Jul 31
2010

This was not a set up for a good long run today:

  • I had a mid-back spasm in the first mile of my 5-miler yesterday morning that was still bothering me this morning. [Managed to fight for a 9'22" pace yesterday]
  • The first hour of the run didn’t break 9:30 pace, the second hour was still about 9:12 pace.
  • It poured rain for at least the hour of my run this morning, making my shoes incredibly heavy until the water mostly emptied after about 12 miles.
  • I was wrapping up my highest mileage week in a year–75 miles–after 70 miles last week.
  • I was wrapping up my highest mileage month ever [312 miles].
  • I had two gels for a 20-miler [I usually use at least 3, but I take 5]
  • My last two 20-milers together averaged well over 10 minutes per mile, but my target was sub-9 [under 3 hours for 20].

The results were considerably better than expected.  I stopped for a potty break before mile 10, but also had to fight through running on the side of Hurstbourne Parkway that didn’t have a sidewalk.  No, I didn’t run on the road; I ran in the un-mowed uneven weeds at were at times knee-high.

My first 6 miles were okay, but slower than I expected, at a 9:34 pace.

My second 6 miles were more respectable, at a 9:15 pace.

It was at the 2 hour mark that I decided:  I only had 7.2 miles to go, and 8:20 [7.2 mph] is a comfortable “cruising” pace for me. Therefore, I should be able to finish in 3 hours.  At that point, my mental will recovered from 4 months of not caring and leaving my legs with no support.  Not only did I hit three hours, but I also had sub-8 splits a couple of times in the last hour.

Negative 6-mile splits

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May 8
2010

Turkey Vulture
Image by TexasEagle via Flickr

I saw 5-6 turkey vultures today on my run at mile 5 1/2 [on Broad Run Road]. Before I realized that were swooping down on your garden variety roadkill, the sight of them evoked some disturbing [in a funny way] thoughts.

Of course, then, I started thinking that squirrels on Seatonville Road and Broad Run Road must not be as good at dodging cars as on the other roads on my route.  Then, I started wondering what I’m doing running on roads that so many squirrels have recently met their demise on.

Maybe I should go back to running with music on roads and sidewalks that are “safe”.  I clearly have too much time to think on my long runs.

This was my longest continuous run in about 2 months.  Every single run since [including my Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon DNF] has had more than one long pitstop or a prolonged walk break.  And so, a 15 mile non-stop long run is my longest run in at least two months.  I can’t completely confirm that my 20-mile long run through Iroquois Park and UofL were continuous runs either, but I know that there weren’t many places that I could have stopped.

The pace for today’s run was a 9’31″/mile average pace, which is about 50 seconds slower than I would have liked, but I’d rather be in one piece for my next long run than hit some time goal on a training run 5 months from my goal marathon.

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Sep 19
2009

One of the things that’s great about football season is that you can easily do a long run on the treadmill while watching the game.  I did mine today at home on my Sole F80 at a 1% incline (watching the UofL-UK game).

I’ve been doing my long runs at a progressive pace, starting moderately slowly (easy/recovery pace) and ending close to my tempo run pace.

Today, I started at 6.0 mph, or a 10’00″ pace for the first mile, speeding up 0.1 mph for every successive mile.  This put the last mile of my 16 mile long run @ 7.5 mph, or 8’00″ pace.  For the last mile, I also ran a couple “strides” in the last half mile at about 6’00″ to 6’15″ pace.

My entire run:  16 miles in 2:22:22, or average 8’54″/mile pace.

RunningAHEAD – Strings_n_88keys’s log: View Workout.

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Sep 5
2009

(and on the treadmill at 11pm)

I decided that I’d do a progressive workout, starting @ 6.0 mph (10’00″) and going to 7.4 mph (8’06″?), by 0.1 mph increments per mile.  I have the speed to run 6’30″ intervals, but I’m still hesitant to push for a sub-9 pace long run.

I started off in fits and starts as my splits were pauses stepping off the treadmill:

  • 1.5 miles in 14:55 (6.0 and 6.1 mph – average 9’57″)
  • 2.59 miles in 40:03 (6.1-6.3 mph – average 9’43″)
  • 11 miles in 1:34:14 (6.4-9.2 mph – average 8’34″) – Ok, so the last two miles the treadmill got to me and I ran a 7’30″ mile for mile 14 and ran mile 15 at between 6’36″ and 6’48″ pace.  What I felt in my legs was that I still had a comfortable sub-7 pace after 14 miles.

Why this weird progression?

First…  I get bored on the treadmill, and need to break up the workout to hit “milestones”.

More importantly, I thought a progressive pace might help coax that speed out of my long runs again.  I did quite a bit of this when I was training for Flying Pig last year and was stuck on the treadmill for my long runs due to working weekends.  Between these sessions and the progressive race distances of 5k, 10k, and 10 miles of the Louisville Triple Crown of Running every other weekend 5-8 prior to the Flying Pig Marathon, I found an optimal speed and endurance training regimen.

RunningAHEAD – Strings_n_88keys’s log: View Workout.

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Jun 27
2009

Last week, I ran a 16 miler in which I never got my legs under me.   My expected easy/long run pace is roughly 9:30 per mile, but I’m okay with 10 minute miles given the warmer weather. My result was a 10:19 pace for 16 miles, with the last few miles being a struggle to stay under 11 minutes.

This week’s run started off slow (10:30 1st, 10 minutes for each of the next four miles). Starting about mile 8, I started hitting my stride, and finished with a nice, comfortable 9:42 average pace for the 18 mile run — 2:54:43 for 18.03 miles.

Last weeks’ run was roughly the same conditions as this weeks, but I made a few adjustments to get me a negative split (first half/second half):
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Change 1:
Two Fridays in a row with brutal afternoon conditions (~100′F Heat Index). Last week, I ran a 5-miler on Iroquois Hill in that nastiness. This week, I ran a 4.25 mile 2% treadmill run yesterday. Hydration and muscles were much better today.

Change 2:
Added the Camelbak Elixir electrolytes tabs this week… they’re lemon-lime flavored with electrolytes but no sugar to mess up the Camelbak liner:

Change 3:
Last week was probably the first run in which I really needed to take in extra sugar before or during the run. I didn’t take anything with me, and had to end up taking a detour to Wal-Mart (the gas station part) at mile 11 to get some orange juice.

This week, I got some Strawberry Banana GU and took them at miles 2.5, 6, 10.5, and 14. My normal pick is the Powerbar brand gels, but I thought I’d try the GU since it’s a bit thicker. (By the way, this flavor was one of the nastiest gel flavors I’ve used of any brand, but it did the trick)

Course map:

RunningAHEAD – Strings_n_88keys’s log: View Workout.

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