With another warm weather day, I decided to go on my 6 mile loop today.
Many of my runs recently have been at higher heartrates, so this time I really wanted to try and keep the HR down to something closer to 150. Part of this was just because it is good to vary exercise intensity - and the other reason is just that going slower means I'm able to be outside in nice weather longer, making the whole thing a little more enjoyable.
I also ran on my older shoes from last fall, instead of the newer shoes with more padding. Unexpectedly, the older shoes felt much more pliable and cushion-y then they had the last few times I ran on them. When I was running with them over the colder days of winter, I figured that since my feet were still at normal temperature, that the shoes should be fine. However, I had noticed that they tended to 'slap' onto the surface.
After today, and running on the older shoes, it dawned on me that while the inside of the shoes may have been at temperature during the winter, the outside was probably much colder and therefore stiffer.
Long story short - the older shoes that seemed like they were wearing out just needed to be warmed up to feel normal again.
Total Distance: 6 miles
Total Time: 1:01:53
Avg HR: 157
I did really well at keeping the HR down for the first 3.5-4 miles, but this loop has some inclines towards the end, and I frequently saw the HR get to be 165-170 during that time. As much self control as I was able to muster to keep from going faster in the beginning, I just couldn't slow down enough to keep my HR in the 150-155 range during those inclined sections.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
5 Miles - 3/7
After lask weekends snowstorm that dumped 12 inches in the area - I was thinking it'd be a couple weeks before I could even think about running again due to sidewalk ice. I had let myself get excited from the warm stretch of weather in late February.
But fortunately, some warm weather for the weekend prevailed, leaving the sidewalks free and clear. The first real time its been around 60 degrees in months - I couldn't let that opportunity slip by.
As an additional benefit, the clocks would be set ahead this weekend - so the major impediment to running on a more regular basis, the fact that it is generally dark when I get home from work, would likely be going away. Before too long, I should be able to run 3-4 times a week. Fewer times than that, and improvement is slow, at best.
So today I did my 5 mile loop. Although the weather was real nice, and I would have enjoyed something longer like 10-12 miles - I didn't want to put that much stress on the joints after having a few months off.
Total Distance: 5.25 miles
Total Time: 50:45
Avg HR: 163
But fortunately, some warm weather for the weekend prevailed, leaving the sidewalks free and clear. The first real time its been around 60 degrees in months - I couldn't let that opportunity slip by.
As an additional benefit, the clocks would be set ahead this weekend - so the major impediment to running on a more regular basis, the fact that it is generally dark when I get home from work, would likely be going away. Before too long, I should be able to run 3-4 times a week. Fewer times than that, and improvement is slow, at best.
So today I did my 5 mile loop. Although the weather was real nice, and I would have enjoyed something longer like 10-12 miles - I didn't want to put that much stress on the joints after having a few months off.
Total Distance: 5.25 miles
Total Time: 50:45
Avg HR: 163
Sunday, February 22, 2009
5 Miles - 2/22
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
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
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.
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