4.18.09

Stair workout at the track. Two mile warmup, form drills, 2 sets of 3 stairs, one mile steady, repeat 2x. About the second set of stairs I really started getting the timing down and on the third set I was working pretty hard to get to the top. The stairs aren't quite as long as I would like because the bleachers are divided in half on top and bottom, but it's good for recovery and so you can do more reps. Once I got a rhythm down the workout really came together. Inbetween miles were around 6:30 or so from what I could tell just glancing at my ipod at the beginning of each mile. In addition to the sets there is also a cement stairway leading from the stands back down to the track which I also did reps on that as well. I alternated skipping steps and hitting every step on those. I liked skipping steps because you really had to be explosive, but it also wore me out pretty good too :)

Fun workout I really liked doing it this way. I regret not doing them earlier on. I had always planned to but just never made it happen. It's a good change up from hill repeats so I think mixing it into my schedule once a week or every other week would be good. April went with me, but her workout was done after 20 or 30 minutes. I felt bad she had to sit around, so i cut a mile or two off my post-workout run.

6:30pm. track. 72º 36%H wind from SSW 9mph (warm and sunny)
57:34 (8.76) bf 1301
AHR165/MHR182

4.14.09

Finally got some speedwork in. Boy was this workout a wakeup call. I think my last speed session was like a month ago, and the one before that was a month before as well. Not too great fitness wise, but time wise I actually surprised myself a bit. After a 3 mile warmup around 7 minute pace I switched to my road racing shoes and did my form drills. My left tendon (just behind the knee) was doing it's normal thing. Sort of a "click" happens when I pull my foot up toward my hamstring. It doesn't really affect anything, but I've come to the conclusion that is from the last 10 years of not stretching, and the last two basically just spent tightening up the hams.

It was kind of colder today, but a relatively comfortable cold. The sun wasn't out so that helped with staying cool. Shorts and a cotton t-shirt seemed to be the right fit today, other runners at the track had sweat suits/jackets on, but I usually like it on the colder side. So I had no real plans other than 4x400 and maybe more depending on how I felt. So I run the first one. This is tricky because I have an ipod, a HR monitor, and a stopwatch but mostly I just have to be sure that the stopwatch has activated otherwise I'm pretty much screwed, I could really care less about the ipod data. The other tricky part is having to throw the stopwatch down right at the start, so I don't have to hold on to it while running, it's hard enough to run, but then you've got a big watch with a shoelace swinging around it makes it kind of difficult.

So I toe the line, press the start on the stopwatch and I take off flying. I was breathing pretty good by the end and was pretty much amazed by seeing a 67 on the watch as I ran by! Holy crap I really wasn't expecting that. My goal was 72-74. Yeah, I really am in no mans land when it comes to the "faster" stuff. I just haven't done enough of it yet to know what the difference in pace feels like. It all just feels hard to me. So I took two minutes rest, walking around for recovery. Normally for these you want to minimize rest, but considering this was my first fast stuff since like high school, i figured more is better for now.

Lap 2 was tough. There was a pretty good wind on the homestretch about 12mph and I was struggling to get to the line with my form in tact and this time I was breathing hard at 300. Lap two was 71. That one hurt so I realized I needed a lot more rest. I relied on my HR monitor and waited till it got back down to 112-115 which took a good five minutes (with jogging a lap and walking). So after a pretty good break I was ready for number three. For these type of workouts you just have to go do it, no complaining or moseying around, just put your toe on the line, click the thing and take off. I definitely felt the first two on this one and again I was breathing hard and the last 100 was pretty tough. Lap three was 70. I took another long break after this one, but knowing I had only one left was good and I pretty much ruled out doing any more after that.

So this time I got off to a great start, my knees haven't been that high in ten years and I was real smooth at first, but I felt myself slow down before hitting 200 and basically just pushed from there the rest of the way, pretty much dying at the end. Last lap was a 69. For all the times they are give or take a second because for one I have to find the stopwatch on the ground, and like for the last one, I had to turn it over to see what the time was. I did a mile or so after that and switched back to my free's again. They felt like flip flops it was a weird feeling to switch them. Ran another mile or two in those.

So it was very interesting just to go fast. My little left tendon thing went away as soon as I started running fast, which is kind of wierd I guess it just needs loosening up. I really killed the first lap and that took a lot out of me for the rest of the workout. I need to run 74's to break five, so this workout was a fairly decent indicator of my pace. I will get these times down a ton just by getting on the track more, it feels night and day compared to pavement. Because of the "cushion" it sort of feels like I'm sinking and is a little hard to run on because of that. It's something I will have to get used to again, this summer I plan on pretty much living there. The other nice thing about the track is instant feedback on pace every lap. I know exactly how many miles I've ran and what pace I'm doing it at without really needing a pedometer or anything else, just a watch. Unfortunately my HR monitor watch doesn't have a "second hand" readout, so it just shows full minutes. That is so dumb how hard would have it been to add a tiny little display of the seconds? But it was a gift, so I am happy to use it.

I left this workout feeling comfortably tired. I could have done maybe one or two more, but like I said, I'm just getting started no reason to overdo things. I mean I've been training to run a marathon, not a single mile for heaven's sake! Thursday I'd like to do something either hills or speed, maybe a combo fartlek would work I dunno. Then Saturday do some more speedwork, maybe repeat today's workout, and monday do another. So one day of rest and then another workout and repeat? ...I'll probably take a few of those workouts easy and make Monday's a tempo with decreasing pace for the last four miles. Then it'll be three days of rest and time to race a mile :)

I took a break from the internet today to focus on my painting. It's coming along, maybe three more days to go, but it's taking more time than I anticipated. I'll leave note for my twitter peeps tonight.

6:20pm. track. Cloudy 57° F 59%H From WNW 12 mph(chilly)
50:01(7.63), gf 659, fasttwitch 47
4x400m @ 67,71,70,69 w/full recovery
36.44 warmup AHR116 MHR171
13.55 workout w/recovery AHR137 MHR178
23.28 cooldown AHR160 MHR174
sleep AHR54/MHR88

4.9.09

Warm today, and a perfect easy run. Yesterday I decided to do some calf raises as I used to do them all the time in jr-high and high school, but man I have been slacking. I remembering doing two sets of a hundred, plus jumping exercises (over boxes, onto tall boxes, quick jumps) and never felt a thing. I did two sets of 20 last night and my calves haven't been this sore since I can't remember when. I thought it would affect the run today, but it really didn't.

So there is a lot of work to be done in the strength area, and it's mostly my fault. I want to find a nice long stairwell or stadium steps to run, and there are a few schools around I just never make the trip. Hills are great, but with stairs you have to be much more accurate and that would help a lot with my coordination. So that is on the agenda now too.

I wore my HR monitor today and I guess it was good. I tried to keep it as low as I could without feeling like I was jogging, which was actually kind of hard to do - mostly because of the hills/terrain. I also skipped the HH today since I just did 2 yesterday and the calves were sore so didn't want to really mess with them anymore. In addition to the calves being sore, my left hip joint was a little achy too (probably from the downhills) but is pretty normal so no worries. It was a little warmer today so my HR was probably a tad higher than normal too.

Tonight I will do my core workout, consisting of a variety of different exercises. Accelerations were on the list for today, but because of the calves and hip I will just do them tomorrow. I'm thinking that I will start off at a good clip, then increase it to 90% for the last half of the accels (proabably do 100-200 meters).

Sunday if things look good I'm going to the track. Now I know the common "rule" of thumb is to rest the same amount of days as you race, but when I saw the two top runners in our area running 15 low in the 5k LAST weekend I realized the truth. If they can do it, so can I. Plus it's not like I feel beat up or anything. I've been taking it really easy on my runs and my legs feel more than fine, heck they feel better than Before the marathon. It would be different if I felt fatigued or if something just didn't feel right, but that just isn't that case. I'm not going to go on justifying my reasoning, it just seems like I would be a target for those who stick only to a single plan blindly, and follow rules without understanding them, and never push beyond their perceived limits - it's just not me.

5:58pm. home. sunny 70 degrees 34% H, WSSW 10mph.
1:13:01 (10.98), bf 1276
AHR161/MHR172

4.4.09

I volunteered at the Race for the Schools this morning. It was fun to go to a race and just help out because there wasn't any pressure to have to run. I wish I could have run, my legs felt great today, but there was still a twinge in my right ham so I guess it was a good thing not to test it. Was a normal morning, a little chilly but not cold, and the sky was beautiful and clear not a cloud to be seen. A bus dropped me and the other volunteers who were assigned to the course off at different intersections. Because the course is USATF certified it is the same course almost every 5k race uses downtown, so I know it well. Eventually we dropped everyone off - I kind of wanted to do the water station, but they already enough people there when we dropped, so I ended up at about the 3 mile marker or so, just before the last stretch which is about a quarter mile downhill into World's Fair Park, where the Sunsphere is.

It was kind of boring at first, and for a while I was wondering if the race started at 9 am, because it was already 8:45, but soon enough I looked down the street and saw a few bobbing heads. What would you know, but none other than Andy Baksa and Stew Ellington (2nd in half last week, and 1st two years in a row in the Marathon, respectively) running with each other, Baksa only about 10 yards ahead. It was crazy to see them running that fast, they weren't sprinting or anything, but just looked really focused and smooth. I think their times were in the 15:20's range.

There were quite a few people running considering this was the first year of the race. I cheered them all on. Even the 70 year old guy, whom when I yelled at him "Great Stride" he replied "You're Lying!". There were a lot of people who called me a liar this morning. When I said it was "all downhill" I guess they figured that was impossible (or likely someone else told them that a mile back...) So I started telling runners, "all the other volunteers were lying when they said you were almost done, but I'm not!". I also challenged people to race each other, and sure enough a few of them just put down the hammer. It was a good time and at least I made a couple laugh.

So my running today was after a nap. I guess being out in the morning took a bit out of me and so I went ahead and had a sleep. I got up ready to hit the pavement and it was an amazing run. Nice and smooth, I felt fast. As I said the right ham had a little twinge, but nothing major. Also my left tendon, behind the knee is acting kind of funny. When i pull my foot up to my butt it kind of pulls, not sure what that is about, but it's not really supposed to do that I don't think. Just something to keep an eye on. So yeah, the run went great, especially once the sun started to set because it cooled way down. Did a little acceleration for 2 minutes at the end. I usually do a certain distance, but if I start using time instead I think that will help me more. I can build a kick instead of being 200 meters, it can be a gradual increase of pace for 2-3 minutes which will probably provide a better result.

Did some form drills afterwards, and as I said before beneath the left knee one of the tendons was kind of tight. Good run, legs are back under me and hope to do a medium long distance tomorrow - and hour and a half should be good. Oh the other thing I forgot about was to wear my heart monitor. I have one and always forget to use it, so i'm going to make sure to set that out so I don't keep forgetting.

6:40pm. home. 64º Sunny, 40%H, SSE 7mph
1:13:01, (10.76), gm 987