Five At Fifty

Aerobic Test #3

2012-02-03T20:34:00.005-05:00

Completed my 3rd every-6-weeks aerobic test this week. Roughly 1.5 miles at several HR levels with 90 seconds standing rest in between. Made significant progress since the last one. Still only did 0.5 mile at the 170 level but much quicker than last time.

--- ---- --1-- --2- --3-
HR 130 9:14 9:13 8:39
HR 140 8:43 8:37 8:07
HR 150 7:55 7:56 7:36
HR 160 7:19 7:21 6:52
HR 170 ---- 7:07 6:20

Watchung not-so-Winter not-so-Ultra

2012-01-10T14:23:00.000-05:00

I ran the one-loop 10.7-mile version of the Watchung Winter Ultra race put on by NJ Trail Series on Saturday. My goal was to try and maintain around 160 HR and see if I could do that for the whole time. I guessed this might put me around 9-minute per mile pace or around 1:38 or so for the one loop around the Sierra trail that all the day's races were run on. Well I ended up running 1:38 and change for something like 9:04 pace overall... but nothing like I had planned. After a couple miles I was comfortably following two guys and HR was 160-2. Just like I wanted. Then for some unknown reason I decided to try and move up behind a bigger group that was 30-40 yards ahead. Soon after I passed the two guys I was with and started to try to gain on the bigger group we hit a long uphill. So not only did I not catch the group ahead I spiked my HR much higher than I should have. That would end up costing me. After 4 miles I was on 8:30 pace and that was too quick. The rest of the way I was passed by a bunch of runners including the two guys I should have stayed with. The last 2 miles or so my right calf began hinting at cramping and then actually cramped. Pretty clearly I could hve run the same overall time with a lot less effort had I been smarter about it. I'll see if I can be smarter at the FebApple race in February. Pretty much the same distance but at South Mountain instead of Watchung.

New Year's Day 5Ks (Yes, 2 of them!)

2012-01-01T15:09:00.001-05:00

Ran the Fair Lawn 1st Day 5k at 11:00 this morning with Will. He ran 23:08 and took 1st place for 10-14. Then we drove over to Wayne and did the Passaic County Runners Club Winter Series opener at 2:00. He ran 22:38 on a hilly course. Pretty good start to the year.

NYC Half

2011-12-20T14:36:00.000-05:00

Got into the NYC Half Marathon on March 18th via the lottery!

Aerobic Test #1

2011-12-16T14:51:00.000-05:00

Six weeks into my base period plan I did my first aerobic re-test. Here are the results compared with my initial pre-plan test...

HR 130 9:14 9:13
HR 140 8:43 8:37
HR 150 7:55 7:56
HR 160 7:19 7:21
HR 170 7:07

For the 170 interval this time I only ran half the prescribed distance. I stopped because I felt terrible and was not even able to get my HR up to 170. Only to about 165 or so. But I suppose that's an improvement on not running it at all. And I'm looking for any improvement since the test was pretty much flat compared to the initial test.

Thing is, though, I was sick for the 3 days before running the test and didn't do anything those days. Not sure why I felt the need to do he test right away. Should have waited until the following week after having gotten better and had a few rays of running back under my belt.

Let's see if we can be a little smarter six weeks from now.

Base Period Plan

2011-10-27T14:39:00.000-04:00

Weekly Base Period Plan (based on Max HR of 183)

Sat 1:30 Long on Trails HR 140-145
Sun 1:00 Recovery on Trails HR 130-135
Mon 1:15 Steady on Road or Path HR 150 (Start with short then the 75 minutes)
Tue 0:45 Recovery HR 130-135
Wed 1:00 Easy HR 135-140
Thu 1:15 Steady on Road or Path HR 150 (Start with short then the 75 minutes)
Fri 0:45 Easy HR 135-140

Before starting I did an aerobic test as prescribed by the plan. The test consists of running 2400 meters at HR 130, then 140, then 150, then 160, then 170 with 90 seconds standing rest between each interval. My initial test resulted in these paces at the given HRs...

130 9:14
140 8:43
150 7:55
160 7:19

I skipped the 170 interval because I didn't feel so good running even at 160.

We shall see how it goes.

2011 Re-cap

2011-10-23T14:33:00.000-04:00

Injuries kept me from running the 5th Avenue Mile this year so one try at the 5:00 mark at 50+ years old has passed. Starting a new training cycle with a base period of undetermined length. As Lydiard said: "for as long as necessary." Using a plan based on one described by John Hadd on Let's Run. HR-based and meant to develop the full range of the aerobic system over time. I'll describe it in more detail some time.

2011-06-06T10:54:00.002-04:00

Ran the Ridgewood and Tenafly 5ks this past week with Will. On Memorial Day in Ridgewood he took 1st place in the 9-year old and younger group with a 2 minute and 33 second PR of 22:58. On Sunday in Tenafly he took 1st place for 4th graders from Tenafly in 23:23. His goal had been to run under 24:00 this spring so he did it for both and even got under 23:00 for Ridgewood. His mile splits for Ridgewood were 7:40, 7:40, 6:46. It's a flat, fast course but it was very hot out. With better weather and more even pacing perhaps he could have gone even faster. The Tenafly course is a bit tougher with two non-trivial uphill sections and he didn't seem to be feeling as good as he did at Ridgewood but the weather was perfect. His mile splits were around 7:25, 7:50, 7:20, with a full out sprint at the downhill end.

May Update

2011-05-27T17:46:00.003-04:00

Finished up my extended base-building period after having to take 6 weeks off in February and March due to illness and then back spasms. Feel like I am now back to where I was at the end of January. Got in my two hill sessions this week: first with 5 reps of high knees and then with 6 reps. Next week shooting for 7 and then 8. Then it's two weeks of bounding and then 2 weeks of springing before a transition week and then into 1-mile type training with lots of 400 meter repeats etc.

A couple weeks ago ran the Wednesday night XC 5K for a second time this year at took 42 seconds off my first effort for a course PR of 19:48. Last year my best (well, only, actually) time on that course was 20:30 in mid-July. So I seem to be well ahead of last year, which is the plan. A week later I paced Will to a 25:28, 1:42 below his course PR of 27:10 from the previous week. The course wasn't even that fast as it was soaked from rain all week but it was perfect running weather as it was a bit cool with a bit of a mist coming down.

Planning on pacing Will through the Ridgewood 5K on Memorial Day and then perhaps racing the Tenafly 5k on my own the following Sunday. If so would be shooting for sub 19:00 with 18:36 (6:00 pace) as a stretch goal.

Easter Run with Scott Jurek

2011-05-12T11:26:00.000-04:00

Will and I did one loop (6.55 mile quarter marathon) around Van Cortland Park at the Easter Holiday Marathon. Scott Jurek was there jogging with the crowd. He jogged along with us for a bit and asked Will a bunch of questions. The course was mostly flat but had two hilly sections with pretty good climbs. Will did 1:07 (10:15 pace) for the loop.

Good Friday Grilled Cheese Run

2011-04-22T17:00:00.006-04:00

A 10-mile figure-8 loop around the northern reaches of the Palisades Interstate Park starting and ending at the State Line Lookout Cafe at the State Line Lookout area just south of Exit 3 of the Palisades parkway and going as far south as the Park Headquarters and the Closter Dock Trail via the "Giant Stairs" and two ascents of the 0.3-mile 540 foot Forest View Trail.

Probably 40% hiking and 60% running.

The starting and ending point: the not-yet-in-service seasonal water fountain behind the State Line Lookout Cafe at the State Line Lookout area just south of Exit 3 on the Palisades Interstate Parkway.

On the way down to the Hudson along the Shore Trail just over the New York border at the northern most point of the loop.

Further down the Shore Trail just above the falls known as Peanut Leap Cascade.

Looking back north from the low point of the Giant Stairs with the Tappen Zee Bridge (and a random hiker) in the background.

Typical sections of the Giant Stairs.

Southern end of the Giant Stairs.

View from the Women's Monument just south of the top of the Forest View Trail ascent.

The Women's Monument.

North-bound along the Upper Shore Trail.

The End.

XC 5K Series Begins

2011-04-21T15:35:00.002-04:00

The NJ Trail Series Wednesday night XC 5K series started up again last night. Ran 20:30 -- exactly the same time I ran last year sometime in July the one time I actually raced. Probably went out a little too fast and was sucking wind almost the whole way. Hoping I can take 1:00 off of this time by the end of the summer. Will ran 1:10 faster then he did for the 1st race last year even though he wasn't feeling good and had multiple stitches pretty much throughout. He improved by almost 2:00 from his first race to his last last year and I would think something similar might happen this year.

Long Layoff and Lost Brook Trail Race

2011-04-05T14:10:00.002-04:00

Had a somewhat long layoff for all of February and the 1st 2 weeks of March. Got sick for 10 days then had back spasm issues for 4 weeks. Finally got in 2 weeks of somewhat steady running leading up to the Lost Brook Trail Race that was held in the Tenafly Nature Center. Back in the fall I had harbored fantasies of running near 80 minutes for the 10-mile version of the race. As it was I ran the first 50-mile loop with Will and the second 5-mile loop on my own. Will did the 5 in 52:13. I did the second loop in 41:30. That would have been good for 6th place in the 5-mile race. (5th was 41:00... 4th was in the 37s... so might have been able to snag a top 5). Think a could have done 85:00 if had gone steady around 8:30 pace.

Muddy Marathon is at the end of the month so need to keep re-building the base and get in some big hills.

December and January Progress

2011-01-22T15:32:00.000-05:00

Much of December was low mileage (20/week or so) but good progress in January.

Long runs so far...

12 Home to Allison Park in Englewood Cliffs & Back via TNC & PIP Trails
10 Around Pyramid Mt St Park
10 Around South Mountain with NJ Trail Running Group
10.7 One Loop of the Watchung Winter Ultra (conditions too tough for 2nd loop attempt)
9.7 On the Treadmill

Could be more of that treadmill thing as snow on trails now must be measured in feet!

Recent Week.. All on Treadmill at 2% incline...

Sat Off
Sun 90 Min Treadmill Long (9.7 miles)
Mon 50 Min Treadmill Recovery (5.3)
Tue 50 Min Treadmill 15-min warm up, 30 min Steady State, 5 min cool down (5.8)
Wed 50 Min Treadmill Recovery (5.3)
Thur 50 Min Treadmill w/ 3 x Hills (5.4)
Tue 50 Min Treadmill 15-min warm up, 30 min Steady State, 5 min cool down (6.2)

340 minutes / 37.7 miles

Goal of Steady State runs is to get HR in 155-160 range for the 30 minutes.

Tuesday's run was on a Woodway treadmill at the gym. 2% incline was too much on this one. I think this treadmill is actually harder even with no incline compared to running outside on road or track. It has a very sot feel and really absorbs a lot of energy. Friday's was on home treadmill and speed got up to 8.2 mph and HR up to 155 at end. So need to recalibrate for gym treadmill and can go a bit faster at home.

Goal is to get these Steady State runs down to around 6:35 pace (9.2 mph) by end of February.

Plan for 2011

2010-12-20T15:06:00.000-05:00

Planned Training Plan

1. 12 weeks or so Aerobic Base Building through February. Trying to go longer. Maybe up to 14+ for long run. 40+ for week. Tuesday/Friday Steady State "workout" runs.

2. 6 weeks Hills. Tuesday/Friday hill workouts. 2 weeks each of High Knees, Bounding, then Springing.

3. 11 weeks 5k training based on the Younger Legs 5k plan.

4. 10 weeks 1-mile training leading into 5th Ave Mile in September.

Planned Races (Goal)

Apr Lost Brook 10-mile Trail Race, Tenafly Nature Center (Good Hard Effort - No Bonk!)
Apr Muddy Half Marathon (Avoid the DNF!)
Apr-Sep 5k Wednesday Cross Country Series (Mostly Tempo - Sometimes Racing)
Jun Tenafly 5k (6:00-pace)
Jun Bloomfield Sunset Classic 5-mile Road Race (Course PR: 31:20)
Aug Mahlon Mayhem 25k Trail Race (Start & Finish)
Sep Closter 5k (18:0?)
Sep 5th Avenue Mile (5:00 or better)
Oct Mountain Madness 25k (Start & Finish)

We'll see how it goes!

Fall 5Ks

2010-12-12T16:22:00.001-05:00

Ran a couple 5ks this fall. 19:31 in Norwood on a flat course. 19:22 in Montclair on a tough course. Was following the 11 week 5k plan pretty closely with a goal of running a final one in early December. But I got sick and just seemed like I needed a break after the Montclair race in mid-November. So just starting up again and will spend the winter base building.

5th Avenue Mile 2010

2010-09-27T11:35:00.002-04:00

Last year: 80, 91, 86, 85 for 5:42.

This year: 73, 81, 80, 79 for 5:14 (fractions rounded it up).

Was hoping to break 5:20 so very happy with this.

After the 5k 3 weeks ago did several 400m repeat workouts and one 800m repeat workout.

I guess they helped.

Doesn't look like I'll get to 5:00 before my 50th but the prospects are looking better for a post-50th 5:00 mile.

Closter 5k

2010-09-13T22:22:00.003-04:00

Well that 10-week 5k plan took more like 20 weeks and I probably only got in about 6 weeks worth of the workouts. On the Sunday of Labor Day weekend I ran the Closter 5k in 19:08. That is my fastest 5k time since just getting under 19 minutes at the 1986 Ridgewood 5k. Yes -- 1986.

5k Plan - Week 2

2010-05-20T14:09:00.000-04:00

The 6 x 3 minutes intervals were actually easier this week then the 8 x 2 minutes last week. Much more comfortable at the pace. Did the full form drill workout on Friday. None of the weird tiredness of last week.

Carlsbad 5k 10-week Program, Week 1

2010-05-17T10:34:00.001-04:00

I started the 10-week 5k program from the (now defunct, unfortunately) Younger Legs blog this week. I'm looking to run the Teterboro 5k on July 17th. It's run on the airport runway so you can't get much flatter than that. Though it's the middle of July so even at 8:00 a.m. it's likely to be somewhat hot. I got started a week later than I had planned so I will likely have to cut out one of the weeks (already breaking the rules, oh well) as there doesn't seem to be a convenient 5k on the weekend of the 24th.

The plan has 2 workouts each week -- Tuesday and Friday -- with the rest of the days being your usual recovery/distance/long run stuff.

The first week's workouts were of the "dipping your toe in the water" variety. Tuesday was intervals: 8 x 2 minutes @ 5k pace with 3 minutes jog recovery. The interval workouts work up towards a total of 15 minutes @5k pace. But there's a catch: the first 2 minutes of each interval don't count towards that total, as it takes 2 minutes to get up to VO2 max effort. So this first week counted for zero minutes. The marsh trail where I would normally do this type of workout is still closed for repairs following the big wind storm in the spring so I did this on the treadmill. I used 6:15 pace as my 5k pace based on my 5:39 mile earlier this spring. The first interval felt really, really fast at this pace on the treadmill. The intervals got easier up to about number 6, then 7 was about the same as 6, and 8 was tougher, and then it was over.

The Friday workout was 6 x 30 seconds up a hill at around mile race pace with 2.5 minutes jog/walk recovery. Again the first one was the toughest and by the 5th and 6th they started getting tougher.

The main thing I noticed from both of this was that I was quite exhausted the following day. Wednesday I did a usual 50-minute or so recovery run. Similar on Thursday. Saturday I was planning my long run. I never got to it because of ferrying the kids around but that was probably a good thing as I was pretty exhausted. Felt much better Sunday morning. Looking forward to week 2.

Cross Country 5k Series

2010-05-06T23:44:00.003-04:00

[Updated with more XC and 5k results.]

Have done a couple XC 5Ks with my son the past few weeks and he's looking to do one every other week or so throughout the summer. So far (and his complete 5k career)....

Closter Labor Day 5k (9) -- 25:56
Tenalfy 5k (8) -- 26:24
Week 9 XC Series 2010 (8) -- 26:56
Week 6 XC Series 2010 (8) -- 27:18
Week 3 XC Series 2010 (8) -- 28:08
Week 1 XC Series 2010 (8) -- 28:58

Sept 2008 (7) -- DNF, side stitch
July 2008 (6) -- DNF, blisters
June 2008 (6) -- 30:42

Muddy (Half) Marathon

2010-05-01T22:41:00.001-04:00

This thing was advertised as a trail race. There was no trail and it wasn't a race -- it was a survival test. The course was a 6.55 mile loop. The half version started along with the quarter marathon relay teams (everyone on the relay started at the same time and times were added). There were quite a lot of people.

The course turned out to be something like this...

Mile 1 -- From the start slightly downhill through the park and then steep downhill through grass and into the woods. Though not exactly -- it was really into the stream bed. Ankle deep water. Knee deep water. Ankle deep mud. Mid-calf deep mud. For a good distance. Then back onto a "trail" (all of the "trail" sections turn out to be very steep -- either steep up or steep down) and back towards the start where you climb up the back of a decades-old 40-foot high compost heap.

Mile 2 -- Back into the woods. Various terrain. Lots of rocks. Some stream beds. Second half is almost all up to the first aid station (in a sane event this is called a water stop).

Mile 3 -- Along a high trail then down through the woods and some boulder fields. The highlight of this mile is the rock climb. 80-feet (or so -- hard to judge, really) up a rock wall. When you get to the top you see that there is another section to go. Nice. Up until this point the trail was a big single file parade for the most part. The wall climb spreads everybody out. Most aren't in that much of a hurry any more.

Miles 4 & 5 -- Lot's of downhill scrambling through boulder strewn woods and uphill slogging (walking, really) up steep trails. Oh -- and some muddy stream beds, of course. This ends back at the aid station.

Mile 6 -- Starts off with a long downhill section on an actual trail. But then heads into a stream bed -- for a long time. Half a mile? Seems like it. And then it gets really interesting. A grassy. muddy bog with nearly knee-deep shoe-sucking mud. Seems like another half-mile of this. Must have been only a couple hundred yards though.

Last 0.55 Mile of 6.55 Mile Loop -- The end of the mud field and then back up the steep grassy hill we came down at the start. Walking, of course. Then jogging wen it flattens out back to the start/finish area.

First loop for me -- 1:48. Which beat the two hour time limit per loop. If you took more than 2 hours for any loop you got an official DNF. So now the question was: call it a day because am pretty exhausted and that first loop was actually fun or do the second one for no other reason than I was foolish enough to sign up for the half instead of the quarter. I see a guy who looks like every step is shooting giant needles of pain through his whole body. You doing another, I ask him, rhetorically. Sure, he says, let's go. So off we go.

The cramps start in on the rock wall climb. Inner thighs are the first to go. At one point I'm afraid I'm going to fall over backwards off the wall. I manage to haul myself up using mostly arms. Navigating the long downhill rock scramble every step on a non-smooth rock brings on a foot/arch cramp -- though the next step usual ends it or at least moves it to a different spot. I make it to the 5-mile aid station with 24 minutes to go to make the 2-hour cutoff for the second loop. Bad news, though -- the aid station is out of aid. Specifically, they are out of water. I've been downing pretty much my whole 3-liter pack between every stop. This is a problem. By the time I get to the final stream bed every step is an adventure. Every slip on a submerged rock causes tensing and cramping. In the mud field I can barely stand. Every step requires pulling your foot out of the mud with tremendous force and, of course, causes a cramp. I'm afraid that if a fall down (which I almost do, numerous times) I'll never be able to get back up. Somehow I get through the mud. I start walking up the last long hill. I cramp. I walk backwards for a while to use different muscles. Those cramp. I walk sideways to the left fro a bit. Cramp. Sideways to the right. Forward, again. Backward. Left. Right. I'm pretty dizzy but I make it to the top. A start to "jog". It's a couple hundred yards of swinging stiff legs out and around enough that some forward motion is produced. I finally cross the finish line and stop with hands on knees and both legs totally cramp. There are a whole bunch of people there. No one says a word. No one asks if I need anything. No one offers me some water. That last mile and a half took me 24 minutes - per mile. 2:12 for the second loop. I'm an official DNF.

20:04 5k

2010-03-28T16:37:00.000-04:00

Best 5k time in years but still somewhat disappointing. For some reason I thought I would be closer to 19 minutes. Didn't really feel that good. Probably didn't warm up enough... or spent too much time standing around after warming up. And it didn't help that the course was pretty tough... quite a bit of up and down for a suburban road 5k.

Looking Back 18 Months

2010-03-09T13:25:00.003-05:00

About 18 months ago I went out for a tempo run on the marsh trail near work. After the 1.25 mile warm-up jog a did 2.5 miles at just above 8-minute per mile pace for a 20-minute tempo run. I probably averaged around 8:02 per mile or something and it was most definitely too fast for a tempo run -- I was gassed at the end and had to walk and then sit down for a bit before jogging back to the gym.

Today I went out for a run on the marsh trail. After a brief half-mile jog to the trail -- we have a new gym in the neighborhood and it's a bit closer to the trail head -- a did 2 full 1.5-mile loops of the trail and the half mile back to the gym for 3.5 miles total all around 7:14 per mile pace. And it was an MP (marathon pace) run -- not a tempo -- with HR averaging just about 157, and a fairly easy one at that.

I think that qualifies as progress.

Time to Strengthen the Feet

2010-02-22T14:34:00.006-05:00

I currently wear big 'ol cushioned supportive trainers. New Balance 769s. I bought some light-weight New Balance 905 trainers to use for indoor racing. To break them in a wore them for about 15 minutes at the start of a treadmill recovery run and then switched back to my usual trainers. Oh, my... my usual trainers are really heavy and feel like crap! Now not only do I wear big 'ol cushioned shoes but I also wear them with prescription orthotics and I leave the shoe's original insole in place. Can't have too much "protection', right! I got to this point because it was the only way I could run without the pain from bunions forcing me to stop. And it's worked. But the downside is that my feet have grown progressively weaker. So... time for some foot strengthening. Here's my to do list...

1. Incorporate foot strengthening exercises into weekly routine.
2. Incorporate diagonals into weekly routine. Maybe some barefoot or in socks on turf.
3. Continue experimenting with lighter weight trainers.
4. Maybe take the original insoles out of my trainers.

Take it all slowly... my feet are in no shape to go trail running in Vibrams... at least not yet.

5:39

2010-02-12T14:17:00.000-05:00

Got myself to the Feb 11 meeting of the NYRR's Thursday Night at the Races at the Armory in NYC. Was planning on trying an 800m but got there earlier in the program than I expected and so opted for the mile rather than hanging around for 2 hours or so. It was still 45 minutes plus of standing around and trying to stay loose without wasting energy. Back when I had planned on one of these indoor meets to be the end of a 6-month "season" I had hoped to put up a 5:30 mile or the equivalent around this time. But I was sick between Thanksgiving and Christmas and so spent January getting back on my feet and so I'm really just at the beginning of a base building phase. And I had been in all-day meetings for 3 straight days. And had just come down with a bad case of some sort of stomach virus or something. And I swear the sun got in my eyes even though it was indoors at night. And how that rock got onto the Mondo track surface I'll never know. The splits were something like 43,43,43,42,42,42,42,41+1 for each 200m lap with that 1 through in for the last 9 meters or whatever. I wasted a bit of energy trying to get into position early to run 41s but the guys in front of my would just speed up if I tried to pass so that was a waste for all of us. So all consider 5:39 wasn't too bad. Last year at this time I ran 5:42... for 1500m. So that's a pretty good year-over-year improvement. Should be able to go quite a bit faster outdoors in June at the business end of this training cycle.

Two Solid Weeks

2010-02-05T19:38:00.005-05:00

Got in two solid weeks of training since the 10k trail run. Last week I did 6 out of 7 days, leaving out Tuesday's MP run. This week I've done...

Sun 7 miles on the trails
Mon 4.75 Recovery on TM in 46 Min with 2% incline and 6.5 mph top speed
Tue 4 with 2.5 MP, didn't feel that great
Wed 5.75 easy on snowy technical trails that took over an hour
Thu 4.25 MP on TM in 35 Min top speed 8.4 (7:08)
Fri 4.75 Recovery on TM in 44 Min with 2% incline and 6.8 mph top speed

So that's 30.5 this week with tomorrow to go. Already my biggest week ever. The plan is to get outside and do 3 or 4 easy with some 10-second leg speed accelerations but it's suppose to snow tonight so that may not be possible.

I'm going to start enforcing a 70% week every third week so this coming week will be one of those. Plan for the coming week...

Sun 5.75 Easy on trails
Mon 3 MP
Tue 4 Recovery on TM
Wed Rest
Thu NYRR Thursday Night at the Races at the Armory, 800m + 4
Fri 4 Recovery on TM
Sat 3 Easy with leg speed accelerations

Goal for the 800m is 38,38,38,?. I final 36 for 2:30 would be nice. We shall see.

I'm also down to 155 lbs. Trying to get to 150 come Memorial day. Haven't been below 154 or so in many, many years.

NJ Winter Trail Series 10K

2010-01-26T15:56:00.003-05:00

Ran the 10k at the 1st NJ Winter Trail Series event this weekend in Lewis Morris Park in Morristown. It was two loops of a 5k (really, 3-mile) course. A ran the first loop fairly hard and then waited for a friend and ran 2 miles with him and then ran the last (downhill) mile as hard as possible. Held off a 26-year old over the last 100 yards to the finish. Felt good to run hard again.

Watchung Winter (Not Quite) Ultra

2010-01-13T16:08:00.004-05:00

A little over one year ago I came across the 1st Annual Watchung Winter Ultra (WWU) trail run while searching for trail races in New Jersey. Never having done a trail race I wanted to give it a try. The WWU came in two flavors: marathon and 50k. Both option way too long for me but they were both based on a main 10-mile loop course through the Watchung Reservation near where I grew up and that sounded like it would be within my range. When the day came, however, it had snowed a good amount the night before, was really cold and windy, and not having pre-registered or arranged to go with anybody else I opted to stay in bed.

This year I convinced a couple others to come along with me and do one loop of the course and so despite the snow and cold I got myself up around 5:00 a.m. and headed out to meet up with my group. The run had grown tremendously from the 1st year and there were something like 170 or so people registered. From the results page it looks like around 125 made it to the starting line... it was a pretty big group for 8:00 a.m. and 19 degrees on a Saturday morning in January in New Jersey.

The course started with a long downhill section over icy "steps" and other icy terrain. The first mile or so was pretty slow going. After that, though, the footing was much better, though still snowy trail going up and down quite frequently. The 10-mile loop turned out to be around 10.7. One of my friends had it at around 1,300 feet of up and down on his 705. I held things together pretty good for 8 miles running just behind one of my friends. After that, though I was good and bonked. Had to stop to stretch and recover several times in the last 2 miles and finished in 1:57 or so. I was guessing it would be between 1:50 and 2 hours. So I was pretty happy with the time given that I was sick between Thanksgiving and Xmas and didn't run at all and had just a couple of weeks of very easy running under my belt since then.

Overall it was a great experience. My fingers were quite cold for the first mile or so but then warmed up fine. At the end I took off my knit cap to find that it was encrusted with what seemed like a pound of ice -- but I hadn't even noticed that while running. I had so much fun, in fact, that yesterday I went out for 8 miles through the trails near my house. I've lived in the same place for 10 years and had never run those trails before. I guess I've got the trail bug now.

And I should mention that 10.7 miles is the furthest I've ever run. Ever. Maybe next year I'll be ready to do the whole Ultra thing. We'll see.

Back To It

2009-12-29T14:14:00.002-05:00

After 4 weeks of colds, sinus infections, and hamstring issues I got back to some running this past week. I finally figured out that the hamstring thing was not a strain but spasms. I've been doing certain stretches as described on the Younger LEgs blog both pre- and post-running and it has helped reduce the problem. A couple more weeks of just "running" and I should be ready to get back to "training".

Downtime

2009-12-04T13:54:00.002-05:00

After successful base-building and hill/resistance periods where I steadily progressed from the slow end of my training ranges to the fast end I began the anaerobic/sharpening phase. After my first tempo run I ended up with a sore quad during the following day's recovery run. A couple days of ice fixed that up. After the next week's tempo effort I came down with a cold. For a week. Coincidence? Now that the cold is over I tried an easy jog and my left hamstring tightened up. I need ot take next week off for other reasons so it's no going to be almost a month long or longer break at the least. I had planned on running a 5k on Thanksgiving morning but that was right in the middle of my week-long cold so I had to skip that. Based on my training and other factors I was hoping to run about 19:10. Hopefully I'll get back to some running mid-December and be able to start a new training cycle with the New year.

49th

2009-11-02T11:14:00.002-05:00

With the return of Standard Time and light before 6:00 a.m. it was a lot easier than it has been to get out of bed and out for an early morning run. Did my recent standard 6.5 mile long run with a 0.7 mile hill just after mile 2. Pushed it pretty good and was appropriately leg heavy by the end.

Last week I did one session of hill springing that seemed to go very well. No issues with my feet. The workout itself was one of the more tiring things I've done in a while. It exhausts every muscle involved in running: calves, quads, hamstrings, and, perhaps most importantly, hip flexors. I ended up doing 3 circuits of my hill course. I only got in one session as we had torrential rains on the day I was going to first try this and springing up wet leave-covered pavement did not seem sensible, at least not for an initial attempt. This week I'll try to get in 2 sessions of 4 repetitions.

Chiropractic, Hill Bounding, and Recent Progress

2009-10-28T10:38:00.007-04:00

Since soon after running in the 5th Avenue Mile four and a half weeks ago I've been seeing my chiropractor twice a week. I had been having discomfort in my very lower right back for some time and it seemed to have gotten worse. Turned out I had a very stressed out iliolumbar ligament due to a leftward tilt to my spine and a downward tilt on the right side of my pelvis. At this point it's about 95% corrected.

At my last visit he did something different: he adjusted my feet. I've always had tight ankles and I regularly do the stretch where you sit back on your ankles and press the soles of your feet to the ground to stretch your foot and ankle. I can only do this with shoes on though as the shoes provide a barrier and you have to press pretty hard to get some stretching. If I try it barefooted it's too much of a stretch and too painful right off the bat. The foot adjustment involved him digging his thumbs into various parts of my ankle and foot and then banging/slapping the foot on a padded board contraption thingy. My feet and ankles felt remarkably better immediately after. But still have a ways to go.

Also over the weeks since the 5th Avenue Mile I have moved through my new training paces starting at the tops of the ranges and progressing down to the bottoms of the ranges while maintaining a consistent HR profile. I've been doing a long run and two days of hill drills and the rest recovery pace or easy pace at most. I've done high knee repeats up the hill and hill bounding. It took until about the third session to get the bounding right. The first session I was striding too far up the hill rather then pushing off correctly. The second session I cut down the striding but didn't have the push off quite right. About the middle of the third session it seemed to suddenly all come together and I got the knack of it -- I think. I haven't tried hill springing yet. I'm a little leery of that one due to bunions of my big toes. Over flexing them can be quite painful. I will at least try a gentle version but these may just not be for me.

Based on recent progress I should just about be able to cover 2 miles in a 12-minute Cooper Test. Haven't tried to do that since college when we had to cover at least that during the first week of soccer practice each year. Back then I could cover very close to 2.25 miles in 12 minutes. Just getting to 2 would be great right now though. Perhaps I'll attempt a time trial in the next week or so... maybe on Monday... which is my 49th.

First 30-mile week... Ever

2009-10-16T14:44:00.002-04:00

Sunday 5.0 Fartlek
Monday 6.5 Long and hilly
Tuesday 4.5 Recovery in 40 minutes on TM, HR @ 135
Wednesday 4.5 High knees uphill x 5 plus WU & CD
Thursday 5.0 Easy in 41:50 on TM, HR @ 145
Friday 4.5 Hill bounding x 4 + Wu & CD

Week 30.0

First Hill Workout Week and Rest of Year Plan

2009-10-07T11:19:00.005-04:00

Started the week with 90 minutes of soccer. I'm just about to the point where I can run as much as needed for the whole 90 and still be able to function. Just about. But not quite. Last 10 minutes or so included a lot of tired passes to no one in particular. Afterward felt pretty good though. Tired, but not exhausted. I count these games as 5 miles of fartlek, but it sure seems like more.

Monday morning I did what has become my standard long run for the last month: 2 miles mostly somewhat down then a bit somewhat up, 0.65 mile hill with one down section and one flat section but mostly steeply up, 0.6 mile gradually down, 0.65 down, 0.6 flat back to start of hill, then the initial 2 miles back. That's 6.5 total. I can cut the hill loop down a bit and fashion this into 7 or 7.5, etc. Eventually doing 2 complete hill loops for 9 total.

Tuesday I did a 40-minute recovery run on the treadmill. 1% elevation. Started at 5.0 mph and increased 0.1 mph every minute until my HR was at 135. That took 20 minutes so I was then at 7.0. Held that for 5 minutes. At that point HR was up to 139 so went down to 6.9. Held that for the remaining 15 minutes. HR went back to 135 for most but up to 137 for the final few minutes.
Covered 4.25 miles in the 40 minutes. Interestingly that's a 9:24.7 average pace. Based on my recent 1-mile race result and using the McMillan calculator the high (slow) end of my recovery run pace should be 9:25. Nice. A month and a half ago or so I did this same run and ended up around 6.0 mph for a 135 HR. Good progress then.

Today I did my first hill workout. I used a 150 meter hill that is 80 meters up, 40 meters flat, and 30 meters up. The up parts are pretty steep. To get back to the bottom it's about 0.3 mile that goes flat for something less then 0.1 mile, down for something less then 0.1 mile, and gradually down for the rest. So the whole loop is about 0.4 mile. I did 4 loops of flat-footed high-knees on the steep sections of the hill with recovery jogging on the loop. Along with warm up and cool down recovery pace jogging. By the top of each of the 80-meter initial sections the knees weren't so high. Same with the top of the 30-meter section after a brief respite on the 40-meter flat. So it seemed about right for the first time out.

The plan for the next few weeks is to do 2 hill sessions a week like this...

High knees both days
High knees one day / Hill bounding one day
Hill bounding both days
Hill bonding one day / Hill springing one day
Hill springing both days

Then a recovery week leading into a hilly 5k.

After that it's 8 weeks or so an anaerobic period. For the first 4 weeks I'll do a progression run and a tempo run, for the second 4 weeks I'll do a long interval workout every 6th day. This will lead into a 5k on January 1st and the an indoor mile or 1500m on January 7th and then end with a 10-mile trail "race" on January 9th.

And then 2 weeks off.

At least that's the plan.

September Re-Cap

2009-10-07T11:10:00.002-04:00

Finished up my aerobic base period in September with weeks of

28.5
25.75
29
22.75

The 1st week started with a Labor Day 5k and the 3rd week ended with the 5th Avenue Mile. Yes, you shouldn't be racing during aerobic base building but it was fun.

That's also more than 100 for 4-weeks which is a first.

Next up: hill work. We'll see how that goes.

5th Avenue Mile

2009-09-26T22:37:00.005-04:00

Ran the 5th Avenue Mile today for the first time with these 1/4 mile splits...

1:20 down
1:31 up
1:26 down
1:25 flat

... for a 5:42 by my watch.

Official results have me at 5:45.

If I want to make the first part of my stated goal I'll need to carve 45 seconds off of this for next year's edition. Around this time last year I could probably have done about a 6:30. So that's 45 seconds off in a year. Could that be done two years in a row? I missed about 4 months of training last year so with a good consistent year of training it might be possible. If not I'll be out on the track self-timing one mile on November 1st sometime near midnight.

Labor Day "5k"

2009-09-08T11:04:00.002-04:00

Ran the Closter Labor Day 5k with these splits...

6:28 1st Mile
6:42 2nd Mile
6:03 Last 0.92 miles

So that's 19:13 for a 2.92 mile "5k".

The calculators say that's a 20:30 5k equivalent, which was what I was shooting for and what I seemed to be on pace for so I'm counting it that way.

August Re-cap

2009-09-05T10:58:00.001-04:00

Added another 27.5 mile week and then two 20-mile weeks that included a 7-day stretch where I only ran 2 days. That was a combination of vacation travel, getting a bit of a head cold from that vacation travel, and waking up one morning barely able to get out of bed with back spasms. But then everything cleared up and I had some nice easy runs leading up to trying a 5k on Labor Day.

27.5-mile Week

2009-08-16T15:38:00.002-04:00

Last week looked like this:

6 Long
4 Recovery (slower than 10:00 pace on TM)
4.5 Paced friend to 23:43 5k + warm-up and cool-down
5 "Easy" (41 minutes)
Off Day
4 Easy
4 Fartlek

27.5 total

Pretty sure that's my biggest week in over 20 years.

Aerobic Base Building

2009-07-16T15:34:00.001-04:00

Spending the summer months on the aerobic base. Aiming to get up to a 28 mile week like this:

6 Long
4 Recovery
3 MP
5 Easy
3 MP
4 Recovery
3 Fartlek

The fartlek run will just be an easy pace run with 10-second leg speed strideouts thrown in every half mile or so.

Spring Re-cap

2009-06-16T15:32:00.000-04:00

Spent most of the spring trying to get over shin splints and then fighting allergies every time I ran outside. None too productive.

10k Plan Week 8

2009-02-28T11:57:00.002-05:00

This week was meant to be a down week and it became somewhat of a rest week except...

Sun: Rest
Mon: Gym
Tue: Tried new dynamic warm up followed by easy TM running but left quad tightened after 1.75 miles.
Wed: 3 Easy on TM. No issues.

Thu: Ran 1500m and 800m at NYRR Thursday Night at the Races at the Armory in NYC. 5:42 for 1500m. Equivalent of 6:09 mile or so. Was hoping for 6:00 mile equivalent so a bit disappointing. Given recent issues, though, I guess it was OK. For the 800 I tried to go out at 5:00 mile pace just to see how long I could hold it. Not long it turns out. Faded badly to finish in 2:53. Might have been something like: 37, 41, 44, 49. Was thoroughly beaten by a guy celebrating his 70th birthday and just out for a 2:39 "jog".

Fri: 5 Easy outdoors through the marsh trail.

Sat: Rest

10k Plan Week 7

2009-02-22T11:49:00.000-05:00

Sun: 10 miles on the treadmill. 45 min for 5, then 44 min for 5 after a quick break.

Mon: Gym

Tue: 6 mile progression run on TM.

Wed: 30 min (3 miles or so) easy on TM.

Thu: 20 min tempo run at 8.2 on TM. Was supposed to be 30 min or so (4 miles). Didn't feel so great. Right shin splint still a bit of an issue.

Time to reassess.

Fri & Sat: Rest

10k Plan Week 6

2009-02-15T15:38:00.003-05:00

Sunday was meant to be a 10-miler but as I was just getting over (or so it seemed) a bit of shine splint discomfort I opted for an easy 5 on the treadmill. No real issues. Continued with ice on the shine after and in the evening.

Monday morning I got in the 10-miler on the treadmill. 45 minutes for the first 5 with most of it at 6.9 after a slow build up over 15 minutes. Took a brief break and did the 2nd half in 46 minutes after slowing the speed down a bit over the final 15 minutes or so. Shin still needs some ice at night.

Tuesday nothing.

Wednesday was 45-minute 5-mile progression run on the treadmill ending at 7.3. Ice before bed.

Thursday I got in the first gym workout since my left hip flexor had tightened up one day last week. Later that night, though, that hip flexor was even tighter and more tender then last week. Oops.

Friday was supposed to be 4x0.5M intervals. I did my warm-up and the hip seemed fine so I gave it a shot (though my HR got up to 147 after the warmup -- lately it's been around 135 or so after my standard 15 minute warm-up)I got about halfway through the first interval and the treadmill -- not my hip -- gave out. It wouldn't/couldn't maintain the pace. I switched to another and had the same problem. So had to switch to the last evailable treadmill and luckily it held the pace (9.2/6:31) fine. I finished the second half of the 1st interval at HR of 166. After a 0.25 jog at 5.0/12:00 pace my HR was down to 147. After the 2nd interval it was 180. Hmmm... I thought my max HR was 178. After the 0.25 jog it was down to 154. After the 3rd interval it was 182. At this point I decided to skip the 4th interval. I probablty just should have cut the pace a bit. Oh well. I probably shuold have done a bit less pace and a bit less rest. Maybe just 2:00 of rest or so. On the plus side afterwood and later that evening both the hip and the shin felt better than they had all week. Almost 100%.

Saturday I got outside for an easy 3-mile recovery run.

So 5+10+5+4+3=27 miles for the week. Next week is 29 like this...

Sunday 10 Long
Monday 4 Recovery
Tuesday 5 Progression
Wednesay Rest
Thursday 6 w/4 at Tempo Pace
Friday 4 Recovery

10k Plan Week 5

2009-02-06T10:47:00.002-05:00

It was in the mid-40s Sunday afternoon so I went outside for my 9-miler. Going out was fine but after turning around the wind picked up and made things quite difficult. Thankfully the sun was in front of me and still strong so I was warm... but I was soon pretty well bonked out. What took less than 40 minutes out took around 45 back. Maybe going out at 2:30 after only eating a crumb bun at 9 am was a bad idea.

Monday my plan was to do just a 30-minute recovery run on the treadmill but I felt so good I ended up doing a 45-minute "recovery run" on the treadmill.

Tuesday I actually got up out of bed and ran before work (quite a milestone, actually). Did a 45-minute progression run ending with 5 minutes at 7.3 (8:13). The run felt great but by the time I got to work my left hip flexor was extremely tight and sore. Lot's of ice and some very light stretching before bed.

Wednesday it was much better but still a bit sore and a bit tight. More ice and light stretching before bed.

Thursday felt pretty good. Got in a 30-minute 4-mile tempo run mostly at 8.2 (7:19). Hip flexor felt fine. But later my right inner shin had some shin splint like soreness. More ice and light stretching.

So that's 24 for the week... the most since I also did 24 the week prior to my 5k in November.

After 2 days of rest (and hopefully no sore spots) next week looks like this...

Sunday: 10 Long (first ever 10-miler)
Monday: 4 Recovery
Tuesday: 5 Easy/Progression
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 5 including 4x800 intervals @ 3:16
Friday: 3 Recovery
Saturday: Rest

Total: 27 miles

VDOT 47.0

2009-01-31T00:08:00.000-05:00

Completed a Cooper Test (12-minute run) on the treadmill at 9.2 mph and 1% incline covering 1.84 miles. That works out to a VDOT of 47.0. Next month's goal is to run 6:00 for a mile on February 26th at the NYRR Thursday Night at the Races at the Armory in New York.

Boring Update

2009-01-29T23:48:00.001-05:00

Since getting back into things after being sick for 4 days I've had some really good runs. On my easy runs my HR has been much lower then even just a week ago and I had a nice tempo run on the treadmill yesterday: 3 miles at 7:24 pace.

First 3 Weeks of 10K Plan

2009-01-26T09:49:00.002-05:00

The first 2 weeks were pretty solid, including my first interval workout in I don't know how long (10 years, at least). Everything was on the treadmill as it's been like 5 degrees out some days. We were in Florida for a brief vacation so I was able to start week 3 with my first 9-miler (ever!) in a nice 64 degree morning breeze around Boca Raton. The pace was negative the whole way and almost like a progression run ending at around 8:15 or so at the end. Got in an easy 5 the next day and then got sick. I always get sick during or soon after traveling so I'm going with that hypothesis (rather than over-training -- which I don't think was the case). That put me on the shelf for 4 days until a got in an easy 5 on Saturday to end the week at 19 miles. It was supposed to be 24 -- I missed the tempo run on Thursday -- but since this coming week is a down week I'll put the tempo run in this week.

December Recap

2009-01-03T15:39:00.001-05:00

With a planned week off after my November 5k my weekly milage for the last week of November through December was 12, 17, 3 (caught the flu for a few days), 17, 15, 17. I'm going to start a 16-week 10k training plan with a Sunday long run tomorrow. I'm not really ready for racing indoors so I think I'm back to a 2-season year -- at least for this go 'round. I plan to run a mile at the last Thursday Night at the Races at the Armory in late February. Likely in heat 10-of-ten or something as I'll probably be lucky to break 6 minutes.

Indoor Season Kickoff

2008-12-03T12:54:00.002-05:00

I had originally planned on doing 2 24-week "seasons" per year (straight out of Daniel) but I now plan on 3 "seasons" per year: a July-Nov fall season, a Dec-Feb winter/indoor season, and a March-June spring season. After taking a week off after my mod-Nov 5k I did an easy 50% week (12 miles over 4 sessions) and I'm now in the midst of an easy 75% week. I started with one hour on the treadmill Sunday (6.7 miles) and a 20-minute treadmill recovery jog on Monday. Tuesday I had planned on an easy 4 miles on the treadmill but my pulse was way too high so I cut it back to another 20-minute recovery jog. A lot of coughing going on at home so maybe I'm on the verge of something. I'll likely skip running the next two days and try for an easy 4-miler again on Friday.

McMillan Running Dot Com

2008-12-03T12:45:00.003-05:00

Lot's of good info and an interesting calculator at www.mcmillanrunning.com. I like the ranges given for the various paces and the "equivalent" times for various race distances seem more realistic then Daniel's.

Montclair Goodwill 5k

2008-11-17T13:55:00.002-05:00

Ran 21:35 for the Montclair Goodwill 5k on Saturday. Split were something like 6:28, 6:58, 7:28. Tried to go slow for the first mile but it was somewhat downhill and everyone else was just booking. And I forgot to charge my Garmin so that was of no use. The second half of the second mile was uphill and it got the best of me. Overall though it was a success. The goal I set for this was several months ago was sub 7:00 pace and I did 6:57 so that was great. Time for a week or two off and then more endurance work and some indoor racing perhaps.

Upcoming 5k

2008-11-09T21:44:00.003-05:00

I plan to run a 5k this coming Saturday and then call it a season and take a week or two off. Just going to do a couple easy runs Tuesday and Thursday this week. Feeling a little run down right now so hoping an easy week will leave me rested for the race. We shall see.

6 months in, 2 years to go...

2008-11-03T15:25:00.003-05:00

... and things have gone pretty well...

1. Have been running regularly and getting fitter.
2. Have gone from 168 pounds (in January) to 157.
3. Despite the aches and pains haven't had any real injuries (knock, knock, knock).
4. Have generally taken it slow and steady -- except perhaps for the last two weeks.
5. Have gotten in several 8-mile runs -- tying my longest ever -- and was still able to run the next day.

Some possible goals for the next 6 months (and a bit more) ...

1. Work up to 14 or 15 miles for long run.
2. Run to work one morning (14+).
3. Run some indoor races in January or February (NJ USATF Masters Indoor 2/28).
4. "Qualifiy" for the Ridgewood Masters One Mile by running 5:30 before Memorial Day.
5. Run a series of sub-7-minute pace races: 5k, then 10k, then 15k or 10 miles.
6. Run 21:00 (6-minute pace) for 3.5 mile Chase Corporate Challenge in June.

And take it slow and easy (which probably eliminates number 4 -- and maybe number 6 as well).

Another year, another half dozen aches and pains...

2008-11-02T15:13:00.001-05:00

1. Slight strain of right hamstring playing soccer this morning.
2. Soreness in left quad from overly aggressive tempo run last week.
3. General soreness in both big toes due to bunions.
4. Left shoulder tenderness causes left biceps tightness while running.
5. Right shoulder not much better.
6. Some tendenitis-like feelings along outside of left knee.

VDOT Correction

2008-10-31T11:16:00.003-04:00

The online calculator at http://www.runworks.com/ seems to have a bug in it. The 2:50 0.5 mile trial that I did recently should come out as a VDOT of 46.4 not 48.1. So I guess I have been overdoing it for a couple weeks.

That also means that my outside goal of 21:00 for an upcoming 5k is likely right on.

Tempo Madness

2008-10-30T15:16:00.002-04:00

So after establishing a new VDOT via a 2:50 1/2 mile I've now got in about two weeks of trying out the new paces. I've done 2 8-mile long runs at 8:30 or so (somewhat quicker out, as it's slightly downhill, somewhat slower back). No problems there. I've also done 2 tempo runs. The first went like this: 7:04 pace for 8 1/4 minutes, 7:32 pace for next 8 3/4 minutes. Total of 17 minutes and an overall 7:20 pace. The pace was supposed to be 7:02. The duration was supposed to be 20 minutes. This was done on the road/sidewalk so you could say the footing wasn't that great -- but footing wasn't the issue. Part of the issue was that I probably ran the first few minutes at around 6:50 pace and then just slowed from there. So today I did the tempo run on the treadmill. Did the whole 20 minutes at 8.5 mph (7:03 pace) with the incline at 2% for the 1st 10 minutes, then 1.5% for 2.5, 1.0% for 2.5, and 0.5% for the last 5 minutes. At the 10-minute mark my HR was 170. At the 15-minute mark it had dropped to 165. After the full 20 minutes it had dropped to 160 -- which is pretty much exactly the 90% of max HR that a tempo run should be at. If it's not too cold next Thursday I'll try the tempo run outdoors on the flat cinder marsh loop. The week after that I plan running a 5k race. Originally I was planning on shooting for a 7:00 pace with 21:00 as on outside long-shot goal. Now maybe I'll shoot for 6:30 pace with 20:00 as a long-shot. Or maybe I'll blow up and run 23:00. We will have to see.

1st All-Out Time Trial

2008-10-22T11:58:00.002-04:00

Did my first all-out time trial on the marsh trail last week. I meant to do 1-mile but went out way too fast and cut it off after 1/2 mile. Mostly because I had stopped breathing at the 0.4 mile mark. Ended up with 1:16/1:34 splits for a 2:50 1/2 mile. That works out to a 48.1 VDOT. I had been training at 43.0. Not sure I want to jump my pace up that much in training. The easy/long pace is likely fine -- it's 8:30 and I did 8 miles Monday at 8:13 out and 8:34 back (it's a bit downhill out and then uphill back) -- but the tempo pace is likely too much. I'll give it a shot tomorrow on a controlled treadmill run and see how it goes.

Progress History

2008-10-22T11:35:00.019-04:00

VDOT history. Most recent on top.

[Scroll down. I have no idea why all the blank space is here.]

*Date*	*Distance*	*Time*	*VDOT*	*Mile ~*	*Comments*
9-26-10	1 Mile	5:14	56.4	5:14	5th Avenue Mile
9-5-10	5k	19:08	52.5	5:35	Closter 5k
3-21-10	5k	20:04	49.6	5:52	Hillsdale Rover and Clover 5k
2-11-10	1 m	5:39	51.8	5:39	NYRR Thursday Races
9-26-9	1 m	5:45	50.8	5:45	5th Ave Mile
9-6-9	5 k	20:30	48.4	5:55	Closter Labor Day 5k
2-26-9	1500m	5:42	47.0	6:09	NYRR Thursday Night at the Races at the Armory in NYC.
1-30-9	1.84 M	12:00	47.0	6:10	Cooper Test on the treadmill. 12 minutes at 9.2 mph (6:31/mile) and 1% incline.
11-15-8	5 k	21:35	45.6	6:20	Montclair Goodwill 5k
10-16-8	0.5 M	2:50	46.4	6:14	1st all-out trial. 1:16/1:34 splits. On the marsh trail.
9-2-8	1.18 M	8:00	43.0	6:40	Treadmill 9.0 mph, 2% incline 8:00 trial.
7-9-8	1.14 M	8:00	41.2	6:54	Treadmill 8.7 mph 2% incline 8:00 trial.
6-18-8	2.5 M	19:22	39.5	7:10	Final 2.5 miles of 3.5 mile Corporate Challenge in Central Park.
5-2-8 47y6m	0.5 M	3:30	37.8	7:29	Initial not-all-out-at-all trial on the sidewalk at the end of an easy 3-mile run.

Will update this post every 6 weeks or so.

October Starts Well

2008-10-02T22:46:00.002-04:00

Started October with a T-pace run on the treadmill at lunch time like this: 15-minute warmup going from 5.5 to 6.5 mph up 0.1 each minute then 5 minutes at 6.5, 20-minute T-pace run at 7.7 mph (7:47 pace), 5-minute cooldown. The warm-up and the first 15 minutes of the Tempo run were at 2% incline. I went down to 1.5% at 15 minutes, 1% at 18 minutes, and 0.5% at 19-minutes. I had planned to do a 10-minute easy run before the 5-minute cooldown but was pretty spent. The good thing was that I got through the whole 20 minutes without anything tightening up. The better thing was that afterwards I recovered very quickly and felt really energized the rest of the day. Probably the first time I've felt energized by a run since I started running regularly again.

September Re-Cap

2008-10-02T22:25:00.002-04:00

After that first week I got in an 8-miler the second week -- only the second 8-miler of my life, so I've tied my longest ever run record -- that was liekly a bit much but my easy 5-miler 2 days later was a big improvement from the disaster of the previous week.

My Sunday soccer league picked up again so for a while my basic week will be: soccer on Sunday, 30-minute recovery run Monday, long run Tuesday, gym workout Wednesday, T-pace run Thursday, maybe a gym workout on Friday, Saturday running around with the kids at soccer practices.

The 3rd week, though, we took a vacation and did some biking. I did a 9-mile ride the day before we left and we did a 35-mile ride one day and 38 the next. I did an easy 3.5 mile run the day after that.

The 4th week I followed my proscibed pattern from above except that the Tuesday long run was only 5 miles. For the tempo run on Thursday I only made it through 17 of the 20 minutes as my left quad started to tighten.

This last week I got in a 7.2-mile run on the boardwalk (mostly) in Atlantic City. About 8:20 pace for the first half (30 minutes) and 8:28 for the second (30 minutes, 30 seconds).

September Starts Stupidly

2008-09-05T16:08:00.000-04:00

Started things off with a 7-mile medium paced run on Labor Day. That went pretty well. So the next day I did a treadmill pace trial: 15 minutes easy warm-up, 8 minutes at 9.0 MPH and 2% incline, 15 minutes easy cool down. That middle part worked out to 1.18 miles in 8 minutes for a VDOT of 43 and an estimated 1-mile pace of 6:40.

It was probably a bit faster than I should have gone. My left quad was sore for the two following days. The bigger problem, though, was that I then gave blood that evening. That really seems to have wiped me out. More so than usual. I tried an "easy" 5-miler two days later and it was a disaster. Have to see how I feel in a day or two.

August Re-Cap

2008-08-31T15:59:00.000-04:00

After taking the first two weeks of August off completely I managed a 12-mile week and then an 18-mile week. Nothing longer then 5 miles. Just what I was supposed to do.

Treading Water

2008-08-21T00:08:00.002-04:00

August started with some planned minor surgery and a 2-week layoff.

Got the Ok to resume running and so plan on 3 weeks of easy running: a 50% week this week, a 75% week next, and then back to where I was at the end of July. And that will be it for August.

July Re-Cap

2008-08-03T23:30:00.002-04:00

July marked the start of my first 24-week "season". The goal will be pretty much to build a base, add some T-pace running after a bit, increase the length of my weekly long tun, make some progress on monthly (roughly) 1-mile time trials, and get in a couple 5K races, probably Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.

Weekly milage for the month was 16,15,17,21,17 for mostly 3 runs plus a competitive soccer game (counting as 5-miles) for most weeks.

I did a mid-month time trial on the treadmill running for 8 minutes at 8.7 mph (6:54 pace) and a 2% incline. This didn't feel that hard but about an hour afterwards I had to take a nap. I'll use these 8-minute runs on the treadmill eash month or so to establish that I'm making progress. I like the treadmill for this because it will prevent me from making too much progress and over dong things (assuming I choose an appropriate pace).

I got in 1 T-pace run: 1.25 miles easy, 2.5 miles in 20 minutes @ 8:00 pace, finishing with 1.25 miles easy. It felt really good to get this kind of run in.

The last run of the month was an easy 7-miler: 8:48 pace out, 8:58 back. I hadn't run as far as 7 miles in many years and this was a good bit faster than my suggested easy pace of 9:31. I was a bit heavy legged the last 1/2 mile or so but my pulse was within the right range and afterwards I felt fine.

I got in a good number of days on core strength work, usually 2 days a week.

I started the month weighing 162 and finished at 159.

All in all very good progress for month number 1.

Corporate Challenge

2008-06-22T17:17:00.003-04:00

This thing isn't a good race to try to run a time in as there were like 20,000 people jammed into Central Park, most just there to jog or walk. I had trouble warming up and was late to the starting area and so was way pack in the pack. I knew I was in trouble when the woman next to me bent over just before the start to pick up her purse. Then again, I wasn't in any shape to run a time either. I managed to find some space after the first mile and ran the last 2.5 miles in 19:22. About what I might have expected, I guess. According to the charts that's about the equivalent of a 7:10 mile. So I got a lot of room for improvement.

Local 5k

2008-06-01T14:23:00.000-04:00

I ran the local 5k with my son today. We finished in 30:43. He's six. Not too shabby.

The Core, Part One

2008-05-27T15:16:00.003-04:00

At this point my training is easy runs and core exercies. I have a core exercise program that I've been doing on and off since high school. It was originally derived from an exercise program developed for the Canadian Airforce. My grammer school gym teacher (later high school gym teacher) had us doing this program a few times a week (and later in high school sometimes a few times a day for those crazy enough to submut themselves to that). Over time I've added some back strengthening excercizes as a warm-up. The routine looks like this...

Part One - Back Strengthening Exercies

A. Lying face down on floor in push-up position raise upper torso with minimal assistence from arms and hold at high point for a three count. 10 reps.

B. Lying face down on floor with arms at sides raise upper torso and bring arms together behind back concentrating on bringing elbows together while keeping arms straight and hold for 3 count. 10 reps.

C. Lying face down on floor with hands under chin raise left leg from waist and hold at high poiunt for three count. 10 reps left leg. Then ten reps right leg. Alternate starting leg. Concentrate on keeping resting leg relaxed and in contact with the floor.

D. Lying on back with legs extended raise left knee to chest and hold for three count. 10 reps. Repeat with right leg. Alternate starting leg. Concentrate on keeping resting leg relaxed and in contact with the floor.

E. Lying on back with legs extended and arms out (making a T) raise left leg to a vertical position and then swing to the side to touch right hand and then back to vertical and then back to starting position. 10 reps. Repeat with right leg. Alternate starting leg. Concentrate on keeping reasting leg relaxed and in contact with the floor.

Part Two to follow...

Ya Gotta Start Somewhere

2008-05-19T23:04:00.002-04:00

I've signed up to run in the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge in Central Park on June 18th. I hope to run the 3.5 miles in no worse than 28:00 or 8-minute pace. I'll see how that goes and move on from there.

What's this all about?

2008-05-16T11:35:00.001-04:00

Way back in ancient times as I was approaching my 40th year I set myself the goal of running a 5-minute mile at that advanced age. I started only about 8 months from the big date and ran a 5:12 a few days after my birthday. A month and a half or so later I ran in a Masters Mile at the Armory in New York City. I ran the first half of the race at just about 5-minute pace (right on the heels of a guy who would finish in 5:01). Then reality hit. I finished in 5:24 and couldn't breathe right for almost a month. That pretty much ended my quest.

This time I'm giving myself 2 and a half years of preparation. I gauge the chances of complete success at something close to zero... but it's not all about the destination.