The last time I did intervals was on 6/1. So, I started and ended June with intervals. I plan to work them into my routine more regularly in the coming months.
I set out this morning to do 7 sets of 2 minutes fast pace (around 8:00/mile) and 1 minute slow (whatever felt easy). I didn't do 10 because I was a little crunched for time. I've been having alarm clock issues since we had a power outage earlier in the week. I can't seem to get it set right. That's probably because the only times I touch it are when I'm almost asleep at night or almost awake first thing in the morning. Anyway, I got up about 15 minutes later than I had hoped this morning, so only had time to do 7 sets.
I felt much better today than I did on Tuesday. I'm not sure what was going on Tuesday. Probably the barbecue pork I had for lunch Monday. I've eaten much better the last couple of days. Anyway, I did about 3/4 mile at a slow jog to warm up then proceeded to hit the wrong button on my Garmin and ended up running close to 3 minutes for my first fast rep instead of 2. I managed to keep my fast portions pretty consistent for the first 6 at around 8:10/mile and then tried to push out the last rep and managed a pace of 8:00/mile. My rest segments were just slow jogs to allow my heart and lungs to recover.
Overall, it wasn't as painful as I anticipated.
Today's Stats: I did 3.6 miles in 33:03 with an average pace of 9:11.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
"Tempo" Run: 06/28/2011
I set out this morning pretty motivated and ready to run. My plan was a tempo run averaging 9:00/mile. I'm afraid my poor eating habits and recent general lack of running routine have finally caught up with me. Since late April I've not been doing so well in the self control department. I've gained about 5 pounds and I've only been running a little more than 2 times a week for the past 8 weeks.
My first and second miles went pretty well, and I averaged just under 9:00/mile. By the end of my second mile, I was starting to feel pretty fatigued but tried to push through it. About 3/4 of the way through mile 3 the middle of my back started hurting and my legs were burning and starting to feel like Jello. I slowed down. When that didn't help, I decided to walk it out for a few seconds. I walked for a minute or two, got my heart rate down and was able to pick up the pace to a slow jog (about 10:00/mile) again and I kept that pace up all the way back to the car. I can't believe I couldn't do 4 miles without having to stop and walk.
I'm not sure how I managed to pull off what I did Saturday in the 5K. Today I'm making the commitment to get back on a regular running schedule and to eat better. Less pork and beef and more vegetables. Fewer hamburgers and more whole grains. Smaller portions of everything.
I want to take off about 11 pounds and get down to 180. I want to average 8 minute miles or better for my next 5K. I'm not going to do either of those things if I don't make some changes. Those changes start today.
Today's Stats: I did 3.72 puny miles in a pitiful 35:20 for an average pace of 9:30/mile. Okay, so it's not that bad, but I've been trying to run most of my tempo runs at or faster than 9:00/mile and have not really had too much problem with that. Today was not a good day. I'm not going to let it become a pattern.
Next Up: Intervals on Thursday. They're going to hurt, but that's what I get for basically taking 8 weeks off.
My first and second miles went pretty well, and I averaged just under 9:00/mile. By the end of my second mile, I was starting to feel pretty fatigued but tried to push through it. About 3/4 of the way through mile 3 the middle of my back started hurting and my legs were burning and starting to feel like Jello. I slowed down. When that didn't help, I decided to walk it out for a few seconds. I walked for a minute or two, got my heart rate down and was able to pick up the pace to a slow jog (about 10:00/mile) again and I kept that pace up all the way back to the car. I can't believe I couldn't do 4 miles without having to stop and walk.
I'm not sure how I managed to pull off what I did Saturday in the 5K. Today I'm making the commitment to get back on a regular running schedule and to eat better. Less pork and beef and more vegetables. Fewer hamburgers and more whole grains. Smaller portions of everything.
I want to take off about 11 pounds and get down to 180. I want to average 8 minute miles or better for my next 5K. I'm not going to do either of those things if I don't make some changes. Those changes start today.
Today's Stats: I did 3.72 puny miles in a pitiful 35:20 for an average pace of 9:30/mile. Okay, so it's not that bad, but I've been trying to run most of my tempo runs at or faster than 9:00/mile and have not really had too much problem with that. Today was not a good day. I'm not going to let it become a pattern.
Next Up: Intervals on Thursday. They're going to hurt, but that's what I get for basically taking 8 weeks off.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Freedom Fest 5K Race Report: 6/25/2011
I ran a 5K this morning after having not run since last Sunday when I did a 7 mile long run. I haven't really been running to get faster lately, I've been more running for the enjoyment of being outside doing something I enjoy. I haven't pushed myself much since April when I was pushing pretty hard to PR in the 5K that was cancelled due to extensive tornado damage in the area. I've been concentrating on tempo runs and long runs but interval runs have basically fallen by the wayside.
This morning's race went surprisingly well all things considered. We were on vacation this past week. I ate like I was on vacation and my exercise was limited to splashing around in the lake water with my kids. I also pulled a rib muscle tying the boat off to the dock on Monday and made it worse water skiing on Tuesday.
With all of that in mind, I set out to do the 5K this morning with pretty low expectations. I wasn't even really sure I'd be able to run through the rib pain. I did a quick up and down the driveway and decided I would give it a shot in spite of the pain.
The race site was setup well. Packet pick up was a breeze and I soon had my number pinned on and my chip timing device strapped to my shoe and I was ready to go. There was a 10K also, which started 10 minutes before the 5K. I waited at the line for the 5K starting signal and when it finally came, I was off. My goal was to keep my pace near 9:00/mile for the first two miles and then pick it up as much as possible for the last 1.1. I don't have my mile splits because I didn't have my new Garmin programmed correctly. I'm guessing the first two miles were around 8:55 and the last mile was closer to 8:30. I took it generally easy, just cruising through mile one. Mile two got a little harder because I had gone through a couple of hills and hadn't really worked on maintaining this pace very much. I came to a place where everything clicked, though. Yes, my ribs hurt and I was breathing more heavily than I'm used to and I'm sure my heart rate was up but everything felt good and I just kept on pushing for more. At the two mile marker I was feeling good and knew I was going to be able to push a little harder to the finish but held off for about a minute before starting to accelerate to the finish line. I spent the last mile pushing my speed gradually faster until I was at an all out sprint across the finish line.
I really enjoyed the course. There were a few hills, but nothing too challenging. There was some shade and it was generally through a nice neighborhood. I might have to try to work the course into some of my regular runs.
Today's stats: I did 3.04 miles (according to Garmin) in 26:36 for an average pace of 8:45/mile.
My last 5K was 9:09/mile for a total time of 28:21. I never imagined I would knock almost two minutes off my best time. I've not even really been trying to get faster. I'm kind of motivated now. I need to find another 5K to do to keep that motivation up. I'm looking forward to some intervals over the next few weeks. Short term, I want to cut my 5K time down to 24 minutes. When I make it there, I'll see how I feel about trying to get faster.
To sum it all up, I was very pleased with today's race!
This morning's race went surprisingly well all things considered. We were on vacation this past week. I ate like I was on vacation and my exercise was limited to splashing around in the lake water with my kids. I also pulled a rib muscle tying the boat off to the dock on Monday and made it worse water skiing on Tuesday.
With all of that in mind, I set out to do the 5K this morning with pretty low expectations. I wasn't even really sure I'd be able to run through the rib pain. I did a quick up and down the driveway and decided I would give it a shot in spite of the pain.
The race site was setup well. Packet pick up was a breeze and I soon had my number pinned on and my chip timing device strapped to my shoe and I was ready to go. There was a 10K also, which started 10 minutes before the 5K. I waited at the line for the 5K starting signal and when it finally came, I was off. My goal was to keep my pace near 9:00/mile for the first two miles and then pick it up as much as possible for the last 1.1. I don't have my mile splits because I didn't have my new Garmin programmed correctly. I'm guessing the first two miles were around 8:55 and the last mile was closer to 8:30. I took it generally easy, just cruising through mile one. Mile two got a little harder because I had gone through a couple of hills and hadn't really worked on maintaining this pace very much. I came to a place where everything clicked, though. Yes, my ribs hurt and I was breathing more heavily than I'm used to and I'm sure my heart rate was up but everything felt good and I just kept on pushing for more. At the two mile marker I was feeling good and knew I was going to be able to push a little harder to the finish but held off for about a minute before starting to accelerate to the finish line. I spent the last mile pushing my speed gradually faster until I was at an all out sprint across the finish line.
I really enjoyed the course. There were a few hills, but nothing too challenging. There was some shade and it was generally through a nice neighborhood. I might have to try to work the course into some of my regular runs.
Today's stats: I did 3.04 miles (according to Garmin) in 26:36 for an average pace of 8:45/mile.
My last 5K was 9:09/mile for a total time of 28:21. I never imagined I would knock almost two minutes off my best time. I've not even really been trying to get faster. I'm kind of motivated now. I need to find another 5K to do to keep that motivation up. I'm looking forward to some intervals over the next few weeks. Short term, I want to cut my 5K time down to 24 minutes. When I make it there, I'll see how I feel about trying to get faster.
To sum it all up, I was very pleased with today's race!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Long run Sunday and Tempo Run Wednesday: 6/12 & 6/15/11
I'm slacking on keeping my running journal up to date.
Sunday was the perfect morning for a long run. I got up with the sun while it was still comparatively cool, strapped on my hydration pack and headed out for about 7 miles. I'm really missing my Garmin Forerunner. According to UPS, my replacement unit should arrive sometime Friday. Anyway, I figure I run a pretty comfortable 10 minute mile. I didn't map out a route beforehand. I just went out and ran some roads I was familiar with. I did a big loop and when I got close to the house I was pretty close to the 70 minute mark so I figured that was about 7 miles. I went in and mapped it out and it turned out to be 6.9. Not too bad. The temperature was perfect and I only saw a handful of cars the whole time I was out. I never felt like I was pushing myself to maintain a pace and was only uncomfortable a couple of times on hills. It was a good run and I'm still enjoying the long runs. I may have to try to start increasing my mileage soon.
Wednesday's run was 4 miles at a fairly fast pace. I did this run in the park and started and ran a course that I know from experience is exactly 4 miles. I've been using my cell phone to approximate my timing since I don't have my Garmin. I pushed myself pretty hard to keep the pace up since I didn't have any way to accurately gauge myself.
Sunday's Stats: I did 6.9 miles in approximately 69 minutes for a 10:00/mile pace
Wednesday's Stats: I did 4 miles in approximately 36:30 for a 9:07/mile pace
Sunday was the perfect morning for a long run. I got up with the sun while it was still comparatively cool, strapped on my hydration pack and headed out for about 7 miles. I'm really missing my Garmin Forerunner. According to UPS, my replacement unit should arrive sometime Friday. Anyway, I figure I run a pretty comfortable 10 minute mile. I didn't map out a route beforehand. I just went out and ran some roads I was familiar with. I did a big loop and when I got close to the house I was pretty close to the 70 minute mark so I figured that was about 7 miles. I went in and mapped it out and it turned out to be 6.9. Not too bad. The temperature was perfect and I only saw a handful of cars the whole time I was out. I never felt like I was pushing myself to maintain a pace and was only uncomfortable a couple of times on hills. It was a good run and I'm still enjoying the long runs. I may have to try to start increasing my mileage soon.
Wednesday's run was 4 miles at a fairly fast pace. I did this run in the park and started and ran a course that I know from experience is exactly 4 miles. I've been using my cell phone to approximate my timing since I don't have my Garmin. I pushed myself pretty hard to keep the pace up since I didn't have any way to accurately gauge myself.
Sunday's Stats: I did 6.9 miles in approximately 69 minutes for a 10:00/mile pace
Wednesday's Stats: I did 4 miles in approximately 36:30 for a 9:07/mile pace
Friday, June 10, 2011
Two tempo runs: 6/7/11 & 6/10/11
I've done two tempo runs this week. I just didn't feel like punishing my body with intervals in this heat. It's not too terribly hot first thing in the morning when I run, but it's still hot enough that my performance suffers.
Both runs were 4 miles. I did Tuesday's 4 miles in 35:25. I had to estimate today's because I've had to send my Garmin Forerunner in for a warranty replacement. I checked my cell phone when I started and when I finished and it took me approximately 37 minutes. I felt like I pushed myself harder Tuesday and that definitely shows in the times.
I want to get a long run in this weekend - probably on Sunday because L has a 5K Saturday morning. Then next week I'll need to get in a set of intervals and a solid tempo run. I'll be on a semi-vacation the week after that and might not get to run much, if at all before my next scheduled 5K on June 25. I'm hoping for a freak cold spell that weekend.
In the shoe department, I've logged over 200 miles on my Brooks Ravenna's. They're showing no signs of giving up anytime soon. I had to replace my New Balances after 180 miles and they probably needed replacing 30 miles before that. I'm pleased and I think it might be time to start hunting down another pair or three of these before they discontinue them for next year's model.
Both runs were 4 miles. I did Tuesday's 4 miles in 35:25. I had to estimate today's because I've had to send my Garmin Forerunner in for a warranty replacement. I checked my cell phone when I started and when I finished and it took me approximately 37 minutes. I felt like I pushed myself harder Tuesday and that definitely shows in the times.
I want to get a long run in this weekend - probably on Sunday because L has a 5K Saturday morning. Then next week I'll need to get in a set of intervals and a solid tempo run. I'll be on a semi-vacation the week after that and might not get to run much, if at all before my next scheduled 5K on June 25. I'm hoping for a freak cold spell that weekend.
In the shoe department, I've logged over 200 miles on my Brooks Ravenna's. They're showing no signs of giving up anytime soon. I had to replace my New Balances after 180 miles and they probably needed replacing 30 miles before that. I'm pleased and I think it might be time to start hunting down another pair or three of these before they discontinue them for next year's model.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Long Run Sunday: 6/5/11
I got out fairly early Sunday for a run, knowing it was going to be a very hot day. I had planned out a new course leaving from my front door that would be a little over 7 miles. I ran it without ever having even driven most of it, so I didn't know what to expect as far as hills were concerned.
I started out feeling great. I had my hydration pack with me filled with about 32 ounces of water flavored with sugar free Hawaiian Punch mix. The first mile and a half or so wasn't too bad, but then the heat started to make an appearance. There was still a little shade when I first started out, but the sun quickly rose to a point where the shade became almost non-existent. I also hit my first real hill about 1.8 miles in. The first 1.8 had been mostly downhill, so I knew I was in for a climb at some point. It wasn't a terrible hill. Only a small portion of it was what I would consider steep, but it went on for a full mile. I gained about 60 feet in elevation over the course of that mile. It doesn't sound like much, but climbing for a full mile starts to get difficult, especially with the heat, humidity, and the sun really starting to beat down on me. At the peak of the hill I was about 2.7 miles in. There wasn't much of a plateau before I started back down, losing all of the elevation I had gained. The downhill stretch ended all too soon and I started another longer uphill climb of 85 feet over the course of 2 miles. From there I only had about 1.5 miles left before home. It was a mostly downhill stretch with a couple of exception over that 1.5 miles.
I wasn't able to run the whole course. I ran the first 4 miles, but started to get really hot and tired. I decided to walk up at least a portion of the second long hill. I ran and walked intermittently before making the call to just walk to the top of the hill and then reevaluate my options from there. After making it to the top of that hill, I ran most of the way home, wimping out once to walk up another short hill. I did manage to push myself pretty hard over the last half mile or so and ran up the final hill to the house.
Overall, it was nice to be out, but I was disappointed that I had to take walking breaks. The heat and the somewhat unexpected difficulty level of the hills killed my performance, but I soldiered on and lived to run again another day.
Today's Stats: I did 7.17 miles in 1:19:30 for an average pace of 11:05/mile. I've not run that slowly since back in January!
I started out feeling great. I had my hydration pack with me filled with about 32 ounces of water flavored with sugar free Hawaiian Punch mix. The first mile and a half or so wasn't too bad, but then the heat started to make an appearance. There was still a little shade when I first started out, but the sun quickly rose to a point where the shade became almost non-existent. I also hit my first real hill about 1.8 miles in. The first 1.8 had been mostly downhill, so I knew I was in for a climb at some point. It wasn't a terrible hill. Only a small portion of it was what I would consider steep, but it went on for a full mile. I gained about 60 feet in elevation over the course of that mile. It doesn't sound like much, but climbing for a full mile starts to get difficult, especially with the heat, humidity, and the sun really starting to beat down on me. At the peak of the hill I was about 2.7 miles in. There wasn't much of a plateau before I started back down, losing all of the elevation I had gained. The downhill stretch ended all too soon and I started another longer uphill climb of 85 feet over the course of 2 miles. From there I only had about 1.5 miles left before home. It was a mostly downhill stretch with a couple of exception over that 1.5 miles.
I wasn't able to run the whole course. I ran the first 4 miles, but started to get really hot and tired. I decided to walk up at least a portion of the second long hill. I ran and walked intermittently before making the call to just walk to the top of the hill and then reevaluate my options from there. After making it to the top of that hill, I ran most of the way home, wimping out once to walk up another short hill. I did manage to push myself pretty hard over the last half mile or so and ran up the final hill to the house.
Overall, it was nice to be out, but I was disappointed that I had to take walking breaks. The heat and the somewhat unexpected difficulty level of the hills killed my performance, but I soldiered on and lived to run again another day.
Today's Stats: I did 7.17 miles in 1:19:30 for an average pace of 11:05/mile. I've not run that slowly since back in January!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Intervals: 6/1/2011
Alternate title: The Day Intervals Kicked My Ass.
I set out to do my intervals this morning. It was already well above 70 and uncomfortably humid when I started my run. The sun was above the trees and I could feel the air getting warmer and warmer....make that hotter.
My plan was 10 reps of 2 minutes at 8:00/mile and 1 minute of easy jogging. I was able to push through 6 reps. My heart rate peaked at 184 BPM during that rep and I couldn't get it to drop below 170 at an easy jog and I wasn't even going to consider walking. I was feeling really out of breath and a hair lightheaded, so I slowed the pace for the rest of the run and just jogged back to the car.
I don't know if it was the heat or the fact that I've not been running regularly but it seemed harder today than it should have. I'm sure it's a combination of the two. I think if I get back into a regular routine things will get better. I looked back at my last interval workout on 4/25 and I know I pushed myself just as hard that day, actually harder, and my maximum heart rate was only 181. Also, I completed the entire workout that day.
Today's stats: I did 3.62 miles in 32:53 for an average pace of 9:05/mile.
Next up: I hope to get a long run in on Saturday morning. My goal is six or seven easy miles before it gets above 80 degrees.
I set out to do my intervals this morning. It was already well above 70 and uncomfortably humid when I started my run. The sun was above the trees and I could feel the air getting warmer and warmer....make that hotter.
My plan was 10 reps of 2 minutes at 8:00/mile and 1 minute of easy jogging. I was able to push through 6 reps. My heart rate peaked at 184 BPM during that rep and I couldn't get it to drop below 170 at an easy jog and I wasn't even going to consider walking. I was feeling really out of breath and a hair lightheaded, so I slowed the pace for the rest of the run and just jogged back to the car.
I don't know if it was the heat or the fact that I've not been running regularly but it seemed harder today than it should have. I'm sure it's a combination of the two. I think if I get back into a regular routine things will get better. I looked back at my last interval workout on 4/25 and I know I pushed myself just as hard that day, actually harder, and my maximum heart rate was only 181. Also, I completed the entire workout that day.
Today's stats: I did 3.62 miles in 32:53 for an average pace of 9:05/mile.
Next up: I hope to get a long run in on Saturday morning. My goal is six or seven easy miles before it gets above 80 degrees.
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