Piling on the miles.
Today's run was a 5 miler, following a rest day yesterday. I guess just to grease the works in preparation for tomorrow's long 9 miler.
Since we had plans for the majority of the day, I had to economize the time I had. So that meant bringing the dog along with me to get him his exercise. I planned on doing one of my 3 mile loops with the dog, and then dropping him off at home and continuing on with another 2 miles. It turned out to be a little aggressive, because Adicus tired out after 2 miles, and I had to take a long 22 minute break in the middle of the run in order to get him home.
I also have been starting to carry along a water bottle filled with gatorade on my runs longer then about 45 minutes. Partly to get used to carrying something (for longer races), and also just for the hydration benefits of taking a good 2 oz sip every 1/2 to 3/4 mile or so. It is difficult to say for sure at this point, since most of my runs have been during the evening when the sun isn't as strong and the temperature has dropped a bit, but I feel like I might be able to tell a difference in energy level towards the end of my runs. On one hand, I haven't been totally exhausted, on the other hand, I've been going slower then I have in the past, before starting up this 1/2 marathon program.
Anyhow - todays results:
Lap 1: 1.66 miles, 16:00 minutes, avg HR 147
Lap 2: rest two minutes (puppy needed a rest)
Lap 3: ~0.3 miles, 2:50 minutes, avg HR 151
Lap 4: about 1.5 miles, 22:13 minutes (walk puppy home)
Lap 5: 3.04 miles, 29:40 minutes, avg HR unknown (didn't operate monitor correctly)
Total running distance: 5 miles
Total running time: 48:30
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
6 Miles Easy Run - 8/29
Like yesterday, today's 6 miles was to be an easy run, based on the schedule. During yesterdays run my HR kept creeping up into the 160, so today I definately wanted to keep that in check.
While my average HR was the same today, I felt like I took it a little easier today, and my HR only got into the 160's when I was going up a hill.
Also during this run, I did another calculation of sweat rate, this time doing more of a true calculation by removing the effect of liquid absorbed into clothing. The conditions were similar as the last time - 75 degrees with 65% humidity and little direct sun.
It was an easier run then yesterdays 4 miles, as far as my legs felt. It was also a good 60 seconds per mile slower pace. Even with that, my HR seemed to hover around 150 at its lowest. It may be that with my current condition level, any jogging speed results in a HR of 150, and therefore at those speeds I am operating on the front side of the efficiency curve. In other words, at those slower speeds, walking becomes a much more efficient means of travel.
Distance - 6 Miles
Time - 1:03:24
Avg HR - 153
Sweat Rate:
Beginning weight: 189.6 lbs
End weight: 189.6 lbs
Liquid consumed during run: 24 fl oz
Sweat rate: ~24 fl oz per hour
While my average HR was the same today, I felt like I took it a little easier today, and my HR only got into the 160's when I was going up a hill.
Also during this run, I did another calculation of sweat rate, this time doing more of a true calculation by removing the effect of liquid absorbed into clothing. The conditions were similar as the last time - 75 degrees with 65% humidity and little direct sun.
It was an easier run then yesterdays 4 miles, as far as my legs felt. It was also a good 60 seconds per mile slower pace. Even with that, my HR seemed to hover around 150 at its lowest. It may be that with my current condition level, any jogging speed results in a HR of 150, and therefore at those speeds I am operating on the front side of the efficiency curve. In other words, at those slower speeds, walking becomes a much more efficient means of travel.
Distance - 6 Miles
Time - 1:03:24
Avg HR - 153
Sweat Rate:
Beginning weight: 189.6 lbs
End weight: 189.6 lbs
Liquid consumed during run: 24 fl oz
Sweat rate: ~24 fl oz per hour
Thursday, August 28, 2008
4 Miles Easy Run - 8/28
Today's workout was a 4 mile run, following the speedwork of the previous day. In looking at the training schedule, I noticed a couple patterns:
- The day after either speed work or a long run is followed by a day of easy, short distance or taking the day off completely.
- There are no more than 3 days of running in a row.
So with todays 4 mile run, being on the heels of yesterdays speed work, it is supposed to be an easy run. I guess it is to get a few miles in to keep the works moving, but still allowing for some additional recovery from yesterday.
I found that even though my legs felt fine all day today, they felt a little sluggish when I started running. I kind of expected it to go away after a mile or so, but it didn't. It got slightly better as the run progressed, but then my HR went up as well too. So while the run was intended to be at a slow pace (90 to 120 seconds per mile slower than my 10k pace), I ended up going a bit fast, as the better part of the 2nd half of the run had my HR hovering around 160-164 quite a bit. Oops - now I'll know for tomorrow's 6 mile run to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n. I have to get better about not worrying about time and pace on these easy runs.
Here are the results:
Distance - 4.3 Miles
Time - 40:38
Avg HR - 153
- The day after either speed work or a long run is followed by a day of easy, short distance or taking the day off completely.
- There are no more than 3 days of running in a row.
So with todays 4 mile run, being on the heels of yesterdays speed work, it is supposed to be an easy run. I guess it is to get a few miles in to keep the works moving, but still allowing for some additional recovery from yesterday.
I found that even though my legs felt fine all day today, they felt a little sluggish when I started running. I kind of expected it to go away after a mile or so, but it didn't. It got slightly better as the run progressed, but then my HR went up as well too. So while the run was intended to be at a slow pace (90 to 120 seconds per mile slower than my 10k pace), I ended up going a bit fast, as the better part of the 2nd half of the run had my HR hovering around 160-164 quite a bit. Oops - now I'll know for tomorrow's 6 mile run to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n. I have to get better about not worrying about time and pace on these easy runs.
Here are the results:
Distance - 4.3 Miles
Time - 40:38
Avg HR - 153
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Mile Repeats - 8/27
Today's workout was the 3 x mile repeats, as depicted in week 6 of the half marathon schedule (here). It has been a long time since I've done intervals, and as soon as the real hard work started, I remembered why it has been a long time - they suck, they are painful, and I hate doing them.
However, I have a goal in mind and some degree of accountability now that I've let the cat out of the bag and signed myself up for this half marathon.
Anyhow, since the point of this type of exercise is to get your body used to working hard for sustained periods of time, I actually did a 1 mile warm up run (I usually dont) to get the period of relatively low heart rate out of the way. This way when I did my first mile repeat, I could shoot for a target HR and not burn out too quickly due to the HR ramp-up lag time. I decided that my target HR during the mile repeats would be about 170, and during the rest jogs, I would try to get it down to the low 150's sustained.
So with a loop around the house of about 1.1 miles, here are the results (some information missing, as I was figuring out the lap function on my HR monitor during the run, and suffering from lack of oxygen to the brain at the end, causing me to forget to hit the lap button):
Warm up lap - 10:18 1.1 miles
Mile 1 repeat - 8:54 1.1 miles avg HR up to this point was 155
Slow jog rest - 2:43 .27 miles HR: 157
Mile 2 repeat - 9:25 1.1 miles HR: 168
Slow jog rest ~ 5:00 .45 miles
Mile 3 repeat ~ 9:12 1.1 miles avg HR for rest jog and repeat was 167
Total distance: 5.12 milesTotal time: 45:33
Avg HR: 162
However, I have a goal in mind and some degree of accountability now that I've let the cat out of the bag and signed myself up for this half marathon.
Anyhow, since the point of this type of exercise is to get your body used to working hard for sustained periods of time, I actually did a 1 mile warm up run (I usually dont) to get the period of relatively low heart rate out of the way. This way when I did my first mile repeat, I could shoot for a target HR and not burn out too quickly due to the HR ramp-up lag time. I decided that my target HR during the mile repeats would be about 170, and during the rest jogs, I would try to get it down to the low 150's sustained.
So with a loop around the house of about 1.1 miles, here are the results (some information missing, as I was figuring out the lap function on my HR monitor during the run, and suffering from lack of oxygen to the brain at the end, causing me to forget to hit the lap button):
Warm up lap - 10:18 1.1 miles
Mile 1 repeat - 8:54 1.1 miles avg HR up to this point was 155
Slow jog rest - 2:43 .27 miles HR: 157
Mile 2 repeat - 9:25 1.1 miles HR: 168
Slow jog rest ~ 5:00 .45 miles
Mile 3 repeat ~ 9:12 1.1 miles avg HR for rest jog and repeat was 167
Total distance: 5.12 milesTotal time: 45:33
Avg HR: 162
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Long run - 8/25
Earlier this week I was planning on following Jeff Galloways Half Marathon training schedule, but with 7 weeks to prepare, and starting from the end and working backwards, that would mean I'd have to run 11 miles. I'm not quite ready for that.
So instead I've recently switch to the Cool Running half marathon training schedule. It is convenient as 7 weeks from the race, it has the long run being a 7 miler, and having done 5.25 miles last week, I know I can do the 7 miles. Plus, it has some speed work as well, and for the sake of keeping things interesting (and reaching my secondary goal of the half marathon in 2 hrs), I like that aspect of it.
The other thing I wanted to do during this run was calculate my sweat rate. From various sources I've read, it seems that the human body hits a wall around 60 to 90 minutes of exercise if there is no fluid replenishment and/or incoming fuel. In the past, I've definately experienced that.
Sweat Rate Info:
Weight before - 192.0 lbs
Weight after - 189.8 lbs
Total weight loss - 2.2 lbs
Time (hh:mm:ss) - 1:12:06
Sweat rate - ~30 oz/hr
Conditions - 75 degrees, about 65% humidity, evening, no direct sun.
Running Info (primary goal - endurance buildup):
Distance: 7.02 miles
Time (hh:mm:ss) - 1:12:06
Average HR: 153 bpm
So instead I've recently switch to the Cool Running half marathon training schedule. It is convenient as 7 weeks from the race, it has the long run being a 7 miler, and having done 5.25 miles last week, I know I can do the 7 miles. Plus, it has some speed work as well, and for the sake of keeping things interesting (and reaching my secondary goal of the half marathon in 2 hrs), I like that aspect of it.
The other thing I wanted to do during this run was calculate my sweat rate. From various sources I've read, it seems that the human body hits a wall around 60 to 90 minutes of exercise if there is no fluid replenishment and/or incoming fuel. In the past, I've definately experienced that.
Sweat Rate Info:
Weight before - 192.0 lbs
Weight after - 189.8 lbs
Total weight loss - 2.2 lbs
Time (hh:mm:ss) - 1:12:06
Sweat rate - ~30 oz/hr
Conditions - 75 degrees, about 65% humidity, evening, no direct sun.
Running Info (primary goal - endurance buildup):
Distance: 7.02 miles
Time (hh:mm:ss) - 1:12:06
Average HR: 153 bpm
Monday, August 25, 2008
First post - laying the groundwork
First off - welcome to the blog where I will be detailing my trials and tribulations of getting myself into shape.
Some of you may not know me at all, and have found this blog during a search, whereas others may know me and just want to see what I've been up to fitness-wise. Regardless, feel free to comment, make suggestions, frequently offer words of encouragement, etc. Afterall, part of the reason I'm doing this is to help motivate myself as well as track progress.
Being 'in shape' is a fairly relative thing, so I'm not really sure where this is going to end up. All I know is that I consider myself to have been in shape once - back in high school when I was on the cross country team and the swimming team. Unfortunately, that was about 15-16 years ago, and in that time I've become very adept at sitting on my ass at a computer and earning a paycheck. A few years ago, I decided that things had to change when I got a physical and started showing signs of mildly high BP (around 135/80) and cholesterol levels right around the limit of concern (195 mg/dL). Fortunately neither of those are way out of whack, and I attribute a large part of it to poor nutrition (travelling for work and eating out will do that to you) and lack of exercise. So I started jogging.
However, I found that without a tangible goal, I was wallowing in a grey zone where my main motivation to exercise was just for the sake of exercise. I'm finding that I need to have something to reach for. So, to help keep things on track, I've signed up for the Baystate Half Marathon, on Sunday October 19. Although I'd like to finish in just under two hours, my primary goal is to finish.
As of today, that gives me just over 7 weeks to prepare. It may seem a little aggressive, but I'm not starting completely from scratch. I've gone through periods over the past two to three years where I've averaged 15 miles per week, which is not a lot - but it's a start.
So, here it goes...
Some of you may not know me at all, and have found this blog during a search, whereas others may know me and just want to see what I've been up to fitness-wise. Regardless, feel free to comment, make suggestions, frequently offer words of encouragement, etc. Afterall, part of the reason I'm doing this is to help motivate myself as well as track progress.
Being 'in shape' is a fairly relative thing, so I'm not really sure where this is going to end up. All I know is that I consider myself to have been in shape once - back in high school when I was on the cross country team and the swimming team. Unfortunately, that was about 15-16 years ago, and in that time I've become very adept at sitting on my ass at a computer and earning a paycheck. A few years ago, I decided that things had to change when I got a physical and started showing signs of mildly high BP (around 135/80) and cholesterol levels right around the limit of concern (195 mg/dL). Fortunately neither of those are way out of whack, and I attribute a large part of it to poor nutrition (travelling for work and eating out will do that to you) and lack of exercise. So I started jogging.
However, I found that without a tangible goal, I was wallowing in a grey zone where my main motivation to exercise was just for the sake of exercise. I'm finding that I need to have something to reach for. So, to help keep things on track, I've signed up for the Baystate Half Marathon, on Sunday October 19. Although I'd like to finish in just under two hours, my primary goal is to finish.
As of today, that gives me just over 7 weeks to prepare. It may seem a little aggressive, but I'm not starting completely from scratch. I've gone through periods over the past two to three years where I've averaged 15 miles per week, which is not a lot - but it's a start.
So, here it goes...
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