running update!
I haven't posted about training in a while, and since I've run 9 miles in the last 2 days and am exhausted from it, I think it's time for a catch-up post. Here's what I've done in August - I'm in the middle of Week #7 right now.
AUGUST
MTWRFSS
week 5: 18.3 mi total 5 miles: warmup / 3 mi tempo / cooldown 3 miles easy/recovery 8.3 miles, long/easy 2 mi easy/recovery
week 6: 20 mi total 5 miles: warmup / 3 mi intervals 4x[0.5mi fast, 0.25mi jog] / cooldown 3 miles easy/recovery 9 miles, long/easy 3 mi easy/recovery
week 7: 22 mi total (target) 6 miles: warmup / 4 mi tempo / cooldown 3 miles easy/recovery [10 miles, long/easy] [3 mi easy/recovery]
I'm already at the highest weekly mileage that I was training for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon - my highest week then was 21.5 miles, and if I complete this week (22 mi) I will have beaten that. And I still have 5 weeks left!
I'm still not sure I'm getting much faster - there's a lot of slow running in this plan, between the long slow runs and the slow recovery runs - but with my weekly mileage so high and the fact that I'm getting out 4x/week to run, I'm hoping I am going to be able to gain speed without injuring myself. I can also make it through the tempo runs and intervals the plan has set up for me without dying (which was not true at the beginning of this plan) so... hopefully I am actually getting somewhere.
The whole goal is to not injure myself. As such, and since my leg of the race is 7.9 miles - long, but not absurdly long - I won't be doing any of the training runs that go longer than 2 hours. The plan has me going up to 13 mi of long slow running, and I don't think that's necessary - and I don't want to have to fit it into a Friday!
My legs are really sore. The thing about this plan is all that long slow running - I'm not having asthma attacks because I'm going slow, and that means I'm actually able to run to the point where my legs hurt. Before I learned so much about training, when I was just running for fitness, I would try to do 3 shorter and faster runs every week - which I am sure is good for you, but for an asthmatic runner like me, trying to run fast triggers an asthma attack. So I never "hit the limit" on my legs because my lungs would give out first. With long slow running, my lungs are still an issue, but not as bad, and I'm finally "hitting the limit" on my legs. And oh god, the limits. Who wants to go get massages with me any time after 26 September?
The team's goal for the race is to beat our time from last year, in which the 5 of us did 26.2 mi in 4:21:13 (which was actually JUST ABOUT a 10:00 pace). We want to come in under 4 hours, which means on average, we've got to run a 9:09 mile.
When you're a dumpy runner like me and you're asthmatic, that's a fast fuckin' mile. And I have to run 8 of them.
Now, granted: the rest of the J-Squad runners are really fast, and we'll gain some time just knowing the format of the race (we lost a couple minutes in a relay handoff), so it's still a reasonable goal. But it isn't a wimpy one!
My personal goals for this race are pretty ambitious, but as always, I've got "levels" of goals so that even if I can't hit the top, I still feel moderately accomplished. In order, here's what I'd like to see:
I know I can do #1, as long as I can stay healthy (not sick AND not injured). I am pretty sure I can get to #2 - it'll be a stretch, but I've been training well and hard, and even if I'm 'only' in the shape I was when I ran the half marathon, I should be able to do that time. #3... is a stretch. It's going to be a stretch for my poor broken body no matter how hard I train. But you need a stretch goal, right?
Honestly I think the best part of training this year is... knowing that I'm going to take a long and serious break from running starting Monday 26 September. >.>
This entry was originally posted at http://seventhe.dreamwidth.org/278069.html, which has
comments. Comment there (with OpenID) or here, it's all good.
AUGUST
MTWRFSS
week 5: 18.3 mi total 5 miles: warmup / 3 mi tempo / cooldown 3 miles easy/recovery 8.3 miles, long/easy 2 mi easy/recovery
week 6: 20 mi total 5 miles: warmup / 3 mi intervals 4x[0.5mi fast, 0.25mi jog] / cooldown 3 miles easy/recovery 9 miles, long/easy 3 mi easy/recovery
week 7: 22 mi total (target) 6 miles: warmup / 4 mi tempo / cooldown 3 miles easy/recovery [10 miles, long/easy] [3 mi easy/recovery]
I'm already at the highest weekly mileage that I was training for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon - my highest week then was 21.5 miles, and if I complete this week (22 mi) I will have beaten that. And I still have 5 weeks left!
I'm still not sure I'm getting much faster - there's a lot of slow running in this plan, between the long slow runs and the slow recovery runs - but with my weekly mileage so high and the fact that I'm getting out 4x/week to run, I'm hoping I am going to be able to gain speed without injuring myself. I can also make it through the tempo runs and intervals the plan has set up for me without dying (which was not true at the beginning of this plan) so... hopefully I am actually getting somewhere.
The whole goal is to not injure myself. As such, and since my leg of the race is 7.9 miles - long, but not absurdly long - I won't be doing any of the training runs that go longer than 2 hours. The plan has me going up to 13 mi of long slow running, and I don't think that's necessary - and I don't want to have to fit it into a Friday!
My legs are really sore. The thing about this plan is all that long slow running - I'm not having asthma attacks because I'm going slow, and that means I'm actually able to run to the point where my legs hurt. Before I learned so much about training, when I was just running for fitness, I would try to do 3 shorter and faster runs every week - which I am sure is good for you, but for an asthmatic runner like me, trying to run fast triggers an asthma attack. So I never "hit the limit" on my legs because my lungs would give out first. With long slow running, my lungs are still an issue, but not as bad, and I'm finally "hitting the limit" on my legs. And oh god, the limits. Who wants to go get massages with me any time after 26 September?
The team's goal for the race is to beat our time from last year, in which the 5 of us did 26.2 mi in 4:21:13 (which was actually JUST ABOUT a 10:00 pace). We want to come in under 4 hours, which means on average, we've got to run a 9:09 mile.
When you're a dumpy runner like me and you're asthmatic, that's a fast fuckin' mile. And I have to run 8 of them.
Now, granted: the rest of the J-Squad runners are really fast, and we'll gain some time just knowing the format of the race (we lost a couple minutes in a relay handoff), so it's still a reasonable goal. But it isn't a wimpy one!
My personal goals for this race are pretty ambitious, but as always, I've got "levels" of goals so that even if I can't hit the top, I still feel moderately accomplished. In order, here's what I'd like to see:
- Beat last year's time of 7.90 mi / 80:33 (10:11 pace)
- Come in at 7.90 mi / 75 min (~9:30 pace)
- Come in at 7.90 mi / 71 min (~9:00 pace)
I know I can do #1, as long as I can stay healthy (not sick AND not injured). I am pretty sure I can get to #2 - it'll be a stretch, but I've been training well and hard, and even if I'm 'only' in the shape I was when I ran the half marathon, I should be able to do that time. #3... is a stretch. It's going to be a stretch for my poor broken body no matter how hard I train. But you need a stretch goal, right?
Honestly I think the best part of training this year is... knowing that I'm going to take a long and serious break from running starting Monday 26 September. >.>
This entry was originally posted at http://seventhe.dreamwidth.org/278069.html, which has
comments. Comment there (with OpenID) or here, it's all good.