Saturday, August 12, 2006

Training Run

Distance: 13 kilometers (8 miles)
Time: 64 minutes
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather Conditions: cool, overcast, 60s, morning run
Location: Miraflores/Barranco, Lima, Peru

Comments: A right solid run. I woke up feeling rested finally although, when I went to stretch, it was clear I am pretty tight from all the downtime.

And getting started was a bit tough. It was an uneven effort for the first two miles or so. Sloppy and unenjoyable. But I got into the groove after that and just started cranking it out. I knew I hit my regular pace at one point and just put it in overdrive after that. 

It helped a bit that all the weekend runners were out with all their lycra and belt bottles and stuff. I just turn on ROBO-RUNNER and play 'seek and destroy.' Get the one in my sites, reel 'em in and move on to the next. Helps the miles go by faster.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Training Run

Distance: 9 kilometers (5.58 miles)
Time: 45 minutes
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather Conditions: cool, overcast, 60s, afternoon run
Location: Miraflores, Lima, Peru

Comments: Tough one. I have felt tired all day and had to force myself to head out and do the run. I was dragging ass the whole way and had to basically blackmail myself into finishing - cause if I can't run through exaustion and pain now, I sure as hell ain't going to be able to at 22 miles.

Not quite sure why I feel so blah. I ate a lot yesterday and carbed up in the evening. But I had insomnia that woke me up for a few hours and I didn't finally wake till pretty late for me. I felt so beat when I woke I told myself to skip the run today but I looked at my running schedule and I didn't want to waste a rest day on just feeling blah.

More worrying is the soreness in my knees. They both feel generally achy. Not painful or anything specific, just sensitive. It may be my inherited arthritis and the crappy Lima weather but it may not. I am trying to shorten my stride and wear the band on my left knee to belay the issue.

Wednesday, August 9, 2006

Training Run

Distance: 6 kilometers (3.72 miles)
Time: 30 minutes
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather Conditions: cool, overcast, 70s, morning run
Location: Miraflores, Lima, Peru

Comments: Another "jest the facts, ma'am" run. I went out and cranked it out with little fanfair and few problems. In fact, felt pretty strong the whole way but comfortably in my zone.

The only shadow on the effort was I did get a bit of a stitch again. Not quite sure that keeps happening. I also knew I didn't have too much in the tank for anything longer since I ate little yesterday. I will work on that this afternoon.

The knees have felt ginger over the past few days so I put on the strap for the run today. It seemed to take care of the issue.

Tuesday, August 8, 2006

Recovery Run

Distance: 6 kilometers (3.72 miles)
Time: 30 minutes
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather Conditions: cool, overcast, 70s, morning run
Location: Miraflores, Lima, Peru

Comments: An easy run after my rest day yesterday and mongo long run on Sunday. Felt a bit achy setting out but clearly had plenty for this effort.

I just hit a comfortable pace and kept with it the whole way. Nothing fancy. No tough parts or questionable moments, just a by-the-book run.

My left knee felt stiff during the last portion with what seemed like a slight soreness on the IB side. Not enough to set off the alarm bells but I will be keeping a close eye on it the whole week.

Sunday, August 6, 2006

Week Wrapup

Distance: 55 kilometers (34.2 miles)
Time: 4 hours 35 minutes

Comments: Strange week. I did a number of shorter distances at the start but at faster paces. Then I tried and failed miserably at my first speed day. Lastly was one of my longest runs to date and completed at a significantly better pace than the first time I tried to go the same distance.

All in all a damned hard week of work. And my body has let me know it. Afternoon naps have become a necessity and I am sleeping damned hard at night. Which is fine for now, but I need to get to the point where a week like this doesn't take as much out of me.

Injury-wise it has been a good week. There has been some regular soreness in my quads and elsewhere due to the workload but nothing that sets off any alarm bells. My ilitobial bands on both sides seem to be somewhat tighter than normal but I think that is due to the fact my hamstrings have been as well.

My plan is to take it pretty easy next week; shorter runs, slower pace, less intensity overall. Not a break so much as an effort to maximize the recent gains and get myself completely ready for the serious miles ahead.

Cause, at this point, I am just a month shy of starting formal training for the marathon. I am tinkering with different training schedules and I hope to have something formalized in a week or two. Mainly, I need to get the guru to weigh in with his sage advice. My working template can be found here.

Essentially, I will be using an 18-week schedule and I want it to include two 20-mile long runs, a three week taper and at least two 10K races. Each week should include one day of speed work (this can include race pace intensity runs), two days off and the option of cross training either on a rest day or lower impact running day.

Long Run

Distance: 23 kilometers (14.28 miles)
Time: 2 hours
Surface: asphalt/concrete/dirt/sand
Weather Conditions: overcast, cool, 60s, morning run
Location: Miraflores/Barranco/Chorillos, Lima, Peru

Comments: The plan called for 100 minutes but between feeling guilty from cutting back and a surprising amount of energy I slugged out a whole two hours. I had a general idea of how far I wanted to run and when I finally looked at my watch I had just hit the 100 minute mark so I said 'screw it' and finished the rest.

It wasn't easy and my quads were unhappy for a great deal of it but I never had any real doubt I could do it. I started with a relatively quick but short stride and tried to hold to it the whole way. For the most part, that's what I did. 

There were a few formidable hills during the course the last of which was my favorite 'la bruja.' But I just got up on my toes and concentrated on keeping the stride as regular as possible. I surprised myself by having enough strength to handle them all with relative ease.

Finishing this run I am dog tired but it marks a certain milestone. I am almost 100 percent sure I can do the marathon now. I am at the strength level it can be done. Now my aim is to give myself the resources I need to produce a decent time and a large enough tank for that last, horrible, six miles of the race.