Double duty

This morning was the first half of my double routine.

P90X

Plyometrics

Killer

My resting probably means I made it through 65% of the routine

I am still tired and weak 2 hours after I finished the routine

My pecs are sore where they attached near the clavicle

Tonight I have mile repeats

In 8:11

Only 3 of them (thank you running gods)

One will be sort of easy

Two will be hard

Three might be impossible

I can very much see that if you do the routines you will get in shape. I am hoping to build some up body muscle but most importantly build core strength. A stronger core makes a stronger runner. I'll see the difference in 88 more days. I took measurements last night and will take them at 30, 60 and the final 90 day end of workout.

I feel like I am dieing.

the beginning of the end

Day 1 until the end

I own P90X. Yea, I blew the money on it. I have watched a few of the DVDs. Even the warmups are tough. 

But this is the Beginning ofthe End. 

Remember.

Oh, why is this the beginning of the end?

I am tired.

I hurt.

My painful right shoulder hurts.

My left arm hurts more trying to over compensate for the right.

But I did the best I could.

Here's a quick rundown - 

15 minute warmup, normal pushups, wide grip pullups, military pushups, reverse grip pullups, wide fly pushups, close grip pullups, decline pushups, heavy pants, diamond pushups, lawnmowers, dive bomber pushups, back flies. And then we did those 12 in a different order. 5 minute cooldown. If you wan tot see detail and descriptions - go here. My user is RunningFirst at runningahead.com. 

So, tomorrow will be a rough day. P90X - plyometrics and FIRST training of mile repeats. I am trying to decide which to do in the morning and which for the afternoon.

Let's see if I can continue this.

the beginning of the end

The Beginning of the End

Tomorrow is a new month.

Tomorrow is June.

Tomorrow is the Beginning.

Tomorrow is the Beginning of the End.

Tomorrow , I start my quest. 

My quest to qualify for Boston.

I am going to give it a shot. I am going to start training. Training for Boston.

Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday will be run training. 

Wednesday will be TNT track practice. But I will not run these hard.

Monday, Friday and Sunday will be days of rest or cross training. Mostly upper body and core. (I am so weak there)

I am starting my training tomorrow. It is the training that men 65 - 69 would be doing for a 4:15 Boston marathon. Man - those are some fast, old, Boston men. 

Next week workouts are as follows -

Mon - xtrain

Tue - warmup, 3 x 1600m @ 8:11 w/ 1 min recovery, cool down

Wed - TNT track

Thu - 6 mile run: 2 easy, 2 @ 8:44, 2 easy

Fri - rest

Sat - 13 miles @ 10:14

Sun -rest

Pretty ambitious, but it will only get more ambitious as I progress towards Boston.

Now a word from our sponsor - I am training for Boston.

Ok, now a word about cross training. I am still not sure what this will comprise. I have been looking at P90X training. It is a lot of lunges, pushups, pullups, core routines. I have also read a lot about natural training. Remember when you were a kid and played. You just ran everywhere, jumped over (or ran through) puddles, climbed trees, jumped ramps on your bike. This is the kind of training I am looking at. 

I am lucky enough to live in the country and have a pasture that is exactly 1/4 mile around the perimeter. It is also a hily pasture. Myself and the Hook are looking at using it for cross trainng. There is a plan to setup "stations" around the pasture. Stations to work your muscles like you did as a kid.

There will be logs, sandbags, weights to lift or throw. There will be walls to climb, obstacles to jump, balancing acts and possibly more as the Hook devises them. This all to work your muscles in a more normal way. Like when you were a kid and didn't worry about being out of shape. 

Hopefully this will help build the body back to what it once was. Maybe even put me in Boston shape. 

Tomorrow begins now.

Track Practice #1

Today was the first track practice for the summer TNT session. I was there with a few alums and 4 newbies. Us alums will break them in. I'll find out all their names eventually and what they are training for. I know there are a few halfers and a few fulls. One is training for the Nike women's marathon.

Most of the halfers are walkers which is awesome. I have tried to walk with walkers and I cannot do it. I can't walk that fast. It hurts and gets me out of breath and I am sore the next day. Walkers are awesome.

The full runners are fast. It was all I could do to keep up. I will have to do extra work to keep up.

Harley is once again coaching for the track sessions. I have worked out under him in the past and he can be a slave driver. A polite one but still tough. I hope I (and the others) survive.

We will be back at LOW (Lake of the Woods) on Saturday. I believe they will be doing 6/4 respectively. I will do my 8 minimum. Maybe I should do the trail twice and run 10. Hmmm...

Anyways, practice was good for a beginning. I need to decide on my training. Will I continue with TNT or go out on my own. Maybe a little of both. I have looked at the FIRST system a lot. I think it can help me tremendously. I am not ready to start with a 3:30 training regimen, but maybe a 4 or 4:15 can be done.

The FIRST system would have me doing 3 days of running per week. That is the basics of the First system with a few days of cross training and a few days of rest. Here is the first week of training for a 4:15 marathon run.

Workout #1 - warmup, 3 x 1600m @ 8:11 with 1 minute recovery jog, cooldown

Workout #2 - 6 mile run: 2 miles easy ramping up to 2 miles @ 8:44/mile and cooling down for 2 miles

Workout #3 - 13 miles @ 10:14/mile

I can do workout 3 (Indy mini in 2:04 - 9:30 pace).

I am pretty sure I can do workout 2.

I am not sure I can handle the repeats in workout 1. The first one. Sure. The next two with only 1 minute rest. And jogging while I rest. Come on.

Who jogs while they recover? Oh yeah, those damn fast runners at the front of the pack. And the workouts get tougher, but in theory, I should be getting stonger.

So, what do you think? Go for it. I think I can do this. I will be disappointed if I can't. Maybe this is the place to start and not a a slower pace. Afterall, I ran Indy in 2:04. With no pain afterwards. With a quick recovery. With my last three miles of 9:10, 9:02 and 8:39. That is kicking some half marathon ass.

Maybe this is the place to start. But I need cross training as well. I really need to do some core workouts. Not that at 46 I will ever have a 6 pack. But I do need the core work. It will make my runs easier and make me stronger.

I picked up P90X. I have viewed a few of the DVDs. I got tired just from the warmup parts. I will give it a try. I have to get a pull up bar and a few dumbells or something for a few weights.

So with that - Boston will be my be-atch.

Training plans

Gosh, there are a lot of them. I have read many, many of them and there are probably hundreds more. Maybe thousands. But I think I have found the perfect blended training program devised of the three I like the best.

And because I am getting more serious about this grand adventure, this wandering of my age addled brain, I think I will write about others strange insights that I sometimes have.

And I will always pass along some of the ramblings of my fellow bloggers as well. Most of them, all of them, are far more interesting and competent than I.

Onward and eastward.

One marathon training of many

Week 1:
To train at this level you will have been running on a regular basis for a minimum of two to three years averaging 30 to 35 miles per week.  You will have run more than 4 Marathons and are ready to work on getting your time down.  So if you are ready for some more serious training then this program is for you.  Trust us, if you complete this program, the marathon itself will be a “walk in the park”.

Intermediate Level: Week 1 Mileage Chart

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Goal:

5

E

Rest

5

T

5

E

Rest

10

L

4

E

29

E = Easy Pace; HD = Hard Pace; HL = Hills; L= Long Slow Run; M = Marathon

Day 1 - This is 5 miles easy pace.  Please find a gently rolling or flat area and ease into the run (15%) before getting into a comfortable aerobic zone (70%) and finish by cooling down for the final (15%).  Stretching is mandatory after each run.  

Day 2 - Surprisingly, this is a rest day.  Use it for light stretching and perhaps some Cross-Training like an easy bike ride (Road or Mountain Bike) or walk or a swim or any other non weight bearing exercise.

Day 3 - This day will be devoted to your first Tempo Run. Tempo consists of a warm-up period at easy pace (1 mile) then pick a pace, say 8 min/mile for the middle 3 miles and finish easy for the last mile of the workout. Generally pick a pace under your marathon pace (30 seconds).  The objective is to increase the length of the workout at pace over the duration of the training program.  This will help you maintain your marathon pace over a longer period of time during the actual event.

Day 4 - This is an easy run day; 5 miles on easy terrain.  Remember that stretching after all runs is mandatory and before a run, optional. 

Day 5 - Rest day.  Stretching and/or Cross Training 

Day 6 - Long Slow Distance Run of 10 miles. This run is very important and should not be missed. Furthermore, please go slow on this run as it is meant to get your body acclimatized to the time and distance that you will be on your feet running. Leave any speed, tempo or hard pace for other times during the week. 

Day 7 - Today is a recovery day of 4 easy miles (6.5 km) to get the lactic acid, etc out of your muscles from yesterdays LSD run.

Illinois marathon

Well, it is over. The first Illinois marathonis now in the books and guess who won it? 

Ok, if you guessed me, thanks, but you are wrong. A Kenyan. Yea, even in central Illinois in a first time small (1613 full marathon finishers) a young 24 year old Kenyan wins the race. 

Not elite fast, but still blazingly fast. 2:26. A friend of mine finished 9 or tenth. Apparently some confusion ont the top ten placers. And another who qualified for Boston by o6 minutes in 3:04. 

I ran a great race until the calf cramps set in. Just a rippling of the muscle and then pain. I have never felt anything like it. At first it was disconcerting - feeling the muscle ripple up and down. But after the rippling a pain was felt. So I walked. Then I ran, then the calf ripppled, then the pain, then I walked. This went on for the last 10 miles.

But I still had a PR by3 minutes. It should have been better, being a flat course, but oh well. Shit happens.

time:	4:52:04
pace:	11:09
10k:	1:00:18
13.1:	2:13:48
20 m:	3:35:50

I wanted to run a 4:30 - a 10:18 pace. 

So, let's take it alittle at a time.

10k - 1:00:18 - 9:43 too fast, but was feeling great. Now that I do the math that is a 4:15 pace. 

13.1 - 2:13:48 - 10:12  pace. More where I should be. So big slow down second leg. 

20m - 3:35:50 - 10:47 pace. Cramping is an issue, but I kept going.

I truly believe a 4:45 was withing reach, but probablynot a 4:30 unless I would have started slower. it just means Boston may be harder to do and I have alot more training to do. A lot more long runs. I need run of 10+ miles every weekend until those come easy and come at a 10 minute pace or less. Eventually those have to get to an 8 minute pace to qualify but this a multi step process. 

Next test - Indy half marathon.

Goal - 2:10

The Fantasy, The Hope, The Dream

The OBSESSION!!!!

Yes, obsession it is becoming. Why? It is not such a big endeavour. I don't talk about it much. I do daydream about it. I night dream about it. I think about it on the short drive to work. It isn't even a given that I could qualify. Being 46 years old in 2 weeks, I have to run a 3:30 marathon. That is an 8 minute pace. sure, I can run an 8 minute mile. I could probably eke out close to a 6:15 or 6 minute mile. 

But just one.

Then the heavy panting.

And fighting back the feeling of puking.

Here is what I need - 

Mile time dropping to 6:15 consistently, more easily.

I can do a 5k in the low 27's. That needs to drop to 21:30. 

10k in 45. Haven't done one in years.

My half marathon need to drop 36 minutes - next test here is the Indy half.

And of course my marathon time is at 4:55. A huge 85 minute drop. A 3:16 per mile drop.

Based on my last year Indy half in 2:16:45, marathonguide.com has my calculated times as:

5K 0:29:26
5M 0:48:36
10K 1:01:40
10M 1:41:48
Half Marathon 2:16:45
Marathon 4:46:24

My last marathon time is close based on these calculations. Anchorage is a hilly course and the last few miles were difficult. But I have timed myself on a 200 meter indoor track several times. My 5k times are lower than predicted above. 

I have run three timed 5k's in 27:30. Based on that I get a 2:07 half and a 4:27 full. On Saturday (April 11) we will see if this is accurate at the Illinois marathon. I will also test this on May 2 (Indy half). 

If I meet these calculations, and I believe I can, then I may have to turn this fantasy fully into a HOPE.