07/31/2005

Workout: general aerobic 7mi.

The "second half" of my long run, continued from Saturday due to extenuating circumstances. I'd say we lucked out as the weather was pretty cool for late July in metro DC.

Booger & I also went to Jake O'Hanlon's 2nd birthday party at the Lee RECenter, which in itself was a whole other kind of cross-training...[photos]

07/30/2005

Workout: general aerobic 10mi.

Today was originally scheduled to be a 17mi. long run, but the babysitter called in sick. Since the weather was somewhat cooler--at least relative to last week--Booger and I took the jog stroller along the southern MVT. I imagine most organized running groups, if any, had long since departed the trail, though there were numerous jackpipes on bikes.

One observation from today was this: running with that jog stroller is a lot more work than I previously thought! I guess I never realized how much resistance it puts up, but it makes sense considering the seating area is effectively a big canvas parachute. Pushing that along open-river stretches for 10 mi. can be a chore, to say the least.

07/29/2005

Workout: recovery 5mi.

I was a bit more winded and sore than usual for a 5mi. run, no doubt due to the softball game the night before. While we disappointingly didn't win that game, I survived unscathed without any injuries, an obvious concern for the rest of training.

07/28/2005

Workout: general aerobic 10mi.

Hmmm. Normally this would have been a 'rest' day. Instead, 10 miles. Fun.

I've actually gotten used to the early morning routine, even getting a few things done after running and before Booger wakes up for breakfast. This has been encouraging because one of my bigger concerns going into formal training was how well I'd be able to accommodate the schedule.

07/27/2005(b)

Workout: hill reps 12 X 400m.

I plan to continue my Wednesday evening hill workouts, since it seemed to serve me well the prior weekend. Also in the back of my mind is the 14th Street Bridge, which I believe this year is at Mile 20. It looks amazingly flat when you're driving; not so flat after you've run 20 miles.

07/27/2005(a)

Workout: recovery 5mi.

The weather pundits were calling for another scorcher, so Booger and I hit the MVT right after breakfast. Still, it was one of the more challenging "easy" 5 miles I'll probably do this season, though he didn't seem to mind.

One unrelated note: at the end of Montgomery Street a squad car was staked out next to the trail. Apparently a young man has been frequenting the trail and exposing himself to female passersby. Nice.

07/26/2005

Workout: Lactate threshold: 9mi w/4mi @ 15K or half-marathon pace.

I really should be using my HRM to gauge the intensity of these efforts, instead of relying on my old Timex, because my splits were not ideal, to say the least:

Mile 1: 06:03
Mile 2: 06:24
Mile 3: 06:29
Mile 4: 06:10
Total: 25:06

The math adds up to about a 06:17 pace, which I think is a bit unrealistic to maintain over 26+ miles. The 6:44 pace I established in Sunday's race seems more attainable, though the trade-off of an additional 13.1 miles versus the hills is debatable as to which would affect my pace more.

07/25/2005

Workout: rest.

When I made the changes last week to my training schedule to get ready for the race on Sunday, I'd neglected to make accommodations for the day after the race. Originally it was slated to be 9 miles with 4 of those at 15K pace.

By 9pm Sunday night, it was clear to me that this was not such a good idea. Though I'd felt fresh throughout the day, by evening I was rapidly tiring and feeling some soreness. As such I made a command decision to move my rest day that week to Monday, and shift all other workouts (except the Wednesday evening hill fest) back one day.

This proved to be quite wise.

07/24/2005 [Riley's Rumble Half Marathon]

Workout: Riley's Rumble Half Marathon.

Today was the first concrete benchmark of my training progress, and admittedly I am pleased with the results.

Everyone seemed to benefit from a day much, much cooler and less humid than recent weeks. I'd venture to say it was around 70 degrees or so at the start, with about 65% relative humidity. Very comfortable. After learning of the six waterstops, I belted on only 12oz. of Gatorade, leaving the two 4oz. cannisters--and their added weight--behind. Lastly, just prior to the race I had a Succeed sodium tablet, and brought another for the turn.

Having run the course last Saturday, and having suffered miserably through extreme heat and humidity, I was quite aware of the need for better strategery, primarily a slower start so as to save energy for the later miles. Luckily the mass of runners forced my hand, as the first two miles came in at 15:32, most of that done whilst dodging to and fro. I smiled internally as I saw naive colleagues sprint up the first hill. I was sure I would see them again soon.

After approximately four miles I'd settled into a good pace and was passing others with ease. Contrary to past hill-efforts in races, I opted to keep good form with high knees and a straight torso as opposed to trying to maintain a steady race pace up the hill. The tactic seemed worthwhile as I noticed most of the initial hills did not push my heartrate beyond 166.

By mile 5, I was in a very comfortable and brisk pace, so comfortable that I didn't even bother to keep splits of my progress. Rather, I decided my goal was now simply twofold: pass at least 10 more runners before finishing, and complete the final 8+ miles in strong, consistent fashion.

The first goal initially seemed daunting, as I was no longer approaching many runners as I had before. By mile 6, the front of the peleton had separated into two distinct groups in front of me: the serious, dozen or so hardcore runners who actually had visions of winning the race, and a string of strong runners trailing ever father behind. I, of course, was in the latter group.

It was also at about this mile marker, or soon thereafter, that the leaders passed us in the opposite direction. By rough estimates, they were 1 1/2 miles in front of me and pulling away. Guys, save me a Gatorade at the finish line!

By the turn I'd overtaken 1 of the 10 runners I'd set as a race-day goal. I was so caught up in the chase and being conscious of my pace, that I neglected to record a split at the turn; I think it clocked in at 46:52. Not great, but I had to take into account that the first two miles were effectively out of my control and a good 1 - 1:30 off my capable pace. Better to take it slow when necessary than to turn an ankle being aggressive.

It was awhile before I caught the next pack of runners, but when I did I was able to cruise by them in pretty quick succession. I ended up passing 18 in all after setting my goal, and felt really good the whole way. Only the sprint for the last mile had me pushing the heartrate above intended levels.

I ended up placing 35th overall, with a time of 01:30:21, which translates to a 43:29 on the way back. I think the carbo loading program may have actually helped!

07/22/2005

Workout: rest.

OK, so I didn't actually do any marathon-training exercise. But I could not in good conscious let such a glorious, humidity-depleted day pass without some semblance of outdoor effort.

As such, I turned to the one recent bane of my existence: the front lawn. Seemingly dying from lack of photosynthesis, I gave it one last college try. Aerated. Fertilized. Over-seeded. Water profusely. Pray.

Rest, indeed.

07/22/2005

Workout: 6 miles.

Originally this was scheduled as a medium-long run of 15mi. on Saturday. Due to the race and the need to taper, it was then moved to Friday, cut to 12 miles, then 10 miles, then finally, once the reality of Sunday set in, cut to 6 miles (but at marathon race pace, or better).

In the end I did about 6 1/4 in 41:51.

07/21/2005

Workout: rest.

Evidently, the prescribed workout was not followed in the true sense of the word.

Yes, no running or biking or other exercisin'. But there was an hour chasing Booger around the playground at Maury Elementary in the morning, and then another hour of chasing/chaperoning him around the pool at Jefferson-Houston in the afternoon.

Oy.

07/20/2005 (b)

Workout: hill reps 10 X 400m.

The last intense effort before I begin tapering into the weekend for the race. Originally, I was slated to do 14 reps, but decided it was more prudent to cut this back to 10.

In other related news, I am going to try a 3-4 day carbohydrate loading program to see if it has any effect, performance-wise. The course last week during my test run at 6am was daunting enough. I think that race conditions and a full hour later start merit the need to seek every edge possible. Should the loading prove worthwhile, I'll plan to use it for future races as well, most notably the MCM.

07/20/2005 (a)

Workout: general aerobic 10mi.

Another early-morning casual stroll along the MVT. I think it was close to 150F already at 5:15am. I sure hope it's not this hot in October. Today is the last of my hard workout days, and I am cutting back the workout durations/intensity in order to rest for the race on Sunday.

07/19/2005

Workout: recovery 5mi.

Yet another stereotypical, triple-H, summer day in the nation's capital. Booger and I took the stroller to the MVT northbound for our run before retreating to the cool confines of the Barrett Branch library.

07/18/2005

Workout: general aerobic + speed, 8mi. w/10 X 100m strides.

It's possible that overnight the surface of the sun actually touched the earth, as it was hard to discern even at 5:30am that it was not in fact the middle of the day in Needles, CA. Or as Matthew Broderick once opined in Biloxi Blues, it was "Africa hot...". I don't think I lost a single ounce of body weight since every drop of sweat was sponged up by my t-shirt.

07/17/2005

Workout: rest/cross-training.

I decided to combine a light workout with some additional reconnaissance work. Despite it being the muggiest day of the summer to date, I headed--via bicycle--towards Old Town to check out the Mount Vernon Trail - southbound. While my primary motivation was the throngs of ignorant weekend runners training on the northern half of the trail between Old Town and Rosslyn, I was also egged on by curiosity as I'd never been on that part of the trail.

It took me awhile to pick up the trail markers, and I logged about 12 miles in all point-to-point. The trail has quite a few more turns and fewer straightaways, but it looks like it will be a good option to try for future high-mileage weekend runs.

07/16/2005

Workout: medium-long run 14mi.

I've made a series of strategic changes to my training schedule to accommodate the upcoming Riley's Rumble on July 24th. The first of these occurred today...and proved a harbinger of painful days ahead.

My plan was to on Sunday drive up to Potomac to inspect the hilly course for the following week's race. On the sage advice of my running coach, Nick, I instead turned today's medium-long run into a preliminary "recon" run.

Getting up at around 4:30am, I packed up my stuff and drove to Potomac. Arriving at Riley's Lock Road, I then drove the approximate course, there and back. Ooooh boy...it seemed hilly even in the VW, with the RPMs regularly hitting the 4000 range. I could only imagine how this was going to translate on the heart rate monitor. Luckily, I observed that the most intimidating hills were at the start, at the turn, and near the end. Fun.

The splits turned out as follows:
Out: 00:45:16
Back: 00:45:36
Total: 01:30:52

I may have shorted the total just a bit at the turn, not being able to find any old road markings. But I think I added a bit at the end. At worse my actual time may have been closer to 01:32:00.

Regardless, I'm pretty happy with the results, even knowing that I started off much too fast. My strategery improved in on the back-end, and I hope to plan better for the real thing next week.

p.s. other route "participants": 7 cars, 3 rabbits, 1 cyclist and 1 jogger. So much for my concern about running amidst a sea of traffic next week.

07/15/2005

Workout: recovery 4mi.

It had been quite some time since Alex and I enjoyed the Mount Vernon Trail together, so "we" decided to get out there in the morning for this easy run. On the way back we were joined by another runner, who paced along side of us as we chatted. Having been drilled with the need to rest and run recovery workouts accordingly, we were moving at an extremely slow pace--probably around 9 min/mi. I didn't have the heart to tell him that we were intentionally plodding along like circus elephants.

07/14/2005

Workout: rest/cross-training.

In honor of that "committed, hardworking nation of individuals", on this Bastille Day I opted to rest. Decided against the pack of smokes and six glasses of wine, however.

07/13/2005 (b)

Workout: 12 X 400m hill repeats.

With the Rumble fast approaching on July 24th, I've decided that these second workouts on Wednesdays are well worth the extra effort. One obvious drawback, however, is that they inevitably occur during the hottest part of the day, between 5 and 6pm.

It seems that not only can one not fool Mother Nature, but you can't even negotiate with her.

07/13/2005 (a)

Workout: general aerobic 10 mi.

Still smarting a bit from the whomping on Monday, mentally if not physically. With the alarm going off at 4:45am and my departeure at 5:15am, pretty soon I may be hitting the road before I go to sleep!

The DC area is unbelievable. Outside of my days in Alabama and Mississippi, I've never lived in a place like here where the humidity is 110% before 6am. Unreal.

07/12/2005

Workout: recovery 4mi.

After the ass-kicking yesterday morning, I was looking for that much anticipated "rest" moniker, but it looks like this schedule works within some slight variations. Still, you can be assured that these four miles were not run anywhere near the pace of yesterday's blitzkrieg.

07/11/2005

Workout: lactate threshold, 8mi w/4mi at 15K or half-marathon pace.

Lactate who? What? Is that jogging while carry a jug of milk?

No, rather it is the running speed at which lactate starts to rapidly accumulate in muscles and blood. In other words, it is a fancy way to assess the point in one's temple in which the energy being used is just enough to keep up the maxium running pace. Basically it means this: prepare for a good ass-kicking.

I'd thought the introduction had already take place, but apparently not. "Rubber, meet road. Road, meet rubber."

Wearing my Polar S120 HRM for the first time, I jogged the first two miles down to the waterfront, and then prepared for my "4mi at 15K or half-marathon pace". By my rough calculations, that meant approximately 6:30/mi, for about a 1:25 half-marathon time.

The first mile was brutal as I contemplated how I could possibly maintain a pace like this for 26.2 miles. But I quickly realized why it was so brutal: first mile split was 6:14. Ok, need to slow down. Second split: 6:15. OK, dumbass--need to slow down MORE than that. Third mile was 6:35, fourth was 6:38; much better.

When I first put on the HRM in the morning, my heart rate was at around 60 beats/min. By the middle of my 4-mile stretch, it was in the high 160s. Zoinks!

In the end, a very good workout, and one that I won't soon forget.

07/10/2005

Workout: rest/cross training.

God was a wise man...err...deity...indeed, to assign this day as one of rest. For my "cross-training", I opted for a third game in three days at Langley HS for their 13-14 Babe Ruth Tourney. Luckily it was around 90+ degrees and I had on long pants, heavy equipment and was able to stand up for a good three hours.

Nice.

07/09/2005

Workout: medium-long run 13mi.

My joy over the early-morning schedule allowing me to avoid the triple-H threats of DC metro summers was, apparently, short-lived.

Last weekend as I approached the Washington Marina on my return run, I was greeted by a throng of roughly 50 runners, in varying sized groups. Sadly, few of them understand even the most basic of trail etiquette. Even more dismal, most of them apparently were blind, since they did not recognize the yellow dotted line which divided the left and right sides of the trail.

Today, however, my discomfort reached nightmare proportions. Despite hitting the middle of my run at roughly 6:15am, I nevertheless encountered the full brunt of Hurricane Stupid: over 350 runners clogging the trail like mayonnaise in an artery. It was such a chaotic scene--think "shopping mall the day after Thanksgiving--that one frustrated cyclist was actually riding his bike on the GW Parkway.

Otherwise, a good run and a promise to seek out other venues for training. Oh, the humanity.

07/08/2005

Workout: recovery 5mi.

Normally I would take Booger in the stroller on these easy, low-mileage recovery runs. However, the weather forecast was calling for some rain so I decided I would spare him the free outdoor bath and go in the early AM.

While my pace was a leisurely 8 1/2min per mile, the rain unfortunately was not leisurely, but rather, "monsoon-ely". I will almost always run as scheduled despite the weather conditions, since my philosophy is that I cannot control the weather on race day, so I should prepare for the worst. On this morning, I started out running amidst a light sprinkle. By the time I was 1/4mi into the route, my vision was blurred by a wall of rain.

Oh well...at least it's good for the lawn and flowers!

07/07/2005

Workout: rest/recovery.

As prescribed. Booger and I went down to Maury Elementary so he could run around the ball field a bazillion times, and I got to chase behind him. Fun for all.

07/06/2005 (b)

Workout: 8 X 400m hill repeats.

My first attempt at a 2-a-day workout, and luckily I selected one of the hottest days of the year, to date. I ran up & down the hill down the street by the rich snots and called it a day. Looks like a full rest day is on tap for tomorrow.

07/06/2005 (a)

Workout: general aerobic 10mi.

My earliest morning yet, with a 4:45am alarm and 5:00am wake-up. Based on the rivers of sweat due to the unbelievable humidity, I'm not sure I could have waited much more to depart, else I may have sweated away to nothing.

In order to better prepare for Riley's Rumble Half-Marathon later this month, I plan to add weekly second hard workouts on Wednesdays to include some hill repetitions. We'll see how well the temple responds on Thursday...

07/05/2005

Workout: rest/cross-training.

While I had designs on a 10mi bike ride to Arlington in the evening, my plans were scuttled by some annoying thunderstorms. Instead, I settled for a 2mi stroll with Alex to the playground, 45min of chasing Booger around the grounds, and 100 situps & 60 pushups in the evening.

07/04/2005

Workout: general aerobic + speed, 8mi with 10 x 100m strides.

Nothing like celebrating the nation's birthday with some hamburgers, beers and a few full-out sprints at 7am. Again, though, the concept is growing on me when I think about how much cooler it is in the morning, coupled with the fact that I have not spent the earlier part of the day before my workout chasing and lifting a 26lb. infant multiple times.

07/03/2005

Workout: rest/cross-training.

And on the seventh day ...He rested. Genesis 2:2

I make no claims whatsoever to galaxy creating tasks like the Big Guy, but I opted to rest on this day. A two hour apheresis donation and three hours of chasing a bunch of 9 & 10 year-olds around the baseball diamond seemed to me to be enough "cross-training" for this day.

07/02/2005

Workout: medium-long run, 12mi.

Another early test, and I felt pretty good throughout. To help with hydration, I loaded my fuel belt with 20oz. of Gatorade for the trip. The run took me from the Ruffner Road HQ to just past National Airport along the MVT, and back. A pretty good morning for running.

Unfortunately, many other marathon enthusiasts felt the same, as the trail was littered with numerous runners and training groups. One in particular, the Potomac Runners, seemed to not understand the purpose of the dotted yellow line down the center of the path, as they were running in groups 3, 4 and 5-across.

Jackpipes.

07/01/2005

Workout: recovery, 4mi.

Since the workout title implies an easy pace, I plan to do these with Alex in the jog stroller, and we headed out to the Mt. Vernon Trail along the Alexandria waterfront for this jog. Apparently we were in much better shape than the cyclist who took a nasty spill around the blind corner by the Mirant Energy plant, as police and paramedics were summoned to extricate the carcass.

Nice day for a jog, strewn bodies notwithstanding.