Weekly Report- Four

I started running in Eisenhower park, and it's a really good work-out. Trail running is a bit scary because I don't want to twist an ankle and get injured, but it makes the time fly becuase I am constantly focusing on where I am stepping! I haven't timed how long it typically takes me to complete the trail, but I am exhausted while I'm running it. I even have to stop and walk during some of the really steep uphill stuff...

Monday: 3.2 miles-trail running
Thursday: 3.2 miles-trail running
Friday: 3.2 miles-trail running

I should have run on Saturday, but was too tired from playing a game of golf in the morning and 2 games of tennis in the afternoon.

~chrissy

Things Are Going to Be a Little Different This Year

What do 'new skool' coaches, Africa, and Mike all have in common? Allow me to elaborate:

I have given this a lot of thought, and have also heard my share of lectures on exercise physiology regarding training, so I have decided to do things a little differently this year. Last season, Mike seemed always so shocked at the mileage I was putting into my training (some 30 miles a week) for only a 3.1 mile race. But since Zach was helping me out, he was having me do what he does, which seemed to work for him year after year... and that is quite simply to run as long as you can. Quantity. Well, I am now going to make an argument for quality.

Long distance training is primarily aerobic, meaning Oxygen is necessary for most of the cellular metabolism producing ATP(the absolutely necessary component for 'muscular contraction'; running). The more you train at long distances, the better your body gets at aerobically producing ATP. All of the minor components work in better harmony, increasing in efficiency when Oxygen is around. However, aerobic metabolism is slow, and takes a long time to make ATP. But, aerobic metabolism does not produce lactic acid. If it did, your muscles would lock up and give out just as quickly as they do when you are sprinting. So what's the real difference between sprinting and long distance running?

Anaerobic metabolism is the production of ATP in the absence of Oxygen. When your muscles are working so hard that they cannot produce ATP fast enough in aerobic metabolism (remember, this is a SLOW process)as in sprinting, then your muscle cells rely on anaerobic metabolism for quick sources of ATP. When you are sprinting, aerobic metabolism does not have enough time to give you the ATP you need, so anaerobic metabolism is ready and willing. BUT, and it's a big but, anaerobic metabolism produces lactic acid. Lactic acid can build up in the muscle cell, if produced in large enough quantities, and some gets shuttled out of the cell and into the blood to be buffered and chemically altered into H20 and CO2 (which you sweat and breathe off!). And just like training aerobically with long distances makes you better at making ATP with Oxygen around, training anaerobically with sprinting speeds makes you better at making ATP without Oxygen. And therefore, your body becomes very good at making and shuttling lactic acid, as well as buffering it.

When your body is flooded with lactic acid, you know it. It hurts everywhere, and your muscles will lock up. You also start to hyperventilate (remember the buffering of Lactate produces more CO2?) Your muscles will literally stop working in the presence of too much lactate. So when competing, the trick is to run just below what is termed 'lactate threshold', so you are going as fast as you can without producing too much lactic acid, keeping your cool and not stopping. Lactate threshold can be altered with training. Like I said, your body becomes very good at shuttling out and buffering lactate, making it harmless to your muscles. But the only way to get your body to increase lactate threshold is to train just past it, gradually introducing increasing amounts of lactate to the muscles. Then backing off for a few days to allow for the proper adaptations, and then going past it again.

For a race such as a 5K, we are going pretty fast. Our racing speeds are undoubtedly very near our own lactate thresholds, and then we push past the threshold to 'kick in' at the end. After all, the goal is to be as dead as possible when you cross the finish line. So why would I train nowhere near my lactate threshold if that is the racing condition? 'Specificity' is another term used by exercisers to describe the process of matching training conditions to competition conditions. I concentrated primarily on getting my miles in, and so when a race came and I asked my muscles to speed up, they spat out lactic acid so quickly my body was like 'what is that stuff?'. I never introduced lactate to my muscles in training, so they didn't have the ability to efficiently buffer it come race day.

Old skool coaches, the U.S., and even Zach will still swear by mileage. Some athletes put in up to 80 miles a week of running. The only argument I see they have is if it works for them, it works for them. If they are getting faster times, then you can't argue with numbers. However, the Africans, who run shorter distances at much quicker paces, are regularly producing better marathoners than the US. As for me, on May 17, 2007, in my personal blog, I made an entry that said "Current thought: 'why can I run 6 miles, with hills, at an 8:11 pace, and not run 4 miles, less hills, at 7:45?' Agh." That, my friends, is lactate threshold training at it's finest.

So I propose better quality workouts for myself this season. Faster times, at more realistic distances. Working out past lactate threshold is probably one of the more painful experiences one can have in this life, maybe just shy of child birth. But it's only a couple times a week, and it's shorter workouts than what I was doing before.

~chrissy

Start of a New Season!

Well Well Well! The humidity has subsided, the temperatures have dropped, the leaves are turning, and I have laced up my running shoes once again! I'm starting small, and building back up to where I was. As of 3 weeks ago, I was running just under 3 miles and it hurt like the dickens, now I can tolerate a good 3.6 with hills. I am averaging 15 miles a week, with hopes of getting up to about 25. My first run hurt pretty bad because I was so excited and headed out with a bang, which ended up taking me out about 1 mile into it. But I can feel each run getting stronger, my lungs getting used to the work, and my muscles getting used to the pain :) Although I have felt the inklings of shin splints creeping in. I guess I had it coming with a completely healthy 12 weeks last spring. I'm not timing anything yet (although I think I am averaging about 8:50/mile) but here's the rough estimate of the last three weeks:

Week One (10/8-10/12):
Mon, Wed, and Fri: 2.8 miles

Week Two (10/15-10/19):
Mon-Fri: ~3 miles

Week Three (10/22-10/26):
Mon: 2.8
Wed: 3.6 hills
Thurs: 2.8
Friday: 3.6 hills
Saturday: 2.8

~chrissy

7/14 Rain Run

I ran The Woodlands again and got my worst time ever, 21:51. My training has slowed to a snail's pace but that should change soon. I plan to set my sights on the 5k event at the Chevron Houston Marathon on the 13th of January. This should motivate me towards quality work-outs and it gives my plenty of training time during the fantasic fall and winter weather here. All-in-all I'm pleased with how things have gone over the past 5 months. I've come a long way and the race in January will be very close to the year point (2/9) of training for me. I've been waiting for pictures to be posted but it still hasn't happened yet. If it does, I'll update.

Mike

Reversal of Fortune

I was watching Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on the 4th and thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was hilarious, amazing and disgusting all rolled into one. One of the many highlights was a rule called the "reversal of fortune" (no throwing up). I loved it. And today I had a reversal of fortune of my own.

I didn't throw up but things do seem to be going backward as the summer moves forward. I went on a 4 mile trail run today for the first time in several weeks and found that my legs were exhausted. Normally it's the lungs that give out before all but not this time. I can attribute this reversal of fortune to treadmill running. But it was still nice to get out and enjoy the run-able weather today.

Here's a picture of my birthday stuff:



- T-shirt from Britt
- Mp3 player from Mom & Day
- Shorts, watch and arm holder from Miners (via giftcard)

4 Miles - 32 min (8 min/mile)

A Couple More Runs

I'm not sure how much longer I'll keep reporting daily runs on here. I found a website that will log everything for me and serve that purpose much more effectively. This may just turn into a race journal but we'll see...

7/1 - 3 miles - 22:30 (7:30/mile)
7/2 - 3 miles - 24:00 (8:00/mile)

Still just running on a treadmill and I can tell I'm slipping a bit. I'll try and push hard the next few days to pick it up a little bit.

Mike

4 Treadmill Miles

4 Excruciating miles on the treadmill. I wasn't sure why it was so painful at the time but last night I woke up with a slight fever so I probably wasn't completely well. It was coming off another good 5k time so I knew I was condititioned by I barely made it through.

4 miles - 30 min (7:30/mile)

Mike

Weekly Report-18

I hit a rather big bump in the training road... Here's to fresh starts!! ;)

Tuesday: 3.45 miles- 29:15 (8:28 pace)

More Pics

Stretching with Ella (amazingly this is the first time I've really stretched and warmed-up before a 5k)



The first half-mile...



The home stretch



Just before the finish line

El Race-o

Another race and another best time. I met my goal and did so exclusively with treadmill running which is interesting. My legs have been a little sore since (I'm guessing because I don't use them to push off when I'm on the treadmill) but other than that I felt good. The time was 20:48 and my goal was to be under 21min so I can't complain. I just need to maintain my conditioning until the fall and then hit it hard.

3.1 miles - 20:48 (6:41/mile)

Mike

2 Shorter Runs

3 Miles Tuesday and 3 Miles today both at 7:30/mile. I'm hoping this is enought to lower my time by about 20s from my last 5k. I don't anticipate running another (at least with any hope of improvement) until the fall.

Mike

Power Surge

I ran for about 20 min on the treadmill yesterday at home. The treadmill isn't very nice and it is stuck on a steep incline, so even though the pace was slower I'll still put the pace at about 7:30/mile. The incline on the treadmill really made it tough. As soon as I finished I sat down in front of the fan to cool off and the power went out. Miserable.

3 Miles - 7:30/mile

Mike

2 Runs

I ran Thursday and Saturday (and hopefully I'll get a run in tomorrow), both runs were identical so I'll combine the post. I'm trying to lower my 5k time by strictly running on a treadmill. It will be interesting to see what happens but I feel like I've been working pretty hard. Next race is on Saturday; it will be 2 weeks removed from my last one and I'd really like to go sub-21.

Thursday: 4 miles - 30 min (8 min/mile)
Saturday: 4 miles - 30 min (8 min/mile)

Mike

Treadmills Required

With the heat I have to run either early or late. Early is out because I am out the door by 6am to summer school. Late is out because I'm at Life Time until 10pm. I do have about 4 hours at home but that is from 1-5pm during peak fire season. I've resolved to run treadmills before work in the 72 degree environment that is Life Time.

Yesterday I put in four miles at 7min/mile which - as I did before - I'll add 30s/mile to. It got me huffing and puffing so that's good. I figure that my cardiovascular system is what needs the most work now and I can definitely do that on a treadmill. Just run until I can't run no more. Hopefully leg-strength will just maintain itself.

4 miles 7:30/mile

Mike

Treadmills Revisited

So I leave for my run yesterday morning... a scheduled 10 miler, and about 3 miles into it my head starts racing with all the things I had to do that day. I am a bit of an anxious gal to begin with, and add to that the anxiety of keeping a good pace while running... I was, perhaps, maxed out with brain power. This isn't the first time this has happened... especially within the last two weeks. So I abort mission at mile 5 and commit to hit the treadmill that night. I finished my day's workout at the gym, which was lame, but I finished it.

Treadmills are no good for a number of reasons: 1. They are easier than roads, and according to Mike's research, about 33% easier. 2. They are stationary, which makes you feel like you are going no where, and going no where 33% quicker. 3. They have come to represent several negative aspects in my training... lack of time, lack of complete workouts, and lack of good weather. Suffice it to say, if I am on a treadmill, something in my day and/or life isn't going the way I would like.

(side note: I was up til 3:45 last night and in the lab by 9:30 this morning. I'll be headed to the nearest treadmill as soon as I am done with my work. :)

~chrissy

Weekly Report-16

Monday: 5 miles in the AM & 5 miles in the PM: 8:30 pace (on treadmill)
Tuesday: 7 miles 8:20 pace (on treadmill)

Pics n' Such

Here are some pics from the race. It was hard to find any with me in the picture but found some if you have a keen eye. The pic from the starting line I think is before I arrived.

Link to all the pictures:

http://runthewoodlands.smugmug.com/gallery/2983821#161548774

Link to results:

http://www.runningintheusa.com/07/tx0609.html

Mike

So Near ... So Far

Well, I ran another no-so-glory-day best, but I was just off my goal time of coming in under 21 min. Of the three mistakes from last time at The Woodlands (arrival time, preparation and course knowledge) I only really benefited from one - the one that was automatic. I got there late again which prevented race preparation but I still managed to get 21:06. Here's the story:

Wake up @ 6:10 to be out the door by 6:30. Marci is not in bed but spent the night with Ella because she was feverish with teeth coming (we think). She tells me it's not a good idea for them to go and, being the morning person that I am, decide not to run because I'm tired too and I don't really want to go alone. After 15 more minutes in bed I realize I do want to race so I start getting ready. After some mis-haps I'm out the door by 6:50.

Arrive via new, less confusing and more direct route I found online (this route actually involves a turn by the gas station we stopped at last time for directions!) I went to the restroom and was at the course by 7:50. A large number of people (much more than last time) were already congregating at the finish line. I don't fret because I know the race won't start for 10 more minutes; can't warm-up, but I know I'll be able to run. I open my car door and race officials are yelling to people already checked in that the race is beginning and they need to run. I run to check in, pay my dollar in quarters and dash to the starting line.

At this point they inform us that two club teams are competing against each other which, 1) explains the large turnout and 2) tells me competition will be tougher than last time (so much for my secondary goal of placing in the top 10). They explain the course, hoist up the trophy that is at stake for the winning club and blow the horn probably 3 or 4 minutes early.

Mile 1: We're off. I'm initially somewhere in the top 25-30 runners. My watch is synchronized with the start (unlike last time) so I am using that, along with a keen eye for the mile markers, to take advantage of my course knowledge. Last time I started off too fast so I made a conscious effort to not do that. I hit the first mile in 6:48 and felt really good. The competition had thinned and spaced itself out a bit by now but I really hadn't jostled position. I told myself to keep pace and finish strong and that should be just enough to meet the goal.

Mile 2: It would have been enough to meet the goal but for some reason mile 2 was slow. It ended up being my downfall. I don't remember the exact time but it was probably 10-15s off pace (I stopped looking at my watch once I realized I should be at mile 2 and it wasn't in sight). I decided to start running and not be so concerned with my time and pacing. I also happened to pass 4 or 5 people during mile 2 so perhaps that gave me a false sense of time.

Mile 3: Familiarity with the course really helped with making it not seem so long; the 5k-race-this-way sign seemed to come up very quickly. I felt good and noticed I was 15 minutes into the race so I knew I only had 5 or 6 minutes left. I decided to just go. I consequently passed a lot of people on this stretch and by the time I got back to the parking lot was practically running on my toes. I finished about 2 strides short of a guy who was out of sight at the time I started my increase in pace.

Overall it felt great to finish that strong and lower my time, I'm only mildly disappointed that I missed the goal of sub 21. I had it in me to do it today but tactically I went out a little slow and to some degree let others dictate my pace. The main factor, however, in my opinion is training. Over the past three weeks I've only run 8 or 9 times and only a couple of those were hard workouts. I really can't expect much after training like that.

I guess that's good for now. I'll post links and pics from the race when they become available. Oh yeah, I placed 16th overall which I'm fairly proud of considering the turnout and the fact that there was an actual team competition going on.

Mike

4 miles - 31:29

Another medium day but it would have been difficult to do a hard day. My legs felt heavy and my body just overall felt fatigued. I'm guessing maybe partly due to a laborious weekend. Anyhow, I probably wouldn't push it either way with a race approaching this weekend.

4 miles - 31:29 (7:52/mile)

mike

4 Miles - 30:55

I intended to go hard but my body didn't want to so I made it a medium day. I'll do one more tomorrow and then I'm pretty busy for Thursday and Friday before the race at the Woodlands.

4 miles - 30:55 (7:44/mile)

mike

Weekly Report-15

Monday: 7.3 miles - 1:02:00 (8:29 pace)
~blah... I ended up with 27 miles this week.

Weekly Report-14

Monday: 5.65 miles Fartleks - untimed
Wednesday: Track Drills 2 miles warm up, 1200 (5:30), 800 (3:40), 400 (1:50), 800 (3:40), 1200... walked 50m and jogged 350m between each set, 1 mile cool down.
Thursday: 5 miles 42:50 (8:34 pace)
Friday: 6 miles

~moved over the weekend so I took Saturday off

4 Miles - No Watch

I got up early today after learning my lesson from my previous run. I just don't quite have it all together in the morning. I got up, got dressed, stretched and went out the door without a timing device. I had to resort to the rudimentary task of keeping time by the car clock. It counts off seconds so I was able to keep it fairly accurate and from what I could tell it took me 31 minutes to run 4 miles. It actually felt like I ran harder than that but I'll go with it.

4 miles - 31 minutes (7:45/mile)

Mike

3 Fiery Miles

I ran three easy miles today at 3pm with no cloud cover to speak of. When the breeze died down it felt like I was running through fire. Bad idea, but I got through it.

3 miles - 25:02 (8:21/mile)

mike

5.02 miles - 37:40

A good hard run. I'm not a morning person so running early for me is tough; it takes me a mile or two before I wake up. I really wanted to quit and take a break half way through but I persisted and got a time I'm really happy with. My goal was to make this a run of medium difficulty and come in right at 40 min. But I'm getting to where I can run seven and half minutes pretty comfortably so I just kept the pace.

5.02 miles - 37:40 (7:30/mile)

mike

Here they are...

Out With the Old ... In With the New (part deux)

Since running shoes are required at the new gym I splurged and grabbed a new pair. I was in obvious need. I'll post pics later.

As far as training goes, I think I'll be OK with using a treadmill as long as I use it more as a supplement to my regular road-running. The treadmill can do just as much for my cardiovascular system as anything else, it just feels like the muscle groups are being used in a slightly different way. This causes me to worry that it would be difficult to lower my 5k time.

Today I ran a real 4 miles and it felt great. It was raining and about 80 degrees outside but that didn't seem to bother me much. It was actually nice being one of the only ones on the trail. It was a hard run but I probably still could have pushed a degree or two harder, but that's fine. It was still quality. And the shoes felt great.

4 miles 29:54 (7:28/mile)

Weekly Report-13

Monday: 7.85 miles / easy - 1:07:00 (8:32 pace)
Tuesday: ? miles hills / easy - 44:06
Wedensday: 3.95 miles / hard - 30:45 (7:47 pace)
Thursday: 6 miles / supposed to be easy but i ran it medium - 49:24 (8:14 pace)
Friday: 6 miles / medium - 49:42 (8:17 pace)
Saturday: 4.5 miles / medium - 37:03 (8:14 pace)

I am really suprised at the 36% difference in 'cost' on the treadmill!! I would have never thought it was that much!

Today I am going to the MOC meet at Berkeley! I am so excited! I read up on the qualifying meets and it looks as though Washington's only representation is a girl miler, and that's only if she qualified... but it will be lots of fun regardless!

I also went to go see Washington's new track and it's pretty amazing. It looks just like Logan with the rubber track and turf center field. They also got all new hurdles and blocks... We were born about 20 years to early :(

2 Weeks till RACE DAY!!

~chrissy

Treadmill vs Road - Real Answers

Yesterday I went to Life Time for my first official workout there. They have some pretty high-tech treadmills that I wanted to try out as well as do some lifting. I set the treadmill up for 7 min/mile, positioned myself directly under the AC vent and took off. I wanted to see how long I could last. The last time I ran that pace in training I was pretty well spent after 3 miles but on the treadmill I lasted four. Based on that data alone it would appear that road-running is about 33% more difficult. I did some research online and found the following link:

http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/treadmill.html

This group has done a great job at compiling studies that compare a treadmill to the road as well as presenting arguments for and against each method. I'll insert the link permanently on the side-bar of the blog. But basically, according to their findings, the difference in "cost" as they put it between the two methods is 36%. Who needs research?

I think what I'll do for my running tally is just add 30s per mile to make things equitable.

4 miles - 30 min (7:30/mile)

Mike

5/22 - 5 Miles

Today was supposed to be a hard day but I could tell my body wasn't having it. I turned it into a medium day and it was still tough for some reason but doable. It's nice being under 8 min/mile with just a medium effort.

Last night I worked my first evening at Life Time Fitness. It's a very cool place and I think it'll make a nice part-time job for the summer. The problem is it requires that I work during my running time so it might have an effect on my training. The way I choose to look at it is that I was counting on the heat taking a toll on my training anyhow so I might as well make some money and give myself the chance to stay in shape in a cool, fitness-centered environment.

4 miles - 32:19 (7:49/mile)

Mike

Two-day Report

Friday after work I ran 3 hard miles and this morning I ran 3 easy miles. I almost did the hard work-out in sub-seven miles but couldn't quite pull it off. I'm excited to get into running 6 minute miles for training ... then I'll be on my way to 5 minute miles in competition. Today's slow day felt kind of hard even with a day off in between. Amazing what recovery does.

3 miles hard - 21:05 (7:02/mile)
3 miles easy - 25:10 (8:23/mile)

Mike

5/17 - 4.82 miles

An easy day. I never really even got out of breath. I was surprised with my pace; it felt slower. Still a little sore today but in more normal places like shins and calves. The weather has been ideal.

4.82 miles - 39:57 (8:17/mile)

Mike

Back in the Saddle ... Again

I finally felt like myself yesterday so I knew I had to run. I was a little apprehensive after taking so much time off but I actually felt great (especially for having mowed the lawns a couple hours earlier.) The weather was nice as well. The only thing different is that I'm sore in a few different places than I'm used to.

5.02 miles - 38:06 (7:35/mile)

On a side note, it looks like I might be getting a part-time job in the evenings at Life Time Fitness. Their facilities are amazing and it would give me a free membership there this summer so I can workout and stay out of the heat. It'll also be nice to have some spending cash.

Mike

Weekly Report-12

I'm going to keep my weekly report published on the blog, and just edit it as I go through the days... That way Zach can take a look at my times on a daily basis ;) You're welcome Zach! ha :)

Monday: 6 miles hills/easy - 52:00 (8:38 pace)
Tuesday: 6 miles/medium - 49:00 (8:10 pace)
Wednesday: 4 miles/hard - 31:36 (7:54 pace)
Thursday: 6 miles hills/ "easy" :)- 49:06 (8:11 pace)
Friday: 4.45 miles hills/ - 35:00 (7:51 pace) ~I have no idea how I did this... but from what I can tell, it is indeed the truth! I just set out to run and figured I would drive it when I was done to see how far I went. The car gave me almost 4.5 miles and I ran for 35 minutes on the dot. I am pleasantly surprised with this, considering it wasn't difficult at all...my lungs felt great and my legs were strong. PROGRESS! (especially from Wednesday's run!) YESSSS!
Saturday: 5 miles/ easy - 42:37 (8:31 pace)

~chrissy

Licensed to ill

My cold flared up in a major way yesterday and is still wreaking havoc. I took a couple of Tylenol PM's last night and I'm still having trouble opening my eyes after every blink. This morning at school I was greeted with, "Mr Freeman, you need your morning coffee!"


Probably won't run today. It's been since Saturday so I hope this thing goes away quickly.

Mike

May the Best Woman Win

I can't wait for all the construction to finish in the new neighborhood because that is where I run my hills and I'm SICK of being gawked at by all the Mexican workers. To make it worse, sometimes I happen to run at the same time the mid-morning taco truck comes passing through, so they are ALL out eating and socializing as I run by... and the little senorita that drives the truck quite obviously doesn't like me coming in and stealing all the attention. Today she had on a cuter outfit than usual AND her hair was all done... she's stepping up the competition...

~chrissy

Weekly Report-11

Good Job yesterday, Mike! 20 second improvement in just two weeks and we have another four weeks until the next race!

I am just now passing into the longest duration of training I have ever had... Chabot ran from mid August to the end of November, about 12 weeks. This is very exciting for me! I really am feeling good about my myself and my running abilities... I have already surpassed the times I ran! Although I didn't set the bar very high back then, it still feels pretty great to beat it. Every time I run I am better than I have ever been...it feels great to make such 'strides' ;)

Monday: 5 miles- G.F,'s 39:56 (7:59 pace)
Tuesday: 7 miles- medium 57:57 (8:16 pace)
Wednesday: 5 miles -easy untimed, and I'm talking EASY...depressingly easy
Thursday: 5 miles- medium 40:41 (8:08 pace)
Friday: 6 miles- medium 49:20 (8:13 pace)
Sunday: 5 miles- easy 44:35 (8:55 pace)

I felt more 'bad' during my runs this week than 'good'... but my times are still getting faster, which is all the encouragement I need!

~chrissy

I Got Beat by a Banana!

This guy ran in a banana suit! He started off fast and I thought he would surely fade but I never saw him again until the finish. I think he actually placed and won an award.

In looking at the results I'm not feeling so bad about being one place away from an award. Apparently the guy who finished just before me ended up beating me by nearly 40s and not 5s like it seems from the picture. The official timing is done by computer and his "chip-time" tells the real story. Even if I had held on to my brief lead I probably still would have lost to him. Weird but understandable in a race with hundreds of people.





Here's a link to the Venture On! 5k results:

http://www.doitsports.com/newresults3/client/99283_197889_2007.html

Mike

Race Day 5/12

Well, another race-day today. Only two weeks since my last one but it was so close to home and I was curious about my improvement so I went ahead with it. A real 5k race that actually costs money is definitely an event. Food, sponsors, marketing toys, T-shirts, prizes. It was a lot of fun. I cut almost 20s off my last time so I'm happy with that. Again, we managed to be running late but nowhere near as bad as last time. In the pictures I look like I just rolled out of bed (because I had); one of these days I'll get my act together for a well-prepared race.

5k - 21:24 (6:53/mile)

Mike

4 Easy Miles

Nothing special except that it felt surprisingly good coming off of a hard day. I really never labored during this run at all except for maybe a little pain in the shins.

4 miles - 34:07 (8:32/mile)

Mike

First Time Fartleker (sounds so gross)

I did a Fartlek workout for the first time today. It is to be the only hard day for me this week. I ran 3 miles and ran hard every 3/4 of a mile. I'm supposed to run hard for 200m so I just counted off about 170 paces figuring each one was slightly longer than a meter. I plan on running a couple light days Wed and Thu, taking Friday off and then running the 5k at Cinco Ranch. Should be fun.

3 miles - 22:20 (7:27/mile)

Mike

Does This Sign Mean Anything?!

A stubborn old man in his big-red-texas truck almost ran me over today. I was encroaching upon 'his' shoulder lane. He honked about 10 times as he came up behind me, and then got as close to me as possible as he whizzed by. You know, to teach me a lesson. :)

~chrissy

Yancy says...

...I need to start doing Farleks. I emailed him today and asked him for some training recommendations and he said, "You need to do one hard run, one interval
Day (600's and 400's). One fartlek day, where you would do a four mile
run with sprints of about 200 meters every 3/4ths mile. no stopping
aloud between sprints. two easy days."

This is beginning to make sense to me because I am finding that I can't put in more than a couple of hard days each week without it taking a huge toll. I feel completely spent; even on an easy run. With sprinting I never seemed to have any problem with this but distance really seems to be a completely different animal. It's just so unnatural to give myself an "easy day."

Today I intended to run a medium 5 miles but ended up doing 2.51 with a break and then 2.01 with a half-mile walk for a cool-down.

2.51 - 21:05 (8:24/mile)
2.01 - 16.24 (8:09/mile)
totals: 4.52 - 37:29 (8:17)

Mike

Gischler Fartleks SUCK...

...but they work.

Monday: 5 miles: G.F,'s 39.56 (7:59 pace)

~chrissy

Weekly Report-10

Monday: 8 miles: 1:10:32 (8:49 pace)
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: 7 miles: 58:37 (8:22 pace)
Thursday: 4 miles easy: untimed
Friday: 7 miles: 59:43 (8:31 pace)

I had planned on running Saturday, but between research, church activities, and my nutrition final, I was going non-stop yesterday from 7am till 10pm. And my conscience got the better of me when I wanted to make up the miles Sunday morning ;)

~chrissy

5/5 - 4 Miles

Just an average paced run today. I forgot to bring my watch but judging by the clock in my car I was running for 34 minutes.

4 miles - 34 min (8:30/mile)

Mike

Intervals 5/4

I never thought I'd say this, but I think I'd rather run a hard 5 miles than do another set of intervals on the track; though temporary, the pain is so acute. Perhaps it's just that I am well-conditioned for distance now having run nearly 160 miles compared to maybe 4 or 5 track workouts. But man, I really wanted to quit early today. In fact, I was half way to the car before I made myself go back and finish that final 200. I was just hurting. Anyway, here are the results (pretty much the same as last time.)

200 - 32s
400 - 75s
800 - 2:52
400 - 72s
200 - 33s

Mike

Just Checking In...

Mike, I love what you've done with the place! :) Your analysis are hilarious and the site feed was a great idea... I have those links saved to 'my favorites' on my browser, but it's nice to have it all in one place. Also, now all of our readers and fans can check out the sites easier! ;) ha. And I'll be more active with the the blog when school slows down; about a week ;)

The run-mapping site is great! I will use that quite frequently since none of my runs are ever marked. I was pleased to see that all of my runs are accurate in their mileage (thanks to Zach's nifty watch... Zach, if your reading this... shout out! :)

I'm trying to finagle a way to do the run in Brakenridge Park on May 12. Mom and Dad are out of town, Brit has to work, and so I'm on Chloe duty. I really want to run it. This week's runs are coming along nicely. I am mostly concentrating on putting in tons of miles, though I know I need to do speed work as well.

Finally, the next Woodlands run on June 9th is the weekend right before the A's v Astros games, which means I'm headed to Houston back to back... kind of a lot of gas. I don't really have any solutions yet, but something to keep in mind...

Keep up the good work!!
~chrissy

More Interesting Analysis

I have burned 26,220 Calories since February 9th when I began running - that's 7.5lbs! I can see why people get fat; what took 10 weeks to sweat away would probably only take me a week to eat if I really wanted to. Amazing.

I have also inserted a site-link for easy access to the sites we post on here.

Mike

Yet Another Cool Site

A great way to map out a new running route, complete with precise mileage.

www.mapmyrun.com

3 Miles - 5/2

Today's workout prescribed 20-30 minutes of running at a pace of 7:25/mile. I figured three miles at that pace -- although a little short -- would fill that time perfectly.

Along the trail there are designated markers at random places -- 1.34mi, 2.68mi, 5.02, 6.94mi. But someone has taken it upon themselves to spray paint the mile-markers at normal intervals -- 1 mile, 1.5 miles, 2 miles etc. This is great except for the 1-mile mark of which there are two spray painted markers probably about 30m apart. I started out pretty fast and hit the first 1-mile mark in 6:52. I'm not sure if this is accurate but I know I've never been to that spot in anywhere near that time. I made a conscious effort to slow down to the 1.5-mile mark and then reset my pace for the last half. It worked well. The goal-time was precisely 22:15 and I came in just under at 21:56 and felt great. Very tired but not wasted like I have been during some workouts. Very encouraging. According to the training schedule, I really shouldn't push myself to exhaustion unless I'm doing speed work and running in short bursts with recovery time.

I'll probably take Thursday off since Marci is working and run intervals Friday with a long run Saturday and another day off on Sunday.

3 miles - 21:56 (7:19)

Mike

5/2 - 5.02 miles

In keeping with my new training recommendations from fasterrunning.com, I was due for an easy day today. This meant running a good amount of miles at a very slow pace (8:55/mile). It was somewhat unnatural to run purposefully slow but knowing that a very hard day was to follow helped. I got close to the goal time.

5.02 miles - 43:25 (8:39/mile)

Mike

Interesting Analysis

Since I began running February 9th I have run a total of 145 miles (the distance from my house to Austin) and it took me 19 hrs 56 min and 20s. An average pace of 8:15/mile. I could run to Austin in less than a day :)

Mike

Future Runs

It looks like the first Run The Woodlands in June will be on the 9th, so mark your calendar - it'll come fast. I'm also 95% certain I'll run a 5k in Katy on May 12th as well. It gives me something to look forward to in the very near future and it is right in my back yard at Cinco Ranch. It will also be cool to experience a "real" 5k - the ones that are usually in support of some cause, offer T-shirts, have food, have large turnouts and cost money.

4/30 Report

4 miles - 32:21 (8:05/mile)

I entered my race-time into the fasterrunning.com training calculator to see what kind of paces I should be setting for myself. My easy days should be run at 8:55 pace. Hard days should be a 7:25 pace for only 20-30 minutes. Speed work should be run at about 6:11 pace. I'm going to try this out for the next couple weeks and see how it goes. Today I'll run 5 miles at my easy pace and try to run 3 miles tomorrow at my fast pace. I'll probably throw a long, easy run in at the end of the week as well.

Mike

Mucho Funno!

Well, I had a blast running the race. It was hard for many of the reasons Chrissy stated in her post, but everytime I think back on it I smile. It felt so good to run a race again and accomplish a goal like that. I still don't know how I ran exactly 7 min/mile despite that lack of a watch and trail knowledge. But I loved running with and against people. It felt almost equally as good to pass someone as it did to have someone pass me in the final mile as I faltered. Just having those feelings again felt great. Mucho Funno!

Mike

Picture! Picture!

Results

Here are the race results:

http://www.runningintheusa.com/07/tx0428.html

If/when they get the photos posted, click on the icon at the top of the page (of the above link), scroll down to the link under the results section, and you should see 'Run the Woodlands 5K Series-Photos' under the date 4/28/2007

Room For Improvement

Although Mike and I are both quite pleased with our times and DID meet our goals(!) we were quick to recognize several areas of both immediate and long term improvement:

1: the morning of: upon a 6am awakening, we headed out the door at about 6:20 for what yahoo.maps figured was a 45 minute drive, getting us to the Woodlands well before 8:00 race time. wrong turn after wrong turn, stopping to ask for directions, and then an overall re-trace of steps kept us in the car for a grand total of 90 minutes getting us at the registration desk at 7:53. We turned in our dollars, picked up a clipboard and walked toward the starting line with the paperwork in our hands so we could hear the instructions for the race. the registration lady followed us over, took the papers as soon as we signed, we did some high knees, stretched our calves, asked our neighbors when and where we needed to make the turns on the trail, and literally off we went. Implications of all of this: no warm up AND we were stressed out by the time we got there.

2: both of us were sick within the last 7 days.

3: both of us started at ground zero only 3 months ago (mike) and about 2.5 months ago (me), and we are both going to continue training... with really no end in sight!! :)

4: we didn't know the trail we were running, which happens to be a great trail, but tricky in it's lay out. As soon as you head out of the parking lot in which it starts, the next 2 miles or so seem to be completely straight (away from the start). Mike and I both remember thinking 'are we EVER going to turn back home?!?!'... and so both of us made conscious decisions to be careful in our pacing because we thought we were still less than half way done. what's more, neither of us knew where the mile markers were... I was looking and didn't see them and Mike didn't even know they existed :) so a little trail-knowledge should go a long way for the next one...

We're excited to head back to The Woodlands the second weekend in June!

~chrissy
(good job today, Mike! it was SO fun running 'with' you :) can't wait for the next one!)

Weekly Report-9

I had planned on running about 25 miles this week, but between getting sick and taking it easy before the race, I only ran 6!

Thursday: 6 miles (9:00 pace)

Saturday: RACE DAY! 5k-23:28 (7:33 pace)

~chrissy

4/24 - 3.5 Miles

I ran a medium-hard 3.5 miles today but it felt like a hard day. I was pretty exhausted afterward and hurt most of the way through. As I type this the next morning my legs are very sore. I'm not sure what that means but it can't be great. I did have a little cold over the weekend and I followed that up with 4 miles and then a hard interval work-out. But with a day off since then I should be feeling fine. We'll just have to wait and see...

3.5 miles 28:11 (8:02/mile)

Mike

Another Cool Site

I found a cool track site (actually I've been to the site quite a bit but just never have seen this particular part of the site.) It gives track results from meets going back to the 60's. You can just click on the year and scroll through the various meets. I found some old results of mine from the Stanford Invitational and Hampton Phillips both in '96. Kind of fun.

http://www.dyestatcal.com/ATHLETICS/TRACK/track.htm

Signs of Summer

What 88% Humidity Looks like...






Gonna have to start waking up early to run!

~chrissy

Back to Business

Ella threw up this morning but I've been fortunate to not be so sick. I ran an easy 4 miles around my neighborhood late last night and did interval work at the track this morning before it got too hot to run. The intervals went well and I ran quite hard. My goal was to simply run faster than last time and I also added a mile warm-up run, so I think it was productive.

I'll probably run pretty hard Monday and Tuesday and then scale it back a bit for Wed and Thu before taking Friday off - at least that's the plan. I never quite know what the week will bring but I'm excited and nervous for the race on Saturday.

Saturday night:

4 miles - 39:10 (7:47/mile)

Track work:

200 - 32s
400 - 73s
800 - 2:52s
400 - 75s
200 - 31s

Mike

Weekly Report-8

My hip problem seems to have subsided, which I'm relieved about! I had a pretty good week... I definitely feel stronger in my legs from the hills.

Monday: 8 miles/hills - 1:08:00 (8:34)
Tuesday: 6 miles/easy - 50:06 (8:21)
Wednesday: don't know/hills - 56:ish
Thursday: 6 miles/easy - 51:15 (8:32)
Saturday: don't know - 28 min.

Next week I am going to take Friday off as well, so I'll run only 25 miles. I'll have a harder day on monday, and then taper off til race day!!!

~chrissy

Under the Weather

This is kind of bad timing, but I think I just got a cold. The good news is that it seems to be minor - maybe because of regular excercise :)? But I woke up in the middle of last night with a semi-sore throat. When I got home I saw that Ella had a pretty runny nose so putting two and two together...I'm probably sick. I didn't run yesterday and won't today because of the A's/Rangers game. I'll get back to it on Saturday just one week from race day.

Mike

4/18 4 Miles

Just a regular run - nothing special. I started off a little fast (7:30/mile) and got a little ahead of myself during the run. On the way back, as I trudged through the wind, I realized it was because I had a strong wind at my back to start. My final mile was around 8:30 and I was exhausted. I can't believe the race is a week from Saturday!

4 Miles - 31:09 (7:47/mile)

Mike

Hip-pains

Welp... I woke up Tuesday morning with some weird hip pain on my left side. I sleep on that side and so when I adjusted in the middle of the night I woke myself up because it didn't feel so good. And while running the next day, I felt it again on the down-hills. I am REALLY hoping it is nothing serious. I'm going to give it till next Tuesday and see how I feel. I will stretch out longer and not do as many hills for the remainder of the time, and then go from there. Keep your fingers crossed!

~chrissy

ah, hills...

Poor Ella, didn't get to see her animals! :( I commend you running with a stroller mike! That is not easy stuff... I would do it when Chloe was tiny and I was running x-country. Running without your arms is not easy. This is why I am going to invent that stroller I was telling you about... and then make millions :)

This week's schedule had me starting off with 8 miles of hills. We just wind around the new neighborhood, either going up or going down, there is really nothing flat over there. We started the 8 miles with a 3 mile large loop that was relatively flat, and then headed into the hills for the final 5. I felt pretty good during the run, telling myself to keep the 9:30 pace Zach had me targeted for. He would just ask me how I'm doing, and let me pace myself as we went. Well turns out I was doing much better than I thought...

8 miles/hills: 1:08 (8:34 pace)

I am pleased enough that I'll give today it's own entry and deviate from my 'weekly report'!!! :)

~chrissy

Stroller Run

My first time running while pushing a stroller. Ella and Addie were being "busy" this afternoon so I thought I'd be helpful and take Ella along in the jogging stroller. I was planning on doing five miles alone so I compromised and did 3 miles with the stroller. I'm not sure exactly how that adds up but it was hard (mostly because I couldn't use my arms.) Ella was hoping to see some animals but she was out cold within minutes and slept the entire time. My time wasn't bad either all things considered.

3 miles - 24:20 (8:06/mile)

Mike

Final 7

Sunday morning we ran seven easy miles to round off our week. It brought me to 27 miles this week, by far the most I have done in recent years.

7 miles - 59:03 - (8:30/mile)

mike

Weekly Report-7

Monday: 6 miles of hills around the new house neighborhood (8:30 pace)
Tuesday: 3 miles warm up (8:30 pace) and track drills: 4x400's with 200m walk -82s, 85s, 84s, 85s.
Wednesday: 7 miles (8:46 pace)
Thursday: 4 miles (8:09 pace)
Friday: 3.4 miles (8:36 pace)
Saturday: easy 7

I'm feeling pretty good! I have noticed a HUGE difference in my speed since I have picked up the miles. This week I will get 31.5. I have never trained this much, so it is exciting to break past bounderies and see the difference! TWO WEEKS LEFT!

~chrissy

Five Mile Sampler

I make it a rule to run BEFORE dinner or at least two hours after - that will all change once it gets too hot, but for now it works. We had to run to Sam's Club after work to get some food for the visitors this weekend and I unavoidably consumed a number of tasty samples. Since this is the type of food you just "shop and pop" I didn't even think to consider this as food in my belly before a run. We got home and, before eating dinner, I set out on my five mile run. I was sluggish. At first I thought it was because I ran really hard yesterday and just haven't fully recovered (partly true). I then thought it must just be the dang humidity (75 degrees, 99% humidity). Then, as the cramp in my side begged to differ, I realized a good portion of my problem was that I ate a small meal maybe 30 minutes prior. I REALLY wanted to stop or at least cut it to 3 or 4 miles but I proudly hung on and ran all five. Another easy five tomorrow with Chrissy and that should put me right at 25 miles for the week. By far the most volume to date for me.

5 miles - 41:56 (8:21/mile)

Mike

Knock, Knock, Knockin' on Seven's Door

I'm actually not quite knockin' on seven's door but thought the title was good. I ran my short (2.68 mile) route today. It had been a couple weeks and I knew my time would improve, just didn't have any idea how much. It went well, it was the fastest I had run to date and felt good.

I still have my goal of running 7 minute miles for the 5k. It is a lofty goal but at this point I still think it is attainable. We'll see...

2.68 miles - 19:13 (7:10/mile)

Mike

4/11 5.02 miles

Today was hard. I started out too fast (7:35 first mile) and really ran out of gas. I was thinking that five miles would be easy after running seven. But I didn't take into account the toll yesterday's workout took on my body. I had to stop about 3.5 miles in and walk for a couple minutes and today I'm about as sore as I was when I started this 2 months ago.

5.02 miles 43 min (8:33/mile)

Mike

7 miler

Today marked exactly two months since I began running.

Before the weather got warm again I wanted to go for a long run. Apparently there was an equestrian parking lot about a mile beyond the bridge I had been running to on my trail. I had never been there so I decided to make that my long run. It's amazing what an extra couple miles will do. I wasn't really huffing and puffing too badly but my legs felt really tight during the last half. I'm also more sore than usual this morning. I think it's the first time I've run that far since the fall of '95 during cross country. That feels good.

6.94 miles - 59:10 (8:31/mile)

Mike

Busy Weekend

I only got out to run once this weekend and it was a decent run. I ran with the girls which was fun (except they walked.) I just had them walk 20 min and turn around because my five mile route is about 40 min. roundtrip. I caught back up with them and walked the rest of the way in. Ella was disappointed that she didn't see any 'animals' during this walk.

4.72 miles - 36:42 (7:46/mile)

I need to put in more miles this week and next. Only three weeks remain.

Mike

Weekly Report-6

It was another really good week. I feel stronger, both in my legs and lungs. I also stepped up my mileage this week; instead of running between 15 and 20 miles a week, I am shooting for at least 30. It feels really good so far...

Monday: Geschler Fartlek's -5 miles: untimed
Tuesday: 4 miles: 33:04 (8:16 pace)
Wednesday: 6 miles: 50:03 (ish. we had to stop forEVER because of traffic)
Thursday: 5 miles: untimed
Friday: 7 miles: 57:31 (8:13 pace)
Saturday: super easy, beautiful run around nearby park... 3.25 miles

~chrissy

What a Difference Cool Weather Makes

A cold front blew in yesterday morning and made for a fantastic April run after work. I haven't had a lot of sleep lately (asleep by midnight and up by 6am) so I was fighting a nap hard when I got up from the couch to run. I'm glad I did because it felt great and I ran another not-so-glory-day best 5.02 miles.

5.02 miles - 39:33 (7:52/mile)

Mike

Successful Intervals (for once)

I finally hit the mark running the intervals I first attempted nearly a month ago. I think it'll be good to continue integrating intervals into my workouts; I could feel that my legs were locking up while my lungs felt relatively fine. This tells me my conditioning is progressing but my legs could use some strengthening. Here's the goals/results.

200 - 35s
400 - 90s
800 - 3:00
400 - 90s
200 - 35s

Results:

200 - 36s
400 - 84s
800 - 3:00
400 - 73s
200 - 33s


I intentionally went out slow on the first two-hundred because I wanted to make a conscious effort to just hit the mark and do nothing more at the beginning - if I had any extra energy I could spend it on the back end of the interval work. It worked and now that I think about, this is how I ran intervals back in the day as well. I had to really hold back on the first 400 and still was way under goal-time, the 800 was perfectly hard, the final 400 was just all out as was the final 200.

Mike

Drum-roll please...

I ran 5 miles doing Geschler Fartlek's (??) which are basically: 10 min quick pace to get you tired, and then right into a 30 second all out sprint, 90 second jog, 30 seconds sprint, 75 second jog, 30 second sprint 60 second jog, 30 second sprint 45 second jog, and 30 seconds sprint 30 seconds jog. This took me to just about two miles and we ran the rest of the 3 miles home as fast as I could. It absolutely killed. BUT, here's the drum-roll....

at the 3.1 mile mark: 24.45. (7:57 pace)

Mike, looks like you are absolutely right about that pr!! Thanks for the encouragement :)

~chrissy

Easy Runs

This was a busy weekend and I almost found myself breaking my streak of running days with no more than one day of rest between days. Somehow I managed to get out about 8:30pm Saturday night and run 1.5 miles to keep the streak alive. I felt somewhat guilty about that so on Sunday I ran the same route twice (as tempting as it was to just run it once) for 3 miles. Making for a decent weekend.

1.5 miles - easy and untimed
3 miles - easy and untimed

Chrissy, I know all to well what it's like to discover that your running route isn't quite what it seemed to be. Remember how excited I was when I came home from a "5.02" mile run in 39 min? Too good to be true. But I think your times are also improving nicely and even more so if your new long-routes have hills as well - I'm fairly certain that the race at the woodlands is flat. I think an all-time pr is not outside the realm of possibility for you at the end of this month and that would be incredible. Even getting close to that time would be an acheivent. Keep it up!

Mike

High's and Low's

Welp, it was quite a week. I followed the regimen, ran hard, and did my best. Here's how it went down...

Tues: (what I thought was four miles is actually) 3.75 : 32:03 easy paced (8:32)
Wednesday: 3.25 : 26.48 quick paced (8:14)
Thursday: 5 : 44:02 easy paced (8:48)
Friday: 2.5 miles quick paced at 7:58 and then 4 400's paced at 1:30 each with walk/jog 400 in between.

I was somewhat happy after Tues but then deflated when I realized it wasn't a true 4 miles. Then I got even more deflated after Wednesday's run. Thursday I faced the facts, went for a good long run, and then Friday (today) I hammered it out. I will close the week with a long easy run tomorrow morning.

~chrissy

Starting Harder?

Today I didn't have much time so I just went to the first bridge and back (2.68 miles). I never quite know what to expect out of my body the day after a hard run but I wanted to better my last time of 21:08 for the same distance. As I get into better condition it's strange to exert the same amount of energy and feel my body go faster. I can just sense that my legs are turning over more quickly and that things just seem to move right by me as I run (even though it feels as though I'm not trying any harder.)

I got to the bridge and turned around about 10:15 into the run. If I could keep pace with that I would accomplish my goal. I felt good and, as usual, finished with a hard final 600m or so to finish with a time of 19:46. I didn't quite expect to break 20 today so that was good.

I am starting to wonder if I could better my times by altering my running strategy. I have a great fear of running out of gas in the middle of a run. It's only really happened to me once during one of my first races and not only was my time terrible, it is terribly painful as well to try and finish after your body is spent. I have good finishing speed so it usually works out fine, but part of me always wonders if things would be different if I went for it a little earlier.

2.68 miles - 19:45 (7:22/mile)

Mike

This time it's for real

Well I finally ran a true 5.02 miles without stopping and knowing without a doubt that the distance was accurate. My goal was 40:00 with the outside possibility of cracking that barrier with a strong finish. Last time I ran it all the way I got just over 39:00 but I now know it was a bit shy of 5 miles. I figured with a day of rest, getting close to that time would make for a good workout.

I started off well and felt REALLY good 1.35 miles in. I waited until just before the sun went down so it wasn't too hot and that definitely helped. I got to the boardwalk at around 19:25 (my previous best was 19:50) so I knew I was doing well but I still had to run the short extra distance to the bridge. I got to the half-way mark at 20:30. If I could run the back half 30s faster I would meet my goal. I just tried to keep pace and run the last half-mile as hard as I could.

As I was coming down the home stretch (with the end in sight but still probably 200-300m away) I looked at my watch and saw 39:00. I put my head down and finished it in 40:03. I doesn't take much math to tell that 5.02 miles in that time is less than 8 min/mile and I feel really good about that.

5.02 miles - 40:03 (7:58/mile)

PS - a deer jumped out of the shrubbery right next to me on my run and even followed me for about 15m before darting back into the wilderness.

PSS - my first 5k in 11.5 years will be one month from today!

Feelin' Good!

After running a couple times with my friend's nifty watch, I realized I suck at pacing myself! I start all of my runs at like a 6:20 pace which leads me to completely tank at the end. And mid run- when I'm averaging about an 8 min mile -I am hurting all over and can't wait for it to end. So. We realized that if I am hurting at an 8 min mile pace, after having run a couple miles already, I should be able to keep at least an 8 min pace if I start with that from the beginning. Which after a two day's rest, I put to the test.

My week's work-out plan has me running more miles per day, with a 5k-for-time tomorrow and track intervals on Fri. So I decided to keep my run today relatively easy with my heart rate around 165. (I am normally at 180) ~this way I can really run hard for a true timed race tomorrow. I had mapped out exactly 4 miles with the hills coming at the end of the run. I hit 2 miles at mid 17's (can't remember exactly, but it was behind the 16 min target) but wasn't worried because I was barely breathing. So I stepped it up for the back-home uphill battle and came cruising in with relative ease at 32:03. I am very pleased with that. Can't wait for tomorrows 'race'.

~chrissy

ps. Mike, you're doing great! Your times are dropping super fast. 8 weeks ago would you have thought you'd be running a 7:11 split!?!

2 Miles

I didn't have a lot of time today so I drove down to the track for a quick 2-mile run. I figured I'd give it all I had and see if I could better my last time of 14:52. I wanted to approach 14 minutes because I'd like to run the 5k next month at about a 7min/mile pace, but that might be ambitious - we'll see. I hit the first lap on pace but there was 20mph wind on the back stretch that was giving me fits. I crossed the mile mark at 7:11 and didn't look at my watch again - I just wanted to finish. It turned out to be a personal best training time but not quite as low as I'd hoped. I've been pushing it hard the past couple days though and I think that should be taken into account as well. It will all be clear on race day.

2 miles - 14:39 (7:19/mile)

Mike

A Run to the Bridge

kkkkkjhhgffbvgg mmmmm mmmvfvgghjh (from Ella)

This morning I ran to the bridge and slightly beyond the boardwalk that precedes it completing my 5.02 mile run. It wasn't as far back as I thought - maybe 150 meters or so. At least now I know.

I ran the whole way there having forgot to start my stopwatch so I have no clue how long it took. It was painful as is quite often the case after I complete a hard run like I did yesterday. I got to the bridge, checked it out for a bit and started on my way back (with the stopwatch on). It took 20:43 to run 2.51 miles back. I'm looking at this run like it was two 2.5-mile intervals.

Mike

T-Minus!

Well, we have 4 weeks left!!! It has been SO fun for me training for this...and I'm excited for the races to come after as well! Nice work on your times Mike! I'm glad you are pleased with them as well, that is what really matters.

This week I ran 6 days in a row, topping it off today with a beautiful run around Woodland Lake Park which is 1.3 miles. I ran it twice around in 21.46.

I agree with your recommendation and next week I plan to run 4 miles on Tues, a real 5k (for time) on Wed, 4 again on Thurs, intervals Fri, and a long easy run on Sat.

keep up the good work, mike!

~chrissy

A True 5K

Today I ran my first 5K - 12.5 laps around the run-down middle school track. Up until now I had run 2 miles, 3 miles and darn close to 5 miles, but never the exact distance of a race. I was just curious and pleased with the result. A week or two ago I couldn't hold an 8 minute pace on the track and that worried me. I really didn't know what to expect so I just went out planning to react to what my body gave me.

It went well. The first lap was right at 2 minutes and I just tried to hold that pace with a strong final two laps. I found that each successive lap was probably near 1:57 without any conscious effort of my own. I crossed the mile mark at 7:50 something. I don't remember my-two mile time but it was on pace with that. I felt good the whole way through.

3.1 miles - 24:21 (7:51/mile)

As far as running hills goes, I can say from experience that running fast downhill does not make up for time lost running slowly uphill. Your time will be faster on a flat course. From a scientific standpoint it seems to me that the gravitational potential energy gained by running uphill would have to all be converted to kinetic energy on the down-side of the hill to even out. This doesn't happen because each time your foot hits the ground while running downhill you slow yourself a little bit. But there is some physiology involved too and that's your neck of the woods.

Recommendation: Try mapping out a 5-mile course and run that hard for a week or two. When you go back to the 3.2 miler it will feel really short and you'll feel like you could sprint it. I've definitely noticed a boost in my running having added some extra miles to my workouts.

Subtle Miscalculations of My Own!

A friend of mine has offered to help me out in my efforts to get back in shape. He is an avid runner and has lots of experience with long distance. He recently purchased a watch that, among many things, tracks your distance through GPS. I asked him if he wouldn't mind running my usual trail with me today so I can know exactly how far it is... Well, it turns out my car is more accurate than I thought... The run is indeed 3.2 miles! Also, his nifty little watch tracks the percent grade of the trail (also done through GPS) and what I thought was a mostly uphill battle turns out to be a neutral run overall. Though I am battling hills throughout, the downhill portions are just as frequent. When I asked him if he thought this meant it is the same as running completely flat the whole time, he said he didn't think so. And neither do I. For reasons that aren't necessarily concrete... but still (what do you think mike?). And my time today was about 20 seconds faster than the previous time I ran going this direction (the opposite direction is easier because the big hills are first instead of last when I am completely exhausted):

3.2 miles(the hard way): 26.28

~chrissy

A Subtle Miscalculation

Yesterday I learned that my 5.02 mile run hasn't been quite that long (at least I don't think it has). The map says I'm supposed to run to a bridge and back and apparently I've been running to the "boardwalk" the precedes the bridge. I'll have to check it out and see exactly where this bridge is but I assumed I was right because the boardwalk does cross a bayou. A little frustrating but good to know.

Yesterday I ran 2.68 miles in 21:08 - 7:53/mile.

mike

Reversal

After sufficient cardiovascular expenditure yesterday and a less than desirable timed outcome, I decided to boost my self-esteem on my usual run by running it reverse. I figured the direction I normally went had to be about 20% uphill, after taking out the portions that are countered by downhill. So today I ran it and it went MUCH better and felt better too!

Neighborhood Loop: 26.03

I will still run it the usual way most of the time, but it was a good boost of confidence that I really needed after yesterday.

~chrissy

Another Long Run

I tried to follow up my track workout with a 5 miler today. It was just painful. I think my shins were the worst they have been since I started running again. I felt great going in and was optimistic because I really felt no soreness from yesterday. I was mistaken.

I need to work on pacing. Again I went out too hard (thinking I was actually holding back a bit) and found myself about 15 seconds ahead of the pace I was on when I ran it in 39 minutes. I hit the half-way mark in 19:55. At this point I was kind of excited about lowering my time but it wasn't long before my calves tightened up and my shins were killing me. I had to stop and stretch and did so twice on the way back. I ended up stopping just shy of the finish (probably about 4.9 miles). I still feel the workout was a success considering what I put my body through yesterday. I gave it all I had and my time was still respectable for this point in my training.

4.9 miles - 40:29

Out With the Old, In With the New

I bought these New Balance 704's right before my Chabot Cross Country season. I figure they have traversed some 300 or so miles, including hiking, trail running, track running, street running, treadmill running, tennis, and numerous other sports participations. I love them and will probably never throw them away.


However, in the interest of bone and joint health I decided to invest in another pair of NB's. I discovered sometime last year that the 704's are discontinued and when I walked into the store today and told the worker about them, she gave me a complete blank stare. She then proceeded to measure my foot, both length and width, and then watched my gait. I doubt she really new what she was looking at, but it made me (and her) feel better. I tried on my first pair, which was the aesthetic shoe of choice, but alas it lacked in front foot support. Then the second pair came and I was sold...



I also bought a pair of running shorts. I needed some that wouldn't creep up, or down, and that wouldn't give me mid-thigh tan lines. AAAnd, the price was right at 6.99 (in the Girl's section of course!)



~chrissy

Good News - Bad News

First of all, that is a cool website. It's fun to put in your pr's and see what you could have achieved in other events. Based on a 49 for the 400, I could have run a 4:18 mile and a 1:55 800m. Very cool. Also, your times are progressing nicely. Keep it up and make sure you continue to leave it all on the track (or trail) each and every time you run. I'd say our times are getting to be respectable and with a couple more months of hard work we could get to where it is pretty rewarding.

Today I ran intervals again. I set out to run just under my previous interval times. Hoping it would come out something like this:

200 - 30s
400 - 80s
800 - 3:10
400 - 80s
200 - 30

The good news is that I beat those times. The bad news is that I ran out of gas and couldn't continue after my 800. Actual results:

200 - 29s
300 - 75s
800 - 3:04

I need to learn to hold back a bit on these intervals. I am still used to just gunning it when I'm on the track and my body isn't ready for it. I think the workout was productive; my heart-rate was very elevated for 20 min and my muscles are fatigued in a way that I don't get running miles.

-Mike

Fun Site!

Here is a super interesting site I found! You can navigate through it to see how it works. My favorite part is that it gives you a training tempo! Thought you might find it interesting ;)

http://www.fasterrunning.com/oldsite/calculator2.htm

Today's time:
I wanted to run a flat, exact length so I hit the track after school.

2 miles: 15:51

~chrissy

A Redeeming Time

Today I ran my 5.02 mile trail (I've seen wild pig and two cotton-tail rabbits on this trail!) and finally brought along a watch. I was a little more motivated than usual due to what happened last time I ran and it was a cool morning which felt great. I set off with a goal in mind of 43 minutes. Two weeks ago I ran a 5 mile loop around my house and that's how long it took. I figured running .2 miles more in the same amount of time would show sufficient progress (especially considering the result from two days ago).

I made it to the half-way mark in 20:09 (8:02/mile). I was still feeling really good at this point and excited to see that if I could keep pace that I would really beat my goal. As I continued I realized that if I could run a negative split on the back half of the run that I could break 40 minutes.

I'm usually pretty good at math but apparently there is a significant drop off in my ability to calculate while I'm running. More than once have I done a calculation mid-run only to find out afterward that I was way off. Today was no exception.

For some reason I thought I was just under 9:00/mile (which I was happy with) but if I could run a negative second-half it would mean a sub 8 minute average (which I really did not expect). Well, I finished in 39:00 exactly. And, after catching my breath, I realized was 7:46/mile. Very happy with that.

Mike

A Little Ambitious

The last time I ran 3 miles was almost two weeks ago and it took me 25 and a half minutes. I figured enough time had gone by that I could now shoot for 24 minutes or just under if I could muster up a strong finish. I was at the track so I knew I had to go 2:00/lap to get right at 24 min for 3 miles. Well, about 3 or 4 laps in I started to have doubts. I was on pace but it was hurting. I was breathing pretty hard and my leg muscles seemed really tight and fatigued. I kept pace for 6 laps and fell off on the 7th. I decided to just make it two miles (which really was and is a disappointing decision)and finished in exactly 16:00. It marks the first time my time did not drop during a workout since day 1 which was 32 days ago.

2 miles - 16:00

Mike

Same Trail, New Time

I like the sound of this post-title ;)

Last night I decided to eat a healthier dinner and see what kind of a difference it would make. Besides waking up starving, I did feel a bit better on my run. I ate whole wheat (unrefined) pasta with a little tomato sauce (all in a cute egg-shaped bowl that one of our Curves members gave me for easter :) and TONS of water!

3.2 miles: 26:44.


Adding a mile and hills onto my run has grossly hurt my pace time, but it feels really good. Putting in the miles is what I need to do most right now.

~chrissy

new trail

I mapped out a trail that just so happens to be 3.2 miles. It is an exact loop from my doorstep. I exit Sonoma Parkway to the right, which throws a hill at me right at the beginning, then it levels off when I turn onto Kyle Seal. As soon as I hit the 1604 Frontage Road I make a right and after about 200m I'm at 1 mile. The trail stays relatively flat at this point, but not completely, and I run about a mile on the frontage road. Then when I turn right onto Hausman to head home I have another 1.2 miles to go and two decent hills to conquer. The first rolls up steadily and then heads back down rather quickly and the last hill is probably only 200m long but it is rather steep. Once I get to the top of that I just head down the home stretch.

I was a bit bothered with my performance today. I ran it in 29.17 with two stops mid-run. One of the stops was around 2 miles, which is explained by the fact that I haven't run more than 2 miles yet. I walked for like 2.5 minutes. And, the hills always kick my butt. Tomorrow I'm going to run without the ipod and see if I can 'focus' my way to conquering the run.

~chrissy

Man Oh Man

First of all, congrats mike on getting the 14's with your two mile! And that's great you are able to find a marked trail to run on... There has got to be something like that out here for me. I need to look into it.

Yea, hitting the dusty trail was difficult for me over the weekend. I played too much while sara was here :) And, when I wasn't playing I was writing my talk or doing school work.

My run today went pretty well. It was more difficult than I wanted it to be. ha. I ran probably 3 miles, on rolling hills, nothing too steep. I was just feeling it after taking off, what, 4 days? 5? I don't even know! And I decided that I'll get my strength workouts while I'm working at curves. Just jump on the machines when I'm training the ladies, which will give me 2 or 3 days a week of lifting.

Well, I'll keep you posted on the rest of the week's runs!
~chrissy

Long Run

Today I ran another 5 mile run along the same path I did last time. I forgot the watch again so it went untimed but I felt like it was a good workout. I made a point to turn it on with maybe a half-mile to go (instead of the final 200-300m I have been doing). The goal being to increase my stamina and have my heart-rate be increased for a longer period of time. We'll see what that does. I need to bring a watch next time.

Chris, where have you been???

Mike

Intervals

Today I ran intervals at the track - first time in a VERY long time. I wanted to run them like this: 200, 400, 800, 400, 200. Probably too short of a distance for 5k preparation but I feel that I need to get my speed up a little. I'm feeling that my lungs and cardiovascular system are improving steadily, but sometimes my legs feel heavy and sluggish. I'm hoping intervals will give me some strength and put some hop back in my step.

I went into this workout completely blind. The last time I remember doing intervals my goal times were around 23s for 200 and 53-54s for the 400. I knew I couldn't touch that at this point, but also had no idea what to pace myself at. I started off the two hundred feeling like I was going about 80% ... it turned out to be too much and I ran out of gas the final 75m and finished in about 32s. It was a painful lesson gave me a benchmark from which I could finish my workout. Here are my goal times (set after my initial 200m) and the actual times.

Goal:

200m - 32s
400m - 90s
800m - 3min
400m - 90s
200m - 32s

Actual:

200m - 32s
400m - 81s
800m - 3:11
400m - 82s
200m - 33s

A New Trail

Yesterday I tried out a new place to run. I had been looking for a good trail with mile markers and was having a hard time of it. It turns out there's one just down the street from our house. It runs through a nature preserve (which I knew was there I just didn't know there were marked trails) and it is beautiful. It's almost eleven miles to the end which almost makes it a marathon round-trip that passes through trees and bayou pretty much the whole way. Today I just ran to the second bridge and back which amounted to about 5.2 miles. Since this was a new adventure I didn't time it but I was pretty tired afterwards and my calves are still a bit sore so it was a good workout. I'd like to get to the track today and do some interval work but the weather isn't looking to cooperate. We'll see.

Mike

Pick Up The Pace

Today my goal was to break 15 minutes in a two-mile workout. I was a little concerned going in because:

1) I was only able to run every other day this week rather than daily as planned.
2) On Monday I ran the same workout and it took everything I had to finish in just over 15 minutes.

I'm finally getting to a point where a warm-up run doesn't feel like part of my workout; so I started with two slow laps just to get warm and stretch. I felt good and confident and figured I needed to run 1:52.5/lap to get right at 15 min. If I could keep this pace then I knew I could let it go on the final lap and get my mark.

I start my run at what seemed to be a pretty good clip but came across the first lap at 1:56.5, slower than my first lap on Monday. I was concerned because things weren't feeling right and now I knew I had to re-adjust my pace for the entire rest of my run just to hit the mark. I didn't do the math in my head mid-run but resolved to pick it up slightly and check things out at the mile mark.

Halfway through I was at 7:32. I was hurting but knew I could do 4 more laps. Now I just had to settle into my originally planned pace coupled with a sub-pace final lap and I would have it. The next 3 laps were right on pace and with a decent final lap I finished in 14:52!

Every run like this seems to hurt more than the last but today marked the 1 month anniversary of my new commitment to running and I knocked over 3 minutes off my 2-mile time just in training. I'm going to have to get to training daily and I would like to add some interval work at the track along with some longer runs. Now that my body is becoming more capable, preparing for a 5k by running 2 miles is beginning to feel rather insufficient.

Mike

Items of business

-That Obea article was really interesting! Despite the poor grammar throughout, it still held my attention very well! I thought it interesting that the coaches he worked with STILL had so much faith in his commitment when he was saying he would give it. They were always behind him 100% despite his fluctuating desires. Were we there when he ran a 44.8 split for the 4x4? I specifically remember the prowess he had in that stadium in Cerritos, and how revered he was by the crowd.

-Have you seen the trail we will be racing on? Does it have hills?

-I ran a little over 2 miles today on more hills, but it was untimed. I keep forgetting to set my watch because I start my ipod and then go. oops. But I did push myself more than yesterday, which was my goal.

After-Dinner Treat

Marci's grandma had her birthday yesterday so they had us all over for dinner @ 5:30. Since that is my usual run time I had to wait until after dinner which is a no-no for me because I hate running-cramps. I'd rather run famished before dinner than an hour or two after. Well, they served us up a platter of Popeye's spicy chicken along with a potato dish, salad, biscuits and ice cream with brownies. I ate it all up, visited for about an hour, went home, helped get Ella ready for bed and ran around the block.

Distance - 2.5 miles
Time - untimed

I'm jealous of the hills you get to run, Chrissy. I have no idea where I'll be able to get some hill training in around here. But remember, no matter how out of shape you are, you can always run your hardest.

Mike

Today

I ran an untimed, unmeasured hilly trail today. I didn't run yesterday, despite my intentions. My run today felt pretty good, but I think I need to start pushing myself harder. I am 2 1/2 weeks into the training, and my body is definitely used to running at this speed. Not that it is easy now or anything, but when I first started training a lot of my focus was on reminding my body what it felt like to hurt. I think it has gotten the idea now, which means it is now time to make it hurt more.

I want to take a second to explain a couple things. When I ran cross country I wasn't ever happy with how I did. I would always think to myself 'what am I doing?' about half-way through the race, which automatically took the wind out of my sails and I would tank. My team members and I were always pretty close in time at practice, but for some reason my race times weren't equally comparable. Sometimes even the girls I would beat in practice would beat me come race day. This is frustrating because I know I am a fast runner. Going back to track, my 400 times were decent. Better than most. During club track we would run one mile for warm-up, and I would finish in nearly exactly 7:00 flat. That was warm-up. And then, I specifically remember running the mile for a time-trial in cross country, and I was appalled at my time of 6:30. I was certain I would break six minutes. There was something about cross country that I had a hard time with. But because there is no sense in worrying about the past, and in order to allow myself the opportunity to improve in the future, I am going to list the factors I know I never considered or practiced while training in cross-country:

-Diet: I never thought about the effects of what I ate. I didn't, and still don't, eat horribly, but there is definitely room for improvement. And knowing what I know now about physiology, the effects are undeniable.

-Strength Training: I never, I repeat, never, lifted weights. I am not a fan of it, but I am not opposed to it. Core strength is essential to running, seeing as the abdominals are major components in flexion of the hip (lifting the knee).

-Flat out pushing myself: I can't say that I gave every race and every work-out my all. I know what you're thinking, 'then how can you be disappointed in your performance if you didn't give it your all?'. If you were to ask me while I was running in track or cross country if I was completely out of gas I would have said yes. But, I wasn't. Even today, if you are to ask me that while I'm running I would probably still say yes. But I'm not. Unless you are dead, the answer to that question is always no. I was just afraid to push myself, and now I'm not. it's probably a maturity thing.

So this gives me lots of hope and excitement. Unlike Mike who is trying to get back to where he was (which is an incredible feat considering) I'm still trying to see what I'm capable of (since going to back to where I was isn't so incredible of a feat). And if I do better than ever before FABULOUS! if I don't, then at least I know my capacity.