It's easy to understand that distance running involves a lot of motivation. Runners, we just kind of do our thing and oftentimes don't think about what specifically drives us. However, every so often you see it expressed in written form, and done beautifully! Recently I noticed two examples that I'd like to share that kind of blew my mind. Good stuff in my opinion especially on New Years Day when many are thinking about ambitious goals.
The first is about the marathon specifically. I received the book 50/50 by Dean Karnazes (amazon.com link) from my wife Danielle for Christmas. The author (a rock star of ultra distance running) describes his experience running alongside another runner who persevered to complete her first marathon (one of 50 marathons Dean K finished over 50 consecutive days in 50 separate states).
"The marathon mercilessly rips off the outer layers of our defenses and
leaves the raw human, vulnerable and naked. It is here you get an
honest glimpse into the soul of an individual. Every insecurity and
character flaw is open and on display for all the world to see. No
communication is ever more real, no expression ever more honest. There
is nothing left to hide behind. The marathon is the great equalizer.
Every movement, every word spoken and unspoken, is radiant truth. The
veil has been obliterated."
Ok, now my reaction to the above -- I guess I've signed up for a little more than I can handle! We'll see.
Second, and applicable to running or whatever else you want, is this comment by Nate Jenkins in his own Running Times Blog. He explains why he hasn't quit even in the face of difficulty:
"No Quit" in Nate Jenkins - see 3rd paragraph of his comment
I learned about Nate at a road race we both competed in last year (Oct. 2010) and have followed his blog in the meantime. Of course if I were a better student of running I would have heard of him sooner based on his considerable accomplishments. It turns out we train on some of the same roadways so that is also interesting to me.
Anyway, enjoy the reading and think about how it applies to your own passions & pursuits. And... Happy New Year!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Fundraising Event Monday January 2 2012 at The Chateau Restaurant in Andover, MA
On Monday January 2nd if you dine in or take out from the restaurant and present this coupon, 20% of your bill will be donated to the Red Cross - Thank you to The Chateau for your support!
Next, it is up to you to help me out!
Local schools will be out that day, and some of you may also have the day off from work. Before returning to the school & work grind, why not enjoy some family time, delicious food (prepared by someone else!) and support the Red Cross?
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| Important - Don't forget to print the coupon before going to The Chateau! |
Monday, December 19, 2011
Training Recap: Week 17, Dec 19 - 25
Big Training and Fundraising Week Ahead!
So Joe, Will and I had a pretty decent week of training (see below) but there is no need to "sit pretty" on this week's results! The new week's plan reminds us that we still have a lot of work to do to get ready for Boston - it will include tempo work (5x 1200m), a hill workout (8x 60sec up), and a 17 miler on Saturday!
Then on Monday January 2nd we will have a fundraiser for the American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts at The Chateau Restaurant in Andover, MA. Please see my previous post on that - if you dine there that day and bring the printed coupon, 20% of your bill goes to my fundraising efforts.
Week of Dec 19-25 Recap:
The weather in New England continued to be favorable (little/no precipitation). However we did have a very frosty 9 degrees F start on Monday morning. That left little ambiguity in my decision on "what to wear" - I went with a balaclava, head lamp, wicking long sleeve shirt, mid-layer shirt, windbreaker, gloves, shorts, running tights, socks & shoes. Kind of a lot to keep track of that early in the morning!
Total 41.3 miles this week, the most of the 6 weeks so far!
M: 4.4 mi 7:16/mi pace in the COLD
T: 7.7 mi tot 7:13/mi pace: 1.5mi warmup, tempo 3x {8min on, 4min recover}, 1mi cooldown. Tempo paces were 6:47/mi, 6:40/mi, and 6:21/mi. Negative splits continue in the tempo runs, good!
W: 9mi in 1:05 tot 7:18/mi. Final 4 were run at a faster pace, 7:10 then 3 miles in the 6:40's. This was one of those good runs where you know you're moving well and you're not thinking "when will I finish?". Felt real strong.
T: 5.4mi tot including 4x100m strides at the conclusion of the run
F: off
S: 15mi long run w/ increasing paces. 1-5 at 7:45-8:00, next 5 7:15-7:30 but ran one 6:54, final 5 7:00-7:15 plan but ran a few in the 6:40s
S: off (Merry Christmas!)
T: 7.7 mi tot 7:13/mi pace: 1.5mi warmup, tempo 3x {8min on, 4min recover}, 1mi cooldown. Tempo paces were 6:47/mi, 6:40/mi, and 6:21/mi. Negative splits continue in the tempo runs, good!
W: 9mi in 1:05 tot 7:18/mi. Final 4 were run at a faster pace, 7:10 then 3 miles in the 6:40's. This was one of those good runs where you know you're moving well and you're not thinking "when will I finish?". Felt real strong.
T: 5.4mi tot including 4x100m strides at the conclusion of the run
F: off
S: 15mi long run w/ increasing paces. 1-5 at 7:45-8:00, next 5 7:15-7:30 but ran one 6:54, final 5 7:00-7:15 plan but ran a few in the 6:40s
S: off (Merry Christmas!)
Summary after 6 weeks of training for Boston:
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Fundraising vs. Running - Getting out to a Fast Start?
Everyone always says about running a race (especially the long ones) - "don't go out too fast". You'll pay for it at the end. It is true! But it is so hard to control that race day energy. I didn't pay for it too badly but in the 2011 Bay State Half Marathon. I finished this race in 1 hour 27 minutes (6:42/mi pace) - and I was thrilled! I assumed that I was "ready" to run 7:00/mi for the race and call it a success. So at the beginning of the race when I ran 6:27, 6:35, 6:38, 6:34, 6:39 I thought I would be in for some serious trouble! I like to say I was on "cloud nine" for the first five. Luckily I survived that (I probably underestimated my conditioning), having only one mile greater than 7:00/mi pace. Nice!
Anyway, in fundraising I think I need to use the reverse rule - I would like to go out fast, but I have been waiting a little bit until our fundraising infrastructure is set up. It is nearly ready, but could take until the new year. Many of you have told me you prefer to donate online. However, some of you may also wish to make your contribution before the new year for tax deduction purposes. So with this in mind I would like to ask those of you who don't mind writing a check for your donation to do so and send it to me (contact me by phone, email, facebook, twitter DM @kcainmc, if you need my mailing address):
Anyway, in fundraising I think I need to use the reverse rule - I would like to go out fast, but I have been waiting a little bit until our fundraising infrastructure is set up. It is nearly ready, but could take until the new year. Many of you have told me you prefer to donate online. However, some of you may also wish to make your contribution before the new year for tax deduction purposes. So with this in mind I would like to ask those of you who don't mind writing a check for your donation to do so and send it to me (contact me by phone, email, facebook, twitter DM @kcainmc, if you need my mailing address):
- Make check payable to "American Red Cross"
- Send it to me
- I will enter the data into our online system when it goes live, and I will also send your check to the American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts.
- You will receive a letter from the American Red Cross for tax receipt purposes
- I will receive credit toward my fundraising total
Training Recap: Week 18, Dec 12 - 18
"The marathon deserves respect". I wish I could provide a link, but I've forgotten where I read or heard this first. The idea is that you have to put in serious levels of training, meanwhile staying sensible and listening to your body to avoid an injury that derails your quest.
Well this has been in my mind particularly after this week's long run (17.5 mi personal distance record!). The run overall went quite well but felt pretty tough in the last two miles - and whose after effects included pain in my left iliotibial band (IT band) - i.e., the side of my left knee. Imagine having to anticipate each walking step's landing because you know it's going to give you some minor pain. This is what I felt a couple of hours after finishing that monster run. Luckily I've been down this road before, having spent some time off a few years ago undergoing some physical therapy (basically - stretching) before returning to action. I know the stretches and also have a foam roller that can help me keep that band limber enough to keep going.
In other highlights (or lowlights?) this week, we did some hill sprints including the last one in which we started from a lying (prone) position on the pavement! We'll credit training teammate Joe Loureiro for that surprise twist that he learned from "Sprinting: How Ryan Hall Gets Fast" (scan ahead to about 4:10 into the video).
39.6mi tot this week:
M: off
T: 7.45mi tot - 1.35mi warmup, 5x {1000m tempo, 2 min recovery}, 1.75mi cooldown. Tempo negative splits! 6:21/mi pace, 6:13, 6:12, 6:08, 5:54
W: 9mi medium/longer run, 7:06/mi pace, whole lot of those miles right around 7:00, 1:04:18 total time
T: 5.6mi tot, 4.05 mi run then 15x {17 sec "up" the hill, walk down to recover ~60 sec}, 0.25mi cooldown to the finish line
F: off
S: 17.5 mi, 7:30/mi pace - uphill climb that if you look at the elevation profile kept going off and on for 5 miles - WOW!
S: off (listening to the body and getting too many other things that need to get done, done)
Elevation profile from the monster run:
Summary after 5 weeks of training for Boston:
Well this has been in my mind particularly after this week's long run (17.5 mi personal distance record!). The run overall went quite well but felt pretty tough in the last two miles - and whose after effects included pain in my left iliotibial band (IT band) - i.e., the side of my left knee. Imagine having to anticipate each walking step's landing because you know it's going to give you some minor pain. This is what I felt a couple of hours after finishing that monster run. Luckily I've been down this road before, having spent some time off a few years ago undergoing some physical therapy (basically - stretching) before returning to action. I know the stretches and also have a foam roller that can help me keep that band limber enough to keep going.
In other highlights (or lowlights?) this week, we did some hill sprints including the last one in which we started from a lying (prone) position on the pavement! We'll credit training teammate Joe Loureiro for that surprise twist that he learned from "Sprinting: How Ryan Hall Gets Fast" (scan ahead to about 4:10 into the video).
39.6mi tot this week:
M: off
T: 7.45mi tot - 1.35mi warmup, 5x {1000m tempo, 2 min recovery}, 1.75mi cooldown. Tempo negative splits! 6:21/mi pace, 6:13, 6:12, 6:08, 5:54
W: 9mi medium/longer run, 7:06/mi pace, whole lot of those miles right around 7:00, 1:04:18 total time
T: 5.6mi tot, 4.05 mi run then 15x {17 sec "up" the hill, walk down to recover ~60 sec}, 0.25mi cooldown to the finish line
F: off
S: 17.5 mi, 7:30/mi pace - uphill climb that if you look at the elevation profile kept going off and on for 5 miles - WOW!
S: off (listening to the body and getting too many other things that need to get done, done)
Elevation profile from the monster run:
Summary after 5 weeks of training for Boston:
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Training Recap: Week 19, Dec 05 - Dec 11
This was an interesting week not so much for any particular training highlights but for meeting new teammates on Team Red Cross, and also discovering others (and being discovered) through this blog and social media / twitter. Also I am laying the groundwork for a first fundraising event and hoping to get that set up shortly. You'll find that I've added links to other running blogs and started to build a list of "partners" who are helping me (and others on the team).
Today it was a pleasure to meet Karen Teller captain, Dan Fitzgerald coach and Justin of SEAC>>>>Boston, and a number of runners from the team. We met at SEAC and ran a 10 mile loop through the city. It was a very crisp and cool morning but gloriously sunny for a run through the South End, Boston Common, Cambridge, Charlestown, the waterfront, a bit of South Boston and back. The pace was nice and easy but perfect for conversation as the teammates got to know each other "on the run". We topped it off with a nice brunch at Tremont647. I found it enlightening to hear that nearly everyone at the table said they are on this journey to Boston because someone that they know encouraged them and said "you can do it!" I know it rings true in my running experience dating back to before high school when I ran XC.
Training this week: 38 mi tot (about the same as last)
M: 4mi
T: 5.9mi tot - warmup, then 3X {1200m tempo, 2 min recovery} {4:45, 4:37, 4:28}, cooldown
W: 7.2mi planned recovery pace went a bit faster in miles 4-7 with several close to 7:00/mi
T: 4.9mi tot - 4.6mi moderate pace, inspired final 3.6 pushing it 7:03, 6:53, 6:32, 6:42/mi, then 4X ~100m strides
F: off
S: 5.8mi easy- participated in first portion of 13.1 mi long run that Joe & Will completed, opting to save some of my energy for Sunday's first long run with Team Red Cross. Probably too early for weekend warrior heroics.
S: 10 mi city loop with Team Red Cross
Garmin Connect - Map of Team Red Cross run through Boston
Looking ahead: Next week is going to be a fairly significant step, with plans for 5000m of tempo in the Tuesday workout, decent mid-week longer run, hill repeats, and then a 17 miler on Saturday. That's the plan at least, and I'm hoping we can register another successful week as we inch closer to the marathon.
Summary through 4 weeks:
Today it was a pleasure to meet Karen Teller captain, Dan Fitzgerald coach and Justin of SEAC>>>>Boston, and a number of runners from the team. We met at SEAC and ran a 10 mile loop through the city. It was a very crisp and cool morning but gloriously sunny for a run through the South End, Boston Common, Cambridge, Charlestown, the waterfront, a bit of South Boston and back. The pace was nice and easy but perfect for conversation as the teammates got to know each other "on the run". We topped it off with a nice brunch at Tremont647. I found it enlightening to hear that nearly everyone at the table said they are on this journey to Boston because someone that they know encouraged them and said "you can do it!" I know it rings true in my running experience dating back to before high school when I ran XC.
Training this week: 38 mi tot (about the same as last)
M: 4mi
T: 5.9mi tot - warmup, then 3X {1200m tempo, 2 min recovery} {4:45, 4:37, 4:28}, cooldown
W: 7.2mi planned recovery pace went a bit faster in miles 4-7 with several close to 7:00/mi
T: 4.9mi tot - 4.6mi moderate pace, inspired final 3.6 pushing it 7:03, 6:53, 6:32, 6:42/mi, then 4X ~100m strides
F: off
S: 5.8mi easy- participated in first portion of 13.1 mi long run that Joe & Will completed, opting to save some of my energy for Sunday's first long run with Team Red Cross. Probably too early for weekend warrior heroics.
S: 10 mi city loop with Team Red Cross
Garmin Connect - Map of Team Red Cross run through Boston
Looking ahead: Next week is going to be a fairly significant step, with plans for 5000m of tempo in the Tuesday workout, decent mid-week longer run, hill repeats, and then a 17 miler on Saturday. That's the plan at least, and I'm hoping we can register another successful week as we inch closer to the marathon.
Summary through 4 weeks:
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Training Recap: Week 20, Nov 28 - Dec 04
The training plan this week was pretty ambitious, upping the mileage and with track/tempo, a proper hill workout, and a 16 miler as the signature run (with a spontaneous detour onto a trail for 1.5 miles)! Unfortunately the constant has been getting barely enough sleep - an issue when you go running around 5:15 a.m.
My left knee has been sore and so I've been monitoring it and worrying about it during every run. I wonder if the issue is that my running shoes have ~600 miles on them. Here's what I've been running in since July - New Balance trail shoes
New Balance MT915 grey (onlineshoes.com)
So I bought the same model, but took it up a notch on the style point scale and got the black and red/orange model:
New Balance MT915 black/red
Now these kind of felt like a Cadillac compared to the old ones, so I decided to break them in on the 16 miler. I like how these are lightweight, my top concern when buying shoes.
38.5, maybe 42+ total, depending on Sunday/tomorrow
M: 4.4mi, 31 min, 7:03/mi pace
T: 5.7mi, warmup, 4X 800 meters about 6:00-6:10/mi pace, cooldown
W: 7 mi, 7:30/mi for first 4, then ~7:00/mi final 2mi
T: 5.3 mi, "Mr. Porter's world famous hill work" named after a road in the area - 8X {60 sec "up" + easy jog to base of hill}
F: off
S: 16 mi with increasing pace progressions
Plan: first 6mi 7:45-8:00/mi, next 5mi 7:30-7:45, final 5mi 7:15-7:30
Reality: phase 1 yes, phase 2 mostly (trail miles slower) phase 3 fast (7:08, 7:07, 6:54, 6:52)
S: 4mi (planned)
Summary through 3 weeks of training for Boston:
My left knee has been sore and so I've been monitoring it and worrying about it during every run. I wonder if the issue is that my running shoes have ~600 miles on them. Here's what I've been running in since July - New Balance trail shoes
New Balance MT915 grey (onlineshoes.com)
So I bought the same model, but took it up a notch on the style point scale and got the black and red/orange model:
New Balance MT915 black/red
Now these kind of felt like a Cadillac compared to the old ones, so I decided to break them in on the 16 miler. I like how these are lightweight, my top concern when buying shoes.
38.5, maybe 42+ total, depending on Sunday/tomorrow
M: 4.4mi, 31 min, 7:03/mi pace
T: 5.7mi, warmup, 4X 800 meters about 6:00-6:10/mi pace, cooldown
W: 7 mi, 7:30/mi for first 4, then ~7:00/mi final 2mi
T: 5.3 mi, "Mr. Porter's world famous hill work" named after a road in the area - 8X {60 sec "up" + easy jog to base of hill}
F: off
S: 16 mi with increasing pace progressions
Plan: first 6mi 7:45-8:00/mi, next 5mi 7:30-7:45, final 5mi 7:15-7:30
Reality: phase 1 yes, phase 2 mostly (trail miles slower) phase 3 fast (7:08, 7:07, 6:54, 6:52)
S: 4mi (planned)
Summary through 3 weeks of training for Boston:
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Training Recap: Week 21, Nov 21 - 27
33 miles total this week
M: 4 miles
T: 5 miles, picked it up esp. at the very end 7:05, 7:00, 6:24 mile 5
W: Rainy 6 miles solo in the a.m. darkness! Good final 3 miles again pushing the second half pace 6:30, 6:34, 6:43)
T: off / Thanksgiving (planned 4 miles)
F: long run 13.1 miles easier pace 7:30+/mi 1:40:43 total (planned off).
S: off (planned 14mi but moved long run to Fri)
S: Andover Striders 6k XC race, 1 mile warmup then finished the 3.37 mi course in 21:53 for a nice round 6:30/mi. Not good enough for the "top 8" awards category though. Finished 10th/70 in my age group. Finished 37th overall
http://coolrunning.com/results/11/ma/Nov27_31stAn_set1.shtml
Also noteworthy I have been consuming a lot of pie during this Thanksgiving and hope some of those workouts compensated appropriately! And my left knee is becoming noticeably sore, so over the weekend I've been working on some leg strengthening exercises (leg lifts) and stretching quad and hamstring muscles to hopefully fend off any serious issues. The XC race was conducted mostly on a golf course and that was a very welcome surface with less impact.
Summary for the week of training November 21-27, graph generated on runningahead.com using GPS and timing data from my Garmin Forerunner 405 watch:
Summary of through 2 weeks of training so far:
M: 4 miles
T: 5 miles, picked it up esp. at the very end 7:05, 7:00, 6:24 mile 5
W: Rainy 6 miles solo in the a.m. darkness! Good final 3 miles again pushing the second half pace 6:30, 6:34, 6:43)
T: off / Thanksgiving (planned 4 miles)
F: long run 13.1 miles easier pace 7:30+/mi 1:40:43 total (planned off).
S: off (planned 14mi but moved long run to Fri)
S: Andover Striders 6k XC race, 1 mile warmup then finished the 3.37 mi course in 21:53 for a nice round 6:30/mi. Not good enough for the "top 8" awards category though. Finished 10th/70 in my age group. Finished 37th overall
http://coolrunning.com/results/11/ma/Nov27_31stAn_set1.shtml
Also noteworthy I have been consuming a lot of pie during this Thanksgiving and hope some of those workouts compensated appropriately! And my left knee is becoming noticeably sore, so over the weekend I've been working on some leg strengthening exercises (leg lifts) and stretching quad and hamstring muscles to hopefully fend off any serious issues. The XC race was conducted mostly on a golf course and that was a very welcome surface with less impact.
Summary for the week of training November 21-27, graph generated on runningahead.com using GPS and timing data from my Garmin Forerunner 405 watch:
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
A First Appeal for Contributions
Today I received a letter confirming my membership on Team Red Cross in the Boston Marathon. I've known for a while, but now have additional information needed to begin fundraising (my goal is to raise at least $4000 for the American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts). So at this time I would like you to please consider contributing to my efforts, and let me know. Send me an email with how much you would like to contribute and I will reply with instructions on how to donate.
Should you choose to contribute, your dollars will go toward providing a number of critical services in the eastern Massachusetts area. The ones that are particularly compelling for me are disaster response (one example: helping those affected by house fires), emergency food assistance through food pantries, and assistance to military members and families.
I am very excited about this project for number of reasons and hope you will be motivated to help me! It really boils down to achieving "big" (and worthwhile) things through good teamwork. Joining my friends Joe and Will in training this year resulted in me stretching far beyond my usual mileage and having a very rewarding first-ever half marathon race. Now I've decided to go for the whole thing, and to do it in the biggest of marathons, Boston! Now I look forward to joining a team of 15 runners, coaches, trainers and manager for Team Red Cross. I would like nothing more than to "blow the doors off" of both my running and fundraising goals - please help me make it happen!
Cheers, and I wish you and your families a Happy Thanksgiving!
Should you choose to contribute, your dollars will go toward providing a number of critical services in the eastern Massachusetts area. The ones that are particularly compelling for me are disaster response (one example: helping those affected by house fires), emergency food assistance through food pantries, and assistance to military members and families.
I am very excited about this project for number of reasons and hope you will be motivated to help me! It really boils down to achieving "big" (and worthwhile) things through good teamwork. Joining my friends Joe and Will in training this year resulted in me stretching far beyond my usual mileage and having a very rewarding first-ever half marathon race. Now I've decided to go for the whole thing, and to do it in the biggest of marathons, Boston! Now I look forward to joining a team of 15 runners, coaches, trainers and manager for Team Red Cross. I would like nothing more than to "blow the doors off" of both my running and fundraising goals - please help me make it happen!
Cheers, and I wish you and your families a Happy Thanksgiving!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Local Businesses Supporting My Efforts
I'd like to say thank you to some local businesses who have agreed to help me get out the word about my marathon run and efforts to raise money for the American Red Cross:
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| Spinners Pizza Parlor (Link) |
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| Ballardvale Cafe (Link) |
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| Boston Music Center (Link) |
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| Perfecto's Caffe (Link) |
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Training Recap: Week 22, Nov 14 - 20
M: 4 miles turned out to be more of a tempo run than recovery pace planned
T: easy 5 mi
W: 6 mi, tempo second half to finish strong (new wrinkle on midweek longer runs to get used to going at and faster than marathon pace)
T/am: 4 mi general aerobic run, then 4X 100m strides (yep we're the crazy looking ones running back and forth on the street at 06:00. Pay no mind!)
T/pm: HOOPS (No hall of famer here, but I get to say I did double sessions!)
F: off
Sa/am: 11 mi at (and I love this term) "conversational pace", 28 degrees at the start and didn't warm up too much on the run
Sa/pm: hosted a party with runners and families from the Vale to celebrate accomplishments in 2011!
Su: off
Thanksgiving week ahead will be similar to this, except plan to race on Sunday 11/27, Andover Striders 6K Cross Country race.
T: easy 5 mi
W: 6 mi, tempo second half to finish strong (new wrinkle on midweek longer runs to get used to going at and faster than marathon pace)
T/am: 4 mi general aerobic run, then 4X 100m strides (yep we're the crazy looking ones running back and forth on the street at 06:00. Pay no mind!)
T/pm: HOOPS (No hall of famer here, but I get to say I did double sessions!)
F: off
Sa/am: 11 mi at (and I love this term) "conversational pace", 28 degrees at the start and didn't warm up too much on the run
Sa/pm: hosted a party with runners and families from the Vale to celebrate accomplishments in 2011!
Su: off
Thanksgiving week ahead will be similar to this, except plan to race on Sunday 11/27, Andover Striders 6K Cross Country race.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Week of Nov 7th Training Recap
When we're in full blown training mode there is a plan each week (drawn from where we are at within a larger program) and it follows a template like this:
M: roll out of bed and run ~5 miles (the "roll out of bed" part applies to all workout days - believe me!)
T: track / tempo run 6-8 miles
W: mid-week longer run
T: 5-7 miles and run strides or hill sprints at the end
F: off
S: long run
S: <run some - or not - depends how you feel>
Right now we're in a quiet stretch between the NYC Marathon just run (by Joe) and beginning a proper program for Boston. Here is what I came up with including a couple of runs with Will, another member of our training trio:
M: 4.6 miles
T: ~5 mi (warmup, 4 x 800m tempo, cooldown, "inspired" push sub-6 minute pace for final 2/3 mile to the finish)
W: 7 mi
T: 4 mi
It looks like maybe one more "wing it" week is likely. Cheers!
M: roll out of bed and run ~5 miles (the "roll out of bed" part applies to all workout days - believe me!)
T: track / tempo run 6-8 miles
W: mid-week longer run
T: 5-7 miles and run strides or hill sprints at the end
F: off
S: long run
S: <run some - or not - depends how you feel>
Right now we're in a quiet stretch between the NYC Marathon just run (by Joe) and beginning a proper program for Boston. Here is what I came up with including a couple of runs with Will, another member of our training trio:
M: 4.6 miles
T: ~5 mi (warmup, 4 x 800m tempo, cooldown, "inspired" push sub-6 minute pace for final 2/3 mile to the finish)
W: 7 mi
T: 4 mi
It looks like maybe one more "wing it" week is likely. Cheers!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Chances
Soon enough we will get to the business of setting and following a particular training program, with high hopes of a strong performance in the Boston Marathon next year. We're going to put in a lot of effort, really aiming it all toward a single day that we hope will turn out to be fantastic. This tremendous contrast has me thinking - what if it turns out that you get only one shot at pursuing your passion and do it well? You'd want to be certain you gave it everything you had!
I don't know if my newfound distance running pursuits will turn me into a marathon "lifer" or if Boston will be it. If I'm (un)lucky I guess I'll be a lifer! :-) But the thought that this could be my one big chance will be in my mind as we put in the difficult workouts and miles over the winter!
I don't know if my newfound distance running pursuits will turn me into a marathon "lifer" or if Boston will be it. If I'm (un)lucky I guess I'll be a lifer! :-) But the thought that this could be my one big chance will be in my mind as we put in the difficult workouts and miles over the winter!
Friday, November 4, 2011
Appreciation
Just a quick link to my teammate Joe Loureiro's blog on active.com as he is preparing to compete in New York. Believe me Joe, the appreciation is mutual! Thanks and have a great race!
http://community.active.com/thread/196126
http://community.active.com/thread/196126
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
NYC Marathon Week!
Here is our training plan this week - one of our training group members Joe is participating in the New York City Marathon on Sunday November 6! We are joining him in his taper week workouts!
Final week before race day! Mother Nature is throwing in a slight curveball to add to the challenges < that would be widespread power outages up and down the east coast >
M: 4 miles easy
T: 5 miles; after 1-2 miles of easy running, do 3 x 1600m at goal marathon pace, with 2 minutes of easy training between intervals
W: 4 miles easy
T: 5 miles, with 6 x 100m strides after your run
F: off
S: 2 miles easy
S: NYC Marathon <I think I'll skip that workout :-) >
Thursday, October 27, 2011
So about that team sport thing
A lot of people, myself included, will casually think about running as an individual pursuit. After all, you have to manage to get yourself from start to finish while enduring mental and physical challenges that only you can appreciate as you are experiencing them - even if you're surrounded by other runners.
But one reason this whole thing is happening is because I decided this year to train with a small group - of marathoners, compared to my solo training for many years at essentially "5K" distances. And now by pushing myself to get with that program, and then pushing each other along the way, I am in position to complete (and truly compete in) a marathon! Going back, I have been fortunate to meet many runners who have exhibited tremendous dedication and camaraderie. And further back, I had great coaches, teammates and family who introduced me to running.
No names just yet - we've got time for that. What is it now - 24 weeks to Boston?
But one reason this whole thing is happening is because I decided this year to train with a small group - of marathoners, compared to my solo training for many years at essentially "5K" distances. And now by pushing myself to get with that program, and then pushing each other along the way, I am in position to complete (and truly compete in) a marathon! Going back, I have been fortunate to meet many runners who have exhibited tremendous dedication and camaraderie. And further back, I had great coaches, teammates and family who introduced me to running.
No names just yet - we've got time for that. What is it now - 24 weeks to Boston?
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