The Quest for Boston

Today was just a rest day.  I am 2 1/2 weeks post-Baltimore Marathon--my first.  I see myself as a "miler turned marathoner"--thus the title for my blog.  I was never great at very long distances when I ran in high school  I was never good at spring distances.  The mile was the only event I was really good at, and I was good but not excellent.

My first marathon was satisfying, particularly in light of an overuse injury that I was nursing for most of the last four weeks before the race.

I'm looking forward to a winter of individuals training so that I can be ready to go back to my training group next summer and train hard to get myself a lot closer to (if not below) a Boston qualifying time.  

Look forward to interacting with others on this blog. 

5 min warmup on the treadmill at 4 MPH

Weight training circuit (legs/arms/back/abs) including leg press (3x12x260)

 1/2 mile @ 10:00/mile

1 mile ~ 6:18/mile

1 mile ~ 6:32/mile (12:50 for 2 miles)

3 minute cooldown

Not as much stretching as I would have liked

Felt good when I was done

Definitely went out too fast.

Don't plan to do a 2 mile time trial for about a month but I haven't lost much since the pearly September time trial and today's was after a strength training workout which my last 2 mile time trial on a treadmill was not. 

5+ hrs sleep.  As usual broken up by having to let the dog out

Worked out at the Y 

15 min on eliptical burning 217 calories

On the treadmill did 2.5 @ 8:34 and 2.5 @ 7:30.  Average overall 8:02.  Somewhere got an extra 0.01 miles in there but that is inconsequential.

Some incline on both the slower and faster parts.

FElt great afterwards although was a bit tired the rest of the day. 

3 x 1 x 7:08 on the treadmill

Plus 5 minutes walk at the start and about 1/4 between 1-2 and 2-3 with enough at the end to get up to 4.3 in 40:17

Felt great at that pace

10 weight exercises

Leg press 2x12x260 + 1x12x265

20 minutes on the elliptical machine for 301 calories

4+ hours of sleep 

7.3 miles at not quite my goal marathon pace but at faster than easy miles.  7.3 in 56:16 or 7:42/mile on average.  A lot slower first half than second half.  So even without my new Garmin (waiting on the 410), I probably ran about the way that the Charm City Run coach suggested I approach my winter workouts--start slow and end at marathon pace.  

First run with new Brooks, and new Under Armour outerwear.  Yay! 

5K in close to my desired marathon pace (23:45 is just under a 7:40 but not quite a 7:39 which is what I need).  It was cold.  I didn't warm up enough.  I didn't have any pre-carbs/caffeine (think Gu), and I was not as hydrated as I probably should have been.  Still, it was a nice little run at 5:20 and a great way to get my day started.  I hope to get to a point there my quick morning 5K (on days when I have only a little time for exercise) can be 23:42. 

3.1 miles n 22:20.  Ran at 5:15.  Had been up since about 2:50.  Ate a banana, drank a 12 oz can of Classic Coke. and drank some water before the run.  Potassium, carbs, and caffeine.   

Ran the course "backwards".

This pace is better than what I need for the marathon next year (I ran around 7:12 average today).  That means I can lay off trying to run super fast on the 5K's and just concentrate more on distance for a while.  Next step is to see if I can run a 5 miler at marathon pace.

Can't complain about where I am.

Life is good. 

Ran 5.0 a lot faster than I had been planning.  But it felt so good and so easy.  Ran it in 37:29 but have to be careful not to get carried away running too quickly.

Then went out with my kids.  My 11 year old ran 3.1 on a local high school track.  I am trying to convince my 5 year old there is a reason we did not register him for the 5K Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving.  He did run 1/2 mile without stopping and managed to get around another 1 mile.

Hoping that the little pain in my left knee that showed up when I ran with my 5 year old goes away. 

Had some water and a banana before a gym workout.

10 exercise machines

Leg press 3x12x270.  (I like how I am moving up). Others were all good.

Elliptical for 30 minutes burning 452 calories.

Nice intensity cross-training workout. 

4.0 in 30:55.  Did the first mile in 8:51 and ran the other three under 7:40 each.  Great weather for November.  Put my new Garmin 410 to good use.

It was after a few nights of not enough sleep and days of hard work.   

This was a great workout--sort of.

 I ran 8:18/8:18/8:21/8:21/8:14 for my first half.

Then, I ran 7:52/7:54/7:31/7:14/7:30 for the second half.

Why did I do this?  My training group coach had suggested that I divide my longer runs into an easy pace (which I didn't quite achieve--I should have been up around 8:35 rather than at 8:20) followed by marathon pace.  The first two of those miles were not quite there (looking for 7:39) but the last three were.

Everything up to this point suggests, "great workout". 

Issue--had a twinge in my knee around mile 5.  Felt pretty okay through the run.  After the run, a quick breakfast, a quick shower, and a 40 minute drive to drop of my oldest at school and get to work, my left knee is yelling at me.  That is the "sort of".  

Enjoyed using the Garmin 410 including heart rate monitor today.  Still learning what all I can do with it. 

Need some ice and heat and some strength work tomorrow. 

10 weight exercises

Leg press: 2x8x265 + 1x12x265

2 5 minute walks on the treadmill

5 hours of sleep 

Going on a somewhat disrupted 7 hours sleep, I ran an easy 5K with my 11 year old so that he will be ready for the Turkey Trot on Thursday.  He is feeling a little less ready than for two 5K's last spring, but he has not been retraining for as long.  My left knee is still acting up a bit but it is less than last week.

10 weight exercises

Leg press 3x12x270 

Ran 5 miles at evening rush hour.  So, the run was with stopping for lights.  Did not over exert myself. Ran in 41:51 (or 8:22/mile).  Feeling really good except for my left knee that continues to act up.  

So, my Gamin tells me I hit 5000m at 21:22.  The official posted race time is 22:32.  The is consistent with where my meters per second slowed down quite a bit at 5290m.  I also Google mapped the course and it came out closer to 3.3 miles.  Whatever the case, this is my best 5K official time in many years!  

32:30 on the elliptical for 505 calories

10 weight exercises

 Leg press: 3x12x270

 Many of the other exercises felt easier than usual

30 minutes for 501 calories on the elliptical 

A little over 4 hours sleep.  Was up from 3:45ish--working on a lecture for today, making bagels to sell at the kids' school, and making pizza dough for dinner.  Then just out for a nice little run.

The 162 rather than 159 is because of a little too much holiday eating.

Pace was all over the place today.

Need to run a little more deliberately/slowly.  OVerall pace was 8:05 (in 35:01) and there is no reason to run that fast.

Knee acted up from about 2.5 miles.  

Need to make sure to have pre-stretch and post-stretch time if I am going to keep this up.

I'll feel better by tomorrow, but I'd rather not hurt while I run.