Tempo Run Tomorrow

Monday was an off day from running after my 13-miler on Sunday.  However, I did have a 2-hour session at the gym.  In addition to my usual core work, stretching, rolling, and one of my two upper body routines, Monday is the day where I do some heavier lifting on legs.  I've also started incorporating some of the weekly power lifting  which will be on Mondays as well.  Last week I added the deadlift - this week I added some light squats too.  (the deadlift and squat routines will get heavier down the line, but I won't up the weight until I can do so w/ minimal soreness as I don't want the lifting to hinder my running in any way)

Today was an easy day where I did my morning 4-miler and evening 5-miler w/ the 5-miler at a slightly quicker pace.

Tomorrow is Threshold day once again.  Last week it was 3 x 1-mile w/ 1-minute breaks.  Tomorrow it's a 3-mile tempo run.  (with a 2-mile warm up and 1-mile cool down for 6-miles total)  

This run will really tell me a lot about where I am mentally.  Last weeks average pace of 5:55 says I should be OK physically, but then I had the benefit of those little breaks between each mile.  Tomorrow, I won't have any breaks - it's 3-miles straight thru and being that it's my first tempo run in a long time I know there's a chance it blows up.  My plan is to alternate my weekly T-work between cruise intervals and tempo runs.  I know it's the tempo runs that will ultimately help me the most down the line, but I tend to run them right on the knife's edge and about 2/3 of the way thru if I've either started too fast or I'm just not mentally ready for the challenge, there have been times where the runs have been aborted.  (when this happens I typically suspend all subsequent workouts and re-do the tempo run the next day where I then get it right)

Anyway, I don't want to have to deal w/ that tomorrow.  The biggest thing for me is to complete the run.  Seven days ago, the pace for this run was going to be set at about 6:20/mile.  After last week's session I'd have to be really sand-bagging if I set a pace much higher than 6:03.  (and even that might be a sand-bagging pace)  Point is, I don't really know.  Was last week just a day where everything went right - I don't think so.  There's enough evidence out there over the past two weeks that says last week's run was real.  

However, even though theoretically you're supposed to keep the same pace for all threshold work that's under 20-minutes duration, the simple reality is if you do 3-miles w/ 1-minute breaks and compare that to 3-miles straight thru - you either have to slow down on the tempo run to keep the same intensity OR ratchet up the intensity to keep the pace because you're not getting the 1-minute breaks.  Averaging 5:55 on the tempo run is therefore out of the question unless I turn it into a Time Trial and that's not the idea of the workout.  

So - the plan is to run the first mile in 6:05 - 6:10 and bring it down if I can.  Where I don't want to be is running the first mile in 6:02, the second one in 5:58 and then early in the 3rd mile have the feeling that I just can't make it.  

Why am I this concerned about a silly little 3-mile tempo run?  I don't know.  I'd like to believe that my actual T-pace is now in the 6-flat range, but I that's probably just wishful thinking at this point.  While last week I had an enormous amount of confidence that I could run a great workout, now that the bar has been raised so to speak, and I've got a tougher workout on the schedule my confidence is just not very high.  And knowing how I approach these things, regardless of what I tell myself, I know once it's time to run I'm going to put that peddle down somewhere in the first 2-miles leaving me an absolute bear of a 3rd mile . . . . so like I said, tomorrow's going to tell me a lot about where I am mentally.

Training:

9/15:  No running.  Lifting (upper-B, core, abs, legs)  Also deadlift and squats.

9/16:  AM  4-miles, 7:58 pace

           PM  5-miles, 7:12 pace, HR - 147

Half Marathon to finish the week

I was scheduled to do 13-miles to finish out my week, but being that Grellan and Thomas ran their outstanding half-marathons today in Ireland, I felt compelled to "up it" to 13.1 and join in on the fun!  (I know, I know - that extra 0.1, HUGE sacrifice on my part!!)

Slight difference in our paces, however.  Unlike those guys that "race" 13+ miles, I'm lucky if I can "finish" 13 miles.  Since coming back from the injury I have done exactly two runs over 9-miles, one 10-miler and one 11-miler.  This was going to be tough for me, especially since the course is in the trails w/ two 1.5 mile climbs at a 4.5% grade.  

I did my usual on longer runs and started slow and after a few miles started ramping up the pace a bit.  I was surprised how low my HR was for the entire run - average wound up being just 151.  For me, that's quite low at this point in my running.  

All in all, the run went fine.  I finished my "half-marathon" in 1:37:55.  (ave pace of about 7.5 minutes/mile) I'm certainly not used to this distance, I was feeling sore in a few areas shortly afterwards.  When I get to the point where I'm doing a 12-14 miler every week I'm sure this will get better, but for right now I just need to build up the distance slowly.

Speaking of distance, my week finished up at 43 miles which is a new record for me.  And several of those miles were run about or under 7 minute pace.  The running for the week shaped up like this:  (not including workouts @ the gym)

M:  No running

Tu:  9 miles, including 5-miles @ 7:09 pace

We: 6-miles, including 3 x 1-mile @ 5:58, 5:55, 5:51

Th:  No running

F:   9-miles, including 5-miles @ 6:48 pace

Sa:  6-miles easy

Su:  13-miles @ 7:30 pace

Congrats once again to Grellan and Thomas for a job well done.

Training:

9/13:  weightlifting (upper-A, abs) stretching, rolling

6-miles @ 7:28 pace, HR - 146  ** Note - this is about the same pace as last Sat's 6-miler, but the HR is significantly lower this week.  (last week - 153)

9/14:  13+ miles @ about 7:30 pace, HR - 151.  

Faster Easy Day

Planned day off for running on Thursday.  Just went to the gym to lift.

Today I did my running double w/ 4 easy miles in the morning followed by 5 miles in the afternoon, however due to a late start and up against dinner plans w/ the family, I needed to get that afternoon (actually evening) run in quickly. 

Started out a bit quicker than usual (7:05 pace) and kept upping the pace as I went.  Nothing too fast, and the effort level and HR showed that it wasn't a tough effort by any stretch.  The final tally was 5-miles @ 6:48 pace in the trails w/ an average HR of 154 or just 82% of max HR.  

Gym workout and easy 6-miles tomorrow, getting ready for the 13-miler on Sunday.

Training:

9/11:  No running - Weightlifting (Upper-B and abs) leg lifting, stretching, rolling.

9/12:  AM:  4-miles @ 7:40

           PM:   5-miles @ 6:48, HR - 154

Threshold Miles it is

Woke up today and the left hamstring felt a little bit better - still tight, still a knot in there, but better than yesterday.  Unfortunately being the 2nd day after the deadlifts the right hamstring felt stiffer than the day before.  (this was to be expected)  So instead of one sore hamstring and one good one, I had two that were somewhere in the middle.  Good enough.  After all, this was just threshold work - not intervals, and certainly not reps.  I was going to be fine.

As I alluded to yesterday, I was really looking forward to this session.  Not so much because of the T-work as that's pretty standard stuff - but this would be my first real T-session since my Time Trial 600m/400m and that was a huge day for me.  Ever since then all of my runs have been faster and easier at the same time.  I believe part of it is due to improved running economy and form and part of it is just the central nervous system allowing me to recruit more muscle fibers (or however that works)  In any event, my running has improved by leaps and bounds over the past week or two based on my effort level / HR data, and today was going to be the day that I could determine just how much I've improved!

Another big help today - temperature.  I was going to be starting up at 11:00 am for a change and that combined w/ the break in the hot weather overall meant I was looking at 70 degrees at the start of the workout - big big difference from the 90+ I've been running in.  

I could tell I was amped up for this as my HR hit 101 when I walked out onto the track and I hadn't even done anything yet.  Next piece of evidence was that after a mile or so into my 2-mile warm up, I noticed I was doing my warm-up jog at 6:56 pace.  I finished the full warm-up and stretched both before and after to make sure my legs were loose.  I was going to just do 3 x 1-mile instead of 4 to play it safe - the break between intervals was going to be 1-minute.  Target pace was 6:16 - 6:20, but I figured I might be faster than that, which was OK as long as the HR stayed 170 or under to be true Threshold work.  I would keep track of my pace w/ the Garmin, but I decided not to start checking pace until I hit the half-mile mark as I wanted to run this thing on feel as much as possible.  However I did remind myself of three things before I took off - #1 don't run the first mile in 6:10, #2 don't run the first mile in 6:10, and #3 don't run the first mile in 6:10!  And then I was off . . . 

First lap felt quick and easy, same w/ the second.  At this point I looked down at the half-mile split - 2:54.  OK that's too fast.  Looked at the HR - 158, that's not very high.  Knowing I was just getting the 1-minute breaks and that I still had 2.5 miles to go I did my best to slow down some.  Second half was 3:04 closing out the first mile in 5:58.  Well that's certainly NOT 6:10! I remember muttering to myself, "way to keep it in check moron".  But at the same time, the HR was well within range and I felt fine, so I wasn't going to purposely adjust the pace for the 2nd mile - just go w/ it.

First half of the second mile came in at 2:56.  The genie was out of the bottle - there was no turning back now.  Unlike the first mile where I purposely slowed down the last 800m, I just let it go this time.  Second half of 2:59 brought me a 5:55 second mile.  Again, I felt fine afterwards and the HR was OK.  This was well above any expectations obviously, and I was really curious at this point - could I really throw another sub 6:00 mile up there w/ these really short breaks?  

After my 60 seconds of rest I was off on mile #3.  About 650m in I started to feel some fatigue for the first time - not a lot just something.  The reason for this became obvious when I checked my half mile split to reveal a 2:52.  At this point I said, "OK, you're not gunning this thing home - just run nice and easy and duplicate your 2nd half mile from the 2nd rep".  And for the first time today, I actually listened to myself and came in w/ a 2:59 2nd half, giving me a final mile time of 5:51.

Doing my customary 2-lap walk before the cool down I looked thru the data and I was very surprised at what I saw.  My HR never got above 167 the entire time - meaning I never hit 90% of max HR.  Average and max HR for the 3-miles were as follows:  155/162, 161/166, 164/167.

This wasn't some super effort I put out there because I was amped up - this was legit Threshold pace for this workout.  Meaning I was 21-25 seconds per mile faster than I was only 6-weeks ago, and the HR was lower this time.  

It's those fast reps, gotta be.  For whatever reason, my body just responds well to a few fast workouts - it makes everything else easier for me.  Tomorrow I've got a day off from running before a double on Friday, and easy 6-miler on Saturday, and then the 13-miler on Sunday.  Of course I've still got 2 more workouts at the gym this week as well.

Talk you you later, I'm off to get a couple of well earned beers along w/ some dinner - cheers!

Training:

9/10:  3 x 1-mile @ 5:58, 5:55, 5:51 w/ 1-minute breaks.  Ave/max HR:  155/162, 161/166, 164/167.  With warm up and cool down, total for the day was 6-miles.

Deadlifts and Beer

Monday was an off day for running, but I had a long session at the gym that included my first deadlifts in quite a while.  A Masters runner I know who specializes in the 100m and 200m does deadlifts once a week to build overall body strength and power to help w/ his speed.  I hadn't done deadlifts in years, so I after a quick warm up set I did two sets of 6-reps w/ just moderate weight (about 240 lbs)

Later that evening was our first "Monday Night Football" of the season so it was off to the Sports Bar to meet up w/ some friends.  There we feasted on food that you might not find on Ryan Hall's Top-10 list of "food for runners" (hey, it's the only time in weeks I've eaten such garbage)  And although the Pint is great, we here in America have evidently discovered that 24-ounces is even larger!  (soon we'll discover the liter just like they have in Germany)  So it was 24-ounce beers and low-quality junk food for dinner.

When I woke up this morning, the first thing I noticed was that the beer from the prior evening created no ill-effects  (excellent) . . . . but when I tried standing up, I quickly realized that the same could not be said for my first session of deadlifts.  I had the usual stiff back which was nothing more than muscle soreness, and some general soreness in the legs - but after further review I realized that the outside of my left hamstring felt like it had a knot in there.  Not good.  I tried to loosen it up w/ some stretches to no avail. 

I didn't think it was too serious, so I went for my easy morning run and although I could feel that it was tight on some of the downhills, it was pretty much OK.  Tried more stretching throughout the day - didn't help.  I ran the evening run w/ no issues.

At this point it's not any better and not any worse.  I think it's just more soreness from the deadlifts as it felt fine all day yesterday and before I went to bed.  The issue is that tomorrow I've got my Threshold work ( 3 or 4 x 1-mile @ T-pace w/ 1-minute breaks) and usually muscle soreness is even worse the 2nd day before it starts to get better.

So my week is now up in the air a bit.  If I feel a little better tomorrow I'll go ahead as planned.  If not, then I probably run easy tomorrow instead and put off the T-work until Friday.  I really hope things are OK tomorrow - the way my running has been going the past 4-5 days I think I'm set up nicely to put up some nice results on those threshold miles.

Training:

9/8:    No running - weightlifting (upper-A, and abs)  Deadlift - warm up, then 2 sets of 6-reps w/ 240 lbs, stretching, rolling.

9/9:    AM  4-miles @ 7:45

         PM  5-miles @ 7:09  HR - 152  (nice run, very very easy)

Closing out the Week

Saturday was supposed to be an easy day, but it wasn't as easy as I'd have liked.  Started out at the gym doing some stretching and rolling followed by upper body lifting and ab work.  Then I went through my routine on hip flexors, adductors, and abductors - and I hit these guys pretty hard.

When it was time for my easy 6-miler, I was dragging - just couldn't seem to get my legs up.  I wasn't sure if it was the lack of sleep the past few days, the fact that I ran two doubles this week for the first time - (although I saw no ill effects of that so far) or the more intense workout on the adductors/abductors/hip flexors fatigued them to the point where picking up the legs was a chore.  All I knew was that I was dragging.  Time and HR were OK as I finished up the 6 miles w/ an average pace of 7:24 w/ a HR of 153 in about 85 degrees.  I figured I'd know whether or not the doubles were the issue during tomorrow's 8-miler.

Sunday's the long day for me, but the long run is every other week for right now and this week was the "off week".  So the plan today was to do 8-miles at a comfortable pace.  I was interested to see how it was going to go after Saturdays session.  I got a good night's sleep for a change and I felt refreshed all day leading up to the evening run.  We got a bit of a break from the high temps too and it was only 78 degrees at the start of the run.

My target was to start at about a 7:40 pace for the first 2-3 miles (the first mile is downhill and the next 2.3 are up hill) and then as I come back downhill the pace would naturally pick up to about 6:50 - 7:00, and I expected to average about 7:15-7:20 for the entire run.  First mile was 7:10.  I figured I'd better slow down a bit as this was supposed to be a comfortable run and I really didn't want to be paying for it later, but the 2nd mile clocked in at 7:22 up hill.  At the very least I knew the doubling during the week wasn't the cause of yesterday's issue - must have been the combo of lack of sleep and the fatigue from lifting on those key muscle groups.  The 3rd mile is a fairly steep incline and I clocked 7:22 again; this was going to be a pretty good run.  The next 3 miles clocked in at 7:02, 6:41, 6:56.  (the terrain is far from even)  A quick check of the HR showed I was still comfortably under threshold levels so I upped the pace for mile #7 - 6:29, and then finished up w/ a 6:42 up hill to take me back home.  

All in all a nice run for me.  Average pace of 6:58 w/ an average HR of 158.  (this will hopefully come down a bit as I get into better shape)

Off day for running tomorrow, (will be heading to the gym however) and the forecast says the temps will finally be coming down this week. I'm certainly looking forward to that!

Training:

9/6:  weightlifting (upper-B, core, abs)  rolling, stretching.  

  6-miles @ 7:24 pace, HR-153

9/7:  8-miles @ 6:58 pace, HR-158

Age Grading

I really enjoy using the Age Grading Calculators.  I find the information very useful.  Obviously you can determine what event is currently your best, but it also gives you some solid information as to what your current strengths and weaknesses are.  That information can then be used to tailor your training a bit, as gains can be made more quickly in your weak areas then they can in your strong areas, provided that you are training appropriately for those weak areas.

For example, my recent time trial in the 600m of 1:36.7 during a workout grades out to about 79.3.  Meaning that if I had on spikes and ran it as a race - getting down to at least 1:35.6 - I'd grade out to just over 80.  Looking at equivalent times for the 800m and mile that would be 2:12.9, and 4:54.2 respectively.   I'm fairly confident that I couldn't run a 4:54 mile now, and in fact I don't think that at the present time I could break 5-minutes.  I just don't have the endurance at this point.  However, I believe I'd have a pretty good shot at hitting that 800m time.  

If I go the other way, the 400m equivalent is 57.7, and the 200m equivalent is 26 flat.  I don't think I could hit either of those times.  I don't have enough pure speed right now.  

So the info tells me a few things.  #1 I seriously need to improve my endurance.  (of course, this has been known to me for a while)  Being able to workout at the gym during my injury kept my speed up but obviously my endurance has faded.  Now entering my base phase, my program is really focusing on improving my endurance, so this should help bring my 1500m and mile times closer to the grade.  Additionally, the improved endurance will help my 600m and 800m times as well.

#2 is really the more interesting point - my "true" speed is low - because I can age grade better in the 600m/800m then I can in the 200m/400m.  That 200m speed specifically is a concern.  Unfortunately, the 200m was never a great event for me, but being that the 100m was my best event, I'm hoping there is some potential there that I can find a way to tap into.  That's where the plyos, leg lifting, deadlift, and hills come in.  I need to lay the ground work now because in the Spring I will be focusing on legitimate speed work, probably in high volume, so my body needs to be able to handle that workload.  That's why a significant portion of my base work will be focusing on strength and explosive power in the legs.

What I need here is a two pronged approach - I need to attack this thing both from a top down (improve my endurance) AND a bottom up (pure speed) perspective.  

Lastly, the #3 thing I can get from this is that at least I'm focusing on the correct events!  Right now my sweetspot is 600m-800m meaning that's just where I have the most natural ability at this point.  I don't have the endurance to be a half-way decent distance runner and I no longer have the speed to be a sprinter, but according to the Age Grader I seem to have some ability to maintain a decent level of speed thru 600m-800m even w/o significant training.  

So I've clearly got my work cut out for me.  I need to improve my endurance a ton, and I'd better get more speed out of these legs if I ever want to get halfway decent at this.  And that's the fun of it really - Analyzing the problem, doing your best to research and then create a possible solution, and then bust your ass to execute the plan.

And when your done, have a few pints!!

Training:

9/4:  No running - weightlifting (Upper-A and abs)  stretching, rolling, easy leg lifting

9/5: AM  4-miles at very easy 8:14 pace

        PM  5-miles easy at 7:27 pace