Sunday, February 12, 2017

February 6 - February 12 Training

Monday: 5.5 miles (9:43), 2.5 miles (10:03).  I could feel some soreness from Saturday's race.  Body just felt slow and sluggish today.  Easy runs at Brixx.
Tuesday: 2.2 miles (9:09), 3.5 miles (7:25), 1.3 miles (10:16).  Warmup at DCP.  Went to the HHS track for the intervals, however, a group of 40 as on the track. So back to DCP.  12x400m with 1:00 rest after the first 3 in each group of 4 and then a 3:00 jog after every 4th.  The first 3 of each 4 targeting sub 1:50 and target sub 1:40 on each 4th.  The 12 intervals averaged 1:41, so I was pretty happy with the results.
Wednesday: 9 miles (9:03). Ran the Boomer Route.  I don't run this route very often, but I should. It's just a great workout with rolling hills that it can only make you stronger.
Thursday:
Friday: 3 miles (9:13), 2.5 miles (9:46).
Saturday: 0.6 miles (9:00), 9.34 miles (8:54).  It was a long walk up hills to the start of the Hot Chocolate 15K, so I ran a very short warmup.  I started out on the first 1/2 mile feeling pretty good, GPS was showing 7:45 but then it continued to climb and the first mile was 8:15.  Then the hills on mile 2 wiped me out and I seem to put my body in preservation mode rather than fighting on.  At the 10K mark, I attempted to do a fast 5K finish and was doing well on that first mile, but it slide to 8:15 and then I faded the rest of the way.  I seem to have lost the drive to run continuously at a fast pace.  I do well in workouts when there are intervals, but when I have to sustain the effort for a long time my mind doesn't allow it.  When I hit all my PR's in 2014, I had a pace in mind and I went to that pace and sustained it no matter how it felt.  I wish I could get that drive back.  Until I do, I will continue to race poorly.
Sunday: 1 mile (9:42), 5 miles (7:47), 1.5 miles (9:48).  After really feeling down about my inability to run hard on races, I am determined to try to reverse that trend.  I need to get back to remembering what it felt like to run hard with an elevated heart rate for an extended period of time.  So after a warmup around SCHS, I ran hard on Lower Station Camp Road.  Took a break when I reached the end after 1.75 miles, then ran back 1.75 miles, and then ran another 1.5 back down before doing a cooldown on the way back.  It felt good and heart rate was mainly in the 160's during the fast running with a max HR of 166.  Yesterday's race had a max HR of 161, which obviously wasn't a quality race effort.

Total Miles: 58 miles.  A lower volume week, but should start building up next week.  Hopefully this next week I can keep running hard when I need to and not wimp out.

Monday, February 6, 2017

January 30 - February 5 Training

Monday: 7 miles (9:47).  Super easy running the day after the 20 mile long run.
Tuesday: 8 miles (8:48).  Two loops around the Station Camp Loop Junior.  3rd fastest time on the second lap.  With temperatures in the mid 60's, I felt really good out there.  My body feels so much better in this weather compared to temperatures in the 30-45 range.  Garmin has me up to a VO2 Max of 48.  I'm trying to get to 52 before London, which would tie my highest VO2 Max on Garmin. Finished January with 268.9 miles, my highest monthly total since last May.
Wednesday: 2 miles (9:46), 5.3 miles (7:57), 1 mile (9:57).  I started the two mile warmup at the HHS Track, but I felt it was pretty windy and it is out in the open there, so decided to head to DCP for the intervals where the trees may block some of the wind.  14 x 90 seconds on/off.  The plan was 7:25 pace for ON and 8:25 pace for OFF.  I really had trouble getting to 7:25 and averaged closer to 7:30-7:35.  But pleased with the overall 7:57 pace for 5.3 miles.  Running faster than I should have yesterday took some out of me for today.
Thursday: 5 miles (9:13).  Opted for the treadmill today.  Legs don't feel too bad today after yesterday's speed intervals.
Friday: 5 miles (9:37).  A nice easy day in Drakes Creek Park with my run streak hitting 750 days.



Saturday: 1 miles (9:50), 13.1 miles (8:44).  Ran the Cedars of Lebanon Half Marathon as a training run.  I ran it repeating 90 seconds on/off the entire way.  Although when I got to the 2 mile gravel section, I stopped the repeats after nearly twisting my ankle a couple of times and just ran that section to keep from getting injured on the rocky road.  Also didn't try doing the intervals on the steep uphills.  That was a tough course.
Sunday: 4 miles (9:10).  Ran into Michael Ponce when I got to Station Camp and ran the Station Camp Loop Junior.  Also ran into Dolan, who ran part of it, until he had to take a phone call.

Total Miles: 51.4 miles.  Lower volume than I should have done this week.  Will try to get back at a high volume this next week.

Sunday, January 29, 2017

January 23 - January 29 Training

Monday: 4 miles (9:22), 4.4 miles (9:14).  Still feeling some soreness in the right leg.  Finally some cooler weather, but good running weather 45-49 degrees.
Tuesday: 7 miles (9:21), 4 miles (9:21).  First run included 20 second pickups on each mile.
Wednesday: 4 miles (9:13), 4 miles (9:29).  First run on the treadmill, second run was my favorite parking lot run at the Streets of Indian Lake.  It is nicely lit up, so it works well for runs after sunset.
Thursday: 2 miles (9:47), 6.3 miles (8:08), 1 mile (10:25).  2 Mile Warmup at Drakes Creek Park and then off to the HHS Track.  Plan was 3 x (2@7:45 + 90s jog).  Usually I warm up and get faster towards the end, but I started to struggle on the last half mile of the second set and didn't hit the pace on the last 3 miles.  The 6 tempo miles were 7:42, 7:40, 7:40, 7:49, 7:51, 7:49.  But my heart rate was highest on the first set (163) and stayed under 160 on the last two miles.  So I clearly didn't put in the effort to get the pace.  Legs felt a bit heavy, but I should be able to push to a higher heart rate.  I also added an additional 90 second jog between the 5th and 6th miles, which was not the original plan.
Friday: 3 miles (9:13), 2 miles (9:30).  Short treadmill run during lunch, but went to run a second time and just didn't feel like running so stopped at 2 miles.
Saturday: 9 miles (10:09).  The plan was to run Bongo to Bongo and add miles to get in a 20 mile run.  But I am not used to running in these temperatures (32 at start), and my legs just felt stiff.  After 4.5 miles, my fingers were frozen and I turned back and legs felt so heavy I couldn't even get under a 10 minute pace.  I hope I have what it takes to get in 20 miles on the treadmill tomorrow.
Sunday: 20 miles (9:13).  Nothing more frustrating than planning to get your long run in on Saturday and not completing it.  Weather wasn't good in the morning, so I started with 13 miles on the Treadmill while watching Denzil Washington in "The Equalizer" and then went to Drakes Creek Park for 7 miles.  The treadmill run was a progression from 6.3 mph to 7.0 mph and my legs were pretty tired by the time I got to DCP.  So it was 9:30+ easy miles for the last 7.  But I got the 20 miles.

Total Miles: 70.7 miles.  First back to back 70 mile weeks since early June last summer.  So that is a good sign.  I really need to be hitting 70 mile weeks for the next 2 months, with maybe a couple exceptions for some half marathon racing.

Sunday, January 22, 2017

January 16 - January 22 Training

Monday: 16 miles (9:16).  Since I was traveling this past weekend, I did the long run today.  I was planning on 18-20, but the right leg was feeling sore starting on mile 14.  Hopefully just soreness from driving 600 miles over the weekend.
Tuesday: 3 miles (9:35), 5 miles (8:49).  On the first run, quads felt sore and I felt pretty stiff from yesterday's long run.  I was able to get a session on the Normatec leg recovery system between runs and felt much better on the second run, which included 25 second pickups each mile.
Wednesday: 2 miles (9:16), 7 miles (8:08), 1 mile (9:56), 3.1 miles (9:12).  Started with a 2 mile warmup at Drakes Creek Park and then headed to the Hendersonville High School Track.  Ran 3 miles at sub 8:00, 1/2 mile jog, 2 miles at sub 7:40, 1/2 mile jog, 1 mile at sub 7:15.  The 6 tempo mile splits were 7:57, 7:51, 7:50, 7:33, 7:30, 7:08.  Added a 3 mile shakeout run a couple hours later at the Streets of Indian Lake.
Thursday: 4 miles (9:13), 3 miles (9:13).  Two treadmill runs since it was a steady rain all day.  This afternoon my right leg started to hurt while walking as I push off on it. Hard to explain, like high up on the leg.  It doesn't hurt while I ran, just walking.
Friday: 2 miles (9:30), 4 miles (8:16),  miles (9:40).  After a 2 mile warmup, ran 8 x (.15 miles @ sub 7:00 + .35 miles @ sub 9:00).  Then a 2 mile cooldown.  Right leg still hurting some and I could feel it on impact during the fast intervals.
Saturday: 3 miles (9:32), 5 miles (9:29).  Woke up with my right leg feeling better, but in the afternoon it started to hurt again after driving to Franklin and back to get my car serviced.
Sunday: 2 miles (9:41), 5 miles (8:22), 3.1 miles (9:43).  The training plan called for 20 miles today, but with my sore right leg, I didn't think that was a good idea.  So I thought I would run fewer, but try to get some quality miles in. So I started with a 2 miles warmup at Drakes Creek Park and then went over to the HHS Track and ran 2@8:00, 1/2@jog, 1@8:00, 1/4@jog, 1@8:00, 1/4@jog and then back to DCP for the cooldown. I could tell this was tougher than running the fast miles on Wednesday.  The first mile at the track was about the same pace as Wednesday, but my heart rate was 8 beats higher on the first mile.  The body is just not the same every day.

Total Miles: 70.2 miles.  Still managed to reach 70 miles with the reduced run on Sunday since I had done a long run on Monday.  Volume should stay in the 70-80 mile range until London except for some weeks with some half marathon races.

Monday, January 16, 2017

January 9 - January 16 Training

Monday: 5 miles (8:49), 4 miles (8:44).  Finally outside after 6 days on the treadmill.  43 degrees felt pretty good.
Tuesday: 2 miles (8:56), 5 miles (8:11), 1 Mile (8:57).  2 Mile warmup and then over to the HHS Track.  4 x (1 mile @ 7:40 + 400m jog), 1 Mile Cooldown.  Mile splits were 7:40, 7:38, 7:33, 7:33. They were tougher than I expected.  Originally scheduled for Wednesday, but I moved it up since I will be traveling this weekend and want to move up the workouts.  I could be feeling the effects of running everything sub 9 this past week making it harder to hit the workouts.
Wednesday: 8 miles (9:07).  After pushing a bit on the first mile to get sub 9, I decided to not keep up the streak of having every mile sub 9.  The body needed some easier running, which wasn't sub 9, but was pretty close.  I was also into a pretty stiff wind on some of those miles.
Thursday: 2 miles (9:33), 5 miles (9:47), 1 mile (9:29), 3 miles (9:13).  2 mile warmup at Drakes Creek Park followed by 16 x (400m@sub 1:50 + 100m slow walk) at the HHS Track with a 1 mile cooldown. Added a 3 mile shakeout run on the treadmill after a leg session with the Normatec.  I felt pretty weak on the warmup, so I wasn't expecting to do well at the track.  Most of the 400m's were in the 1:40-1:45 range with a few above it and the last one at 1:38.  So I did better than I was expecting.
Friday: 6 miles (9:08).  Easy miles at Drakes Creek Park.  New heart rate monitor.  First time I ran with a HR monitor in a long time.  Avg. HR was 143, max 151.  Garmin gave me an initial VO2 max of 44 and predicts a 3:45 marathon for me.  We'll see how that improves now that I am exactly 100 days to the London Marathon.
Saturday: 3 miles (9:13). Short treadmill run before driving to Kingsport, TN, to visit family.
Sunday: 4 miles (9:21).  Ran on the golf course golf cart path at the Kingsport Marriott resort. Pushing the long run to Monday to due the family visit this weekend.  Drove back late Sunday afternoon.

Total Miles: 48 miles. Low mileage due to travelling and no long run.  But on Sunday, my run streak reached 2 years.  Time to start year 3 on Monday.



Sunday, January 8, 2017

January 2 - January 8 Training

Monday: 7 miles (8:39), 3 miles (8:44).  Felt good to get home after driving from Birmingham on Monday morning. A nice 7 mile run at Drakes Creek Park felt good in the afternoon.  Added the 3 miles at the Monday Brixx run.  Good start for the week with 10 miles @ 8:40.
Tuesday: 6 miles (8:53).  Easy treadmill run.  It looks like a treadmill week looking at the weather forecast.
Wednesday: 6 miles (8:39).  Was planning on running 8@8:20, but such a late start with workers at the house putting down new hardwood floors.
Thursday: 4 miles (8:57).  Late run as the workers stayed to finish up the hardwood floors.
Friday: 7 miles (8:57).
Saturday: 9 miles (8:28), 6 miles (8:57).  First run was a 9 mile progression on the treadmill from 6.7 mph (8:57) to 7.5 mph (8:00).  Easy second run.
Sunday: 12 miles (8:57), 3 miles (8:57).  Had planned on doing a long run 17-19, but felt pretty tired after the 12 easy miles, probably from the effects of running 15 miles on Saturday.  Added an easy 3 miler late afternoon to make it back to back 15 mile days.

Total Miles: 63 miles.  A decent week with 63 miles.  Every mile was sub 9:00, which I'm not sure I have ever done in the past.  If I did, it would have been 2-3 years ago.  Probably shouldn't run them all sub 9:00, but that was my plan for this week (not the coach's plan).

Monday, January 2, 2017

December 26 - January 1 Training

Monday: 2 miles (9:13).  Quick 2 mile Treadmill run before starting the drive to Florida.  Made it to Valdosta, GA, on Monday night after very heavy traffic around Chattanooga and Atlanta.
Tuesday: 5.5 miles (9:36), 4.5 miles (9:37).  After making it to the Windsor Hills Resort outside of Orlando, I managed a couple slow runs.  Not used to running with temps in the low 80's.  Sore legs from driving.
Wednesday: 3.3 miles (9:42).  Tough running after a full day at Universal Studios Orlando.
Thursday: 4.5 miles (9:23).  Struggling to motivate to run while on vacation.
Friday: 7 miles (8:31).  Had some cooler weather in Orlando, so I was able to run at a little faster pace.
Saturday: 2.5 miles (9:42).  Long, long day at Disney World and I had pretty tired legs when I got
back.  I ran to keep the streak alive.
Sunday: 2 miles (9:22).  First drove from Orlando to Ft. Walton Beach to drop off our nieces and Carmen's Mom and then drove to Birmingham.  11.5 hours in the car, but running two miles on the treadmill felt good.  I was pretty drained after driving the last 120 miles in a steady downpour of rain!

Total Miles: 31.3 miles.  A low volume week due to being on vacation and a lot of driving.  Normal training resumes on January 2nd.