Posts Tagged ‘training’

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.

Double Digits

Most running blogs are either personal or global, and I’ve bounced back and forth between the two. I’ve now decided I can do both, but I’ll keep them compartmentalized. So from now on weekday content will consist exclusively of funny or odd running stories, while weekend content (nonexistent until now) will consist exclusively of what I’m up to — for the half-dozen or so of you who care.

This was my highest mileage week in ages. I finished with 27.5 miles. Today’s 10 miler was my longest single run since last October. I did it at a 9:20 pace, so it didn’t water my eyes, but it was steady. My best run this week was in the rain – 2.4 miles at 7:45 pace.

I’m up over 83 miles for the month of April, but this will be a step-down week, so I won’t break 100. I’m doing everything I can to avoid injury. It would be nice to run my third marathon after a four-year hiatus. Knock on wood.

Progress

It has been a long time since I had positive news to report about my running, but after Sunday’s decent performance and my training for the last couple of weeks, things are looking up… finally.

My gun time gave me an age-graded percentage of 60.62 – which simply means my time was the equivalent of 60% of the world record for my age group. That’s right in line with my percentage from last year.

I’ve run 42 miles so far this month at an average pace of 8:25, with a 9 mile long run scheduled for Sunday. Today I ran 8:11 pace for 4.43 miles, so it’s time to bump up my tempo runs to 5 miles. I don’t have a 10k race on the schedule, but for the next three or four weeks I’ll be training as if I had one.

The weather is finally starting to warm up, so all is well. The perfect time for disaster to strike!

Yes, I’m Still Running

It has been a long time since I’ve mentioned my own running, which is devoted not so much to training but to staying healthy. This I have achieved, despite some minor right piriformis soreness a couple of weeks ago.

Since I bought my Garmin the first week of December, I’ve run 176 miles at an average pace of 8:35 and an average heart rate of 166. I’m not in racing condition yet, and don’t expect to run my first race of the year until April 11.

Planning ahead has caused me a lot of pain in the past and cost me a lot in lost registration fees, so my only aim these days is to run a prescribed distance at an average pace of 8:12. As I achieve that, I increase distance by a mile. Every third week I reduce mileage by one-third.

That’s it. When I start stringing a lot of 8:12s together, then I’ll start thinking about halfs and fulls. In the meantime, the pressure’s off.