Continued with my training this month and just finished a 15k that was a loop course (3 times around a 5k course). I've done this race 3 times and the race course has always been a bit longer than 15k. The first time I ran it, it was 9.72 miles, second time 9.92 miles and then this time was much closer at 9.52 miles. They modified the course this year and it made a big difference. I saw a time improvement of over 6 minutes this time. Overall pace was about 15 seconds per mile faster. My garmin states my pace was 9:08 average. Which is a good sign that my speed training is working. The previous year (which I thought was super fast) I ran a 9:23 average pace. This takes in account the additional distance too.
My plan was to follow the 9:00 pacer but what happened was he was running a lot faster than 9:00 at the beginning which I think threw me off. My first three miles were all under 9 and then the other 6 miles were above 9. My worst mile was 9:25 and the others all between 9:14-9:18. That wasn't exactly what I wanted to do. I had hoped to stay around 9:00 the entire time. This is a learning experience.
Today I noticed I was able to sustain a faster pace and still stay in hr zone 2. There are a few things that could have affected this. One theory is that I am actually training my body to go faster. It also was really nice weather here today at about 45 degrees which is perfect for a run. The last few weeks it has been so cold in the mornings (15-20) that I think I've worked harder to sustain an even pace. But when I researched this, I found a few articles saying that it can affect your performance, but others saying it does...
http://www.runnersworld.com/cold-weather-running/do-cold-temps-slow-you-down
https://runnersconnect.net/running-training-articles/running-in-the-cold/
http://running.competitor.com/2015/01/training/sub-freezing-temperatures-affect-performance_121159
I think for me, it's more about the extra layers of clothes I have to wear which results in not being able to move as quickly. But then that led me to reading this article which claims that as long as it's above -17 degrees F that you could still run in the cold and be ok (if you wore the right clothing) .
http://running.competitor.com/2014/01/training/how-cold-is-too-cold-to-run_93795
Anyway, for whatever reason I see to be getting a little faster. I hope that I will be able to continue to increase speed when my next race comes up. I have a taper before my April races and then if I can't achieve my goal in April, will have to attempt to do so in May or later. I think I'm on track to get there soon. I've been loosely using the Disney Run plans for their half marathons and choosing "time improvement" plan. Most of these max out at 16-17 miles which is longer than the half marathon distance but is designed to help you build endurance. There also is speed work in these training plans which is what I have been using. The only thing I need to work on more is hill training. That's been pretty difficult to get in because I live in a pretty flat area. There are a few parks that have hills that I've been trying to go to at times. This has seemed to help a lot.
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Monday, February 27, 2017
So many ways to work on speed...
February has been unseasonably warm which is a good thing (I think) at least for running, maybe not for other reasons.
Did a short race this month that finished on the hockey ice (more of a themed race but still fun). Turns out it was just short of 5k so I'm not sure now about counting it for PR (which it would have been were it an actual 5k and not 2.88 miles). Did I mention before this is one of my biggest issues with races (when they fall short)? I don't mind if they are a little bit long, but falling short is the worst race error in my opinion. At least give the people the distance they signed up for.
Anyway I did post one of my fastest per mile times (8:43). I only have one 5k race where I did better with 8:37/mile. Not sure I'll ever break that one but I can dream. (Not with that attitude anyway, right?) I keep reminding myself.
The majority of February has been spent doing some variations on methods to improve speed. The main one has been heart rate training (sticking to the zone 2 I mentioned earlier) but also working on intervals specifically 800s which I have fine tuned to work for me and the watch/course availability I'm using. I start out with a 0.25 mile warm up and then do 0.5 mile extremely fast (but not so fast I can't hold it for the whole time which is a trick to figure out) and alternate with 0.25 mile resting breaks which are essentially catching my breath and running slowly or walking if I need to. The goal is that going this fast eventually won't seem so bad and I'll be able to hold faster speeds more easily. Another type of run is holding a faster pace for longer than that (tempo runs), and yet another is progressive runs/negative splits (finishing my last few miles at a faster pace than what I started at).
This week I felt some success in running my 15 mile run at a progressive pace. I was able to finish the last 4 miles the fastest pace of the entire run. That felt pretty good to know I could still save some for the end. My average pace was 10:27 which is not my goal pace were this a race, but was still a good exercise.
Probably the next major challenge will be holding close to (or maybe at) goal pace for a 15k that is coming up in a few weeks. I'm going to see how I feel and what the weather is like the day of this run to see if it's reasonable to pace with the 9:00 group. If I can do this, I'd just need to be able to keep this pace going for an additional 4ish miles and the sub 2 half would look more likely. If I fail, something else might need to happen to get closer to that pace. My plan right now is to try to hang with this pace group if it feels reasonable that day. I'll know if something wrong physically that I can't, but will certainly try.
One thing I remember is that my record 10k was around the 9:00 pace that I'm seeking. That also was achieved on a 70 degree super humid June morning. Every time I start to doubt my ability to hold that pace, I try to think back to that 10k.
After this 15k trial, there are 2 half marathons I've signed up for that could potentially be good sub 2 attempts at this time. The hard thing about late March/early April is that the weather is anyone's guess and ice/snow definitely can put a damper on things. As well as rain (also not my favorite condition but can be tolerable). The second half is in late April so that might be more likely if the course did not have a significant hill I have been warned about at the end. If neither of these pan out, there is still a third option for mid May that I have in the back of my mind. Once we get too far beyond that it's usually too hot to have a goal of this nature. I'd have to then likely wait until October to try again.
Anyway, so many ways to work on speed and I've found it fun to try them out. If I don't get the goal soon I can just keep working on improving overall speed for longer distances. The 15 mile run this week gave me hope that this might be next... Eventually if something doesn't change I can always just train for another marathon... which I probably will anyway, just not sure how soon I'd be up for doing that again.
Did a short race this month that finished on the hockey ice (more of a themed race but still fun). Turns out it was just short of 5k so I'm not sure now about counting it for PR (which it would have been were it an actual 5k and not 2.88 miles). Did I mention before this is one of my biggest issues with races (when they fall short)? I don't mind if they are a little bit long, but falling short is the worst race error in my opinion. At least give the people the distance they signed up for.
Anyway I did post one of my fastest per mile times (8:43). I only have one 5k race where I did better with 8:37/mile. Not sure I'll ever break that one but I can dream. (Not with that attitude anyway, right?) I keep reminding myself.
The majority of February has been spent doing some variations on methods to improve speed. The main one has been heart rate training (sticking to the zone 2 I mentioned earlier) but also working on intervals specifically 800s which I have fine tuned to work for me and the watch/course availability I'm using. I start out with a 0.25 mile warm up and then do 0.5 mile extremely fast (but not so fast I can't hold it for the whole time which is a trick to figure out) and alternate with 0.25 mile resting breaks which are essentially catching my breath and running slowly or walking if I need to. The goal is that going this fast eventually won't seem so bad and I'll be able to hold faster speeds more easily. Another type of run is holding a faster pace for longer than that (tempo runs), and yet another is progressive runs/negative splits (finishing my last few miles at a faster pace than what I started at).
This week I felt some success in running my 15 mile run at a progressive pace. I was able to finish the last 4 miles the fastest pace of the entire run. That felt pretty good to know I could still save some for the end. My average pace was 10:27 which is not my goal pace were this a race, but was still a good exercise.
Probably the next major challenge will be holding close to (or maybe at) goal pace for a 15k that is coming up in a few weeks. I'm going to see how I feel and what the weather is like the day of this run to see if it's reasonable to pace with the 9:00 group. If I can do this, I'd just need to be able to keep this pace going for an additional 4ish miles and the sub 2 half would look more likely. If I fail, something else might need to happen to get closer to that pace. My plan right now is to try to hang with this pace group if it feels reasonable that day. I'll know if something wrong physically that I can't, but will certainly try.
One thing I remember is that my record 10k was around the 9:00 pace that I'm seeking. That also was achieved on a 70 degree super humid June morning. Every time I start to doubt my ability to hold that pace, I try to think back to that 10k.
After this 15k trial, there are 2 half marathons I've signed up for that could potentially be good sub 2 attempts at this time. The hard thing about late March/early April is that the weather is anyone's guess and ice/snow definitely can put a damper on things. As well as rain (also not my favorite condition but can be tolerable). The second half is in late April so that might be more likely if the course did not have a significant hill I have been warned about at the end. If neither of these pan out, there is still a third option for mid May that I have in the back of my mind. Once we get too far beyond that it's usually too hot to have a goal of this nature. I'd have to then likely wait until October to try again.
Anyway, so many ways to work on speed and I've found it fun to try them out. If I don't get the goal soon I can just keep working on improving overall speed for longer distances. The 15 mile run this week gave me hope that this might be next... Eventually if something doesn't change I can always just train for another marathon... which I probably will anyway, just not sure how soon I'd be up for doing that again.
Saturday, February 4, 2017
Heart rate training, a new way to work on speed?
As I have recently gotten a watch that tracks heart rate, I was interested in finding out what heart rate training could do for me. I consulted a few friends who had done heart rate training before and was sent a few articles to read.
http://www.runandbecome.com/running-training-advice/the-secrets-of-low-heart-rate-training
http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/joe-friel-s-quick-guide-to-setting-zones
Both pretty good reads... so basically my goal is to run 1 or 2 runs a week with heart rate zone 2. Usually this will be my long run unless I have a speed training goal set for my long run. My first long run that I've done so far I kept hitting zone 3 a lot. It was really hard to pull the pace slower in order to stay in zone 2. For me that is about 143 bpm or maybe as low as 133... a small range to try to stay in for many miles. The other thing I noticed was at the end of the long run, I am more fatigued and keeping in zone 2 becomes harder and harder.
I did notice something that improved though. My faster runs I seem to be improving cadence and getting a lower average heart rate. I've been trying this for about 3 weeks now.
So this is a work in progress and I'm hoping to see if there is any real impact over time
As far as training, I do have a half marathon coming up in April and a few smaller races in between then. I'm taking it as it goes and trying to be reasonable about my expectations.
http://www.runandbecome.com/running-training-advice/the-secrets-of-low-heart-rate-training
http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/joe-friel-s-quick-guide-to-setting-zones
Both pretty good reads... so basically my goal is to run 1 or 2 runs a week with heart rate zone 2. Usually this will be my long run unless I have a speed training goal set for my long run. My first long run that I've done so far I kept hitting zone 3 a lot. It was really hard to pull the pace slower in order to stay in zone 2. For me that is about 143 bpm or maybe as low as 133... a small range to try to stay in for many miles. The other thing I noticed was at the end of the long run, I am more fatigued and keeping in zone 2 becomes harder and harder.
I did notice something that improved though. My faster runs I seem to be improving cadence and getting a lower average heart rate. I've been trying this for about 3 weeks now.
So this is a work in progress and I'm hoping to see if there is any real impact over time
As far as training, I do have a half marathon coming up in April and a few smaller races in between then. I'm taking it as it goes and trying to be reasonable about my expectations.
Sunday, January 15, 2017
8 mile race PR this week
Had gone into the 8 mile race unsure of what my goal should be. Should I take it easy? Should I try to PR? Should I just work on running a little bit faster to keep up with goals of speed training? I wasn't really sure. I decided as I have lately, that it would be up to how I felt.
That morning I felt ok. When I got there I decided I'd try to go faster than usual. Resulted in a good pace for the 8 miles, about 9:37/mile according to official results. My goal is to run 13.1 eventually in less than 2 hours. That would mean getting more like a 9:06/mile or better. This is going to be a challenging bar to set.
I have a few chances to attempt to get this goal this year. 2 times in April and then later in the year in October I hope to do half marathons. Once in the months of May-September it gets harder to do that due to the temperatures being so much higher and not conducive to fast running.
Next race I'm doing is a 5k in February. It's going to be an interesting thing to see if the weather cooperates. I'd like to try to break the 5k time I set over a year ago. I hope one day to get closer to 25 minutes. I think that's doable if the conditions are right.
I continue to try averaging about 20 miles a week right now. I've starting working speed training and 800s in my schedule. I may need to focus more on tempo runs as well.
That morning I felt ok. When I got there I decided I'd try to go faster than usual. Resulted in a good pace for the 8 miles, about 9:37/mile according to official results. My goal is to run 13.1 eventually in less than 2 hours. That would mean getting more like a 9:06/mile or better. This is going to be a challenging bar to set.
I have a few chances to attempt to get this goal this year. 2 times in April and then later in the year in October I hope to do half marathons. Once in the months of May-September it gets harder to do that due to the temperatures being so much higher and not conducive to fast running.
Next race I'm doing is a 5k in February. It's going to be an interesting thing to see if the weather cooperates. I'd like to try to break the 5k time I set over a year ago. I hope one day to get closer to 25 minutes. I think that's doable if the conditions are right.
I continue to try averaging about 20 miles a week right now. I've starting working speed training and 800s in my schedule. I may need to focus more on tempo runs as well.
Friday, January 6, 2017
2017 and first race of the year
Well I was successful at completing my running streak. Ran every day from 11/24 (Thanksgiving) until 1/1 (New Year's Day). I enjoyed it and learned to appreciate a mile for what it was. Every mile added to my running streak.
On New Years Day I also completed my first race of 2017. I was hoping to beat my 5k PR but was unable to quite make it. I did run a little faster than last time, in fact over 2 minutes faster than my time from 2013. So that's not bad for being 4 years older now.
My next plan is to work on speed and hopefully break my half PR. I'd love to break 2 hours but not certain if that will happen this year or not. I'm going to try to head in that directions though.
Right now I'm trying to get at least 20 miles running every week. If I can do that, I should be near my goal of 1000 miles for 2017 again. Since 2016 was such a good year for running, I am not sure I'll beat 1092 miles, but just maybe I can get close.
Upcoming race is an 8 mile race next weekend. Depending on the weather, it could possibly be one to try and test running at a slightly faster pace.
The weather has been kind of unpleasant lately. Today it was 14 degrees but I managed to still run. Tomorrow I'm supposed to run some speedwork but I might have to end up doing it on the treadmill because the low is 3 tonight! I've also been heading over to the indoor track when I need to. The only semi-unpleasant part is that it gets boring and there are people who don't understand the track rules. When a lane is marked as a run lane, they are walking 5 across with their friends. Which is fine if you want to talk, but at least stay in the walk section. It's not very polite to others. I think they are new to exercise or new years resolution people. I'm happy for them for trying to be more fit, but they need to learn the rules! Ok stepping off my soapbox now...
On New Years Day I also completed my first race of 2017. I was hoping to beat my 5k PR but was unable to quite make it. I did run a little faster than last time, in fact over 2 minutes faster than my time from 2013. So that's not bad for being 4 years older now.
My next plan is to work on speed and hopefully break my half PR. I'd love to break 2 hours but not certain if that will happen this year or not. I'm going to try to head in that directions though.
Right now I'm trying to get at least 20 miles running every week. If I can do that, I should be near my goal of 1000 miles for 2017 again. Since 2016 was such a good year for running, I am not sure I'll beat 1092 miles, but just maybe I can get close.
Upcoming race is an 8 mile race next weekend. Depending on the weather, it could possibly be one to try and test running at a slightly faster pace.
The weather has been kind of unpleasant lately. Today it was 14 degrees but I managed to still run. Tomorrow I'm supposed to run some speedwork but I might have to end up doing it on the treadmill because the low is 3 tonight! I've also been heading over to the indoor track when I need to. The only semi-unpleasant part is that it gets boring and there are people who don't understand the track rules. When a lane is marked as a run lane, they are walking 5 across with their friends. Which is fine if you want to talk, but at least stay in the walk section. It's not very polite to others. I think they are new to exercise or new years resolution people. I'm happy for them for trying to be more fit, but they need to learn the rules! Ok stepping off my soapbox now...
Friday, December 23, 2016
Cold weather and icy conditions complicate my running streak
The weather turned cold and icy the last few weeks but I still managed to get out and run . A few times I had to use the treadmill or the community center indoor track. But I got it done. The hardest part about winter running is that the days are so short that it puts a serious limit on when it's light out (which is when I'm the most comfortable being outside). I don't enjoy not seeing where I'm going plus weather conditions can complicate things.
I didn't use my treadmill for a few months, last time I can recall was back in July when I had a coffee that kept me up all night. But it really comes in handy lately.
The rest of this month since the 18th was pretty good, the ice melted on the sidewalks and it got into the 30s making running possible again. I attempted to run on the icy conditions about two times so far this winter. The first time it was a day when the temperature was making a drop from 25 to about 10. I could see that the melted spots were freezing up and that made the path more difficult towards the end of the run. The second time I tried to run on sidewalks, it had just stopped with freezing rain and things were slicker than they first appeared. On both of these runs, my pace was significantly slower and it was in some ways a let down. I could have brought out the yaktracks but I'm trying to not use those if I don't have to because it seems to change my stride and make my feet hurt.
Recently. I've been focusing on running faster. My last few short runs, I tried to get the pace a little bit faster. Felt like today was one of my faster miles in a while at 8:47. I continue to do the running streak until New Year's Day so it's important to me to at least get a mile a day.
After New Year's day, I have an 8 mile race coming up January 15. I've been building my long run mileage to approach 8 so I'm thinking when it comes up, it should be a good distance that I'm ready for. Following that, I start to train for a half at the end of April. In between I have a few interesting races. The 8 miler in January, followed by a race that finishes on the hockey team's ice. I've never done that one, so it should be good. Then I'm doing a 15k race in preparation for the half. I signed up for another half at the end of May. I think for now I need to just not sign up for anything else for a while. I think I'm waiting a bit before doing another full marathon. I had wanted to jump in again right away but it might be wise to wait a little more than a year to make sure I have time for the training.
I have a plan for the half that should help increase my speed so I have a shot at breaking my old record. The rest of this week I plan to continue my streak and then take a short few days break after New Years Day.
I didn't use my treadmill for a few months, last time I can recall was back in July when I had a coffee that kept me up all night. But it really comes in handy lately.
The rest of this month since the 18th was pretty good, the ice melted on the sidewalks and it got into the 30s making running possible again. I attempted to run on the icy conditions about two times so far this winter. The first time it was a day when the temperature was making a drop from 25 to about 10. I could see that the melted spots were freezing up and that made the path more difficult towards the end of the run. The second time I tried to run on sidewalks, it had just stopped with freezing rain and things were slicker than they first appeared. On both of these runs, my pace was significantly slower and it was in some ways a let down. I could have brought out the yaktracks but I'm trying to not use those if I don't have to because it seems to change my stride and make my feet hurt.
Recently. I've been focusing on running faster. My last few short runs, I tried to get the pace a little bit faster. Felt like today was one of my faster miles in a while at 8:47. I continue to do the running streak until New Year's Day so it's important to me to at least get a mile a day.
After New Year's day, I have an 8 mile race coming up January 15. I've been building my long run mileage to approach 8 so I'm thinking when it comes up, it should be a good distance that I'm ready for. Following that, I start to train for a half at the end of April. In between I have a few interesting races. The 8 miler in January, followed by a race that finishes on the hockey team's ice. I've never done that one, so it should be good. Then I'm doing a 15k race in preparation for the half. I signed up for another half at the end of May. I think for now I need to just not sign up for anything else for a while. I think I'm waiting a bit before doing another full marathon. I had wanted to jump in again right away but it might be wise to wait a little more than a year to make sure I have time for the training.
I have a plan for the half that should help increase my speed so I have a shot at breaking my old record. The rest of this week I plan to continue my streak and then take a short few days break after New Years Day.
Monday, December 5, 2016
Running streak continues, a fun 5k with family and friends
As my running streak continues, the hardest part now is paying attention to any sore muscles and trying to make the best decision about how many miles to run each day. To keep the streak going, I need to run at least 1 mile a day and my weekly goal is 15-20. Usually I have a longer run on Saturday, this week I did a 5k with family and friends so it was only 3 miles. Total ended up being pretty close to my goal so that worked out ok.
The 5k was a holiday themed run. Had a good time doing it and met up with some others that I have run with at times.
Got a holiday themed medal and everyone could choose a hat.
So this week I will be running at long run pace most of the time to give myself rest after trying to break my mile time (which I did) and then running daily. I think it's wise to do a few speedwork routines when I feel more rested, but for now maybe hold off on doing that for the time being.
This time of year I keep seeing discounts on races and I've been taking advantage of that. Just need to be careful that the calendar doesn't fill up too much as that can get to be a problem.
The 5k was a holiday themed run. Had a good time doing it and met up with some others that I have run with at times.
Got a holiday themed medal and everyone could choose a hat.
So this week I will be running at long run pace most of the time to give myself rest after trying to break my mile time (which I did) and then running daily. I think it's wise to do a few speedwork routines when I feel more rested, but for now maybe hold off on doing that for the time being.
This time of year I keep seeing discounts on races and I've been taking advantage of that. Just need to be careful that the calendar doesn't fill up too much as that can get to be a problem.
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