Posts Tagged ‘training’

Swim Run Moo

I’ve had my best training week in ages and my body feels great (knock on wood, cross fingers, find rabbit’s foot).

It was a 15-mile week, ending with 8 x 400 yesterday (1:42-1:56 range) and a 3.71 miler this morning at 8:51 pace. This is the final week of No Boundaries training.

Another milestone: I actually did swim workouts. Wednesday was 8 x 25. Each lap was in the 40-50 second range, but a better measure was how damn long it took me to complete the 200 total yards – 26 minutes. Friday was a vast improvement, and I had a much easier time of it as well – 12 x 25 in 32 minutes. Tomorrow I’ll take a whack at increased distance – maybe 2 x 50 and then 8 x 25.

Next Sunday is the Urban Cow 5k, and it will be my first race since April. I have low expectations for my performance, as I’m trying to concentrate on the long-term. My upcoming 10k training group program is about 8 weeks long, which should set me up nicely for a spring half-marathon. After that, we’ll just see how it goes.

Running Is Funny Giveaway Winners!

No suspense. The random drawing winner of the Onion Jacks souvenir box was Blaine of Run to Win, and the grand prize winner of the Onion Jacks souvenir box and special secret additional gift was Jeff of no-known blog. Congratulations to the winners! Thanks to all of you who offered terrific advice for my first foray into the world of lap swimming.

Because it was exactly as you predicted. The pool is 25 meters by 25 yards, and though it was tough to tell which was which, I think the lap lanes were 25 yards long. The far-right lane was also double-width, and populated by slow-moving grannies and grandpas in flotation belts, bobbing up and down like buoys. The depth at the shallow end was 7 feet, so I spent the first few minutes blowing bubbles and acclimating myself. I eased my anxiety by never swimming more than an arm’s length from the side wall. Then I simply swam the length of the pool. It took me 43 seconds, but after short rests I was able to do it three more times.

I did a few drills and that was it. The pool is awesome and I’ll be spending a lot of time there this fall and winter.

As for running, there are only two weeks left in the No Boundaries training program. I capped a 13.25 mile week with 6 x 400 yesterday (min = 1:39, max = 1:48) and a practice 5k this morning in 26:06. So, with some good fortune I should manage to break 25 on race day.

After the race, the next step will be Next Steps, an eight-week Fleet Feet training program for a 10k. Since the slow, gradual mileage buildup has kept me injury-free for 10 weeks, I might as well continue with that plan.

Running Is Funny Giveaway Time!

It was a good training week, if a bit sobering. I did 12.5 miles, culminating in a benchmark 5k run this morning in 27:15. I’ve got three weeks until race day to improve on that. Yesterday I did my first track workout in a year – 6 x 400 with intervals all between 1:44 and 1:53. That was encouraging, except that last year’s track workout was 8 x 400, all between 1:32 and 1:37. In short, I’ve still got a long way to go.

We’re coming down the home stretch in the No Boundaries Couch to 5k program. My efforts to remain low-key have not really paid off, since even at my slow speed, I’m about two minutes per mile faster than the next fastest guy. I’ve had to explain to people that I’m “experienced,” without getting into details, which might sound like bragging to them. Despite that, I would recommend this type of program for returning from injury, since it forces you to stick to basics and keep your mileage low.

As promised, I’m ready to give away a cheesy souvenir of my trip to Bermuda. It’s a little wooden box from the world famous (?) Onion Jacks Trading Post in Hamilton.

I have two of these. One winner will be selected at random from the commenters to this post. And since I don’t get a lot of commenters, your chances are great! The second one will go to the commenter who gives me the best swimming advice, and that person will receive a bonus cheesy souvenir inside! What a deal! (I know. You’re having trouble containing yourself.)

Here’s the swimming situation. I’m practicing three times a week in the (unheated) apartment complex swimming pool, which is about 15 yards long. I’m steadily improving my endurance and breathing, if not quite as quickly as I would like. There is a heated outdoor 25-meter lap pool nearby, which is open year-round. I’m new to all this, so I have three stupid questions:

1) Heated or not, do people really swim laps in an outdoor pool during the winter? The winters in northern California are mild, but we do get a lot of rain and temperatures in the 30s. It just seems a bit strange to me, but what do I know?

2) How “good” should I be before getting in the 25-meter pool with other swimmers? I don’t want to be “that guy” who gets in everyone else’s way while I figure it out. Tell me about your first experience in the lap pool.

3) What are your thoughts about a swim snorkel? On the one hand, it takes care of qualms about distance and endurance in the lap pool. On the other hand, it’s like using training wheels on a bike. I might as well tattoo “dork” on my forehead.

If I had taken my swimming lessons at the beginning of the summer, instead of in August, I probably wouldn’t be facing this dilemma, but here I am. It will soon be too cold to continue in the unheated pool. What do you think? And thanks in advance.

A Fresh Coat of Paint

I wish I could say I spent my Labor Day weekend resting or barbecuing, but instead I transfered Running Is Funny to a new host, updated the theme, added a new color, and generally took care of a few housekeeping items. Naturally, it didn’t go smoothly, but all’s well that ends well.

I ran 10 miles this week at an average pace of 8:55, concluding with a 2.4 mile run at 8:26 pace. That means it’s time for another boost in mileage. I’ll be running 5ks this week. Four more weeks until my next race.

I’m now swimming three times a week and gradually improving. I need to build stamina to the point where it makes sense for me to sign up for lap swimming at the local 25-meter pool. Right now I’d just be an obstruction to anyone else in the water.

The Carnival of Running returns on Wednesday!

Swimma Cum Laude

Eight miles this week at an average pace of 9:20. Stepped up to 2.4 miles yesterday and today and managed a 9-minute pace. Everything is proceeding according to my non-plan plan.

I completed my swimming lessons on Thursday, and although we didn’t get certificates and gold stars like the kids did, the instructor said my progress over two weeks was “amazing.” I have to agree, if I do say so myself. I started with virtually no mobility at all in the water and finished with technically sound freestyle laps back and forth across a 25-meter pool. I can side-breathe, though this is still my weakest skill, but I’ll continue to practice until it becomes as natural as, well, breathing.

If you’re a non-swimmer, don’t wait as long as I did to learn. It’s worth your time and effort. I will say, however, that swimming lessons and overcoming your fear of water are really two different things. It’s probably better to wait to attempt the former until after you’ve done the latter. Fortunately, there are programs designed specifically to make you comfortable in the water before you get to the details of kicks, strokes and form.

Check out the Miracle Swimming Institute and its programs if just the idea of putting your head underwater gives you the heebie-jeebies. But if, like me, you’re comfortable in the water and just never bothered to learn to swim, your local parks and recreation district probably offers beginner lessons for adults.

I now have a cross-training sport that I enjoy, plus a cardio activity if (God forbid) I get another running injury. The next step is to look for local indoor pools so I can continue to practice during the winter.

One Mile Closer

A 27-mile week at 8:47 average pace, including a brutally bad 7-miler this morning. Nevertheless, it was a good week because on Tuesday I ran 5 miles at 8:10 pace. That’s faster than my target marathon pace, so I bumped up my tempo runs to 6 miles.

Again, my theory is that it’s hopeless to try to run a marathon at 8:12 pace unless you can do 16-18 miles at that pace in training. And you can’t do 16-18 miles at that pace until you can consistently do 12 miles at that pace. And you can’t do 12 until you can do 8, etc. So all my emphasis is on the tempo runs and the accompanying mileage. My Sunday long runs are simply a few miles longer than the tempo runs and my Wednesday speedwork totals half the tempo mileage. Every third week I step down by a third.

When my tempo runs reach 10 miles, I’ll switch the emphasis to the long runs, which will start as 14 miles with 10 miles at target marathon pace. I’ll then build those the same way while keeping the weekday runs at 10 miles or less.

This is a bit different from my usual approach, but I’m not sure running 6 miles at 7:30 pace during the week and 16 miles at 9:20 pace on Sunday gets me to where I want to go. I’ve probably got one good shot at this, otherwise it’s wait until I’m 55 and my BQ time goes up to 3:45 – assuming my legs hold up.

Unhappy Ending

I had a very satisfying stepdown week, totaling 17 miles at an average pace of 8:29. I finished the month of April with 91 miles.

I missed my Wednesday run because I was up all night Tuesday with this little guy.

A feral cat (actually, Zen‘s sister, “Tuna”) gave birth on our patio to a pair of kittens. One must have died shortly after. She rejected the other and ran off. We took him in and after a frantic hour of research to figure out what to do, we spent the night bottle feeding him every two hours and trying to keep him warm.

On Wednesday morning, he was not doing well and we called around trying to find someone who could care for him properly. But if you’ve ever faced a similar problem you know that rescue charities, humane societies and the rest are overwhelmed at this time of year with newborn animals.

I wish I could report that we saved him and found him a home, but in fact we had to take him to the city animal shelter, where he was euthanized.

My wife and I cried our eyes out.