1945 BST - Thursday (session 108) was interval day. 12x90 seconds with 90 second recoveries. I wasn't able to use the track yet again. This time I had a partner, but the track was already booked and they were using all the lanes. Oh well. decided to run the loop around Axa again. I actually like it. It's more challenging than the track because it isn't flat. Since it's all on the same side of the road, traffic isn't too much of a concern. You just have to watch the two car park exits. At this time of day it was fine.
It was a little warm, but not as warm as last week so that was good. When I started off and did the first couple of intervals, I didn't think I quite had it. I felt like I was really struggling. I kept going though as best I could. On the first two or three laps my heart rate barely reached 90%. After that I reached >90% no problem and it wasn't coming down so fast...and I was getting fatigued. I did 6 intervals without walking. After that I walked a little bit after each interval to get my HR down. I still felt I wasn't doing that well.
When I reviewed the data I was pretty surprised when I saw I ran every fast split at less than 6 min/mile. The first thought I had was "who is this fast guy wearing my Garmin!" This is just amazing. I couldn't believe it. Needless to say I was more than pleased with my performance. I really never thought I would be doing this well. Well worth the frustration and effort.
Friday was my routine SnC day. 30 minute warm up in the pool followed by my standard TRX workout. And no I didn't go to the royal wedding nor did I receive an invitation. I watched it on TV like most of us common folk!
Saturday I ran another 3 mile aerobic test to see how I have been progressing. All 4 of us climbed in the car and we drove by our friends Tim and Heather's house. They live next to the Clifton Downs (I think that's what it's called) which is a rather large park that is great for running. Tim is training for an upcoming 10K. He and Tanya ran together while I ran my test. They did quite well. It was good for both of them to run together...they helped each other in different ways. I ran my test...20 minute warm up @ 65% followed by the 3 miles @ 70% and a cool down at the end. I thoroughly enjoyed running at this park. I liked it so much I am going back tomorrow morning for my LSD. I ran 3 laps today and I figure 21 miles (tomorrow's session) is not quite 10 laps. I liked it so much the prospect of doing 10 laps doesn't bother me a bit. That's how nice it is. And they have a toilet :) I'm not sure if it will be open tomorrow morning, but even if it isn't there are a lot of secluded bushes!
Anyway, when I reviewed the data I was a little bit disappointed. My 70% pace was the same as 4 weeks ago ~7:40. I thought it might have been 5 or 10 seconds better. It was a little more difficult finding a "groove" this morning. The route around the park wasn't flat and the breeze was fairly brisk. It probably wouldn't have mattered though, which is ok. I did however, make significant improvement at 65%...about 50 sec/mile. Wow. I'm not sure what access you have when looking at my garmin data (if you even look :) ) but if you go to activities you can tick the little boxes on the left hand side and compare activities at the top. It's pretty neat feature and you can easily see my progress. Just in case you don't want to do that, I included the link to my last test (Session 82)
Thursday's Intervals:
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 108
Saturday's 3 mile aerobic test:
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 110
3 mile test 4 weeks ago:
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 82
About Me
- plbennett70
- Training for the Chester Marathon on 09 October 2011. Going for a BQ!
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
27 April - Session 107
2034 BST - Good run this morning...8 miles @ 70%. My conditioning has improved quite a bit. On 28 Dec 2010 I ran about the same distance at a 7:44 pace. My average HR was 162 bpm. Wow. I didn't make it to the gym today for my Wed SnC. Picked up my car from the shop and didn't get home until 1700. That really wasn't too late but I didn't want to cut into family dinner time and I also had some work to do afterwards! The time difference between here and Washington DC sometimes requires that I work in the evenings.
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 107
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 107
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
26 April - Session 106
1943 BST - Another dreaded interval workout today...this time hills. 12x30 sec repeats uphill. Ugh. I definitely like the track better! Weather was ok. Not too warm yet, but the wind picked up about half way through the repeats and I was running into the wind going uphill. Officially the wind was about 10 kts at the Filton observation station a few miles away. I'm sure it was more than that here in Frampton.
I started walking down the hill after 6 repeats to get my HR down. I think I walked part way down on 4 of the last 6 repeats. I walked a little ways after the last one too. I ran the repeats as hard as I could and I think I had a good workout. I am expecting sore glutes tomorrow.
A friend of mine gave me a hard time for only trying out the camelbak for 30 seconds. Accused me of having some sort of mental issue! Maybe so, but I really didn't like how it felt and I think it would have drove me crazy after a mile or two. I am certain it would have. I think he's the one with the mental issue. He's visiting the UK in June and has signed up for the "Hardest Marathon in Britain" Check it out here: 2011 Picnic Marathon. Funny they call it The Picnic. I gave some serious thought to entering myself...can't really back down from a challenge now can I? I ultimately decided against it. With all the problems with my lower legs I have been having recently, my first priority after my race is to figure out why and fix myself. Also, I haven't done any trail running to speak of and I didn't want "The Picnic" to be my first go at it. All that considered I thought it best not to enter. Maybe 2013.
Anyway, Garmin data from today below.
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 106
I started walking down the hill after 6 repeats to get my HR down. I think I walked part way down on 4 of the last 6 repeats. I walked a little ways after the last one too. I ran the repeats as hard as I could and I think I had a good workout. I am expecting sore glutes tomorrow.
A friend of mine gave me a hard time for only trying out the camelbak for 30 seconds. Accused me of having some sort of mental issue! Maybe so, but I really didn't like how it felt and I think it would have drove me crazy after a mile or two. I am certain it would have. I think he's the one with the mental issue. He's visiting the UK in June and has signed up for the "Hardest Marathon in Britain" Check it out here: 2011 Picnic Marathon. Funny they call it The Picnic. I gave some serious thought to entering myself...can't really back down from a challenge now can I? I ultimately decided against it. With all the problems with my lower legs I have been having recently, my first priority after my race is to figure out why and fix myself. Also, I haven't done any trail running to speak of and I didn't want "The Picnic" to be my first go at it. All that considered I thought it best not to enter. Maybe 2013.
Anyway, Garmin data from today below.
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 106
Monday, April 25, 2011
25 April - Sessions 103-105
2040 BST - Four weeks to go and the training has been going great. Short, easy run on Saturday. I tried out the camelbak and I made it about 30 seconds before I turned around to drop it off back home. I didn't like how it felt, weighed, moved and sloshed around. I guess I'll have to use the aid stations and perhaps carry some gels along with me on the race. No problem. I'll just have to do some prior planning.
Sunday was fantastic. The weather was perfect for running...10 deg and a little bit of wind, 13 kts. The sunrise was nice and it got cloudy about half way through so it stayed cool. I took along my water bottle which turned out to be enough water this time and 2 gels. I ate one gel before leaving, one at 6 miles and the third at 12 miles. I used the toilet before I left too so that wasn't a problem this time :) All the conditions were right and I had a great run. Overall I averaged just about 7:30 min/mi. I figure if I would have kept going and ran another 8 miles (for a total of 26.2!) I could have finished around 3:15. My legs were sore, but overall I felt pretty good when I was done. We'll see how the next 2 LSDs go, but I'm feeling pretty good about the race right now. Neither my calves nor my ankle bothered me much. I finally feel like my ankle might be getting better. We'll see.
I rested today. I had been looking forward to today for a while too: No session, no work (bank holiday - day off), and Marshall didn't have school. It was wonderful to sleep in and then get up and have a morning with no schedule. This afternoon I put together our new BBQ and we grilled brats for dinner. Been quite a while now since we grilled out and the brats were pretty tasty.
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 103
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 104
Sunday was fantastic. The weather was perfect for running...10 deg and a little bit of wind, 13 kts. The sunrise was nice and it got cloudy about half way through so it stayed cool. I took along my water bottle which turned out to be enough water this time and 2 gels. I ate one gel before leaving, one at 6 miles and the third at 12 miles. I used the toilet before I left too so that wasn't a problem this time :) All the conditions were right and I had a great run. Overall I averaged just about 7:30 min/mi. I figure if I would have kept going and ran another 8 miles (for a total of 26.2!) I could have finished around 3:15. My legs were sore, but overall I felt pretty good when I was done. We'll see how the next 2 LSDs go, but I'm feeling pretty good about the race right now. Neither my calves nor my ankle bothered me much. I finally feel like my ankle might be getting better. We'll see.
I rested today. I had been looking forward to today for a while too: No session, no work (bank holiday - day off), and Marshall didn't have school. It was wonderful to sleep in and then get up and have a morning with no schedule. This afternoon I put together our new BBQ and we grilled brats for dinner. Been quite a while now since we grilled out and the brats were pretty tasty.
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 103
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 104
Friday, April 22, 2011
22 Apr - Sessions 101-102
1658 BST - Interval training yesterday. Program called for 18x200m (or 45 sec) with 200m (or 60 sec) recoveries. AS I mentioned in my last blog I trained in the afternoon to help prepare for warmer temps on race day. According to weather.com, average high in Edinburgh on that day is 14 deg C. Of course it could be cooler, but it could also be warmer...and that's what I want to be prepared for. For the most part so far I have been training in much cooler weather.
Anyway, I stopped by the track to see if I could run there but I was turned away because I was by myself. Can't use the track alone due to health and safety regulations. Here's a bit of irony...During my warm up while running out to where I was going to run the intervals, I was almost run over by a car! Admittedly completely my fault, (they could have yielded though) but that wouldn't have happened on the track! Seems to me the track is the safer alternative to dealing with the traffic! Once I crossed that particular road though traffic wasn't too much of a concern. There weren't any busy roads to cross which is why I chose that particular location and route.
As usual I had trouble doing the miles-to-meters conversion (which is one reason I wanted to run on the track!) and I figured 200m = 1/4 mile. Off I went. After the third interval I noticed my split time was 1:22 or something like that which seemed a bit long and got me thinking...maybe I miscalculated. After thinking about it during the next interval, I was sure I was running 400m! I remembered that 1 lap around the track is 400m so 4 laps is 1600m which is 1 mile (close enough anyway) so 1 lap is 1/4 mile which is 400m! AFter only 4 intervals I was at more than 3 1/2 miles and I was starting to doubt whether I could do 14 more 1/4 mile intervals. It's not so easy to measure 1/8 mile on the Garmin so I switched to 45 sec intervals with 60 sec recoveries.
In all I did 4 400m intervals and 14 45 sec timed (approx 200m) intervals. Pretty good considering it was so warm (23 deg C). About halfway through I started walking a bit during the recoveries to help get my HR down. Overall I thought it was a good workout and I felt pretty good when it was over. I reached maximum HR (180 bpm) on the final interval, which I stretched out to 60 sec for good measure.
Today I did some solo SnC work after swimming for 30 min.
Easy 4 miles tomorrow. I'm going to wear my camelbak and see how that goes. I probably should be drinking more water on my long runs (especially since it's getting warmer). Twice I emptied my little water bottle before finishing. I don't like to wear anything while running, but I'll "test run" the camelbak tomorrow. Since it's a short distance, if I find it bothersome, it will only be for a short while. If it isn't too bad, I'll wear it Sunday on my LSD. If that works out ok, then I'll consider wearing it for the race, so I won't be dependent on the aid stations.
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 101
Anyway, I stopped by the track to see if I could run there but I was turned away because I was by myself. Can't use the track alone due to health and safety regulations. Here's a bit of irony...During my warm up while running out to where I was going to run the intervals, I was almost run over by a car! Admittedly completely my fault, (they could have yielded though) but that wouldn't have happened on the track! Seems to me the track is the safer alternative to dealing with the traffic! Once I crossed that particular road though traffic wasn't too much of a concern. There weren't any busy roads to cross which is why I chose that particular location and route.
As usual I had trouble doing the miles-to-meters conversion (which is one reason I wanted to run on the track!) and I figured 200m = 1/4 mile. Off I went. After the third interval I noticed my split time was 1:22 or something like that which seemed a bit long and got me thinking...maybe I miscalculated. After thinking about it during the next interval, I was sure I was running 400m! I remembered that 1 lap around the track is 400m so 4 laps is 1600m which is 1 mile (close enough anyway) so 1 lap is 1/4 mile which is 400m! AFter only 4 intervals I was at more than 3 1/2 miles and I was starting to doubt whether I could do 14 more 1/4 mile intervals. It's not so easy to measure 1/8 mile on the Garmin so I switched to 45 sec intervals with 60 sec recoveries.
In all I did 4 400m intervals and 14 45 sec timed (approx 200m) intervals. Pretty good considering it was so warm (23 deg C). About halfway through I started walking a bit during the recoveries to help get my HR down. Overall I thought it was a good workout and I felt pretty good when it was over. I reached maximum HR (180 bpm) on the final interval, which I stretched out to 60 sec for good measure.
Today I did some solo SnC work after swimming for 30 min.
Easy 4 miles tomorrow. I'm going to wear my camelbak and see how that goes. I probably should be drinking more water on my long runs (especially since it's getting warmer). Twice I emptied my little water bottle before finishing. I don't like to wear anything while running, but I'll "test run" the camelbak tomorrow. Since it's a short distance, if I find it bothersome, it will only be for a short while. If it isn't too bad, I'll wear it Sunday on my LSD. If that works out ok, then I'll consider wearing it for the race, so I won't be dependent on the aid stations.
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 101
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
20 Apr - Session 100
2104 BST - Wow...my 100th training session today. Been doing this for over three months! I'm not really getting tired of it, but I am ready to get on with the race. My body is starting to really feel the effects of the program, both good and bad!
9 miles @ 65% today. Pace was pretty good. My conditioning and fitness has really improved...that's the good. Between my ankle on on leg and my calf on the other, both my lower legs are bothering me a bit. Ankle is better after 2 day res earlier in the week, but not better completely. Neither problem really bothers me while running, but I do feel the effects afterward.
Tomorrow is a killer interval workout...18x200m! I'm going to workout in the afternoon too. The forecast is for 22 deg C. Quite warm for this type of workout, especially considering I'm not really accustomed to running in warmer temps. Which is exactly why I am doing it. Having spent the last 3 months running in the cold, and even now it is still cool in the morning (was a little chilly this morning...I was cold) I am certainly not used to warmer temps. I need to practice in warmer weather though because it could be warm in Edinburgh on race day and I want to be prepared for any weather condition. There is a big difference between 8 and 16 deg believe it or not. Particularly if it is sunny. I'm also going to try to get on the track. We'll see how that goes.
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 100
9 miles @ 65% today. Pace was pretty good. My conditioning and fitness has really improved...that's the good. Between my ankle on on leg and my calf on the other, both my lower legs are bothering me a bit. Ankle is better after 2 day res earlier in the week, but not better completely. Neither problem really bothers me while running, but I do feel the effects afterward.
Tomorrow is a killer interval workout...18x200m! I'm going to workout in the afternoon too. The forecast is for 22 deg C. Quite warm for this type of workout, especially considering I'm not really accustomed to running in warmer temps. Which is exactly why I am doing it. Having spent the last 3 months running in the cold, and even now it is still cool in the morning (was a little chilly this morning...I was cold) I am certainly not used to warmer temps. I need to practice in warmer weather though because it could be warm in Edinburgh on race day and I want to be prepared for any weather condition. There is a big difference between 8 and 16 deg believe it or not. Particularly if it is sunny. I'm also going to try to get on the track. We'll see how that goes.
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 100
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
19 April - Sessions 96-99
2041 BST - Busy weekend. I started out with an easy 4 miles on Saturday. Unremarkable. Afterwards I took the family up to RAF Lakenheath and Mildenhall, two of the larger US Air Force Bases here in the UK. They're practically collocated about 200 miles from Bristol. We had a nice time. Of course I ate way too much...Taco Bell, Cinnabon (yummy), prime rib dinner, big breakfast, more Cinnabon and snacks on the way home. I finished off the weekend with dinner at one of our favorite pubs. The weather was beautiful all weekend.
The worst part about the weekend is I skipped my LSD on Sunday. I was supposed to run 20 miles but when the alarm went off Sunday morning, I just didn't feel like it. I was very tired from not sleeping well on the pull out couch, which was not comfortable at all...the floor would have been better! I didn't have much of an opportunity to scope out a route. Normally it isn't a big deal but since I was running a long way, I wanted to have some idea where I was going. This was a rural area and some of the roads didn't have sidewalks. Plus you can exit the base where we were staying fairly close to the lodging facility, but you can enter there. I really didn't want to be running around aimlessly unsure of where I was going. Even so, I almost got up to run. What kept me in bed was my ankle. I thought it might be getting better, but it really hasn't. It was actually bothering me quite a bit on Friday and some also on Saturday, although not so much when I'm running. It's weird actually. I figured since I was tired anyway giving my ankle two days rest would be good. Perhaps by Tuesday it would be better. Besides, it would have taken close to 3 hours to run the 20 miles. I wanted make sure we were all packed up and ready to go so we could get to breakfast when they opened at 1000. I wanted to do what we needed to do so we could get home at a decent hour, which fortunately we did. I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. I was glad I rested the extra day, but at the same time I feel like I missed out on some important race preparation. 26 miles is a long way and I want to make sure I'm up to the task.
After resting again Monday, I was back to training Tuesday. I did 6 miles: warm up, 11x1 min repeats, with a cool down at the end. I was warm and sunny this morning. Well, 16 deg (Celsius) but it felt warmer with the sun blazing down. It was actually nice. I ran the repeats as hard as I could and reached 176 bpm on some of them. The first two are always the easiest and then I start to fatigue. The last few were pretty tough, some being uphill. I put forth maximum effort though. As much as I dislike these kinds of workouts, I know it's what makes me faster and it really works!! I started out doing 1 min slow, 1 min recovery, but after 3 or 4 repeats, I had to increase the recovery time. I alternated between 1:30, 2:00, and 1:00 depending on how I felt. After some of the repeats I walked a little to get my HR down. After 4 repeats with only a minute recovery, it wasn't going down fast enough.
So overall the workout was good, but it didn't finish off so well. Towards the end I was crapped on by a bird. At first I thought it was a bee or something that ran into me but it didn't take me too long to realize that wasn't the case. I didn't get hit too bad, just some on my shoulder (coulda been worse) but I was angry nonetheless. What are the odds? It gets better from there...when returned to the locker room and got in the shower, I was mortified when I discovered there was no hot water. Maybe not such a bad thing as I was hot from running out in the sun, but the water wasn't lukewarm or even cool. It was ICE COLD. I was angry yet again...why was there no hot water?? This isn't rocket science! I wasn't sure what to do. I guess I could have went somewhere else, but then I would have had to get dressed and carry all my stuff to another shower, with no guarantee of hot water. I guess I could have not showered but then I would have been sweaty and stinky and I really didn't want to put my uniform back on like that. I didn't see that I had any alternative than to brave the cold water. It was miserable. I got clean though! I'd like to say it ended up being refreshing but that is an understatement.
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 96
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 99
The worst part about the weekend is I skipped my LSD on Sunday. I was supposed to run 20 miles but when the alarm went off Sunday morning, I just didn't feel like it. I was very tired from not sleeping well on the pull out couch, which was not comfortable at all...the floor would have been better! I didn't have much of an opportunity to scope out a route. Normally it isn't a big deal but since I was running a long way, I wanted to have some idea where I was going. This was a rural area and some of the roads didn't have sidewalks. Plus you can exit the base where we were staying fairly close to the lodging facility, but you can enter there. I really didn't want to be running around aimlessly unsure of where I was going. Even so, I almost got up to run. What kept me in bed was my ankle. I thought it might be getting better, but it really hasn't. It was actually bothering me quite a bit on Friday and some also on Saturday, although not so much when I'm running. It's weird actually. I figured since I was tired anyway giving my ankle two days rest would be good. Perhaps by Tuesday it would be better. Besides, it would have taken close to 3 hours to run the 20 miles. I wanted make sure we were all packed up and ready to go so we could get to breakfast when they opened at 1000. I wanted to do what we needed to do so we could get home at a decent hour, which fortunately we did. I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. I was glad I rested the extra day, but at the same time I feel like I missed out on some important race preparation. 26 miles is a long way and I want to make sure I'm up to the task.
After resting again Monday, I was back to training Tuesday. I did 6 miles: warm up, 11x1 min repeats, with a cool down at the end. I was warm and sunny this morning. Well, 16 deg (Celsius) but it felt warmer with the sun blazing down. It was actually nice. I ran the repeats as hard as I could and reached 176 bpm on some of them. The first two are always the easiest and then I start to fatigue. The last few were pretty tough, some being uphill. I put forth maximum effort though. As much as I dislike these kinds of workouts, I know it's what makes me faster and it really works!! I started out doing 1 min slow, 1 min recovery, but after 3 or 4 repeats, I had to increase the recovery time. I alternated between 1:30, 2:00, and 1:00 depending on how I felt. After some of the repeats I walked a little to get my HR down. After 4 repeats with only a minute recovery, it wasn't going down fast enough.
So overall the workout was good, but it didn't finish off so well. Towards the end I was crapped on by a bird. At first I thought it was a bee or something that ran into me but it didn't take me too long to realize that wasn't the case. I didn't get hit too bad, just some on my shoulder (coulda been worse) but I was angry nonetheless. What are the odds? It gets better from there...when returned to the locker room and got in the shower, I was mortified when I discovered there was no hot water. Maybe not such a bad thing as I was hot from running out in the sun, but the water wasn't lukewarm or even cool. It was ICE COLD. I was angry yet again...why was there no hot water?? This isn't rocket science! I wasn't sure what to do. I guess I could have went somewhere else, but then I would have had to get dressed and carry all my stuff to another shower, with no guarantee of hot water. I guess I could have not showered but then I would have been sweaty and stinky and I really didn't want to put my uniform back on like that. I didn't see that I had any alternative than to brave the cold water. It was miserable. I got clean though! I'd like to say it ended up being refreshing but that is an understatement.
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 96
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 99
Friday, April 15, 2011
15 April - Sessions 92-95
2045 BST - Lazy again I guess...not really. Been pretty busy this week. Training has been continuing well though. After resting Monday I went out Tuesday for some hill running. Getting this deep into my program the speed workouts are pretty challenging. This was 12 x 30 sec up hill. I wanted something tougher than the hill I usually run, so I picked a new hill. It's pretty short, but steep...8.4% grade. Steep for me anyway. I don't think I reached my 90% target heart rate on any of the reps because of the short distance. I ran as hard as I could but didn't quite get there. I walked down 3 or 4 times towards the end to get my HR back down. Even though I quite get up to my target HR, I still had a good work out. My glutes were sore for 2 days afterwards!
Ten miles @ 70% was on tap for Wed. It was tough getting going because my glutes were so sore from the hill workout! It was a good workout. 7:31 min/mile avg pace over the run at 142 bpm. My fitness really has improved over the past 3 months. Before I started the same pace would have been probably 160-165 bpm. Thinking back, I'm not sure I could have sustained it for 10 miles. I had been running 10 miles at about a 7:50 pace.
Another speed workout for Thursday. 5 x 1 mile repeats. Tough! I would have preferred to do it on the track, but I was travelling to London for a conference, so I had to get up early and just run near the house instead. It was tougher because the course wasn't flat like the track. I didn't sleep well the night before (in part because I was dreading the workout!) so I was tired...not to mention it was 0400! Like Tuesday I didn't quite achieve my target HR, this time 88%. My max for each mile was >88%, but average for each was a few bpm less. Still, I worked hard. There were some mitigating factors, fatigue, hills, and as I was saying before I have to run pretty fast now (< 6 min pace) to reach that intensity.
No running today (Friday) only SnC with Paul. I warm up in the pool swimming laps for about 30 min too. As always, another tough session.
Easy run tomorrow and the family and I are taking a little weekend road trip to Mildenhall. Should be interesting running my LSD on Sunday. 20 miles in a place I'm not familiar with! Will be fun though. I like exploring!
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 92
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 93
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 94
Ten miles @ 70% was on tap for Wed. It was tough getting going because my glutes were so sore from the hill workout! It was a good workout. 7:31 min/mile avg pace over the run at 142 bpm. My fitness really has improved over the past 3 months. Before I started the same pace would have been probably 160-165 bpm. Thinking back, I'm not sure I could have sustained it for 10 miles. I had been running 10 miles at about a 7:50 pace.
Another speed workout for Thursday. 5 x 1 mile repeats. Tough! I would have preferred to do it on the track, but I was travelling to London for a conference, so I had to get up early and just run near the house instead. It was tougher because the course wasn't flat like the track. I didn't sleep well the night before (in part because I was dreading the workout!) so I was tired...not to mention it was 0400! Like Tuesday I didn't quite achieve my target HR, this time 88%. My max for each mile was >88%, but average for each was a few bpm less. Still, I worked hard. There were some mitigating factors, fatigue, hills, and as I was saying before I have to run pretty fast now (< 6 min pace) to reach that intensity.
No running today (Friday) only SnC with Paul. I warm up in the pool swimming laps for about 30 min too. As always, another tough session.
Easy run tomorrow and the family and I are taking a little weekend road trip to Mildenhall. Should be interesting running my LSD on Sunday. 20 miles in a place I'm not familiar with! Will be fun though. I like exploring!
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 92
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 93
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 94
Sunday, April 10, 2011
10 April - Sessions 87-90
1309 BST - I have been lazy the last few days, at least as far as the blog goes. Sorry. The last few days my training has gone really well. Read on!
Thursday afternoon I went to the track with my trainer Paul for interval training. The weather has been particularly nice here recently. Officially it was 19 degrees (Celsius). It was sunny, not a cloud in the sky and it felt much warmer. Arizona weather! I was concerned that my performance would suffer a bit as I'm not used to running in warmer conditions. Since I started training for the marathon, most of my sessions have been in less than 10 degrees. I had a few sessions in the mid teens while in California, but this was the warmest day yet.
I certainly sweat a lot more and it was more challenging running in the warm sunshine, but I think my performance was pretty good. 7x800m was pretty tough. About half way through I considered switching to 400m intervals, but decided against it. I was determined to stick with the plan. Anything less would be admitting defeat! Max HR was good. 177 on the last interval. My calf was pretty good too. Paul gave it a quick massage before hand and it seemed to help. In fact, I haven't really had any trouble with it since. Hopefully that problem is past and opening now. My ankle on the other hand, was a different story. It had been aching quite a bit. Seemed to hurt the least while I am actually running (which is why I haven't slowed down or stopped), but it was pretty sore afterwards and has been throughout the day over the past few days. Anyway, it was a great workout, but I was glad when it was over!
Friday is a day off running, SnC only. I had an afternoon session with Paul. First one in about 4 weeks. I warmed up in the pool and then worked my ass off in the gym. It was good though. I worked hard on my own the last 4 weeks, but I work harder (as most of us probably do) when I'm with someone else. It's too easy to cheat a little when I'm by myself and I start to get tired!
Recovery run on Saturday...pretty much unremarkable except that my pace is improving. ~8 min/mile @ 65% HR intensity. Wow!
LSD on Sunday (today)... 15 miles @ 75%. I was a bit concerned at the start because I didn't feel well when I got up this morning. My stomach was very unsettled. I decided to go anyway because if I didn't go first thing, than I wouldn't have went at all. Besides, if it was race day, I would have run without a second though. When I started running I was sure today would be an off day because I felt I was laboring more than usual. It was a struggle to maintain this intensity. I didn't worry about it though and focused on running. I again carried along my water bottle and a gel to eat about half way through. The longer I ran, the better I felt. My stomach troubles came and went in waves. I eventually had to make a pit stop. I thought I might be able to make it home, but I didn't want to find out because if I couldn't it would have been absolutely miserable and today would have been a wash for sure.
After the pit stop, I felt better, but my stomach was still giving me fits. Then I got a bad cramp, or some kind of pain on my left side at about mile 10. I pushed through and it eventually subsided (thankfully) after about a mile or so. I also had to stop and tie my shoe. Ugh! Not a big deal I suppose, but it was just one more nuisance today! My hands were also cold most of the way...especially my right hand, in which I was carrying my water bottle which I filled with cold water from the fridge (lesson learned for next time!) The last couple of miles I just wanted the run to be over! I kept going though...it really wasn't that bad, but I was getting tired and I was a little bit annoyed. For some reason too my ipod stopped shuffling which irked me a bit.
Anyway, the water and the gel was a good idea. The water was almost gone by the time I finished and I ate the gel about half way through the run. When I downloaded the data from the Garmin and review it I sure was surprised. I couldn't believe my times. Not only did I run at ~7 min/mile pace, but I ran a negative split too. I thought for sure I was around 8 minutes. It really made my day. The training program is really working. Seems like magic to me. I never would have believed it back in January.
My ankle seems to be getting better. Yesterday and today it didn't really bother me at all while running and it also has not been as sore either. Definitely a good thing.
So whenever it was about a week ago or so that I was having so many problems with my HR monitor, I cleaned the little metal connections with some rubbing alcohol and that seemed to do the trick. No problems since, which sort of makes sense as I didn't have any problems when I first got it. I did order a new one, the one piece type so I have it as a backup if I have more problems with the soft one and can't resolve them.
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 87
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 89
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 90
Thursday afternoon I went to the track with my trainer Paul for interval training. The weather has been particularly nice here recently. Officially it was 19 degrees (Celsius). It was sunny, not a cloud in the sky and it felt much warmer. Arizona weather! I was concerned that my performance would suffer a bit as I'm not used to running in warmer conditions. Since I started training for the marathon, most of my sessions have been in less than 10 degrees. I had a few sessions in the mid teens while in California, but this was the warmest day yet.
I certainly sweat a lot more and it was more challenging running in the warm sunshine, but I think my performance was pretty good. 7x800m was pretty tough. About half way through I considered switching to 400m intervals, but decided against it. I was determined to stick with the plan. Anything less would be admitting defeat! Max HR was good. 177 on the last interval. My calf was pretty good too. Paul gave it a quick massage before hand and it seemed to help. In fact, I haven't really had any trouble with it since. Hopefully that problem is past and opening now. My ankle on the other hand, was a different story. It had been aching quite a bit. Seemed to hurt the least while I am actually running (which is why I haven't slowed down or stopped), but it was pretty sore afterwards and has been throughout the day over the past few days. Anyway, it was a great workout, but I was glad when it was over!
Friday is a day off running, SnC only. I had an afternoon session with Paul. First one in about 4 weeks. I warmed up in the pool and then worked my ass off in the gym. It was good though. I worked hard on my own the last 4 weeks, but I work harder (as most of us probably do) when I'm with someone else. It's too easy to cheat a little when I'm by myself and I start to get tired!
Recovery run on Saturday...pretty much unremarkable except that my pace is improving. ~8 min/mile @ 65% HR intensity. Wow!
LSD on Sunday (today)... 15 miles @ 75%. I was a bit concerned at the start because I didn't feel well when I got up this morning. My stomach was very unsettled. I decided to go anyway because if I didn't go first thing, than I wouldn't have went at all. Besides, if it was race day, I would have run without a second though. When I started running I was sure today would be an off day because I felt I was laboring more than usual. It was a struggle to maintain this intensity. I didn't worry about it though and focused on running. I again carried along my water bottle and a gel to eat about half way through. The longer I ran, the better I felt. My stomach troubles came and went in waves. I eventually had to make a pit stop. I thought I might be able to make it home, but I didn't want to find out because if I couldn't it would have been absolutely miserable and today would have been a wash for sure.
After the pit stop, I felt better, but my stomach was still giving me fits. Then I got a bad cramp, or some kind of pain on my left side at about mile 10. I pushed through and it eventually subsided (thankfully) after about a mile or so. I also had to stop and tie my shoe. Ugh! Not a big deal I suppose, but it was just one more nuisance today! My hands were also cold most of the way...especially my right hand, in which I was carrying my water bottle which I filled with cold water from the fridge (lesson learned for next time!) The last couple of miles I just wanted the run to be over! I kept going though...it really wasn't that bad, but I was getting tired and I was a little bit annoyed. For some reason too my ipod stopped shuffling which irked me a bit.
Anyway, the water and the gel was a good idea. The water was almost gone by the time I finished and I ate the gel about half way through the run. When I downloaded the data from the Garmin and review it I sure was surprised. I couldn't believe my times. Not only did I run at ~7 min/mile pace, but I ran a negative split too. I thought for sure I was around 8 minutes. It really made my day. The training program is really working. Seems like magic to me. I never would have believed it back in January.
My ankle seems to be getting better. Yesterday and today it didn't really bother me at all while running and it also has not been as sore either. Definitely a good thing.
So whenever it was about a week ago or so that I was having so many problems with my HR monitor, I cleaned the little metal connections with some rubbing alcohol and that seemed to do the trick. No problems since, which sort of makes sense as I didn't have any problems when I first got it. I did order a new one, the one piece type so I have it as a backup if I have more problems with the soft one and can't resolve them.
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 87
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 89
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 90
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
06 April - Sessions 85 & 86
2011 BST - Feeling tired tonight and not much like writing a blog. Sorry! But I wanted to get this update in so as not to fall too far behind. Good couple of days running...you can look at the links. I continue to be pleased with my progress. Almost seems unreal. I'm starting to nagging aches though, which do concern me a little. I've been writing for a couple weeks now about my left calf. It hasn't bothered me so much over the last few days, but it still feels strange (for lack of a better word to describe it) from time to time when I'm running.
Over the last few days by right ankle has really started to bother me. Much like my calf, not enough to keep me from running. In fact that's when it seems to bother me the least - when I'm running. Not sure what to do about it. Maybe I'll try icing it form time to time. Don't bother leaving comments suggesting I stop running...I'm not going to do that!
Going to the track tomorrow for a good speed workout. Looking forward to it. Haven't been to the track in a while and Paul is coming along. It's fun to work out with someone else.
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 85
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 86
Over the last few days by right ankle has really started to bother me. Much like my calf, not enough to keep me from running. In fact that's when it seems to bother me the least - when I'm running. Not sure what to do about it. Maybe I'll try icing it form time to time. Don't bother leaving comments suggesting I stop running...I'm not going to do that!
Going to the track tomorrow for a good speed workout. Looking forward to it. Haven't been to the track in a while and Paul is coming along. It's fun to work out with someone else.
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 85
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 86
Monday, April 4, 2011
04 April - Session 83&84
2022 BST - On LSD Sunday I did 20 miles at 65-70%. Second time at this distance. This time I took along a water bottle and some energy gels. The water bottle has a strap that you stick your hand into so you can easily carry it. I wasn't too keen on it because I don't like carrying things. I'm not too keen on wearing a canteen belt or anything either though. At least I wouldn't have to stop to drink from the hand carried one. Plus I already had it and didn't have to buy anything new, although I did look for something different at a couple stores. I tucked a couple energy gels into the little pocket on the hand strap.
Seemed to work out ok...I drank all the water and wished I had a little bit more. It wasn't as bad carrying the thing as I thought it would be. I took along 2 gels and ate one at about the 9 mile mark. I would have eaten the second one at about 15 miles (was getting tired!) but I didn't have much water left and wasn't sure there was enough to wash the pasty gel down! I ate about 3/4 of an energy bar I bought before I started. It tasted kind of yucky so I didn't finish it.
The energy bar, gel, and water must have helped because I had a great run. I finished about 10 minutes faster than a couple weeks ago when I did 20 miles the first time. The last 5 miles were just about as fast as the first, and even though I was getting tired, I wasn't as tired as the last time and I wasn't working as hard either. Much easier to maintain pace at the desired intensity. The prescribed intensity was 65-70%. I did want to see how fast I could do the run in so I kept my HR closer to 70%. I think I averaged 139 bpm which is just about midway between.
Like usual when I started out I was concerned about needing a toilet at some point...to be blunt about it! I wasn't sure what I was going to do if it happened...I figured I could find a good place in the bushes as there aren't many toilets around here. There is one in Chipping Sodbury about 6 miles or so into my route. I always figured it'd be closed early in the morning but the last time I ran past the lights were on. This time I figured I'd stop quick and see if it was indeed open. Didn't matter this time though as it's now under construction. Anyway, I did have the urge to go, but it wasn't bad. I kept going and eventually I got to the point where I couldn't wait any longer. I was lucky and happened across a hotel. Not quite like you find in the city. This was a country hotel. I was concerned that the main area wouldn't be open, but I was even luckier when there was a man standing inside by the door and let me in. Crisis averted thank goodness!
SO over all it was a great run. The weather was beautiful...the temp was about right and it was sunny. The sunrise was nice. Being early in a Sunday there wasn't much traffic to speak of so it was quiet. I enjoy that too. Not to mention it's safer too.
I'm pretty excited about my performance and what I could potentially do in a few weeks time at my first marathon.
I rested today which was good because my legs were still a little sore from the weekend.
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 83
Seemed to work out ok...I drank all the water and wished I had a little bit more. It wasn't as bad carrying the thing as I thought it would be. I took along 2 gels and ate one at about the 9 mile mark. I would have eaten the second one at about 15 miles (was getting tired!) but I didn't have much water left and wasn't sure there was enough to wash the pasty gel down! I ate about 3/4 of an energy bar I bought before I started. It tasted kind of yucky so I didn't finish it.
The energy bar, gel, and water must have helped because I had a great run. I finished about 10 minutes faster than a couple weeks ago when I did 20 miles the first time. The last 5 miles were just about as fast as the first, and even though I was getting tired, I wasn't as tired as the last time and I wasn't working as hard either. Much easier to maintain pace at the desired intensity. The prescribed intensity was 65-70%. I did want to see how fast I could do the run in so I kept my HR closer to 70%. I think I averaged 139 bpm which is just about midway between.
Like usual when I started out I was concerned about needing a toilet at some point...to be blunt about it! I wasn't sure what I was going to do if it happened...I figured I could find a good place in the bushes as there aren't many toilets around here. There is one in Chipping Sodbury about 6 miles or so into my route. I always figured it'd be closed early in the morning but the last time I ran past the lights were on. This time I figured I'd stop quick and see if it was indeed open. Didn't matter this time though as it's now under construction. Anyway, I did have the urge to go, but it wasn't bad. I kept going and eventually I got to the point where I couldn't wait any longer. I was lucky and happened across a hotel. Not quite like you find in the city. This was a country hotel. I was concerned that the main area wouldn't be open, but I was even luckier when there was a man standing inside by the door and let me in. Crisis averted thank goodness!
SO over all it was a great run. The weather was beautiful...the temp was about right and it was sunny. The sunrise was nice. Being early in a Sunday there wasn't much traffic to speak of so it was quiet. I enjoy that too. Not to mention it's safer too.
I'm pretty excited about my performance and what I could potentially do in a few weeks time at my first marathon.
I rested today which was good because my legs were still a little sore from the weekend.
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 83
04 April - Session 82
2009 BST - Good weekend of training. On Saturday I ran a 3 mile aerobic test: 20 min warm up followed by 3 miles @ 70%. I ran a similar test back in January when I embarked on this endeavour. Time to see how the training is really going. I was surprised at the results and even more surprised at the comparison. Saturday I ran the test at a 7:41 pace...pretty good I thought. The training is working. When I compared to the test I ran in Jan, I was shocked. In Jan I ran the test at an 8:28 pace at a higher intensity - 75%. Somewhat of an apple to oranges comparison perhaps, but the bottom line is Saturday I ran 47 sec/mile faster at a lower intensity. Pretty amazing I think.
I included the link to the January test if you want to have a look yourself. To see the data from Saturday, you have to view the splits.
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 82
3 Mile @ 75% HR Test Jan 2011
I included the link to the January test if you want to have a look yourself. To see the data from Saturday, you have to view the splits.
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 82
3 Mile @ 75% HR Test Jan 2011
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