Mon: 8.5M easy
Tue: 10M easy
Wed: 9.5M easy
Thu: 12M including 12x400 w/ 200 rec + 4x200 w/ 200 rec
Fri: AM - 6M easy; PM - 9M easy
Sat: 9M easy
Sun: 16M LR; 3M easy, 2x2M tempo w/ .5M easy, 8.5 easy
Weekly Summary: 80 miles on 7runs/6 days
I took 3 days very easy following the half-marathon to ensure my legs had enough recovery. There was some soreness in the quads, but it disappeared by Thursday allowing me to do a workout. On Thursday, I did repeats of 400s followed by some 200s. I ran the 400s slightly faster than 5k pace, but not too hard that I'll need a full recovery, and the 200s at a fast but controlled pace. The workout went well and I hit splits of 73-74s for the 400s and 33-34s for the 200s. On Sunday I did a long run which included 2x2M tempo. I ran the 2M tempos in 11:25 (5:43, 5:42) and 10:56 (5:29, 5:27). It seemed like the legs finally woke up after the first 2M tempo. This coming Saturday is the Hospital Hill half-marathon, so I will be taking it easy and decreasing the volume to freshen up the legs. It will be another tough half-marathon course, but I'm sure I'll be ready for it.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Weekly Summary: May 7-20 / Half-Marathon Race
I've been doing a lot of writing the last couple weeks. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, none of it was blog writing. I was busy completing my final thesis for my Master's degree, and doing other papers and creating presentations for my Army staff college classes. I'm all done with my Master's now. It's just a matter of walking across the stage to receive my degree in a couple weeks.
Running, on the other hand, has been going pretty well. Since my last post, I paced my wife in the Running with the Cows Half-Marathon two weekends ago, which she placed 2nd, ran a couple track sessions, and finished off this week with a win at the Five Trails Half-Marathon. My wife was the 1st overall female, so it was a good day for "Team Blas". Results here.
Five Trails is actually not on trails as the name would suggest. According to halfmarathons.net, the race is named for the five historic trails (Pike's Peak Trail, Sante Fe Trail, Mormon Trail, and the Oregon and California trails) that criss-cross through the Leavenworth area.
The hilly/rolling half-marathon is a single rectangular loop around the city of Leavenworth and runs on pavement/concrete. It was one of the more challenging half-marathons I've raced, because of the hills. The hill at Mile 3 (see elevation chart above) is known as the "Pike's Peak of Leavenworth". Luckily, for me, this was my type of race because hills are a strength of mine. I'm quite happy with my execution and how I felt overall in the race. It was also a good rehearsal for Hospital Hill in a couple weeks.
Running, on the other hand, has been going pretty well. Since my last post, I paced my wife in the Running with the Cows Half-Marathon two weekends ago, which she placed 2nd, ran a couple track sessions, and finished off this week with a win at the Five Trails Half-Marathon. My wife was the 1st overall female, so it was a good day for "Team Blas". Results here.
Five Trails is actually not on trails as the name would suggest. According to halfmarathons.net, the race is named for the five historic trails (Pike's Peak Trail, Sante Fe Trail, Mormon Trail, and the Oregon and California trails) that criss-cross through the Leavenworth area.
May 14 - 20
Mon: 11.2M including 7 x 1000m cruise intervals w/ 200 rec (3:18, 3:19 3:17, 3:18, 3:18, 3:17, & 3:17)
Tue: 10M easy
Wed: 11M easy
Thu: 9.2M including 12 x 200 (34-35s) w/ 200 rec.
Fri: 7.2M easy
Sat: 5M easy
Sun: AM: Five Trails Half-Marathon - 1:16:52, 1st Overall; PM: 5M easy; 20M tot.
Weekly Total: 73.6 miles
May 7 - 13
Mon: 8.7M easy
Tue: 9.3M easy
Wed: 11M including 5 x 1200 w/ 400 rec (3:47, 3:49, 3:48, 3:46, & 3:44)
Thu: 9.3M easy
Fri: 7.5M easy
Sat: 15.5M easy
Sun: 9.3M easy
Weekly Total: 70.6 miles
Thursday, May 10, 2012
1200s
Had an excellent track workout yesterday. The workout was 5 x 1200m with 400m recovery jog. Based on my recent race (Trolley Run) and using the pace chart in Jack Daniels' Running Formula book, I was aiming to split the 1200s in 3:51.
I either underestimated my fitness or looked at the wrong row in the pacing chart, because I never split a 3:51 in any of the repeats. My splits for the workout were 3:47, 3:49, 3:48, 3:46, and 3:44. I pushed the pace in the last 400 of the last repeat finishing with a 71 second last lap (400m splits were 77, 76, 71). I was amazed with my last lap, because 71 seconds is almost as fast as I would normally run my 400 repeats. Overall, the workout was great and it gave me a good sense of where my fitness is at.
Wed: 11M including 5x1200 (3:47, 3:49, 3:48, 3:46, & 3:44)
Wed: 11M including 5x1200 (3:47, 3:49, 3:48, 3:46, & 3:44)
Sunday, May 06, 2012
Apr 30 - May 6
Mon: 6.2M easy
Tue: 8.8M easy
Wed: 9M easy
Thu: 9M including track workout: 4 x (2x200 + 1x400)
Fri: 8.7M easy
Sat: 6.3M easy
Sun: 14M steady easy
Weekly Total: 62 miles
This week completed my 3-week post-marathon recovery from the Boston Marathon. With the exception of the track workout on Thursday, I ran at normal easy pace for each of my runs. This morning's run was my first run of over 9 miles since Boston. I did 14 miles on the Trolley Trail.
Tue: 8.8M easy
Wed: 9M easy
Thu: 9M including track workout: 4 x (2x200 + 1x400)
Fri: 8.7M easy
Sat: 6.3M easy
Sun: 14M steady easy
Weekly Total: 62 miles
This week completed my 3-week post-marathon recovery from the Boston Marathon. With the exception of the track workout on Thursday, I ran at normal easy pace for each of my runs. This morning's run was my first run of over 9 miles since Boston. I did 14 miles on the Trolley Trail.
Friday, May 04, 2012
Hitting the track
It was the first time hitting the track in a very long time. My plan is to do some shorter races (5k-10k), maybe even up to half-marathon distance, over the next month or two, so I need to regain some leg speed. The track session consisted of 4 sets of 2x200 + 1x400 w/ equal recovery. The goal was to hit the 200s in 34" and the 400 in 70". After a 20' warmup and a couple of strides, I was ready to get on with the workout.
I hit the first 200 of the 1st set in 32, which felt good but was not the goal time. At this phase of training, 3wks after a marathon, I'm focus on just getting in good sessions and not over-doing it in the workouts. I hit 34 and 70 seconds for the remainder of the 1st set. Right on target. My splits for the rest of the workout were practically on the dot with a few a tad too fast.
200/200/400
32, 34, 70
33, 34, 69
34, 33, 68
33, 34, 70
The speed session turned out to be a good one. I'm anxious to do more track workouts and run shorter races.
I hit the first 200 of the 1st set in 32, which felt good but was not the goal time. At this phase of training, 3wks after a marathon, I'm focus on just getting in good sessions and not over-doing it in the workouts. I hit 34 and 70 seconds for the remainder of the 1st set. Right on target. My splits for the rest of the workout were practically on the dot with a few a tad too fast.
200/200/400
32, 34, 70
33, 34, 69
34, 33, 68
33, 34, 70
The speed session turned out to be a good one. I'm anxious to do more track workouts and run shorter races.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Apr 23 - 29
Here's last week's summary.
Mon: 5M easy
Tue: 7.5 easy
Wed: DNR
Thu: 8M easy w/ 5 strides after the run.
Fri: 7.5M easy w/ 5 x 20sec strides toward the end of the run.
Sat: 5.2M easy
Sun: Trolley Run 4M - 20:55 (PR), 19th Place; 7M total
Weekly Total: 40 miles on 6 runs/6 days
This was the 2nd week of recovery from Boston Marathon. The week consisted of easy running, one rest day and a 4-mile race that resulted in a PR. My legs feel recovered from the marathon; however, I will take this coming week as the 3rd and final marathon recovery week.
Mon: 5M easy
Tue: 7.5 easy
Wed: DNR
Thu: 8M easy w/ 5 strides after the run.
Fri: 7.5M easy w/ 5 x 20sec strides toward the end of the run.
Sat: 5.2M easy
Sun: Trolley Run 4M - 20:55 (PR), 19th Place; 7M total
Weekly Total: 40 miles on 6 runs/6 days
This was the 2nd week of recovery from Boston Marathon. The week consisted of easy running, one rest day and a 4-mile race that resulted in a PR. My legs feel recovered from the marathon; however, I will take this coming week as the 3rd and final marathon recovery week.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Trolley Run 4M
The Trolley Run, the nation's largest and fastest 4-Mile, was in jeopardy of being cancelled because of possible lightning and thunderstorms. Luckily, the lightning flashes held off and the race went on without any delays. The Trolley Run 4M was only my 3rd 4-Mile race I've ever ran (4M is not a common race distance). I ran my first 4-mile race back in 2005, and my latest one only 2 1/2 months ago at the KC Love2Run (21:26) - a couple's run where Lisa and I won 1st place in the non-married couples category (we were not yet married) and 2nd overall team. The goal coming into the race was to run a PR and hopefully go sub-21, 5:15 pace. With a fast course, lots of fast runners and my legs feeling mostly recovered from Boston, I knew I had a good chance of achieving my goal.
I started out very aggressive when the gun went off. My leg turnover and pace in the 1st mile felt very fast, but nothing too outrageous. I crossed the 1-Mile marker in 5:08 and caught up to the leading female runner and Kenyan athlete, Jane Kibii; she won this race the last four years. In the 2nd mile, I pulled slightly ahead of her by about 10 meters. I never saw the Mile 2 marker, so I was not able to get my split. Approaching 3 miles I started to feel my lungs and the lack of speed workouts. It was obvious my pace slowed because I hit 3 miles in 15:40 (10:32 for miles 2 and 3). Jane caught up to me in the 3rd mile and pulled ahead by a few meters. At that point I was hurting cardio wise, but kept telling myself to maintain the pace as I only had a few more minutes of running left. When I turned left onto Ward Parkway I saw the clock read 20:30 and counting. The finishing stretch is a slight gradual downhill and about 150 meters long. Determined to go sub-21, I sprinted to the finish passing Jane and almost overtaking another runner. I finished in 20:55 for 19th place and PR'd by almost 30 seconds. I'm happy with my race considering I just came off of marathon recovery. Results here.
My wife also ran the race and did well, despite not wanting to run in the first place. When I registered for the race I also registered my wife without asking her if she wanted to run it. Lesson learned - don't assume she wants to run if I'm running. I'm extremely proud of her; she also ran a 4M PR and broke 25 minutes.
I started out very aggressive when the gun went off. My leg turnover and pace in the 1st mile felt very fast, but nothing too outrageous. I crossed the 1-Mile marker in 5:08 and caught up to the leading female runner and Kenyan athlete, Jane Kibii; she won this race the last four years. In the 2nd mile, I pulled slightly ahead of her by about 10 meters. I never saw the Mile 2 marker, so I was not able to get my split. Approaching 3 miles I started to feel my lungs and the lack of speed workouts. It was obvious my pace slowed because I hit 3 miles in 15:40 (10:32 for miles 2 and 3). Jane caught up to me in the 3rd mile and pulled ahead by a few meters. At that point I was hurting cardio wise, but kept telling myself to maintain the pace as I only had a few more minutes of running left. When I turned left onto Ward Parkway I saw the clock read 20:30 and counting. The finishing stretch is a slight gradual downhill and about 150 meters long. Determined to go sub-21, I sprinted to the finish passing Jane and almost overtaking another runner. I finished in 20:55 for 19th place and PR'd by almost 30 seconds. I'm happy with my race considering I just came off of marathon recovery. Results here.
My wife also ran the race and did well, despite not wanting to run in the first place. When I registered for the race I also registered my wife without asking her if she wanted to run it. Lesson learned - don't assume she wants to run if I'm running. I'm extremely proud of her; she also ran a 4M PR and broke 25 minutes.
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