This week (base training week -7): 4 x 4.25 miles + 6 miles + 7 miles = 30 miles. Only very slight increase from last week.

I drove 1300 miles in the last two days, so I didn't run yesterday, but I squeezed in a half hour workout on Sunday in the Little Beaver State Park in West Virginia. It was 22 F, but sunny, and a lot of snow on the ground. It was beautiful in the woods, and I didn't feel cold at all. That run concluded the week with 29 miles.

Finished the week with 27 miles. Tomorrow is rest day after running 7 days in a row. (I still think this is good for me.) Suffering from some shin splints, but it got better today (even though I ran a longish 5.5 miles).

Next week is "week -8" of the base B plan. That is: 4 x 4 + 6 + 7 = 29 miles, all easy.

I finished the week with a 6 mile "long" run. 25.71 miles for the week. Next week's target is 4 x 3.5 miles + 1 x 6 miles + 1 x 7 miles, all easy. (That is the second week in Pfitzinger's base building plan.) The 6 day weeks seem to work well. This week was harder though than last week, but I think this natural after a long break.

Change of plans (well, not drastically). Last week I ran 22.8 miles without feeling too beaten up. So this week I am jumping straight into Pfitz's base training schedule. That is, this week, 14 miles in 4 short runs and a 5 miler + a 6 miler = 25 miles. I can finish the base building by mid March, and I'll see it from there. If I want to run a good time before the hot weather comes, I might need to start the training cycle earlier.

Since Monday, I'm back to running. Being careful now, so I only ran two 3 milers. I will make some changes in my training methods:

- I will run during the day, trying to do it at lunchtime, at least until winter is over. To be honest, after living 8 years in the south, I wasn't prepared for the Louisville winter. This may have been one of the principal causes of my disappointing performances before my hiatus. So now I will run during the day, when it is still daylight outside, not that cold (I mean come on - running in 10 F?), and I can spend my evenings with my family. The challenge is to integrate it into the workday (showers, etc.).

- I will run 6 days a week (up one from 5). That way the workouts don't have to be absurdly long. Especially because

- I will run more miles. Trying to go under 20 minutes on thirty-some miles is hard. I will try build up to 40-60 mpw, like in marathon training.

So here is the long term plan:
Week of 12/27: 5 x 3 + 6 = 21 miles
1/3: 5 x 3.3 + 6.5 = 23 miles
1/7: 5 x 3.6 + 7 = 25 miles
1/14: 5 x 4 + 8 = 28 miles

Than maybe another buildup week, or immediately start the buildup program to 40 miles. By April, I will have a very solid base. By July, I will have completed a very rigorous training program. Meanwhile, I only plan to race in the Kentucky State Parks 5K series, which is cross country anyway, so there is no time goal, just some nice placement. So I plan to start to do road races after July, and meanwhile I will keep myself on a maintenance program. By the end of fall, I hope to have some nice 5K and 10K PRs. Then fold it again in mid-November, and start a new cycle after Christmas 2011. 2012 can be a year for half marathons and maybe a fall marathon (Indianapolis)? Then maybe in 2013 I could do the Derby Festival Marathon. Speaking of long term goals... :)

In case you were wondering about me: I am on a hiatus from running... I didn't really plan it, it just happened. First, I was struggling to get the runs in due to my crazier and crazier schedule. Then I had a few very disappointing runs, and I fell far from goals, and it looked like the sub-20 this year is hopeless - that was very discouraging. Then I had a week, when I traveled and worked basically day and night, and I skipped many days of running in a row. And just when I wanted to get back on schedule, the cold winter arrived to Louisville, and now we have 10-20 degrees pretty much every morning. That's when I decided to take a hiatus. I plan to start over in January with base building, hoping to get in form by spring. Winter races are out of the window (actually I skipped my Dec. 4 race). I hope to get in form by the spring cross country State Park Series.

Last night I had my worst interval training *EVER*. I warmed up for 2 miles, and then I wanted to do sub-4 minute 1000 meters. I was actually aiming for 3:55 - two weeks ago I did 7x600 at that pace, and though it was hard, I could do it. Yesterday, the first was OK, I ran 3:54, but in the second lap of the second interval, I just lost it. The strength left my legs, and my heart couldn't keep up. I slowed down to the last 200 meters so much that I finished with 4:04. I almost decided to go home, but then I changed my mind and decided to finish the workout. I had to give up on the pace and I just ran the 1000s by feel around my VO2 max. I am ashamed to admit that the last three intervals were ~4:15 each. That was the best I could do.

I have no idea what caused the problem. Maybe I'm not ready, or just don't have the physical capabilities to go under 20 minutes. I have had a lot of stress at work and in private life lately, but this had never influenced my running before. I also was so busy yesterday at work that I barely drank anything until 3pm, but then I started to hydrate like crazy, and I only ran at 10pm.

Before my run last night I was hesitating if I should do the prescribed 10K time trial or a 4-mile tempo. I decided to do something in between. Part of the reason was that the university track was locked again (grrr) when I got there. There is a 1/2 mile "cardio path" around the track, which is a winding, slightly rolling path, with one 14 foot hill in the middle. So I decided to warm up for 2 miles, and then do 6 miles at 7 min/mile pace.

My first half mile was at 6:30 pace, so I slowed down a bit, but my first mile was still 6:38. Then I started to knock down 7:0x miles. By the fifth mile I was quite tired, and it was 7:07, but I got myself together and my last mile was 6:57. Altogether: 6 miles in 41:50. This pace translates to 43:19 10K, which would be a PR, but it only shows how soft my 10K PR is.

Last spring I ran 42:06 on a track training session on 10K, but the track is definitely easier, and I was probably more fit, simply because I had longer training before that. I was also much more motivated. So I guess I should say again: I am where I am supposed to be.

7 x 600 meters on the track last night. Splits were around 2:20 for 600 m (1:34/lap). First I tried it with 200 m jog for recovery, but after the third set I felt too tired so I decided to increase recovery time to 1:50-2:00 (basically power walking the 200 meters instead of jog). That way, I could finish strong and paces didn't fall off.

7 miles last night. My last 3 days add up to 22 miles and I'm going to the track tonight. Recently I found the the easy 5-7 milers don't seem to make me more tired - in fact I feel better on the following days.

Finalized goals (all races are in Louisville, except for the State Park Series):

12/04/10: Old Tyme Christmas Santa Sprint 5k ($20, 11/27)
This race is in my neighborhood. I could run from our apartment for warmup. Of course race logistics (packet pickup, etc) makes it unlikely that I'll actually do that. I'll try to go under 20 minutes.

Polar Bear Grand Prix:
12/18/10: Reindeer Romp 4k ($15 + $10, 12/15)
01/15/10: Frostbite 5K ($25, 01/12)
02/12/10: Snowman Shuffle 4 Mile ($20, 02/09)
Unless I'm getting really good by then, I should aim for a sub-15:30 4K, a definite sub-20 5K and a sub-26 4 miler. That is a total of 61:30. Sub-1 hour would be a dream, probably unachievable. Edit: scratch all of this. I think the series is in Cherokee Park, which is very hilly. Unless I'm getting *really* good by then, the above times are probably too ambitious.

Louisville Triple Crown of Running
02/26/10: Anthem 5K Fitness Classic ($25, 02/19)
03/12/10: Rodes City Run 10K ($25, 03/05)
03/26/10: Papa John’s 10 Miler ($25, 03/19)
Here I should definitely go sub-20 on the 5K, optimally, this should be routine by then. It is too early to make any predictions or goals for the 10K. Since all my training will still focus mostly on 5Ks until at least 2/26, I don't think I can realistically hope for anything more than a sub-42. Similarly, I would be happy if I could keep 7-minute miles for the whole duration of the 10-miler, that is 1:10. So that is a total of 2:12.

Kentucky State Parks 5K series
Probably starting around April. It hasn't been announced yet.

I ran 5 miles on Sunday after the 10 on Sat. Finally the rain washed the air clean tonight, so I'll be ready for my 36 mile week. The last time I ran more than 36 miles a week was in December 2009, and that week included a marathon. :)

The air cleaned up a bit, it was only "unhealthy for sensitive groups" (which does apply to me...) and I ran 10 miles. The smoke was in pockets over the city - sometimes the air was clean for two blocks, then a smoky pocket for one block, etc. Today the EPA report is back to "unhealthy", but I will run anyway - I will drive to Lexington if I must.

I am so frustrated today! I had SRD on Thursday and I couldn't run ever since. By Friday afternoon thick smoke covered the city that is full of particulate matter and it is unhelathy to breath in, let alone run in it. Man, I hate this city. And I have only lived here for little more than 2 months.

Ft. Vallonia 5K Race Report

Goal: 20:15. Minimal goal: 21:00.

The race was held in a small Indiana town about an hour drive from our place. The race started at 1:00pm. Initially I thought this was great, because the whole family could come and I don't have to get up early, but since the race day was the hottest day in weeks, it sucked that we had to race at 1pm. The race was part of a big festival called Ft. Vallonia Days.

The town is very small, just one main street with a bunch of houses and lots of farmland around it. I started my warmup at 12:35 and I finished it at 12:50. I didn't feel great, and it was very hot. I'm not sure about the exact temperature, but our car thermometer showed 82 F when we left. I guess it was around 78-79 F. I did all my recent training in about 55 F, so I was not acclimatized. And I'm sure that the heat felt even worse, because we were running in the sun.

After lining up at the front and some conversation with friendly folks around me (160 people ran or walked the race), we were off at exactly 1:00. The start was a bit nervous, and many people started quite fast. I settled into a fairly conservative pace, especially because a few hundred yards after the start line, we started to climb a hill. The hill was about 1 mile long and the elevation change was 90 feet. It doesn't seem to be that much, but it was enough to make the first mile hard. I'm not very good at climbing hills anyway. I got to the 1 mile mark, which was about the top of the hill.

Mile 1: 6:40

That was slower than expected, but it was uphill. The worse part was that I was quite winded and started to feel hot. The second mile was mostly flat. The course was out-and-back, so we reached the turnaround point during this mile. By this time, we left the town and we ran among corn fields. There was seriously no shadow on this course whatsoever. After playing yo-yo with a few runners, I passed them at around 1.5 miles and I never saw them again. I was alone, hot, tired, and disappointed, because I knew (from my Garmin) that I won't be close to 20 minutes today. At that point, my average pace was around 6:45. I decided to settle for my minimal goal to run sub-21.

Mile 2: 6:49

The rest was downhill. I passed one guy right after the 2 mile mark, and I set sight on another, who seemed to be in my age group. He was about 100 yards away. I worked hard to catch him, and I got close - then I recognized him, and realized that he was 27 - I remembered seeing his bib at the start line. I was in pain, so I stopped trying to pass him: I just ran behind him.

Close to the finish line a moron decided to cross the course and her daughter followed her. I almost ran over the little girl, then I almost fell when I managed to avoid her. I am totally amazed just how stupid some people are.

Mile 3: 6:32

I saw my family at the finish line, my kids cheering me on! That is one of the best things in racing.

Finish time: 20:41

Considering the heat and the hill, this was an OK race. I'm just a little frustrated that the race had to be on that hot day. But this wasn't my goal race so I guess it is OK. I got lucky and I won my age group. The award is a really cool mug! Let me add that the organization was first class: they started on time, the course was accurate, the T-shirt and awards are great, and registration was cheap. (No post-race food, but plenty of water, and I don't care too much about food after a 5K.)

In January this year (after my marathon) I set the sub-20 5K goal. When I got so close in April, I though the goal would be accomplished by May. Now it is October and I'm still not any closer... Anyway, I'll just go on.

I will post a report later about my unspectacular but satisfactory performance on Sunday. For now, I just need a place to collect the races in the future I'm interested in. In parenthesis the date of the late registration and price.

11/20/10: Harvest Run 5K, Louisville ($20, 11/12)
12/04/10: Jingle Bell 5K, Cincinnati ($30 with T-shirt, $20 with no T-shirt, 12/01)
12/04/10: Old Tyme Christmas Santa Sprint 5k, Louisville ($20, 11/27)
12/18/10: Reindeer Romp 4k, Louisville, 1st race of Polar Bear GP ($15 + $10, 12/15)
01/15/10: Frostbite 5K, Louisville, 2nd race of PBGP ($25, 01/12)
02/12/10: Snowman Shuffle 4 Mile, 3rd race of PBGP ($20, 02/09)
02/26/10: Anthem 5K Fitness Classic, 1st race of Triple Crown ($25, 02/19)
03/12/10: Rodes City Run 10K, 2nd race of Triple Crown ($25, 03/05)
03/26/10: Papa John’s 10 Miler, 3rd race of Triple Crown ($25, 03/19)
April? Kentucky State Parks 5K series

A little out of order, I did my track workout on Monday, because I decided in sort of a "last minute" manner that I'll race a 5K on Sunday in Indiana (not too far from us though). I drove to the University track first, and it was closed! I walked around, checked everywhere, but short of jumping the fence, I couldn't get in. I seriously considered jumping, but then I pictured getting arrested for trespassing, and being denied for the green card, so I decided against it.

I drove through town the high school track I used before. I had a fine workout. I was fairly tired when I started, so I really did have to gut it out the end, but I managed to run 3:59, 3:56, 3:56, 3:56 repetitions of 1000 meters. I don't feel terribly sore, but I do feel the effect. I might have run a little too fast.

Last night I did the 4-mile tempo that eluded me two weeks ago twice. After about a mile warmup, I ran 4 miles at 6:54, 6:56, 6:51, 6:50. I was originally shooting for 7 minutes, but I felt great and the weather was perfect (about 50 degrees).

I am starting to feel that I may be close to race shape. My goal race is still almost 2 months away, so I'm slightly worried that I would peak early.

I ran 4 miles yesterday, and this was my 5th day in a row of running. The streak started with a track workout (see below) and included an 8-mile long run on Saturday in the cold rain. Normally I run in the pattern: 3 days running - 1 day rest - 2 days running - 1 day rest - repeat. So I'm supposed to be tired, but I've felt better and better every day in this running streak. I rest today and tomorrow I'll try a 6-miler with 4 miles at tempo pace.