Less than two months to the marathon!! I had a really good week this week... almost too good. I almost feel like I am not hurting enough. For example, today, I feel like I should be more sore after a 17 mile run than I actually am. I guess thats a good thing... Actually, alot of it is probably the effects of tapering off of weights. After months of running while doing heavy weights in the gym, coming off the weights has made it alot easier. Sort of like taking off the dragsuit for a swimming analogy. Todays long run was pretty easy. I went out rather slow, and finished the last few miles pretty quick. I didn't have any gadgets with me so I dunno how fast I was actually going, but the last 2 miles were not easy. I wish I went for another 3 miles or so though. I just got bored and wrapped it up. Hopefully next week I can get in a 20 miler. That would be a huge confidence boost.
Yesterday I did my track workout. It was 6 x 800s with 400m easy in between. My splits were really good when compared to last time I did the 800s. It was sortof scary how consistent I was in dropping time throughout the workout. I was just going as hard as I could, and was dropping a second each time. Next time though, I want to be more consistent. Focus on getting a better warmup and being fast from the beginning. The last one probably wont be as fast, but thats okay... after all, I am training for a marathon. Next week's track workout will be mile repeats, and the week after I will do 800s again. Either 7 or 8 of them. I would like to be under 2:50 for all of them.
6x800s: 1) 2:59, 2) 2:51, 3) 2:50, 4) 2:49, 5) 2:48, 6) 2:42
Total this week was: 55 miles
Monday - 3 mile run + abs
Tuesday - 12 mile medium long run
Wednesday - rest
Thursday - 7 mile tempo run + weights/core
Friday - Easy 9 mile run
Saturday - 7 mile track workout
Sunday -17 mile long run
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
5/25/09 - Warming Up
I forgot to write a blog entry yesterday, so I am writing this on Monday morning. This week was good and bad. My tempo run on Thursday was bad. It ended up only being 4 miles, and I just couldn't get going. I don't even think I was at tempo, my shins were hurting, and I was exhausted for some reason. It is frustrating because it seems like every time I try to start a run out fast, I hit a wall after a few miles. I have the endurance, but it takes me forever to warmup. Sometimes I feel like I can run 4 miles at the end of a 8 mile run faster than a 4 mile run.
The rest of the week was good. I ran 18 yesterday for my long run. Felt really good, although my right knee was hurting a little afterwards. Ive been icing since, and hopefully that will go away. Today is a rest day so, it should be better by tomorrow.
Saturday was the track workout. I ran 3 x 1 mile repeats. It ended up being 7 miles total with all the warmup and warmdown. This was actually a really good workout, and I was way faster than the 800s last week, so it is a good sign. I ran the first one in 6:01, second one in 5:58, and third one in 5:49. Next week will be the 800s again, and the week after will be 4 mile repeats, Hopefully all under 5:50, with the last one around 5:40
I guess this would be a good blog to talk about warming up. I usually never talk about warming up, and I don't include the mileage that I run in my warmups, except for track workouts. If I am running first thing in the morning, I usually warmup more. If it is in the afternoon, I do a little less because I am not as tight. Generally I jog about a half mile, just to get the blood pumping. Then I do a dynamic warmup. I never do static stretching before a run, always after or on rest days. The dynamic warmup includes leg swings (forward and side to side), running with high knees, butt kicks, skipping, shuffling side to side, some lunges, some bodyweight squats, and basically other movements that exaggerate a running motion. It takes about 15 minutes all together, and helps me alot. Before the long runs, particularly morning long runs, I use my foam roller a bit, and another piece of equipment I have called "the stick." Both of these also warm the legs up, and get the blood flowing.
Overall, this week was 55 miles. Pretty good except for the tempo run, which will become more and more important the closer I get to the race.
Monday- rest day
Tuesday - 13 mile medium long run + plyometrics
Wednesday - 4 miles on treadmill and abs
Thursday - 4 mile tempo run + weights
Friday - 9 mile run easy run
Saturday - 7 mile track workout: 3x 1 mile: 1) 6:01, 2) 5:58, 3) 5:47)
Sunday - 18 mile long run
The rest of the week was good. I ran 18 yesterday for my long run. Felt really good, although my right knee was hurting a little afterwards. Ive been icing since, and hopefully that will go away. Today is a rest day so, it should be better by tomorrow.
Saturday was the track workout. I ran 3 x 1 mile repeats. It ended up being 7 miles total with all the warmup and warmdown. This was actually a really good workout, and I was way faster than the 800s last week, so it is a good sign. I ran the first one in 6:01, second one in 5:58, and third one in 5:49. Next week will be the 800s again, and the week after will be 4 mile repeats, Hopefully all under 5:50, with the last one around 5:40
I guess this would be a good blog to talk about warming up. I usually never talk about warming up, and I don't include the mileage that I run in my warmups, except for track workouts. If I am running first thing in the morning, I usually warmup more. If it is in the afternoon, I do a little less because I am not as tight. Generally I jog about a half mile, just to get the blood pumping. Then I do a dynamic warmup. I never do static stretching before a run, always after or on rest days. The dynamic warmup includes leg swings (forward and side to side), running with high knees, butt kicks, skipping, shuffling side to side, some lunges, some bodyweight squats, and basically other movements that exaggerate a running motion. It takes about 15 minutes all together, and helps me alot. Before the long runs, particularly morning long runs, I use my foam roller a bit, and another piece of equipment I have called "the stick." Both of these also warm the legs up, and get the blood flowing.
Overall, this week was 55 miles. Pretty good except for the tempo run, which will become more and more important the closer I get to the race.
Monday- rest day
Tuesday - 13 mile medium long run + plyometrics
Wednesday - 4 miles on treadmill and abs
Thursday - 4 mile tempo run + weights
Friday - 9 mile run easy run
Saturday - 7 mile track workout: 3x 1 mile: 1) 6:01, 2) 5:58, 3) 5:47)
Sunday - 18 mile long run
Sunday, May 17, 2009
5/17/09 - SUMMER!
There may be no better feeling than the feeling you get at the moment you finish your last day of school, and it is summer vacation. It makes no difference whether is elementary school of law school... Its summer break, and i just finished my first year of law school!!
This post is going to be rather long and in depth, so fasten your seatbelt. This week I entered the second "phase" of my training (as nerdy as that sounds). My plan thus far was to get to the point where I could comfortably run about 40 miles a week. I also wanted to build some general strength in my posterior chain. Now I am shifting focus to less "garbage" mileage and more specific and purposeful workouts. My weekly plan will basically consist of 4 main workouts.
1) The long run: This will probably be every Sunday, and will be between 15-22 miles, depending on how long the other runs are. The purpose of this run isn't to simulate the first 15-22 miles of my marathon, but rather to just get used to the feeling of running for 2-3 hours without stopping. The pace will probably be a little slower, between 7:30-8 mins/mile
2) The track workout: There are two track workouts that I will be doing, probably alternating every week. The first one is a pretty standard marathon training workout called Yasso's 800s. Basically you run 800m hard, followed by 400m easy, and repeat. 800m is 2 laps around a standard track. The idea is that you should be able to run your goal marathon pace for 10x800s. In other words, if you want to run a 2 hour 50 minute marathon, you should be able to run 2 minutes 50 seconds for 10x800s. This week I did 4x800s, and I will work my way up to 10. The second track workout is just mile repeats, working my way up to about 5 or so, with a half mile easy in between each. The focus on these is to just get comfortable running at a faster pace. I have the endurance, but it will take some effort now to convert that into speed, and easy speed.
3) The medium long run: This run will probably be about 12-13 miles, and will be at a faster pace than the long run. Probably about 7:15-7:30 per mile.
4) The tempo run: This run will be between 5-9 miles. The idea of the tempo run is to run at the pace that you plan on running the marathon at. During the last few weeks, especially during taper, almost all my runs will be at tempo. The idea is to really tune into that pace that you want to hold for 26 miles, and know what it feels like to run that pace. A 3 hour marathon for example is 6:52 pace.
I will also basically stop all weighted upper body workouts, and hopefully lose some weight there. I am only going to do body weight upper body exerices, which pretty much limits me to pushups, pullups, and inverted rows. Instead, I will be doing alot more core work, and plyometrics. My main core exercises are front and side plank, and derivatives of plank exercises. I can hold the front plank position for 5 minutes, and would like to get up to 8 or so.
Plyometrics, at least for running, basically involves working on getting the most out of each step. It involves alot of jumping, and explosive movements. For example, single leg jumps, double leg jumps, box jumps, jump lunges, bounding, etc. Basically, if you can get one extra cm out of every step with no change in effort, over 26 miles, that will make a huge difference.
So, the weekly plan will look something like this, averaging high 50s in mileage:
Monday: rest day, or easy 3 or so miles; maybe some core/plyometrics
Tuesday: Medium long run: 12-13 miles
Wednesday: easy 4-5 miles, core/plyometrics
Thursday: Tempo run: 5-9 miles
Friday: Track workout: 5-10 miles
Saturday: easy 4-5 miles, core/plyometrics
Sunday: long run: 15-22 miles
Okay, well this week was a very good week in training. I did my first track workout on friday, and it was really good. I love running on a track for 2 reasons: 1)Running on a track after months of running on paved roads is like sleeping on a bed after sleeping on the ground. The track is so cushiony, its like running on clouds. 2) Coming from a swimming background, I am all about times. I like knowing my pace and speed at any given moment. With a track, it is always consistent and always exact. Sure you can use the treadmill pace things, and footpods, and gps watches, but they are often inaccurate. I only did 4x800s this week, but I didn't want to start off with too much. I did my long run this morning and ran 20 miles! Woohoo! a little sore, but it actually wasn't that bad.
Overall, this week I ran 54 miles
Monday: 4 mile run + core
Tueday: 9 mile run
Wednesday: 3 miles on treadmill + core
Thursday: 13 miles + weights
Friday: 5 mile track workout: 4x800s: Times were: 1) 3:05, 2) 3:03, 3) 2:59, 4) 2:49
Saturday: rest
Sunday: 20 mile long run
This post is going to be rather long and in depth, so fasten your seatbelt. This week I entered the second "phase" of my training (as nerdy as that sounds). My plan thus far was to get to the point where I could comfortably run about 40 miles a week. I also wanted to build some general strength in my posterior chain. Now I am shifting focus to less "garbage" mileage and more specific and purposeful workouts. My weekly plan will basically consist of 4 main workouts.
1) The long run: This will probably be every Sunday, and will be between 15-22 miles, depending on how long the other runs are. The purpose of this run isn't to simulate the first 15-22 miles of my marathon, but rather to just get used to the feeling of running for 2-3 hours without stopping. The pace will probably be a little slower, between 7:30-8 mins/mile
2) The track workout: There are two track workouts that I will be doing, probably alternating every week. The first one is a pretty standard marathon training workout called Yasso's 800s. Basically you run 800m hard, followed by 400m easy, and repeat. 800m is 2 laps around a standard track. The idea is that you should be able to run your goal marathon pace for 10x800s. In other words, if you want to run a 2 hour 50 minute marathon, you should be able to run 2 minutes 50 seconds for 10x800s. This week I did 4x800s, and I will work my way up to 10. The second track workout is just mile repeats, working my way up to about 5 or so, with a half mile easy in between each. The focus on these is to just get comfortable running at a faster pace. I have the endurance, but it will take some effort now to convert that into speed, and easy speed.
3) The medium long run: This run will probably be about 12-13 miles, and will be at a faster pace than the long run. Probably about 7:15-7:30 per mile.
4) The tempo run: This run will be between 5-9 miles. The idea of the tempo run is to run at the pace that you plan on running the marathon at. During the last few weeks, especially during taper, almost all my runs will be at tempo. The idea is to really tune into that pace that you want to hold for 26 miles, and know what it feels like to run that pace. A 3 hour marathon for example is 6:52 pace.
I will also basically stop all weighted upper body workouts, and hopefully lose some weight there. I am only going to do body weight upper body exerices, which pretty much limits me to pushups, pullups, and inverted rows. Instead, I will be doing alot more core work, and plyometrics. My main core exercises are front and side plank, and derivatives of plank exercises. I can hold the front plank position for 5 minutes, and would like to get up to 8 or so.
Plyometrics, at least for running, basically involves working on getting the most out of each step. It involves alot of jumping, and explosive movements. For example, single leg jumps, double leg jumps, box jumps, jump lunges, bounding, etc. Basically, if you can get one extra cm out of every step with no change in effort, over 26 miles, that will make a huge difference.
So, the weekly plan will look something like this, averaging high 50s in mileage:
Monday: rest day, or easy 3 or so miles; maybe some core/plyometrics
Tuesday: Medium long run: 12-13 miles
Wednesday: easy 4-5 miles, core/plyometrics
Thursday: Tempo run: 5-9 miles
Friday: Track workout: 5-10 miles
Saturday: easy 4-5 miles, core/plyometrics
Sunday: long run: 15-22 miles
Okay, well this week was a very good week in training. I did my first track workout on friday, and it was really good. I love running on a track for 2 reasons: 1)Running on a track after months of running on paved roads is like sleeping on a bed after sleeping on the ground. The track is so cushiony, its like running on clouds. 2) Coming from a swimming background, I am all about times. I like knowing my pace and speed at any given moment. With a track, it is always consistent and always exact. Sure you can use the treadmill pace things, and footpods, and gps watches, but they are often inaccurate. I only did 4x800s this week, but I didn't want to start off with too much. I did my long run this morning and ran 20 miles! Woohoo! a little sore, but it actually wasn't that bad.
Overall, this week I ran 54 miles
Monday: 4 mile run + core
Tueday: 9 mile run
Wednesday: 3 miles on treadmill + core
Thursday: 13 miles + weights
Friday: 5 mile track workout: 4x800s: Times were: 1) 3:05, 2) 3:03, 3) 2:59, 4) 2:49
Saturday: rest
Sunday: 20 mile long run
Sunday, May 10, 2009
5/10/09 - Mother's Day
I feel really weird writing this entry because I didn't run today. Every other entry so far has been on a Sunday after a run. I had a final today though so I spent the morning studying, then took the final, and am now going to dinner for Mother's Day. I made up for it by running 17 miles yesterday. I took an ice bath after the run yesterday and it is amazing how much it helped my recovery. I was miserable during the ice bath, but I have not been sore at all today. Usually after a long run like that, I am hurting pretty bad the next day. Then again, I didn't go to the gym that much this week, so that may have something to do with it. I was only able to go to the gym on tuesday, as I was pretty busy with finals. I only have one more final to go though, and then SUMMER!
43 miles total:
Monday - nothing
Tuesday - 9 mile run
Wednesday - 9 miles on treadmill + weights
Thursday - 4 miles + plyometrics/core
Friday -4 miles (terrible run, didn't warm up well, shins started hurting so bad)
Saturday - 17 mile run
Sunday - nothing
43 miles total:
Monday - nothing
Tuesday - 9 mile run
Wednesday - 9 miles on treadmill + weights
Thursday - 4 miles + plyometrics/core
Friday -4 miles (terrible run, didn't warm up well, shins started hurting so bad)
Saturday - 17 mile run
Sunday - nothing
Sunday, May 3, 2009
5/3/09 - Finals
I had the first final of my second semester of law school yesterday. Finals continue for the next week and a half. My priority right now is definately school, but hopefully I am still able to get in some good training. I did my long this week on thursday because 1) I knew I was going to be busy with finals after that and 2) I knew it was going to start raining on friday. I ran 13 miles on thursday, but I went out way too fast and died around mile 8. I got a "second wind" around mile 11 and was able to finish strong, but miles 8-11 were pretty rough.
I ran 9 today on the treadmill and I felt really good. I ran the second to last mile in 6:40 and the last mile in 6:00. That is according to the treadmill speed guage though, and who knows how accurate those things are. Either way, I am pretty happy with the week.
I can't wait for it to be summer so that I can really focus on my training. Over the past few months I have been able to find a way to squeeze in 30-45 miles and 3 weight sessions a week. However it has been extremely challenging with my busy schedule and commuting to the city everyday. It will be nice to have more time to focus on my runs this summer. I think I will get alot more out of each run when I am able to properly prepare myself for them rather than fitting them into an already busy schedule. I will be doing less of an internship in the city this summer, but it will definately be less of a time commitment than the first year of law school.
This week also sortof marked my transition from more heavy lifting to more running oriented stuff. I am starting to do less squats and deadlifts, and more core work and plyometrics. I will taper away from the weights slowly until about a month out from the race. During the last month, I will only be doing bodyweight exercises. I will, however, be adding speed work on the track instead.
Overall, I got in 42 miles this week, with my best run of the week probably being the 9 on the treadmill today.
Monday - nothing
Tuesday - 9 mile run + weights
Weds - nothing
Thursday - 13 mile run
Friday - 5 miles on treadmill + weights/core
Saturday - 6 miles on treadmill + plyometrics/core
Sunday - 9 miles on treadmill + abs
I ran 9 today on the treadmill and I felt really good. I ran the second to last mile in 6:40 and the last mile in 6:00. That is according to the treadmill speed guage though, and who knows how accurate those things are. Either way, I am pretty happy with the week.
I can't wait for it to be summer so that I can really focus on my training. Over the past few months I have been able to find a way to squeeze in 30-45 miles and 3 weight sessions a week. However it has been extremely challenging with my busy schedule and commuting to the city everyday. It will be nice to have more time to focus on my runs this summer. I think I will get alot more out of each run when I am able to properly prepare myself for them rather than fitting them into an already busy schedule. I will be doing less of an internship in the city this summer, but it will definately be less of a time commitment than the first year of law school.
This week also sortof marked my transition from more heavy lifting to more running oriented stuff. I am starting to do less squats and deadlifts, and more core work and plyometrics. I will taper away from the weights slowly until about a month out from the race. During the last month, I will only be doing bodyweight exercises. I will, however, be adding speed work on the track instead.
Overall, I got in 42 miles this week, with my best run of the week probably being the 9 on the treadmill today.
Monday - nothing
Tuesday - 9 mile run + weights
Weds - nothing
Thursday - 13 mile run
Friday - 5 miles on treadmill + weights/core
Saturday - 6 miles on treadmill + plyometrics/core
Sunday - 9 miles on treadmill + abs
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