Team Cross Runs

Week 1: Half Marathon Training

This begins my first week of half-marathon training for the Lake Minnetonka Half-Marathon.  I decided to do something a little different, yes I want a PR but I also want a “fun” race with maybe some scenery. Running part way around Lake Minnetonka seems to fit that bill!  As far as a training plan goes, I really enjoyed Hal Higdon’s marathon schedule that I used last fall so I thought I’d give him another try with his Advanced Half-Marathon program.  It is a 12 week program that begins NOW!

Monday I did my standard loop around the Metrodome for 3.14 miles in 27:14.  It was 33 but 24 wind chill. I was a little overdressed for pretty much the whole run.  Most of the sidewalks were clear with only small patches of ice to be found.  Oddly my Garmin said it’s battery was low and didn’t even last long enough to find a signal.  That was frustrating since it was fully charged yesterday when I unplugged it from the computer.

Tuesday I ran to the West River Road so that I could do hill repeats going south up the the Franklin St Bridge.  The sidewalks were still a mixture of slush and ice thanks to the warmer weather we’d been having.  It was actually 40 with off and on drizzle for this particular workout.  I finally got off the sidewalks to run on the road because they were so dangerous.  About 2 miles into the run I had hopped back on the sidewalks and fell.  I didn’t just fall, somehow I fell and rolled.  I got up shook myself off and kept running.  My knee hurt a little bit but I felt fine.  I continued on to the road and did my 6 hill repeats.   I did 3 up the southbound ramp to Franklin’s eastbound.  They are approximately .15 of a mile or 264 yards.  They were in 1:10, 1:15, and 1:11.  The next 3 were straight up the River Road towards Franklin and approximately .23 miles or 400 yards.  I ran them in 1:37, 1:35, 1:36.  They were longer but not as steep. Total mileage was 7 miles in 60 minutes.

Wednesday was a nice easy 3 miles in 25:02.  It was a good recovery run with the temp above freezing again at 33 though the wind chill was 25.  Most of the run was on dry pavement which was a very nice change in pace!

Thursday I took off.  I deliberated back and forth about this but my schedule makes Friday a better morning to do the Tempo run, even though it would be before Saturday’s long run.  I think I’ll plan on doing it this way unless I have something else on Friday morning.  Basically I’ll do the tempo run on which ever day is more convenient!

Friday I set off for a 40 minute tempo run along the Greenway.  The plan was 20 minutes out and 20 minutes back. There was light flurries and it was 18 with the wind chill at 8.  It was a headwind on the way out.  I ended up running 5.13 miles in 38:32. Close enough right?  There were little patches of ice here and there. Unfortunately my pace chart shows that I didn’t do a very good job of making it a tempo run.  I hit my 10k pace 2x’s but didn’t sustain it for very long. Some of the spikes in the chart are due to icey patches.

Saturday morning the Polar Bear group met at the Longfellow Grille/Dunn Brothers and set out for a nice long run on the River Roads.  We went south crossed Ford Bridge and then went north crossing the pedestrian bridge just south of Washington Ave for 11.37 miles in 1:27:37.  It was 10 but the wind chill of -1 made it kinda chilly.  You could see the frozen mist again which actually turned to snow for the latter portions of the run.  I waxed and waned throughout the run but the hills in the middle wore me out by the end.

Sunday we met at Minnehaha Falls again and ran the Get in Gear loop, again.   This was actually the fastest we’d run the course on a Sunday morning this year.  These Sunday runs are usually a recovery run for most of us.  It was 5 above with no wind chill so a pretty nice morning to run. We ran it in 54:04.  As the weather has warmed a bit and we are also getting into spring training cycles I’ve seen more and more people out on the trails.

Total Mileage:

Running – 35.9 miles

Biking – 7 miles

Last Year

Mileage -

Run: 28.2 Miles
Bike: 14.0 Miles

The week began with a look back at Week Two of my half-marathon training.  The Complete Running Network created a Facebook group for their members to use as another way to connect. I’m a member of both CRN and the group but I’m not really active in either community. Former Governor and then Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee is an avid runner and ran last year’s Boston Marathon.  I like measuring my training and numbers, so I offered 3 reasons why  I like to bike.  I biked a lot last year getting over a 1,000 miles on the two wheel machine! Last year’s Foto Friday was an ice sculpture of the sinking Titanic.

Week 2: Half Marathon Training

Monday was President’s Day and I didn’t have to work so I took some extra time to go to Fort Snelling for a run on Pike Island. I knew it would be pretty icy so I took my new Yaks Tracks along for the ride. Good thing since the trails were solid sheets of ice. They worked pretty well and I never really slipped too much. It wasn’t the easiest 3 mile run due to the choppy conditions of the ice. It was 23 above and 12 wind chill. The Garmin battery malfunctioned again so I didn’t get an exact time or distance.

Tuesday was a nice morning for a speed workout! It was 23 with the wind chill around 15 and sunny!  I ran 6 miles out and back on the Greenway using my Garmin to clock the 7 x 400m intervals at 5k pace.  I set the plan for today of running sub-90 second intervals and nailed it.  1:23, 1:30, 1:29, 1:29, 1:28, 1:30, 1:29 I did 400m rest after each interval as programed in the Garmin. There were still small patches of ice on the trail but none that really hindered my running.   The wind was also in the face on the way back. I finished the 6 miles in 47:42 and felt pretty good about it.

Wednesday brought a much needed 3.25 mile recovery run on my Metrodome loop.  My legs were pretty tired and I ran it in 27:09 which is well over 8 minute miles.  We had just gotten a dusting of snow and the temp was 27 with a 15 degree wind chill, so not too bad!

Thursday was a well deserved day off! It was like 4 above when I woke up so I was doubly glad not to have to run.

Friday was supposed to be a tempo run but my legs felt very sluggish. It was 9f without any wind so that didn’t really have too much of an impact.  I think it was mainly just my tired legs.  I barely even made it under 7 minute pace and my tempos should be at 6:30.  Oh well.  I ran 6 miles in 47 minutes.

Saturday we had planned to meet at Theodore Wirth park and run on some different trails.  We got 5 inches of snow overnight and the Park Board hadn’t plowed any of the roads or paths yet along that stretch so we opted to go down to Cedar Lake and run some of the lakes because they had been plowed.  We got 11.5 miles in 1:33:00 for the morning.  It was around 18f with a pretty rough wind chill.  When we were running on the east side of Calhoun it was quite brutal.  Some places still had significant snow but for the most part there was decent footing.

Sunday we met at the falls again.  We ran west on the Minnehaha Parkway and ran around Nokomis.  The paths were pretty clear except for a few parts that had drifted back onto the trail.  Mike even brought Poncho along, who did quite well for the 6.25 mile run. The temp was 2 and the wind chill was back down to -12 which wasn’t too pleasant, but it was a good run at a relaxed pace.  We finished in 54:44.

Weekly Total:

Running -36 miles

Biking – 9 miles

Last Year

Run: 28.8 Miles
Bike: 12.5 Miles

Week 3 of Half Marathon training last year included supersets as part of the Running Planet training program.  The plan also included hill repeats, much like I did last week.   Foto Friday was a caution sign posted on the hill at Fort Snelling.

Week 3: Half Marathon Training

Last Year

Run: 37.9 Miles
Bike: 17.0 Miles

This time last year I was in Week 4 of Half Marathon training, but I wasn’t competing in or for the $2 million half-marathon that was being run in the UAE.  I highlighted my then new running group the MDRA and extolled the benefits of grinding pavement with friends.  Emerald Nuts setup a funny site to promote themselves and their race series, but it seems to be defunct now.  This edition of Foto Friday was a picture of my new wall of fame with all my race numbers.  During the weekend last year a marathoner from Wisconsin died after finishing the Little Rock Marathon.

This Year

Monday was a nice easy 3 mile recovery run along the LRT and Midtown Greenway. It was about 3 above with no wind. I ran the loop in 24:55 and felt pretty good.  I did push-ups, back work, hip thingys, and used my ab-roller before the run.  Everything feels ok at the beginning of a step-back week.

Tuesday I ran a hill workout again.  This time I went closer to downtown and ran the hill on the path near Mill City from the river up to street level.  It was about a 32% grade and the first 4 were a tenth of a mile and then I extended them to about .13 tenths of a mile (230 yards).  I ran them in 0:46, :48, :45, :44, :38, :49, and :52. It was 19 with a 9 wind chill and the path was pretty much free from any ice.  Overall it was a good day.

Wednesday my heal had been hurting a little bit off and on but today it was pretty bad and I’ve struggled in the past with dreaded plantar fasciitis  is what it felt like to me, so Tuesday night I iced and popped some pills and didn’t run today.  It felt a little better by the end of the day.  It comes and goes so we’ll see if this helps.

Thursday I decided to keep my scheduled day off and take advantage of the step-back week to see if my heel would feel any better.

Friday I  actually thought about running but not before a 7:30 breakfast meeting or the 12 lunch meeting.  The sunny afternoon was begging me to run but I had a lot of random stuff that needed to get done that kept me from getting out.

Saturday morning we took Cross Country Ski lessons at Elm Creek Park Preserve and did about 5k of classical skiing.  It was a lot of fun to learn to ski and we will probably try to do it more often next year.  It was both of our first time and we caught on fairly quickly, I think.  It might take some time to perfect and get comfortable though since only spent three hours total for the day (including instruction time).  We finished the day up by going camping at Afton – yes winter camping! Saturday’s part including snow shoeing to the campsite went pretty well.  It was the cold part of the night that really hurt.  Even with having 0 degree bags both of our feet got really cold.  Waking up Sunday was pretty painful though once we started moving again it wasn’t quite so bad.  We only snow shoed about 3 miles.  It took almost 20 minutes in the car before my feet thawed out!

Weekly Mileage –

Running – 8.6 miles

Skiing – 5k

Snow Shoeing – 3 miles

February Totals

Running -117.7 miles

Biking – 22 miles

2009 Totals

Running – 225.1 miles

Biking – 30 miles

Week 4: Half Marathon Training

Last Year

Run: 37.4 miles
Bike: 7 miles

At this time last year I was in the thick of Week 5 of training. I was still posting monthly highlights so you can go back and see all of February 2008’s posts. It was only last week that I started running with the MDRA but this week I joined their USATF team (and USATF-MN).  Their first race was right around the corner and was the Human Race 8k, traditionally thought of as the first race of the spring season. Foto Friday was highlighting a race number from my alma mater.

Monday was a nice comfortable 3.25 miles on the Metrodome loop.  My heel felt fine and I tried to run on the snow and shoulders as much as possible.  The sun was up which was nice but it was still cold 5 above with -8 wind chill.  I did some core work and feel pretty good despite a little soreness from the weekend.

Tuesday when I setup my Garmin last week with the 7×400 interval session I went ahead and setup the 8×400 session as well.  I obviously didn’t do it right.  As I stepped out for the run I told the Garmin to give me that training session and set out.  I felt pretty good after warming up and stretching and started the 3rd interval.  I picked it up and ran… and ran… I looked at the Garmin and ran some more at the interval pace.  Then I realized something was wrong.  I was in the final cool down period, so the clock was just ticking down.  Frustrated I turned around, recovered, and started running home.  I couldn’t easily do the 400m workout anymore so instead I did more of a fartlek.  The Greenway has lots of bridges that cross it so I ran hard from one to the next, then easy, then hard changing pace at every bridge.  These weren’t long intervals but it made sense.  I stopped doing them with about 1.5 miles to go for the cool down.  My second user error had something to do with the watch stopping after the official workout session.  I should have restarted it, but I didn’t realize that until I got home and stopped it.  Instead of stopping it I actually turned it back on.  At least this way I got the overall workout time even though I had to calculate the workout distance from the turn around point.  So my 5.25 mile interval workout had some frustrations.  I iced when I got home though my heel felt pretty good. It was about 15 with a 3 above wind chill.   My two recorded intervals were both 1:33.  A little slow but I was also unsure of how hard to push given my slight injury.  The workout took 43:11. On the interval thing – when I set it up I never went back and changed the number of intervals and the default is 2, which is what I did!

Wednesday was a 3 mile recovery run.  I did a modified loop around Powderhorn because not all of the sidewalks were actually plowed.  It was 23 with a 13 wind chill so it felt pretty decent out for the 25 minutes that it took to run.  My legs hurt a little bit but not too much.  The pink sunrise made for a nice setting to run with.

Thursday it was nice to sleep in and take a break!

Friday I waited and ran around 11am which was  nice because it was sunny and 40!!  I ran in shorts along the Greenway for the tempo run.  I hit and sustained tempo pace for about a mile and actually felt pretty good doing it.   The snow melt made for some nice sized puddles. I started out the run trying to avoid them, but pretty much ended up having to just run through them but it was a nice day so who cares! It was 5.5 miles in 40 minutes.  My heel and knee still hurt a little but so I’ve been icing and trying to stretch more.  Here is a pic of my tempo pace (the bump in the tempo section is when I turned around):

Saturday we met at the Nokomis Community Center, not the Nokomis Country Club and ran along the Minnehaha Parkway and around Lake Harriet then back.  We changed the course a little bit on the way back to avoid all of the ice on the parkway.  The path was pretty intermittent with ice and wasn’t exactly pleasant to run on.  The roads were much better.  The total was 11.3 miles in almost exactly 90 minutes.  It was 28 with a 13 wind chill.  I started out being a little under dressed but it ended up being ok.  It is hard to dress appropriately as the temps vary up and down like this.

Sunday I ran an easy 3 miles from my house to pick up my car in Uptown.  We had gone to a party and then from there bussed to a concert downtown.  Stupidly I forgot to check when the last bus back to where our car was and we missed it. We were able to take the LRT and hop a bus home though.  So I ran over and picked it up.  I was a little tired and sore from yesterday’s run but once I warmed up it felt good.  It was 29 and 21 wind chill.  The sun was trying to come out although that never materialized.

Total Mileage

Running – 31.6 miles

Week 5: Half Marathon Training

Last Year

Last year was week 6 of training. It was a tough week with hills, 4 x 1200’s, and 2 x 20 minutes at 10k pace.  I joined the USATF’s stretching study – which I believe is still ongoing.  This week we had some air quality warnings which is related to a story about smog and the Olympics, which ended up being not too much of a worry.  I loved writing this post about running strategy and using the idea of baking cookies.  Foto Friday was a picture of my “Olympic Trials” number.

Mileage

Run: 34.0 Miles
Bike: 7.0 Miles

Monday was hard to wake up after the Daylight Savings switch on Sunday morning everything was dark again. I had been enjoying the sun on my runs.  The extra sun also made the motivation a little easier to get up! I did the 3.25 Metrodome loop in 27:30.  It was 27 with no wind.

Tuesday saw another human error operating my Garmin.  You’d like after over a year I’d remember how to use it!  Today I forgot to restart it after stopping it while waiting to cross a street.  So that’s a little frustrating but it could be worse!  I ran about 7 miles total in 57 minutes.  This included an 8 x hill workout on the hill next to the Franklin St bridge.  I ran the exit ramp hill (from West River Road).  It is approximately .16 miles or 257 meters.  The intervals were 1:10, 1:13, 1:11, 1:10, 1:09, 1:08, 1:09, 1:05 The temp was about 34 with a 29 wind chill and a slight drizzle for part of it.  I feel pleased and after I loosened up I felt pretty good.

Wednesday Well so much for the worst of winter being behind us.  It was -2 with -23 wind chill and fresh snow.  I ran 3 miles around Powderhorn with my Yaktrax.  They did really good and I didn’t really slip at all.  Some of the snow had drifted into several inches of powder but for the most part it was maybe 1/2 inch.  It took me 27 minutes to lumber around and get home.  The stiffness went away after the first 1/2 mile or so.  I also ran in my new Mizuno Wave Inspire 4 shoes.  Same brand and model just a different color!

Thursday was even colder than Weds so I was happy to take the morning off and enjoy sleeping in.  Although when I awoke I was actually really tired and groggy.  Oh well – sleep is good.

Friday was a sunny morning with temps rising but it was 22 with 19 wind chill for the start of my run.  I drove to Lake of the Isles and ran around it and Calhoun for my 45 minute tempo run. There were plenty of patches of ice still on the paths around the lakes, though I didn’t fall and they weren’t enough to have wanted the Yaktrax. I felt pretty good for the whole run and managed to lay down a good tempo section hitting 6:30 pace for about a mile.  I finished the 6 mile run right at 45 minutes and almost exactly back at my car!

Saturday was a beautiful morning for a run.  Sunny and 27 (ok could have been a little warmer) with no wind.  We met at the Longfellow Grille and took a new scenic route of Minneapolis.  Cutting across the heart of South Minneapolis via the Greenway, the short side of the Isles heading up into Kenwood on Mt Curve Ave and then under the Walker Art Center through the Sculpture Garden and then through Loring Park up Nicolet to the River and then across the Stone Arch Bridge and down the river back.  This made for almost 15 miles in 1:54:12.  I felt pretty good until we crossed the Stone Arch and then I started really feeling tired and by the time we got to Franklin Ave I had pretty much dropped off the group’s pace.  I struggled through and finished thanks to Kirk’s help.  Overall an enjoyable run!

Sunday my foot had been feeling pretty good all week and was a little stiff so I took it easy and went for a swim.  It was a little hard knowing that the temps were going to be in the 50’s but it was the prudent thing to do.  So I went to the YWCA and swam about 300 yards, sat in the hot tub, and did some stretching.  It felt really good.  The actual swimming part is tough!  I need to work on building my endurance – but I’d rather be running so we’ll see.

Weekly Total

Running – 34.2 miles

Swimming – 300 yards

Week 6: Half Marathon Training

Last Year

After a tough week of training including to speed workouts I raced for the first time in 2008 and Minnesota at the Human Race 8k. I was pleased with my race so that was good.  I detailed the information provided from Ryan Shay’s autopsy and the tragedy of his death.   My wife and I have been long time supporters of the ONE Campaign and its efforts to end global poverty.  Last year Mesert Defer won the 3000m World Indoor Championships while wearing a ONE Campaign wristband.  Do you stretch or not? That seems to be an ongoing controversy. I didn’t provide any great insights but just some “expert” opinions. Finally, Foto Friday was some more memorabilia.

Mileage

Run: 34.0 Miles
Bike: 7.0 Miles

Monday was an easy 3.25 miles around the Metrodome loop in my new Mizuno shoes! It was 38 with a 35 wind chill, I wore shorts but was a little cold!  There was still plenty of ice around as the snow melt refroze overnight.  26:42. I biked to work and to SALT in the evening for about 10 miles total.

Tuesday was a 8×400m workout.  This time the Garmin functioned properly. It was 45 with a wind chill of 37 which made for pretty decent weather for an interval workout on the Greenway.  It took a little bit to warm-up.  The first 4 were into the wind and the final 4 was with the wind at my back.  The intervals were: 1:32, 1:35, 1:35, 1:31, 1:28, 1:29, 1:30, 1:26. I wasn’t really sore or anything but biking 7 miles (roundtrip) to work helped.

Wednesday I ran a new random route from my house towards Uptown making a square.  It was 3.2 miles in 26:41. It was 31 with no wind which is a nice change.  The sunrise on downtown was beautiful as I crossed over 35-W. I was a little  sore but nothing major and it worked out pretty well.  My foot felt good as well.

Thursday no running for me.

Friday was a rough tempo run.  I felt tired and a little sore when I set out and never really got into a good groove.  I think I hit tempo pace (maybe on a downhill) but couldn’t really sustain it.  It was 30 with a 23 wind chill and a fresh dusting of snow – which probably didn’t help much especially since it was the first day of spring!

Saturday a rare two days of rest in one week… I decided that given the fact that I’m still trying to fight off plantar fascitits, I should take the day off instead of an easy run.  I was on my feet for 3 hours Friday night and my leg was really hurting afterwards.  Ugh.

Sunday afternoon races are a little weird, you have all morning to relax but what to you do about food?  It ws a gorgeous day about 54 around the start.  There was a pretty strong headwind on the way out during the Human Race 8k.  So uphill and headwind aren’t a good combination and downhill and a tailwind when you are exhausted helps a little.  I ran 1:30 slower than last year in 33:02.  I got a cramp at about the 4 mile mark but the downhill helped!

Weekly Mileage

Running 21.7 miles

Biking 20.7 miles

Week 7: Half Marathon Training

Last Year

Running – 39 miles

This was Easter week last year and between the Human Race 8k and traveling home for Easter my Week 8 training was a little messed up.  I discovered how to create “blog bling” or the little picture of me in the address bar.  Being back in Indiana and having easy access to dirt trails made me long for trail running.  I think I’m at that point again this year, I think in part because it is a long wait for trails to clear and not be a complete muddy mess.  Even before the 100 push-up craze hit the blogosphere I was extolling the benefits of the push-up for all around physical fitness.  Last year’s Foto Friday was a terrible picture of me finishing at the Human Race.

Monday I ran the Metrodome 3.25 mile loop in 25 minutes.  It was a nice 42 outside with a wind chill of 38.  It had rained earlier in the morning, but didn’t while I was out.  I was sore from the Human Race but loosened up by the end of the run.

Tuesday was another great morning for a workout.  Today was 4 x800 meters in around 6:30 pace (or 3:15). It was 51 with a little wind and overcast.  I did the intervals on the Greenway, heading East.  My splits were 3:04, 3:04, 2:59, 3:00.  Obviously I was quite pleased to have all the intervals under goal pace – even with the wind.  This workout made me feel a lot better about where my running is.

Wednesday I did a nice easy run around Powderhorn.  This time I actually ran my old two lap route around the lake. it was 3.3 miles in 27 minutes. The temp was a nice 38 but the gusty winds brought the wind chill down to 14.  It was also flurrying and starting to stick – though it never accumulated.

Thursday was a nice day of rest!

Friday I went looking for a different place to run and decided to head to Wirth Beach and run around Theodore Wirth Park.  I haven’t run there very often and stuck mostly to the Grand Rounds Parkway before.  I could clearly see some of the trails and decided to take them.  I didn’t really know where they went or anything, but soon found a map that showed some general directions.  I was a little disappointed because I was on the paved trail section but they went North and caught the parkway and that’s what I decided to do.  After catching the parkway I was presented with a dirt trail option or staying on the paved trail – obviously I took the dirt path and eventually found myself back on the road – but not where I expected, nor did it have anything to offer besides sidewalk running so I turned around.  I retraced my steps and stayed on the parkway heading back south.  I got back to the beach area with about 10 minutes left so I kept running and found another little trail near the Bird Sanctuary and ran the dirt paths for a little bit.  It was a good run – didn’t really hit tempo pace but I pushed the pace when I could and felt solid with it. It ended up being 5.77 miles in 43 minutes on the sunny and windy morning – 24 with 14 wind chill.

Saturday we met at Jensen Lake in Lebanon Hills which was a great change of pace and scenery.  The plan was to run between 90 minutes and 2 hours but after arriving back at our cars after 90 minutes most of us were ready to be done.  We had logged a tough 12 miles on the rolling hills around the park.  It was a sunny and brisk morning in the mid-20’s when we started and into the 30’s by the end.  It took us about 94 minutes and I was feeling it more in my legs than anywhere else.  If you want a tough hill workout this is the place to go!  The trail was virtually ice free with some small remnants here and there.  One nice thing about the freezing temps was that the trail wasn’t muddy at all.

Sunday my foot was hurting last night so I opted to go for a swim again this morning.  I managed to get 400 yards out of the morning before becoming worn out.  I did a mixture of freestyle and using the kickboard.  It was nice to finish off with a sit in the hottub!!

Total Mileage:

Running – 29.6 miles

Swimming -400 yards

Biking – 7.8 miles