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.