Leading up to race day, there are tow things to think about. 1. What pace should I go out? 2. What training should I do for the spring HM.
1. 6:39. This would lead to 1:27:18, slightly over my PR. Then I see how I feel. If it feels fine, go into Cherokee Park at that pace, and keep running powerful, but controlled pace (no lactate!). If I can finish the hilly part still maintaining 6:52 average, it's good. Then whatever I can do in the rest.
2. The goal is to be able to start the spring training healthy, no pains, and a very solid base of 50 miles/week.
No running on 11/04. Then whenever I feel like it (but no later than 11/11), start a 30 minutes/day regimen. Pace is unimportant before 11/11.
Week of 11/11: 5 easy runs of 4 miles each, no slower than 8:00; one long run of 7 miles. Total of 27 miles.
Week of 11/18: One easy run is switched out to a 5.5 mile tempo: 1 mile warmup, 3.5 miles at tempo pace (6:30 for now), then 1 mile cooldown. Increase long run to 8 miles. Total of 29.5 miles.
Week of 11/25: Total of 32 miles, including 8 mile long run, 5.5 mile tempo (as above), and easy runs of 4.63 miles each.
Week of 12/2: Total of 35 miles, including 9 mile long, same tempo, easy runs of 5.13 miles.
Week of 12/9: Total of 39 miles, including 10 mile long, 6 mile tempo (1 - 4 - 1), and 5.75 mile easy runs.
Week of 12/16: Total of 43 miles, including 11 mile long, 7 mile tempo (1.5 - 4 - 1.5) and 6.25 mile easy runs.
Week of 12/23: Total of 47 miles, including 12 mile long, 7 mile tempo and 7 mile easy runs.
Week of 12/30: Total of 50 miles, including 13.1 mile long, 8 mile tempo (2 - 4 - 2) and 7.23 mile easy runs.
Week of 1/6: Keep everything but bring up the paces. Ideally, by now, paces would be slightly faster, but if not, that's OK. We have some time to increase pace during the training plan (starting on 1/13), and in fact going through the plan at these paces should also be mostly OK.
Wednesday, October 31
Monday, October 29
I've been sick in the last few days with bad stomach bug: high fevers, no energy, and running was completely out of question. This happened with fairly bad timing, because my goal race is next weekend. I haven't run since Wednesday, in particular, missing my last track workout in the weekend.
I'm trying to figure out training for this week, but I think I will just do some easy runs and see what I can do on race days after this mostly imprefect preparation (including my previous traininng issue).
Monday, October 22
Week of 10/21 (-1):
Total of 49 miles.
Sunday: 5.75 miles recovery (this is done).
Monday: 12 miles at 7:45.
Tuesday: 7.5 miles easy.
Wednesday: 9 miles at 7:45.
Thursday: 7.5 miles easy.
Friday: Rest.
Saturday: 3 x 2000 meters at 8K-10K goal pace. Details: 2 x 2000 m at 7:45 (1:33/lap) with 800 m recovery (in no less than 3:53). Warmup and cooldown are 2.25 miles.
Total of 49 miles.
Sunday: 5.75 miles recovery (this is done).
Monday: 12 miles at 7:45.
Tuesday: 7.5 miles easy.
Wednesday: 9 miles at 7:45.
Thursday: 7.5 miles easy.
Friday: Rest.
Saturday: 3 x 2000 meters at 8K-10K goal pace. Details: 2 x 2000 m at 7:45 (1:33/lap) with 800 m recovery (in no less than 3:53). Warmup and cooldown are 2.25 miles.
Saturday, October 20
Doug's Run 10 km Race Report
Goal: not sure because of the hills, but thinking 42 minutes.
If you are a runner in Louisville, you certainly know Iroquois Park. A big hill in the middle of the plains, that was no good for farming or building, so the city surrounded it, but they never cut the forest. So we have this beautiful wilderness in town. Also, because it has a 2-mile steady uphill road, it is my favorite place to do my hill workouts. So I knew the course very well, and I must admit, I was very much afraid of it. To get the idea: the race starts at the foot of the hill, it goes up the hill, circles the top (but even that part is not flat), goes down on the same road where we come up, and then circles around the foothills, going through many "small" hills; but let me mention that these small hills used to be part of the KY Derby Half Marathon, and people always complained about the "difficult" hills at the beginning of the course. These are the same hills that are still part of the Papa John's 10 miler that I ran in the spring, and they are not negligible. But today, they were the easy ones.
There was one positive thing I didn't know about: the course had a net elevation loss of just over 10 meters (so it exceeds the allowed 10 meters for record eligible course). My (loose) plan was to run just under 7-minute miles for the first 3 miles, then try to average 6:30 (shouldn't be a problem for flat course) on the next 3, then all out at the end, and finish under 42 minutes (6:45 average).
The temperature was 48 degrees, and the sky was overcast, so it was perfect running weather. The parking lot was a half mile from the start line, so I got my perfect warmup by jogging to the start line, going back to the car to drop off clothes, finding a bathroom, and jogging back to the start line. I lined up in the front row in shorts and my lucky orange T-shirt (and my trusted Kinvara's of course).
At exactly 9:00am they started the race. They did make one mistake though that we only learned later: they forgot to start the clock, so all the finish times were off by about 1:20. It didn't matter during the race, of course. I had my Garmin to check my progress. I jumped out quickly as always, but then I restrained myself and let many people pass. I knew that the hill was long, and I can't kill myself in the first mile. I settled into this ~7 min/mile pace; but with the quick start, my average pace a bit faster.
Mile 1: 6:52
The hill continued into the second mile, and in fact it reached its steepest part. Up the hill I tried to pace off of a guy in a red shirt, but he pulled away on the steep part. I tried to accelerate some in the more flat portions in the second half of this mile, but my legs needed recovery. So I was just content not letting the red T-shirt disappear, and once I recovered by the end of this mile, I started to reel him in.
Mile 2: 6:49
A downhill portion here, and I just got relaxed and fast. I let my leg turnover increase, and when I felt even more recovered, I put in some power. I passed maybe two runners. We had some more serious climbs here (on the top of the hill), and it was hard to maintain control.
Mile 3: 6:17
Finally we were going down. A controlled, strong, downhill effort, but trying not to trash my legs. I think I caught the red T-shirt guy on the bottom of the hill, and I just powered by him. He told me in the finish "I tried to follow you, but man, you were moving!"
Mile 4: 5:58
We got to the foothills with its constant rolling terrain. It doesn't look bad on the elevation chart, but only because the big hill changes the scale. It used to be hard for me to run these in the spring, but I think I got better on hills. I was picking out runners in front of me and passed them, maybe two in this mile.
Mile 5: 6:20
I saw a guy in a white T-shirt maybe a 100 yards ahead, and I remembered that he passed me halfway up the hill. I decided to pull close, but I started get some side stitches, and I felt very tired and squeamish. I still got closer, but very slowly. We hit another incline, and I thought I would throw up. I just arrived up behind the white T-shirt, so I decided to stay on his heel without passing him. But he slowed so much on the hill, that just before the top, I charged out, and left him standing. I propelled down on the other side.
I saw another guy at about 50 or so yards ahead, but he pretty much matched my pace, so I thought I probably wouldn't catch him. Then I saw the 6-mile sign, so I thought: I got to try. Only 0.2 mile left. If I can't pass him, it's OK, but I got to try.
Mile 6: 6:18
I got close to the guy, and I expected him to speed up, but he didn't (or mot much). I passed him, and sprinted to the finish. It was far! 0.2 mile can feel pretty long...
Last portion: 51 seconds. Due to Garmin or course errors, this was certainly less than 0.2 mile, and I think I ran at around 5 minute pace.
Total time: 39:25. The clock showed something like 38:0x, but the main organizer immediately told us that the clock was off by 1:20. The exact time doesn't matter too much, because it was non-certified, non-PR eligible course anyway. It's still plenty hard, so I'm quite happy with the time.
I thought I was pretty well ahead in positions, but I haven't realized until the awards that I got 3rd place overall. I'm especially happy, because looking at the results, the runners behind me followed me only by seconds (like the last one I passed was only 5 seconds behind), but the next one up ahead was a minute away.
With this strong performance in my bag, now I must try for a PR on November 3. I think I will go out at 6:40 pace, and see if I can maintain it. Those three hills on the course don't scare me any more!
Goal: not sure because of the hills, but thinking 42 minutes.
If you are a runner in Louisville, you certainly know Iroquois Park. A big hill in the middle of the plains, that was no good for farming or building, so the city surrounded it, but they never cut the forest. So we have this beautiful wilderness in town. Also, because it has a 2-mile steady uphill road, it is my favorite place to do my hill workouts. So I knew the course very well, and I must admit, I was very much afraid of it. To get the idea: the race starts at the foot of the hill, it goes up the hill, circles the top (but even that part is not flat), goes down on the same road where we come up, and then circles around the foothills, going through many "small" hills; but let me mention that these small hills used to be part of the KY Derby Half Marathon, and people always complained about the "difficult" hills at the beginning of the course. These are the same hills that are still part of the Papa John's 10 miler that I ran in the spring, and they are not negligible. But today, they were the easy ones.
There was one positive thing I didn't know about: the course had a net elevation loss of just over 10 meters (so it exceeds the allowed 10 meters for record eligible course). My (loose) plan was to run just under 7-minute miles for the first 3 miles, then try to average 6:30 (shouldn't be a problem for flat course) on the next 3, then all out at the end, and finish under 42 minutes (6:45 average).
The temperature was 48 degrees, and the sky was overcast, so it was perfect running weather. The parking lot was a half mile from the start line, so I got my perfect warmup by jogging to the start line, going back to the car to drop off clothes, finding a bathroom, and jogging back to the start line. I lined up in the front row in shorts and my lucky orange T-shirt (and my trusted Kinvara's of course).
At exactly 9:00am they started the race. They did make one mistake though that we only learned later: they forgot to start the clock, so all the finish times were off by about 1:20. It didn't matter during the race, of course. I had my Garmin to check my progress. I jumped out quickly as always, but then I restrained myself and let many people pass. I knew that the hill was long, and I can't kill myself in the first mile. I settled into this ~7 min/mile pace; but with the quick start, my average pace a bit faster.
Mile 1: 6:52
The hill continued into the second mile, and in fact it reached its steepest part. Up the hill I tried to pace off of a guy in a red shirt, but he pulled away on the steep part. I tried to accelerate some in the more flat portions in the second half of this mile, but my legs needed recovery. So I was just content not letting the red T-shirt disappear, and once I recovered by the end of this mile, I started to reel him in.
Mile 2: 6:49
A downhill portion here, and I just got relaxed and fast. I let my leg turnover increase, and when I felt even more recovered, I put in some power. I passed maybe two runners. We had some more serious climbs here (on the top of the hill), and it was hard to maintain control.
Mile 3: 6:17
Finally we were going down. A controlled, strong, downhill effort, but trying not to trash my legs. I think I caught the red T-shirt guy on the bottom of the hill, and I just powered by him. He told me in the finish "I tried to follow you, but man, you were moving!"
Mile 4: 5:58
We got to the foothills with its constant rolling terrain. It doesn't look bad on the elevation chart, but only because the big hill changes the scale. It used to be hard for me to run these in the spring, but I think I got better on hills. I was picking out runners in front of me and passed them, maybe two in this mile.
Mile 5: 6:20
I saw a guy in a white T-shirt maybe a 100 yards ahead, and I remembered that he passed me halfway up the hill. I decided to pull close, but I started get some side stitches, and I felt very tired and squeamish. I still got closer, but very slowly. We hit another incline, and I thought I would throw up. I just arrived up behind the white T-shirt, so I decided to stay on his heel without passing him. But he slowed so much on the hill, that just before the top, I charged out, and left him standing. I propelled down on the other side.
I saw another guy at about 50 or so yards ahead, but he pretty much matched my pace, so I thought I probably wouldn't catch him. Then I saw the 6-mile sign, so I thought: I got to try. Only 0.2 mile left. If I can't pass him, it's OK, but I got to try.
Mile 6: 6:18
I got close to the guy, and I expected him to speed up, but he didn't (or mot much). I passed him, and sprinted to the finish. It was far! 0.2 mile can feel pretty long...
Last portion: 51 seconds. Due to Garmin or course errors, this was certainly less than 0.2 mile, and I think I ran at around 5 minute pace.
Total time: 39:25. The clock showed something like 38:0x, but the main organizer immediately told us that the clock was off by 1:20. The exact time doesn't matter too much, because it was non-certified, non-PR eligible course anyway. It's still plenty hard, so I'm quite happy with the time.
I thought I was pretty well ahead in positions, but I haven't realized until the awards that I got 3rd place overall. I'm especially happy, because looking at the results, the runners behind me followed me only by seconds (like the last one I passed was only 5 seconds behind), but the next one up ahead was a minute away.
With this strong performance in my bag, now I must try for a PR on November 3. I think I will go out at 6:40 pace, and see if I can maintain it. Those three hills on the course don't scare me any more!
Friday, October 19
Saturday, October 13
Decent run today: a VO2 max run of 4 x 1600 meters with 800 meter recoveries. The splits were 6:10, 6:17, 6:12, 6:16 (goal pace was 6:16). The bad news is that is was fairly hard, and I made a visit to the paincave in the last interval (I was 2 seconds off of pace at 1200 m and I was already quite tired). It was 72 degrees and a bit windy, and I had to run around people and obstacles on the track because a bunch of mostly very overweight people organized a picnic/football game at the high school track. So the performance isn't so bad after all. No pain, no gain, right? Finished the week with the planned 58 miles.
Week of 10/14 (-2): Total 54 miles.
Long runs: 14 and 10 miles (glad to see these going down)
LT: 10K time trial plus warmup/cooldown: 9 miles total. This will be hard, but I do need it all.
Easy runs: 3 x 7 miles.
Ideally it would be easy on Sunday, 14 miles on Monday, 7 on Tuesday, 10 on Wednesday, 7 on Thursday, Rest on Friday, and the time trial on Saturday. I should introduce Friday as regular rest day, and longest runs early in the week, because race day is approaching fast.
Week of 10/14 (-2): Total 54 miles.
Long runs: 14 and 10 miles (glad to see these going down)
LT: 10K time trial plus warmup/cooldown: 9 miles total. This will be hard, but I do need it all.
Easy runs: 3 x 7 miles.
Ideally it would be easy on Sunday, 14 miles on Monday, 7 on Tuesday, 10 on Wednesday, 7 on Thursday, Rest on Friday, and the time trial on Saturday. I should introduce Friday as regular rest day, and longest runs early in the week, because race day is approaching fast.
Saturday, October 6
Week -4 is finally success (after many partially or totally failed ones). The icing on the cake is the 10000 meters I ran today in 39:22, with very even splits except for the first and last kilometers, which were faster, as they should be. Here are the kilometer splits: 3:47, 3:57, 4:00, 3:57, 4:00, 3:59, 3:59, 3:59, 3:59, 3:46.
Week -3: Total of 58 miles.
Long runs: 16 and 11 miles.
VO2 max: 4 x 1600 meters. Training plan calls for 1 sec/lap slower than 8K-10K goal pace. If I get ambitious and aim for the low end (8K pace), which is, according to McMillan, (corresponding to 1:27:11), 3:53/km. That is ~93 sec/lap. So the goal pace for this training run would be 94 sec/lap, or 6:16/interval. 800-meter recoveries. With 2 miles of warmup an 2 miles of cooldown, this amounts to 9-9.5 miles.
Easy runs: 7.33 miles.
Week -3: Total of 58 miles.
Long runs: 16 and 11 miles.
VO2 max: 4 x 1600 meters. Training plan calls for 1 sec/lap slower than 8K-10K goal pace. If I get ambitious and aim for the low end (8K pace), which is, according to McMillan, (corresponding to 1:27:11), 3:53/km. That is ~93 sec/lap. So the goal pace for this training run would be 94 sec/lap, or 6:16/interval. 800-meter recoveries. With 2 miles of warmup an 2 miles of cooldown, this amounts to 9-9.5 miles.
Easy runs: 7.33 miles.
Monday, October 1
I do have the occasional good runs, the problem is mostly lack of miles in my training. Like today, I ran 13.88 miles in the 60 degree rains. It was literally raining from beginning to the end of the run. That is 1 hour 43 minutes running in the rain. But that pace is actually quite good: 7:25/mile, and it wasn't all that hard. In fact I feel better than after my (slower) 12-miler last week.
Does it suck to run in the rain? Not so much. There were really only two things for which I wished it didn't rain. Number one is that my hand-drawn map practically fell apart. I was seriously worried that I wouldn't find the (shortest) way back to start, and I really didn't want to make this run 15-16 miles, or walk in the rain for a mile or two. But at the end, holding it in my hands, it lasted just long enough. Number two was the terrible chaffing. Both nipples and my scrotum are sore (I know, TMI). My right nipple bled a nice red line into my white running shirt, and the end of the run was through the crowded campus. I wonder how many people noticed.
There is just no good solution for nipple chaffing. I still hope I can develop callouses. :)
Does it suck to run in the rain? Not so much. There were really only two things for which I wished it didn't rain. Number one is that my hand-drawn map practically fell apart. I was seriously worried that I wouldn't find the (shortest) way back to start, and I really didn't want to make this run 15-16 miles, or walk in the rain for a mile or two. But at the end, holding it in my hands, it lasted just long enough. Number two was the terrible chaffing. Both nipples and my scrotum are sore (I know, TMI). My right nipple bled a nice red line into my white running shirt, and the end of the run was through the crowded campus. I wonder how many people noticed.
There is just no good solution for nipple chaffing. I still hope I can develop callouses. :)
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