Monday, January 24

High End Tempo Runs

I'm back again - breaking down some more tempo runs.  Took a break last week with the mid-zone because I had an unfortunate incident with a treadmill that left the run less then desirable, so I will hit that one on the second go around.  This was week 3 of my 6 week base build 1.  By far this was the best week so far that I've had.  I felt very strong and had great runs - hopefully this will continue and I didn't either have a fluke or used up valuable reserves thinking I was running well. 
My tempo run for week 3 was High-End run.  This run is most like doing speed work - and the closest I will come to doing speed work for awhile.  One of my goals/ needs was to get off the track and start building speed on the road - prepping for race situations.  By doing High-End tempo runs consisting of mile repeats, my goal was to gain the speed on the road that I some how can't muster during a race.  My original goal was to run the mile repeats at 9:10 pace - I didn't want to go out too fast...but just naturally my body took me to about a 9:00 min pace, so I stuck with it.  While they were slightly difficult, it was still fairly easy, which is encouraging.  As I build on this first week I would like to go from 3x1 mile repeats to 4x1 mile repeats and then jump up to some 2 mile repeats and really start pushing my endurance at an aerobic rate. Sticking with this plan through the summer, I would like to be at the point where I could possibly run 3x2 mile repeats at around a 9-9:10 pace.
The back end of this week was supposed to be a long slow run.  Because I would be pressing hard mid week, I figured my body would be exhausted and would need the slow miles.  Planned 12 miles at 10:25 pace.  I headed out with the group and hit some high splits for the first two miles - around 9:35.  I wasn't feeling any fatigue at this point but knew if I kept up the pace I would.  I decided since I felt so good that I would just run by feel instead of forcing myself to slow down - I figured around 5 miles I would crash and sludge back at a 10:45 pace to even out.  Well got to mile 5 and didn't feel any pain, it was like I had done 1 mile, and I was still holding an even 9:45 pace or so.  Wow!  Decided at that point, against my better interest to go for 12 and headed out for the extra mile on the out and back route.  Got back to the water stop at 7 and still felt like gold.  Headed back in and never really felt fatigue.  Mile 11 my legs were getting a little sluggish after the hill, but I threw in some striders in mile 12 and came in at a 9:52 avg pace.  Wow! that was supposed to be the pace the week before on my 10 miler and I couldn't hold that for anything.  So I don't know if I blew it all, or if my legs are getting stronger from strength training and the extra running I'm doing. 
I feel very encouraged after 3 weeks of the program and looking for great things in the next 3 to come!

Thursday, January 6

Low-end Tempo Run

Yesterday was my first tempo run in a 3 week cycle.  In an effort to increase my endurance and stamina I am going off "track" and hitting the road for some real race training.  Instead of intervals at the track I am focusing on tempo runs and road endurance.  This was inspired by an article in Running Times the Full Spectrum of Lactate Threshold Training.  The basic idea of the program is that doing three different styles of LT training will help to boost overall performance.  I decided to do a 3 week cycle incorporating each cycle and keep repeating to building up my LT endurance.
So yesterday was week 1 - Low-end Tempo Run.  This is a slower pace - closer to a marathon goal pace.  This seemed so easy to me.  I've never run races of this distance so I felt like I was crawling. This is the pace that I normally do my long runs, not a 45 minute tempo run.  Yep - that is exactly what I thought.  Well apparently all the breaks and slow downs I take in my long runs makes me soft because the 45 minutes was tough.  I do need to blame the weather and my low calorie intake a bit for this, but by the end of the 45 minutes my legs were struggling.  I was holding my pace about 10 seconds per mile faster then intended (9:50), but it was still a slower pace as I'm concerned for a tempo.
Over the weeks my goal will be to add to the distance of the pace.  Even when I'm into my 1/2 training I want to keep this on my schedule to keep me going at a steady hard pace with no breaks.  Every week I will add approximately 10 minutes to the previous week total.  probably when I get to 65 minutes I will hold for a week and decrease pace some, not sure on that.
I'm interested to see how this will affect my ultimate training goal of the marathon next Winter, as I will need to be able to hold this pace for a good 4 hours, not the 2 hours I am use to on weekends.  Only time will tell how effect this will be.

To round out my week I will pair this tempo run with a progressive long run.  My goal is to train my body to run negative splits better on race day.  My horrible habit of going out to fast has got to go. This week will be an 8 miler with pace ranging from 10:30 for the first two miles to 9:30 by the end.  The slower tempo run mid week should keep my legs fresh enough to hit this easily.

Monday, January 3

A new year, A new plan

2011 is here and it is time for those pesky New Years Resolutions.  I'm just as bad as everyone in making promises I can't keep so this year instead of swaying from my normal everyday patterns I'm going to adapt what I currently do to make myself better. I'll spare you the details on personal life resolutions and stick to the running and health focused ones.

1. I'm tired of bonking in a race.  Getting to mile 6 at my goal pace and feeling great then getting to mile 8 and falling apart.  After my last 1/2 marathon I sat back and criticed my training schedules in the past and where I tend to fall apart in a race.  I'm beginning to notice a trend that it is not the speed that I need to work on in my training.  When I run a shorter race at the equal goal pace to my half training plan I have no problems. It is the endurance and stamina that I seem to have issues with.  I have the speed in my body to run a 2:05, I proved that at my last 10K, what I need is the ability to not wear down at mile 8.  I can run around the track for 800m just fine, but when I transfer that speed to the road I just can't sustain it.  This year I am going to focus on base building and training plans that allow me to build my endurance.  Each week will be a tempo run at various speeds and distances (Low end is a slower pace for longer duration, mid zone is a 1/2 goal pace for mid range distance, and high end is more like a long track workout with 10K pace for mile repeats) as well as a run on a hilly area in the city or the treadmill.  My long runs each week will vary between a shorter progressive run to a long slow run.  Hopefully all these together will give me a good base to build my endurance for the length of the race.  Not sure what my race training plan will be yet, but it will follow in the same form with no track!

2.  I plan on running a marathon a year from now.  My goal with the above is to give myself a great base to build off when training time comes.  I don't want to compete in the marathon, but at the same time I don't want to be miserable and finish in a painful amount of time.  I would like to be able to cross before 4:30 - but that will require me to be strong going into training and not building my mileage during training.

3. A few years ago I made the effort to lose a lot of weight.  I love about 35 pounds over a 4 month period.  I have been successful in staying at the same weight since that time (mid 140s) but I'm ready to make another push and get into the 130s and stay there.  I've gotten close but have never been able to break through.  This year I am going to get back to the healthy eating life, not the eat healthy some of the week and break down on the weekends.  Everything I put in my mouth is a conscious decision - striving to eat more veggies, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins; making sure I stay away from unhealthy and calorie lading desserts and meals that don't benefit me in the long run.  There will be no food restrictions - no can't eat chocolate, can't drink coke, can't have fries - but if I eat them I want to be completely aware of what I'm doing and how it affects me.

4. Finally I want to hold true to these resolutions the whole year. I guess this is why I'm writing them out like this - so I can go back once a month and read what I am striving to do, when I start to forget and go back to my old ways I can catch myself and regroup.  Next December when I have the desire to throw it all away and pig out between Christmas and New Years I will have a new perspective to think about and will go for the veggie sticks instead of the chicken wings. 

So there it is, there is my goals not just for this year but to make as a part of my life so that I can focus on something different next year and not on repeating the ideas of the year before.  I'm sure I will be back to reflect on how things are going (and hopefully with some great race reports).