06/30/2005

Workout: rest/cross-training.

Another road trip with Alex, this time a stroll down to the CVS to have some photos from our beach trip printed. Again, only 2mi, but the 90+ heat made it feel like 10mi.

For good measure I threw in 60 pushups and 100 situps later that evening.

06/29/2005

Workout: general aerobic 9mi

Rubber reintroduced to road.

My first longish run of the campaign, and it was evident I started out too fast. By the time I'd turned and was heading back around the 6-mile mark, a bit of fatigue was already setting in.

This convinced me of the need for another training tool I'd been considering: a heart rate monitor. After reading up on several models, I will probably get one of the Polar HRMs, to aid with gauging level of effort for upcoming workouts of more specific intensity.

06/28/2005

Workout: rest/cross-training.

I could really get used to this every-other-easy-day thing, though I doubt it will last. In the mid-morning, Alex and I strolled down to the park and back (2mi). I'm not sure who got more of a workout: him running all over the playground, or me chasing him!

In addition, to work on strengthening the upper regions I did 60 pushups and 100 situps in the evening. Hopefully this will aid with the millions of arm-pumps I'll need to do over the course of the next four months.

06/27/2005

Workout: general aerobic + speed, 7mi with 10 x 100m strides.

It appears as if the proverbial rubber has now met the proverbial road...

Besides the actual physical regimen, I have committed to finishing my most demanding workouts in the early morning by 6:30am to help with other house residents' work and feeding schedules. Talk about a harsh wake-up call...5am! Ouch. But thinking back on some of those hot, sweltering summer workouts from years past, it was worth it.

06/26/2005

Workout: rest/cross-training

Wow! Any training program whose first day begins with "rest" has got to be a piece of cake, right. In reality, I believe part of my overtraining in 2003 included too few rest or recovery days, so I am encouraged that my new schedule includes several of these per week complementing the longer runs and more intense workouts.

So, to kick things off, I began slowly as prescribed, with a leisurely 45-minute bike ride around Alexandria. In addition to the mild exercise, I stopped by Episcopal High and TC Williams to inspect their track facilities, for future reference.

Training Journal for the 2005 Run For Kids Marathon Challenge

The last time I ran the Marine Corps Marathon in 2003, everything conceivable that could have gone wrong...did. Hot weather that day resulted in dehydration. I started too fast which put me through a struggle in the last 14 miles (read: lots of walking). And I experienced cramps, blisters and other physical pains, none of which were typical for me. In short, it was a disaster. After a PR 3:17 in 2002, my 2003 time regressed to a personally disappointing 3:33.

My initial post-race reaction was that--besides the difficult conditions--I'd overtrained. Indeed, I had been on a 4-6 days/week training schedule for almost a full year, even through winter. But in retrospect, I believe it wasn't how much I'd trained but rather how...or how I did not. More specifically: I trained without any purpose behind the workouts, not did I have measurable and identifiable goals in my training.

This year I will be using the 55-mile 18-week schedule from Advanced Marathoning by Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas. This book spells out a great deal of the science, nutrition and strategy behind successful marathoning. One of the recommendations from the authors is to carefully track and monitor training progress...which is exactly what I will be doing here.

Wish me luck!