Zapped

    Today I had hoped for a track work-out that I could write home about, I made it to the track but I was late! The heat and humidity added to my strange sense of fatigue, what was wrong? I could barely get going?
  So I trudged along, stopped, drank some water...was I dehydrated? I took some medicine last night and it seems to have zapped me? Stuffy nose....
  I finally felt like I could try a repeat and did 1K in 5:15. Not what I need! I rested for 200m and drank some more water...another 1K in 5:19. I'm done....I lived to train another day. Not a good day at the track, I simply have no energy, totally zapped!44:50 minutes. I look for one more run this week putting me on track as I continue to increase distance. Peace!

Cruise Intervals

In order to devote Saturday to my Sweetheart Sandy, it will be her BD, I decided to hit the track today. I arrived as early as possible (7:45am) but the heat, humidity, and sunshine already made it very hot! No matter, I love it! A good four lap warm-up and then the work-out; a sweet little plan today. I want to find that threshold, where I am right now in regards to speed and sustained speed. One effective way is to do Cruise intervals. A "Threshold" pace run.....running a sustained pace where you are right on the edge of Lactic Acid overdose! Think of it as the threshold of a door.....when you cross the threshold you enter a new realm, environment, from outside to inside(sustained pace to abstained pace!). The idea is to discover the threshold then train to push it back. Stay outside longer...get it?
So, my decision was to do 2x1000m (400m recover) and 2x100m (100m recover). My little work-out! I found that pace! Not as fast as I wanted, but I knew I had to hold back. In short distances we can run faster but that defeats the purpose of the work-out, training and ingraining the body and mind with ability to recognize and handle the threshold.
Here are the results: The 1000's-5:06, 5:07, the 100's :21, :22. I really like dealing in meters btw. I did a decent cool down jog and felt extremely good!? I know I was right on the threshold and I really enjoyed this work-out. I would imagine myself setting the cruise control, keeping good form and breathing, smooth, in control...Gazelle like, okay don't get carried away! I had fun! Heel felt good! I've added minutes this week. All I need is a 40 minute run Saturday and I've put in a good week! Hope you have a great weekend! Peace!!

Rare Bird

That would be me! Probably on the endangered species list! 55 year old guy going to the track for a hard work out on a sultry, steamy Saturday morning.
I really wasn't feeling it today...as I launched into the 4x400's, after the mile warm-up, I realized it was going to be a struggle.
A young lady was making her way onto the track as I started my first 400...I was cordial but no time for conversation. A 1:54 first 400...the girl was doing some stretching but as I was coming around for my rest lap she started her work-out....she took off hard! No warm-up, what she was doing was a power work-out, 100m hard 100m rest/jog...she did this for probably 4-5 laps. I continued and slogged through, a 1:53, 2:03, 2:03. Then did some cool down laps. The young lady and I had another brief conversation, I commended her on her work-out, she asked me "how long do you go?" I really liked that question! What was she really saying? Often when we try to get in someones head were wrong, but I heard what she was saying. I really am encouraged by these young kids that are willing to work hard in order to achieve....she's a rare bird, too! Most people do just enough to get by but true achievement requires hard work.....she was just gaining info in order to get better... so I told her "36 minutes today, some 400 reps, not much more than you did!"
Be the rare bird! Maybe we'll get off the endangered list! Finished out a great week! Hills, miles, and speed....also, got some new Kayanos last night! Peace!

Track Attack!!

Better than a heart attack although I probably should of had one today! I headed out to the local track around 12:30 this afternoon. With the humidity and heat both high I really was asking for it! I did manage to get the workout in but man alive! I got hot!
Two others were out on the track...young people...20ish, doing sprinting drills. This weather will kill you or make you stronger...as I was driving home I remembered why I went the track early!!!
A mile warm-up then 4x400 with a 400 rest interval..here are the splits: 1:46, 1:54, 1:59, 1:56. Half way through the second 400 I really wanted to change the work-out! I was thinking about doing 200's! However; I stuck it out and finished the workout. My goal is to train for a 5K. Try to run strong and healthy and allow the achilles to heal. I do have my sights set on a possible marathon, though. Rest tomorrow and another week begins! Hills for Monday!!!
Have a great Sunday, Peace!!

Back to the Track-

It has been a while since I have made it to the track....what with the bum heel and all; I really needed to know how will it respond to speed work.....
A sad truth?....if you don't do speed work regularly you lose it! Remember the "s.a.i.d. principle" I had a simple, little, easy, workout planned...one mile warm-up, 4x400 with a 400 rest in between each one, cool down to 30 minutes total time. I made it but the speed sessions showed my lack of training, 1:53, 1:55, 1:57, 2:00, were the splits in that order....note the rapid decline!
My goal is to focus on the shorter races for a while thus minimizing the weekly distance needs maximizing healing for the heel....I want to train for a marathon....bad!
I think I have a goal race in mind: "We're bookn' it 5K" This gives me 10 weeks to train. At least I've a goal and a little hope!
Finished with a good week-179 minutes of running! Peace! Happy fourth!

Punt pass and kick!

Okay, it is simply perfect outside today! Sunny, 51 degrees, nice breeze from the North. I got out early and drove to the track. Had to stop by the church and let some of my fine young leaders into the church. They are putting on a "Neewalloh" party on the parking lot this afternoon. That's backwards for Halloween.

I hit the track with an "Oh, No!" Bunches of people there? What's up? It was the regional Punt pass and kick competition preparing to start. I saw one runner on the track, going the wrong way....so I said "what the hay!" I'll just weave through the folks....?

So it's my last track workout before the race. It is only for maintaining conditioning. Don't kill yourself! I wanted to experiment with going out faster. So I did. I didn't really experience problems with the folks. Some gave way to me, others didn't see me...I could of not run but I wanted this one. Finally the folks moved to the stands as their kids went onto the field. It was odd feeling like a hundred people were watching me every time I came around?!

The other runner and I began to converse every time we passed each other. She is training for the Bass Pro HM. She looked real strong. I asked her if she had a time goal. She said " I ran 12 miles in 1:50 so I want to break two hours." I said, "You'll do that easy!!" I also invited her to the 6:00am worship service where I'm the speaker.

I decided on a short effort today. Just keeping the cobwebs out! I did kick it in on the last mile for fun...and to show off! Lots of fat Dads in the stands! Yes, I have a mean streak!

Totals-8.01 miles/1:09:57/ 8:44's-the splits- 8:58, 8:45, 8:40, 8:51, 8:44, 8:50, 8:51, 8:06-

I did note that starting faster put me in a feeling of deficit for a while. If I could just find that happy median?

I am getting very excited about the race. It is a big deal to me. I have to take vacation time to run marathons so I can't run but around two a year. I am so ready to do it! The young lady running the wrong way ( maybe I was:)) asked me my time goal, I said I want to break four hours. I said it out loud! I have to be realistic about my goal. This will require me to break a barrier in me. My racing and training all point to the potential of beating the clock but what about me? Can I break the barrier in me?

As to what next, after Bass Pro. Depends on the result. Peace!

Steam Locomotive

Today was Saturday track day!! Flatland! The weather is nasty. Cool, 45ish, dark clouds, North winds around 10-15mph. I dressed in my shortest shorts, I like them because when they get soaked with sweat they won't catch (drag) on my thighs, if you know what I mean?

Long sleeve shirt (Adidas tech, my fav), gloves and hat. A little cool to start but after a while I felt comfortable. Dressing for a cold marathon can be tricky so I want to test specific wear.

So, since I've decided to lay it all on the line in 15 days I need a strategy. Today as I started my MP run I wanted to simulate how I would start. But the first mile was a 9:50. That is too slow! It takes a bunch of miles to make that up if you want to avg 9:09's! If you start too fast your dead later? This is a tricky balancing act!? Today I wanted 10 miles at MP. I had one bad patch but that is good to experience and learn to work through. Two observations today. Have a couple of different strides in your arsenal. I noticed that when I shifted to a shuffle for a while I regrouped. Imagine yourself as a Steam Locomotive. You must feed the engine with fuel!

Here are the splits-9:50, 8:49, 8:44, 8:58, 8:48, 8:41, 8:41, 8:40, 8:45, 8:32, 8:15

Totals-11.01 miles/ 1:36:55/ 8:48's.

Next week Taper- looks like a max of only 30 miles-Wow! That seems like such a small amount of miles! Peace!

Land of Hurt

To the track! I opted out of the premier road race in our area this morning. The St. Johns Sunshine run. I've ran that puppy off and on since the mid-eighties but my MP run was more important. A beautiful morning with sunny skies, and occasional cloud, good breeze from the North, and cool, cool temps-38! Shorts, long sleeve shirt, hat and gloves. I had decided to slow the pace and try to really establish a true MP. My body was so sore and stiff, this has been a challenging week, dealing with fatigue. As I started the workout I could see this was going to be a test! Started in lane eight and began to knock off laps. Lots of activity on the track. Novice runners, walkers, kids, it was a pretty busy place but not a problem.
At around mile nine I began to hurt. The kind of hurt you experience when your glycogen stores are getting low, when your legs are heavy and feel like concrete, like around mile 20 in the marathon. I just talked to myself saying " Mark, don't let up, hold the pace," etc...
Seemed like I held on okay but when I finished my quads were toasted. So it's in the books!
Totals-14.06 miles/ 2:07:31/ 9:04's. Here are the splits-9:49, 9:13, 8:55, 8:55, 8:49, 8:40, 8:44, 8:42, 8:41, 9:06, 9:27, 9:24, 9:02, 9:22. ( Got my 50 in!) I think this was a good effort for the fact that I was in the land of hurt for around five miles. My next run will be in California! We are staying at the La Quinta in Carlsbad and I hope to run from there Monday morning sometime. Otherwise next week is gonna be a booger getting miles in because of the conference but it'll all work out. Peace!
Good luck again to all racing today and tomorrow!!

HM Time Trial

Sunny skies, cool temps (50's), very windy, I headed for the track with the goal of 12 MP miles. I decided to simulate the marathon. So I pretended it was race day. I lined up about in the middle and took off in control. I had my water bottle, my gels, and my goal...to knock off as many MP miles as possible! Ultimately, I decided to make this run a HM time trial. It helped motivate me to push for the half. Here are the splits-9:18, 8:52, 8:44, 8:56, 9:02, 8:50, 8:51, 8:41, 8:45, 8:39, 8:45, 8:49, 8:46, -total time: 1:55:52/ 8:51's/ 13.1 miles.
I took a gel every thirty minutes per Spirit Flowers suggestion...worked real good! Drank early and often, worked good. Felt like I still had a few miles in the tank. I got my 12 MP miles! Next week I hope for 14 and then the taper! 51.12 miles this week! That's a PR for me.
Well the day is just beginning! Sandy and I will go run errands in Ozark, the off to Branson for a show and some shopping. Hope your Saturday has been a good one. I'm pulling for all of you that are racing tomorrow!! Best of Luck! Peace!

Out of the Gate

Today is track day!! Time to hit flat land!! I took yesterday off!! From running that is....two wedding rehearsals, that's stressful enough! I told my Sweetheart I'd rather do a funeral any day! So I've two weddings on tap today, one at three and the other at seven.
Anyway, made it to the track by about 9, saw this tall beautiful blonde girl with a dog on a leash....it was my niece Bethany!! Her boyfriend is the middle school football coach. He's a good guy and his team was practicing. The puppy is the cutest little chocolate lab, his name is Yadi.
I gave her a hug and began my workout-I could not control the pace! Just automatically faster than planned and it seemed easy? Felt like a horse out of the gate, need to run!! Each mile got faster through mile four, from an 8:55 to an 8:18, I then held on for three more miles at MP. I began to hurt, suffer, a little. The legs were heavy but I was able to recover by slowing then I'd try to pick it back up. The heel felt great!!! Bethany and Mark had finished up with practice and we said our so longs, I'll see her tomorrow at church. Hope I see him. She was picking on me about my hand held water bottle. I'll get her back!
All in all, pretty good effort. Totals-10.52 miles/ 1:38:38/ 9:22's-
For a downshift week not too bad-logged 40.29 miles. I will have to be very aware of the heel! Actually a trait of great leadership is self awareness. I'm workin' on it....peace!

Downshifting

Do you remember the Ford Pinto?I had one of those for a brief time in High School, before I totaled it! I loved shifting that thing! I could squeal the tires in all four gears, plus I learned how to use the transmission to slow the vehicle by downshifting. It was a great car, to bad I took my eyes of the road for one stinkin' second and kaboom!! That's another story! I did live!
I am going to down shift this week, slow down but raise the rpm's. What I mean is I will lessen the miles but raise the pace speed. Today I headed to the track since school is out. I wanted some MP miles so I did a two mile warm-up and then five MP miles with a brief cool down. The temps are back to Summertime levels (YES!!). So the heat did take a little toll.
Totals- 7.25 miles/ 1:08:15/ 9:24's. Five solid MP miles with an 8:46 as the best and the last dropped to a 9:23. I will try to hit the track again Saturday, but I have two weddings that day! The first one is at 3pm, the second at 7pm. Life is a blast!! Hope all went well with you this weekend and to those that raced looking forward to reports! Peace!

"Track be nimble Track be..(qu)ick."

I so needed some flat terrain! My only real option was the track. A beautiful day!! Breezy, 80ish, big white fluffy clouds, perfect! I'm really needing to train the body to run faster so I decided on a mile warm-up and three miles at HMP (half marathon pace) and I would finish the run with recovery pace reaching a total of seven miles. It went pretty good considering I was going into new territory today. I busted the 50 mile barrier! 50.22 total for this week!
Only two other people on the track during my time there. Both middle aged guys. They both had their shirt off...big ole' beer belly's! Ick! I applaud their efforts at trying to burn the fat off but come on! Wear a shirt dude! If anyone could of gone w/o a shirt it would of been me, but that's not my style.
Totals- 7.0 miles/ 1:04:38/ 9:13's. The three miles looked like this-8:30, 8:30, 8:33. I asked myself, "could I hold this pace for 26 miles?" I don't really know what I can do? Maybe I need some sort of test? So, one day of rest, tomorrow, and then I shoot for 50-55 miles next week.
Two things I believe I must do in order to break 4hrs. Run more miles, run faster. I tried today!
Hope things are going well for you, Peace!

Round and round she goes....

So I made it to the track by around 9:50am, a beautiful day with temps in the eighties and sunny skies. My plan was to run as many MP miles as I could. I did a 1.5 mile warm up and began the work-out. At this time I had the track to myself. I am having some trouble finding the MP. Too fast, too slow! First mile was a 9:01 which would work! Then an 8:38, 8:39, 8:37, after these four miles I decided I'd had enough. My legs are tired. I pushed on through and did a 1.5 mile cool down. During this workout a young man came on the track and started running. I passed him three times...felt good!
The heel is in the ice bucket, now. I'm still able to run but it is not healed completely. I still need to run 19 more miles this week! Plus I'm planning on racing Saturday. So how do I structure the 19? Saturday will serve as speed work and I'd like to get around 5 total. So that leaves 14 for Thurs and Fri. Thurs could be 6-8 easy, Fri could be the same. I will have to play it by ear.
Totals- 7.01/ 1:06:08/ 9:26 avg. Feel like napping....Peace!

Multi-tasking

Multi-tasking: The performance of multiple tasks at one time. This skill seems easy for my wife, but for me I have enough of a problem focusing on one thing at a time! But today as I went to the track for my speed work I realized I wasn't in condition to do the 4x1's @ 10k pace. To tired! I actually listened to my body!!

So as I warmed-up I devised another workout. I would do a 1x3200m at MP, one lap rest, and a 1x1600m at MP. Problem is I really don't have an MP pace?! What if I could find a pace that had some effort but I could comfortably hold it? And by comfortable I mean I'm able to think about other things besides running, but also stay tuned to my current effort.

So the effort was done with my mind multi-tasking! A 17:23 3200m. I took an easy lap and in the 90% humidity launched into the 1600m. All the while multi-tasking in my head! An 8:52 1600. So I probably have gotten closer to locating my MP, I hope. I finished out this week with 42.36 miles. Next week I keep building and will hope to add 10% reaching 46-47 miles. I also plan on a race next weekend.

The conference went good. I always take away good stuff! Bought a bunch of books. Here is an axiom I heard and loved-"not all readers are leaders but all leaders are readers." Keep reading! Growing! I've decided to put some of the classics on my desk and get them read before I die! "War and Peace" is first! I've avoided that book for years! Peace!!

We are a peculiar people!

No doubt many non-runners must think we runners are nuts! Today I went to the track to knock off some mile repeats. There was a football camp finishing up and many parents waiting for their children. I could see that the boys were getting packets and gear. I did an easy 1.5 mile warm-up, stretched a little, you know the heel is an issue, and I started the work-out;
3 X 1 mile @ 10K pace, 2min recovery jogging. Personally I don't care that people watch me, I'm sure it's a funny sight! One fella I noticed had a perplexed look on his face...like he was thinking "why are you doing that?" Maybe he just had gas, or some bad pizza earlier? Or he had a point as spittle ran down my chin..yuk! I'm sure you've been there!
Here are the splits-8:06, 7:50, 7:49. I pretended I was racing on the last lap of the last mile, pushing to the finish! I enjoyed it!!! So tomorrow will be a recovery run of 5-6 miles, I hope.
Thanks for your comments on the last post. The long run is definitely crucial for a successful marathon effort! Totals-5.54 miles/ 49.55/ 9:00's. Peace!!

Back Track-

Going backwards with the heel. Yesterday I spent around three hours hauling rocks and working on the property. I guess the boots I was wearing aggravated the heel because it was stiff and sore last night. You can't work outside w/o boots out here! We are in Copperhead country!
Anyway, I doctored it with icing and rest and Aleve. Felt okay this morning but hills were not in the cards so I packed it off to the track. As usual a busy place. I finally got to meet one of the regulars I've noticed. Her name is Brenda. She asked me if I was a marathoner! I thought that was cool! I guess I look like one?!
My goal was to warm-up then test the waters...if the heel felt good then 6X400's if it wasn't ready I would just go easy.
It felt good after the 1.5 mile warm-up! So I launched into the workout:
6X400 @ 3K pace with a three min active recovery ( I jogged).
On the first one I noticed how my quads were very heavy. I really began doubting I could complete the prescribed workout. But I did...here are the splits-1:42, 1:49, 1:46, 1:47, 1:52, 1:50.
Not too bad considering the long run and the heel. Totals: 5.11/ 47:09/ 9:13's.
So ice, Aleve, and an easy recovery run tomorrow ought to get me ready for Fridays effort.
I think dealing with problems like this heel are just par for the course. They say making it to the start line of a marathon is a great accomplishment in itself. I have the tendency to push things and I must remember I am not a young man anymore!! That's hard! Peace!

Flat Track-

Because of current heel issues I had to go to the track in order to find flat land. A nice day, around 80 degrees and humid. I was wanting 10 miles at marathon pace. I'm in a recovery week so I'll lessen distance but not difficulty. I guess the hills are paying off because I couldn't contain myself and found the pace way too fast. Finally at 7 miles I was done. I had changed the work out to a fast continuous run since I was going faster than MP. Splits-9:39 warm-up-8:29, 8:21, 8:19,8:25, 8:50, 9:35. I think I made the smart decision by not pushing it to ten. Now I still need to get a medium endurance run of at least 10 miles and it will likely be on hills.
The heel is feeling better I think age is a factor but so are eternal hills. The track was a busy place. Young lady doing mile intervals, older lady walking, three teens practicing football. I am thinking I may make one more trip there this week. Oh, I'm on vacation!!!! Yes!!

Too much of a good thing-

Yesterday was a day of rest with "Aleve" and ice. I went out for an evening walk with Sandy and tested the heel. It felt good....but the real test would be today. I decided that "yes, hills are good.." but too much of a good thing can burn you! That's all I have out here is hill after hill after hill after hill..not that I'm complaining but my heel is! So I went to town to the Jr High track with 2x1 mile @10K pace on tap. A 1.5 mile warm-up..heel felt good! It was other places that hurt! That's a good sign! I tried to find the 10k pace of 8:03 but kept going faster? The first mile split was 7:39. Could the cool temps be helping? It's only in the seventies! I recovered for 2 minutes then launched into another mile. Looking for 8:03...a 7:38 mile? It felt easy? The heel felt good!
Did 1.5 cool down and found myself creeping close to 9:00's? I believe I am seeing the fruit of hill training! Totaled 5.38 miles at 8:37 avg pace! Talk about pumped!! Woooohooo!
Now I gotta be careful, can't let up on the doctoring..I'm icing now and will take more Aleve or "Motrin" that stuff really works! Also, I may have to go to the track more because too much of a good thing might take me out! However, I will do around 5 miles tomorrow out here in hill land:)
Hope all is well in your running! Peace! (Next week is recovery week!!!)

Go figure?

Today was perfect for the track! Overcast skies, slight breeze, and around 70 degrees. No one ran me off today either! So I warmed-up, did a few stretches, and went after a new mile best. My strategy was to take the first 400 a little slower and have something left for a kick. The first lap was surprisingly slow? 1:50.44. I tried to pick it up, I felt awful? I seriously considered stopping. A 1:47.36- second 400. So I kept running, a 1:54.62 third 400, here I felt a little better and tried to push it, a 1:52.65 fourth 400 for a 7:25.07 mile. That is much slower than the last track mile? Today I had better conditions but felt worse? Is my training causing me fatigue? All systems were go but the time was slow....go figure?

Anyway, right on the heels of this mile (one lap rest) I did a 4x400 with one lap rest interval. here are the splits-1:59.93, 1:43.17, 1:57.80, 1:39:31. Note: The last one was an all out 400. Maintained good form the whole time, stretched real good afterwards.

Total miles-4.64.

Observations:

1) I am learning pacing by running on the track-

2) Racing a mile can teach us about ourselves, and also is a microcosm of the marathon in many ways. Try it and see what I mean, you can't start too fast or too slow, you feel like quitting, you learn to hold on and find a second wind and then you have to dig down deep to finish strong.

3) We are a very rare breed that run and train in order to do the best we possibly can.

Keep running and racing!! I'm playing a Bluegrass Festival this weekend...but next weekend I race!! Peace.

Love/Hate

I think I have a love hate relationship with track day? The love part is getting the workout done and having the satisfaction of a job well done, the hate part is when you are in the seventh repeat and you want to quit! You're wondering. "why am I doing this?" Anyway, I do enjoy track day besides the suffering part.

Instead of 1600's I decided on what I'll call "modified Yassos." I did 10 x 800 meters with a 400 rest interval. The 400 was jogging and the 800's were at or near 5K pace. This workout is supposed to be an indicator of your Marathon time. Here are my laps 3:54, 3:55, 3:52, 3:50, 3:53, 3:56, 3:53,(where I wanted to quit) 3:56, 3:55, 3:52. So.....according to this effort today I can run a sub four hour marathon? We will see.

Well, Marquette won by one point, and as I write this my beloved Tigers are up at the half against Cornell.

I passed 17,000 miles today for my lifetime mileage. I was thinking about the importance of staying in tune with our bodies. There will be aches, pains, injuries, and sickness, and age urggg! but with common sense and humility we can run better, faster, and stronger than ever before!

Go Tigers! Peace!