Hello February! Man what a nice day today, just had shorts and long sleeve shirt but would have been fine with short sleeves. Did 10 min warmup XT (S/E) then just over 8 miles on the roads with 8 x 30s strides sprinkled in at around 5:30-6:30 pace.
Nice day today, not as nice as yesterday but not so bad for a Groundhog Day. Just an easy & relaxing 11 miles out to the lake and back. The dumb garmin died on me so no official stats, probably all miles in the 8-8:30 pace range.
Another beautiful day. XT 10 min warmup (S/E) then ran the 7 peaks hill route. The cool thing about this route is not only do I pass Seven Peaks water park during the run but I also just happen to run up/down 7 hills during the run. Felt good today. Toward the end I did 8 x 8-10s hill sprints.
AP/HR: 8:06/154
Coach Hudson tip of the day:
"Simply put, there is no single training formula that works perfectly for every runner........Adaptive running becomes the natural way to train when you recognize that training must be customized to you individually and adapted every day based on your response to recent training."
I need to share these tips with myself every so often so I don't get tempted to blindly follow-to-the-tee-no-matter-what my marathon training plan.
Moderate progression run today. Plan was to start easy and gradually drop the pace until the last mile is around marathon pace, which for me currently is probably around 7:00-7:20.
If I do this right my HR should stay below around 165 until the last couple of miles and should never get over 180 and I shouldn't feel too hammered at the end. Looking at my splits I did a pretty good job although I probably dropped the pace below 7:30 a little too soon. Also not sure why I slowed down in mile 3.
Hudson TOTD: "My approach to traning encourages far more spontaneity--not arbitrary changes to the plan, but informed changes based on how the runner has responded to recent training...........every workout should be planned in pencil, not ink."
XT warmup at the gym (S/B/E) then 5 miles easy outside. Felt sluggish today. I wore the Landreths that I haven't worn for a while, they're heavier than what I usually run in and they felt like army boots. Guess I'll stick with the Speedstars and lighter shoes.
AP/HR: 8:32/142
Hudson TOTD: "Making an effort to learn, understand and base your training on our sport's 'best practices' will give you the most solid possible foundation for success........having said this.......it's also important to analyze conventional training methods witha skeptical eye, because there are some common practices that don't make a heck of a lot of sense under close scrutiny."
A bit of a drizzly day today but not so bad since it was mostly just a light mist and gentle rain. The dang puddles were aggravating though, I hate wet feet! Ran with Kim and various others from among the SF group for the first 8 miles. Then solo the rest of the way. Pushed it at the end coming up the hill so I'll count last 2 miles as MP.
Sure do enjoy running in the sun. Felt good today, did a mostly easy run with 8 x 40s strides sprinkled in throughout the run. Probably in the 5:30-6:30 pace range.
AP/HR: 7:52/154
Hudson tidbit: "When it's done right, the long-term training process is like an asymptote. The line that the training process moves toward but never reaches is 'perfect training'.....while it's impossible to train perfectly, it is possible to train better and better."
Team party at work today during my usual run time so I went in the early morning. Pretty dark morning I could hardly see the road much of the time. I certainly prefer running later in the day this time of year. Hopefully I've earned my filet mignon at Ruby River for lunch.
AP/HR: 8:28/156
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAMRON LEE!!! I can't believe I have a 22 yr. old kid.
Hudson TOTD: "...there are only three components of running fitness: aerobic fitness, neuromuscular fitness, and specific endurance. And there are only three types of training: aerobic-support training, muscle training, and specific-endurance training."
XT warmup 10 minutes (S/E) then outside for seven peaks hill run. Felt good today, I'm sure the sunshine helped, these sunny Feb days have been great. Toward the end I did 8 x 8-10s hill sprints.
AP/HR: 8:04/156
Coach Hudson WoW: "Training for a peak race is kind of like undertaking a long sailing trip. The shortest distance to your destination is a straight line, but the fastest way to get there will involve many zigzags........if you insist on executing every workout exactly as you planned it many weeks ago, you probably won't achieve your goal."
Did similar workout as last week, I guess what you'd call a moderate progression run. Comparing to last week I ran it in almost identical time but for some reason my HR was higher today. Maybe because it was colder or perhaps because I didn't get quite as good as sleep as usual? I didn't really notice feeling much different than last week except maybe the last mile felt harder than it should have.
Mile average pace /HR: 8:17/137, 8:05/145, 8:05/151, 7:53/155, 7:51/164(hill), 7:32/166, 7:27/171, 7:24/176, 7:19/179, 7:01/185.
Coach Hudson tidbit: "You must not train exactly the same way in consecutive training cycles......Put another way, you need to take advantage of the success you had in your last training cycle by creating a new training plan that demands even more from your body."
Did some XT warmup (S/B/E) then outside for easy 5 miles. I felt surprisingly good today. I usually feel like a slug on Fridays plus I had a fairly unhealthy, greasy breakfast this morning so I expected to fill like crud. Always nice to be pleasantly surprised.
Maybe it was the new shoes I tried out for the first time today. I was worried because they are heavier and stiffer than what I usually use (and very expensive!) so I thought they might feel like boots but they felt quite good actually. So maybe the young punk runner who analyzed my gait and told me I needed these shoes actually knew what he was talking about.
AP: 8:01
Hudson WoW: "The running volume that is most appropriate for you depends on your next peak-race goal, your capacity to absorb and recover from frequent runs and longer runs, and your training history. As a general rule, I recommend runners consistently maintain a moderatly high volume relative to these individual considerations."
Did a run similar to last week but a bit quicker. For some reason Chad was pushing the pace early on (in the MP range), and I probably should have done these miles slower as I ended up being more out of gas than I like to be on the last mile. Seems to work better to start real easy and then mildly progress toward MP at the end of the long run.
AP/HR: 8:18/162
Looking forward to a recovery week next week (20-30% reduction in miles) with a nice little 5 mile race/time-trial on Saturday (Dam 2 Dam).
Coach H TOTD: "Based on the proven effectiveness of both approaches, I like to split the difference between the extremes of volume emphasis and intensity emphasis.......Most runners will get the best results by finding a balance between quality (intensity) and quantity (volume)."
Nice run mostly with Kim today. Easy pace for the most part with 8 x 1-minute accelarations sprinkled in at 5:45-6:15 pace range. Felt really good today.
AP/HR: 8:22/142
Coach H WoW: "It does no harm to maintain a relatively high volume year-round. As long as you take one or two breaks each year and reduce the overall workload of your training when appropriate, you won't wear yourself down."
Nice run down to the lake and back. Weather was a little dreary at first but got better and better as the run progressed and I notice not so coincidentally my pace got faster and faster as the weather and run progressed.
With a mile to go I noticed I was right at 8 min pace so in honor of Terry, who I know hates to be over 8 min pace, I sped up just enough to get the AP under 8.
AP/HR: 7:58/152
Coach H blurb: "Another benefit of maintaining moderately high running mileage more or less year-round is that it reduces injury risk."
Warmup 10 min XT (S/E) then ran hills. Felt pretty good again, I'm glad the hills are starting to feel a little bit easier. I've found I'm a pretty lousy uphill runner but it's good to know with practice I can get better. The sun couldn't manage to make an appearance today but I guess I can't expect everyday to be perfect weather. So far Feb has been pretty darn nice weather for Feb in Utah.
Also did 6 x 10s hill sprints toward the end of the run.
AP/HR: 7:59/152
Hudson blurb: "I believe it's extremely important never to allow any single aspect of your running to fall too far behind the others in your training, because they are all so deeply interdependent."
Warmed up with 20 min XT (S/B/E) then outside for a dreary weather run. Turned out being a quite enjoyable run despite the clouds.
Although I've been giving a lot of lip service to Brad Hudson running ideas lately, I gotta admit the stuff I've learned (and still learning) from my Chi Running book has been great in helping me learn how to relax, listen to the body, improve form, and find a flow, particularly during easy runs, that gets me into that "zone" where the running just feels natural and effortless, at least for a while. While I don't buy everything the author has to say, I have to admit once you get past all the new age-ish, Eastern thinking mumbo-jumbo, there are a few jewels of wisdom to be found.
Decided to run mile 5 faster than the others, I purposely ignored the watch, just tried to focus on being relaxed, good form and find a pace that feels like it might be right for the 5 mile race on Saturday (Dam 2 Dam). I'm hoping that pace will be below 6:30. Today's "test" mile pace: 6:29. Of course I would have liked to see that pace be lower, and feel a little easier, but that's what felt right today. So I think Saturday I'll go out just under 6:30 pace and see what happens. That should put me around a 32:00-32:30 finish.
AP/HR: 7:56/152
Hudson stuff: "The most important ramification of the principle of specificity for competitive runners is that race-specific fitness requires race-pace training."
Dam 2 Dam (5 Miles) 00:33:55, Place overall: 9, Place in age division: 2
Easy Miles
Marathon Pace Miles
Threshold Miles
VO2 Max Miles
Total Distance
5.00
0.00
4.00
1.00
10.00
Tough race for me. I forgot this course is a little slower than it looks on paper since much of it is on dirt/gravel road and you typically get some wind in the middle miles. And today we got LOTS of wind in the middle miles (mostly 3 & 4), plus these miles have some rolling hills. So between the wind and uphill I died during these miles and could only salvage the barely sub-34.
Should mention with all my complaining on the wind it didn't seem to bother Kim at all. She blew away her goal pace of sub-43 and ran a 41:35. Turns out we both got 2nd place in AD so that was kinda nice. After I died I tried to at least hold on enough to break the 45-49 course record which I new was 34-something. Good news is I was able to break the old record, but at that point the guy in my AD who beat me today had just set the new record.
Mile 1 - 6:25: This mile is net downhill and wind is a tailwind on dirt/gravel road.This is probably the right pace overall but at the .5 mile point I was at 6:00 pace - too fast - I think it cost me later when I hit the wind.
Mile 2 - 6:34: Still feeling OK but nasty headwind begins at the end of the mile. I had been tagging along just behind #2 woman runner but she has more mojo when the wind begins and I lose her as we start mile 3. Dirt and gravel ends and pavement begins.
Mile 3 - 7:02: I die somewhere in the this mile. The headwind and uphill hammers me. I do manage to pass a guy who is dying worse. All pavement for this mile. Hilly.
Mile 4 - 7:05: Another dying mile. I pass another guy who died but I also get passed by 1 or 2 guys who look like 40+ runners. Bummer. Pavement and headwind and hilliness finally end at the end of this mile.
Mile 5 - 6:43: Manage to recover a little. Wind is now a cross-wind but running on dirt/gravel section of Dam#2. Just trying to hang on waiting and wondering if the finish will ever get here.
It was great to have Tani and Tia and Mother/Father-in-law cheering at the finish. After the end I caught my breath then ran Kim in her last .5 miles or so. She sure did great, she's in better shape than I thought.
Nice run today. Felt pretty good. I guess the nice thing about races on gravel/dirt roads is that although they slow your pace a little, they're also gentler on the legs and make for speedy recovery.
Did a moderate fartlek workout today. Basically run first 2 minutes of every mile starting at mile 2 at a decent pace, but not full speed. "Comfortably uncomfortable" is how I've heard it described. Somewhere around 10K pace or a little quicker.
My average pace for the 8 2-min bursts were 6:24, 6:22, 6:20, 6:21, 6:21, 6:14, 6:23, 6:14. I didn't really focus on pace but rather on just trying to run relaxed, good form, etc. and let the pace end up wherever it does.
Overall AP/HR: 7:40/160
Coach H: "In the adaptive running system, the sharpening period denotes a short period at the end of the training cycle when runners emphasize challenging race-pace workouts."
OOPS! I did a loop I thought would be 12 miles but it turned out to be 13. Oh well at least the sun was shining bright and I enjoyed the extra mile.
AP/HR: 8:05/149
Hudson: "A runner's body can only progressively adapt to race-specific training for a few weeks until a limit--that is, a peak--is reached. Trying to prolong race-specific training beyond a few weeks is almost certain to result in a premature peak or failure to peak at all. For this reason, I begin the sharpening period of training just four to six weeks before the athlete's peak race occurs."
This quote rings particularly true to me and I think explains some bad marathons I've had where I peaked early.
Wasn't very excited to go out today looking out the window at the snow/rain falling. Called Kim for motivation and that seemed to do the trick to get me out the door. Since I went longer than planned yesterday I took it real easy on pace.
Ran 7 peaks hill route with 8 x 10s hill sprints (actually it might have been 9, I was having trouble keeping track of how many I had done). Did the sprints a bit more gingerly than usual, probably shouldn't even call them sprints.
Turned out actually not being too bad a run. I did get a bit wet but by the end things had cleared up a bit.
AP/HR: 8:41/143
Hudson: "One factor that tends to delay a performance peak is maintaining balance in one's training. A peak tends to occur when you push your fitness strongly in a single direction by heavily emphasizing a particular type of training."
Ran 3 easy miles, then 3 mile progression, then 3 more easy. Didn't want to kill myself on the 3 fast miles but wanted them faster than marathon pace. So decided to try and keep them under 7 min pace. Run was OK, I felt good but not great.
Miles 4, 5, 6 ave pace/HR: 6:56/170, 6:46/180, 6:38/186.
Overall AP/HR: 7:45/160.
Hudson on steep hill sprints: "These short, maximal-intensity efforts against gravity offer two key benefits: First, they strengthen all of the running muscles, making the runner much less injury-prone. They also increase the power and efficiency of the stride, enabling the runner to cover more ground with each stride with less energy in race circumstances."
An absolutely beautiful day today. And my running partner wasn't too bad either! Kim was able to join me after her work for a noon-time run in the sun. I also did a bit of XT warmup and cooldown (30 min - S/B/E).
AP: 8:56
Hudson: "Hill running is the only "weightlifting" my runners do....They do some exercises to develop strength in their abdominal muscles and lower back, but that's it."
Whoa! Mega-windy day today! I think that may have been the hardest 9:20 pace run I've ever done. Had a hard time getting out of bed today and hearing the tornado sounds outside wasn't help the motivation factor.
But Kim and I finally got going about 7:30 and promptly headed west so the wind was at least at our backs for the first while. It was actually quite pleasant those first miles until we had to finally turn back east and head face-first into the wind. Not so fun coming back up through the river bottoms and up heartbreak hill.
Parted ways with Kim around 10 or 11 miles then finished up with 6 more solo that mostly felt like a death march, even when the wind was at my back. Just glad to get this one in the books. But I won't complain much, for the most part February was good to us runners as far as weather and I quite enjoyed most every run. I actual enjoyed much of today's run as well, other than the death march section.
