know what it was that caused e to run like crap for the next two weeks but whatever it was is hopefully behind me now and I can get back into the swing of things and prepare for the race season this summer.
This last week was I think my first week of seven days of training since I started back up. Now that I am back to a set schedule I can manage my time a lot better and get the training that I need done. So May is behind me and here is the break down of the first week to a new month.
Monday: 8 (54:45)
Tuesday: 7.6 (51:30)
Wednesday: 7.4 (51:30)
Thursday: 9 (1:01:20)
Friday: 7.25 (48:15)
Saturday: 13.5 (1:33:30)
Sunday: 7:25 (50:00)
Week total: 60 miles
MTD: 60 miles
Well this was a good week I thought. For the most part I felt good throughout the entire week with a couple of runs that I wish had been a little different. It has been really nice running so far this week since I now have people to run with but it gets to be difficult sometimes. We always try to run slower but always seem to end up speeding up to a point that I don't want to be running at during my everyday training runs. I usually try and hold them around 6:50 pace but usually we drop closer to 6:35-6:40 by the middle and the ends get even faster. It is not like it feels difficult at all but I want my easy days to be easy and my hard days to be hard.
So this was my solution to the problem...hopefully. Get a good tempo in to get the race mode out of all of us. So sometime this next week I'll throw in an easy tempo just to get the racing out of our heads.
It is not like the paces that we have been running is all that fast and maybe the couple of seconds faster per mile is not that big of a deal but I really don't know. Is it always better to stay on the side of caution?
Something else that I started doing lately is walking at the end of my runs. I usually stop at least 200 meters away from my apartment just to get a better cooldown in. I used to just finish at the door and then go inside grab something to drink and then sit down. I started thinking about it and there is really nothing that could be dumber. So in my mind this will be a great change to my training.
But overall the week was good. I had a couple of easy recovery type days when I was on my own or just made the others run slower so that was good. I would have to say that the best run of the week was my long run on Saturday though. My legs felt great and I got to run with a god friend of mine from high school, Matt Damico. It has been a very long time since I have been on a run with this guy and it is probably going to be one of the lasts runs in awhile too. I ran the 3.5 miles to his dads house and we went for a great 45 min run and then we parted ways and I back off to my house. I ended up a little farther away from my house than I wanted to be so I ended up walking about .75 miles at the end of the run as I didn't really want to make it a 14+ day. Matt I must thank you for the run it was great seeing you and hopefully we can get another run in before you leave Minnesota. I wish you and your wife the best of luck on your upcoming endeavours.
Right now my plan is to stay in the 60-70 range for all of June and then move up to the 70-80 range for July and 80-90 for August and the beginning of September. This is all depending on how my legs feel during the training. I am pretty confident that I will be able to handle the higher mileage by adding morning runs into my routine so I may try to build up a little fast so I can get a couple weeks in at right around 100. This all in the planning still but for the most part it will be about like I said.
One last thing. I know that in my first post back at the beginning of April I mentioned that I was planning on running the Bismarck marathon in September. Well that was a little to close for me and so I changed it to either Des Moines or Kansas City. As much as I would love to run Twin Cities my old roommate is getting married the day before so that pretty much puts that one out of the question. The Kansas City and Des Moines are on the same weekend and are about the same distance away. I know people that live in both of the areas so I have places to stay so that is not the issue. I was leaning more towards Des Moines right away due to it being a little flatter and better competion but right now I am thinking that Kansas City is going to be the one. I figure that I will be shooting for right around 2:35 and last year the winner went 2:35 at KC compared to 2:24 at DM. So at least I would be closer to the leaders at KC. Plus it is on Saturday which sould give me a day to recover before driving home unlike DM which is on Sunday...that would be a LONG day.
Happy running!!!
May had its good weeks and its bad weeks. I was running really well for awhile and then had a workout in the middle of the month that really seemed to kill me. It was not even that much of a workout but my body did not handle it well. It came at the end of a fairly big week for where I was at in training and I think that it was a little too much. I helped pace one of the high school kids to a 10:15 2 mile the day after an 11 mile run and a week full of 8-9 mile runs. I thought that it would be no big deal but I didn't run for a couple days after and just felt exhausted when I tried to run a couple days latter. I don't really know what it was that caused e to run like crap for the next two weeks but whatever it was is hopefully behind me now and I can get back into the swing of things and prepare for the race season this summer.
This last week was I think my first week of seven days of training since I started back up. Now that I am back to a set schedule I can manage my time a lot better and get the training that I need done. So May is behind me and here is the break down of the first week to a new month.
Monday: 8 (54:45)
Tuesday: 7.6 (51:30)
Wednesday: 7.4 (51:30)
Thursday: 9 (1:01:20)
Friday: 7.25 (48:15)
Saturday: 13.5 (1:33:30)
Sunday: 7:25 (50:00)
Week total: 60 miles
MTD: 60 miles
Well this was a good week I thought. For the most part I felt good throughout the entire week with a couple of runs that I wish had been a little different. It has been really nice running so far this week since I now have people to run with but it gets to be difficult sometimes. We always try to run slower but always seem to end up speeding up to a point that I don't want to be running at during my everyday training runs. I usually try and hold them around 6:50 pace but usually we drop closer to 6:35-6:40 by the middle and the ends get even faster. It is not like it feels difficult at all but I want my easy days to be easy and my hard days to be hard.
So this was my solution to the problem...hopefully. Get a good tempo in to get the race mode out of all of us. So sometime this next week I'll throw in an easy tempo just to get the racing out of our heads.
It is not like the paces that we have been running is all that fast and maybe the couple of seconds faster per mile is not that big of a deal but I really don't know. Is it always better to stay on the side of caution?
Something else that I started doing lately is walking at the end of my runs. I usually stop at least 200 meters away from my apartment just to get a better cooldown in. I used to just finish at the door and then go inside grab something to drink and then sit down. I started thinking about it and there is really nothing that could be dumber. So in my mind this will be a great change to my training.
But overall the week was good. I had a couple of easy recovery type days when I was on my own or just made the others run slower so that was good. I would have to say that the best run of the week was my long run on Saturday though. My legs felt great and I got to run with a god friend of mine from high school, Matt Damico. It has been a very long time since I have been on a run with this guy and it is probably going to be one of the lasts runs in awhile too. I ran the 3.5 miles to his dads house and we went for a great 45 min run and then we parted ways and I back off to my house. I ended up a little farther away from my house than I wanted to be so I ended up walking about .75 miles at the end of the run as I didn't really want to make it a 14+ day. Matt I must thank you for the run it was great seeing you and hopefully we can get another run in before you leave Minnesota. I wish you and your wife the best of luck on your upcoming endeavours.
Right now my plan is to stay in the 60-70 range for all of June and then move up to the 70-80 range for July and 80-90 for August and the beginning of September. This is all depending on how my legs feel during the training. I am pretty confident that I will be able to handle the higher mileage by adding morning runs into my routine so I may try to build up a little fast so I can get a couple weeks in at right around 100. This all in the planning still but for the most part it will be about like I said.
One last thing. I know that in my first post back at the beginning of April I mentioned that I was planning on running the Bismarck marathon in September. Well that was a little to close for me and so I changed it to either Des Moines or Kansas City. As much as I would love to run Twin Cities my old roommate is getting married the day before so that pretty much puts that one out of the question. The Kansas City and Des Moines are on the same weekend and are about the same distance away. I know people that live in both of the areas so I have places to stay so that is not the issue. I was leaning more towards Des Moines right away due to it being a little flatter and better competion but right now I am thinking that Kansas City is going to be the one. I figure that I will be shooting for right around 2:35 and last year the winner went 2:35 at KC compared to 2:24 at DM. So at least I would be closer to the leaders at KC. Plus it is on Saturday which sould give me a day to recover before driving home unlike DM which is on Sunday...that would be a LONG day.
Happy running!!!
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