Run: 5.5 miles in :57.38 min. @ 5:45 a.m.

Track Workout: 10 min. warm-up & cool-down (1.5 miles ez each way to track), 2 x (2 x 1200m) w/a 2 min. RI between sets
Weather: Cloudy, 66°F, 87% Humidity, Wind: From WSW @ 3 mph; feels like 66°F.
Total Duration: ≈0:57.38 minutes
Total Mileage: ≈ 5.5 miles
Pace: 10:21 min/mile
Course: Down Culver to East High School Track.

Four(!) years ago I used the Furman Institute plan to train for my first marathon. Now that I am embarking on a comeback "tour" of sorts, having just committed to completing my first race, a half marathon, since last July, I figured I would move forward by taking a step back first.

With eight training weeks left until the scheduled half-marathon, I will be starting the half-marathon training plan roughly half way through its entire length. The plan is based upon the idea that one can run less and still run faster if the runs are targeted in one of three areas: Speed Work, Tempo runs and a single long moderately paced run. The paces for each is determined through a series of formulas based upon a recently completed 5k.

Up first, a return to the track for some speedwork...

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Indian Spring A Finally Run

Week 10, Key Run #1: 4.7 miles in approx. :35:00 min. @ 7:00 p.m.
Plan: 10 minutes warm-up, 6 x 800m (1:30 RI), 10 min cool down
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 36°F, 56% Humidity, Wind: From NW at 13 mph, gusting to 24 mph; feels like 27°F.
Pace: 7:24 min/mi
Course: A truncated Stretchy Seven 8 (6.93 miles) created using USATF Map It!

Pre-Run Ruminations: When I first planned this run (and post) I had envisioned titling it something clever like "Indian Spring," because (at the time) the temperatures were incredible. That "time," hoverer, has passed and what I am left with (now three days past when I should have run) is a beautifully COLD evening... but it is amazing what a little sunshine can do for the psyche.

Post-Run Reflections: If you were inclined to read the relevant run info above, you would likely notice that this evening's run was "truncated," or cut short.

Why? At about mile three I began having some painful stomach cramps (darn Coco Puffs!) and recognized that if I didn't redirect my course back to the home front I might be roughing it "caveman stylee" in the woods of Highland Park or, worse yet, in some filed... so "home" it was.

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

A Night Fit for Runners

Week 11, Key Run #1: 5.7 miles in :44:54 min. @ 8:30 p.m.
Plan: 15 minute warm-up, 5 x 1k (400m RI), 10 minute cool-down
Weather: Rain Shower, 40°F, 88% Humidity, Wind: From SSE @ 11 mph; feels like 33°F.
Overall Pace: 7:56 min/mile
Course: Here and there.

Pre-Run Ruminations: Ah, the rarest of all training birds... the nighttime run. Though it used to be a personal favorite of mine, over the past few months the thought of going out into the wintry night air has left me a little... uh... cold. Tonight (after going to dinner with my wife and running to the grocery store for yogurt and dog food) I decided that tonight seemed as good a night as any to "get over it," even if it meant missing the first hour of The Biggest Loser.

Post-Run Reflections: I'm unsure if it was the fact that I was running at night rather than in the early morning, or if it was the designer pizza (with artichokes) I had eaten for dinner about an hour prior, or the fact the I am registered to compete in a five mile run this coming weekend, but it became clear to me about two miles in that this was NOT going to be a speed workout.

Fartleks were possible, but not probable... in fact, they would be u-g-l-y if attempted. So as a concession to the night spirits, I eased into a easy laboriously mediocre 5+ mail jaunt around the hood. In the end, though, there was a sense of accomplishment with just finishing.

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Treadmillin'

Week 12, Key Run #1: 6.2 miles in :42:33 min. @ 6:30 p.m.

Plan: 10-20 minute warm-up, 3 x 1600m (1 min. RI), 10 minute cool-down.
Laps: 24.8
Overall Pace/Avg Mile: 6:53 min.
1600m Pace: 6:35 (Total time of :19:38)
Avg Speed: 8.7 Avg Incline: 0.5

Pre-Run Ruminations: Of course, now that the weather has turned mild(er) I have found myself in the smelly, dank "workout room" of my local YMCA. What brought me here? Well, I needed to get a "speed workout" in and my stepson had swimming practice so, with the planets in alignment, I took the leap and stayed to train while he swam.

Post-Run Reflections: The 6.2 miles I put in this evening is by far the longest distance I have ever put together on a treadmill. Previously, I could not force myself to stay on it for longer than 3-4 miles. I'm not saying I'm not a convert to treadmill training (especially if there is any chance of being outside), but it was a more satisfying experience than I had anticipated... plus I actually did the "speed workout" planned for today's Key Run #1.

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Avoiding the Eightball

Week 13, Key Run #1: 8 miles in 1:02:03 min. @ 3:45 p.m.
Plan: 15 minute warm-up, 5 x 1k (400m RI), 10 minute cool-down
Weather: Cloudy, 46°F, 43% Humidity, Wind: From SW @ 9 mph; feels like 41°F.
Overall Pace: 7:48 min/mile
Course: Seven For Pick-Ups (loop, mixed flat & hills, roads), made using on USATF Map It!

Pre-Run Ruminations: Well, I'm back to school this week and still trying to stay motivated to stick to my plan. It is sooo easy just to try and blow off training, running or exercising at all, let alone put in between six and eight miles. In my fantasy world, I come home from work at about 3:00 p.m., slip into my running shoes and head out to quickly get my miles and training in before my wife gets home. Reality is much different, especially yesterday (Tuesday) when the temps were only 26°F and it is windy...

I found myself getting home and, although the day goes well, I'm tired and hungry and just want to relax for a short time. Of course, a "short time" quickly turns into hours and then into tomorrow... and my goals shifts from meeting my expected training plan of following up my long slow distance (lsd) run on Saturday with two days rest than speed work, to taking three days and planning back-to-back key runs. The real key run will be today's as I can double back and not fall too far behind the training eight ball!

Post-Run Reflections: Thank goodness for the (relatively speaking) beautifully, warm weather (though by the time I made it down the sun had begun to set and the air cooled), as it helped to pull me through what I felt was a strong run. The overall pace may not warrant the level of euphoria I briefly felt at the end, but that's okay... I'll scurry away from that eightball as quickly as I can!

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Happy Birds & Peanut Buttered English Muffins

Week 14, Key Run #1: 8 miles in 1:03:44 min. @ 10:40 a.m.
Plan: 10-20 minute warm-up, 1200m, 1000m, 800m, 600m, 400m, 200m,(all with 200m RI),10 minute cool-down
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 28°F, 63% Humidity, Wind: SW @ 6 mph; feels like 22°F.
Overall Pace: 7:56 min/mile
Course: 6 Mile Rt Clover (loop, mostly flat, roads), found on USATF Map It!

Pre-Run Ruminations: I'm not sure whether it's my fear of track running or just an incredible dislike for speed work in circles, but once again as I planned to go for my Key Run #1, rather than looking to identify a local track without snow on which to run, I added the distance (in meters) and sought to figure out how many miles I needed to run with pick-ups over certain distances. Not the most scientific way to go about it, but psychologically "easier" than running around and around and around... cumulatively, if I was to continue with my progress using this particular training plan, I needed to plan on about 6.1+ miles with scheduled increases in speed at preplanned points.

Post-Run Reflections: Despite the happy presence of birds twittering in the bushes around my neighborhood, this morning's run was a bit of a struggle. My legs felt heavy and my knees achy, and though the first two miles was promising, I found myself laboring toward the end to sustain the pace of my pick-ups, which themselves were hard to quantitatively evaluate. It is during runs such as these that I need to consciously remind myself that "you are not going to be an Olympian" and remember how fortunate I am just to be able to run.

Interestingly, I left the house to run craving chicken wings and came home 60+ minutes later thinking "what shall I have for a healthy post-run snack?" After getting home and cooling down I enjoyed a whole grain English muffin with crunchy peanut butter and a glass of cranberry/white grape juice...Mmmmmm!

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Week 15, Key Run #1

Key Run 1: 4.7 miles in :37:09 min. @ 4:00 p.m.
Weather: Rain Shower, 52°F, 84% Humidity, Wind: CALM; feels like 52°F.
Pace: 7:56 min/per mile
Course: Kaz2way's 4.75 Miles LoopdyLoop (loop, all flat, roads), found on USATF Map It!
"For Key Run #1 your pace is faster than your current 10k pace."
~FIRST Training Plan
While watching President Obama's press conference last night, I began once again filling out my "hard copy" training log with possible races, dates, key run workouts, paces and distances... Among the races I notes as a possibility was a marathon in the Spring. To this my wife asked, "You're going to run another marathon?"

Truth is, I didn't really "run" the last one I registered for , having dropped out due to the heat at mile seventeen. "Yes," I told her, "just one more... to prove that I can start and finish it."

So, for today's "speed work" I'll be running short distances at a pace slightly faster than my 10k pace. My current 10k pace (based on a finish time of 41:30) is approximately 6:41. Since I won't be running on a snowy track, but on the relatively clear(er) wet roads and sidewalks, and the suggested 4 x 800m sprints will need to be accomplished via fartlek or pick-ups.

After completing the run, I recognize that the "pace" noted above (7:56) is nowhere near the goal pace of for the 800m splits (6:41), but the pace above is based on an average of the entire run, not just pick-ups, so my success is difficult to gauge. Admittedly, my foot speed and turnover needs a little work...

Embrassez votre été invincible!

Happy Tuesday!

Week 3 Key Run 1
Planned Workout: 5 miles @ MP
Actual Run: 5.2 miles in :37:20 min. @ 7:00 a.m.
Weather: Fair, 50°F, 86% Humidity, Wind: From SW @ 5 mph; feels like 48°F.
Average Mile Page: 7:14 min./mi.
Course: Wednesday 5 mile loop, found using USATF Map It!

This morning's weather was perfect (low temps) for a run, and I managed to better than anticipated pace (my "MP" or marathon pace of 7:30) by about 16 seconds per mile, as well as managing to do so with only slight discomfort. I'm still not quite positive that my new training shoes are the "right ones," but as I continue to work with them, I'm hoping that the fit will become as comfortable and wearable as my previous pair.

I am thankful for the opportunity to run this morning in anticipation of a day with family, and especially my son, with whom I am going to school to set his locker up!

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Let's Begin Again

Week 6 Key Run 1
Planned Workout: 10-20 min. warm-up, 1k, 2k, 1k, 1k (400m RI), 10 min. cool-down
Actual Run: 6.6 miles (10.7 km) in :49:26 min. @ 6:30 a.m.
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 62°F, 87% Humidity, Wind: From SW @ 3 mph; feels like 62°F.
Average Mile Pace: 7:27 min./mi.
Course: Key Run 1 Kilo to Miles made using USATF Map It!.

This week, I'm starting a little something new, again. Though perhaps not the best time to make a transition (what with my being out of town for five days over this coming weekend--a trip wrought with potential missed runs!), this week seemed like as good a one as any to move from a five-day-a-week straight training runs to the more structured FIRST "Three Key Run" approach.

I employed this strategy to fairly good effect this past Spring in preparing for the Buffalo Marathon, so why not go back to the well (sort of)?

While today's key run would qualify as "speed work," I built the distances into a long fartlek run rather than going to the track. As the program progress the speed work distances will get shorter and therefore easier to gauge on a track, so my return to the track is imminent. For today, things went well and I enjoyed the psychological freedom of feeling "okay" with exerting myself because I knew tomorrow would another recovery day. The great thing about the FIRST plan(s) is that although you only run three-four days weekly, each run has a focus so... less "junk" mileage!

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Run: 6.1 miles in :44:52 min.@ 4:40 a.m.

Weather: Light Rain and Fog, 54°F, 86% Humidity, Wind: From WSW @ 11 mph; feels like 54°F.
Average Mile Page: 7:21 min./mi.
Course: Around.

Waking up too early, I turn on the porch light to call the cat in. She has been out since last evening, playing (I assume) amidst the rain and dense birdsong which has, in part, jostled me awake from a light sleep. I lace up my shoes and pass the cat in the doorway, she on her way in for some rest, I heading out into the drizzle for a run.

My first in a few days...

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Run: 4 miles in :28:35 min.@ 5:00 a.m.

Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 62°F, 85% Humidity, Wind: From SW @ 7 mph; feels like 62°F.
Average Mile Page: 7:09 min./mi.
Course: Around.

As predicted, it has been a very busy week with little time to either run or, unfortunately, bicycle to work. With many meetings and classes scheduled closely together, taking the additional time necessary to bicycle rather than drive has become problematic. There are only two weeks of "regular" school left, as opposed to "summer school" which offers a shorter work day, I am looking forward to settling into a more rigorous training schedule soon.

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Final Week, Key Run Workout #1

Scheduled Workout: 10-20 min. warm-up, 6 x 400m (400m ri), 10 min. cool-down
Weather: Cloudy, 49°F, 56% Humidity, Wind: From WSW @ 15 mph; feels like 43°F.
Actual Workout: 3.9 miles in :28:32 min. @ 7:05 p.m.
Average Mile: 7:22 min/mi
Course: A slight variation on an old favorite, Castaway's Ritzy 6-mile Run (loop, mostly flat, roads).

Today's brief run represents the second-to-last run of my current training plan, and as race day draws nearer I find myself going through the now common emotions of fear, anxiousness, excitement, anticipation... I consciously recognize that I have trained," so am physically ready to minimally finish, but am still concerned that it may not have been enough.

Oddly, I find myself thinking of the small things that if changed today, two days five days before heading to the start, would make little difference, but if considered earier may have made a difference, like my diet. Weird, I know, but I find myself being distracted by the thoughts of Ben & Jerry's recently consumed and poor food choices made during the rush from activity to activity, place to place.

I will attempt to use these last two training runs as a centering activity... breathing out the potentially negative self-fulfilling prophecies and demons of pessimism, in favor of enjoying the moments to come...

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Week 2, Key Run Workout #1

Scheduled Workout: 10-20 min. warm-up, 5 X 1k (400m ri), 10 min. cool-down
Weather: Cloudy, 53°F, 83% Humidity, Wind: From WNW @ 14 mph; feels like 53°F.
Actual Workout: 6.5 miles in :48:21 min. @ 4:00 a.m.
Average Mile: 7:26 min/mi
Course: A slight variation on an old favorite, Castaway's Ritzy 6-mile Run (loop, mostly flat, roads).

After three days "off," due mostly to there being two days of Track & Field Meets, and my being engrossed in the Jack Kirby biography I received for my birthday, I made a return to the roads very early this morning with the hopes of jump starting my taper for next Sunday's Nissan Buffalo Marathon. Though intellectually I know my fitness won't diminish that greatly with three days rest (it's not as though I'm sitting around eating icecr... wait, that's actually kind of what I was doing), psychologically, these extended layoffs are killers. So I rolled out of bed at 4:00 a.m. (no alarm necessary), pulled on my shorts and shoes and hit the streets.

While I generally run in the mornings on weekends, it has become very rare to do so during the work week. I had forgotten how peaceful and quiet the city is early in the morning before the traffic, hustle and bustle kick in. It was pretty much myself and two men collecting redeemable cans and bottles, "working" the roads, sidewalks and tree lawns this morning.

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Week 3, Key Run Workout #1

Scheduled Workout: 10-20 min. warm-up, 8 X 800m, 10 min. cool-down
Weather: Light Rain, 65°F, 67% Humidity, Wind: From SW @ 9 mph; feels like 65°F.
Actual Workout: 5.4 miles in :40:15 min. @ 6:00 p.m.
Average Mile: 7:31 min/mi
Course: Around the neighborhood--Harvard, Goodman, Oxford, Harvard and around the Cobbs Hill Reservoir.

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather."~John Ruskin

There's nothing quite so relaxing as a rainy run... Spring is here and if recent weather is any indication we may be in for a very warm Summer.

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Week 4, Key Workout Run #1

Scheduled Workout: 10-20 min. warm-up, 10 x 400m(400 m RI), 10 min. cool-down.
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 44°F, 71% Humidity, Wind: From WNW @ 16 mph, gusting up to 23 mph; feels like 44°F.
Actual Workout: 5.6 miles in :40:23 min. @ 4:10 p.m.
Average Mile: 7:10 min/mi
Course: Harvard Street to Monroe to Field Street to South Goodman to Rockingham to Clinton to Highland to Monroe to Cobbs Hill to Culver to Harvard and home...

Both the conditions and format of today's workout were altered slightly: much cooler weather, and rather than a speed workout track-stylee, I ran a fartlek series on the streets. Once again, deviating from the plan proved to be a great way to train, as I had a great run in the cool air without losing the emphasis on speed.

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Week 5, Key Run Workout #1

Scheduled Workout: 10-20 min. warm-up, 1k, 2k, 1k, 1k (400 m RI), 10 min. cool-down
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 70°F, 41% Humidity, Wind: From N @ 7 mph; feels like 68°F.
Actual Workout: 2.1 miles in :15:06 min. @ 7:00 p.m.
Average Mile: 7:33 min/mi
Course: Around the neighborhood--Harvard, Goodman, Oxford, Harvard and, finally, home.

Given that I was still achy from Saturdays trail 20+k, rather than the regularly scheduled speed work, I opted for a two-pronged double dip training approach: a walk (28 min.)/run (2 min.) session with my wife and a shorter distance recovery run. The dual intent was to simply get up and about and moving independently, that is to say, in addition to the running I've done of late with my Modified Track & Field distance runners.

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Week 6, Key Workout Run #1

Scheduled Workout: 10-20 min. warm-up, 1k, 2k, 1k, 1k (400 m RI), 10 min. cool-down
Weather: Fair, 31°F, 71% Humidity, Wind: From SW @ 6 mph; feels like 25°F.
Actual Workout: 7.0 miles in :52:46 min. @ 9:00 a.m.
Average Mile: 7:32 min/mi
Course: South on the Genesee River Trailway from Ontario Beack Park, through Turning Point Park to Riverside Cemetery, and back.

Though slightly cooler than I had anticipated, it was a pleasant clear morning on which to make my way to the beach for a speed workout on the Genesee River Trailway. I once again elected to take advantage of the time of from work to revisit some previous training routes which are too challenging to get to during the work week. This morning;'s route went right through Turning Point Park, part of which is a beautiful wood and cement walkway over part of the Genesee River.

From this bridgeway, one can see (and hear) many local water fowl and birds. I find this to be one of my favorite location in the city and one in which there is much to see... if you look carefully enough.





Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

What Happened to Week 7's Key Runs 1 & 2?

"So, where have you been?" Well, since you asked, this week has been something of an "up and down" one for yours truly. In many ways related to training, it has gone well: this has been my first full week of assisting with Modified Track & Field practices as part of my first paid coaching experience. In training my students, I have found myself having the chance to cobble together a few miles here and there. Additionally, my son has begun his baseball league and performed in a school concert, both activities I gladly watch him participate in, but that also require a somewhat more minimal dedication of time.

Sometime between what would have my scheduled training runs on Tuesday and today (Thursday) I decided that I would take my lumps this week (in the form of being "off track" with my training schedule) and in the interest of not beating myself up over it, pick up with fifteen miles on Saturday (Key Workout Run #3).

If I can follow up on those fifteen by taking advantage of the Spring Break from work to cross-train and catch up with the mileage, I will run in next Saturday's trail 20k thereby being back where I should be. Well, that's the dream anyway...

Thus far this week, given combined extended runs during Track & Field, I would comfortably "credit" myself with 2.5 miles at moderate pace. While not much in the grand scheme, it is not as though I have been sitting around eating Ben & Jerry's... an often more desirable state of being!

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Week 8, Key Workout Run #1

Scheduled Workout: 10-20 min. warm-up, 1 mile (400 m ri), 2 miles (800m ri), 2 x 800m (400m ri), 10 min cool-down

Actual Workout: 10 min. warm-up, 1 mile (400 m ri), 2 miles (400m ri), 10 min cool-down
Total Run: 4.5 miles in :36:46 min. @ 3:45 p.m.
Total "Laps": 18
Settings: Avg. Speed 7.3, Avg, Inlcine 0.3
Average Mile: 8:13 min/mi

As much as I have been enjoying my recent treadmill speed workouts at the neighborhood YMCA, this afternoon's abbreviated run there may be my last for a while. Though I avoided the urge to run outside in sixty degree weather in favor of focusing on my speed work (which is easier to accomplish in a disciplined manner for me on a treadmill where I can control the pace and distance--no forearm computer have I) I came up against something that I struggled to overcome.

I can handle the fact that there is zero ventilation in the "cardiac theater," and the idea that I am exercising in what is in effect a concrete box, but apparently I had no stomach for what was thrown within my field of vision... I just couldn't shake the entertainment black hole that is the Ellen DeGeneres Show. There wasn't even any volume as I wasn't wearing a headset, but even reading briefly the captioned, overly cloying "interview" with the equally vapid Jonas Brothers drove me to the brink.

Marathon Training gods... forgive me, but I took all the preening I could and finally made the decision to leave--I'll do my best to make it up later this week!

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Week 9, Key Workout Run #1

Scheduled Workout: 10-20 min. warm-up, 2 sets of 6 x 400m (1:30 ri between 400m/2:30 ri between sets), 10 min cool-down
Actual Workout (Run): 6.1 miles in :47:01 min. @ 6:30 p.m.
Weather: Cloudy, 40°F, 68% Humidity, Wind: From SSW @ 22 mph, gusting up to 21 mph; feels like 30°F.
Average Mile: 7:43 min/mi
Course: Around.
Elevation: Total climb: 257 ft/78 m, Total change: 512 ft/156 m

It was bound to happen and this was the week it did... I went to complete my speed training workout on the treadmill at the YMCA and was unable to use the equipment. Using my neighborhood high school track wasn't really an option given the time (it would be dark soon), so I had to resort to plan C--an attempted short run with the occasional sprint mixed in. This did not go so well. While I did meet the expectation relative to cumulative mileage, I did not do a very good job managing my pace. I started slowly (easy) and picked it up, but never managed to hit a sprint. This was a challenge as it was rush hour when I did get back home and on the streets, so it was necessary to run with a level of care.

The bright side is that I did manage to workout and get some miles in despite a rough start and laborious feeling to the overall experience... there's always the next workout to look forward to some improvement, though!

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!