Posts

Posted on

Oh Hai June – May 2017 End of Month Stuff

So May is over.

I ran two races (the Little King’s Mile and the Flying Pig Half).

I registered for three races – the Flying Pig FULL 2018 (I did this at the Expo, so I have a ton of time to question my choices… but hey, free T-shirt!), the Honor Run Half (in November), and the Bulldog Blast (local 5k).

Appropriate for that last one – it was <$17 after credit card processing fees:

“I’m not going to race during the summer” / “Oh look! A cheap 5k!”

Mileages:
Goal: 92
Ran: 83

Missed runs include a few where I was sick, in fact, the 9 miles belong almost solely to a day where I was very sick (possible food poisoning) and the following day.  Ends (e.g. running 3.14 to get back to where I was and having a goal of 3) not only reduced the amount missed, it made up for the first day back, where I wanted to run 8, but couldn’t stomach more than about 6.

Other than that, still no injuries! The addition of a lot of milk and vitamin D pills has helped!

ALSO: my weight has been hovering between just-below and just-above 200 pounds.  If I could stop eating like a fast-moving dumpster, I could probably cut my weight down more.

Next Up:
Nothing in June is planned.  In July, the NKU XC series is coming, as is the Bulldog Blast

Cheers!

Posted on

April Showers Bring a Month End Report

April has been a training and building month preparing for the Flying Pig Half Marathon.

During the weeks, I had two tempo runs offset with two interval runs. Of the tempo runs, one was slow (due to extreme wind), one was in the zone. Of the Interval runs, both were 400m intervals with goals of 1:55 – 1:58 per interval (that translates to a 7:43 – 7:55 pace). Out of 19 interval workbouts, 1 was above 1:58 (1:58.6… so close) and 16 were faster than 1:55. Also throughout the month, there were 3 half-marathon pace runs, which I was trying to keep to 7:58 – 8:13 (targeting a pace of 8:05) and all were within the range.

Month plan was 111.5 miles, I ran 117.5 miles.

Cheers!

Posted on

March 2017

It’s now past the end of March. I’m well into half marathon training.

102.31 mile goal for the month, 100.74 miles ran. I missed a few days, and general inaccuracies (4 miles + 6 strides > 4.5 miles, usually it’s 4.7 miles) caused the difference.

I mostly made my pace goals this month.

One race this month, the Bockfest 5k.  My goals were:

A: 23:30
B: 5k PR (<24:15)
C: Course PR (<26:26)

I ran a 24:26. Beat my C goal, but that 5k PR… that’s going to be around for a while.

Cheers! On to the next!

Posted on

Feb Month End: Fuck 200m Intervals

I’m using Hal Higdon’s Advanced 5k plan.

That just feels weird to say.  I’m using a plan for a 5k.  I haven’t said that in four years when I started this journey on the Couch-To-5k plan.  I’ve done plans for halves and a 14k (I used the 15k plan).  I work well with Mr. Higdon’s plans once I rework the days to fit my schedule.

Since I really want to nail this 5k, I went to Greg McMillan’s Run Calculator and entered some information and received some guidance.

There’s probably things I’m not doing right, but whatever. I’ve told my watch to use 0:43 – 0:47 for the 200m repeats and 1:41 – 1:46 for the 400m repeats.  And I’ve set my watch to use 7:54 – 8:09 for tempo runs.

In fact, I guess I’m not.  According to Hal Higdon:

Interval Training: To improve your speed, train at a pace somewhat faster than your race pace for the 5-K, about the pace you would run in a 1500 meter or mile race.

The last time I ran a mile, I ran it in 7:04.  I’m hoping to break 7 this year at the Little King’s Mile **fingers crossed**.

Those 200s are hard.  400s aren’t much easier.

Intervals Chart

The tempo runs aren’t terrible.  On the last two misses, one was running pre-dawn at an unlit park and the other involved winds from Hell – so bad that at one point I started downhill, trying to accelerate to the range and the wind blew me back to maintaining the same pace!

Tempo Run Pace Chart

January Stats

Goal: 97.49 miles
Actual: 103.85 (by week: 22.35 mi, 19.73 mi, 24.65 mi, 29.41 mi)

I used to mention average speed in these, but I’m going to stop. Since each run has a purpose, I’m not going to obsess over that any longer AND I’ve started going slow for LSD runs – I’ve been running with a friend and we talk (remember, You should be able to carry on a conversation while you run!) so things have slowed down quite a bit.

February Stats

Goal: 100.35 miles
Actual: 109.31 (by week: 17.4 mi, 30.29 mi, 28.63 mi, 33.37 mi, 7.33 miles in the final partial week)

Notable things that happened this month was a 5k test, it was as true of a test as possible, and I did it in 24:46, 7:58 min/mi.

Bockfest 5k: Keys To The Race

  1. Kill The Hill
    The hill is right up front on this course.  It’s tough, but we get it on fresh legs. Don’t die, though, there’s still 2 miles AFTER that hill!
  2. Use Gilbert/Court/Reedy/Eggleston Downhill
    This is a long downhill slope.  The Gilbert portion of it can be pushed, but the remainder should be used to prepare for the final mile.
  3. Don’t die on the final mile
    The final mile has been 60-90 seconds slower than the first in years past.  This is a tough part of the course, as everything from Culvert Street is uphill.

Current course PR: 26:26
Current 5k PR: 24:15 (Cyclones Frozen 5k 2015)

Goals
A: 23:30
B: 5k PR (<24:15)
C: Course PR (<26:26)

Cheers!

Posted on

Late December/Year End Recap and Plans for 2017

Here it is on the evening of January 19. January is a busy month for me – traditionally I take a week off around Christmas, and a week after getting back into the office I go to a yearly conference. So I have to cram in a month’s worth of work in two weeks, and those two weeks are separated by a week.

I flaked out at the end of December. I planned to run 100 miles and only made it to 88. No races, just running.

I finished the year with a goal of running 1,077 miles.  I ran 1,083.  I spent over 165 hours running.

The plan for 2017 includes a few “stand-bys”, the Bockfest 5k, Little King’s Mile, and Hudepohl 14k.

I’m highly considering the Flying Pig Half Marathon again, and possibly also the Honor Run Half again.  If NKU does it’s summer XC series, I’m in.

I’m going to get into the cross training I need to.  This is the second phase of me implementing what I’ve learned in Meb For Mortals.  The first phase was to begin doing his form and mobility drills, which I do twice a week.  This would put me in a good position to start into full marathon training to run my first full in 2018.

In other related news, I purchased a pair of Brooks shoes. These are not made for my feet.  I also purchased a new wristband for my RoadID. The one I currently have is quite bad looking. I was also able to get a beer glass, because after all… running on beer!

Cheers!

Posted on

November Month End Report

I’m late for this, but November happened.

I intended to run 93.4 miles, I ran 97.4 miles.  That’s a little bit of a mis-interpretation of the month, though, because a large part of the 4 mile difference was caused by tempo runs where my planned distance was a guess… a very low guess.  I was up to 995 miles for the year at the end of November.

One major race during the month: the Honor Run Half Marathon.

The rest of the month was without anything notable.  I took two days off after the half, and slowly worked back into a normal routine.

Planned For December

Running.  The plan is running.

forestgumprunning

I broke a thousand miles on the year on December 2, and I plan on running around 104 miles (23 miles per week) through the month.

Upcoming

The next planned race is Bockfest 5k.  I’m using one of Hal Higdon’s plans for this, something I’ve never done for a 5k.  His 5k Advanced plan is very interesting – it has short intervals (200m and 400m), tempo runs, and a good long run each week.  I start on the plan on the second week of January.

Looking forward to next year, I only have three events on the calendar: the Bockfest 5k, Little King’s Mile, and the Hudepohl 14k.  I haven’t decided what else I’m doing.  Beyond next year, I figure I’m a year-and-a-season from my first full marathon (which might be the 20th Flying Pig).  That means that at this time next year I’ll be preparing to get onto a marathon training plan.

Posted on

Race Report: Honor Run Half Marathon

Race Date: 11/13/16
Race Location: Florence, Kentucky

Goals:
A: 1:51
B: 1:55
C: <2:01

Preparation

I followed the Hal Higdon Intermediate 2 Plan with one exception – I didn’t do the cross-training.  The plan was different than what I’ve been used to – I’ve tended to stick with one speedwork and one long run a week, this had two speedwork and the long run.

The only notable day during training was the 11 mile long run.  I had to fly from Cincinnati (where I live) to Raleigh and run there in the middle of the day.  Despite bringing water and looking for a good course, I got lost and had an overall tough run (although I did finish it).

Race Day

Conditions: 33, clear.  I began the day with coffee and two slices of cheap wheat bread with peanut butter and honey drizzled on top.  It takes around 45 minutes to drive to Florence from where I live, so I sipped coffee on the way.  At the starting area (a mall), I used the restroom and lined up on the starting line.

Dress: I looked at the temperature where I live, which is around 25 miles ENE from the starting line, and it was 28.  So pants, long sleeves, pullover, and gloves.  Around mile 3 of the race, I was too warm and took the pullover off and tied it around my waist.

The Course: suburban hell.  Lots of very wide streets, all closed.  It was interesting to look left and right at intersections and be near the middle of a five-lane-road crossing another five-lane-road, both empty.  The first part, start to mile 4.5 is wide open roads.  The next part, 4.5 to 7.0 is through the Turfway Park parking lot and a two-lane road with a sharp turn.  After that is another wide open road, with some substantial hills, mile 7.0 to 11.4.  The final stretch is on a narrow and very hilly road that goes between a golf course and the freeway until it cuts through a parking lot and back onto a major road and then into the mall parking lot.

The race felt fast.  At one point (maybe mile 5 or 6), it felt like the miles were just ticking off.  It helped some that the field was not huge (there were 875 runners; compared to the Flying Pig Half had over 11,000 runners in the half both years that I ran it, and almost 17,000 runners and walkers in the half, full, and relays).  It also helped that I stuck to the tangent line – at times this meant going up less of a hill because of the superelevation (banking) of the turns.

Fuel: I stuck to Gu’s recommendation of 15 minutes before (it was closer to 20).  Beyond that, I took Gu at 4.5 and 9 miles, which is the same fueling schedule I’ve used in the past.  I took water at the 4, 6, and 10 mile marks.

Official time: 1:50:02, 8:23 min/mile.

Split Time
1 08:07.1
2 08:17.9
3 08:19.9
4 08:28.7
5 08:31.5
6 08:22.4
7 08:33.7
8 08:07.4
9 08:30.9
10 08:41.4
11 08:30.7
12 08:25.4
13 08:14.9
14 00:52.7

Places:

124 / 875 overall
94 / 400 men
11 / 48 Age Group

Workout on Garmin Connect

Great way to finish the season.  Next race is not until March, 5 months from now.

Posted on

October Month End Report

October is in the books.

I intended to run 112 miles, I ran 114.53.  This brings the yearly total up to 897.3.

With the weather getting better, my pace fell to 9:07.  That has been nice.

The new GPS watch has been nice.  It did flake out on me once, but it only lost 0.08 miles of GPS points and did NOT lose the run.  I’m good with that!

Month Notes

I volunteered with the Queen Bee Half Marathon as a ham radio operator (I’m 3 for 3 there).  Fortunately the weather was great for running, so there were few drop reports.

I got to party with the Brew Hogs.  It was nice NOT missing it this year – last year I had to miss because of a cortisone shot that turned out to be extremely painful and extremely useless.

I had a Saturday meeting in Raleigh, and I flew in on Friday and went running.  Running there was interesting, as I had to run 11 miles in the sun.  It felt like uphill all ways. But I got the run in.

Planned for November

The Honor Run Half.  Goals:

A: 1:51 (~8:30 pace)
B: 1:55 (~8:47 pace)
C: <2:01 (current PR, 9:15 pace)

Posted on

Strava Heatmap: Use With Caution (But Do Use!)

I’m getting into the race-specific-training portion of my training plan for the Honor Run Half Marathon.  I have a slight issue, I need to do a run while on a business trip to another part of the country.  Fortunately, I know some people in the destination city and dropped them an email confirming where I think I can run 11 miles and see what the weather should be like.

So I panned over to Cincinnati and took a look at things.  There’s some bright areas that are on the map (some brightly lit) that aren’t great places to run… and of course some are there because they are.

Strava for the Cincinnati Riverfront/Kentucky Southbank area.
Strava for the Cincinnati Riverfront/Kentucky Southbank area.

Guide:

  1. Brent Spence Bridge (I-71/75).  Pedestrians not allowed, and violating that would be deadly.  There is no way the tracks here could be from runners, because none of them end up in the water (don’t laugh, it happened).
  2. Columbia Parkway. Pedestrians not allowed, but closed to the Heart Mini Marathon (half marathon) yearly, so the track is likely runners, but during an event.
  3. Clay Wade Bailey Bridge.  There’s a walkway on the east side of the bridge, and it’s common for runners.
  4. Roebling Suspension Bridge.  The prototype for the Brooklyn Bridge, and my favorite bridge to cross during sunrise.  Walkways are on both sides, but the sunrise from the east is the best.
  5. Purple People Bridge. As the name implies, no cars!
  6. Flying Pig Marathon and Half Marathon course. I’ve run this area many times while not in The Pig.  It’s easier when the roads are closed, but the sidewalks are fine through this area.  Just stay off the ramp from Gilbert to 7th Street (it’ll be obvious from the lack of sidewalks and cars coming straight at you)

Run Well!

Posted on

September Month End Running Report

The weather locally has changed, and it conveniently waited until after the only race I scheduled for this month to do it.

September Stats

Intended: 110.95
Ran: 110.67

Meh, close enough.  I did skip one day – Labor Day.  Rounding (well, not) has caused me to make up most of it.  My average pace increased – from 9:28 min/mile to 9:12 min/mile.

One race in September: the Hudepohl 14k (yes, it was a 14k; yes, there was Hudepohl 14K beer at the finish line).  There is more in a longer report, but I did PR.

Planned For October

Preparation for a half marathon.  This will be the first time breaking 10 miles since May of 2015, which was the half marathon I ran while injured.

I also want to phase in a second group of conditioning from the Meb for Mortals book – the strength training.

Cheers!