Today I got a new pair of shoes before going out for my run. My old pair has about 180 miles on them, and while they still should have life left, I had decided last fall that when the current pair are about 1/2 through their expected life, I wanted to start cycling in a new pair at that time.
This was an idea I read about, and it seems like it makes sense. There are a couple reasons for getting new shoes in this fashion. One, it gives the just-used shoes time to decompress, as apparently it is not uncommon for the soles of shoes to take more than one day to 'recover' from the pounding they've received. This can supposedly help extend the life of the shoe. I'm not yet running every day, so theoretically this shouldn't affect their performance. Another reason for rotating shoes is to help during the break in period, if there is any. Shorter runs can be done on the new shoes, and the longer runs can be done with the more pliable older shoes. Finally - and this is a somewhat situation idea I came up with - since I took a good 4-5 weeks off, my legs ability to endure constant pounding may have dwindled - so new shoes with new cushioning might be beneficial. One wouldn't start running from scratch with old, worn out shoes.
So anyway - the other reason for running today was just to keep forward movement on getting back into the swing of things. It was raining by the time I got back from the store, but I decided it would be better to run in the rain during daylight than the delay another day and have to run in the dark (on a weekday - so after work).
Total Time: 49:35
Total Distance: 5.25 miles
Avg HR: 158
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
5 Miles - 2/18
Today I wanted to run my 5 mile loop, as it has been quite a while since I've done it. I've done some short runs (between 2 and 4 miles) in the past couple weeks that I haven't posted about - largely because they are relatively inconsequential for actual training, and their goal has mostly been just to get back into a groove. One of the things I've been noticing is that the muscles on the sides of my lower legs - the ones that seem to control the up and down movement of the foot about the ankle - seem to have gotten weak fast. Only a mile or so into a run, and those muscles will be sore and feeling strained.
I've also noticed that my shoes feel somewhat flat. It is kind of surprising, because they only have about 180 miles on them and have only been used for a few months - but I am a little suspicious of the possibility that some of the strained feeling in those muscles might be due to the shoes starting to lose their padding.
So the main goal for the 5 mile run was to take it easy, not care at all about time - but try to maximize the number of times my feet hit the pavement, in an attempt to build up those muscles again.
Total Time: 54:53
Total Distance: 5.25 miles
Avg HR: 157
I've also noticed that my shoes feel somewhat flat. It is kind of surprising, because they only have about 180 miles on them and have only been used for a few months - but I am a little suspicious of the possibility that some of the strained feeling in those muscles might be due to the shoes starting to lose their padding.
So the main goal for the 5 mile run was to take it easy, not care at all about time - but try to maximize the number of times my feet hit the pavement, in an attempt to build up those muscles again.
Total Time: 54:53
Total Distance: 5.25 miles
Avg HR: 157
Friday, February 13, 2009
2 x 1 mile repeats - 2/13
Back to some speedwork.
Today I did my first speedwork session for this training season. It might be a bit early - being February there is a risk that the weather will conspire to make it so that I am unable to capitalize on any gains from today. But its worth a shot.
With my times for 6 miles in the 10 min/mile range, and with my long term goal for the season of doing a full marathon in 3.5 hours, I decided I should get a few light speedwork sessions in. If for no other reason than to get the hardest and most painful part of speedwork out of the way - the first session or two.
I didn't want to go crazy though - so I limited myself to two repeats. I also wanted to make sure I had some gas left in the tank for a run tomorrow as well - I recall last year that the days after speedwork could be rough.
First mile (warmup) - 8:41 Avg HR: 156
Rest - 1:22 end HR: 121
Repeat 1 - 7:47 Avg HR 174
Rest - 1:41 end HR: 124
Repeat 2 - 8:19 Avg HR 172
So - for the sake of providing a data point for future comparison - I'm at about 8 min/miles with a HR of mid-170's. My last repeats, in September 08, I was doing about 7:45 with an avg HR in the low-mid 160's. A month prior to that, I did 9 min/miles with a HR of about 170.
At least I'm starting off better than I did in August 08, but I still got work to do.
Today I did my first speedwork session for this training season. It might be a bit early - being February there is a risk that the weather will conspire to make it so that I am unable to capitalize on any gains from today. But its worth a shot.
With my times for 6 miles in the 10 min/mile range, and with my long term goal for the season of doing a full marathon in 3.5 hours, I decided I should get a few light speedwork sessions in. If for no other reason than to get the hardest and most painful part of speedwork out of the way - the first session or two.
I didn't want to go crazy though - so I limited myself to two repeats. I also wanted to make sure I had some gas left in the tank for a run tomorrow as well - I recall last year that the days after speedwork could be rough.
First mile (warmup) - 8:41 Avg HR: 156
Rest - 1:22 end HR: 121
Repeat 1 - 7:47 Avg HR 174
Rest - 1:41 end HR: 124
Repeat 2 - 8:19 Avg HR 172
So - for the sake of providing a data point for future comparison - I'm at about 8 min/miles with a HR of mid-170's. My last repeats, in September 08, I was doing about 7:45 with an avg HR in the low-mid 160's. A month prior to that, I did 9 min/miles with a HR of about 170.
At least I'm starting off better than I did in August 08, but I still got work to do.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
6 Miles - 2/8
Ever since last week, I wanted to do the 6 mile course 2 days in a row to see what kind of improvement I'd make.
While I did that, I threw a bit of a wrench into the mix. The last two trips out, my HR has been in the mid 160's. For a 10 minute mile pace, this is high. So I wanted to slow down to my base pace of 150, and see what happened.
As expected, the run was less strenuous, and overall more enjoyable. Also the other benefit of slowing down a bit is that it increases the time that the legs are pounding pavement - so while the speed may not be there and it may not feel like a rough workout - endurance can be built up.
Total Distance: 6 Miles
Total Time: 1:03:00
Avg HR: 153
This gave me a pace of 10:30. I initially thought this was rather sucky, but looking back at my training results from last year, I see that I did a similar run, similar pace and similar exertion level at the end of September. While my ability to hold speed has decreased (the mid 160's used to have me at 8 min/mile, rather then 10 min/mile) - my aerobic level has stayed pretty similar. So thats good and encouraging.
While I did that, I threw a bit of a wrench into the mix. The last two trips out, my HR has been in the mid 160's. For a 10 minute mile pace, this is high. So I wanted to slow down to my base pace of 150, and see what happened.
As expected, the run was less strenuous, and overall more enjoyable. Also the other benefit of slowing down a bit is that it increases the time that the legs are pounding pavement - so while the speed may not be there and it may not feel like a rough workout - endurance can be built up.
Total Distance: 6 Miles
Total Time: 1:03:00
Avg HR: 153
This gave me a pace of 10:30. I initially thought this was rather sucky, but looking back at my training results from last year, I see that I did a similar run, similar pace and similar exertion level at the end of September. While my ability to hold speed has decreased (the mid 160's used to have me at 8 min/mile, rather then 10 min/mile) - my aerobic level has stayed pretty similar. So thats good and encouraging.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
6 Miles - 2/7
So today I did the 6 mile loop again, after having done it last weekend and finding that I was going at 10 minute miles. I only did one 3.4 mile run during the week - on Thursday night.
I've forgotten how much it sucks to start off - especially when getting into running for the first time. I've gone though this many times, and each time after a week or two of running consistently, things get much better. But after doing todays run and knowing how I felt through the whole thing, I am reminded why new runners hate it so much. If any of you reading this are new to running - I have two pieces of advice to offer: 1) SLOW DOWN and 2) run at least 3x per week for two weeks before making a final decision.
Anyhow, todays results:
Distance: 6 Miles
Total Time: 58:55
Avg HR: 168
So - compared to last week, I knocked off a whopping 10 seconds per mile! Woohoo! The HR is close enough (165 vs 168) to be counted at the same intensity level.
The biggest hurdle was not breathing - although it did get labored going up hills and whatnot - but rather the tendons and muscles near my ankles. After about 3 miles, they started burning and giving general discomfort. I wouldn't have thought that just a few weeks of no running would set me back this far, but then I realized that for a solid week after surgery, I was either sitting down or lying down for about 22 hours of of 24. From there, the amount of time I spent up on my feet and walking around increased - but I think a full week of not using legs can really cause quite a hit.
I've forgotten how much it sucks to start off - especially when getting into running for the first time. I've gone though this many times, and each time after a week or two of running consistently, things get much better. But after doing todays run and knowing how I felt through the whole thing, I am reminded why new runners hate it so much. If any of you reading this are new to running - I have two pieces of advice to offer: 1) SLOW DOWN and 2) run at least 3x per week for two weeks before making a final decision.
Anyhow, todays results:
Distance: 6 Miles
Total Time: 58:55
Avg HR: 168
So - compared to last week, I knocked off a whopping 10 seconds per mile! Woohoo! The HR is close enough (165 vs 168) to be counted at the same intensity level.
The biggest hurdle was not breathing - although it did get labored going up hills and whatnot - but rather the tendons and muscles near my ankles. After about 3 miles, they started burning and giving general discomfort. I wouldn't have thought that just a few weeks of no running would set me back this far, but then I realized that for a solid week after surgery, I was either sitting down or lying down for about 22 hours of of 24. From there, the amount of time I spent up on my feet and walking around increased - but I think a full week of not using legs can really cause quite a hit.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
6 Miles - 2/1
I haven't been posting much in this blog for the past couple weeks (obviously!) - mostly because nothing I've been doing has had much significance. But that doesn't mean I've been idle. I've mostly been doing some pool time as well as short runs. Many of the runs have been with the dog - since I have doubts about his endurance for longer distances, and I've also heard that dogs will keep going even when they shouldn't, in order to keep up - I wanted to start him off on runs that take about as long as one of our park walks. The other reason for shorter runs was that I just wanted to give the surgical repair from December more time to heal.
For the sake of jotting everything down, here's the summary of what I've done over the past few weeks:
Jogging:
1/24 - 1.8 miles, 17:42, avg HR: 157
1/26 - 3.4 miles, N/A (forgot to start HR monitor!)
1/27 - 3.4 miles, 32:55, avg HR: 158
Swimming:
1/17 - 30:28, avg HR: 149, power: 45-50
1/23 - 29:33, avg HR: 164, power: 50-55
1/28 - 33:35, avg HR: 148, power: ~50
The past few days, I had been wanting to go for a longer distance run. Mostly to test out the waters post-surgery, but also because I can only run loops in the neighborhood so many times in a row without going crazy. The problem has been that the weather has been cold enough to keep the ice and snow on the sidewalks from melting. Today it was a bit warmer though, and with it being daylight, I figured I'd give it a shot. It might require fancy footwork, result in wet feet sloshing through puddles, and jumping out into the road when able and jumping back onto the sidewalk when traffic approaches - but it was something different.
Total Distance: 6 miles
Total Time: 1:00:21
Avg HR: 165
So, my first thought was 'oh crap, here I am back at 10 minute miles again', followed by 'I hope this doesn't mean I'll effectively be starting over from scratch'. I guess we'll see - but I suspect that a good 30 sec/mile would be knocked off if I were to go do that loop again within the next two days. Unfortunately, that will not happen due to work and few daylight hours - but I might be able to do the loop twice next weekend and see what happens. Regardless, I should be able to do the 3.4 mile loop in the neighborhood a few times this week - so we'll see if todays exercise will help those times, and provide a comparison for the shorter runs over the past few weeks.
For the sake of jotting everything down, here's the summary of what I've done over the past few weeks:
Jogging:
1/24 - 1.8 miles, 17:42, avg HR: 157
1/26 - 3.4 miles, N/A (forgot to start HR monitor!)
1/27 - 3.4 miles, 32:55, avg HR: 158
Swimming:
1/17 - 30:28, avg HR: 149, power: 45-50
1/23 - 29:33, avg HR: 164, power: 50-55
1/28 - 33:35, avg HR: 148, power: ~50
The past few days, I had been wanting to go for a longer distance run. Mostly to test out the waters post-surgery, but also because I can only run loops in the neighborhood so many times in a row without going crazy. The problem has been that the weather has been cold enough to keep the ice and snow on the sidewalks from melting. Today it was a bit warmer though, and with it being daylight, I figured I'd give it a shot. It might require fancy footwork, result in wet feet sloshing through puddles, and jumping out into the road when able and jumping back onto the sidewalk when traffic approaches - but it was something different.
Total Distance: 6 miles
Total Time: 1:00:21
Avg HR: 165
So, my first thought was 'oh crap, here I am back at 10 minute miles again', followed by 'I hope this doesn't mean I'll effectively be starting over from scratch'. I guess we'll see - but I suspect that a good 30 sec/mile would be knocked off if I were to go do that loop again within the next two days. Unfortunately, that will not happen due to work and few daylight hours - but I might be able to do the loop twice next weekend and see what happens. Regardless, I should be able to do the 3.4 mile loop in the neighborhood a few times this week - so we'll see if todays exercise will help those times, and provide a comparison for the shorter runs over the past few weeks.
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