Keep Moving Forward: A Training Log (Comments Welcome)

[DopeyBadger]

Back at it for another week!

Tuesday
4 miles @ 9:24/mile. A bit faster than my EA pace, but part of that was thanks to gravity and going downhill. Really working on hitting my appropriate paces.

Wednesday
Speed work! 5.8 @ 8:37/mile. Actual workout was 1 mi 3 sets of (200m R + 200m WU + 200m R + 400m WU + 400m R + 200m WU) + 1 mi @ CD. I stuck to the plan/times pretty closely. The biggest thing I noticed was the temperatures. A week ago this time, it was 85. On this night, it was more like 55 and dropping. Also, there were some high school girls working out on the track at the same time and I find that super awkward. I just want to wear a big sign that says, "I'm not a creep."

Friday
4 miles @ 9:49/mile. Hey! That's much closer to the EA pace. Also, I ran this after work on Friday and came home expecting maybe 5 or 6 miles. When I saw it was only 4, I actually said, "Thank you, Billy" out loud.

Saturday
8 miles @ 9:12/mile. Also pretty close to my EB pace. Nice eight mile run to get me stretched out for Sunday's half marathon. My knees felt a little achy after the run, however. I took that as a sign to replace my shoes, which were close to due, anyway. I picked up a pair of Hoka Bondi 6s Saturday afternoon.

Sunday
Half marathon race! 13.2 miles @ 8:21. So, Sunday was the Iowa City Run for the Schools, which I've done four times now. Three of those races have been half marathons (the only official half marathons of my short-lived running career). The plan was to run this race at LR (9:01/mile).

It was pretty brisk this morning, about 42 at start time. I somehow woke up at 5, got out of bed at 6 and had a bagel w/cream cheese and some Powerade. Around 7 I got ready and at 8 my wife dropped me off downtown near the starting line. The race started at 9, so I stayed inside the nearby rec center for warmth, stretching, etc.

When the race started, I got into a roughly 8:30/mile groove. I figured it was that bit of adrenaline that you get at the start of a race and I'd settle in a little bit, but more or less maintained that pace. The pace felt good, even though I knew I was on the fast side and I decided to stick with it. I was moving at a good (for me) clip, but didn't feel like I was pushing too hard.

Anyway, around mile 8 or so I realized that at my current pace I could be looking at a PR. That gave me some motivation to keep pushing, especially up some of the hills (Iowa is not flat, folks!). As the miles ticked down I realized I was getting closer and closer to hitting that PR. The last mile has a significant quarter mile uphill, but then the final quarter mile is downhill. I chugged up the hill and then pushed it down to the finish line.

I haven't checked chip times, but Strava has me doing 13.2 in 1:50:40 and 13.1 in 1:49:46, which beats my unofficial HM PR from the CRANDIC marathon.

So, I ended my official race season the way I started it back in April - with a solid race and a new PR. I turn 35 in one week and it feels really good to know that I'm getting stronger, faster and healthier even as I'm getting older. I hope he's not getting sick of this yet, because I want to thank @DopeyBadger for giving me the tools I need to be the best runner I can be.

Onward to the Dopey Challenge!

Miles This Week: 35
Year To Date: 1,095

Congrats! Nice to run a HM PR the day after running 8 miles. Now SLOW DOWN! LOL! Make sure you take the next week very very easy. No hard runs. But congrats!

 

[lhermiston]

Congrats! Nice to run a HM PR the day after running 8 miles. Now SLOW DOWN! LOL! Make sure you take the next week very very easy. No hard runs. But congrats!

Will do!

 

[lhermiston]

Official chip time: 1:51:02. Still a PR by a couple of minutes. 43rd overall (out of 108), 28th among men and 4th in the 30-34 age group.

 

[ZellyB]

Congrats on the new PR!!

 

[run.minnie.miles]

Congrats on a great race and the PR!!

 

[lhermiston]

Congrats on the new PR!!

Congrats on a great race and the PR!!

Thank you!

 

[lhermiston]

If you squint, you can see the finisher’s medal. Ha ha.

 

[jennamfeo]

Official chip time: 1:51:02. Still a PR by a couple of minutes. 43rd overall (out of 108), 28th among men and 4th in the 30-34 age group.

Congrats on that new PR! Great race racap!

 

[lhermiston]

Congrats on that new PR! Great race racap!

Thanks! You raced last weekend, right? How did that go?

 

[lhermiston]

No rest for the wicked! After the half marathon and a standard day off on Monday, it was right back to training.

Tuesday
4 miles @ EA. This came in at 4 miles @ 10:06, so I stuck to the EA pace. No easy task for this dude.

Wednesday
1 mi @ WU + 3 x 1 miles @ T w/ 1.5 min rest + 4 x 200 @ R w/ 200 RI @ WU + 1 mi @ CD. For some reason, I was kind of dreading this one all day. Not entirely sure why, though I know that speed work has been kicking my butt (in a good way). I went out on my typical five-mile route, with the plan to hit the track for the R portions right around 4 miles. After a 1 mile warm up, I started in on the T miles. I was a little on the fast end for the T miles, but I run those so rarely and they're hard for me to pace.

I hit the track right around 3.75 miles, took one more lap to finish the T work and then started in on the 200s. I thought I'd be pretty gassed, but with only four of them, it wasn't too bad. Cooled off with about 1.3 miles back home.

Friday
6 miles @ EA. Easy peasy, though I didn't stick to the EA pace as well as on Tuesday (Avg. pace: 9:46). Chalk that up to being ready for the weekend, I suppose. It's easier to take it easy on a Tuesday than a Friday. The cool part about this run is they were staging for the University of Iowa homecoming parade downtown, and a mile or so of the route took me through the staging area. I had to dodge a few folks, but also got to see a bunch of floats, so that was cool.

Saturday
7 miles @ EB. This came in at an average of 9:18/mile, so I was pretty much right where I needed to be. Nice, fall morning, although a little windy. Some lady was walking her dog and didn't keep it tight enough on it's leash, so as I was passing, the dog leaped right into me. No bites or anything, but it just kind of hacked me off. Decent run, otherwise.

Sunday
7 miles @ LR (Blind run). So, long run is supposed to be 9:01/mile and I averaged 8:52/mile. Not too shabby.

Not much else to report - I turned 35 on Sunday and I still consider it a privilege to be able to go out and run even seven miles, let alone a marathon, let alone PRing a marathon in the last six months. I hope I never lose sight of that and remember that there are those who don't make it to 35 or have health issues that prevent them being being able to run a mile. I am incredibly grateful for my health. Being an average (at best) runner is so much better than not being able to run at all.

Miles This Year: 1,125

 

[run.minnie.miles]

Not much else to report - I turned 35 on Sunday and I still consider it a privilege to be able to go out and run even seven miles, let alone a marathon, let alone PRing a marathon in the last six months. I hope I never lose sight of that and remember that there are those who don't make it to 35 or have health issues that prevent them being being able to run a mile. I am incredibly grateful for my health. Being an average (at best) runner is so much better than not being able to run at all.

This is such a great reminder! Happy Birthday and cheers to another year of running!

 

[lhermiston]

This is such a great reminder! Happy Birthday and cheers to another year of running!

Thank you!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Happy Belated Birthday!

 

[lhermiston]

Happy Belated Birthday!

Thanks Billy!

 

[lhermiston]

Eleven weeks until the marathon! Hard to believe I'm already about one-third of the way through training.

Tuesday
5 miles @ EA. Strava shows that I ran 4.9 miles @ 9:49/mile, even though it clearly alerted at 5 miles. Mildly annoying. That 4.9 is taunting me.

Wednesday
1 mile WU + 4 miles @ Tempo + 1 mile CD. T pace is always kind of crap shoot for me, especially when coming off a warm up mile. It looks like I got thrown off a little bit mentally on the T miles, too because 3 out of 4 are coming in a little on the slow side, when I definitely could've/should've gone faster. I don't know if that's a Strava mistake or a me mistake. Either way, not a bad run. Cut out the CD that night because I was a little pressed for time.

Friday
I was supposed to have a 5 mile EA run, but I had a visitation to attend after work, then I had to get home and get my kids fed and ready for their school dance. My wife was at an appointment, so there just wasn't any opportunity to get the run in, unfortunately.

Saturday
8 miles @ EB. I ran 8.1 to offset that 4.9 miles on Tuesday (apparently, I have a hard time letting go!). Actual pace was 9:03, so a little on the fast side. But man, it was a gorgeous morning for a run. We finally have some decent, fall-like weather. I hope it lasts.

Sunday
13 miles @ LR. Actual run was 13 miles @ 8:48/mile. Temperature-wise, it was very similar to Saturday, but much, much windier. Running head first into some strong gusts wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible, either. Really awesome weekend for a run. I also took my new custom made Incredibles shirt out for a test run. I'm sure I got some looks, but it worked out great.



Miles This Week: 31.1
Year To Date: 1,156

 

[run.minnie.miles]

Great week and cool shirt!!

 

[lhermiston]

Great week and cool shirt!!

Thanks!

 

[lhermiston]

Ten weeks from now and the marathon will be over and with the week of the event itself, plus tapering, it really feels like there's not a whole lot of of training left. This has gone fast.

Pretty easy week, all and all, and that was appreciated. I don't know if it's the weather or what, but my shins and knees - and to a lesser extent, ankles and hips - have been achy this whole week. I know I could push it if I had to, but I'm glad that wasn't really necessary.

Tuesday
5 miles @ EA. Actual run 4.9 (grrr) at 9:54/mile. Nice and easy.

Wednesday
1 mi @ WU + 2 x 1.5 miles @ T w/ 2 min rest + 4 x 200 @ R w/ 200 RI @ WU + 1 mi @ CD. Took off work a little early so I could knock this out before taking the kids trick-or-treating. The warm up mile and maybe the first mile or so felt rough, but I felt better as the run went out. Came in a *little* fast on the T miles, but it was pretty close, so I'll take it. The 200s on the track went just fine.

Added a couple more miles of walking with trick-or-treating later that evening and only had one piece of candy. #selfcontrol

Friday
5 miles @ EA. Actual run 5.1 miles @ 9:48/mile. Welcome to November! I knew I was going to have to work a bit late, so I got up early to run and was greeted by rain and total darkness. Yay! I got dressed and tucked my phone into the inside pocket of my running coat, but fortunately the rain was done by the time I got out. It did lead to an unofficial "blind but not deaf" EA run, as I couldn't check my splits, but adjusted to the audio cues at each mile. The run went fine - saw an owl and got to see the sun come up, so that's pretty okay.

Saturday
5 miles @ EB. Actual run 4.9 miles (that one is probably my fault, ran into my wife walking my dog and ended a hair early) @ 9:12. Nothing really to report after another 5 mile run. I think I saw a few deer at one point. Go nature.

Sunday
5 miles @ LR Actual run 5.1 miles @ 9:01 (nailed it!). No avoiding the rain this time. It was pouring when I woke up and there were no signs of it letting up for a few hours. I had a choice - run 5 miles in the rain or wait until the afternoon. I decided I won't get that choice if it's raining during marathon weekend, got dressed, through on a rain coat and went out. The rain wasn't terrible, but after my first mile I adjusted my hydration belt and the belt snapped. No more hydration belt. I knew this was coming - the belt was pretty frayed - but it was a drag to carry the belt the rest of the way. Plus, I had hoped to just get a new belt as a Christmas gift. Oh well.

I got soaked from head to toe, but the run itself was fine.

Miles This Week: 26.3
Year To Date: 1,182

 

[ZellyB]

Your training is going great! Love that Mr. Incredible T-shirt as well.

 

[lhermiston]

Your training is going great! Love that Mr. Incredible T-shirt as well.

Thanks!