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April 19, 2024

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Location:

Phoenix,AZ,

Member Since:

Jul 23, 2007

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

5K: 22:15 (January 2005);
10K-48:40 (November 2005)
Half-marathon: 1:50:25 (, March 2006);
Marathon: 3:54:16 (January 2006)

Short-Term Running Goals:

BQ

Finish half marathon in January 2010

Run consistently

Lose pregnancy weight + 10 pounds

Long-Term Running Goals:

Complete an Ironman triathlon; run the Comrades Marathon in South Africa (55 miles)
Marathon: sub 3:30
Half marathon: sub 1:40
10K: sub 42 minutes
5K: sub 21 minutes

Find out what my potential is and reach it.

Personal:

I've been running since high school (mid-1990s) and do pretty well when I'm focused on a goal. My main problem is running consistently when I'm NOT training for something specific. I'm an attorney, and I've been married to my husband, also a runner, for 5 1/2 years. We live in Phoenix, Arizona. We had a beautiful baby girl, Caroline, in August 2009.

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Miles:	This week:	0.00	Month:	0.00	Year:	0.00

Thu, Jun 26, 2008

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Crosstraining miles	Total Miles
3.04	0.00	0.00	3.00	0.00	6.04

Well! This workout didn't go quite as well as Tuesday's workout. We did a 1.5- mile warmup with dynamic stretching and then 3 1-mile repeats with 2-minute rest periods. Last week, my goal was 8:24 and I surpassed it, so I increased my goal to the 8:05-8:10 range, which proved to be a little ambitious.

The first mile was 8:15, and it felt fine. The second mile was 8:12 and felt harder, but I still felt OK. When I started the third mile, I knew I was in trouble. My legs felt like rubber. I REALLY wanted to stop, but I pushed through (Michelle, your voice was yelling in my head!...even though I have never actually heard your voice), hoping to just finish the repeat. I figured it would be about 9:00, the way I was feeling. I was very pleasantly surprised when I finished in 8:25.

Based on my 400s the other day, I should have been able to complete these repeats in the 8:05 range. So now I know: I need to work on my speed over longer periods of time. I cooled down with slightly over 1.5-mile jog. I had to walk a bit first, though. Glad it's over, and looking forward to slower mileage for the rest of the week!

Comments

From josse on Thu, Jun 26, 2008 at 12:23:58

Great job! Michelle's vioce is allways in my head too. Push Josse Push.

From lidna10k on Thu, Jun 26, 2008 at 14:08:54

Super job on your mile repeats!

From MichelleL on Thu, Jun 26, 2008 at 15:34:59

Good job pushing that last mile. Very symbolic of how we feel at the end of a marathon-either you can push the end and slow down a little or give up and lose so much more time. These are the psychological battles you want to win which will help you in your racing and you did it!

From Bonnie on Thu, Jun 26, 2008 at 16:17:55

Good job finishing the workout! mile repeats are really hard, especially when you are doing two hard workouts a week ... they will get easier with time!

Bonnie

From Sasha Pachev on Thu, Jun 26, 2008 at 16:58:28

Some thoughts on your training.

At this point base mileage is more important than speed. You have correctly noticed the discrepancy between your 400s and your miles. This is not surprising. With low base mileage you should expect to do relatively better in shorter distances.

When your base mileage is low you rarely lack the speed for your current level of performance minus dream difference. Unless your ability to dream is exceptionally rare. The reason that performance is still in the dream level more often than not is the lack of endurance.

Problems with speed work. First, for a busy individual who can only train for an hour a day, interval training results in a low overall mileage. That alone hurts the aerobic conditioning. On top of that, being fatigued will make it likely for you to cut your aerobic runs short or skip them altogether in the next few days. And without proper aerobic base you will be exceptionally fatigued from a speed workout.

I would recommend first and foremost to make sure you get out 6 days a week without skipping and get your 6-7 miles of aerobic running in. Once a week either race or run at a brisk pace (8:20 per mile) for 4-5 miles.

Not any less important - do what you can to get to bed on time. Remember - you never get faster when you train. You get faster when you sleep! Sleep is the best form of conditioning. Running only gets you ready for it. But if you run and not sleep, it is like working hard, getting a paycheck and then ripping it up.

Same goes for eating. Every bite of less-than-your-best type of food subtracts a penny or two, sometimes a dollar or ten from your hard earned running paycheck. Unless you have not eaten for 36 hours, going hungry is better for your health than eating fast food. Nothing wrong with eating just a banana or two for your dinner some days.

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