Half Marathon Race Pace

Thursday I ran ten miles, including seven miles at my goal half marathon race pace of 6:29/mile, which if my math is correct will give me a sub-1:25:00 half marathon. I honestly wasn't sure if I'd be able to run the entire distance on pace or not. For one thing I didn't set my half marathon goal based on a race conversion calculator or anything, and it seems a bit optimistic. However, I like having a challenging goal to shoot for. The second reason for my doubt is that Wednesday's recovery run felt harder than I would have liked, and I was worried about some carry-over fatigue from Tuesday's mile repeats.

Anyway, after warming up, I started my race pace miles into the wind. After a few minutes, I was hoping that I was at or below my target pace because there was no way I'd be able to continue that effort for seven miles. I knew turning away from the wind would help some; but if I was slower than target pace and had to continue the same effort with the wind at my back, I was in trouble. After a half mile I checked the pace on my Garmin, and I was at 6:29 on the dot - this is a good sign. I turned so that the wind was at my back soon after the half mile mark and fell into a pace that I felt I could hold for the rest of the run. I soon found myself in a good rhythm and cruised through the miles with these splits: 6:24, 6:27, 6:21, 6:28, 6:28, 6:27.

As you can see I pushed a bit hard when I first turned to get the wind behind me but hit a pretty good pace soon after that. This workout was a good confidence builder for me. When I first went below 1:30:00 in the half marathon my toughest run was eight miles at goal pace, and I ended up beating my goal by over a minute. I have that same eight mile pace run on my schedule in a couple of weeks. If I can build on this workout and keep the pace for eight miles, I'm confident that I can hold it for the half marathon when you throw in a taper and race-day excitement.

I also tried to work on my form during this run but found that I had pretty good form from the beginning. I wasn't as choppy with my steps as when I was running the mile repeats. I mostly concentrated on running tall and not leaning forward. When I did this, I was running well.

I have ten easy miles today and then eight miles on the schedule for Saturday to finish up what has been a good week.

Catching Up

My week is right on track. On Monday I ran an easy five miles during lunch. On Tuesday, I ran 6 x 1 mile repeats at 6:10 pace. Actually 6:10 was the goal pace; the wind made the range on these miles pretty varied. Here are my times: 6:08, 5:55, 5:55, 6:11, 6:22, and 6:13. Because of the wind, the slowest interval was the one that I ran the hardest. I've learned to make my goal to try to average my goal time and not try to hit the correct pace for each interval. Today, I ran eight miles at recovery pace (8:14 average pace).

Yesterday I noticed that when I run at a faster pace, I increase turnover, but tend to keep a fairly short, choppy stride. I worked on trying to stride out a bit more and running smoother. It felt good and seemed to help me keep the pace towards the end of the repeats, but it's a balancing act between overstriding and improving my form. Tomorrow I'm scheduled to run six or seven miles at half marathon pace. I'll work on striding out and keeping a smooth form and see how it feels over a longer distance.

Catching Up

My week is right on track. On Monday I ran an easy five miles during lunch. On Tuesday, I ran 6 x 1 mile repeats at 6:10 pace. Actually 6:10 was the goal pace; the wind made the range on these miles pretty varied. Here are my times for each mile: 6:08, 5:55, 5:55, 6:11, 6:22, and 6:13. Because of the wind, the slowest interval was the one that I ran the hardest. I've learned to make my goal to try and average whatever my goal time is for intervals and not try to hit the correct pace for each one. Today, I ran eight miles at recovery pace (8:14 average pace).

Yesterday I noticed that when I run at a faster pace, I increase turnover, but tend to keep a fairly short, choppy stride. I worked on trying to stride out a bit more and running smoother. It felt good and seemed to help me keep the pace towards the end of the repeats, but it's a balancing act between overstriding and improving my form. Tomorrow I'm scheduled to run six or seven miles at half marathon pace. I'll work on striding out and keeping a smooth form and see how it feels over a longer distance.

New Week = New Attitude (I hope)

I started my training week today with a good workout. I ran 15 miles, including ten miles with a target pace of 6:50/mile. I actually averaged just under 6:40/mile. It's not surprising that I felt good and ran faster than planned. I only ran 35 miles last week, so I was basically running with a taper today.

Last week was not a good week for me. I was well below where I wanted to be mileage wise, and I took three days off with no running. However, it was a cutback week, and I accomplished my goal of ending the week rested and ready to run. I don't imagine that one especially easy week is going to hurt my fitness.

I did not race the 5K this morning. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I have been taking college courses online. The course I'm enrolled in now is pretty labor intensive, so last night I found myself still on the computer doing homework well after midnight. I decided to get my beauty sleep instead of racing. No big deal. I have a three-mile fun run at work this week. I won't get pushed much but will get in some faster running.

Lack of Enthusiasm

I’ve been thinking about my running a lot lately. For whatever reason, I’m just not very motivated. I’ve been logging all my miles and hitting my scheduled workouts, but I just don’t have any enthusiasm for it. Almost every time I head out for a run I have to drag myself through the door. Running is supposed to be a fun activity, not a second job. I’m not saying it should be easy. The challenge of nailing a hard workout is part of what I enjoy about running. I just want to regain that feeling of looking forward to a workout. I’m guessing my listlessness is probably because I’ve been training for a race or building mileage since July 2005. After my race at the end of October, I’ll take a short, much-needed break from running.

Looking ahead to next year, I’d like to make a more serious run at the Navy Marathon team. I’m looking at running Napa again (first weekend in March), and then running either Sunburst or the Rock ‘n Roll Marathon. Both are held the first weekend in June. I’d prefer to run Sunburst, but finances may force me back to Rock ‘n Roll. Anyway, if I can run a sub-1:25:00 half and sub-3:00:00 at Napa and Sunburst/Rock ‘n Roll, I’ll feel pretty good about my application.

One area I need to work on is adapting the rest of my life to match my running lifestyle. As of now, I don’t make any real effort to eat as healthy as I should, and I don’t think about my running schedule before eating (eating more carbs the night before long runs, cutting calories during cutback weeks, etc.). I also really need to pay more attention to my sleeping habits. Last night I only got six hours, and I rarely get as much as seven hours during the week. I have been pretty good about staying hydrated.

This week is a cutback week, and I’ve cut back more than what I listed on my schedule. But, it doesn’t really matter; the point is to end the week rested, recovered, and ready to move forward. Anyway, I’ll still be in the neighborhood of 50 miles for the week. I took Sunday off, ran an easy five on Monday, and another easy five at lunch yesterday. Yesterday after work I headed out for a second run. After the easy days, I felt pretty good, so I included four miles at half marathon goal pace (6:29). I ended up averaging less than seven minute miles for the entire 7.5 miles.

Weekly Recap

Here it is:

Sunday - 9.6 miles
Monday - 5.4 miles (lunch) & 5.3 miles after work
Tuesday - 20 miles
Wednesday - 8 miles
Thursday - 15 miles
Friday - 10 miles
Saturday - 7 miles at easy pace

TOTAL: 80.3 miles. I used the Garmin a few times this week, hence the tenths.

Today I ran seven easy miles. I ran alongside my wife who was on her bike. Since I do virtually all of my runs alone, it was nice to have her company. However, I don't think I'll run with her too often. She's pretty erratic with her pace. She'll be cruising along faster than I want to run, and then she'll slow down for no apparent reason. She's is not an athlete or riding for any type of training. She basically rides for a bit of exercise and because she likes to look at the houses, people walking their dogs, etc.

Earlier this afternoon, Notre Dame got hammered by Michigan. It was ugly and tough to watch. The Irish just didn't play well. Michigan seemed to be at the top of their game, but it's hard to tell just how good they are because Notre Dame made a lot of unforced mistakes. Considering that Michigan scored 47 points, you would think that their offense must have been great, but the Michigan defense scored two touchdowns, and I believe their offense had three touchdown drives of less than 30 yards, so it's hard to say how much was Michigan playing great, and how much was Notre Dame playing badly. I know that if anyone reads this, they probably don't care about any of this, but whatever. It interests me. Hopefully, I'll be able to say that the Irish were victorious in the coming weeks.

Into the Gloaming

My favorite time of day to run is that point between sunset and when it gets dark. It’s bright enough to see, yet the sun isn’t beating down or shining directly into my eyes. Plus, usually it has cooled down a bit and is neither too hot nor too cold. Last night, I was running along the bay near my house and it was perfect. The sun had just set, and I was looking west at a great view of the San Francisco skyline. Not only could I clearly see the buildings (not the norm), but I could see the fog rolling in behind the city. It was one of those times where it’s nice to just be out running without having to worry about training paces or mileage or anything else.

Of course I am training for a race, so most of the time I am thinking about more than the simple act of running. Yesterday, I ran 20 miles. It was my second 20 miler since May. I hope to log at least two more in the next four weeks. By the way, if you ever decide to run an evening 20 miler on a weeknight, don't plan on much family time that evening.

I haven’t heard anything regarding my application for the All-Navy Marathon Team, so I’m still training for the half marathon and trying to run enough miles so that I could step up to the marathon and still run well. Considering that the Marine Corps Marathon is only a little over six weeks away, you’d think a decision on the team would have been made by now. I suspect the people in charge of the process are not marathoners and do not understand the time commitment involved in preparing. Either that or they just didn’t bother the people who weren’t selected.

I Suck

I cut Sunday's scheduled 20 miler down to 9.6 miles. I was feeling okay and running fine, except for two things: I forgot to tape my nipples, which must sound like the stupidest thing in the world if any non-runners should ever stumble across this; and I could not escape the bathroom. I realized the nipple thing about eight miles into the run. If I had continued for the full 20, I would have looked like I had been shot twice in the chest. As far as the bathroom thing, I went before I left the house, and I went twice more in the first five miles on my run. My plan was to run home change shirts, tape up, and finish the run. Instead I ended up wondering if I would make it home before I would need my next bathroom break. Anyway, by the time I got home I was frustrated enough to stay home.

I still want to run a twenty miler this week, so my plan is to run two easy five milers today, and try to get out for 20 immediately after work tomorrow. If I can get on the road by 4:45 of so, I should be getting home from my run just as it’s getting dark.

This week is all about mileage. If I make up the long run, I should be okay to reach my goal mileage for the week.

Weekly Recap

Here are the numbers:

Sunday - 0, day off
Monday - 10.2, including 5, one mile repeats at 6:10 pace
Tuesday - 15, consisting of 5 easy miles, 5 miles at 7:30 pace, and 5 miles at 6:50 pace
Wednesday - 10 miles at recovery pace
Thursday - 5.5 at lunch; 6 in evening
Friday - 10, including 5 miles at half marathon goal pace (6:29)
Saturday - 7.5 miles. Felt good so pushed the pace down below 7:30

Total: 64.2 miles

I didn't follow my schedule to a T, but I was pretty close. I did run the scheduled number of miles, and I hit the three key workouts on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Next week is a high mileage week, which includes my first 20 miler in a while and a total in the 80 mile range.

Easy Weekend followed by Two Tough Runs

Well the good news is that Notre Dame won its game on Saturday. It wasn’t pretty, and the Irish’s highly-regarded offense struggled, especially in the first half. However, they played well enough to win, and that’s all that really counts.

Since it’s been a few days since I’ve posted anything here, I’ll do a quick update to my running. On Saturday I ran an easy 7.5 miles. This gave me 88 miles for the week, which is a new high for me. I took an off day on Sunday. I had a run scheduled, but I had a lot to do around the house, so I traded days with Monday (my scheduled off day). On Monday, I ran a ten miler, which included 5, 1 mile repeats at 6:10 pace. The first four repeats were a bit tough, but I managed to establish a good rhythm and keep the pace fairly well. The fifth repeat was into a pretty tough wind. I ended up this repeat in 6:22. Not quite the 6:10 I was looking for, but the effort was clearly there. Tuesday, I ran my second tough workout in a row. I ran 15 miles, which included 5 miles at 8:10 pace, 5 miles at 7:30 pace, and 5 miles at 6:50 pace. The last mile of this run was as tough as any mile I’ve ever run. Today I’ll run ten miles at recovery pace.

Are you ready for some football!?!?!?

I am a huge Notre Dame football fan, and I am pumped up about tomorrow's game and the 2006 season. Of course being a pessimist, I can't predict the same level of greatness that others are predicting for the Irish this year. I still remember when Ty Willingham started out 8-0 in his first season as the Notre Dame coach before settling down to a level that could best be described as mediocre. Charlie Weis will have to throw together a couple of great seasons before I'm ready to go along with the genius title that the experts are giving him.

Fortunately, other than Notre Dame games, I'm at best a modest football fan. I watch the Irish and other big games when they're on, but I don't park myself in front of the television for 16 straight hours on Saturday and Sunday, which means that I should be able to watch the football games I'm interested in and still get in all my scheduled runs.

Today I ran 15 miles. I ran pretty easy for the first 8 miles and then started to pick it up a little bit. I didn't really plan to start going faster; it just sort of happened. I tend to push the effort a bit when I run into the wind. I just continued to push when I turned and the wind was at my side and then at my back. I also ran mile 13 at goal half marathon pace (6:29). I started toying with the idea around mile 10 and eventually talked myself into it. Around the 13.5 mile mark, it seemed like a real bad idea. I did finish the mile at goal pace and then cruised on home. According to Garmin, I ran the first 8 miles at 7:52 pace and finished at 7:40 pace. My overall time was 1:54:56.