Well an over all pretty good week. Just took it real easy due to the fact that I have not raced in quite some time and I was not sore at all. I guess I had never gotten a massage immediately after a race before either so maybe that was it but dang the legs felt good all week.
Sunday - About 15 miles
Half marathon - 1:15:14
2 mile warmup and no cooldown
Monday - 6 miles (44:10)
Tuesday - 8 miles (55:48)
Wednesday - 6 miles (44:32)
Thursday - 5.5 miles (38:45)
Friday - Off
Saturday - 10 miles (1:12:04)
Week total - 51
Not too bad with a day off.
So as I mentioned at the beginning I took the entire week real easy. Even though I felt great and super motivated coming off of this race I am thinking that it is in my best interest to take it easy for the week and then figure out what I am going to do from here. Right now it is looking like I am not going to race again until the May 15th down in the Boston area on the track. I have no clue where I am at in turns of being able to run on the track but I am thinking that that will be a good time to find out. I do not think that I am ready to go and pound one out on the track quite yet but in a month and a half I think I will be ready. So far everything still feels pretty good with the knee there is a little worry but i do not think that it is much of anything. Going to try get in a couple workouts this week and see how things go with those. Until next time. Happy running.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Well Shall we try this again after yet another long break?? Why not...
Well what has been going on in the world of Richie and running? Well this is what is going on. After I said I was going to write after the half marathon I ran last fall I did not...I ran the race and won but it was easy and I ran slow and it was what it was. 1:19:02 on a very uphilly course. Not at all easy and I won by 6 minutes so I really had no motivation to run fast. But I did get this weird idea in my head after I ran it about two weeks later.
After the race I figured I could have run right around 1:17 if it would have been a flat course and I had any sort of motivation other than winning by as much as I could. So I see this ad for the NYC Half on good old letsrun.com and say to myself...well if I am in about 1:17 shape right now in 4.5 months I should be back into good shape and be able to run faster than I did at Fargo maybe new PR shape like low 1:12ish maybe. Little did I know that God had other plans for me that involved not running that fast at all. I ran pretty consistently during November until the end and then got injured. I had something tweek in my knee right before Thanksgiving and that was it for about 3 weeks. So now it is mid December and I find out that I am able to have surgery for the crap that happened to my knee back in May. Bad thing is is that it is/was on Jan 7th. That leaves just over 2 months post surgery to get healed up, SLOWLY start running again, and then get in racing shape. HA good one. Well it happened, and worked out pretty well.
I ran right up until my surgery, including the morning of, but then took the entire rest of the month off. I read a couple good running books that got me motivated again (Pain by Dan Middleman and The Gift: A runners story by Paul Maurer) . Great post college story books that I recommend especially The Gift, I will even mail it to you if you read this and want to read it, though I will want it back at some point.
Regardless this is what happened. I ran, I was busy, I didn't run a little bit, and I rean a half marathon. As I was thinking in the fall I was thinking that I was probably in close to 1:17 shape and was planning on going out at that speed and seeing what happend towards the end and see if I could pick up a minute or so over the last mile and maybe get lucky and run closer to 1:16. Well all of that happened and more. I ended up running 1:15:14. How in the hell I did that I have no clue but I did. I looked back at my running log and found out that I had run only 32 days since surgery including the first week that looked something like this:
1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3
I took my time getting back. I crushed out a 14 mile long run the Sunday before the half and was super sore for the next 3-4 days. Here is how the race broke down:
1 mile - 5:55
2 mile - 5:51 (11:46)
3 mile - 5:54 (17:41)
5k - 18:19
4 mile - 5:54 (23:35)
5 mile - 5:38 (29:13)
6 mile - 5:52 (35:05)
10k - 18:01 (36:20)
7 mile - 5:46 (40:51)
8 mile - 5:46 (46:37) The next two were off so I averaged them
9 mile - 5:41 (52:18)
15k - 17:47 (54:07)
10 mile - 5:41 (57:59)
11 mile - 5:38 ( 1:03:37)
12 mile - 5:37 (1:09:14)
20k - 17:19 (35:16) (1:11:36)
13 mile - 5:27 (1:14:42)
.1 mile - :32 (1:15:14)
So all in all it was a good race for what I was at. I was very pleased, with the way that I ran and I am really looking for a good rest of the spring and the summer. I am thinking that I am going to do a fall marathon but I have to find out where I am going to be next year before I make that decision. I am thinking that I am going to be in Vermont this next year but I won't know for awhile yet. My thoughts are this right now. I want to run fast, like sub 2:30 for sure. I know that I can do it if I train for it but I HAVE to train and not get injured in the process. So this also factors into my decision. In order to run as fast as I can I am going to need competition and there is none in the local 3 state area fall races. So I am looking at going to Massachusetts for Bay State or NYC. There is another one in New Hampshire that gives out some real good prize money and the winner has ran mid 2:30's the last couple years. And when I say good, I mean like $1500 for the winner. But that course is kind of hilly and I want to run fast. Who know what will happen. All I know is that I am not sore today and I am not sure what to think about that when I ran as hard as I did...
Next race...who knows but there is a 10k I might do in early May and a 4 mile that I am really hoping to do well at in June.
After the race I figured I could have run right around 1:17 if it would have been a flat course and I had any sort of motivation other than winning by as much as I could. So I see this ad for the NYC Half on good old letsrun.com and say to myself...well if I am in about 1:17 shape right now in 4.5 months I should be back into good shape and be able to run faster than I did at Fargo maybe new PR shape like low 1:12ish maybe. Little did I know that God had other plans for me that involved not running that fast at all. I ran pretty consistently during November until the end and then got injured. I had something tweek in my knee right before Thanksgiving and that was it for about 3 weeks. So now it is mid December and I find out that I am able to have surgery for the crap that happened to my knee back in May. Bad thing is is that it is/was on Jan 7th. That leaves just over 2 months post surgery to get healed up, SLOWLY start running again, and then get in racing shape. HA good one. Well it happened, and worked out pretty well.
I ran right up until my surgery, including the morning of, but then took the entire rest of the month off. I read a couple good running books that got me motivated again (Pain by Dan Middleman and The Gift: A runners story by Paul Maurer) . Great post college story books that I recommend especially The Gift, I will even mail it to you if you read this and want to read it, though I will want it back at some point.
Regardless this is what happened. I ran, I was busy, I didn't run a little bit, and I rean a half marathon. As I was thinking in the fall I was thinking that I was probably in close to 1:17 shape and was planning on going out at that speed and seeing what happend towards the end and see if I could pick up a minute or so over the last mile and maybe get lucky and run closer to 1:16. Well all of that happened and more. I ended up running 1:15:14. How in the hell I did that I have no clue but I did. I looked back at my running log and found out that I had run only 32 days since surgery including the first week that looked something like this:
1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3
I took my time getting back. I crushed out a 14 mile long run the Sunday before the half and was super sore for the next 3-4 days. Here is how the race broke down:
1 mile - 5:55
2 mile - 5:51 (11:46)
3 mile - 5:54 (17:41)
5k - 18:19
4 mile - 5:54 (23:35)
5 mile - 5:38 (29:13)
6 mile - 5:52 (35:05)
10k - 18:01 (36:20)
7 mile - 5:46 (40:51)
8 mile - 5:46 (46:37) The next two were off so I averaged them
9 mile - 5:41 (52:18)
15k - 17:47 (54:07)
10 mile - 5:41 (57:59)
11 mile - 5:38 ( 1:03:37)
12 mile - 5:37 (1:09:14)
20k - 17:19 (35:16) (1:11:36)
13 mile - 5:27 (1:14:42)
.1 mile - :32 (1:15:14)
So all in all it was a good race for what I was at. I was very pleased, with the way that I ran and I am really looking for a good rest of the spring and the summer. I am thinking that I am going to do a fall marathon but I have to find out where I am going to be next year before I make that decision. I am thinking that I am going to be in Vermont this next year but I won't know for awhile yet. My thoughts are this right now. I want to run fast, like sub 2:30 for sure. I know that I can do it if I train for it but I HAVE to train and not get injured in the process. So this also factors into my decision. In order to run as fast as I can I am going to need competition and there is none in the local 3 state area fall races. So I am looking at going to Massachusetts for Bay State or NYC. There is another one in New Hampshire that gives out some real good prize money and the winner has ran mid 2:30's the last couple years. And when I say good, I mean like $1500 for the winner. But that course is kind of hilly and I want to run fast. Who know what will happen. All I know is that I am not sore today and I am not sure what to think about that when I ran as hard as I did...
Next race...who knows but there is a 10k I might do in early May and a 4 mile that I am really hoping to do well at in June.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
I have been running...
But I am really lazy and never write down what I do. But I ran a 5k a couple weeks ago on the 17th and it went pretty well. I ended up winning the race and ran 16:52. Pretty good time for where I am at right now in my training. I am running a half marathon in a couple days and I think that this week I will be able to have a good update next week. The thing is I feel that this is just not that interesting being it is about me running base mileage and nothing all that exciting. Maybe I should start doing the occasional workout...
5k
1 mile - 5:11
2 mile - 5:26 (10:37)
3 mile to finish - 6:15
More to come after the weekend.
5k
1 mile - 5:11
2 mile - 5:26 (10:37)
3 mile to finish - 6:15
More to come after the weekend.
Monday, September 27, 2010
September 20th - 26th
Well it was an interesting week but not a bad one by any means. Here is the breakdown.
Monday: Off. Ran yesterday and it felt pretty good but I go lazy and decided not to get out the door.
Tuesday: 8 (57:10)
Well look at this for a "long" run. I was not planning on going this long but I ended up taking a wrong turn and this is what I got for it. I finished the run and felt really good but there were some nasty hills on the route that I am sure to run into again at some point in my time here. I did find some nice trails that I am going to run at some point.
Wednesday: 7
Little sore from yesterday but I still had a good one
Thursday: 6
Real EASY. We are talking like 8:15 pace at best for the average of this run. I was thinking about weather it is about getting back to the normal 6:45-7:00 min pace that I usually run at and getting the mileage in or if it is about taking it slow and putting the time in but not the mileage. Not really sure right now.
Friday: 7ish
Not really sure on the distance of this run but it was a good one for sure. I went with one of the students from the Catholic Center and a girl from his dorm. And man was she pretty amazing. I would be willing to bet that we were running pretty dang close to 7:00 pace and she was having no problem keeping up with us. Funny thing is, is that she told me she was only a 20-21 min 5k runner. Something was just not adding up on that. None the less I may just have to give that girls name to the cross team and see what they can do with it.
Saturday: Off
I was thinking that it might be a good day to not run today as my knee was a bit swollen. I am really thinking that the cartilage has taken a turn into a spot that is starting to aggravate the area more than normal. My knee does not per say hurt all that much but the swelling is causing some of the tendons to rub the wrong way.
Sunday: 6
Easy recovery run that I ran pretty late at night on a dark path that creeped the crap out of me. Stopped to stretch a couple of times to rub out the knee.
Total: 35 miles!!
Overall: A week that I was pretty pleased with. I know I am probably starting out to fast but I do not really care all that much. I can handle it but I am not sure if my current knee can. So I am thinking that I am going to take it easy for the next week and see what I can do. There is a 5k that I want to run this weekend but that will depend on how the next couple days go. Plus I just found out that I may be able to get this knee problem taken care of sooner than I thought.
Monday: Off. Ran yesterday and it felt pretty good but I go lazy and decided not to get out the door.
Tuesday: 8 (57:10)
Well look at this for a "long" run. I was not planning on going this long but I ended up taking a wrong turn and this is what I got for it. I finished the run and felt really good but there were some nasty hills on the route that I am sure to run into again at some point in my time here. I did find some nice trails that I am going to run at some point.
Wednesday: 7
Little sore from yesterday but I still had a good one
Thursday: 6
Real EASY. We are talking like 8:15 pace at best for the average of this run. I was thinking about weather it is about getting back to the normal 6:45-7:00 min pace that I usually run at and getting the mileage in or if it is about taking it slow and putting the time in but not the mileage. Not really sure right now.
Friday: 7ish
Not really sure on the distance of this run but it was a good one for sure. I went with one of the students from the Catholic Center and a girl from his dorm. And man was she pretty amazing. I would be willing to bet that we were running pretty dang close to 7:00 pace and she was having no problem keeping up with us. Funny thing is, is that she told me she was only a 20-21 min 5k runner. Something was just not adding up on that. None the less I may just have to give that girls name to the cross team and see what they can do with it.
Saturday: Off
I was thinking that it might be a good day to not run today as my knee was a bit swollen. I am really thinking that the cartilage has taken a turn into a spot that is starting to aggravate the area more than normal. My knee does not per say hurt all that much but the swelling is causing some of the tendons to rub the wrong way.
Sunday: 6
Easy recovery run that I ran pretty late at night on a dark path that creeped the crap out of me. Stopped to stretch a couple of times to rub out the knee.
Total: 35 miles!!
Overall: A week that I was pretty pleased with. I know I am probably starting out to fast but I do not really care all that much. I can handle it but I am not sure if my current knee can. So I am thinking that I am going to take it easy for the next week and see what I can do. There is a 5k that I want to run this weekend but that will depend on how the next couple days go. Plus I just found out that I may be able to get this knee problem taken care of sooner than I thought.
Monday, September 20, 2010
This is what just happened...
And so we are brought to the present tie of the blog and right up to the Boston Marathon weekend. I did a little 6 mile workout on Wednesday and it felt really good. I was in an unfamiliar area in Minneapolis and I found a 1.8ish mile loop that I ran 3 times. I was not really planning on running it that fast but I felt good and gradually started picking up as I went on. I remember feeling really good and ran the last mile in 5:30ish. This pretty much served no purpose at all but I felt like getting the run done. So then I got to Boston, couple of runs and took the day before off. Then race day. Here is to no suspense to find out what I ran.
2:42:46
It felt good and it is not an easy course at all. Here is how the race breaks down to what I can remember. First 4 miles are pretty much all downhill with a hill at the end. Then it was pretty much rolling for the next 7-8 miles and then at 12ish there was a big hill that led up Wellesley College. This was a great little area with TONS of women screaming like crazy. I would have to say that this was probably one of the fastest miles that the male competitors ran. Great motivation. But after this there is not a lot of fun left in the course except for the end of the race that I can really remember. I remember hitting the hills at 16 miles and feeling really good. I dropped a large group that I was with and I think only 3 or 4 people passed me by the end of the race. So being from northern MN and it being flatter than death I hit the hills pretty well. By far the hardest part of the race started to be the downhill sections. My quads were crazy burning by the end of the race and the downhills hurt so bad. You know that it is not good when you desire uphill sections. I hit the wall and can honestly say that I gave it everything I had that day. I averaged 6:08ish pace for the first 22 miles and then the last 4 were 6:30ish pace. I was pretty much completely depleted of all energy. But I was able to keep off this guy that I had been running with since mile 7. Beat him by less than 10 seconds. Overall pretty good day.
Mile splits are from the garmin and the kilometer ones are from the race results.
1 mile: 6:06
2 mile: 6:09 - 12:15
3 mile: 6:09 - 18:24
5k: 19:01
4 mile: 6:06 - 24:31
5 mile: 6:13 - 30:45
6 mile: 6:09 - 36:54
10k: 38:21
7 mile: 6:08 - 43:02
8 mile: 6:12 - 49:15
9 mile: 6:09 - 55:24
15k: 57:36
10 mile: 6:07 - 1:01:32
11 mile: 6:10 - 1:07:43
12 mile: 6:01 - 1:13:44
20k: 1:16:44
13 mile: 6:06 - 1:19:50
Half Marathon: 1:20:52
14 mile: 6:08 - 1:25:58
15 mile: 6:08 - 1:32:06
25k: 1:35:44
16 mile: 5:53 - 1:38:00
17 mile: 6:11 - 1:44:12
18 mile: 6:09 - 1:50:22
30k: 1:54:48
19 mile: 6:00 - 1:56:22
20 mile: 6:12 - 2:02:35
21 mile: 6:27 - 2:09:03
35k: 2:14:12
40k: 2:34:19
22 to end: 33:50 - 2:42:46
So as I said you can see that the times started to slow from average at the 21st mile and on. So that is the last 6 miles of the race. It hurt and lack of running showed to be the downfall of me though I still only ran 4:30 slower than I did in Kansas when I was in WAY better shape. So god to know that if I really try hard I cold probably put something pretty good together. We shall see what happens in the future.
So I was pretty jacked after the race and this just continued on through the end of the month.
May: I was pretty rock solid for all of May. I did not do any workouts at all that I can remember but I did do the Fargo Marathon on the 22nd. That was by far the best race that I have run in a long time. 1:13:23. Not that fast for the most part but damn was I jacked after I crossed the line. For the most part I really only had about 2 months of training with a marathon in the middle of it. And since my PR is only 1:12:41. For being 42 seconds away from a PR in very wet conditions also really made me happy. I was really looking forward to the summer of training and the next year to see what it was going to bring but that is a story for after the Fargo splits...
I started out slow and then started to hammer at the end and the splits show
1 mile: 5:44
2 mile: 5:47 - 11:31
3 mile: 5:42 - 17:14
4 mile: 5:41 - 22:55
5 mile: 5:31 - 28:27
6 mile: 5:40 - 34:07
10k: 35:27
7 mile: 5:32 - 39:39
8 mile: 5:33 - 45:13
9 mile: 5:25 - 50:39
10 mile: 5:31 - 56:11
11 mile: 5:22 - 1:01:34
12 mile: 5:17 - 1:06:51
13 mile: 5:19 - 1:12:11
end: 1:13:23
So as you can see this was a pretty good day. I was real happy. Now we fast forward one in time to the worst part of my running career. The day was Saturday the 29th of May 2010. In a freak volleyball accident I dislocated my knee cap and that pretty much put an end to life as a runner as I knew it. I was in super good shape and was looking at running a race in a couple weeks in Illinois but that obviously never happened. I took ALL of June and most of July off. I ran a couple days and it felt OK but I have discovered other things since all the doctors and what not have looked at it. I was told by a friend that I have floating cartilage in my knee and that has to be removed with surgery and I just really do not have the funds for that right now. So I am just trying to get by with what I have right now. I know I should probably just get the stupid thing taken care of but it is really a money thing right now more than anything. I have been running again but not at any real quality. I am hoping that I will be able to just giv'r and see what happens with it. If I need to I will get surgery in the early part of next year and see what happens from there.
As for upcoming races...I have no big ones planned at the moment. I moved to BUrlington, VT in the middle of August and am loving it but I need to get into a steady running plan and get back int racing shape. I ran a 5 miler last weekend and BLEW up during that. I have been battling some hip favoring problems as well but decided to run anyways. I ran 29:24 for 5 MILES!!! I have not run that slow since I have no idea when. I almost ran that fast for 5 miles of my marathon last fall. This is not acceptable and I will get back into running shape very soon. I will be running a cross country race on the 22nd of October. And I will run well at it. And by well I better be under 28 or I am going to be PISSED! I got faith that I can get down to that range in a month so now it is time to go for a run and quite complaining.
Thanks all for reading and hopefully I can update more frequently again.
Run for Him,
Richie
2:42:46
It felt good and it is not an easy course at all. Here is how the race breaks down to what I can remember. First 4 miles are pretty much all downhill with a hill at the end. Then it was pretty much rolling for the next 7-8 miles and then at 12ish there was a big hill that led up Wellesley College. This was a great little area with TONS of women screaming like crazy. I would have to say that this was probably one of the fastest miles that the male competitors ran. Great motivation. But after this there is not a lot of fun left in the course except for the end of the race that I can really remember. I remember hitting the hills at 16 miles and feeling really good. I dropped a large group that I was with and I think only 3 or 4 people passed me by the end of the race. So being from northern MN and it being flatter than death I hit the hills pretty well. By far the hardest part of the race started to be the downhill sections. My quads were crazy burning by the end of the race and the downhills hurt so bad. You know that it is not good when you desire uphill sections. I hit the wall and can honestly say that I gave it everything I had that day. I averaged 6:08ish pace for the first 22 miles and then the last 4 were 6:30ish pace. I was pretty much completely depleted of all energy. But I was able to keep off this guy that I had been running with since mile 7. Beat him by less than 10 seconds. Overall pretty good day.
Mile splits are from the garmin and the kilometer ones are from the race results.
1 mile: 6:06
2 mile: 6:09 - 12:15
3 mile: 6:09 - 18:24
5k: 19:01
4 mile: 6:06 - 24:31
5 mile: 6:13 - 30:45
6 mile: 6:09 - 36:54
10k: 38:21
7 mile: 6:08 - 43:02
8 mile: 6:12 - 49:15
9 mile: 6:09 - 55:24
15k: 57:36
10 mile: 6:07 - 1:01:32
11 mile: 6:10 - 1:07:43
12 mile: 6:01 - 1:13:44
20k: 1:16:44
13 mile: 6:06 - 1:19:50
Half Marathon: 1:20:52
14 mile: 6:08 - 1:25:58
15 mile: 6:08 - 1:32:06
25k: 1:35:44
16 mile: 5:53 - 1:38:00
17 mile: 6:11 - 1:44:12
18 mile: 6:09 - 1:50:22
30k: 1:54:48
19 mile: 6:00 - 1:56:22
20 mile: 6:12 - 2:02:35
21 mile: 6:27 - 2:09:03
35k: 2:14:12
40k: 2:34:19
22 to end: 33:50 - 2:42:46
So as I said you can see that the times started to slow from average at the 21st mile and on. So that is the last 6 miles of the race. It hurt and lack of running showed to be the downfall of me though I still only ran 4:30 slower than I did in Kansas when I was in WAY better shape. So god to know that if I really try hard I cold probably put something pretty good together. We shall see what happens in the future.
So I was pretty jacked after the race and this just continued on through the end of the month.
May: I was pretty rock solid for all of May. I did not do any workouts at all that I can remember but I did do the Fargo Marathon on the 22nd. That was by far the best race that I have run in a long time. 1:13:23. Not that fast for the most part but damn was I jacked after I crossed the line. For the most part I really only had about 2 months of training with a marathon in the middle of it. And since my PR is only 1:12:41. For being 42 seconds away from a PR in very wet conditions also really made me happy. I was really looking forward to the summer of training and the next year to see what it was going to bring but that is a story for after the Fargo splits...
I started out slow and then started to hammer at the end and the splits show
1 mile: 5:44
2 mile: 5:47 - 11:31
3 mile: 5:42 - 17:14
4 mile: 5:41 - 22:55
5 mile: 5:31 - 28:27
6 mile: 5:40 - 34:07
10k: 35:27
7 mile: 5:32 - 39:39
8 mile: 5:33 - 45:13
9 mile: 5:25 - 50:39
10 mile: 5:31 - 56:11
11 mile: 5:22 - 1:01:34
12 mile: 5:17 - 1:06:51
13 mile: 5:19 - 1:12:11
end: 1:13:23
So as you can see this was a pretty good day. I was real happy. Now we fast forward one in time to the worst part of my running career. The day was Saturday the 29th of May 2010. In a freak volleyball accident I dislocated my knee cap and that pretty much put an end to life as a runner as I knew it. I was in super good shape and was looking at running a race in a couple weeks in Illinois but that obviously never happened. I took ALL of June and most of July off. I ran a couple days and it felt OK but I have discovered other things since all the doctors and what not have looked at it. I was told by a friend that I have floating cartilage in my knee and that has to be removed with surgery and I just really do not have the funds for that right now. So I am just trying to get by with what I have right now. I know I should probably just get the stupid thing taken care of but it is really a money thing right now more than anything. I have been running again but not at any real quality. I am hoping that I will be able to just giv'r and see what happens with it. If I need to I will get surgery in the early part of next year and see what happens from there.
As for upcoming races...I have no big ones planned at the moment. I moved to BUrlington, VT in the middle of August and am loving it but I need to get into a steady running plan and get back int racing shape. I ran a 5 miler last weekend and BLEW up during that. I have been battling some hip favoring problems as well but decided to run anyways. I ran 29:24 for 5 MILES!!! I have not run that slow since I have no idea when. I almost ran that fast for 5 miles of my marathon last fall. This is not acceptable and I will get back into running shape very soon. I will be running a cross country race on the 22nd of October. And I will run well at it. And by well I better be under 28 or I am going to be PISSED! I got faith that I can get down to that range in a month so now it is time to go for a run and quite complaining.
Thanks all for reading and hopefully I can update more frequently again.
Run for Him,
Richie
What just happened??
Well this is what happened. I quit blogging and running for a while...kind of. I quit for about a month and a half after this last post and then I started running again on and off. Nothing to crazy but I also had gotten into the Boston Marathon about 2 weeks after the last post so I had that going for me in April as well. Here is the extent of what I did over the last 9 months.
December: On and off but mostly off.
January: Was running about 4 to 5 days a week nothing to crazy but it was cold and I did not really care at all. But there was the underlying theme of me trying to get back on the track and run a couple indoor meets. Which I did. I ran a 3k on the 30th that went OK but I could tell I was still not in the greatest of shape as I only ran 9:18 which is what I ran a sophomore and I barely trained for this at all so that was good but none the less it was not fast at all. I knew that I was capable of running faster but I needed to get my head out of my but and get in gear if I was going to.
February: The beginning...Good. The end...not so good. I think the main reason that this segment was a little rough was it was so bloody cold. I ended up running another race on the Feb 6th that went much better. 9:09 which I know that I could not have run faster than at that time. It was only a week after the last one and I ran 9 seconds faster which is almost a second faster per 400m. I was pleased with the results of my brief indoor season as I have not put any speed work in except a couple strides after the runs that I was doing. The next week was good and I got in a really good long run that next weekend on Valentines Day in Minneapolis with a buddy. We ended up going about 16.5 which was a pretty good run for both of us at that time. We were both starting to prepare for Boston. This was 10 weeks out so I was feeling pretty good. Bad part about this is that I did not get another long run in this month. I can not fully remember what the rest of the month looked like but I feel like it was back to the on and off 4-5 days a week plan again.
March: This was not a pretty month at all. I was really thinking that it was going to be a good one but I was really wrong. I ran the first 4 days of the month and then I left for a cruise and did not run a single day. I was in 85+ degree weather for 10 days and did not take a step. ZERO motivation other than the fact that I knew Boston was coming up really soon. So I got back on the 14th and then I started back up again and did the standard 5 days a week running plan. By the end of the month I was back up to 7 days a week and feeling...pretty good.
April: This was a month of getting after it. I think I took about 2 days off before the marathon that was on the 19th. So with the marathon only 3 weeks from the beginning of the month I knew that this was not going to be pretty. Just to remind you I had not done a long run since the one that I told you about in February. And now that I think about it, the end of march really sucked. I was headed out for a long run one day and I was feeling really good. I started out pretty slow and then fell into a pretty comfortable pace at about 6:25ish pace. All of the sudden around 12 miles my hamstring started to lock up. I stopped to stretch and made it another mile and had to walk home. This was on March 21st and this required a couple days off. So, The first weekend of April I was like it is crunch time but I am pretty much screwed for a good race. I had done two 13 miles since Feb. and that was the extent of my long runs. But on the 5th, two weeks out I really through down for one last good long run. And I must say that I was pretty surprised. I ran the first couple pretty easy and then fell into about 6:30 pace for a bit and then ended up having about the last 7 at about 6:04 pace. A couple were under 6:00 and a couple were closer to 6:10 but I remeber feeling pretty dang good at the end of that 20 miler. I averaged 6:18 for the entire run after a pretty slow start. I could not believe that I had just ran that fast for that long off some of the worst training that I have ever put in. So this for sure gave me hope that I would be able to put something fairly well together at Boston in two weeks. The next two weeks were good and I got a 14 miler in on the 12th. I did not really taper at all for the race as my whole training was pretty much a taper or not that intense to where I needed to taper at all. In fact I think it was kind of the exact opposite of a taper. I was running more... PS I signed up for the Fargo Half Marathon back in January that I knew was also looming around the corner in late May. Boston and beyond post to come very soon...
December: On and off but mostly off.
January: Was running about 4 to 5 days a week nothing to crazy but it was cold and I did not really care at all. But there was the underlying theme of me trying to get back on the track and run a couple indoor meets. Which I did. I ran a 3k on the 30th that went OK but I could tell I was still not in the greatest of shape as I only ran 9:18 which is what I ran a sophomore and I barely trained for this at all so that was good but none the less it was not fast at all. I knew that I was capable of running faster but I needed to get my head out of my but and get in gear if I was going to.
February: The beginning...Good. The end...not so good. I think the main reason that this segment was a little rough was it was so bloody cold. I ended up running another race on the Feb 6th that went much better. 9:09 which I know that I could not have run faster than at that time. It was only a week after the last one and I ran 9 seconds faster which is almost a second faster per 400m. I was pleased with the results of my brief indoor season as I have not put any speed work in except a couple strides after the runs that I was doing. The next week was good and I got in a really good long run that next weekend on Valentines Day in Minneapolis with a buddy. We ended up going about 16.5 which was a pretty good run for both of us at that time. We were both starting to prepare for Boston. This was 10 weeks out so I was feeling pretty good. Bad part about this is that I did not get another long run in this month. I can not fully remember what the rest of the month looked like but I feel like it was back to the on and off 4-5 days a week plan again.
March: This was not a pretty month at all. I was really thinking that it was going to be a good one but I was really wrong. I ran the first 4 days of the month and then I left for a cruise and did not run a single day. I was in 85+ degree weather for 10 days and did not take a step. ZERO motivation other than the fact that I knew Boston was coming up really soon. So I got back on the 14th and then I started back up again and did the standard 5 days a week running plan. By the end of the month I was back up to 7 days a week and feeling...pretty good.
April: This was a month of getting after it. I think I took about 2 days off before the marathon that was on the 19th. So with the marathon only 3 weeks from the beginning of the month I knew that this was not going to be pretty. Just to remind you I had not done a long run since the one that I told you about in February. And now that I think about it, the end of march really sucked. I was headed out for a long run one day and I was feeling really good. I started out pretty slow and then fell into a pretty comfortable pace at about 6:25ish pace. All of the sudden around 12 miles my hamstring started to lock up. I stopped to stretch and made it another mile and had to walk home. This was on March 21st and this required a couple days off. So, The first weekend of April I was like it is crunch time but I am pretty much screwed for a good race. I had done two 13 miles since Feb. and that was the extent of my long runs. But on the 5th, two weeks out I really through down for one last good long run. And I must say that I was pretty surprised. I ran the first couple pretty easy and then fell into about 6:30 pace for a bit and then ended up having about the last 7 at about 6:04 pace. A couple were under 6:00 and a couple were closer to 6:10 but I remeber feeling pretty dang good at the end of that 20 miler. I averaged 6:18 for the entire run after a pretty slow start. I could not believe that I had just ran that fast for that long off some of the worst training that I have ever put in. So this for sure gave me hope that I would be able to put something fairly well together at Boston in two weeks. The next two weeks were good and I got a 14 miler in on the 12th. I did not really taper at all for the race as my whole training was pretty much a taper or not that intense to where I needed to taper at all. In fact I think it was kind of the exact opposite of a taper. I was running more... PS I signed up for the Fargo Half Marathon back in January that I knew was also looming around the corner in late May. Boston and beyond post to come very soon...
Sunday, November 15, 2009
As of now
As of now it is 3rd place. I got an email response tonight from the guy that I had contacted earlier today. He said that the guy was DQ's for cutting the course, along with some others as well. I thought that there was something fishy with the results as I was looking at the intermediate splits but who was I to say anything??
The interesting thing about it is that the guy that is currently second did not get disqualified even though from what I can remember from looking at there splits they were almost the same as the guy that got DQ'd. And they only finished 2 seconds apart. So a did a little digging deeper into the online intermediate splits from the guy that took second and man is there something that is not right. Here is what I found
First off I must say that the guy is a pretty good runner with some legit PR's. He ran for Adam's State in Alamosa, CO and has run a 14:32 5k and a 30:44 10k
They had 4 intermediate splits throughout the race at 3.3, 9.1, 13.1, and 20 miles
These are the splits for the guy that took second.
3.3 - 18:20 (5:33 pace) seems legit
9.1 - 49:07 (5:24 pace) ...maybe but this means he had to average 5:18 pace from 3.3 to 9.1
13.1 - 1:09:29 (5:18 pace)...I don't think so. The time is plausible for this guy but this also means that he race the 4 miles from 9.1 to 13.1 averaging 5:05 miles. This could be possible but there is also a 1.25 mile climb in the middle of this section and no downhills. Not saying that is it possible, but actually I am.
20 miles - 1:48:11 (5:25 pace)...back to plausible range. That 6.9 mile segment averaged 5:37
Finish - 2:37:43 (5:58 pace)...OUCH this had to hurt. Average pace for last 10k...7:58.
So in conclusion I do believe that it was legit from the start to 9.1 but from there to the half there was some cutting going on. No way in hell did those paces happen on this course at that section. NO WAY.
The interesting thing about it is that the guy that is currently second did not get disqualified even though from what I can remember from looking at there splits they were almost the same as the guy that got DQ'd. And they only finished 2 seconds apart. So a did a little digging deeper into the online intermediate splits from the guy that took second and man is there something that is not right. Here is what I found
First off I must say that the guy is a pretty good runner with some legit PR's. He ran for Adam's State in Alamosa, CO and has run a 14:32 5k and a 30:44 10k
They had 4 intermediate splits throughout the race at 3.3, 9.1, 13.1, and 20 miles
These are the splits for the guy that took second.
3.3 - 18:20 (5:33 pace) seems legit
9.1 - 49:07 (5:24 pace) ...maybe but this means he had to average 5:18 pace from 3.3 to 9.1
13.1 - 1:09:29 (5:18 pace)...I don't think so. The time is plausible for this guy but this also means that he race the 4 miles from 9.1 to 13.1 averaging 5:05 miles. This could be possible but there is also a 1.25 mile climb in the middle of this section and no downhills. Not saying that is it possible, but actually I am.
20 miles - 1:48:11 (5:25 pace)...back to plausible range. That 6.9 mile segment averaged 5:37
Finish - 2:37:43 (5:58 pace)...OUCH this had to hurt. Average pace for last 10k...7:58.
So in conclusion I do believe that it was legit from the start to 9.1 but from there to the half there was some cutting going on. No way in hell did those paces happen on this course at that section. NO WAY.
Update
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.
As for the return to blogging hopefully next week after my first full week back.
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!!!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
April 27th - May 3rd
Well this was not the week that I was looking for but it is what I got. School is finally coming to an end for yet another year and things are getting really busy. So with all this comes little time to run. I am still not really good at time management so this hurts the running as sometimes other tings have to go before it. There was some foot problems that developed during the week though.
Monday - 7 (48:30)
Tuesday - off due to school
Wednesday - same thing
Thursday - 8 (60:00)
Ran with a girl that made the pace pretty slow. It is kind of weird how running so slow can actually really hurt. Foot started hurting pretty bad during this run.
Friday - 6 (35:30)
Easy day in University park. Today I woke up and by foot was not feeling good at all. I was able to get through the run and get home and start hitting the anti inflammatory meds and ice. This seemed to really help a lot as there was barely any pain the next morning.
Saturday - 2.5 mile w/u
5k race (16:07)
1.5 mile c/d
5k splits were pretty much dead even throughout the entire race. I don't have my splits in front of me but I do remember some of them.
1k - 3:15
1mile - 5:10
2k - 6:29
3k - 9:45
2mile - 10:23
4k - 13:00
3 mile - 15:36
5k - 16:07
Before the race I was thinking that I was going to go out at 5:15-5:20 pace to start and then see how I felt after that and go from there. I figured that this would put me in good shape to run around 16:20-16:30. But when I looked at the heat sheets for the race there was a guy at 16 flat and then the next one was at 16:30. So there was a lead pack that was developed right away of about 12 guys. The leaders went through the mile around 4:50 and the back of that pack was about 5:00 with me through at 5:10 as the leader of the second pack. I felt really good at this point so I decided that I was just going to keep this pace as long as I could and see if I can start to pick a couple of guys off. Over the next 2-3 laps I started making some real progress on the guys in front of me and passed a couple of them. I was a little worried at 3k when I came through it at basically the same time that I ran the time trial two weeks earlier. I was still feeling alright but I was a little worried about the end of the race being that there was a couple of guys that knew I was going to catch before the end of the race. I caught 2 more guys with 800m to go and these are the guys that I finished the race with. I stuck behind them for another lap and made my move with 300m to go. With 150m to go it was me and one other guy so it was going to be a sprint finish. I ran the last 200 in 30-31 seconds and was able to hold the kid off which was really a big surprise to me. I had done the 3k time trial and 3 strides down the football field before the race for speed and that was about it. Other than that the last time that I ran that fast was probably either the TC 10mile last fall or conference a year ago. This was one of those races that I was really pleased with. There is nothing that I could have done that would have made me run any faster today. No regrets on the strategy of the race.
Those are what I can remember from what people were saying during the race. And I think that when I looked at my watch splits they were pretty similar. So I must say that overall I thought the race went extremely well. Having only been running for a month it was great to see that I still had some speed and that I could run a half way decent 5k. I guess that only puts me 7 seconds away from being back in shape.
Race Grade - A
Time Grade - C+ (A for where I am at right now)
Sunday - off
Week: 28 miles
April total: 160
Overall the week was not what I wanted it to be with all of the days off. My foot I was a little worried about before the race during the warmup but during the race it didn't hurt at all, at least I don't remember that pain at all. It was pretty bad on after the race and then on Sunday it was alright ut not great. I took Monday off this week as well already to give it one more day of icing and pain killers and it seemed to help. No pain on Tuesdays run and no pain today either. There is still a lot of development that needs to occur over the next couple months but in due time the racing times will be where I want then to be.
Monday - 7 (48:30)
Tuesday - off due to school
Wednesday - same thing
Thursday - 8 (60:00)
Ran with a girl that made the pace pretty slow. It is kind of weird how running so slow can actually really hurt. Foot started hurting pretty bad during this run.
Friday - 6 (35:30)
Easy day in University park. Today I woke up and by foot was not feeling good at all. I was able to get through the run and get home and start hitting the anti inflammatory meds and ice. This seemed to really help a lot as there was barely any pain the next morning.
Saturday - 2.5 mile w/u
5k race (16:07)
1.5 mile c/d
5k splits were pretty much dead even throughout the entire race. I don't have my splits in front of me but I do remember some of them.
1k - 3:15
1mile - 5:10
2k - 6:29
3k - 9:45
2mile - 10:23
4k - 13:00
3 mile - 15:36
5k - 16:07
Before the race I was thinking that I was going to go out at 5:15-5:20 pace to start and then see how I felt after that and go from there. I figured that this would put me in good shape to run around 16:20-16:30. But when I looked at the heat sheets for the race there was a guy at 16 flat and then the next one was at 16:30. So there was a lead pack that was developed right away of about 12 guys. The leaders went through the mile around 4:50 and the back of that pack was about 5:00 with me through at 5:10 as the leader of the second pack. I felt really good at this point so I decided that I was just going to keep this pace as long as I could and see if I can start to pick a couple of guys off. Over the next 2-3 laps I started making some real progress on the guys in front of me and passed a couple of them. I was a little worried at 3k when I came through it at basically the same time that I ran the time trial two weeks earlier. I was still feeling alright but I was a little worried about the end of the race being that there was a couple of guys that knew I was going to catch before the end of the race. I caught 2 more guys with 800m to go and these are the guys that I finished the race with. I stuck behind them for another lap and made my move with 300m to go. With 150m to go it was me and one other guy so it was going to be a sprint finish. I ran the last 200 in 30-31 seconds and was able to hold the kid off which was really a big surprise to me. I had done the 3k time trial and 3 strides down the football field before the race for speed and that was about it. Other than that the last time that I ran that fast was probably either the TC 10mile last fall or conference a year ago. This was one of those races that I was really pleased with. There is nothing that I could have done that would have made me run any faster today. No regrets on the strategy of the race.
Those are what I can remember from what people were saying during the race. And I think that when I looked at my watch splits they were pretty similar. So I must say that overall I thought the race went extremely well. Having only been running for a month it was great to see that I still had some speed and that I could run a half way decent 5k. I guess that only puts me 7 seconds away from being back in shape.
Race Grade - A
Time Grade - C+ (A for where I am at right now)
Sunday - off
Week: 28 miles
April total: 160
Overall the week was not what I wanted it to be with all of the days off. My foot I was a little worried about before the race during the warmup but during the race it didn't hurt at all, at least I don't remember that pain at all. It was pretty bad on after the race and then on Sunday it was alright ut not great. I took Monday off this week as well already to give it one more day of icing and pain killers and it seemed to help. No pain on Tuesdays run and no pain today either. There is still a lot of development that needs to occur over the next couple months but in due time the racing times will be where I want then to be.
Monday, April 27, 2009
April 20th - 26th
Another pretty good week of training. Most of my runs have been a little faster than I have wanted them to be but I try not look at my watch and just go by how I am feeling. I have felt really good and am ready to get in another race this weekend hopefully.
Monday - 7+ (46:56)
Tuesday - off (test and HW due Wednesday just ran out of time.)
Wednesday - 8 (56:08)
Nice easy run
Thursday -8.25 (55:00)
Little faster easy run.
Friday - 11 (1:13:45)
Nice paced long run.
Saturday - AM 6.5 (56:50) Ran with a couple of girls that are running Fargo in two weeks. It was slow and it hurt but it was a nice easy recovery run. I don't honestly know if I have ever run 6.5 miles that slow, but it was good.
Saturday - AM - 35 miles bike race (1:20:00ish)
Not really sure on the time but I think it was around that . I have not really raced or rode my bicycle in almost two years so it was good to know that I could still hold my own with some of the guys that race and ride all the time. 8th place overall I think.
Sunday - 9.25 (1:03:00)
Easy run to finish off the week.
Week total: 50 miles
MTD: 145
Well it was an easy beginning of the week and a busy finish to the week. The last three days I really thought were going to take it out of me but surprisingly i felt really good in Sunday. I had no soreness in by legs at all from the bike race and felt great during the bike race even though I ran that morning before and went long the day before. So all in all it was a great effort on the week and I am looking forward o possibly racing this week again. If I do race this coming weekend it is going to be a 5k so we shall see how that goes. Goal time is below 16:30 which I am pretty sure that I can do if the weather is decent. I think the fastest that I could go right now is maybe 16:20 but even that might be a stretch for only a month of running, not even 200 miles, and no speed work at all. I felt really good during that 3k last week so I think that it can be done.
Monday - 7+ (46:56)
Tuesday - off (test and HW due Wednesday just ran out of time.)
Wednesday - 8 (56:08)
Nice easy run
Thursday -8.25 (55:00)
Little faster easy run.
Friday - 11 (1:13:45)
Nice paced long run.
Saturday - AM 6.5 (56:50) Ran with a couple of girls that are running Fargo in two weeks. It was slow and it hurt but it was a nice easy recovery run. I don't honestly know if I have ever run 6.5 miles that slow, but it was good.
Saturday - AM - 35 miles bike race (1:20:00ish)
Not really sure on the time but I think it was around that . I have not really raced or rode my bicycle in almost two years so it was good to know that I could still hold my own with some of the guys that race and ride all the time. 8th place overall I think.
Sunday - 9.25 (1:03:00)
Easy run to finish off the week.
Week total: 50 miles
MTD: 145
Well it was an easy beginning of the week and a busy finish to the week. The last three days I really thought were going to take it out of me but surprisingly i felt really good in Sunday. I had no soreness in by legs at all from the bike race and felt great during the bike race even though I ran that morning before and went long the day before. So all in all it was a great effort on the week and I am looking forward o possibly racing this week again. If I do race this coming weekend it is going to be a 5k so we shall see how that goes. Goal time is below 16:30 which I am pretty sure that I can do if the weather is decent. I think the fastest that I could go right now is maybe 16:20 but even that might be a stretch for only a month of running, not even 200 miles, and no speed work at all. I felt really good during that 3k last week so I think that it can be done.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
New beginning and a new color
It is time for a change from the green to something a little different. We shall see how it goes...
Monday, April 20, 2009
April 13th - 19th
This week was just like the last two with a little twist thrown in at the end of the week. Still just trying to keep building the mileage up until I am ready to star running some workouts. There were a couple of UND alumni that wanted to run a track meet this last weekend and see what you could do. There was a lot of hype coming into the meet but it totally did not deliver like it should have. Turns out there was only 4 people that raced in 3 different events. So there was only one unlucky guy that didn't win his race. The events were as follows: Mens 800m run, Men's 1500m run and the Men's 3000m dash (or at least it felt like a dash). If you can't tell I decided to run the 3k. So here is the week.
Monday: 9+ (61:20)
'Long' run to make up for not getting one in the week before. Can you really consider it long if it is not even double digits?
Tuesday: 6 (40:45)
Easy run
Wednesday: 6 (41:20)
Thursday : off
Had a busy day at school then went to Winnipeg for a Gordon Lightfoot concert. It was amazing!
Friday: 5 miles (35:10)
Easy before the big race tomorrow.
Saturday (Race Day) 2 mile w/u 15 min
3k - 9:42!!
3 mile c/d 22 min
I find it quite sad that I am really happy with a 9:42 but I am. I was hoping to be able to be right around 10:00 and I destroyed it. I was thinking all week that the fastest mile that I have run in the last 5 months was a 6:08 I ran about two weeks ago. How on Earth did I think that I was going to be able to run back to back 5:20's on a little less than three weeks of training?? Well I figured I would just go out in 5:30 ish and see how it felt and then just give it all I had for the last 3.5 laps. Well I ended up going through the 800 in about 2:38 which was a little bit fsater than I wanted but I felt really good so I decided to stick with that pace. Came through the mile at 5:18 and was still feeling good and this was when I knew that I had way more left in the tank than I thought I was going to have. So I decided to really start picking up the pace and see what I could finish this race in. I ended up running about 5:05 for the last mile which I thought was pretty damn good.
Here are the rough splits that I was able to take during the race.
200 - :39
1000 - 3:19 (2:40)
1400 - 4:37 (1:18)
1800 - 5:54 (1:17)
2200 - 7:11 (1:16)
2600 - 8:27 (1:16)
3000 - 9:42 (1:15)
Sunday - 10 (1:10:30)
Real easy recovery run
Week total: 43
Would have been 50 without the day off.
Overall I was pretty happy with the performance being that it was off three weeks of training and I had no clue of where my fitness was at. I ran this race by myself in the cold and windy ND spring. I think it was about 42 degrees with 10-15 mph winds. So a pretty good effort none the less. I might even think about running another one on the track in a couple of weeks. I am sure with some competition and another two weeks I can go under 9:30 for sure.
I think I decided that I will consider myself back in shape when I am in sub 16:00 5k shape. That is when I will know that I am on my way to being in the shape that I should be in.
Monday: 9+ (61:20)
'Long' run to make up for not getting one in the week before. Can you really consider it long if it is not even double digits?
Tuesday: 6 (40:45)
Easy run
Wednesday: 6 (41:20)
Thursday : off
Had a busy day at school then went to Winnipeg for a Gordon Lightfoot concert. It was amazing!
Friday: 5 miles (35:10)
Easy before the big race tomorrow.
Saturday (Race Day) 2 mile w/u 15 min
3k - 9:42!!
3 mile c/d 22 min
I find it quite sad that I am really happy with a 9:42 but I am. I was hoping to be able to be right around 10:00 and I destroyed it. I was thinking all week that the fastest mile that I have run in the last 5 months was a 6:08 I ran about two weeks ago. How on Earth did I think that I was going to be able to run back to back 5:20's on a little less than three weeks of training?? Well I figured I would just go out in 5:30 ish and see how it felt and then just give it all I had for the last 3.5 laps. Well I ended up going through the 800 in about 2:38 which was a little bit fsater than I wanted but I felt really good so I decided to stick with that pace. Came through the mile at 5:18 and was still feeling good and this was when I knew that I had way more left in the tank than I thought I was going to have. So I decided to really start picking up the pace and see what I could finish this race in. I ended up running about 5:05 for the last mile which I thought was pretty damn good.
Here are the rough splits that I was able to take during the race.
200 - :39
1000 - 3:19 (2:40)
1400 - 4:37 (1:18)
1800 - 5:54 (1:17)
2200 - 7:11 (1:16)
2600 - 8:27 (1:16)
3000 - 9:42 (1:15)
Sunday - 10 (1:10:30)
Real easy recovery run
Week total: 43
Would have been 50 without the day off.
Overall I was pretty happy with the performance being that it was off three weeks of training and I had no clue of where my fitness was at. I ran this race by myself in the cold and windy ND spring. I think it was about 42 degrees with 10-15 mph winds. So a pretty good effort none the less. I might even think about running another one on the track in a couple of weeks. I am sure with some competition and another two weeks I can go under 9:30 for sure.
I think I decided that I will consider myself back in shape when I am in sub 16:00 5k shape. That is when I will know that I am on my way to being in the shape that I should be in.
Friday, April 17, 2009
The first two weeks
Well this what I have been up to lately. I know that it is not much but you have to start somewhere. It has been good and I can't wait for the race season to start again. It is like Ricky Booy once said in Talladega Nights, "I wanna go fast!!". So I got that desire going for me at least.
March 30 to April 5
Monday - 4 (26:44)
Tuesday - off. Not a great start to a comeback when you first day comes the day after you start it but I ran out of time in the day.
Wednesday - 4 (27:51)
Thursday - 5 (34:45)
Friday - off. Day after my birthday. Not such a good day.
Saturday - 5 (33:31) Much better day
Sunday - 8 (54:15) Great first 'long run' if you can call it that yet.
Week total: 26.25 miles
What a first week back it has been. I thought for sure there was going to be some problams with my knee as it was not to good throughout the first week but as the time passed it started to get better. Just keep running I guess.
April 6th to April 12th
Monday - off. Travel day to Seattle where I was for the whole week.
Tuesday - 4.5 (31:30) Easy run to get situated in Seattle to find out where to run.
Wednesday - 6 (40:30)
Thursday - 6 (41:00)
Friday - 6.2 (42:00) Back in GF now
Saturday - 7 (48:50)
Sunday - off. Got 2 hours of sleep last night and had family things all day long. Just did not have the time.
Week total: 30 miles
This week was much better than the last one and I am starting to feel a little better about everything. The hills were killer on my knee but not so bad to where I had to stop. Another week done and hopefully I will be able to stay a little more consistent the next couple of weeks leading up to the race.
March 30 to April 5
Monday - 4 (26:44)
Tuesday - off. Not a great start to a comeback when you first day comes the day after you start it but I ran out of time in the day.
Wednesday - 4 (27:51)
Thursday - 5 (34:45)
Friday - off. Day after my birthday. Not such a good day.
Saturday - 5 (33:31) Much better day
Sunday - 8 (54:15) Great first 'long run' if you can call it that yet.
Week total: 26.25 miles
What a first week back it has been. I thought for sure there was going to be some problams with my knee as it was not to good throughout the first week but as the time passed it started to get better. Just keep running I guess.
April 6th to April 12th
Monday - off. Travel day to Seattle where I was for the whole week.
Tuesday - 4.5 (31:30) Easy run to get situated in Seattle to find out where to run.
Wednesday - 6 (40:30)
Thursday - 6 (41:00)
Friday - 6.2 (42:00) Back in GF now
Saturday - 7 (48:50)
Sunday - off. Got 2 hours of sleep last night and had family things all day long. Just did not have the time.
Week total: 30 miles
This week was much better than the last one and I am starting to feel a little better about everything. The hills were killer on my knee but not so bad to where I had to stop. Another week done and hopefully I will be able to stay a little more consistent the next couple of weeks leading up to the race.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
And the time is now for a new beginning!!
Well after a more or less winter hiatus from running it is time to get back on the sidewalks and start dominating again. There is much catching up that needs to be done in the next couple of months to get back into the shape that I am wanting to eventually be at but I think that it will come along as the time passes.
It was a great winter off and I think that it was much needed on my part. I probably only ran about a dozen times or so from Thanksgiving till the end of March. But once the end of the month hit I started back up again and have been going ever since. Let me tell you it is not that pleasant starting up again when you have been gone for only a couple months. The first week was ROUGH. But it is coming back a lot faster than I thought it was going to. I am entering my third week of training and have ran 5 out of 7 days the two previous weeks mainly due to a birthday that was pretty rough and then a lot of travel. But now it is looking like I will be able to get back into the routine of running everyday again. I cant remember the exact mileage for the two previous weeks right now and I don't have my log infront of me so I will post it later.
First race planned for the year is a 3k this coming weekend on the track up in GF. This is more or less just for fun and will not be taken serious as it is the 2nd Annual Norm McGee Invitational. First Actual race is the Fargo half coming up on the 9th of May. After that I really don't know what I am going to race. Probably a 10k on the 4th of July and some other small stuff later that month. Dick Beardsley in early September possibly and then the Bismarck marathon on September 19th. Not really shooting for anything special there but it will be good to get one in before really starting to train for one.
Happy Trails!!
It was a great winter off and I think that it was much needed on my part. I probably only ran about a dozen times or so from Thanksgiving till the end of March. But once the end of the month hit I started back up again and have been going ever since. Let me tell you it is not that pleasant starting up again when you have been gone for only a couple months. The first week was ROUGH. But it is coming back a lot faster than I thought it was going to. I am entering my third week of training and have ran 5 out of 7 days the two previous weeks mainly due to a birthday that was pretty rough and then a lot of travel. But now it is looking like I will be able to get back into the routine of running everyday again. I cant remember the exact mileage for the two previous weeks right now and I don't have my log infront of me so I will post it later.
First race planned for the year is a 3k this coming weekend on the track up in GF. This is more or less just for fun and will not be taken serious as it is the 2nd Annual Norm McGee Invitational. First Actual race is the Fargo half coming up on the 9th of May. After that I really don't know what I am going to race. Probably a 10k on the 4th of July and some other small stuff later that month. Dick Beardsley in early September possibly and then the Bismarck marathon on September 19th. Not really shooting for anything special there but it will be good to get one in before really starting to train for one.
Happy Trails!!
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