Last Year

I celebrated being done with the training cycle by resting and racing the Get in Gear 10k – almost setting a PR (posted my race number).  To go along with this phase I talked about detraining. A local marathoner used his mad skills to chase down a thief (Team Cross doesn’t recommend doing this).  My mom sent me a story from the hometown paper about a co-worker/teacher who ran at Boston.  This week’s Foto Friday was a picture of “Get in Gear” written in the snow before the race start.

Mileage

Running – 9.2 miles

Monday was an easy 3.25 on my Metrodome Loop.  Nothing too exciting. About 42 and overcast with a wind chill of 35.  It didn’t really seem that windy and overall the run felt nice and relaxed.  I finished in 24:30.

Tuesday I ran my 6×400 workout on the Greenway on a nice morning.  44 and sunny with a decent amount of headwind.  My goal was 1:26 which is 5k pace but I didn’t want to push too hard.  I won’t see any benefit from this workout on race day – it was just an opportunity to open up the legs and sharpen up a bit.  My splits were 1:33, 1:30,1:30,1:27,1:29,1:28 and only on the second half did it really feel like I was having to push.  The rest felt very smooth.  It was a total 5 mile workout in 39:44.

Wednesday – a 2 mile run felt like such a waste of time.  It would take almost as much time to get ready as it would to run it.  So I decided to take the day off, rest my foot and enjoy tapering.

Thursday was a pretty overcast morning but warm.  55 and humid for my 4 mile run. I didn’t really try to make it a tempo at all.  I figured an easy run was more appropriate and it felt good.  I did it in 30 minutes heading East along the Greenway.  Nothing special. My heel felt pretty good all day.

Friday felt a little lazy but rested.  Foot pain is almost gone!

Saturday another rest day.

Sunday Race Day!  I was initially very disappointed but after processing it and writing my review it wasn’t quite as bad as previously thought.  But still a 1:36:26 is not what I had planned on.

Mileage:

Running – 25.5 miles

Biking – 8  miles

Last Year

I was a little disappointed with my race at the 2008 Earth Day Half Marathon and Week 12 of training.  I also registered for my first marathon – Twin Cities while Chicago filled up. I started a new series which lasted for awhile posting up various race numbers on Wednesday.  I highlighted a new report on running being a prevention for dementia.   Foto Friday was a glamor shot of me from the half-marathon.

Mileage:

Running – 26.2 (ironic eh?)

Monday I did an easy 3.28 mile run past Powderhorn.  It felt good and the weather was nice – 38 and overcast. I ran it in 25:46.

Tuesday was an interval day.  I wanted something different than the Greenway so I did my Riverfront loop – not sure how it would work out with my 6 x800 at 10k pace – 6:26 or 3:12 for an 800.  My warm-up time ended right before hitting the River Rd so I stopped the timer until I got there and began my first interval down the hill to the river.  I felt pretty good on most of them, some had more wind and hills than others but this workout was more like race conditions due to the varying terrain than on the Greenway. My splits with 400 meters rest were 3:03, 3:07, 3:19, 3:23, 3:16, 3:08.  So on average pretty good.  The total run was 7.14 miles in 54:10.  It was 38 and sunny with a 28 wind chill (so that says a little something about the wind).

Wednesday on a very sunny morning I went for a 3.25 mile run.  I’ve really enjoyed the change in pace of my runs through the neighborhoods – going out about 1.5 miles turning and coming back.  Today I went east towards Seward on 26th St – crossing Hiawatha at the light.  Turning on 29th Ave and heading back on 24th St.  It was 41 with a 35 wind chill.  About a mile into the run I saw a bicyclist get hit by a car.  Luckily the car was stopped and just started to roll forward.  I’m not sure what the idiot was doing since all 5 lanes of traffic were stopped and 3 bikes were crossing in a bike crossing lane.  She was fine and the driver and other cyclists were helping her so I continued on.  Everything felt pretty loose except for my heel for the first 1/2 mile or so.  I didn’t wear any tape on the run today.  I finished in 24:35.

Thursday was absolutely gorgeous – but I rested.

Friday was a beautiful day.  Sunny. Mid 60’s.  But a little too warm for my body.  I planned on the 60 minute tempo run but had to cut it short at 7 miles (52:45) because I could feel that I was overheating.  The run started out well on the Sibley trail but about 3 miles in things started falling apart – I went “exploring” a bit which was stupid and then struggled to get back into a groove.  I did get down into the 10k goal pace range for a little bit.  I could feel my breakfast sitting in my stomach, then my shoulder got really tight, and finally I could feel my face burning up and getting really hot.  I decided to just quit at mile 7 and walk the last 3/4 mile in.  I felt really hot the rest of the day.

Saturday morning I met Nathan and we along with a friend of his ran about 9 total miles.  We went from his house near Minnehaha Falls and ran to Pike Island at a nice easy pace and then watched the start of the 2009 Get in Gear 10k.  We didn’t see many people we knew but cheered them on anyways.  It was a pretty perfect day for a race – lower 40’s with a slight breeze.  We had an enjoyable – slow run about 80 total minutes (including our really slow jog back to Nathan’s house after the start of the race).  Looking at my map – the Garmin did a really weird thing while out on Pike Island – but the distances seem pretty close.

Sunday I did my now usual swim and rest in the hot tub at the YWCA.  I only did a couple of laps – 250 yards since I’m tapering.  No need to wear yourself out!  It was kind of a rainy morning too so it was nice to be inside.

Weekly Mileage

Running  -29.4 miles

Biking -29.8 miles

Swimming – 250 yards

Last Year

Week 11 and the taper began.  You might recall that a group of runners were attacked by a swarm of bees and a suicide bomber last year.  Two incidents – one story.  Last year I began looking forward to by goal of racing my first marathon with this contemplative post.  Another compilation post of two great lists that every runner should read at least once.   Foto Friday was a picture of the infamous Grandma’s Saloon & Grill sign of Grandma’s Marathon Fame.

Mileage:

Running – 28.3 miles

Monday an easy 3.25 miles on the Metrodome loop.  I was very tight and sore for the first 1/2 mile or so then it seemed everything loosened up.  It was 43 with a 38 wind chill so not too shabby!  A pretty uneventful run and some core work afterwards.  I finished in 25:00.

Tuesday was a 4 x 1600 at race pace or 6:52. It was 40 and sunny when I set out along the Greenway for the interval workout.  I did a 5 minute warm-up (10 is better I’ve decided) and then the workout with 1/4 mile rest between each. The 4 intervals were 6:45, 6:46, 6:39, and 6:42.  Not too bad, though the purpose of the workout is to help your body remember what goal pace is – so on that note I failed!

Wednesday was a new random route through the Whittier neighborhood.  I just took off down 24th Street and made a left turn at about 1.5 miles and came back along 26th Street to my house.  There aren’t many options to cross over 35-W so I’ve got to be a little careful that I don’t mess one of these up! It was 40 and sunny.  My legs felt a little tight from yesterday’s workout.  I finished in 23:48.

Thursday was a nice day off.

Friday I ran my 55 minute tempo run along the Minnesota River on the Sibley trail.  This is a nice flat trail that meanders along next to the river through different scenery.  The out and back tempo was about 7.5 miles and I felt pretty good for most of it – the last few miles were pretty tired.  I kept trying to push the pace and got pretty close to tempo pace.  It was in the low 50’s and overcast for the run. When I woke up my Plantar didn’t hurt which was a nice change – too bad it didn’t last.

Saturday we met at Lebanon Hills again for a nice easy long run.  It was in the low-50’s with the sun starting to peak through the clouds and we did about 12 miles in 1:36:26 on the east side of the park.  This side is flatter but still has plenty of hills to make you tougher! It felt like a pretty relaxed pace for most of the run which was a nice change!

Sunday I did a nice easy 300 yards at the YWCA pool.  It was empty so I had a lane to myself and I actually swam most of it continously which is a good change.

Total Mileage:

Run: 32.2 Miles
Bike: 22.0 Miles
Swim: 300 Yards

Last Year

Last year I was driving home from Alabama, ran in Chicago and found 5 inches of snow in MN.  Week 10 didn’t go well last year! I was a little sick, my leg hurt, and more traveling.  My unscientifc poll showed that only 1/3 of my readers stretch before and after every run. You might recall that after finishing last year’s Little Rock Marathon, Adam Nickel died suddenly.  A month later his cause of death was announced.  This time last year was the London  Marathon – with lots of Ryan Hall hype I highlighted the Massai Warriors and their marathon attempt – before and after. Last year’s Foto Friday was the last of my memoribilia from my wall of fame.

Mileage

Run – 15 Miles
Bike – 8 Miles

Monday since this is Spring Break I had hoped to have some fun with my training this week – going places I don’t usually get to go.  Today I decided to check out Pike Island.  We had walked around a little bit yesterday there so I knew it would be flooded – I wasn’t expecting what I found though!  I ran through 4 flooded areas.  The first was easily traversed with a fallen tree, the second went over my ankles in cold water, the third was a muddy mess that had me completely losing the trail and turning around, and the fourth was about to the middle of my shin (around 6-10 inches) deep of cold water.  I think it was about 3.5 miles and the time is pretty irrelevant.  Be sure to check out these videos that I created after running there.   I should also note that my Garmin is still at the repair shop.

Tuesday was interval workout. 5 x 800 at 10k pace was on the schedule.  The only local track that I know is open to the public is at the University of St Thomas so I drove over there and did my warm-up.  My goal 10k pace is 6:26 which would make a 3:13 800. I handled that pretty well – 2:39,2:53, 2:54, 3:04, 2:57.  I had about 200m active recovery time in between (all less than 2 minutes).  After a short break I decided to finish the workout off with a 400 and a 200.  I ran them in 1:13 and 0:35 respectively.  I had to share the track with some female track members and the football team was using their field in middle so that was a little different than I expected.  Obviously I felt tired, but I felt pretty good about the workout and enjoyed running on the track.

Wednesday I decided to try something a little different.  I had just been reading about recovery days and hard days in Running Times and it was saying that you could do two hard days back to back as long as you followed with two recovery days.  Since the schedule called for two off days before the weekend’s race I decided to give it a try and ran my 30 minute tempo run.  It seemed a little odd today given my schedule to drive 30 minutes to run 30 minutes so I just ran along the Greenway. I actually ran on the rocky section next to the Greenway which does have some nice flat trail (but not recommended).  I did about 4.25 miles (still no Garmin) in exactly 30 minutes, ok 30:06.  My legs were pretty tired from yesterday’s track workout (as expected)!

Thursday I didn’t run.  However, we did have a staff versus student basketball game.  We got ripped off – students reffed and the scorekeepers did a terrible job.  We lost by 3 points in over time.  Not too shabby for 7 “old people” who don’t play much against about 15 middle schoolers who play all the time.   This may have been a mistake because my foot was almost done hurting and it started back again.  I was also a lot more tired and sore than I expected to be – so maybe I ended up having 3 hard days in a row.  The game also ruined a lot of the benefits of the massage I received in the morning. I also stood around at a bonfire for a few hours which tends to make my heel hurt worse. Ugh.

Friday I didn’t run. I didn’t bike. I took the day 100% off.

Saturday I ran the Fred Kurz Memorial 10 mile run.  This was a time-handicapped race – with the handicap being assessed at the beginning. The first runners left at 8:30 and I left at 9:30 with several runner starting after me.  I ended up running the 10 mile race in 1:10:31 which was pretty close to my goal of 1:08.  I cramped about halfway through otherwise I’m pretty happy with my performance. My Garmin arrived which was great timing!

Sunday was a great celebration of Easter and the resurrection of Jesus.  We enjoyed time with friends and spending the day together.  We rode our bikes around the neighborhood hanging up flyers for an upcoming event and put about 10 miles on the bike.  It was all at a nice leisurly pace which felt good.

Weekly Mileage

Run – 23.5 Miles
Bike –  21.7 Miles