How Much Discomfort Can I Tolerate?!

Weather - 32 degrees, cloudy.

Ran 4 miles to the Zendo, meditated for 2.25 hours, then ran 3 miles to Cardinal and did 5 sets of strength exercises, and then 40 minute walk home.

The only negative effect from yesterday's race are stiff quads, but it is slight, and should recover quickly.

My race effort yesterday bodes well for the upcoming season. If I am capable of running 6:30 miles with no speed practice, I should be able to bring it 10-15 seconds lower with just a few weeks of intervals and repetitions.

The next race is in 2 weeks, the Mountain Goat 15k at Kickapoo State Park. Unlike the January Siberian at Kickapoo, this race is run on the hilly park roads. I ran it last year out of shape in 1:11. Considering that my endurance is presently good, I should be able to run it at least a couple of minutes faster.

#114

z.m. - #28

Weather - 33 degrees, cloudy, windy.

Completed my toughest workout of the year thus far. Because of the race this past Saturday, I postponed my Sunday bike interval workout until today. I also wanted to do a track workout today, so I did a double dose of running and bike intervals. I considered that I may be doing too much in one day, and I am probably not 100% recovered from the race. But the 15K is in 2 weeks, on the 22nd, so this week needs to be hard, because next week will be somewhat easy. I have a hill workout planned for Wednesday, and a 1 hour 45 minute long run on Friday. I have been erring on the side of caution all winter, so I decided to err with balls today.

Ran 1 mile to the Urbana HS track, then another easy mile to complete the warm-up. After stretching I ran 5 x 100M accelerations. I ran the faster ones in 19 seconds, which put things into cold perspective for me - I have no talent for speed. I wasn't all out sprinting, but 15-16 seconds would have been more convincing. After the accelerations I walked around for 5 minutes, then decided to do 400 meter intervals with a 400M jogging rest between. The first one hit me hard, I was struggling to find the correct breathing rhythm, and my legs felt a bit heavy. I knew I was not on top of my game today, so I decided I would go a maximum of 8, or stop short if the lap times got out of control. I hit the first 400 in 93, which was not bad considering it felt like 100. I was thinking of calling it quits if the next lap was in the upper 90's or above. I ended up doing all 8, I seemed to get stronger with each interval, but I never did feel energetic. The times were 93, 91, 93, 91, 91, 90, 91, 87. Although I felt like I was carrying a sack of lead on my back, I ran the laps loose and comfortable, well, as comfortable as possible when trying to go fast. I wanted to give a harder effort than last week, speed wise. Last week the laps were supposed to be at 5K pace, this week I wanted to try to go as fast as possible, while still creating the impression that I was running a 5k - I mean, I didn't want to go all out and then die the next lap, the effort had to be controlled throughout. In that respect I was successful.

I think 400 meter interval times will be an indicator if I can break 19:00 in a 5k. I am thinking I have to hit 85 consistently, such as 8 x 400's within 84-87 range, if I want to have a shot at it. Considering today was in the low 30's, with a stiff wind on the track, and I was wearing sweats, 3 shirts, jacket, hat, and gloves, I think I can realistically get to 87-90 once the weather warms. Getting below that will require a lot of effort and luck - I am looking forward to the challenge.

After the intervals I ran 2 miles to Cardinal. I changed into shorts and a singlet, stretched again, then rode 37 minutes on the bike, doing 10 intervals, each one with a tighter tension on the wheel. I cut down my rest times to 30-45 seconds each, and the length of the intervals lasted from 30-60 seconds. I gave it a good effort, and did well, I can feel my quads are benefiting from this type of workout. It was the 4th week of bike intervals.

I then did 5 sets of strength exercises, and a 15 minute walk home.

#115

z.m. - #29

Weather - 38 degrees, sunny, wind.

Easy day today, but this was the first easy day in a while where I worked the session hard. Too hard? I don't know, but now that spring is on the way I will have to be careful not to fall into last years bad habit of "if I am going for a run, it is going to be a hard run". I took few easy days last year, and paid the price by breaking down in early August.

Ran 9.5 miles total, When I reached the golf course I ran 10 x 150 yard accelerations, each followed by a 150 yard jogging recovery. I recall doing the same workout in November (the beauty of keeping a journal, the Nov. 14th entry describes my struggles with the same workout as todays - 150 yard strides, with a jogging recovery, the 3 miles run after were hell, I could not recover and was breathing heavily and my legs were wobbly). Today however, I ran the accelerations smoothly, concentrating on increasing my leg turnover, trying to get my feet off the ground as quickly as possible, almost all-out sprinting, yet I tried to make it feel as if I was going to run that quick pace for a long time. The accelerations were into a stiff wind, but it did not bother me, and I had no trouble recovering. When I finished I returned to my normal easy running pace without a problem and was able to run 5 more miles. So my fitness is much better today than 4 months ago. I also threw in 3 sets of knee-ups during the run, and also some bounding up hills. My overall pace seemed quicker, which made me think that maybe I was not going easy enough. I have reached a point in my training, however, where I need to begin taking small risks, pushing harder and closer to the edge. That is where the excitement is, and also the danger - when running stretches the limits of body and will.

#116

z.m. - #30

Weather - 52 degrees, sunny, windy.

Gave a solid effort today, it feels good to be putting in some quality work. I can now understand the value of 4 months of base training. If I had slacked in the winter I would not have been able to achieve this weeks load so early in the season - 5k race on Saturday, double interval workout on Monday, today a tough hill workout, and a long run planned for Friday.

I ran 2 warm-up miles to the arboretum, stretched, then ran 14 hills - 150 meters up, cruise the top of the hill, then an all-out sprint 150 meters downhill. I had never tried downhill sprinting before, but I realized that I could perhaps increase my leg turnover with some practice - I was running about 5:15-20 pace, I finally got an image of what the pros feel like. I alternated each uphill with race pace and bounding, the bounding was slightly easier on the lungs than the race pace, but it was harder on the quads. After each downhill sprint I would jog about 300 meters for recovery.

After running the hills I ran along the Race Street bike path, it took me a half mile to recover from the hill sprints. I then ran approximately 6:40 pace for 1.5 miles, followed by a cool down mile at 8:00 pace.

Afterward I did 3 sets of strength exercises in Carle Park, stretching, and 20 minute walk home.

It felt great to run in shorts and no jacket, and to feel the sun's warmth on my face. I am going to get soft and spoiled....

#117

z.m. - #31

Weather - 60 degrees, sunny.

An easy 8 miles in the best weather in a long time. I was able to wear shorts and just 2 shirts. I felt lighter than normal, it's good to run against my actual weight. Considering how hard this week has been thus far, my legs are holding up and are feeling strong. I could feel a bit of weariness in the quads, but my stride is improving, it seems more efficient, and my easy pace is becoming quicker, I was moving between 7:30-8:15, normally I am at 8:15-8:45.

Afterward I did 5 sets of strength exercises at Crystal Lake park, stretching, and 45 minute walk home.

Tomorrow is a long run of 1 hour and 45 minutes, I am going to run it slow, so probably 12-13 miles.

#118

z.m. - #32

Weather - 54 degrees, sunny.

A perfect day for a long run. I felt a bit stiff for the first 30 minutes, then was able to loosen up. I decided I would get to the golf course about 2/3 through the session so that I could test my stamina and leg strength. 65 minutes into the run I hit the fairways hard, with a jogging rest between each. I completed the full loop, which is 8 fairways. Although my quads were fatigued, they responded nicely, and on the second fairway I experienced something which I had only felt in sleeping dreams - the sensation of pure running, the body strong and healthy, gravity seemingly absent. I can recall only one other time in which I was able to run with an effortless power. I believe I was running sub-6:00, and it felt easy. I was not huffing like I usually do, and my stride seemed different. I was powering through with each step, and my feet were not going out as far as usual, they seemed to be landing even with my body, and this allowed a stronger push-off, which created more speed with the same effort as the longer stride. It occurred to me that having my feet land a few inches ahead of my body created a breaking action, and that I cannot not push off with power from that position - thus, slow running. Perhaps it was practicing the downhill sprints 2 days ago which caused my stride to adjust, or maybe it was just dumb luck to discover a stride flaw. I was able to run fairways 2-8 at a speed I had not achieved before, and I imagined that I could keep that pace going for minutes at a time if I needed to.

After the fairways I still had 25 minutes remaining, and I had no problem recovering from the hard fairway bursts, I was even able to throw in a 7:15 final mile.

Afterward 4 sets of strength exercises at Crystal Lake park, stretching, and 60 minute walk home.

This run completes the hardest week of training I have done in a while. I feel good, although my quads, and probably everything else, needs a break. Starting tomorrow I will have 7 consecutive easy days of running, distances in the 3-7 mile range, with a lot of short speed bursts to build sharpness in my legs.

By next Saturday I hope to be fully recovered for the 15K. The weather is predicted to be in the low 40's, which would be just warm enough for me to feel comfortable in shorts and no jacket.

#119

z.m. - #33

Weather - 36 degrees, gray skies.

Ran 4 miles to the Zendo, but the door was locked, so I stretched a bit on the Zendo patio and then ran 3.4 miles back to town. My legs were slightly fatigued, but surprisingly springy and strong, so I was able to run quicker than normal for an easy run.

Last year I ran the Mountain Goat 15k, I was not in good running shape, however, and the final 3 miles took a toll. The course is a 5k loop run 3 times. There are numerous hills of varying grade, the largest one being at the beginning/end of each loop - starting one gets to cruise down, finishing one has to struggle up. When I finished the final loop of the race I walked to a grassy patch and collapsed, my legs and lungs were toasted. The previous week I had run a 5k in 22:30, so I really had no business running the 15K. I remember telling Melinda that if I was going to run the Goat, it had to be the 15K (there are 3 races - 5k, 10k, 15k) because I wanted the full effect. I ran the first loop in 22:00, which caused me concern because I matched my 5K time from the week prior. I felt strong on the second loop, and decreased by only 1 minute, for a 45 minute total. I felt finished at that point, but still had one more loop to complete. I cracked and slowed, running the final 5k in 26 minutes for a total time of 1:11.

This year should be a better result. I ran a 5k last week in 20:15, so my racing legs are coming around. My plan is to run even splits, I am hoping for 22:00 for all 3 loops, for a total time of 1:06, a 5 minute decrease from last year. I think that is a realistic goal, although I looked at the updated weather report and it is now calling for a high in the mid-30's, which falls into my discomfort zone. I will still plan to run in shorts, but my muscles tend to be stiff and inflexible when it is below 40 degrees. If the weather can get into the 40's, I think it is possible for me to run even better than 1:06.

#120

z.m. - #34