Time: 30 minutes
Distance: 5 kilometers
Comments: A very easy run across the suburbs of Sydney. Fewer hills that on the coast route although less visually spectacular, that's for sure. A bright clear day. A bit chilly but that made it about perfect for a morning run. One thing that has become clear having access to decent weather data - my temperature estimates for the past few months have been woefully warm. It was damn cold in Lima this winter. A nice enjoyable run, altogether. I'm hoping things continue without any complications over these last few days.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Marathon Training Summary: Week 17
Time: 105 minutes
Distance: 18 kilometers
Comments: I knew this week was going to be a mess and it sure as heck lived up to my concerns. I cranked out a nice run in the sweltering horror of Arizona early but things went to hell in a handbasket after that. First off, I lost a full day to crossing the International Date Line not to mention the 19-plus hour travel time. Jet lag then ensued and, as happened last time, my sinuses finally rebelled and delivered a nice big infection. So I spent the first few days stumbling around in a daze, unable to talk cause my voice disappeared trying to get on a decent sleep schedule. Heading out for a training run really didn't seem that wise a move. All that said, I pretty much saw it coming and I deliberately set my travel to Sydney more than a week prior to the race in order to have time to recover. I have been feeling better and the run today wasn't too bad. With luck, I'll be good to go in seven days. This week is just a bunch of half-hour runs when I can squeeze them in to stay sharp for the effort. The plus side here is the view when I run can be its own inspiration. Training-wise, though, I think I am as ready as I will be at this point. My last long run felt good strength-wise but not so hot on the respiratory side. That said, the sinus infection has eased off quite a bit (the cough is still hanging around though) and I think I'll be good on that score come raceday. So now it's just nerves and jitters to contend with.
Distance: 18 kilometers
Comments: I knew this week was going to be a mess and it sure as heck lived up to my concerns. I cranked out a nice run in the sweltering horror of Arizona early but things went to hell in a handbasket after that. First off, I lost a full day to crossing the International Date Line not to mention the 19-plus hour travel time. Jet lag then ensued and, as happened last time, my sinuses finally rebelled and delivered a nice big infection. So I spent the first few days stumbling around in a daze, unable to talk cause my voice disappeared trying to get on a decent sleep schedule. Heading out for a training run really didn't seem that wise a move. All that said, I pretty much saw it coming and I deliberately set my travel to Sydney more than a week prior to the race in order to have time to recover. I have been feeling better and the run today wasn't too bad. With luck, I'll be good to go in seven days. This week is just a bunch of half-hour runs when I can squeeze them in to stay sharp for the effort. The plus side here is the view when I run can be its own inspiration. Training-wise, though, I think I am as ready as I will be at this point. My last long run felt good strength-wise but not so hot on the respiratory side. That said, the sinus infection has eased off quite a bit (the cough is still hanging around though) and I think I'll be good on that score come raceday. So now it's just nerves and jitters to contend with.
Training Run
Time: 60 minutes
Distance: 10 kilometers
Comments: My first run since landing in Australia. While the weather here has been freaking gorgeous, the metabolism has been less than ready for any stress at all. Thus I've been chomping at the bit in between bouts of feeling like crap. But I strapped the shoes on and got out the door this morning at long last. There is still a decent amount of crap rattling around my sinuses and that was not pleasant and, in case you were unaware, Sydney boasts a surplus of hills. I got down to the coast pretty easily and then followed the running track for the bulk of the run. The water here is a gorgeous blue - quite the contrast from the murky grey of Lima. Biggest obstacle? Remembering to stay to the left and not the right. I feel pretty good overall. The strength is clearly there but I gotta eat right this week to ensure the tank is full for the final effort.
Distance: 10 kilometers
Comments: My first run since landing in Australia. While the weather here has been freaking gorgeous, the metabolism has been less than ready for any stress at all. Thus I've been chomping at the bit in between bouts of feeling like crap. But I strapped the shoes on and got out the door this morning at long last. There is still a decent amount of crap rattling around my sinuses and that was not pleasant and, in case you were unaware, Sydney boasts a surplus of hills. I got down to the coast pretty easily and then followed the running track for the bulk of the run. The water here is a gorgeous blue - quite the contrast from the murky grey of Lima. Biggest obstacle? Remembering to stay to the left and not the right. I feel pretty good overall. The strength is clearly there but I gotta eat right this week to ensure the tank is full for the final effort.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Training Run
Distance: 8 kilometers
Time: 45 minutes
Comments: A more difficult effort than I expected. But that's probably due to my physical condition not training. Woke up abnormally early and it seems I'm fighting a little bit of a sinus infection. I can't say I feel <i>sick</i> but I'm certainly not feeling 100 percent either. So I got out the door resolving to do an hour but cutting it back if it got to be too much of a strain. About two miles in I decided not to take any chances and went for the shorter route. My legs felt strong though and, despite the heat, I felt pretty good with my pace the whole way.
Time: 45 minutes
Comments: A more difficult effort than I expected. But that's probably due to my physical condition not training. Woke up abnormally early and it seems I'm fighting a little bit of a sinus infection. I can't say I feel <i>sick</i> but I'm certainly not feeling 100 percent either. So I got out the door resolving to do an hour but cutting it back if it got to be too much of a strain. About two miles in I decided not to take any chances and went for the shorter route. My legs felt strong though and, despite the heat, I felt pretty good with my pace the whole way.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Marathon Training Summary: Week 16
Time: 4 hours
Distance: 40 kilometers (25 miles)
Comments: A busted training week due to travel back from Peru. I wanted to get in a few miles more but I didn't feel pushing any single workout was worth it. It's taper-time, the last thing I want right now is a race-killing injury. The change in climate - from Lima's bone chilling humidity to Arizona's scorching dryness - has been pretty brutal but I hope it's a good transition for more temperate conditions in Australia. If I can avoid illness due to the curve balls I'm throwing at my metabolism, I should be fine. I'm feeling strong in my legs and I'm trying to keep the carbohydrates up in my diet. And, of course, trying not to freak out too much about the race itself...Injury update: There has been stiffness in my lower legs but not much more than that. The new shoes seem to be working quite well and, I assume, the lack of hills in the runs is taking stress off the calves some.
Between the scheduled cutback and the mid-week journey to down under it will be nigh-impossible to have a consistent week of running. But, that should be OK given this is the serious cutback week. My main concern is spacing my runs well so I stay fresh and there isn't a long layoff of work. By now, I'm pretty much convinced that the complete absence of workouts in anticipation of the January marathon was a key factor to my abysmal performance. So I'm trying to be on the pavement at least every other day and pounding down the carbohydrates when I'm not.The biggest problem will be the 19 hours en transit. That's a lot of time to be on my ass.
Distance: 40 kilometers (25 miles)
Comments: A busted training week due to travel back from Peru. I wanted to get in a few miles more but I didn't feel pushing any single workout was worth it. It's taper-time, the last thing I want right now is a race-killing injury. The change in climate - from Lima's bone chilling humidity to Arizona's scorching dryness - has been pretty brutal but I hope it's a good transition for more temperate conditions in Australia. If I can avoid illness due to the curve balls I'm throwing at my metabolism, I should be fine. I'm feeling strong in my legs and I'm trying to keep the carbohydrates up in my diet. And, of course, trying not to freak out too much about the race itself...Injury update: There has been stiffness in my lower legs but not much more than that. The new shoes seem to be working quite well and, I assume, the lack of hills in the runs is taking stress off the calves some.
Between the scheduled cutback and the mid-week journey to down under it will be nigh-impossible to have a consistent week of running. But, that should be OK given this is the serious cutback week. My main concern is spacing my runs well so I stay fresh and there isn't a long layoff of work. By now, I'm pretty much convinced that the complete absence of workouts in anticipation of the January marathon was a key factor to my abysmal performance. So I'm trying to be on the pavement at least every other day and pounding down the carbohydrates when I'm not.The biggest problem will be the 19 hours en transit. That's a lot of time to be on my ass.
Long Run
Distance: 20 kilometers
Time: 2 hours minutes
Comments: A pretty solid long run after a broken week of training. I was very apprehensive about this one in the wake of the slog of a run earlier in the week but it actually went pretty well. I ran this one with my sister, doing a five-mile loop near her house in south Chandler. We got up early and out the door just after 6 a.m. The sun was just coming up when we started and a decent part of the route was in shade. So the gettin going wasn't too bad. The second loop was tougher. It was warmer - verging on hot - and the sun was relentless. That’s a big change from the winter-in-Lima conditions I'm used to. But I hydrated well and kept the gels going. I wore my ""race"" outfit which has a lot of black on it. The last few miles I did shirtless due to the amount of sweating. I knew I needed to hydrate after the run but I was shocked when I pounded down a 32-oz bottle of Gatorade like nothing.
Time: 2 hours minutes
Comments: A pretty solid long run after a broken week of training. I was very apprehensive about this one in the wake of the slog of a run earlier in the week but it actually went pretty well. I ran this one with my sister, doing a five-mile loop near her house in south Chandler. We got up early and out the door just after 6 a.m. The sun was just coming up when we started and a decent part of the route was in shade. So the gettin going wasn't too bad. The second loop was tougher. It was warmer - verging on hot - and the sun was relentless. That’s a big change from the winter-in-Lima conditions I'm used to. But I hydrated well and kept the gels going. I wore my ""race"" outfit which has a lot of black on it. The last few miles I did shirtless due to the amount of sweating. I knew I needed to hydrate after the run but I was shocked when I pounded down a 32-oz bottle of Gatorade like nothing.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Training Run
Distance: 10 kilometers
Time: 60 minutes
Comments: The trip back to the US was brutal and any hope of a short run on Thursday went out the window pretty quick. I got next to no sleep on the plane and ate miserably after touching down.I put off sleep as late as I could but still hit the bed with some daylight left. I ended up with more than 11 hours of sleep but still woke a bit groggy.So I laced on the new shoes and hit the road right after 6 a.m. Even that early, the contrast weatherwise between Arizona and Peru was enormous. It was less humid but you'd never know it due to the swealter. Getting going I was mighty mighty sluggish.And, although I fell into the usual pace I could tell it was a harder effort than normal. I was sweating pretty good by mile two and that usually never was an issue during my Peru runs.
Time: 60 minutes
Comments: The trip back to the US was brutal and any hope of a short run on Thursday went out the window pretty quick. I got next to no sleep on the plane and ate miserably after touching down.I put off sleep as late as I could but still hit the bed with some daylight left. I ended up with more than 11 hours of sleep but still woke a bit groggy.So I laced on the new shoes and hit the road right after 6 a.m. Even that early, the contrast weatherwise between Arizona and Peru was enormous. It was less humid but you'd never know it due to the swealter. Getting going I was mighty mighty sluggish.And, although I fell into the usual pace I could tell it was a harder effort than normal. I was sweating pretty good by mile two and that usually never was an issue during my Peru runs.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Training Run
Time: 60 min
Distance: 10 kilometers
Comments: Well, given the miles I put in over the last two weeks I gave myself two days off following this weekend's long run. I didn't have the truck-hit-me feeling that has sometimes followed my big miles, though. So, this being my last Peru run for the year I got down to the beach and cranked out an hour run over to Playa Herraduras. I purposefully put in a slightly faster pace on this one and didn't have too much problems. I did feel a bit... unwilling at the start, I must admit. But got through it pretty well and had a nice clip going there at the end.
Distance: 10 kilometers
Comments: Well, given the miles I put in over the last two weeks I gave myself two days off following this weekend's long run. I didn't have the truck-hit-me feeling that has sometimes followed my big miles, though. So, this being my last Peru run for the year I got down to the beach and cranked out an hour run over to Playa Herraduras. I purposefully put in a slightly faster pace on this one and didn't have too much problems. I did feel a bit... unwilling at the start, I must admit. But got through it pretty well and had a nice clip going there at the end.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Marathon Training Summary: Week 15
Time: 7 hours
Distance: 72 kilometers (45 miles)
Comments: Not quite sure how the mileage stayed the same but my time was reduced but I'm not sweating it either. The amount of time I was on my feet for the week and the long run is all that matters. And I was on them quite a bit.After a shortened week in mid-August due to travel and the earthquake, I've been cranking out the miles and it all came to a head today. It was the big push before the end and I was doubtful if I could do it.I started sore and tired this week following the 20-miler a week ago and things didn't get much merrier as the days dragged on. I was really worried if today's long run was a realistic possibility but it turned out OK after all.I feel strong enough to do the marathon although I have no real clue of what time to expect. That, though, is perfectly fine.
Injury update: The achilles tendons, the lower calves and my right butt cheek all gave me moments of concern
It's taper time, my friends and a wonderful time it is. The last two weeks have been damned tough. A lot of miles and a lot of wear on the legs. While I still need to get a decent amount of running in I'm not going to feel guilty about skipping a run or two due to travel or tiredness. This week will be a few weekday runs of no more than one hour and a 12-miler or so on Sunday. I'm shooting for about 70 to 75 percent of last week's total and that should get me in the ballpark. Mainly, I'm gonna be busy wrapping up things here in Peru and then getting ready to head to Australia.
Distance: 72 kilometers (45 miles)
Comments: Not quite sure how the mileage stayed the same but my time was reduced but I'm not sweating it either. The amount of time I was on my feet for the week and the long run is all that matters. And I was on them quite a bit.After a shortened week in mid-August due to travel and the earthquake, I've been cranking out the miles and it all came to a head today. It was the big push before the end and I was doubtful if I could do it.I started sore and tired this week following the 20-miler a week ago and things didn't get much merrier as the days dragged on. I was really worried if today's long run was a realistic possibility but it turned out OK after all.I feel strong enough to do the marathon although I have no real clue of what time to expect. That, though, is perfectly fine.
Injury update: The achilles tendons, the lower calves and my right butt cheek all gave me moments of concern
It's taper time, my friends and a wonderful time it is. The last two weeks have been damned tough. A lot of miles and a lot of wear on the legs. While I still need to get a decent amount of running in I'm not going to feel guilty about skipping a run or two due to travel or tiredness. This week will be a few weekday runs of no more than one hour and a 12-miler or so on Sunday. I'm shooting for about 70 to 75 percent of last week's total and that should get me in the ballpark. Mainly, I'm gonna be busy wrapping up things here in Peru and then getting ready to head to Australia.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Training Run
Distance: 34 kilometers
Comments: A long tough run but, to be honest, not nearly as bad as I had feared. But that certainly isn't to say it was easy. Given the long run last week and the sheer number of miles over the past two weeks, I was pretty apprehensive over if I was courting disaster with this run. But I started slow and did what I could to avoid hills and didn't listen to the voice in my head saying cut it short and take it easy.I certainly didn't set any pace records, that's for sure. I deliberately kept myself from looking at my watch until a certain point and was shocked to see I had almost gone the entire time I slated for the effort.I am going to cut back severely this week. Maybe even give myself two days rest after this.
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