1/2 Marathon Training: 12 Mile Run

The alarm goes off at 6am and Annie and I hit the snooze button 6 times! Yes, every 9 minutes the buzzer went off and we could not get out of bed. Partly because the weather dropped down to the mid-50's and it was cool but also because we were both tired!

Anyways we managed to drag our butts out of bed and decided we would do our run on the Kingwood Greenbelt trails. These are a series of paved trails that run along the roads and through the woods for like 75 miles. We needed a change of scenery and it ended up being a lot of fun running a different route! And since we got up so late it was actually light out when we were running ... I like the wee hours of the morning better. Less traffic and less people!

It was completely overcast and drizzling which ended up being the best running weather ever! With each week we are adding distance and also trying to figure out our nutritional needs so we can be prepared on race day. Annie and I split a whole wheat bagel when we woke up and had some water as well. During the run we each had 2 packs of GU vanilla bean gel and 20 oz of Gatorade. That is roughly about 200 calories an hour which seemed to be about right for this distance. I felt good during the run and good after so I am starting to feel pretty good about the fuel intake!

The run itself was really solid. We parked at a Walgreens and started off down the greenbelts. We ran through the lake park and then all the way to the back of Kingwood. Then looped around and came back to the front. We did the 12 miles in 2 hours and 5 minutes which is about a 10:40/mile pace. As required by the training plans (both Higdon and RW) we run this long day at about 75-80% of raceday pace. This way you add the distance on your legs and build up your aerobic base each time out. So far, so good! At this distance I could have maintained about a 9:30/mile pace and still would have felt pretty good. I'd like to be able to maintain a 9:00/mile pace so I still have some work to do!

Tomorrow is going to be a swimming day. I have some early appointments so I am going to bed right now!

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

1/2 Marathon Training: 3.1 Mile Run + Programming Notes

I woke up today and my back was feeling so much better. I did some more intense stretching, ala P90X warm-ups, and actually had a little sweat going before stepping outside and this really made me feel good!

According to the weather report we were supposed to have had a cold front move through last night and the humidity was to be drastically reduced. Well, I walked outside with the pugs and this was not the case! Brutal humidity - 84 degrees at 6am! Probably a good thing because the back will stay looser with this weather. However, shortly after the run the front came through and is still coming through and the temperature is 62 degrees right now. That is freezing for us Texans! I am wearing jeans and a long sleeve shirt right now.

Anyways, my next decision was do I just do the light 30 minute run that is planned for my 1/2 mary training program or do I bust ass and see what pace time I can do for the 5k? Coming off some back pain the easy 30 minute run was, without question the right answer. But if you are a frequent reader of my blog you probably know already that I did the bust ass 5k sprint!

Yep, I started off fast and it was a killer. I got the HR up to 170bpm in the first mile and by mile two it was up to 178 bpm! I have been doing a lot of aerobic base training lately and the uncomfortable anaerobic zone accounted for about 85% of my run today. Hard but awesome! According to my Garmin 305 my time for the 3.1 miles was 22:06. That is a PR for me in a 5k by more than a minute and my middle mile was done in 6:52. Which is the first time I have done a sub-7 minute mile since I started running.

One mistake I made was that I did not bring any hydration with me. I figured that it was such a short distance that I wouldn't need any water or Gatorade --WRONG! By the time I finished mile 2 I was freaking thirsty. I am talking dry mouth, heaving thirsty! My last mile was 8:10 and I think I lost at least a minute because I was dehydrated. Normally that distance shouldn't really need that much hydration but I completely disregarded the humidity and that was a mistake. Oh well. live and learn!

So a couple of developments in the training department here in my household! Annie has decided that she is going to do the Austin Marathon as opposed to the Austin 1/2 Marathon on Feb 14th. I am proud of her and plan on helping her train as much as I can. I am still planning on doing the 1/2 mary. My reason for not doing the full distance is that I have committed to doing an Olympic Distance Triathlon in April. The swim portion of this Tri is an Ocean swim in the Gulf of Mexico. I cannot devote all of my training time to running if I plan on surviving the OWS in the Gulf. I'd like to do the marathon but am concerned the beating it will put my body through would adversely effect my Tri training. I might change my mind down the road but for now my focus is on Triathlon.

Another programming change is that since she is now doing a marathon we are ditching the Runner's World 1/2 Marathon Training program and picking up the Hal Higdon Marathon Training program on week 7. This pretty much starts where we are right now so the transition should be rather seamless. I plan on doing this until my Tri plan begins in December.

Also, I just ordered a new Garmin Forerunner 305 for Annie. When we run together we only need one but since she has committed to the Marathon I thought this would be a nice surprise gift for her to help keep her motivated! They are on sale at Amazon.com for $139.99, if anyone is interested. This is an awesome price for an awesome training device! Oh, if anyone reading this knows Annie don't mention it to her - Thanks!

Tomorrow is our normally scheduled long run (12 miles this week) but we are having a community wide garage sale (200 Homes are participating) that starts at 6am and we need to get rid of some junk so we are taking tomorrow off and doing the long run on Sunday morning instead. I might try and get a bike ride in tomorrow if I have time.

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

1/2 Marathon Training: Recap & 9 Mile Run

Howdy y'all ...

Well, I've been away for a few days with work and babysitting. Thursday I did get in my scheduled 30 minute run. I didn't have my Garmin but am guessing I ran around 3.5 miles or so. Friday and Saturday were complete wastes of a day because of work so I was unable to do anything other than work.

I got back to Houston late on Saturday and went to stay at my friends house where Annie was waiting for me. She was with the kids (1.5 and 3.5 years old) and we played all night. I was completely exhausted and crashed out as soon as the kids did.

On Sunday morning I got up before everyone else and went out in my friends neighborhood to get in my 9 miles. Last week I was all excited because the humidity was dramatically reduced. Well, the humidity was back and stronger than ever. I was sweating by the time I hit the bottom of the driveway - man it was hot! However, I pushed on and got through the entire 9 miles and it took me 1 hour and 28 minutes. That is a 9:45/mile pace, not bad for 9 miles in a blast furnace!

We are starting Week 7 of the Half Marathon Training Program. Here is the schedule for the rest of the week:

WEEK 7:

MON: 45 min moderate
TUE: 30-40 min (Swimming)
WED: 50 min easy
THU: 30-40 min (Swimming)
FRI: 30 min easy
SAT: 10 miles conversational
SUN: Cycling

I am going to try and work in some additional swimming during the week when I can.

Today is the 45 min moderate run. I'd love to do it outside but it is POURING right now. Might be a treadmill day!

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

1/2 Marathon Training: 50 Minute Run (5.21 Miles)

I stepped outside this morning and something was wrong? I couldn't exactly figure it out but things go ever crazier after we started to run. I mean I actually was running for like a 1/2 mile and I wasn't sweating profusely over my entire body and it didn't feel like a blast furnace was hitting me in the face. My heart rate was not shooting through the roof and for the first time in a long time it did not feel like I was running in a swamp! Then I realized that fall has finally hit Texas and it is glorious!

Man, it was awesome to be out in cool weather. When I say cool I mean 72 degrees. Many of you will think that is hot. I had goose bumps.

The best part was that my run was awesome because of the temperature. I did 5.21 miles in the planned 50 minute run and this was supposed to be the "easy run" day. So my easy pace is like 9:40/mile now! I easily could have knocked another minute or so off that pace and will do that on the next moderate run day. My heart rate did not get above 148bpm for the entire run!!

Tomorrow is supposed to be a cross training day and Friday is supposed to be a 30 minute run. Well, I am leaving for San Antonio tomorrow night for work and will be there until Saturday. I will be working all day and night on Friday so I am going to miss a workout. Instead of missing a run I am going to do the 30 minutes tomorrow and just miss a cross training day. I will be back in Houston on Saturday evening sometime and if I am not to exhausted from driving I am going to do my 9 mile long run then. If I am wiped out then I will do the 9 miles on Sunday morning. Then on Monday things should be back to normal and I can continue on with my scheduled training.

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

1/2 Marathon Training: 45 Minute Run (4.8 Miles)

This morning was one of those rare mornings when I struggled immensely with my run. Usually, when I begin running it takes a mile or two until I get loose and find a zone and a comfortable pace. Today the zone was never found!

At first I was thinking it was because of all the miles I put on my legs yesterday while cycling but my legs actually felt pretty good. Then I looked over at my wife and noticed she was laboring as hard as I was and she looked back at me and said, "This humidity is killing me!"

That was it. Living in Houston the humidity is part of everyday life from June to September. However, the last week or so it has really subsided and we must have become used to it being lessened! Well, this morning the humidity came roaring back with a vengeance and felt like a 100 pound weight on my shoulders. Usually after a run I feel awesome and invigorated - this morning I just felt beat down and cannot wait until this weather has changed for good.

Anyways, still got my work in for 45 minutes. It ended up being 4.8 miles. Here is the remaining 1/2 Marathon schedule for the remainder of Week 6:

WEEK 6

MON: 45 min moderate (Run)
TUE: 30-40 min XT (Swimming)
WED: 50 min easy (Run)
THU: 30-40 min XT (Swimming)
FRI: 30 min easy (Run)
SAT: 9 miles conversational (Run)
SUN: Rest (Cycling)

This is going to be an impossible week to get the schedule in as planned. I will be in San Antonio for work on Friday and Saturday, returning home late Saturday evening. Those two days are going to be long work days so training more than likely is not going to happen. When I get home on Saturday I have to meet my wife at a friends house. We will be watching our friends two kids (3 and 1 1/2) until Monday morning so I am going to have 3 days that I potentially may not get a workout in .... we are going to have to work something out because I might go crazy!

Tomorrow is a Swim Day!

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff