Day 22 - Cross Train/Core

Seems like I can only get to blogging during my days off. Unfortunately work has been very busy lately, and I want to try and stop getting too few hours of sleep. Finally I have a chance to catch up on my blog from the weekend as well. This weekend was incredible. The weather was great (after a week in the 90s!)

Day 20 - 5 miles Marathon Pace
Miles 5.0
Time 45.29
HR Ave/Max 168/189
Running Index 50

Wow what a day. Julian and I went out to my favorite trail today in Naperville. The Springbrook trail is a 5.5 mile loop with nice rolling hills. The trail is just far enough from the road that you don't hear the cars but you can still see them. The trail is a runners dream in a cement world. Soft dirt, bridges over creeks, slight inclines and declines, switchbacks, various wildlife and flowers. Unfortunately, it was about 91 degrees out today, and we got a late start running at 10am. I wanted to get out here by 8am, but such is life.

The run was easy, and I managed to keep my heart rate down for the entire run. 'Down' as in, I kept it within my marathon goal race pace heart rate range. I felt very satisfied after this run, and also felt like I could have gone on further. Thats a good sign. With an average pace of 8:57, that would equate to a marathon pace of 3:52. I can deal with that. As long as I am breaking 4 hours I'll be happy. That also takes into consideration that I may slow up a bit the 2nd half of the race. This gives me 8 minutes to work with AND this was my first marathon pace run of the season. I figure I can still shave 15-30 seconds off that pace during the course of my training as my cardio gets better.


Day 21 - 6 miles LSD
Miles 6.1
Time 54.19
HR Ave/Max 161/179
Running Index 56

Crazy! After yesterdays workout, I made huge gains today. I figured I'd be tired, this would be a tough run, I had just woken up. I woke up at 7:30a and got out the door by 8:15 after eating a banana and getting ready to run. The run started out kind of slow as there was a lot of wind in my face. However, I kept pushing through. I ran past 2 very good runners today. I'm hoping to make more contact with them during other Sunday runs. The pace was steady, which is also something I have been working on. My pace deviated naturally, but it wasn't all over the map like it tends to be during most long runs.

I can't believe how strong this run felt. I also found a really cool lake about 2.5 miles from the house. While the trail around the lake is only about 1/3rd of a mile total, it was nice to run by the lake for its relaxing sights and sounds.

I hope this run is telling me something. That my training is paying off and that I am getting stronger. I also hope this is a sign that I can make my goal in the half marathon in 2 weeks. I need to run a 1:51:59 or better to qualify for starting corral D of the marathon. I think its possible, but I just need to push myself the 2nd half of that race. If I can run like I did today for the first half, I should have no problems.

Until next run...

Day 19 - Rest

Unfortunately I need to catch up on the entire week's worth of running, so I will be doing this in 2 installments so as not to make these posts too long.

Day 17 - 5 mile Tempo
Miles 5.0
Time 42.01
HR Ave/Max 172/188
Running Index 53

This tempo run was amazing. The tempo portion was 4 miles in 31.52. Unfortunately, I went out a little too hard, the 2 miles out was 15.09 and the return was 16.43. Either way, not bad. This is also considering that the majority of the run out was downhill. I think I can run better splits if I concentrate during the next tempo run.

Day 18 - Recovery
Miles 2.4
Time 26.36
HR Ave/Max 137/152
Running Index 54

I ran with Julian today. She wants to run, but sometimes I think she needs the extra push provided by me running with her. I also needed the extra day of recovery. My legs have started to show signs of training. I'm more tired than normal and more achy in spots I haven't been achy.

Overall
I've continued reading Advanced Marathoning by Pete Pfitzinger. For anyone looking to be more serious about marathon training, I highly recommend this book - so far. I feel like my runs are more productive. It also helps understanding the physiology behind each of the workouts I run. This provides me with something to think about, and also gives me a purpose during each workout.

Until next run...

Day 16 - Recovery

Last night's recovery run went suprisingly well. Over the weekend in talking with my running buddy Ethan, I realized that perhaps I should be training a little differently. See, I was what you would call a 'push runner'. Everytime I went out for a run, I'd push myself to the point that I was exhausted. Even my 3 mile recovery runs would be push runs.

Last spring I invested in a Polar heart rate monitor to help with my training. Honestly, at the time I really only wanted to see my speed/pace and distance ran. The heart rate features were nice to play around with, but I didn't get into them.

Long story short, Ethan told me he has been training by heart rate instead of pace or effort. I thought about this, and decided to do some research. In my quest for knowledge I picked up Advanced Marathoning by Pete Pfitzinger and Daniels Running Formula by Jack Daniels. Of course 2 chapters into Advanced Marathoning had me sold, and now I'm going to start training 'by the book'. That means I took last nights run A LOT easier than the previous 2 Tuesdays.

Let's compare.

6/9 Day 2
Miles 3.0
Time 24.13
HR Ave/Max 173/189
Running Index 46

Summary: Based on Pfitzingers theories, I was running in the Lactate Threshold and VO2 Max range the entire way.... not good!

6/17 Day 9
Miles 3.2
Time 29.30
HR Ave/Max 155/165
Running Index 49

Summary: This time around, I was running primarily in the Marathon Pace range ~9:13/mile. I think this is still a little high for a recovery run ... and I also hope my MP is a little faster than 9.13 ... :(

6/25 Day 16
Miles 3.2
Time 32.38
HR Ave/Max 145/156
Running Index 56

Summary: Finally, I was in the correct Recovery HR range < 76% MaxHR. The run felt TOO easy ... and I don't know that I feel any more recovered than before. However, I think that I will have more energy for tonights 5 miler.

So there is the data for now. I will hopefully know more in 2-3 weeks. I also hope this keeps me fresher for the upcoming St. Louis Joker's Wild Half Marathon in 2 1/2 weeks.

First Entry

This is the first entry for Running with a Purpose. I plan to give updates along my journey to the Chicago marathon. My big goal here is to eventually qualify for Boston, and then I can redetermine some new goals. For now, I want to see how training goes on the way to Chicago. The past 2 weeks have been great. My legs are feeling a little tired, however overall I feel good about my progress. Week 1 was 24 miles. Week 2 was 25 miles. This past Saturday we ran a 15k race in Peoria, IL (Steamboat Classic). The race was a lot of fun, however there was a 500ft hill right at the 2 mile marker that killed me. Obviously I will need to work on my hills...

So now everyone is caught up, and we can begin the journey. See you all soon.