Distance: 6 miles
Time: 44:45
Pace: 7:27/mi
Comments: A solid workmanlike effort. The plan was to make a dry-run of the race on Sunday; get a feel for what I need to do at each point of the thing.
Overall I think I am ready. I certainly have the endurance for the thing but my technique is... lacking. My run today leads me to believe I need to concentrate on pace - keeping it steady - for the first four miles and then get surgical with the mechanics of my stride for the last two miles.
I'm hopeful for putting in a sub-45 minute race but I'd really like to push myself to get that closer to 40 minutes if possible.
Thursday, November 9, 2006
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
Recovery Run
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 27:11
Pace: 6:48/mi
Comments: Well, yesterday gang aft agly. But in a nice way.
My sister came over with my niece and a few errands turned into a nice hunk of the day pleasantly spent. My intention was to run an easy four miles in the a.m. and maybe hit the track group in the p.m. But, obviously, that dinna happen.
But the extra day off didn't seem to bother me much. I went out intending to put in a good pace and maybe six miles. I cut it back mileage-wise and focused on getting a good pace. Which was better than I hoped and I felt pretty strong afterward as well.
I have also been concentrating on eating regularly too. Three good meals a day with mid-way snacks of substance. While I don't need to be fully carb-loaded for the 10k, i do want to get the rhythm of the week set for the real deal in January.
Time: 27:11
Pace: 6:48/mi
Comments: Well, yesterday gang aft agly. But in a nice way.
My sister came over with my niece and a few errands turned into a nice hunk of the day pleasantly spent. My intention was to run an easy four miles in the a.m. and maybe hit the track group in the p.m. But, obviously, that dinna happen.
But the extra day off didn't seem to bother me much. I went out intending to put in a good pace and maybe six miles. I cut it back mileage-wise and focused on getting a good pace. Which was better than I hoped and I felt pretty strong afterward as well.
I have also been concentrating on eating regularly too. Three good meals a day with mid-way snacks of substance. While I don't need to be fully carb-loaded for the 10k, i do want to get the rhythm of the week set for the real deal in January.
Sunday, November 5, 2006
Marathon Training Summary: Week 6
Distance: 32.33 miles
Time: 4 hours 25 minutes (approx)
Comments: Very much a recovery week. I didn't push it hard at all on any of the runs.
The logic was that after breaking the 40-mile-week barrier it was best to be conservative. Pretty much every resource I have come across says this this is the magic barrier beyond which injuries start to appear.
So with that and the new shoes, it just seemed wiser to keep it easy. I also took the opportunity to break in the new shoes as well.
Next week will be a bit weird as well, with the race next Sunday, but I've had success with this cutting back and then piling on method in the past so here's hoping my luck holds.
Injury update: The 90 minutes worth of massage really seemed to have made a difference in working some of the kinks out. The trouble spots - tight side quads, left lower calf, inside left knee - are still very much in evidence but now more of a part of the greater whole.
Time: 4 hours 25 minutes (approx)
Comments: Very much a recovery week. I didn't push it hard at all on any of the runs.
The logic was that after breaking the 40-mile-week barrier it was best to be conservative. Pretty much every resource I have come across says this this is the magic barrier beyond which injuries start to appear.
So with that and the new shoes, it just seemed wiser to keep it easy. I also took the opportunity to break in the new shoes as well.
Next week will be a bit weird as well, with the race next Sunday, but I've had success with this cutting back and then piling on method in the past so here's hoping my luck holds.
Injury update: The 90 minutes worth of massage really seemed to have made a difference in working some of the kinks out. The trouble spots - tight side quads, left lower calf, inside left knee - are still very much in evidence but now more of a part of the greater whole.
Training Run
Distance: 10 miles
Time: 83:19 minutes
Pace: 8:20/mi
Comments: A nice run that included a rather unpleasant incident.
I got going pretty slow today and skipped the stretch with the intention of going slow to warm up. I wanted to get a solid effort since I have taken it easy this week and the distance was somewhat less than my regular long runs.
About a mile in a heard the footfalls of a dog coming at me. I turned and there was a short white dog coming full speed from an empty field where some kids were playing. The dog didn't bark once and he had that triangular shaped head that suggests a bit of pit bull in him.
I turned to face him and prepared to throw my water bottle - the only weapon I had - and the dog got nailed by a car coming down the road. The car stopped and the dog limped out from under the chassis and then sprinted off across the park. The kids in the field - one of them wailing loudly - took off after it.
I stood there and the man and the woman from the car, which had stopped, came up to me. The woman said she never saw the dog and I didn't doubt it. I told them it wasn't their fault since the animal was clearly heading full speed at me and didn't pay any attention to the traffic.
We both left since there was nothing we could do and, clearly, the incident wasn't our fault. I certainly don't take any pleasure in seeing an animal injured but I consider myself lucky that car hit that dog because I have no doubt the animal was determined to attack me.
Needless to say, my time was off a bit for the run and my mental focus for the rest of the effort was not as sharp as I would have liked.
Time: 83:19 minutes
Pace: 8:20/mi
Comments: A nice run that included a rather unpleasant incident.
I got going pretty slow today and skipped the stretch with the intention of going slow to warm up. I wanted to get a solid effort since I have taken it easy this week and the distance was somewhat less than my regular long runs.
About a mile in a heard the footfalls of a dog coming at me. I turned and there was a short white dog coming full speed from an empty field where some kids were playing. The dog didn't bark once and he had that triangular shaped head that suggests a bit of pit bull in him.
I turned to face him and prepared to throw my water bottle - the only weapon I had - and the dog got nailed by a car coming down the road. The car stopped and the dog limped out from under the chassis and then sprinted off across the park. The kids in the field - one of them wailing loudly - took off after it.
I stood there and the man and the woman from the car, which had stopped, came up to me. The woman said she never saw the dog and I didn't doubt it. I told them it wasn't their fault since the animal was clearly heading full speed at me and didn't pay any attention to the traffic.
We both left since there was nothing we could do and, clearly, the incident wasn't our fault. I certainly don't take any pleasure in seeing an animal injured but I consider myself lucky that car hit that dog because I have no doubt the animal was determined to attack me.
Needless to say, my time was off a bit for the run and my mental focus for the rest of the effort was not as sharp as I would have liked.
Saturday, November 4, 2006
Training Run
Time: 37:10 minutes
Pace: 10:48/mi
Comments: Brutally slow run but mostly cause I took my time to take shots of the route.
Despite the slow slow slow pace, I kept trying to tinker with some of the specifics of my stride - push offs, ball-heel footstrike and arm motion. I think the key for the short term will be breathing control.
This is pretty much my last "take it easy" run. I'll try and concentrate on my 10 miler tomorrow and next week - although not a full-bore week - I'll concentrate on preparing for the Phoenix New Times 10K.
Friday, November 3, 2006
Training Run
Distance: 6 miles
Time: 45:46 minutes
Pace: 7:38/mi
Comments: A bit busy with different projects today so I kind of did this one on autopilot. Dissociative running at its finest.
But it was a good run, nonetheless. I got out and dropped into my pace and let my mind wander while I just cranked it out. Not a bad approach now and then, but not one that is going to get me through the real test of the race.
Time: 45:46 minutes
Pace: 7:38/mi
Comments: A bit busy with different projects today so I kind of did this one on autopilot. Dissociative running at its finest.
But it was a good run, nonetheless. I got out and dropped into my pace and let my mind wander while I just cranked it out. Not a bad approach now and then, but not one that is going to get me through the real test of the race.
Thursday, November 2, 2006
Training Run
Distance: 4 miles
Time: unk
Pace: unk
Comments: Another limited effort. I got out the house and down the street before realizing I left my watch on the dresser. Instead of heading back to get it I just decided to do the run without the time. In fact, I thought it might be good just to aim for the distance and forget about the pace.
And it worked pretty well. I played around with my stride and footfall a bit but nothing really fancy. My main goal was a nice easy run that got the heart rate going and the legs loose of the lethargy.
Although this pull-back week is clearly a good idea in terms of my physiology, I am a bit concerned about the mental aspect. I've really not been motivated at all to run recently and this is sort of playing into that.
Time: unk
Pace: unk
Comments: Another limited effort. I got out the house and down the street before realizing I left my watch on the dresser. Instead of heading back to get it I just decided to do the run without the time. In fact, I thought it might be good just to aim for the distance and forget about the pace.
And it worked pretty well. I played around with my stride and footfall a bit but nothing really fancy. My main goal was a nice easy run that got the heart rate going and the legs loose of the lethargy.
Although this pull-back week is clearly a good idea in terms of my physiology, I am a bit concerned about the mental aspect. I've really not been motivated at all to run recently and this is sort of playing into that.
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
Training run
Distance: 6 miles
Time: 46:39 minutes
Pace: 7:47/mi
Comments: After a day off and a day slack, I felt a bit rusty out there but got through the effort with a strong showing, nonetheless.
I did a pretty good stretch beforehand but used the first mile as he warm-up. I tried to keep from doing anything at all fancy but I still came through with a much quicker pace than I expected.
Most of this run was through the magic of disassociation. I really didn't focus on my running much at all. Which is probably best because I really haven't felt very motivated this week. Probably the result of the massive mileage over the past two weeks.
Time: 46:39 minutes
Pace: 7:47/mi
Comments: After a day off and a day slack, I felt a bit rusty out there but got through the effort with a strong showing, nonetheless.
I did a pretty good stretch beforehand but used the first mile as he warm-up. I tried to keep from doing anything at all fancy but I still came through with a much quicker pace than I expected.
Most of this run was through the magic of disassociation. I really didn't focus on my running much at all. Which is probably best because I really haven't felt very motivated this week. Probably the result of the massive mileage over the past two weeks.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Recovery Run
Distance: 2.33 miles
Time: 16:37 minutes
Pace: 7:13/mi
Comments: A recovery run done a bit faster than I planned so I cut it short.
I've been very tired since my long run and I didn't feel any real need to push myself today. Add to that the fact I have new shoes, I didn't stretch properly and I was playing around with a new stride the whole way... well, I think slacking off was called for.
Last night I was reading the chapter in the The Competitive Runner's Handbook that discusses the difference between a ball-heel versus heel-ball footstrike. The latter being the most common for the average runner but the former being the form for most racers.
I vaguely remember this from when I raced in high school but it went hand-in-hand with the emphasis on form - drive off the back foot, drive up with the knees and drive down with the arms.
So, I spent a lot of this run playing around with these different forms looking for how they could be integrated into my regular running stride.
The danger in this is, by changing the mechanics of your stride dramatically, you risk injury. So, cutting the run short seemed the wise option. As it was, the little changes gave me a heck of a lot more acceleration than I expected. Thus the relatively quick pace for the "recovery" run.
Time: 16:37 minutes
Pace: 7:13/mi
Comments: A recovery run done a bit faster than I planned so I cut it short.
I've been very tired since my long run and I didn't feel any real need to push myself today. Add to that the fact I have new shoes, I didn't stretch properly and I was playing around with a new stride the whole way... well, I think slacking off was called for.
Last night I was reading the chapter in the The Competitive Runner's Handbook that discusses the difference between a ball-heel versus heel-ball footstrike. The latter being the most common for the average runner but the former being the form for most racers.
I vaguely remember this from when I raced in high school but it went hand-in-hand with the emphasis on form - drive off the back foot, drive up with the knees and drive down with the arms.
So, I spent a lot of this run playing around with these different forms looking for how they could be integrated into my regular running stride.
The danger in this is, by changing the mechanics of your stride dramatically, you risk injury. So, cutting the run short seemed the wise option. As it was, the little changes gave me a heck of a lot more acceleration than I expected. Thus the relatively quick pace for the "recovery" run.
Monday, October 30, 2006
New Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GTS 6
On Saturday, I headed over to Performance Footwear in Tempe and picked up a new pair of shoes. Although I just picked up a new pair two weeks ago but my training miles are really piling up and it ain't a bad idea to alternate pairs under these conditions.
More importantly, I should have a good read on which shoe I like best for my long runs by early December or six weeks out from the race. That's when I'll buy the pair that I'll run the marathon in.
Anyhoo, I ended up buying the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 6. I tried these on two weeks ago and liked them but opted for the Sacony Grid Omni 5 because of the comfort factor. The Brooks have a more firm 'feel' to them but not at all the bulky sensation I associate with the motion control boots I was wearing previously.
I also tried the Mizuno Nirvana 2 (not bad, loose in the heel), the Brooks Trance 6 (goofy looking, weird feel) and the Saucony Hurricane 8 (uneven feel, rubs the ball of the foot). But the Adrenaline GTS 6 was by far the best of the bunch.
I also stocked up on Balega hidden comfort socks. The double layer socks I tried last time just didn't fit my feet (the large was too small and the extra large was too big). The Balegas are thin socks with a moisture-free fabric that seems to work for my feet. I have had none of the blister issues that previously plagued me (of course that might be the shoes, as well).
More importantly, I should have a good read on which shoe I like best for my long runs by early December or six weeks out from the race. That's when I'll buy the pair that I'll run the marathon in.
Anyhoo, I ended up buying the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 6. I tried these on two weeks ago and liked them but opted for the Sacony Grid Omni 5 because of the comfort factor. The Brooks have a more firm 'feel' to them but not at all the bulky sensation I associate with the motion control boots I was wearing previously.
I also tried the Mizuno Nirvana 2 (not bad, loose in the heel), the Brooks Trance 6 (goofy looking, weird feel) and the Saucony Hurricane 8 (uneven feel, rubs the ball of the foot). But the Adrenaline GTS 6 was by far the best of the bunch.
I also stocked up on Balega hidden comfort socks. The double layer socks I tried last time just didn't fit my feet (the large was too small and the extra large was too big). The Balegas are thin socks with a moisture-free fabric that seems to work for my feet. I have had none of the blister issues that previously plagued me (of course that might be the shoes, as well).
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