Category Archives: Marathon

TCM Training Week 11

2 Replies

Steady as she goes – making progress.

Previous Posts

Due to travelling and my current running I didn’t run the MDRA 15k this year, but here are my thoughts on last year’s race. As part of my World Vision series I wrote about their financial capabilities. We all yearn for the Olypmics and the hype and greatness that they often bring.  Last year was the summer Olympics.  I reflected on the opening ceremony. Foto Friday was of Kirk running the MDRA 15k.

Last Year’s Mileage

Run: 40.0 Miles
Bike: 52.2 Miles
Swim: 400 Yards

This Week’s Training

We finished traveling on Monday arriving home in time for a meeting and tutoring English.  Pez, one of my good friends from college was in town this week for a work-related training and then a few days vacation. On Tuesday he joined me for the Tuesday night workout with the MDRA training group.  The run was a 10 mile marathon pace workout.  Two mile warm-up, then a mile at faster than marathon pace, followed by a mile at marathon pace, and repeat.  My friend did an excellent job.  I was stupid!  I decided to go for the full 10 miles (my longest being 8 this cycle) and started off with the group on the first hard mile. Let’s just say it didn’t go very well from then on.  I quickly got dropped and was really struggling.  I stopped trying to pick up the pace.  With 3 miles to go I waited at the water stop for the next pace group to finish their drinks and tried running with them – didn’t work so well.  It was a brutal run and I was wiped out.  It was 84 and pretty humid.  As my form deteoriated in the last few miles my foot started hurting worse and worse, but felt ok the next day. Wednesday I opted for a swim doing 300 yards.  It was my first time in awhile.  On Thursday Pez and I ran at Pike Island, where we saw 4 deer and only 2 other people and their dog on the actual island.  By the time we got out in the afternoon it was 84 and humid.  At the end of the run it started sprinkling.  It was a good run, but I felt like our pace was faster than what the watch showed – 4 miles in 31:47.  Pez also managed to lock us out of the house.  No running on Friday.  Saturday morning was to be the first 20 miler of the training cycle.  Pez opted to do the whole thing and did great.  We thought ahead and given my current mileage we dropped a car off near the turn around spot of the out and back run.  I ended up running 11 miles at an easy pace with the “tailfin” group of 4. It was 72 and humid for the run that took 1:34 to complete.  I enjoyed a nice dip in Lake Calhoun afterwards.  With my mileage bump as planned I didn’t run on Sunday.

This Week’s Mileage

Run: 24.9 Miles
Bike: 5.0 Miles
Swim: 300 Yards

TCM Training Week 10

Leave a reply

Slow, but I got some good miles in.

Previous Posts

Most of us don’t plan to ruin our next race, but we often do.  I shared some of my mistakes along with a list of ways to ruin your next race.   It has been a cool summer here in Minnesota, but when it does get hot again here are some ways to stay safe in the heat.  Learn why I care about World Vision and dedicated my marathon to supporting their good work.  By now you’ve surely heard about Twitter, but when I wrote this post it was still a small, yet growing community.  Foto Friday was me, grinding out the finish at last year’s Hennepin Lakes Classic 10k (review). I’m not racing hardly at all right now, so I’ll miss it.

Last Year’s Mileage

Run: 27.8 Miles

Bike: 23.5 Miles

This Year’s Running

Monday was an easy 3 miles from my Dad’s house, down a mostly gravel road in a camping area and then back down a service road next to some train tracks. It was 58, sunny and humid – especially in between two corn fields (with the corn way taller than me). After running 2 days in a row I took Tuesday off. We enjoyed quality time with the family. On Wednesday I took the service road I discovered and ran a loop around a lake before following the train tracks out about 3 miles and then running back through Snyder Park. It was 6 miles in 49 minutes. It was 67, sunny and humid again. At least 1/3 of this run was on the rocky flat area next to the tracks. Another rest day on Thursday, now with the in-laws in Indianapolis. On Friday I ran 8 miles at Fort Harrison State Park. It was 61 when I started and 71 when I finished the trails. It is $7 for non-resident vehicles. I usually run from the house and jump the fence, but I wanted to make the run shorter and on trails so I parked near the “gate” and jumped the fence. The hills aggravated my foot a little bit, but I enjoyed being on the trails. I thought I got caught jumping the fence, but it turned out to be an outside vendor. The horse trails were closed so I had to do the shorter hiking loop. Saturday I ran an easy 3.38 miles from the in-law’s house.  I basically ran around their housing development.  It was pretty much all on roads/sidewalks but I thought that’d be better than lots of hills at the state park again.  I had to run a few hills but nothing major.  It was 68, sunny and humid (notice a theme here?).   Mostly a pretty boring run.  Sunday was a travel day, plus I already got my mileage where I wanted it.

This Year’s Mileage

Running – 20.4 miles

TCM Training Week 9

Leave a reply

Sometimes stronger, sometimes utter destruction.

Previous Posts

I reviewed Blaine Moore’s Comprehensive Guide to Marathon Preparation and Recovery.  I should probably look for it and give it a second read.  Africa has many things going for it, including its natural beauty.  I started (twice) the 100 Pushup Challenge but never made it.  Foto Friday was of a Superior Hiking Trail sign from vacation.  Last year I did a monthly highlight post.  Which do you like better monthly or weekly?

Last Year’s Mileage

Run: 26.0 Miles
Bike: 37.0 Miles

This Year’s Training

Monday was a scheduled rest day.  Due to some meetings I even drove to work!  Tuesday was a group training workout on a 0.75 mile loop in the Tangletown neighborhood of Minneapolis. We ran 3 hills in this loop.  I did 3 loops while most everyone else did 4 or 5.  They wore me out and I didn’t want to push too hard on my first hill workout back.  With the foot taped it felt pretty good.  Below is the elevation chart.   And if you insist here are my 3 times 5:48, 6:10, 6:03 for a total of 6.5 miles in 52:39.

On Wednesday I had a 7:30 meeting and then an evaluation appointment with a physical therapist at the Institute of Athletic Medicine.  The appointment proved that I do indeed have Plantar Faciitis and also some muscle imbalance, especially in my pelvis.  So I learned some exercises to work on strengthening the weak muscles, which should help my foot as well as using an ultrasound on my foot.  When I woke up on Thursday I actually felt very tired still, yet I couldn’t (physically) fall back asleep.  So I got up and did some yoga and my physical therapy exercises.  They are surprisingly tough.  The plan is to strengthen the muscles supporting my pelvis, which will “fix” my left leg and make it work properly.  With the amount of tiredness I felt, I opted to not run.  Ugh another 0 in the book.

I had a finite window of time, on Friday, between waking up (finally feeling refreshed) and a breakfast meeting.  It was plenty of time to get an easy 6 miles or so in, so I started off planning to do the Minneapolis Riverfront loop on a pretty nice morning (55, sunny, and humid).  I hadn’t done it in awhile, so I thought what the heck.  I felt terrible right off the bat. My foot hurt really bad and I felt sluggish (as often occurs after a few days of not running).  My foot pain slowly diminished and I felt a little better as I started running along the river road.  There are several options to shorten the run – which I should have taken.  Each time I thought, I can make it, just a little further.   I walked for the first time at 3.5 miles.  I had no energy, my legs were tired, and I felt pretty blah.  I walked for a little bit, got some water, and started running again.  I felt worse instead of better and decided to take a more direct way home.  Then I walked.  I reset my watch because I didn’t want the Garmin to get all screwy.  I was a good 2.5 miles from home, no phone and no bus money.  I walked for quite awhile but soon realized I wouldn’t make it back in time so I ended up running 1.5 miles (cutting through parking lots and trying to make it as short as possible).  I arrived home safely, but at the time I should have been leaving for breakfast.  I quickly showered and made it on time – foot hurting and very, very discouraged.

Saturday we were driving to see our families and after the run on Friday I was glad to take the time off.  We arrived safely at my Dad’s and after sleeping in on Sunday I went for an easy 4 mile run at Snyder Park in Springfield, OH.  The plan was to run a flat course on grass and see how that went.  I’m content with how the run went I finished right under 32 minutes so 8 minute pace is a lot better than Friday.  Just me and the fishermen.

This Year’s Mileage

Run: 16.2 Miles

TCM Training Week 8

Leave a reply

Feeling good and running.

Previous Posts

Fartleking is a funny sounding way to have some fun and add speed to your training.  Do you remember the Olympic Track Trials, here are a few videos to remind you of the great races. As part of my fundraising for World Vision last year I shared a slide show that I would use to tell people about my trip to Ghana.  Foto Friday was the walking man symbol painted around the city.

Last Year’s Mileage

Run: 33.3 Miles

This Year’s Training
Here is something different for this week. First is my Running Ahead feed in Facebook and second is my tweet stream with the hashtag #runlog.

This Year’s Mileage

Run: 20.4 Miles
Bike: 38.4 Miles

Guest Post: Tune-up Races

1 Reply

Coach Mike Nawrocki with MDRA’s 2009 Fall Marathon Training Class had some good words to say about tune-up racing for the marathon.

You may be asking, what is a tune-up race?  It is a race you run between now and Labor Day weekend to simulate the race day environment of a marathon.  I recommend some of the bigger races with fast fields, because that will be closest to what you will experience when the marathon comes around.

Why do a tune-up race?
a. Fourteen weeks is a long time to train without racing.  A tune-up race helps break your training up into smaller pieces, so this training process won’t feel like such a grind.

b. Practice race day logistics.  Take it from a savvy veteran like me, who famously (infamously?) ran the first mile and a half of the 2006 TC10 with a safety pin in my sock: race day logistics matter.  I lost over a minute fishing that **&%$# safety pin out of my sock and am still bitter every time I see a safety pin (unfortunate, because they are used at every race, making me one bitter guy).  A tune-up race allows you to practice your eating, bathroom, drinking, and gear preparation routine.
c. Practice pacing and running your own race.  Savvy veterans and eager rookies alike need to practice race-day pacing.  Running a tune-up race is a low-stakes way to find out if you are prone to being unwittingly sucked out to a faster start than you intend.  Better to find this out now than at mile two of the Twin Cities Marathon.
d. Help determine your marathon pace vs. Practice your marathon pace.  Don’t know what your marathon pace should be?  Race a ten miler, 15k, or half-marathon.  Consult me or Marty afterwards and we can put the race in the context of your training to help you come up with a goal pace for October 4.  Already know your goal pace?  Go run a half-marathon at that pace.  See if you can hold it without getting sucked into the dynamic of racing harder.

Buyer Beware
a. Tune-up races may not be for everyone.  If you are recovering from, nursing, or managing an injury, a race could very well be too risky in terms of aggravating this injury.  Remember everyone’s second goal for this class: get to the starting line healthy.

b. Racing is essentially a hard workout.  You should contact me or Marty for guidance on how to train the week before and after any tune-up race.

c. No races after Labor Day.  It breaks my heart to not recommend the MDRA City of Lakes 25k to everyone, because I serve on the MDRA board and have MDRA pride.  But it’s just a tad too close to the marathon.  Talk to Marty or me if you are interested in the City of Lakes race and we can decide together if it is a good idea.  If your competitive streak is such that you are prone to racing hard no matter what, City of Lakes or any post-Labor Day race is just too close to the target marathon, as you may put wear and tear on your legs without enough time to fully recover.

Thanks Mike!

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]