hill, barf, repeat


Hill repeats on Wednesday.

NO THANK YOU.

Jesus that was not pleasant.  I can see how it helps build stamina and speed, but it also makes my feel like my lungs are exploding.  I think this is going to be one of those, "I need to make hill repeats my friend!", kind of challenge.   I did 30 seconds sprinting up and 30 seconds jogging back down.  I repeated that 10 times.  I think next week I am going to go to 45/30 second intervals.  Eventually, maybe, I can get to 1 minute/15 second intervals?

I had a buddy come in from out of town at about 2 am last night so I didn't really sleep well.  I skipped todays easy run, but am looking forward to a 6 or 8 miler on Sunday.  Then its back to business as usual.  The knee feels fine and everything seems to be functioning... more or less.

I did try running in the afternoon this week which is something I have yet to do.  I ONLY run in the morning.  It wasn't not pleasant.  I'm intrigued about the idea of, perhaps, running after work sometimes....  Hmmmm.  I guess when I get to training for an ACTUAL Marathon I may have to do 2 a days to get my mileage in, but i'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

I was in Portland Maine for the weekend and I gained about 6 pounds.

So there's that.

Maybe this guy if the weathers nice this weekend.

intervals and intensity


I did my intervals on Wednesday.  30 seconds at about 90% followed by 30 seconds at a slow jog.  Repeat 10 times.  It was not pleasant, though I think it will help with my overall speed and pain threshold.  But all in all I would rather be getting a root canal.  As I do this more I want to make the sprint time longer as I lessen the recovery time.

This morning I did 5 miles with the intention of taking it nice and slow.  Which is why its called an EASY run.  Instead I PR'd my 5 mile run at a 9:22 pace!  That was a pleasant surprise and I think that with some effort I could do my next Half in a sub 9 minute pace.  Which would be pretty sweet.

My goal is not to go out and kill myself every run, but, rather, make it slightly more difficult.  I don't want to get injured, but I want to get stronger and faster and for that ya kinda need to work a little.  The good news is I have a lot of time to figure this out.  Well, not so much time.  I have a Half in January so I kind to need to get cracking.

I'm starting to do a bit of an easy stretch routine before my runs and it really helps out with that first mile.  Generally I feel like my knees are wrapped with barbed wire for the first mile or so.  Getting some blood into my legs and keeping my feet "light" for the first mile or so is helpful.  I am also starting to make some discoveries when I consider my stride.  I keep my regular stride rather short and quick, a bit of a pitter-patter of a stride.  As I start to go down hill (depending on the grade) I let my stride get a little longer and though I felt that this would lead to discomfort when I first started experimenting the effect is quite the opposite.

Uphills I just charge and hope for the best.

I am off to Maine on Sunday so I might do a 5 or 6 miler before I take off.  I foresee my calorie count in Maine as being somewhat astronomical so I will be packing my running shoes!  LOBSTA for days.

more races to come


I ran 5 miles yesterday which felt pretty good.  I am going to run some intervals tomorrow and another easy 5 miler on Friday.  I am off to Portland Sunday and I will probably try to get in a run or two while I am there.

I signed up the the Cocoa 10 miler in Central Park on January 8th and will be signing up for the Fred Lebow 1/2 Marathon January 22nd.  Both are in Central Park 2 weeks apart.  I am looking forward to the 10 miler as it will give me an opportunity to get to know the course.  I imagine both races will be quite chilly.

I'm excited for tomorrow as I have never done any interval training.  It will be nice to mix things up and hopefully it will help me shave off some time from future races.  I think I will alternate Hill Repeats and Intervals every other Wednesday.  My Weekly Plan should look something like this;

Monday - Easy Run 3-5 miles
Tuesday - Easy Cross Train 30 minutes
Wednesday - Alternate Intervals/Hill Repeats - 10 X 30 seconds run/jog
Thursday - Rest
Friday - Easy Run 3-5 miles
Saturday - Easy Cross Train 30 minutes
Sunday - Long Run

Though it looks like a lot (to me anyway) my Cross Training is literally riding my bike to and from work.  I am not going to be pushing too hard.  I basically have 3 off days.  I am really excited to work on this routine for a bit and see what the results are.  So far I have been really happy NOT pushing myself too much. Now I want to push a little and see what comes of it.

As my intervals and repeats get "easier" I imagine I will push them to 45 seconds, 1 minute, etc...  I am going to spend more time seeing what I need in terms of sustenance on my long runs as well.  I didn't eat during my Staten Island run and that may have slowed me down towards the end.  Alright!  Intervals!  Oh Boy.

half marathon


When I woke up at 5:30 on Sunday the weather said it was 65 degrees.  I dressed, packed some dry clothes, ate a power bar and headed out into the wet morning.  It was not 65 degrees.  It felt closer to 45 degrees.  I walked to the Frankin ave 4 stop and met up with my running club and off we went to Staten Island.

When we arrived the course was cold and windy and wet.  I felt practically frozen when the race began.  After about a half a mile I was convinced that my legs would not make it.  My shins were like broken glass, my hips and knees were sore, I felt tight everywhere.  I was miserable.  At mile 2 I felt a little better, but was still pretty worried as my running partner and I were behind pace.  Mile 3 was a gentle down hill and as I lengthened my strides I started to feel good and my legs started to feel loose.

I realized, during miles 4 through 6, that I have much more endurance than I give myself credit for.  I really felt great and pushed myself.  I hollered a lot, cheering on my fellow runners, I even talked to my partner quite a bit.  That was until mile 6 1/2'ish anyway.  Then we started back.

Heading back was another story.  Suddenly the tail wind we had been loving was in our face.  We were running by the sea now and the rain was starting to pour sideways.  It was tough.  It was painful. I still felt strong, but started to feel very discouraged as I realized I had to go all the way back in these conditions.

I'll save you the mile by mile run back.  A few miles were strong, a few almost broke me. It was tough.  Mile 12 was EXTREMELY tough.  The last 1/2 mile I basically ran as fast as I could to get to the finish line.  I was frozen to the bone, everything hurt, but I finished.

Overall, I think I did really well.  My pace was 9:53 and I was (realistically) thinking it would be around 10:30.  The conditions were horrible, but I managed to overcome some VERY negative thinking.  All in all I surprised myself and am looking forward to doing better.

It's been a big challenge to get here and now that I have finished this beast I am looking forward to my next race!

only a couple days more.


I ran 10 miles on Sunday!  I ran 4 yesterday.  I ran 3 this morning. This coming Sunday I will attempt to run 13.1 miles in Staten Island!  Considering where I was even 6 months ago I regard this as a pretty major accomplishment.

Unless Hurricane Matthew blows in this weekend and my race is cancelled.  I mean.... what are the odds.  Training for 3 months and a storm may be the ultimate deciding factor.  Either way, I WILL run 13.1094 miles dammit.  But seriously, Hurricane Matthew?  You can't write this shit.

The 10 miles on Sunday was tough, but there were moments of, dare I say, grace?  Moments when I felt perfectly in tune with my surroundings and my body and my breath.  I had long stretches of just being in the moment, feeling the internal gears click and my bodies rhythms at one with the pavement.

And there were moments when I felt like a pig trying to climb a greased ladder.

Ah the joys of running.

Well, here's hoping that Sunday happens without a hitch.  Here's hoping that I get to celebrate with a huge bowl of noodles in Chinatown.  Here's hoping that, barring a storm, Sunday Football goes back to normal (I mean come on G-men!!!!).

My knees and legs feel strong (if not a wee bit tight).  My fear factor is more or less in check.  I will continue to carb up.  Come on Matthew, blow your ass out to sea.

mañana




ugh.


That is all I have to say.


UGH.