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Week 3: Half Marathon Training

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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

3
3 m run + strength
7 x hill
3 m run + strength
30 min tempo
Rest or easy run
Rest
5-K Race

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

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Week 2: Half Marathon Training

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3 m run + strength
7 x 400
5-K pace
3 m run + strength
45 min tempo
Rest
3 m pace
90 min run

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.

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Week 1: Half Marathon Training

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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!

3 m run + strength
6 x hill
3 m run + strength
40 min tempo
Rest
3 m run
90 min run (3/1)

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 in Review

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Image from stock.xchng.

This is week 3 of both my 100 Push up Challenge and also the Core Performance
book.  I am starting to feel some of the benefits, at least a little! This was a nice short week at work and a wonderful day of giving thanks. It has been a great week!

Monday was my requisite rest day.  I did my push ups completing the required 72 pushups.  After last week’s exhaustion test I’m in the middle column for now.  In regards to the Core workouts, I’ve decided to drop the Movement Prep.  My knee and heel were starting to hurt and I felt like some of the exercises in MP were aggravating those areas, I might try to slowly work them back in later. I did do the Prehab: Core-Hip-Shoulder, and used my Stick instead of a Foam Roller.

Tuesday I was feeling lazy and never made it out the door! No real reason, just lazy.  I did manage to do my core workout though.  Today was a physioball and rope  workout.

Wednesday I did make it outside.  I ran my Metrodome 3 mile loop in 23:36. It was about 19 degrees but the wind was really strong on the one leg and made my hands really cold! I did my required 82 push ups and Prehab:Core and used The Stick.

Thursday Happy Thanksgiving!! Nathan and I did a 1.5 mile warm-up before we ran the Giving Thanks 5k.  I finished in 20:01.  It was a pretty nice morning for a Thanksgiving race! Look forward to a more in-depth review.  I came home and did my core work – physioball and Prehab:Hip.  I’ve stopped doing the Prehab:Shoulder because I think it duplicates some of the push up workout and exhausts my shoulders.

Friday I went out for an easy 3 mile run in my new Mizuno Wave Inspire 4 shoes. My old Mizuno’s have 381 miles on them. This was a pretty uneventful run. I decided to run along the Midtown Greenway, but instead of running on the “Greenway” I ran on the dirt trail that runs alongside the paved one. The two trails are seperated by a fence and the lower is more like a service road type thing.  It was different.  Weather was mid-20’s with some wind making for a decent 23 minute workout.  I did my 88 required push ups and Prehab:Core

Saturday means Polar Bear Run.  This run was fairly close to home and my wife was working again so I didn’t feel like calling anybody for a ride. Instead I biked to the Light Rail station – took the LRT – and biked to the start of the run, this was approximately 2.5 miles on a frigid morning.  Awake and ready to run we ran from Historic Fort Snelling down into Fort Snelling State Park getting in 8.5 miles on mostly soft trails.  The run featured a lot of deer, at least 15.  At least one of which had 10 points.  It was a neat mix of bucks, does, and fawns running around.  Some let us get pretty close, staring us down before leaping away to safety.  I am always amazed that animals kind of know when hunting season is and when they are generally safe.  This was another great run on a sunny day with a thin layer of frost covering everything.

Sunday was a snow covered run along the Minnesota River.  Maybe an inch of snow covered the ground as we headed out along the trail.  We cross the footbridge on Cedar Ave and then headed north to Lyndale Ave all on trails next to the river.  It is a great place to run and the fresh snow covering made for some beautiful sights.  There was plenty of animal tracks – mostly coyote and rabbit. I did see what looked like deer tracks and we saw a bunch of wild turkeys on the drive to the parking spots.  This was about a 9 mile run in 1:18:09.  A few of us had a little sprint finish across the footbridge!

Weekly Mileage:

Running – 28.3 miles

Biking – 23.6 miles

Last Year:

Running – 0 miles

Biking – 20 minutes

Swimming – 1 session

Last year I was analyzing my training cycles. My second cycle was for a 10k.  I ran a 4 mile Drumstick Dash in Indianapolis and posted a guest review for the Harpeth Hills Flying Monkeys Marathon. Also during this week last year Dr Cade, Gatorade Inventor, died at 80.

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Week in Review

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He is an injured bald eagle now living at the ...

Image via Wikipedia

This was a pretty busy but good week.  I had to work later than normal 3 days this week and our good friends got married on Saturday.  My wife was in the wedding so we had lots of festivities to enjoy and lots of quality time with friends, old and new. I still managed to get 26 miles in the for the week and I’m pretty pleased with that.  My training philosophy right now is to try and get the Sat and Sun group runs in and run as much as I can during the week – but if I feel too tired or something, not to stress about getting the runs in.

Monday was a rest day running-wise. I got a total of 63 push-ups in for the beginning of week 2. I also continued with Week 2 of Core Performance which included Movement Prep, Prehab: Hip – Shoulder – Core and Regeneration.  It made for a busy morning, even without the run! The core work increased the number of repetitions from last week.

Tuesday I ran the Downtown Park 4 mile loop in 32:05.  It was 19 and pretty windy out for the uneventful run.  I did the Physioball and Regeneration core workouts.

Wednesday I ran 3.5 miles around Powderhorn Park in 28:05.   It was a little warmer, almost reaching 30! I also noticed that the lakes are starting to freeze over, especially around the edges. I did 71 total push-ups today – which hurt – and did Movement Prep, Prehab: Core, and Regeneration.  I do my push-ups first because they require a lot more energy!

I skipped a run on Thursday so I could sleep in a little bit.  I got my core workout in, doing the Physioball, Prehab: Shoulder – Hip, and Regeneration.  I also skipped Friday’s run.  I had to be at a training by 8 and was almost late, even without the run. I did manage to squeeze in my 81 total push-ups and Movement Prep and Prehab: Core.

Saturday morning’s Polar Bear Run met at Hyland Lake Preserve for a pretty tough 8.5 mile run.  During marathon training we ran at Hyland as part of our hill period so it was a tough run.  There was a thin layer of snow on the frozen trails which made it a little slippery.  It was a good workout.  It was in the mid-20’s and I finished in 66:38. Fortunately, this time we skipped the big ski hill! I did my push-up exhaustion test and completed 25.

Sunday morning we went to a new (for me and most of the other guys) trail called Louisville Swamp. This was an excellent treat of a run.  Afterwards we were all commenting on the run but more about the location.  Kirk even came out of semi-blog hibernation to make a comment about the run. I imagine we’ll be back.  We saw a river otter and Kirk saw a Bald Eagle.  We also saw a huge beaver dam and some old farmsteads.  Did I mention this was an excellent place to run? This group of 7 (today) is a very talented group and I’ve never seen them stop so many times in a run to pause and take in the scenery.  It helped that it was an almost perfect weather day – overcast and 30’s.  Ok, enough.  We did 10.5 miles in 1:29:15.  This was the best run I’ve had in a long time.  I also did my Week 2 push-up test and belted out 25 fairly easily.

Weekly Mileage:

Running – 26.5

Biking – 10

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