Second Speed Week

We talked about goal-setting on Tuesday night and then went out for a 5.2km run. The run felt good. I wondered how my legs were going to feel after the long run on the greasy, snow-covered roads. I was happy to know that they were feeling fine, light and energetic. My left psoas is still acting up a bit but it feels much more subdued.


Last night we did week 2 of speed training:
2.5-K warm-up
3 x Yasso 800's / In-line Surges @ 4:20 (2:10) pace
2.5-K cool down
For 9-K total.


It felt great and Sandra joined our pace group to give us a push, which I appreciated. I had a very rough ("ruff") day at work and just wanted the day to be over. I was exhausted. Once we got out there, all that washed away and I was able to burn off steam through my efforts. I was a little ahead of pace for most of our repeats which I was happy about. I felt good and just went with it. And boy, do I ever feel this speed work in my butt!

"The goal is not to be better than the other man, but to be better than your previous self."
~ Sprichwort der Hindus

Solo 20km Training Run

It was a busy weekend as we hosted a February Frolic up at our property. Many of our Alaskan malamute-owner friends came up to enjoy some mushing and ski-jorring. We had a scheduled 18 km run for Sunday with our training group. I got in a 12km run with my dog, WiiGii on Friday. It was just an easy pace, no pressure, have fun, feel good run in the sunshine.

 

WiiGii and me on our 12km run and bumping into our friend, Kim.

On Sunday, I ran from home, instead of joining up with the group in town. I just had too many house guests and a big day of mushing ahead of us. I headed out at 7am on roads that were covered with about an inch of fresh snow. They were quite greasy underneath, so it made for a heavy run. I ate 3/4 of a Kashi bar right before I left and had Replenish electrolyte replacement drink on me as well as Sharkies. I am glad I had this opportunity to do a long run on my own, in my own head, and to test out the various fuels and liquids on my runs. I drank too much early on in my run and had a pretty full bladder the entire time. I pee'd under the overpass at Joe King's road (the 1/2 way mark) and a trucker saw me and honked his horn:) And I now know that Sharkie's aren't really the fuel for me -- not if I enjoy bloating, gas and cramping. Forget them. I am going to give raisins a try. The electrolyte replacement drink is ok, it doesn't bother me. I just need to monitor my intake better early on in a run. I forgot about the "only drink if you feel thirsty" rule.

I ran 20.5km. My time was not great, but I did stick within a 6:35-7:35/km pace range, on average, for the long slow distance run. I guess that isn't too bad, for me, as that is what the pace calculations for LSD training for my projected race goal are. It just felt sluggish because of the greasy, snow-covered roads and that I didn't have my training group along with me to push/pull me along. It was a great morning, though. I look forward to doing that route again.

At home, I enjoyed a hot bowl of oatmeal and then went out for a 2.5km ski-jor with WiiGii. That was a nice way to provide my body with some active recovery, as I have not been too sore in the two days post long run. We have a 21km run planned next weekend, followed taper week, and then the Chilly Half.

Yasso 800's

"And now you've got an easier way: you've got Yasso 800s. Want to run a 3:30 marathon? Then train to run a bunch of 800s in 3:30 each. Between the 800s, jog for the same number of minutes it took you to run your repeats. Training doesn't get any simpler than this, not on this planet or anywhere else in the solar system.

Bart begins running his Yasso 800s a couple of months before his goal marathon. The first week he does four. On each subsequent week, he adds one more until he reaches 10. The last workout of Yasso 800s should be completed at least 10 days before your marathon, and 14 to 17 days would probably be better.

The rest of the time, just do your normal marathon training, paying special attention to weekend long runs. Give yourself plenty of easy runs and maybe a day or two off during the week." ~ Amby Burfoot, Runner's World 09/28/2001

 Tonight we began our speed work and we did two Yasso 800's and two leapfrog-style surges. We alternated them and I ran with the 4:20 group. We had no idea how to pace ourselves in the first Yasso and went out at a 100m dash, record-setting pace. I think we made Bolt look like a slacker, until our heart and lungs started to explode out of our chests and our pace backed off and then regulated. We managed to finish the first Yasso in 4:22. The second in 4:19. Not bad at all. I realized that John, one of our pace group members, had the pace down to a "T", so we just had to stick by him.

I enjoyed the surges, too. We used to do workouts like this in flatwater canoe/kayak training. We ran in a line at just slightly under Yasso pace, and the person in the back of the line surges to overtake the lead and so on. I enjoyed the pace and rhythm of this training technique.

Overall I loved the workout tonight. It was challenging and felt good engaging the fast twitch muscles. We put in about 7.2km overall including a 2km warm-up and cool down. I look forward to building on this next week!

Yoga for Runners

Yin Yang...

Balance...

I have seen reference to their being a couple of different "sides" to exercise camps. Some are of the yoga-pilates extreme and at the other end of the spectrum is running. I think this is a silly perspective as I have always felt that yoga and running are the perfect compliments to one another and I know many opinions agree with me on that. In both disciplines, your potential is solely dependent on your body and mind's capabilities as opposed to equipment that could fail you, another person's judgment, the skill and cohesiveness of teammates, and other external factors. I love thinking of it that way.

Yoga assists you with your breath, with learning to quiet the mind and with strengthening your core, not to mention your mental focus. Very critical tools you need as a distance runner. Yoga keeps muscles and connective tissue fluid and pliable which obviously is going to assist in keeping you injury fluid and your running comfortable and flowing.

I have not yet read the Chi Running book. I will get to it at some point.But it has always seemed logical to me. I had someone pose a question to me the other day, "How do you do it? I get so bored after 5K." And that is my point, you have to quiet the mind and allow yourself to feel the breath and go inside. You go to that place, that zone, where you wit the sweet spot and can seemingly go forever. It is that balance, that cooperation of mind and body wherein if your hips feel tight or your legs heavy, your strong mind can get you through; focusing on your breath can help you overcome the distractions of physical fatigue, or other external elements.
I never run with an ipod,or on a treadmill with a TV in front of me, for these very reasons. I do not want to become reliant on external factors, aside from scenery or light conversation with a fellow runner, to get me through a run.

We had an inspiring talk in our clinic last night by Ann Green of Studio Bliss. She is a cancer-survivor, two time Olympian, mother, wife, and yoga instructor and a complete inspiration who has a yoga program designed for runners. Every Sunday, after our long slow distance run, we join Ann at her studio overlooking the Bay and do an hour or so of recuperative yoga. It truly is Bliss. If you are a runner and not currently practicing yoga at all, I urge you to give it a try. Your body and mind will benefit in more ways that you can imagine.

 "Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired in the morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired."
~ George S. Patton, U.S. Army General, 1912 Olympian

18km in Bitter Headwind

Our Running Room training group gathered this morning, shortly after a brilliant sunrise, to do our long slow distance run of 18km. The run actually measured in at 17.5km. The sun, which we haven't seen for days, gave the impression that it might be warmer out that the forecast predicted, but no. It was -13C and colder, much colder, in the wind. The sun was really nice to see. We started out at a good pace, a little fast, actually, for a long slow distance run. We were maintaining 5:54-6:14/km and managed to carry that pace throughout the run. I was struggling a little bit. It wasn't my easiest run and not for the distance as I felt ka-ka from the start. Heavy, tight, tired legs. I did run an easy 6 junk-klicks yesterday and even that run felt tight and heavy -- probably an after effect of our 9-hills workout on Wednesday.

I suppose this is all normal and to be expected when we are entering the final four weeks before the race. We have two more long runs and then the taper, so we are building. And the fact that we maintained a pace that was pretty much a race pace and finished with a strong time has me excited. If the build, taper and race day all go according to plan, I might just beat my projected time by a lot! Very cool. I have to watch my left hip. I am having strained hip flexor issues.

We followed the run today with an hour of yoga, a latte and omelette and an afternoon of dog-sledding. It was just an ideal day in every way.

9 Hill Medley

Last night we hit the final night of hill training as we head into the final stretch of the half-marathon training program. Next week we start speedwork. Six weeks ago we began our hill training with three hills. Back then, we felt it. Last night we clobbered nine hills and the total workout brought us to 12km. We also threw in the flight of 107 stairs which bring us to a beautiful scenic lookout over Kempenfelt Bay. I wish I had packed a camera. One of these days I will have to capture that view to share. We had become very familiar with five of the hills, but one street presented a daunting steep grade to us. I cursed it from the bottom. I ran it. And then I cursed it from the top. But, did it ever hurt so good! I was quite proud of myself, as many of the other runners had succumbed to walking portions of, or complete hills. I had a fantastic workout last night. Legs are feeling really good and my speed seems to be improving. I can really appreciate how far we have come with the training we have put in thus far.

On the topic of speed, the Speed Demons (elite marathoner group) were also out for some speed-hill training. I was approaching the foot of one hill with my training partner and the Demons were gathered at the base of the hill being instructed by their coach. We quipped to the group as we passed, "Hey, a little less talk and more action!" While we were able to dish out a dose of cocky 'tude, we was unaware than in the next moment we were to prepare to be humbled. The Demons set out like a thunderous herd and blasted past us like a fury. Oh, we were humbled all right.

Groundhog Day Run

Tonight's run was just a 6km and it felt like a sprint. I started out fast and maintained it through sheer determination and by concentrating on using arms. Of course, I forgot the Garmin, but runners who were just a couple minutes ahead were running a 5:00/km, so I might have been doing 6:00. I don't know, and it really doesn't matter tonight as this was just an easy tempo run. Tomorrow night we tackle 8 hills, the set of 107 stairs and what will probably tap out at 12km +. This week is beefing up in intensity and I am looking forward to it.

A man in our group, and one of our co-leaders, asked me if I was interested in being pace buddies with him throughout our upcoming speedwork and the race. He said it is possible for us to race a 2:10-2:15 Half. I'd be thrilled. It was a compliment to say the least. I think it will give me the push I need.

We are at week 13-14 of our training and the race is a month away. I am feeling good, and I wonder if the Sunday yoga really had that much of a positive effect on my legs, as they really did feel fresh!