Uping the Ante

The cool temps we've been getting lately have definitely made running much easier which in turn makes it more enjoyable. Which makes it easier to run more.

The past couple of weeks have been going well and I feel I've established a good training routine. At the moment, my goal is to run 60-65 miles, get in 2 long quality workouts (Wednesday and Friday), and spend 2-3 hours a week on the elliptical each week.

This morning I was able to get in a good 800m repeat workout. My legs were feeling pretty tired and unresponsive during the warm up. I almost bailed on the workout this morning with the intention of doing it this evening, but I thought I should at least try a few reps to see how it went. My legs never loosened up, but after two reps I was able to find a rhythm and I was amazed at how good I felt aerobically and how I was able to run my best 800m workout of the season, despite my legs feeling dead. I averaged 3:16.5 per rep w/2 min rest (200m jog during the 2 min rest). I could have easily averaged a little faster, but my second rep was in 3:24. Other than that rep I didn't have any one slower than 3:16.

The only thing I'm still trying to establish in my training routine is a good weekly (or at least bi-monthly) long run. I haven't run over 12.5 miles in one run since the end of August. I hope to start getting in some good 15-milers soon, so that I can work my way up to a bi-monthly 20-miler by November. Other than that, things are going great. I've registered for the Houston Half-Marathon toward the end of October. Hopefully I can run a bit faster there this year than I did last year.

Heat Wave

Training has been going quite well. I've averaged ~53 mpw over the past 8 weeks and I've been getting in some pretty good quality workouts. This past week I had a great interval workout, running 8x800m @ 3:17 w/2 min rest (200m jog). However, we have been hit by a little heat wave the past several days. I would be lying if I told you that it hasn't effected my training.

I was hoping to get a good 12.5-mile run this morning with an hour of it at 82-86% of my max heart rate. This is just a bit slower than my half-marathon race effort. The first half of the workout went well and I was running along at a nice clip. However, at about the half-way point I noticed that my heart rate kept hoovering around 87-88% of my max. I slowed down some, but with the heat, humidity and the hills it was almost impossible to get my heart rate to drop. I even slowed to a walk on 2 occasions just to get my heart rate back to 85%, but it was a mute point because as soon as I started running again it would shoot back to 87-88%, even at a slow jog. Once I got to the 92-minute mark in the run, I gave up and walked the remaining way back. I feel my fitness is good, but the heat/humidity the past couple of days has been ridiculous. I'm ready for cooler temps.

The Grind

I haven't updated the blog in a while, as their hasn't been many details to report. I've just been grinding out the work. I'm pleased with the consistency I've shown the past several weeks. I've average about 45 mpw the last 12 weeks and a little over 50 mpw over the last 8 weeks. I've also been able to get in two strength training workouts a week, which I plan to continue through October.

I've been feeling good (relatively) and I've been slowly increasing my mileage to about 60 mpw over the past 3-4 weeks. I'm trying to increase the distance of my long run every other week and I hope to hit my first 20-mile run sometime around the end of October or early November.

I've been getting in 1 or 2 quality workouts each week, but yesterday I did my first "long" quality workout. After my standard 2-mile warm up, I did 2 x 3.25-miles w/5 min rest. My goal was to run each rep between 86-88% of my max heart rate. Thanks to the wonderful weather, I was able to run my first rep in 22:46 at an average HR% of 87% and my second rep in 22:41 at an average HR% of 86%. I was pleased that I was able to average 7 min/mile for both reps. I finished with a 4-mile cool down, to give me 12.5-miles for the workout.

Running Around

The past month has been extremely hectic. I vacationed to Hawaii at the beginning of July. I had a blast and enjoyed my 10 days there. On my second day in Hawaii I ran the Freedom Fest 10k. They list it as a Run/Hike. I wasn't sure what the "Hike" part meant, but I figured that with my experience with running the hills in Huntsville, I didn't have much to worry about. Boy was I wrong! I quickly found out what "Hike" meant. It means that you will come across hills so steep they are impossible to run, so you must hike up them. This was the hardest course I've ever raced and it didn't take long for me to regret the fact this was a 10k and not a 5k. I ended up running 48:51 (7:49/mile). I also went out a bit to fast and paid the price at the end. I haven't done anything faster than mileage pace, and the 7:15 first mile hurt! My brother ended up passed me with about a half-mile left and I didn't have anyway to respond. He ended up beating me by about 20-seconds. He finished 9th overall and I finished 10th.

I didn't run much the rest of time in Hawaii. I stayed active (hiking, rock climbing, swimming, etc), but I only ran twice over the next 8 days. However, since getting back to Texas I've gotten back in the routine and have been doing well. I ran 54-miles this past week, which is my highest mileage week since January. I've also started lifting weights twice a week, spending a little bit of time on the elliptical, and I've started working in some quality workouts again. I feel pretty good at the moment and my mileage runs have been feeling better and better. By the end of August I plan on being back at 60-mile weeks while doing two quality workouts and one or two 10-12 mile runs each week. If I'm doing that my prep for a winter marathon will be right on track.

Feeling Fit :)

I've been grinding out the miles lately. In the month of June I ran 38 times for 196.7 miles (5.176 mpr). It was my best month of training since March and I'm definitely feeling the benefits from the consistency. In early June a 5 to 6 mile run was a tough run, but that run is now pretty standard and I'm getting back to the point where I'm not going to step out of the door unless I plan on running at least 4 miles. My regular long runs have been 8-10 miles and I'll probably start increasing that distance to 12-14 miles by the end of the summer. I ran 8.25-miles tonight and felt great. If I can continue with this training through July 18 I'll start working in a quality workout once a week. I'm looking forward to it, just need to keep grinding out the miles.

Long Run

I ran 10-miles last night with Molly and Victoria around town. I enjoy running with the girls from time to time. It spices things up a bit and they always make me smile when I hear the topics they discuss and their opinions on various subjects. I will say that what their conversations are completely different from what the guys talk about. It reminds me that men are indeed from Mars and women are from Venus.

The run went well and considering it was still about 90 degrees when we started (we started running at 9pm) we ran pretty quick. We started pushing the pace the last mile or so and it felt good to run hard for an extended period of time. I haven't done that in a while. Another positive is that Molly and Victoria appear to be in pretty good shape. Hopefully they can continue to build on their current fitness. If they do they are going to set themselves up for a good cross country season.

Routine

I feel like the routine of running is back. I've run 40-45 miles each of the past two weeks and a 5-6 mile run is not as challenging as it was a few weeks ago. I'm still struggling to keep a respectable pace, but I think that has more to do with the weather than it does with my fitness because I feel strong and effecient.

I ran 7.5 miles last night with Molly while Matt rode the bike. It was a good run, but we ended up averaging around 9min/mile, which is too slow for me to do too often. I think I'm going to do my first real workout sometime this week, probably Thursday or Friday and it will probably be something threshold oriented.