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Sunday, August 30, 2009

Workouts: Monster Dash Week 5 - Aug. 24-30

This was supposed to be a normal week, but I aggravated my plantar fasciitis on Wednesday playing touch football with co-workers, so it ended up being an unplanned extra rest week.

Running Miles: 15.42 miles, Avg. Pace 9:44/mile
Other: 2 Walks, 4.2 miles
Workouts: 1 Threshold/Tempo, 1 Long Run, 1 football game (speed), 2 Walks
Total Miles:
19.62 miles

Only a slight increase (2.5%) in total mileage from last week, thanks to my walks, and a big drop in running miles (12% decrease). Oh well, what am I going to do, run on a bum foot? Here is how the workouts broke down:

Monday (8/24): Rest day

Tuesday (8/25): Tempo intervals, 5.33 miles, 50:02 (Avg. Pace 9:23/mile)
10 min. warm up (1.15 miles, Avg. pace 8:41/mile)
10 min. tempo interval (1.22 miles, Avg. Pace 8:11/mile, Avg. HR 174)
3 min. recovery walk/jog (0.22 miles, Avg. Pace 13:44/mile)
7 min. tempo interval (0.84 miles, Avg. Pace 8:19/mile, Avg. HR 173)
3. min. recovery (0.22 miles, Avg. Pace 13:55/mile)
5. min. tempo interval (0.61 miles, Avg. Pace 8:09/mile, Avg. HR 173)
12 min. cool down (1.07 miles, Avg. Pace 11:13/mile)

I felt slower during this tempo workout, and I was a little bit slower than past tempo runs (by about 5-10 seconds per mile), but I have still increased my total time in a "tempo" zone by about 5 minutes since a few weeks ago, and my pace is still in the range I'd like, so I can't really complain.

Wednesday (8/26):
Touch football with coworkers, estimated about 2 miles, mostly sprinting.
I had fun, but I reaggravated my PF and I was limping around for two solid days afterward. However, this acted as a decent substitute speed workout, albeit at speeds faster than I really need to run.

Thursday (8/27): 1.8 mile walk (short walk at lunch, and walking with Steph and Andy at the Zoo)

Friday (8/28): Recovery Day (for PF)

Saturday (8/29): Recovery Day (for PF)

Sunday (8/30): Two workouts
8 Mile Long Run: 8.09 miles, 1:20:32 (Avg. Pace 9:57/mile)
A very good long run after several days off and my considerable leg pain and PF pain. Five of my mile splits were under 10 minutes, and 2 were under 9:45 (the 1st and 6th miles were both at 9:34/mile). Only 2 splits were substantially above 10 minutes (Mile 2: 10:15/mile, Mile 5: 10:32/mile), but both of these miles included a HUGE hill that I didn't feel like trying to power up (especially since it had been a couple weeks since I ran anywhere near this far, and since my PF still twinged a little). Overall, I'm very happy with this long run.

2.4 Mile Walk: Walking around the Minnesota State Fair with Steph and Andy

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Weekly Total: Aug. 17-23

Running: 17.52 miles, Avg. Pace 9:39/mile
Other: 1 Walk, 1.62 miles @ 22:41/mile
Workouts: 1 Threshold/Tempo, 1 Pace Run, 1 Long Run, 1 Easy/Recovery Run, 1 Walk
Total Miles:
19.14 miles

This was a cutback/recovery week, so my mileage was down by quite a bit plus I felt the need to throw in an extra rest day. There was a 27% decrease in my running miles, and a 21% decrease in my total miles. Hopefully this will help my legs recharge for the weeks ahead.

Starting next week, I'm going to stop doing an entry for every single workout (it takes too much time out of my week), and just do one longer "Weekly Summary" that will be combined with this Weekly Total post. This should make the blog a little easier to read, and will be a much more concise record of my workouts.

Workout: 5.9 Mile Long Run

Distance: 5.89 Miles
Time: 57:18
Avg. Pace: 9:44/mile
Type: Long Run
Weather: Warm (70s), very sunny

A backed-off long run as part of this recovery week so I tried to maintain a slightly faster pace, even on the big hill. It was tough, but I stayed at a fairly consistent pace the whole time, so that was good.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Workout: 30 Min. Easy Run

Distance: 2.92 Miles
Time: 32:04
Avg. Pace: 11:00/mile
Type: Easy Run

Slow easy/recovery run between yesterday's hardish pace run and tomorrow's long run. I felt OK, but my quads were a little twinged.

Workout: 1.6 Mile Walk

Distance: 1.62 Miles
Time: 36:43
Avg. Pace: 22:41/mile
Type: Walk

A leisurely walk to the park with Steph and Andy, a little swingin' and watching the airplanes come in to land (we live right on a flight path for the MSP airport, and my son loves watching the airplanes... he laughs every time he sees one). The walk was to help us relax a little after the craziness of Andy's 1st birthday party at our house earlier today.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Workout: 4 Mile Pace Run

Distance: 4.03 miles
Time: 35:39
Avg. Pace: 8:51/mile
Type: Pace Run (Threshold)

My goal here was to stay between 8:45 and 9:00/mile, which I did on average, but my pace jumped around way too much. I need to use the pace zone alerts on my Garmin more to help me train myself to keep a constant pace, and to know what that pace feels like. But, other than the erratic pace, this was a good run

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Morning Workouts or Evening Workouts?

Like many people, I have a busy life. I work full time and have a family. It is very difficult to find enough time in the day to do everything I want/need to do, particularly when the things I need to do includes: (a) help get my 11-month-old son Andy up in the morning, get him fed, get him dressed, and get him to daycare (although my wife takes care of most of Andy's morning routine, but I usually help and I almost always drop him at daycare); (b) drive to work; (c) work 9-10 hour workdays; (d) drive back from work; (e) pick Andy up from daycare; (f) spend some quality time with Andy before bedtime; (g) feed Andy (usually every other day, split with my wife); (h) bathe Andy (same); (i) put Andy to bed; and somewhere in there (j) eat dinner and spend time with my wife before going to be.

As I'm sure my schedule is not really that unique (or challenging compared to some parents... we only have one kid... imagine a whole brood!), I'm sure there are many others who have trouble fitting exercising into their daily routine. Most of us have to squeeze in a workout either in the morning before work or in the evening after work (some have the ability to take a long lunch, which I have done in the past, but it isn't ideal for my work environment). I've tried both (er... all three, I guess), and each has their pros and cons.

Morning Workouts
Pros:
  • A great jumpstart to your day - I have found that I am generally much more awake (particularly in the morning) when I workout before work. There is just something about the feeling of hitting the pavement before most people are even up and getting to work knowing you've done more already that morning than most of your coworkers. I'm sure there is some kind of physiological response that comes into play as well, like the adrenaline released as you exercise helps wake you up, but I don't really feel like researching it.
  • Get it out of the way - if you get up in the morning and finish your workout early, then you can't forget about it and don't have the chance to talk yourself out of it later on. Obviously, this requires you to actually get out of bed and do the workout, but once you've won that battle, actually running (or whatever) is a piece of cake.
  • Seems to be more efficient - I have no way of quantifying or proving this, but my day just seems to run more efficiently when I run in the morning rather than the evening. Perhaps there is some logistical reason for this, but my point is I just feel like I have more total time in the day to work with. Even if it is just more efficient by 15 minutes, that can be a huge benefit as far as stress management.
Cons:
  • You have to get up EARLY - this one is pretty obvious. To workout in the morning beforeo everything else you have to do, you have to actually get up earlier than you normally would. This is mostly a problem when you first start doing morning workouts, because your body quickly adapts to the change in sleep routine, but there is no doubt about it, the psychological fight to actually get up and go when you could just go back to sleep for another hour is palpable.
  • Can lead to submaximal training - because you have to get up early, that also means you should go to be early so that you get enough sleep. But, if you're like me, you may go to bed at pretty much the same time you would have if you weren't running in the morning. This can lead to a less-than-optimal performance in your morning training sessions, which over time will lead to less-than-optimal performance in your races. Similarly, since when you get up early it is difficult to eat a proper meal before you workout (unless you want to get up even earlier), you may not be properly fueled, which can also lead to less than optimal training. But, since I never plan on being a serious competitor, the fact that I don't necessarily squeeze out every last possible second from my race time isn't that critical to me. Don't get me wrong, I want to do as well as possible, but (to borrow a cliche from the work world) I'm "running to live... not living to run." If I were a professional athelete, this would be a BIG con, but I'm just a normal guy who just needs to get the workouts in and hope for the best
  • I'm HUNG-RY! - I have no idea if this applies to everyone who works out in the morning, but I am generally ravenous all day long when I workout in the morning. I'm sure it's my bodies way of responding to the jumpstart in metabolism and to the large breakfast I eat after my workout, but my stomach starts demanding more food by about 9 or 10 in the morning, and it doesn't seem to stop until mid to late afternoon regardless of how many snacks I have or how big a lunch I eat. This can lead to weight gain problems if you aren't careful (I am trying to be very good about eating healthy snacks including whole-grain crackers, fruit and vegetables rather than sweets or other nutrionally-devoid foods).
  • It's 2PM... I need a nap - the other big side-effect for me is that I have an energy crash in the mid-afternoon. This is partly counteracted by eating the snacks I talked about above, but the combination of waking up early and exercising early causes my body to start crying for rest much earlier in the day. It usually passes after a half-hour or so, but that is a pretty hairy half hour!
Evening Workouts:
Pros:
  • You don't have to get up early
  • It's light out (this is becoming more and more apparent... my morning workouts now require a flashlight, or the snazzy (or perhaps I mean dorky) new head lamp I purchased)
  • It is usually a little easier to rearrange your schedule to fit in evening workouts, whereas morning workouts are always done at about the same time (right after you wake up).
  • For me, it is usually easier to adjust my workouts based on how I feel that day. In the mornings, I usually haven't been awake long enough to figure out what my body is telling me, so if it is screaming "Take it easy!" the message doesn't penetrate my foggy brain until halfway through the workout.
  • Adequate fuel. Since you have been up all day and have eaten at least two full meals, your muscles are usually well fueled and you can have a more effective workout.
Cons:
  • Laziness can take over and convince you to put off your workout. If you've already gotten up and ran in the morning, its too late for your laziness to rear its head.
  • Life can get in the way and prevent you from working out. There have been a few nights where I had planned on working out in the evening after my son went to bed, but then he was more difficult to deal with, or something else got in the way and I was either unable to do my workout, or had to settle for running late at night in the pitch black.
  • If you are worn down after a long day of work, you may be so tired that even if you do workout, you may not have the energy or drive to workout effectively. For more casual runners like me, this isn't a huge deal, since putting in the miles is much more important than the quality of the miles, but the more serious you become, the more this matters.
Okay... that's all I can really think of right now, but I'm sure there are plenty of reasons that the rest of you can come up with. If you have any other thoughts on this conundrum, please put them in the comments.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Workout: 40 Min. Tempo Run

Distance: 4.68 miles
Time: 44:05
Avg. Pace: 9:25/mile
Type: Threshold, Tempo Intervals
Weather: Cooler (upper 60s), cloudy
Summary: 10 min. warmup (approx. 1 mile), 10 min. tempo interval (1.23 miles, Avg. pace 8:07/mile), 5 min. rest (0.45 miles), 9 min. tempo interval (1.12 miles, Avg. pace 8:04/mile), 10 min. cool down (0.9 miles)

I took an extra day off to recover after last week, which was a pretty tough week, and as a result this was a really great set of tempo intervals. I tried to keep my heart rate in Zone 4 for both of the tempo intervals (i.e. between 80-90% of HRR), and my pace was fairly consistent for both intervals, although I let it creep a little higher for the last 1:30 of the last interval. Not a bad workout to celebrate the 1st Anniversary of my son's birth.

Next Planned Workout: 3-3.5 mile easy run Thursday (8/20)

My Baby Boy is One!!!

Completely off topic, but my son turned one today!!! I cannot believe that I have a one-year-old... it literally seems like only yesterday my wife and I were talking about having a kid, and now we have one that is one!!!!

Here are a couple pictures (although from several months ago), because he's so frickin' cute.


Sunday, August 16, 2009

Weekly Total: Aug. 10-16

Running: 24.26 miles, Avg. Pace 10:41/mile
Workouts: 1 Threshold/Tempo, 1 Speed Workout, 1 Long Run, 2 Easy/Recovery Runs

I had a 1.7 mile increase over last week, which works out to about 7.5%, which is right around where it should be. My average pace had another huge drop (another minute), but I think that is to be expected since I have started using the heart rate monitor to force me to slow down during my easy recovery days.

Workout: 7 Mile Long Run

Distance: 7.0 Miles (On a Treadmill)
Time: 01:19:07
Avg. Pace: 11:18/mile
Weather: Indoors

Another indoor treadmill workout (it was pouring rain outside, and I didn't know the area well, so I didn't feel like getting drenched in a strange city). I definitely run slower on a treadmill. I used my heart rate monitor again, and it just felt like I couldn't get anything going for this run. Next week is a cutback week, so hopefully I can get a little recovery and get my pace back up.

Next Planned Workout: Tues. 8/18, tempo run (I haven't decided how long yet... probably only 30 minutes with one 15 minute tempo portion).

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Workout: 3 Mile Easy Run

Distance: 3 Miles (On a Treadmill)
Time: 35:36
Avg. Pace: 11:52/mile
Weather: Indoors

Very easy slow workout trying to keep my heart rate in my "Zone 2" (60-70% HRR). I hate running on a treadmill.

Next Planned Workout: Tomorrow (Sun. 8/16), 7 mile long run

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Workout: 6x400m Speed Intervals

Main Workout Distance: 3.02 miles (6x400m intervals plus approx. 0.3 mile recovery jog between each)
Main Workout Pace (Intervals): 6:19/mile (avg. interval time 1:35)
Warm Up/Cool Down Distance: 3.01 miles
WU/CD Time: 31:37
WU/CD Pace: 10:32/mile
Total Distance: 6.03 miles (click for route/details)
Type: Speed intervals
Weather: Cooler (low 70s), but still very humid

I increased the number of reps. to 6 this week and I did much less walking during the in-between recovery portions (I walked maybe 100 meters during one rest period, and maybe 25-50 on another, otherwise I did a slow recovery jog). I'm still going too fast on these (averaged 1:35 per interval, or about 6:20/mile when they should be around 1:45-1:50, or about 7:10-7:20/mile), but I was still a little better than last week (for my very last interval I went way faster just to see how well I could do, and that threw off my average a little, most of the intervals were in the 1:35-1:40 range). These are still pretty tough, especially in humidity like we had last night, but I am noticing that my heart rate recovers much quicker than it used to.
Interval Times:
1. 1:29 (5:59/mile)
2. 1:37 (6:28/mile)
3. 1:40 (6:40/mile)
4. 1:38 (6:33/mile)
5. 1:40 (6:42/mile)

Next Planned Workout: Tomorrow (Fri. 8/14) Rest Day; Saturday (8/15), 3 mile easy run.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Workout: 3.9 Mile Easy Run

Distance: 3.92 Miles (click for route)
Time: 42:38
Avg. Pace: 10:51/mile
Type: Easy run
Weather: Hot (80s), humid

Very slow easy run tonight. I used my heart rate monitor again and forced myself to stay in a fairly slow heart rate zone (60-70% HRR according to the Karvonen Method), except for the last 0.9 miles or so where I allowed myself to go a little faster. It felt like I was going soooooooo sloooooooooow (and I was, between 10:50 and 11:30/mile during the first 3 miles, and only about 9:30-9:50 for the last 0.9 miles). Supposedly this is best for recovery, and today was a "junk mile" day anyway.

Next Planned Workout: Tomorrow (Thurs. 8/13), 6x400m Speed Intervals

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Workout: 40 Min Tempo Workout

Main Workout Distance: 2.05 miles
Main Workout Time: 17:00 (10 min. interval and 7 min. interval)
Main Workout Avg. Pace: 8:18/mile
Other Distance (Warmup, Cool down, recovery between intervals): 2.25 miles
Other Time: 24:32
Other Avg. Pace: 10:54/mile
Total Distance: 4.3 miles (click for details)
Total Avg. Pace: 9:39/mile
Type: Threshold Workout (Tempo Intervals)
Weather: Cooler (60s), fairly humid
Summary: 10 min. warmup (10:12/mile), 10 min. tempo interval (8:14/mile), 5 min. rest (11:38/mile), 7 min. tempo interval (8:22/mile), 9:30 min cool down (11:15/mile)

This was my first attempt at using the heart rate monitor (HRM) with my new Garmin to set my pace. I did two tempo/threshold intervals, one for 10 minutes and one for 7 minutes (w/ a 5 minute rest/recovery walk/jog in between) and tried to keep my heart rate (HR) between 80-90% of my max HR. The first interval went pretty well, I stayed right around 85-90% of my max for the whole time, and my pace stayed in the 8:00 to 8:15 range (avg. for the 10 minute interval was 8:14/mile) and my HR slowly got larger until the last minute was a little high and I had to slow down. For the second interval, my HR shot right up to the upper end of my goal zone (right at about 90%) and my Garmin kept giving alarms of "HR too high!!" As a result, the second interval was slower (8:23/mile), but still in the range I wanted it to be.

I find it interesting that this week I went a shorter distance than last week (4.3 rather than 4.4 miles) at a slower average pace (finished in 41:32 rather than 40:00 minutes) even though my total time running a tempo pace was longer (17 min. vs. 15 min.), but I did run a slower pace during the tempo portions in order to stay in my desired HR zone and I slowed up during the 5 min. rest so that my HR went down enough before the next interval, so I guess it makes sense.

Running by heart rate was interesting, but next week I think I will set the tempo run up based on a pace range and see what my resulting heart rate looked like. Then I can compare the two and see which I prefer.

Next Planned Workout: Tomorrow (Wed. 8/12), 3-3.5 mile easy run

Monday, August 10, 2009

Weekly Total: Aug. 3-9

Running: 22.56 miles, Avg. pace: 9:43/mile
Other: 1 walk, 2.05 miles; 1 WiiFit Free Step and Strength Training
Workouts: 1 Threshold, 1 Speed, 1 Easy Run, 1 Pace Run, 1 Long Run
Total Miles: 24.61 miles

A very small increase in miles over last week (only 0.64 more miles, or about a 3% increase). That's fine, the mileage will be piling on soon enough. A noticeable decrease in Avg. pace (almost a full minute) as well, but that is OK too, because one of my runs last week was a 5K race with a huge spike in pace, and the heat over the weekend definitely slowed me down.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Workout: 6 Mile Long Run

Distance: 6.13 miles (click for route & details)
Time: 1:01:52
Avg. Pace: 10:05/mile
Type: Long Run
Weather: Warm (low to mid 70s), very humid
Summary: Simple out and back run. My pace stayed sub-10 minutes for the first half, but I couldn't really keep that up, and for the second half it was more like 10:30.

Still way too humid. It was considerably cooler tonight as I ran this (didn't even start the run until 9:00 PM... running in the dark is FUN /sarcasm), but still very, very, very humid. I was drenched by the time I was done. Overall, this is about the best I could have hoped for under the situation after yesterday's horrible experiment with pace running in the heat and the humidity tonight. Plus, I did get the miles in and I ran the whole way, so that's a plus.

Next Planned Workout: Tuesday (8/11) Threshold tempo run (planned 10 min. and 7 min. intervals in 40 min. workout)

Workout: 2 Mile Walk

Distance: 2.05 miles
Time: No idea
Type: Walk
Weather: Hot (upper 70s to lower 80s), very humid

Just a short walk with Steph and Andy to a restaurant for dinner and then to the park for some swingin' and slidin'.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Workout: 3.2 Mile Pace Run

Distance: 3.24 miles (click for route & details)
Time: 30:29
Avg. Pace: 9:24/mile
Type: Pace Run
Weather: Hot (mid-80s) and very humid, sunny
Summary: First 1.5 miles, about 8:45/mile, last 1.75 miles sporadic (alternated between running @ about 9:00/mile and walking @ about 15:00 to 20:00/mile)

Very hot and humid today. Clearly I wasn't hydrated enough, and I should have brought a bottle of water with me. I started out going at a very good pace for about 1.5 to 1.75 miles (between about 8:45 and about 9:00 per mile, right at my goal pace), but then the heat and hills (I was running near my parents house while they watched Andy, and they live in a much hillier area than where I live) got to me, and I had to walk a few times (2 times for a short period, usually only 15-30 seconds to finish up a hill, but 2 more times for 2 minutes or more). Hopefully tomorrow's long run is a little easier at a slower pace and with constant hydration.

Next Planned Workout: Tomorrow (8/9), 6 mile long run

Friday, August 7, 2009

Workout: WiiFit Free Step and Strength Exercises

Time: 1:05:00
Summary: 30 min. WiiFit Free Step aerobic exercise; 15 min. strength (pushups, crunches, bicep curls, shoulder raises); 20 min. WiiFit Free Step aerobic; 5-10 min. extended stretching

Friday is normally a day off, but I decided to do a low intensity aerobic workout to get the blood flowing a little and burn a few extra calories, and also to do some light strength training.

Next Planned Workout: Tomorrow, Sat. Aug. 8, 3-3.5 mile Half-Marathon pace (8:45-9:00/mile) run

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Workout: 5x400m Speed Workout (Week 2)

Main Workout Distance: 1.25 miles (5x400m speed intervals)+1.22 miles recovery walk/jog between intervals
Main Workout Avg. Pace: 6:20/mile (for intervals only)
Warmup/Cooldown Distance: 2.61 miles
WU/CD Avg. Pace: 10:47/mile
Total Distance: 5.09 miles
Type: Speed Intervals
Weather: Overcast, warm (upper 70s to lower 80s), humid
Summary: 1.45 mile warmup (including 4 stride drills) (avg. pace 11:35/mile), 5x400m intervals (Interval times 1:32 (6:11/mile), 1:32 (6:11/mile), 1:34 (6:18/mile), 1:38 (6:34/mile), and 1:39 (6:38/mile)) w/ 0.3 mile recovery walk/jog between each and a short 0.18 recovery walk/jog after last interval (avg. pace 13:22/mile), 0.98 mile (9:18/mile)

Like last week's speed workout, this week's intervals were too fast, although much more consistently paced. I do think its OK that I run these a little faster, because I have more natural speed than endurance, so I might as well try and develop my top speed a little bit in the hopes of compensating slightly for my weaker endurance.

I decided against doing these as hill intervals, partly because the hill I would need to run on is farther away that the place where I do flat intervals, but also because I don't feel the need to be too gung ho. I'm already doing speedwork despite this being my first long-distance race... I think trying to be too hardcore about it is a little much.

Next Planned Workout: Sat. Aug. 7 (Friday is a rest day), 3-3.5 mile goal Half-Marathon pace run (i.e. between 8:45 and 9:00/mile).

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Workout: 3.7 Mile Easy Run

Distance: 3.69 miles
Time: 34:00 (on the nose!)
Avg. Pace: 9:13
Type: Easy Run
Weather: Cool (mid 50s)
Summary: Standard easy run. I attempted to keep a constant pace, but I'm pretty sure it fluctuated quite a bit (although probably only between about 8:45 and 9:45... maybe as much as 10:00).

I probably went a little fast, which is probably why I only feel alright. My stupid arch hurt again (although that is to be expected for a run this early in the morning with little stretching beforehand). Oh well, I still got the miles in.

Next Planned Workout: 5x400 speed intervals, Tomorrow evening (Thurs. 8/5)

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Workout: 40 min Tempo Workout

Distance: 4.41 miles
Total Time: 40:00
Avg. Pace: 9:04/mile
Type: Tempo Run/Threshold Workout
Weather: Cooler (low to mid 60s) but very humid, windy
Summary: 10 min. slow warmup pace (approx. 10 min/mile), 5 min slow buildup, 10 min threshold pace (approx. 8 min/mile), 5 min slow recovery jog (10 min/mile or slower), 5 min threshold pace (approx. 8 min/mile), 5 minutes cooldown (between 9 and 10 min/mile).

Overall, I felt pretty good. No lingering effects from the weekend race. My right shin still had a little twinge, but nothing too bad. The tempo intervals didn't seem as bad as last Thursday's either, although the first 10 min. interval was still pretty tough toward the end. I think it helps a lot that I did these on Tuesday after a full day of rest, instead of last week on Thursday after two straight days of workouts and a speed workout only two days previous. I also think that the 2x10 min intervals I did last week was a little too much for my first week of training, so I backed it off a little today and shortened the second interval to only 5 minutes. Next week, I'll try increasing the second interval (maybe to 7 min.). Hopefully by race day, I can get up to 2x15 min. tempo intervals, or even better 3 total intervals (maybe 15, 10, 10). I should also probably try just a long tempo run (maybe 25-30 min at a slightly slower pace). So many choices!

Next Planned Workout: 3-3.5 mile easy run, Tomorrow (Wed. Aug. 5)

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Weekly Total July 27-Aug. 2

Running: 21.92 miles, 3:12:20, Avg. Pace 8:47
Other: Walk/recovery jog - 1.27 miles
Workouts: 1 speed interval workout, 2 threshold workouts, 1 easy run, 1 long run
Total Miles: 23.19 miles

A fairly big mileage jump from the past few weeks (about 30%), so I will have to be careful this week to avoid injury. I'm very happy with the week, I had two really tough workouts on Tuesday and Thursday, and I had a 5K race where I hit right in the middle of my goal time. I don't know if I could ask for a much better start to my training schedule.

Workout: 5 mile long run

Distance: 5.19 miles
Time: 51:58
Avg. Pace: 10:01/mile
Type: Long Run
Weather: Warm/Hot (mid 70s to low 80s), Sunny
Summary: Fairly consistent pace (around 9:55-10:00 min/mile), walked for a short period uphill at around 1 1/2 miles

I definitely could tell that I ran a 5K race yesterday. I felt pretty crappy, slow, and sore (especially my quads and shins). Thankfully, tomorrow is a rest day.

Next Planned Workout: 40 min tempo workout, Tuesday 8/4

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Workout: 5K Race (Courage Center's 5K Your Way)

Main Workout Distance: 5 km (3.107 miles)
Main Workout Time: 25:42
Avg. Workout Pace: 8:16/mile
Cooldown Distance: 1.27 miles
Total Distance: 4.38 miles
Type: 5K Race (Threshold)
Weather: Coolish (low to mid 60s), windy, sunny
Summary: 5K race at between 7:55/mile and 8:30/mile; 1.27 mile cooldown walk/jog

I kept a mostly constant pace (I heard someone else say to her running mate that we crossed the 1 mile mark at 7:55, and I finished the entire race with a 8:16/mile average), and I didn't embarrass myself. In fact, I was right in my range of goal times (I wanted to finish in the 25-27 minute zone). I went out a little fast, but I was able to control myself and dial it back for most of the rest of the race. I also was able to finish with a little bit of a kick, and I think I could have finished even stronger (maybe shaving off 15-30 seconds, but I doubt much more), but the point of this race wasn't to do the fastest 5K I could, but rather was just to run at around 8 min/mile and get my workout in today for my half-marathon training.
Next Planned Workout: 6 mile long run tomorrow (Sunday Aug. 2)