I finished last week with the planned 60 miles, but I struggled a bit. It took 7 days instead of 6, so I'm back to Monday-Sunday weeks.
Week -8: 56 miles.
Long runs: 11 and 16 miles.
LT run: 5 miles tempo, we can make it 8 miles total.
Easy runs: 7 miles each.
Monday, July 30
Tuesday, July 24
I probably overtrained last week... I couldn't do any fast running (tried), I had constant fatigue, etc. The heat doesn't help... Anyway, I skipped the second half of the week and as of yesterday (Monday), I restarted the week. I'm not sure I can maintain this kind of running. I already forgot how hot the summer is here. Last night I went to run at 9pm. The sun was down, and by the time I finished, it was pitch dark of course. Guess what the temperature was. 90 degrees. now wonder it was hard. (Nevertheless, I did 10 miles at 7:44/mile.)
Saturday, July 14
Week of 7/15 (-9):
Total: 60 miles.
Long runs: 15 and 10 miles.
Every other day should average 8.75 miles. That means mostly doubles unless I do Siltstone.
VO2 max: 5x 3:00 moderately steep uphill. That is definitely not Siltstone, but if I swap it out for Siltstone, it may actually be just as good VO2 max training.
Total: 60 miles.
Long runs: 15 and 10 miles.
Every other day should average 8.75 miles. That means mostly doubles unless I do Siltstone.
VO2 max: 5x 3:00 moderately steep uphill. That is definitely not Siltstone, but if I swap it out for Siltstone, it may actually be just as good VO2 max training.
Wednesday, July 11
What a tempo today! I decided to do it in the evening. I realized that once the sun is down (or almost down), the temperature is very reasonable. It was theoretically 89 today, but it felt perfect. With no shirt, of course, but primarily because I didn't want bleeding nipples. Cheaper and works better than body glide. Plus it IS cooler with no shirt on if there is no strong sunshine. That is a fact.
OK, so this what I did today: I went to Seneca Park, and I ran the tempo on the 1.2 mile fitness trail. Somehow I don't like our neighborhood tempo course. It has too many turns, and just a bit too much elevation change. The Seneca park course has only 11 feet of climb per lap (1.2 mile), people around, a lot of runners, too.
The two miles of warmup felt sluggish, and I was worried that the run wouldn't be great. I did the warmup at 8 min/mile. I also felt a bit warm. It was cooling down outside, but the sun was still out (8 o'clock). After the second mile, off I went. The first fast mile was 6:26.48, and then I knew I would be fine. If the first fast mile is much faster than what I am aiming for, it means I'm in a good shape. I was aiming for 6:40. I slowed down a bit, doing the second mile in 6:36.40. The third mile I meant to run in comfortable pace, so that I would get under 6:40 in 4th again, but it turned out to be 6:33.22. The 4th mile I let myself loose and ran a 6:27.98. I could have done a 5th with 6:30ish pace, if I wanted to.
That's great! Average pace 6:31/mile. Absolutely perfect tempo pace. Also, 4 miles in 26:04. It looks like I went through 5K under 20:30. In a tempo training run. Cool!
It was hard to get myself to finish the cooldown, but I did it. Sweat again saturated my shorts and was running down on my legs. But now I'm acclimatized. It didn't feel uncomfortable.
OK, so this what I did today: I went to Seneca Park, and I ran the tempo on the 1.2 mile fitness trail. Somehow I don't like our neighborhood tempo course. It has too many turns, and just a bit too much elevation change. The Seneca park course has only 11 feet of climb per lap (1.2 mile), people around, a lot of runners, too.
The two miles of warmup felt sluggish, and I was worried that the run wouldn't be great. I did the warmup at 8 min/mile. I also felt a bit warm. It was cooling down outside, but the sun was still out (8 o'clock). After the second mile, off I went. The first fast mile was 6:26.48, and then I knew I would be fine. If the first fast mile is much faster than what I am aiming for, it means I'm in a good shape. I was aiming for 6:40. I slowed down a bit, doing the second mile in 6:36.40. The third mile I meant to run in comfortable pace, so that I would get under 6:40 in 4th again, but it turned out to be 6:33.22. The 4th mile I let myself loose and ran a 6:27.98. I could have done a 5th with 6:30ish pace, if I wanted to.
That's great! Average pace 6:31/mile. Absolutely perfect tempo pace. Also, 4 miles in 26:04. It looks like I went through 5K under 20:30. In a tempo training run. Cool!
It was hard to get myself to finish the cooldown, but I did it. Sweat again saturated my shorts and was running down on my legs. But now I'm acclimatized. It didn't feel uncomfortable.
Tuesday, July 10
Today I ran a double. Pfitzinger says that when your recovery run reaches 8 miles, you can split in into two (morning and evening), and that gives better recovery. So I did just that. I do feel fresh now, even though I ran my evening run crazy fast, especially the end, but my legs felt great and I had to go to the bathroom. :) Also, I'm totally puzzled that according to weather.com, I did my run 89 degrees, but I didn't feel hot at all. I even had my shirt on. That supports the notion that it's not the temperature that matters. When I run in the same air temperatures in late morning, the sun is out bright, the asphalt is hot, and the humidity is much higher than it was now, I think.
I finally bought a new pair of sunglasses today. My favorite brand of sports sunglasses: Foster Grant's Ironman sunglasses. They are perfect for running. This is my third pair. The first I lost at sea in Charleston, and I think the second pair broke, but I don't remember how...
I finally bought a new pair of sunglasses today. My favorite brand of sports sunglasses: Foster Grant's Ironman sunglasses. They are perfect for running. This is my third pair. The first I lost at sea in Charleston, and I think the second pair broke, but I don't remember how...
Saturday, July 7
Today I ran 14 miles in 88 degrees, and I drank one liter of Gatorade and one liter of water, and I still got dehydrated! It's not even just the temperature. It's somehow the temperature, the sun and the pace together. And I did get up fairly early, left for the run before 8 o'clock. I'm happy it's over. This training through the summer is hard.
Let me copy my mileage plan with Sunday week start dates:
07/08 (week 10): 56 miles
07/15 (week 9): 60 miles
07/22 (week 8): 56 miles
07/29 (week 7): 61 miles
08/05 (week 6): 65 miles
08/12 (week 5): 63 miles
08/19 (week 4): 56 miles
08/26 (week 3): 58 miles
09/02 (week 2): 54 miles
09/09 (week 1): 49 miles
09/16 (race week): 40 miles
So next week, starting tomorrow (maybe with a rest day, I haven't decided yet):
Let me copy my mileage plan with Sunday week start dates:
07/08 (week 10): 56 miles
07/15 (week 9): 60 miles
07/22 (week 8): 56 miles
07/29 (week 7): 61 miles
08/05 (week 6): 65 miles
08/12 (week 5): 63 miles
08/19 (week 4): 56 miles
08/26 (week 3): 58 miles
09/02 (week 2): 54 miles
09/09 (week 1): 49 miles
09/16 (race week): 40 miles
So next week, starting tomorrow (maybe with a rest day, I haven't decided yet):
Total: 56 miles.
Long runs: 14 and 10 miles.
Tempo: 4 miles fast, with 2+2 warmup and cooldown: 8 miles.
Easy runs: 8 miles each or 2 x 4 miles AM and PM.
If I do the Siltstone trail tomorrow, that will give me plenty of mileage, so I may not need the doubles.
Friday, July 6
Right after finishing my previous post (below), I realized that due to the extra miles I ran previously in the week, I only have 5.5 miles for my easy run (and of course 14 for my long). So I decided to go and do the easy run, even though it's 93 degrees and the sun is close to the zenith. It's fucking hot, but I did it.
Yesterday I did the trail run in Seneca Park with the trail running group. Even though they are generally slower than I am, it is always fun to run with them. But today I couldn't get myself to get up early, and due to 100+ heat and bad air in the afternoon it is hopeless to get a decent run in. I probably could have done it from like 10 to 11, but in the last few days I realized that 90 degrees with the sun close to the zenith is just as bad (or worse) than 100 degrees with sun on the horizon. Maybe I could do the run from like 7 to 9 in the evening, but the air will almost certainly be quite bad. We'll see, but most likely I'll just take a rest day. That's OK: I'm not shifting to Sunday week start, but I pushed mt RD to Friday this way. Maybe next week I can have it on Saturday, then Sunday, then on Monday and the week start is then automatically shifted.
Wednesday, July 4
OK, it happened again... I didn't want to race. I'm in high training mode. I ran 10 miles yesterday. I haven't had enough sleep in the last few days. But how should I spend my 4th of July? My family is away, it would be really hot... sure, I can grill some burgers, maybe I could even work, but I didn't want to work. My first July 4th as a permanent resident of the US, and I already decided to fly the US flag on our house. No, I'm not going to work.
I do have some speed training for this week. It's 5 x 2:30 uphill. Not exactly like a 5K. But why does Pfitzinger want me to do this? I know why: at this point in the training cycle there are many disadvantages going to the track, let alone race! I guess the biggest danger is injury. Well, my body holds up pretty well, and not injury prone at all. 5 x 2:30 is 12:30 of hard running. Even if part of the 5K is about LT, even if the end is anaerobic, wouldn't everybody agree that there is at least 12:30 of VO2 max work involved? The last worry is overtraining, but it is hard to overtrain by running only 20 minutes. So it was decided. I'm running the race.
The Great Buffalo Chase 5K Race Report
Goal: maybe PR (19:11), but it's hard to know what I can do in the middle of training, after 10 miles the day before, and fairly warm temperatures. B goal: 20 minutes. If I can't do that, I would be ashamed.
I had to get up at 5 o'clock, because the race was in Frankfort, KY, on the grounds of the Buffalo Trace distillery. Buffalo Trace is one of my favorite whiskeys. You can't beat it with $25 for a bottle: IMO to find a better whiskey you will have to fork out at least $40. This was an important reason for me to do the race. Even if I can't do well, I get to see the distillery. The disadvantage was the hour long drive from Louisville.
I got there well in time, and the last-minute registration was very smooth. Surprisingly there were even enough bathrooms/port-a-potties. The race was quite large with 690+ runners, and the winners in the last years had Kenyan names....
I started to warm up, and by this time I knew I ate too much before the race. I'm always too worried that I wouldn't eat enough, so this time I had a big dinner and a big breakfast (albeit at 5:30am). Now this was definitely too much, and I experienced some GI discomfort. It was also warm, 76 degrees with high humidity, so I decided to run shirtless. I have to say it was a great decision.
I lined up at the front and off we went at exactly 8:00. I decided to go out at around 6:00 pace. This is because I didn't want to deprive myself the chance of going under 19 minutes, however unlikely it may be. We were running in the shadows of the buildings of the distillery. Interesting course with the typical black molded brick buildings and the barrel tracks across the roads. The black mold is called the Angel's Share fungus, and it feeds on the evaporated alcohol from the aging barrels. It may have been the mold or the alcohol vapor that I could very distinctively smell, but I developed some minor breathing difficulties. It went away when we left the vicinity of the warehouses, but it came back again during the award ceremony, which was again among those buildings.
The first mile had a hill in it, but it wasn't too bad, and in fact the mile was net downhill. I was going hard, but there were pros in the field and they left us quickly. I just tried to settle in the field at around the 6 minute pace. I felt fine at the mile marker.
Mile 1: 5:56
We left the buildings, and we were out on some road in a field with no shadows whatsoever. It was hot here, and I knew it would affect me. But other people slowed around me more than I. I wanted to be careful, so I just held my position, but eventually I passed a few runners. I think only one guy passed me, but he was not in my age group. I decided not to worry until some potential age groupper passes me. I skipped the aid station at Mile 1.5. I though I could pour some water on my head, but they distributed something in paper cups from Gatorade coolers, so I didn't want to risk pouring Gatorade over my head. :) We made a loop, and started to go back. I entertained myself watching the runners coming from the opposite direction.
Mile 2: 6:15
The big hurt started here, as usually; I already forgot how painful is to run 5Ks. :) It's been more than a year since my last one. My legs were also tired, and the 10 miler from yesterday made itself remembered. The last mile was basically the first mile backwards, which means a hill, and this time it was net uphill. At 2.5 mile I was slowing so badly, that it became clear that the 19-minute dream is over. In fact I was already slower on average than my PR pace, and I was very tired.
Mile 3: 6:28
For the last 0.1 I put together everything I had, and I tried to catch one more guy who looked like my age from behind. I came up just a bit short: he finished just ahead of me (turns out he was one age group younger). The kick was at around 5:30 pace according to my Garmin.
Finish time: 19:17.
I missed my PR by a few seconds... if I knew maybe I could have tried harder in the third mile... but actually I don't know if I had even just one second left in me. Maybe if I go out slower... but I'm not even sure of that. Obviously this was not a prime race, and was not meant to be a prime race, so this is a great time.
Postrace food was fine, though their bananas tasted terrible. The awards started at around 9:30, and I got second place in my age group! I won a nice silver medal. The winners all had African sounding names and the winning time was 14:12.
I decided to go on the distillery tour at 10:00. It was great fun, and included some sampling. Not enough, of course, so I bought a bottle of Buffalo Trace and a nice whiskey glass in the gift shop. I'm sipping this great Bourbon as I'm writing this report.
Happy 4th of July!
I do have some speed training for this week. It's 5 x 2:30 uphill. Not exactly like a 5K. But why does Pfitzinger want me to do this? I know why: at this point in the training cycle there are many disadvantages going to the track, let alone race! I guess the biggest danger is injury. Well, my body holds up pretty well, and not injury prone at all. 5 x 2:30 is 12:30 of hard running. Even if part of the 5K is about LT, even if the end is anaerobic, wouldn't everybody agree that there is at least 12:30 of VO2 max work involved? The last worry is overtraining, but it is hard to overtrain by running only 20 minutes. So it was decided. I'm running the race.
The Great Buffalo Chase 5K Race Report
Goal: maybe PR (19:11), but it's hard to know what I can do in the middle of training, after 10 miles the day before, and fairly warm temperatures. B goal: 20 minutes. If I can't do that, I would be ashamed.
I had to get up at 5 o'clock, because the race was in Frankfort, KY, on the grounds of the Buffalo Trace distillery. Buffalo Trace is one of my favorite whiskeys. You can't beat it with $25 for a bottle: IMO to find a better whiskey you will have to fork out at least $40. This was an important reason for me to do the race. Even if I can't do well, I get to see the distillery. The disadvantage was the hour long drive from Louisville.
I got there well in time, and the last-minute registration was very smooth. Surprisingly there were even enough bathrooms/port-a-potties. The race was quite large with 690+ runners, and the winners in the last years had Kenyan names....
I started to warm up, and by this time I knew I ate too much before the race. I'm always too worried that I wouldn't eat enough, so this time I had a big dinner and a big breakfast (albeit at 5:30am). Now this was definitely too much, and I experienced some GI discomfort. It was also warm, 76 degrees with high humidity, so I decided to run shirtless. I have to say it was a great decision.
I lined up at the front and off we went at exactly 8:00. I decided to go out at around 6:00 pace. This is because I didn't want to deprive myself the chance of going under 19 minutes, however unlikely it may be. We were running in the shadows of the buildings of the distillery. Interesting course with the typical black molded brick buildings and the barrel tracks across the roads. The black mold is called the Angel's Share fungus, and it feeds on the evaporated alcohol from the aging barrels. It may have been the mold or the alcohol vapor that I could very distinctively smell, but I developed some minor breathing difficulties. It went away when we left the vicinity of the warehouses, but it came back again during the award ceremony, which was again among those buildings.
The first mile had a hill in it, but it wasn't too bad, and in fact the mile was net downhill. I was going hard, but there were pros in the field and they left us quickly. I just tried to settle in the field at around the 6 minute pace. I felt fine at the mile marker.
Mile 1: 5:56
We left the buildings, and we were out on some road in a field with no shadows whatsoever. It was hot here, and I knew it would affect me. But other people slowed around me more than I. I wanted to be careful, so I just held my position, but eventually I passed a few runners. I think only one guy passed me, but he was not in my age group. I decided not to worry until some potential age groupper passes me. I skipped the aid station at Mile 1.5. I though I could pour some water on my head, but they distributed something in paper cups from Gatorade coolers, so I didn't want to risk pouring Gatorade over my head. :) We made a loop, and started to go back. I entertained myself watching the runners coming from the opposite direction.
Mile 2: 6:15
The big hurt started here, as usually; I already forgot how painful is to run 5Ks. :) It's been more than a year since my last one. My legs were also tired, and the 10 miler from yesterday made itself remembered. The last mile was basically the first mile backwards, which means a hill, and this time it was net uphill. At 2.5 mile I was slowing so badly, that it became clear that the 19-minute dream is over. In fact I was already slower on average than my PR pace, and I was very tired.
Mile 3: 6:28
For the last 0.1 I put together everything I had, and I tried to catch one more guy who looked like my age from behind. I came up just a bit short: he finished just ahead of me (turns out he was one age group younger). The kick was at around 5:30 pace according to my Garmin.
Finish time: 19:17.
I missed my PR by a few seconds... if I knew maybe I could have tried harder in the third mile... but actually I don't know if I had even just one second left in me. Maybe if I go out slower... but I'm not even sure of that. Obviously this was not a prime race, and was not meant to be a prime race, so this is a great time.
Postrace food was fine, though their bananas tasted terrible. The awards started at around 9:30, and I got second place in my age group! I won a nice silver medal. The winners all had African sounding names and the winning time was 14:12.
I decided to go on the distillery tour at 10:00. It was great fun, and included some sampling. Not enough, of course, so I bought a bottle of Buffalo Trace and a nice whiskey glass in the gift shop. I'm sipping this great Bourbon as I'm writing this report.
Happy 4th of July!
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