Week 5, Key Run Workout #2

Scheduled Workout: 10 miles @ mp + 15 seconds
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 63°F, 79% Humidity, Wind: W @ 5 mph; feels like 63°F.
Course: Mr. Scott's 9 Mile Loco on USATF Map It!.
Actual: 9.1 miles in 1:09:14 @ 8:10 p.m.
Pace: 7:35 min./mi

A very rare night-time run and one that was challenging, especially with a stomach full of pasta and granola... but, ultimately, just the kind of hard, steady, determined run that I needed for my confidence following last weekend's racing faux pax.

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

Week 7, Key Run Workout #3

Scheduled Workout: 15 miles @ MP + 30 sec/mile
Weather: Cloudy with Flurries, 33°F, 87% Humidity, Wind: From W @ 6 mph; feels like 30°F.
Total Run: 14.5 miles in 1:54:44 min. @ 7:30 a.m.
Average Mile Page: 7:53 min/mi (including 3 x 1:00 min. walking "breaks")
Course: A new USATF's Map It! route, 14.5 Canal Suburban Run, prepared by yours truly!

Pre-Run Permutations: It certainly felt odd to be greeted by snowflakes this morning,after three days of 60+ degree weather and becoming acclimated to wearing shorts.

While a few minor details (Clif Shot Bloks rather than traditional gel) of this morning's run will stay the same, the most important things will (hopefully) remain consistent, especially with a return to a disciplined use of a run-walk-run strategy. If all goes as planned, I will enter into my first walk break shortly after passing the Edgewood Ave. entrance to the Erie Canal trail way (by the JCC) which would be the five mile(-ish) point. Then every ten minutes, I will stop for a one minute walking rest. Mile 7 will take me along a previously un-run portion of Monroe Avenue than I have previously included in a route. (This is a good thing as I seek to extend the variation of routes in an effort to keep this whole long-slow- distance "thing" fresh.)

Post-Run Reflections: My run went remarkable well, and I felt as though I have gotten myself back on track relative to my training. A few highlights included:

1. I hit my first one minute walk "break" (not really a "break" in the sense that I stopped, but that I slowed to a brisk walk in order to take some water and a half blok) at almost exactly the five mile mark.

2. After twenty more minutes of running I took my second walk-break, beginning roughly at the the first entrance to Pittsford Plaza going West on Monroe Avenue. At this point (about eight miles in) I felt pretty capable of finishing the fourteen-and-a-half training run.

3. At the intersection of Highland Avenue and Clover Road (about 2.5 miles following my last stop), I took what would be the last walk-break. I could have squeezed a fourth walk in, but that would have come with less than two miles remaining so I though it better to plug on at a consistent pace.

Now, about an hour later, I feel pretty good and though there is some lingering achiness, I'm confident this too will pass and be avoided with the breaking in of a new pair of shoes which I purchased yesterday.

Just another little something necessary and new...

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

Week 8, Key Run Workout #3

Scheduled Workout: 20 miles @ MP + 30 sec/mile
Weather: Clear, 38°F, 87% Humidity, Wind: From W @ 6 mph; feels like 33°F.
Total Run: 19.3 miles in 2:39:07 min. @ 6:30 a.m.
Average Mile Page: 8:14 min/mi (including 1 x 1:00 min. walking "break")
Course: A USATF's Map It! route, the City, Canal, Highland Park, prepared by someone else.

Pre-Run Permutations: These next few lines will leave you with a strong sense of deja vu, tbut the info bears repeating: In the FIRST Plan, which I am currently using to prep for the Buffalo Marathon, long run paces are based on Planned Marathon Pace (PMP). This is determined using a simple formula: PMP = 6:14 + 1:00 min. = 7:14 min./mile. This seems, even now, a week later, this still seems awfully fast for me. Once again, I will be utilizing a run-walk-run strategy as I work through a run of between 17 and 20 miles this morning. (The exact mileage will be in question as the USATF route I'm using has an odd start finish--I didn't write it, but will gladly use it!)

Post-Run Reflections: : I wish I had followed my own advice while actually running today, but in failing to do so I learned some valuable lessons that will definitely help me as I continue to prepare.

Firstly, it is important to prepare for how I will actually run, which is to say that when I run my marathon I will take pre-scheduled walking breaks. During my run today there a few points at which i had planned to take a walk break that I did not, and I suffered for it. I did not physically "suffer" terribly, but psychologically it made for a much harder run... I had trouble staying focus and keeping my emotions ("Run faster... you can do it! Who needs a break") during the run.

Secondly, the walk breaks, while appearing to add time to the overall run, DID NOT. My mile pace today with only one terrible break at the very end was actually slower than last week's when I took five planned one-minute walk breaks.

I remain confident about finishing the marathon in late-May, I am not so sure about breaking 3:30. While I may come close, my legs crtainly didn't feel like they had one more fast paced 10k left in them when I finished today, but there is still a few weeks left to get ready, so (maybe) anything is possible.

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

Week 8, Key Workout Run #2

Scheduled Workout: 2 miles @ easy tempo, 4 miles @ mid-tempo, 1 mile easy (7 total)
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 55°F, 48% Humidity, Wind: From SW @ 8 mph; feels like 55°F.
Total Run: 7.5 miles in :54:40 min. @ 6:15 p.m. (+ 2 miles earlier in the day w/the Mod T&F athletes)
Average Mile Page: 7:17 min/mi
Course: An older route, made using USATF's Map It!, the 7.5 LSD Run.

For the first time since Modified Track and Field practice began this past Monday, I took those runner's who are considering distance (at this level a maximum of a 1500m run) out for an easy tempo run in the neighborhood adjacent to our campus. It was great to be out with the kids on such a lovely day, as well as being an excellent way to get a few miles in prior to my regularly scheduled run this evening.

This evenings extremely accommodating weather, along with a moderate breeze, made for excellent conditions. I attempted to maintain a mid-tempo pace throughout, and succeeding for the most part.

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

Week 9, Key Workout Run #3

Scheduled Workout: 20 miles @ MP + 30 sec/mile
Weather: Clear, 22°F, 77% Humidity, Wind: From WNW @ 6 mph; feels like 15°F.
Total Run: 20 miles in 2:42:04 min. @ 6:30 a.m.
Average Mile Page: 8:06 min/mi (including 5 x 1:00 min. walking "breaks")
Course: An brand-spankin' new route, made using USATF's Map It!, the Scotty's 20 Mile Trainer, in reverse due to a dark morning start.

Pre-Run Permutations: In the FIRST Plan, which I am currently using to prep for the Buffalo Marathon, long run paces are based on Planned Marathon Pace (PMP). This is determined using a simple formula: PMP = 6:14 + 1:00 min. = 7:14 min./mile. This seems awfully fast for me, so while I will work towards that goal, I won't be disappointed if my total workout does not average out to that pace, especially as I will be starting to practice the run-walk-run strategy.

I previously used "run-walk-run" in training for (and ultimately completing) my first ultra-marathon (50k) in the Fall. Just as in the past, I will run approximately the first five miles non-stop nd then attempt to settle into a 10 minute run/1 min. walk/10 min. run cycle for the remainder of the training run. I am hoping that by doing this I will reduce war and tear on my legs as well as begin to simulate the strategy I will hopefully successfully employ in running the real thing.

Post-Run Reflections: After a quick decision to reverse my intended course this morning (due to its start in the middle of the city and the unusually dark morning), I was on my way for my first twenty(-ish) miler in quite a while--though I have been slowly working towards a long slow distance training run of this nature. I feel as though it went very well, and I am particularly proud of the disciplined manner in which I stayed with the paced run-walk-run plan:

a) after 5.5 miles I was running at :44:00 minutes and figured I would hold off until I reached the Erie Canal Entrance at Mina Street, Pittsford.

b) The canal entrance was at roughly the 7 mile point, and at this time I took my first one minute walk break, taking the opportunity to take a quarter of gel and some H20.

c) At this point I adjusted my r-w-r plan by electing to run fifteen minutes rather than ten between one minute walking "breaks"... I was glad that I took the course in reverse as with the sun coming up I would have been running into the sun if I had gone the correct way--squinty runs are not fun!

d) at approximately 9.5 miles I took my next (second) walk and had to use the "potty"--'nuff said!

e) Third walk came at approximately 11.5 miles

f) Fourth at about 14 miles.

g) Fifth and final walk (all of which were accomplished during my time on both the Erie Canal and Genesee River Trailways came at 16 miles.

h) The 17 mile point saw me finally exit the canal/river trail and hit the roads once again for a quick pass through the heart of "River City"

i) Made it home feeling really great at mile 19.96... er... 20!

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

Week 10, Key Workout Run #2

Scheduled Workout: 1 mile easy, 6 miles @ mid-tempo, 1 mile easy
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 24°F, 59% Humidity, Wind: From WNW @ 16 mph, gusting up to 21 mph; feels like 11°F.
Total Run: 8.1 miles in :59:45 min. @ 6:55 a.m.
Average Mile Page: 7:23 min/mi
Course: An older route, made using USATF's Map It!, the Kaz2way's 8 Miler Dawg in reverse.

I waited an extra day to get Key Run #2 in, so that I could 1) have an additional day to rest what has become an increasingly achy back, and 2) take advantage of the Good Friday holiday to run in the a.m., rather than the p.m. (which is what I would have done yesterday evening. Though I will be running in a half-marathon in only twenty four hours, the pace of today's run was slightly less than expected, in preparation for what will surely be a faster paced "long slow distance" run tomorrow, by virtue of the fact that it is a race.

I am glad that I waited until this morning to go for my training run. I definitely benefited from both the minimal traffic, due to the Good Friday holiday, and the fact that I went in the morning while refreshed from sleep as opposed to in the evening after working all day. The only concern was that my increasingly achy lower back, which is generally not a problem while I am active, was uncomfortable as my run went on. Eventually, it felt as though, at about mile seven, that the discomfort was rising slightly toward my shoulder blades.

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

Run: 14.3 miles in 1:51:56 min. @ 7:10 a.m.

Scheduled Workout: 14 miles.
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 21°F, 74% Humidity, Wind: From WSW @ 7 mph; feels like 12°F.
Course: Scott's 14.3 Miler on USATF's Map It!
Pace: 7:50 min./per mile

Having learned from last weeks long run, I packed my hydration belt with water and gel (PowerBar GEL Raspberry Cream Flavor) this time, despite my intention to take it nice and easy, I anticipated needing a little tap-ready H2O and energy, both of which came in handy. The course I took today , a departure from my most recent long runs, took me not onto the Erie Canal path but rather into the city, over the river, out to the edges of a number of burbs and back home. I found myself easily (I hope I don't jinx myself) shifting into an easy pace and staying focused primarily through visualizing the area about one mile ahead of my arriving. I've found planning my runs in advance using USATF Map It! to be incredibly helpful in this endeavor.

By planning ahead and carefully studying my course in advance, I find myself less concerned with where I'm going to turn and more psychologically capable of focusing on the run and allowing myself to gently visualize the run's progress on the map, sometimes even imaging it moving along the map, a yellow line dropping to the ground as I pass over an area.

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

Run: 9.8 miles in 1:16:57 min. @ 7:00 a.m.

Weather: Partly Cloudy, 16°F, 74% Humidity, Wind: From WSW @ 8 mph; feels like 5°F.
Scheduled Workout: 70-minute run,
including 5:00–6:00 TUT (about 8 miles total)
Course: Using my 7.5 LSD Run (loop, mixed flat & hills, roads) as a base, I extended the course over some additional familiar ground on the fly.
Elevation profile: Total climb--260 ft/79 m, Total elevation change--524 ft/160 m.
Pace: 7:51 min./per mile

I don’t know about you (wherever you are), but I for one am very, very tired of the C-O-L-D. I am so bored with the cold that I have seriously considered taking today off from running, but I have little choice as I don't want to have the self-perception of "quitting" or backing down. So... after taking my wife to work (if she drives herself she needs to walk about a quarter mile from the parking garage to the office) and before bringing my son home for the day, I will reluctantly slip outside, bundle up and go for my prescribed workout. *SIGH*

TUT(Total Uphill Time) : The total number of minutes you spend running semi-vigorously up inclines-- repeats up the same hill or total uphill time over a hilly loop.

This morning’s fresh addition to the runner's vocabulary sheet, is another great example of a strategy that one employs without recognizing it as a strategy.

The best comparison I can think of is from my teaching career. Often we'll attend "professional development opportunities" (translation: mandated training) and roughly ten minutes into the presentation my colleagues and I will look at one another and say in unison "I do that!" As far as TUTs are concerned I can confidently share that "I do those!" The challenge today was not in incorporating enough hills but in defining the miles I can cover within the 70 minute time. As you can tell from the info above, I failed in this regrad, but it's all good--I'd rather go farther, faster than shorter, slower... at least today.

Despite my whining, my run went very well and as the sun came from behind the clouds and I settled into a groove it turned into a wonderful run... so once gain I thumb my nose at the cold... NYAH-NYAH!

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

Run: 8 miles in :58:54 min. @ 7:00 a.m.

Weather: Dreary, 26°F, 52% Humidity, Wind: From SSW @ 11 mph; feels like 25°F.
Course: Scotty's Eastside 8-Miler
Pace: 7:27 min./per mile

I woke up early today and following a quick yoga series and a short sitting-session, went for a run that, if all goes according to plan tomorrow, will contribute to my first full week (5 days of running/2 days of recovery) of training in many a moon.

Given the unusually dry January roads here in upstate New York, I set aside my traditional winter footwear (trail running shoes) in favor of my summer/fall training shoes. Though my toes were initially cool, I felt a lightness in my step that was likely due more to my rested and relaxed state, than the lighter shoes and absence of training belt, which I could not find this morning, so left behind with my cell-phone (my usual running companion in case of emergency).

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

SUPER (Long) RUN!

Run: 22.3 miles in approximately 3:09:00 min. @ 5:30 a.m.
Pace: 8:29 min./per mile avg. (NOTE: the “walking time” is also factored into this overall average pace).

Weather: Partly Cloudy, 57°F, 80% Humidity, Wind: from SW @ 10 mph; feels like 57°F
Course: Ultra-Long Training Run (loop, mixed flat & hills, roads).

Supplies: My hydration belt loaded with one 16 oz. “flask” of H2O and another with Mountain Blast flavored POWERade, one plastic baggie containing 5 Strawberry flavored Clif Shot Bloks, one 1.44 oz. Raspberry Cream flavored PowerBar Gel and my cell phone.

Though the course I’ve put together is different, the plan remains very much the same as during last week’s super-duper long run. Rather than an out-and-back typed deal running the length of the Erie Canal, this time only a small part of the course is on the Erie Canal. I’ve included PowerAde drink to my arsenal, in addition, as well as, the “normal” goodies.

Once again I ran the first 5 miles before initiating the 1 min. walk/10 min. run/1 min. walk rotation, though I did adjust it so that I would walk on inclines as often as possible in anticipation of my plan to walk portions of every hill during the 50k. I ended up walking 7 times (at 1 min. each time that is a total of 7 min. of the just over 3 hour run!). Additionally, I ran the last 3.3 miles, albeit at a slow, but steady, pace.

In related news, Anne and I attempted to purchase a new hydration belt last evening with little luck. I love my current belt, it is just too big. We couldn't find what we wanted, so I've resolved to continue to move forward with the belt I currently have. Following today's run though, I plan to purchase a third flask to be carried with me, bringing the total up to three.

Outside of he two marathons I completed, this morning's jaunt stands as the LONGEST I HAVE EVER RUN AT ONCE! I don't want to get to excited, but other than the "to be expected" achiness, I feel great and am more confident than ever of my ongoing preparedness to finish the 50k.

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

Run: 11.4 miles in approximately 1:28:00 min. @ 6:06 a.m.

Pace: roughly 7:43 min./per mile (!)
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 39°F, 86% Humidity, Winds: From NW @ 5 mph; feels like 36°F
Course: a slight variation on the Strathallan Hotel Out & Back route (out & back, mixed flat & hills, sidewalks & roads) as found on USATF Map It!

A more traditional post today following a few more reflective (translational—“flaky?”) efforts…

Waking up this morning it became clear that I would not be committing to my 22-miler today, forgoing the experience until tomorrow when time would better permit. Early this morning, at about 10:30 a.m., my stepson is scheduled to participate in an invitational which I am hoping to accompany my wife to. It will take about a sixty-to-eighty minute road trip to get to the meet, so swapping Sunday’s ten miles with today’s indeed twenty-two makes more sense.

I have not been sleeping well for the last few days, a condition I attribute to a minor infection which makes laying in bed uncomfortable, especially after being awoken and trying to fall back asleep. Additionally, my ankles have been achy, a situation which has been soothed by the cooler weather of late, which helps me forget the aching. I hope I’m not doing any “damage,” but I have done (I think) a pretty good job of avoiding over training by following the plan (the mileage if not sequence of runs).

Today’s course was a “loop,” and it is the first time I have used such a course for a training run… I reckon it is about time to prepare myself for the psychological rigors of passing the same scenery twice in a short period if time. Come to think of it though, if it’s in reverse, is it really the “same”?

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

Music Mantra

Run: 9.2 miles in approximately 1:18:00 min. @ 6:08 p.m.

Pace: roughly 8:31 min./per mile avg.
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 56°F, 72% Humidity, Winds: From NW @ 6 mph; feels like 56°F
Course: a slight variation of the Hart Highland 8.16 route (loop, mixed flat & hills, roads) I found on USATF’s Map It!

Comes the morning
When I can feel
That there's nothing left to be concealed
Moving on a scene surreal
No, my heart will never
Will never be far from here.~"No Ceiling" by Eddie Vedder

Probably the slowest paced run I've done since... well, since I began keeping track. In many ways it was a conscious effort on my part to s-l-o-w down, and without a timepiece, it wasn't until about seven miles in that the increasing number of headlights on the road and diminishing amount of traffic gave me a clear indication that perhaps it was a tad later than I had thought.

During my run, three thoughts took turns floating in and out of my mind: 1) "relax and pace yourself," 2) "I am here, breathe one, breathe two, I am moving, breathe one, breathe two..., and thirdly, the lyrics at the top of this post from the new Eddie Vedder solo cd, a soundtrack to the movie Into the Wild, which I have been listening to quite a bit recently.

In two days, my training plan calls for me to run 22 miles, followed by 10 the next day. Saturday's run will be the longest to date and I am going to attempt to use what I did today--less of an emphasis on speed at a slow, even pace--all with a song in my head...

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

Time...

Run: 4.8 miles in :37:13 min. @ 4:10 a.m.

Pace: 7:45 min./per mile avg.
Weather: Cloudy with Lite Rain, 64°F, 87% Humidity
Course: Castaway’s 4.8 Mile Jaunt

"I'm hip about time."~Wyatt, Easy Rider

I noticed at the cross-country meet on last Friday evening that the race officials told runners to make sure that they were not wearing any watch. Apparently watches and jewelry (including the popular Livestrong type bracelets) are prohibited. It got me thinking, “If students aren’t allowed to wear watches when they compete, why do hey wear them to train?”

The obvious answer, and the one my daughter shared with me when I asked her the same question, is that they (watches) are necessary for keeping track of time over training runs. “You know,” Jordyn, my daughter said, “like when the coach says ‘do a ten minute run.’”

Still, why not run without the watches, have someone else time your splits, and grow accustomed to (and eventually internalize) your pace? This morning I tried to minimize the number of times I looked at my watch… I really did… but still felt beholden to the timepiece. What I am keeping track of is, in the big picture, really pretty inconsequential and could be addressed in other ways less confining:

My overall time run could be kept with the kitchen clock at home, the time in general could be checked using the cell phone I carry with me on my ever-present hydration belt, and my spilts could be determined later using the general time and distance…

As I move forward with my running, despite all the doctrine around training, it may be time to move beyond simply keeping time.

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