Friday, February 29, 2008

5.5 miles 8:14 pace

Thursday, February 28, 2008

13.1 Miles, roads, 1:53:47, (8:40 pace)

This run was yesterday, but my laptop is officially busted so I couldn't post it until now.

I mapped out a new route on MapMyRun.com so I thought I would give it a try. It's a 5.55 mile loop. It's really nice, has a decent amount of long gradual hills, not to much trouble with traffic. It even has a hurdle about half way through, for some reason there is a guardrail right in the middle of the street, so cars can't get by. I'm not sure why it's there, maybe it's separating city limits? Glad I was running and not driving, I just hopped over it. I ran this loop twice, then when I realized I had 11.1 miles I thought I might as will do a one mile out and back to get in a half marathon. It is exactly one mile from my apt. to the cemetery, so I ran there and back. I wanted to be closer to 8:00 pace, but I'll blame that on the icy conditions causing me to be very cautious and the cold temps, and making sure I didn't make any wrong turns, I'm just full of excuses :) I felt good throughout the run, a little achy, but that's what I get for doing almost no running for two days (busy with school).

Loop 1 (5.55 miles): 48:59
Loop 2 (5.55 miles): 47:37
Last 2 miles: 17:11

Monday, February 25, 2008

2 miles, easy pace

today was a scheduled easy/recovery day. I wanted to run 10 miles at an easy pace ,but when I started running I could tell my legs were still pretty tired from yesterday. I stopped after 2 miles so I wouldn't dig myself into a hole for the harder workouts I have this week.
23 miles, about 5:30, Snowy trails

I went to Mohican today with the plan to run 2 red/green loops for a total of 44 miles with Wendy, Regis, Gabe and Rob (who ran solo because the rest of us were late.), but the 3 inches of snow on the trails made for slow going and we didn't have time for a second loop before dark. After that I tried to do the Blue loop (4 miles) but I got lost so had to turn around. You would think I would know my way around by now...but I don't. I felt good throughout the run today. I would have liked to get both loops in but it just wasn't going to happen with the trail conditions. It was a very nice day.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

3 miles trail, 45:00
5 miles roads, 48:00
8 miles total, all at easy pace

I had 10 easy miles on trails planned for today. But the trails had a few inches of snow and ice that made it difficult to run, not ideal for an easy pace. I ran/walked a few miles then left. When I got home I needed to go to the store to pick up a new mp3 player so I can listen to recordings of class lectures during the run at Mohican tomorrow for my Tax exam I have on Monday. The store is 2.5 miles away, and on one of my normal running routes, so I just ran there and back at an easy pace. My legs feel good, I'm looking forward to the run at Mo tomorrow!

Friday, February 22, 2008

Mile Repeats

(200 Meter walk in between each repeat)

Mile 1: 6:23
Mile 2: 6:29
Mile 3: 6:27
Mile 4: 6:25
Mile 5: 6:28
Mile 6: 6:25

The goal was to keep each repeat below 6:30 pace. The last two were pretty difficult. My legs felt really good today. very little pain in my shin, no pain or soreness anywhere else.

Right after that I did a crossFit style workout. I'm upping my mileage in preparation for the 150 at McNaughton (7 weeks away!), so I am doing less cross-training.

5 rounds for time of:

5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
10 squats (45 lbs)

Time: 9:00

Thursday, February 21, 2008

5 miles, 11:18 pace, snow covered sidewalks

They let us out of the office a little bit early this afternoon because of the snow. Of course, it took about 4 times as long to get home as usual. It's about 13 miles and took me 1 hour 23 minutes. I could have run home that fast, OK maybe not me personally, but Liz could have :)

I had 5 easy miles planned today, so the snowy sidewalks were perfect. I strapped on my monster truck trail running shoes, North face Gore-Tex XCR's, and went dashing through the snow. The snow turned to freezing rain after the first mile but there was already a good 2 inches to play in. It was a fun run. how's that for an easy day, Tony? 3:18 per mile slower than race pace.

Feed the warrior
You gotta check out this Lance Armstrong commercial, it's hilarious

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

10 miles, 7:59 pace, Indoor track

Mile 1: 7:54
Mile 2: 7:55
Mile 3: 7:59
Mile 4: 8:15 (sudden, sharp pain behind my left knee, had to stop for 15 seconds and massage it out, didn't bother me after that)
Mile 5: 7:59
Mile 6: 7:57
Mile 7: 7:56
Mile 8: 7:57
Mile 9: 7:58
Mile 10: 7:58

50 push ups
50 sit ups
50 squats

Ran 10 at a decent pace after work tonight, not working too hard as I'm still a little tired from the marathon Sunday. I felt stronger than yesterday, no soreness. Less pain in my right shin, it seems to hurt less during a run when I'm running at a faster pace.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

10 miles, 10:06 pace, indoor track

Ran 10 at a recovery pace tonight after class. I felt good with only minor soreness in my lower left leg. My right shin still hurts, but it doesn't slow me down, it's just annoying.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Last Chance for Boston Marathon Race Report


Photos courtesy of www.runphotos.com


Last Chance for Boston gets it's name because it is held on the last day you can qualify for Boston for the current year. I don't have a chance at qualifying just yet, so I just run it because I get to run around a paved loop 26.2 times. It's held in an office park, on a one mile loop in Dublin, Ohio. The elevation gain/loss is non existent (a few very slight inclines) but as Gabe pointed out an ultra runner can always find hills to walk.

As you could imagine it is usually very cold on race day, mid Ohio in the middle of February. Last year it was about 5 degrees, but this year it stayed around 40 degrees throughout the race. There was supposed to be a big rain storm, but it only rained a little for the first 40 minutes. The wind was a bit of an issue and got worse towards the end of the race, but it wasn't too bad.

I have been battling a few minor injuries recently and I haven't been able to get in the kind of training I would have like up to this point of the year, so I wasn't sure how this race was going to go. Following the advice of Tony, I decided to go for 3:30 (8:00 pace) which would be a new PR by 13 minutes. This is a great course for a PR, it's flat and you can keep track of your splits every .25 miles.

I ran into Brian, Don, Jenny, and Jon form the ECHO running club before the race and we chatted about the up coming racing season. Brian, Don and Jon are going to do the "Buckeye Slam" which is ALL 12 marathons in Ohio in 2008!! That's more road running than I can handle!

The race started a little after 8 O'clock with a light drizzle. The marathoners start 0.2 miles away from the finish line, so we ran the .2 miles first, then the 26. I made sure to hit the spilt button on my watch after the first .2 so I could tell what I ran the first full mile in. The clock they had at the start/finish line was pretty jacked up. When I came through after the first mile it already displayed 1 hour +. I didn't think I was running THAT slow. My first mile was 7:59:52, perfect!

The first couple miles were pretty tight. With 600+ runners on a one mile loop, it takes a little while for everyone the get spread out. They placed signs on the loop every 1/4 mile so you could calculate splits. That was really nice, the only problem was that the first 1/4 mile sign was short and the last 1/4 mile sign was long. That was pretty frustrating for the first 5 miles or so until I figured out why I was ahead of pace for each lap then lost 5 seconds on the last 1/4 mile. After I got all the pacing issues figured out and the crowd thinned I hit a nice grove around mile 8.

I was really concentrating on running even pace. I was wearing new shoes, Saucony Grid Sinisters, that only 3 miles on them so I was a little worried about blisters but they felt great the whole race. I was also very conscious of my fluid intake. That's what hurt me the most during my 15 mile run at 8:00 pace that I did last week. I made sure to get Gatorade after most every lap. I started getting hungry around mile 10, I thought they would have gels at the aid station (I seemed to have remembered that from last year.) but they didn't. I should have gotten some food out of my car and set it at the start/finish line before the race, but I didn't think about it. The Gatorade ended up being sufficient for keeping my appetite satisfied throughout the race.

At mile 14 my quads started to get heavy and my calves were a tired. I still felt good at mile 15 which was the longest I had ever run at that pace before. I was doing a good job at keeping even splits. I knew that if I wanted to finish in 3:30 I had to run even throughout. I didn't give myself any breathing room for slowing down at the end. I saw Liz (who got an awesome half marathon PR of 1:25:30! winning overall female, by 2+ minutes!) running her cool down laps after she finished her half (She's freaky fast) but I didn't get a chance to talk to her before or after the race :(

I was doing really well up until mile 18, then it started getting very difficult to stay on pace. The wind was really kicking up making the first 1/4 mile of each lap a real bear. at mile 23 I was really breathing hard and my legs were dead. The last 3 miles were by far the most difficult but I never faltered on my pacing and was able to finish in 3:29:18. Third in the male 20-29 age group out of 7. They gave me the second place plaque. I guess because the overall winner was in that age group (2:37!) so he didn't get an age group award. 35th place overall out of 146.

After the race I ate about 5 little debbie "Star Crunches" from my personal stash, then Gabe, Wendy, Regis and I went into the hotel and chowed down on the post race food. The pizza was delicious!

Splits:
Mile 0.2: 1:54
Mile 1: 7:59
Mile 2: 7:57
Mile 3: 8:01
Mile 4: 8:04
Mile 5: 7:57
Mile 6: 8:01
Mile 7: 8:00
Mile 8: 8:05
Mile 9: 7:59
Mile 10: 8:01
Mile 11: 8:00
Mile 12: 7:51
Mile 13: 8:00
Mile 14: 7:56
Mile 15: 7:56
Mile 16: 7:56
Mile 17: 7:55
Mile 18: 7:55
Mile 19: 7:55
Mile 20: 7:57
Mile 21: 8:03
Mile 22: 8:00
Mile 23:7:56
Mile 24: 7:59
Mile 25: 7:57
Mile 26: 7:51

First half: 1:45 Second half: 1:44:19

Final time: 3:29:19 (7:59 pace)

Thursday, February 14, 2008

1 mile, 7:18, indoor track, vibrams
1 mile, 7:59, indoor track, Saucony sinisters

My legs felt better today. I still have shin splints, but my quad didn't hurt. I didn't want to push my luck, so I stopped after 2 miles.

100 push-ups
100 sit ups
100 squats

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

2 miles, 8:00 pace

my legs are starting to piss me off...I planned on running 10, but started to feel that quad strain coming back so I stopped, hopefully it will be ok for LCFB on Sunday.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Deadlifts

1x1x1x1x1x1x1

210lbs for each set

200 crunches.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

CrossFit WOD: "Fran"

21 thrusters
21 pull-ups

15 thrusters
15 pull-ups

9 thrusters
9 pull-ups

Fran Video

The thrusters are supposed to be done with 95lbs, I used 70. I did 10 kipping pull-ups 11 jumping pull-ups for the first set. 11 kipping pull-ups, 4 jumping pull-ups for the second set. and 9 kipping pull-ups for the third set

Time: 15:54

To put that time in perspective, I think the record time for this workout is something like 2:11, and that's done without scaling it down...sick.

Saturday, February 9, 2008

15 miles, 7:58 pace, outdoor track

Splits

Mile 1: 7:58
Mile 2: 7:57
Mile 3: 8:00
Mile 4: 7:59
Mile 5: 7:59
Mile 6: 7:59
Mile 7: 7:57
Mile 8: 7:59
Mile 9: 7:57
Mile 10: 7:59
Mile 11: 7:58
Mile 12: 7:57
Mile 13: 7:58
Mile 14: 7:57
Mile 15: 7:55


I felt strong through most of my run today. The first 9 miles were pretty easy, after that I started struggling. It wasn't cardio or strength based, I was just running out of energy. I didn't bring any food with me but I had some gel in my car so after mile 11 I took a 2 minute break to walk to my car and grab the gel. After I took the gel the last 4 miles were pretty smooth. My quads started wearing down in the last two miles; I think I was a little tired from the speed work yesterday. I think I'm pretty close to a 3:30 marathon.

Friday, February 8, 2008

6 miles, intervals, indoor track

I've sworn off interval speed training for about a year. I tried it for a while but it seemed that my body couldn't handle running sub 7:00 pace with any consitancy. I think I'm stronger now, so I decided to give it another shot.

1 mile warm up - 8:10
200 meters walking
1 mile - 5:59
400 meters walking
1 mile - 6:29
400 meters walking
800M - 3:27
2oo meters walking
800M - 3:40
200 meters walking
400M - 1:34
200 meters walking
400M - 1:34
200 meters walking
400M - 1:41
200 meters walking
400M - 1:38
200 meters walking
1 mile cool down: 10:00

I was gassed after the second mile repeat so the 800's and 400's were pretty slow but still really hard.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

PM:

500M row: 1:38:70 (PR)
(Hey Mike, you don't remember your tenths do you??)

Mike set his 500M row PR last week with 1:38, so I was trying to beat that today. I started out the first 250 meters at a 1:34 pace, but couldn't hold it for the last half. I ended up tying Mike's time, and was spent! That's one of the toughest 1.5 minute workouts you can do! I think the only way I could row any faster than that would be if I was totally fresh, and that isn't likely to happen with McNaughton on the horizon, I have to keep my priorities straight.

200 crunches

AM:

CrossFit WOD: "Joshie"

Complete three rounds for time of:
40 pound Dumbbell snatch, 21 reps, right arm
21 L Pull-ups
40 pound Dumbbell snatch, 21 reps, left arm
21 L Pull-ups

that's the actual workout, my scaled down version was:

Complete three rounds for time of:
30 pound Dumbbell snatch, 21 reps, right arm
5 Pull-ups
30 pound Dumbbell snatch, 21 reps, left arm
5 Pull-ups

Time: 21:09

No way I can do 123 L pull-ups!! I had enough trouble doing the 30 regular pull-ups. One of my main hurtles with the pull-ups now, especially the kipping pull-ups, is my grip. I lose my grip after the first set of 7, and it's all down hill from there. I was supposed to do this workout on Tuesday, but I skipped it 1.) because I didn't want to wake up at 5 to do it (that's the only time I can get into the gym when it's not too crowded. If I wait until after work I can never get to the equipment I need to do the wod's, without waiting around, which really pisses me off.) and 2.) because I knew it would be hard. So I sucked it up today, got up early and got it done.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

10 miles, 7:51 overall pace, indoor track

Splits

Mile 1: 7:56
Mile 2: 8:00
Mile 3: 7:59
Mile 4: 7:58
Mile 5: 7:59
(damn shoe came untied, spent 10 seconds retying, then had to make up the time.)
Mile 6: 7:59
Mile 7: 7:58
Mile 8: 7:59
Mile 9: 7:58
Mile 10: 6:47

This run was significantly easier than the 10 miles at 7:55 pace that I ran last week, although I wouldn't consider it easy. I am pretty close to being back where I was before my running break. I was very happy with this run. I felt strong at the end and was able to finish with the final mile in 6:47, which is less than a minute slower than my one mile PR, not bad for 10 miles in.

I am developing a case of medial tibia stress syndrome (shin splints) in my right shin. I am now pretty certain this is the same thing that was plaguing my left shin a few weeks ago. I think I can manage it better this time around and hopefully avoid taking time off. My shins have given me problems on and off ever since I started running, a couple years ago. I need to really work on strengthening them to avoid future problems.


After the run, I did the CF WOD.

Push Jerks 3x3x3x3x3

70lbs, 90lbs, 90lbs, 90lbs, 90lbs, 100lbs

then did 20 pull-ups.




I also wanted to mention that ever since I started CrossFit, it has been amazing the difference in the way I feel after my runs. Before I started cross-training, I would be sore and stiff after all of my runs, even 5 or 10 mile runs would leave me sore that day and still a little stiff when I would wake up the next morning. This has changed in the last few weeks. I wasn't sore at all after BT50k, or mile other training runs this week.

I have found that CrossFit doesn't necessarily make me a faster runner, but it has allowed me to run harder more often and has reduced my recovery time. If you have trouble with soreness, stiffness, nagging injuries or just want to speed up recovery time, I would recommend starting some type of weight training routine, more specifically, CrossFit. You can check out the website here. WWW.CROSSFIT.COM

Monday, February 4, 2008

PM:

4 miles, 7:50 pace, hilly roads

AM:
5 miles, 7:42 pace, indoor track

mile 1: 7:41
mile 2: 7:43
mile 3: 7:45
mile 4: 7:45
mile 5: 7:37

CrossFit WOD:

Back squats

3x3x3x3x3

Set 1: 100lbs
Set 2: 120lbs
Set 3: 140lbs
Set 4: 140lbs
Set 5: 140lbs

Sunday, February 3, 2008

5 miles, 15:00 pace, trails

I went to Mt. Airy for the first time in a long time today. The trails were very muddy, which made for slow going, but it was nice being out in the woods. I spent some time working out a training plan for McNaughton, it's less than 2.5 months away!

CrossFit WOD: Tabata Something else

Complete 32 intervals of 20 seconds of work followed by ten seconds of rest where the first 8 intervals are pull-ups, the second 8 are push-ups, the third 8 intervals are sit-ups, and finally, the last 8 intervals are squats. There is no rest between exercises.

Pull ups: 5,4,3,2,1,1,1,1 = 18
Push ups: 7,7,7,7,7,7,7,7 = 54
Sit ups: 9,9,9,9,9,9,9,9 = 72
Squats: 13,13,13,13,13,13,13,13 = 104
Total: 248

Saturday, February 2, 2008

5 miles, 7:29 overall pace, outdoor track

It was perfect weather for a hard run outside tonight, 47 degrees with a light breeze. This is the first training run I've done outside so far this year, I know, I'm a wimp. I've been chained to the indoor track at the rec. So I finally went outside, but I was still running around in circles on a track. I like the precision of a track while I'm doing fast runs, I know exactly where I need to be at any given time to reach my time goals for the run, and you can hit your splits dead on. My quads and upper body were tired from CrossFit this morning, keeping good form was hard after the first mile, but it was a pretty good run. I was really hauling the last 800m, trying to get my final mile under 7 minutes.



Splits:

Mile 1: 7:12
Mile 2: 7:31
Mile 3: 7:49
Mile 4: 7:54
Mile 5: 6:58
Crossfit WOD: "Cindy"

as many rounds as you can do in 20 minutes of:

5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 squats

Back to doing CF workouts by myself again :( it wasn't so bad today. The rec center has a decent pull-up bar, although it is angled funny, I can still do a full kip. I'll just have to wait and see if I get in trouble for doing Olyimpic lifts, I figure if I go in early in the morning when no one else is there I should be ok. But they still don't have gymnastic rings, kettle bells or medicine balls.

I did 8 rounds in 20 minutes. For some reason the first two rounds, I was thinking I had to do 50 squats instead of 15, so that made the first to rounds suck pretty bad. I strained my left quad while running on Wednesday. It was a minor strain, so I just stayed off of it for a couple days, it feels fine now.

Round 1: 1:56
Round 2: 2:00
Round 3: 1:27
Round 4: 2:13
Round 5: 2:31
Round 6: 2:27
Round 7: 2:45
Round 8: 3:13

Totals
40 pull-ups
80 push-ups
170 squats (I did 50, 30 the first to sets by mistake.)

I might do some running on the track later today. If the Chipotle buritto I just ate digests before I have to go watch Brock Lesnar's UFC debut tonight.