I'm just on the edge of being ready for the Afton 50K on Saturday. I hope I'm more ready than not ready. I ran the 25K loop out there a few weeks ago with some friends. The lure of Afton was too much for one of the guys to resist so he signed up for the 25K. One of the other guys may sign up too. Looks like there will be a great turnout with 300+ registered for both races at this time.
I'm still staying with my plan to run the 50K. I don't care what my time is. I'll have a really successful race if the hills are the only places I walk.
The rest of the week I'm doing some heavy duty tapering.
--Mark
Monday, June 30, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Motivation
I worked out alone this morning. My plan was to run 3 miles outside and then do some core work at the club. I changed my mind and decided to run a hill on the treadmill. Just one hill. I warmed up for one mile and then set the incline to 15% and the speed to 4.0 mph. I imagined I was running up the long gravel hill after the 10K mark in the Afton race. My practice one mile hill took 15 minutes at that slow speed and my HR was in the 144 to 150 range. I won't run the hills like that in the race.... I'll do more of a run/walk up the hills.
On to motivation. While running my hill I was thinking about my motivation for running. Part of my motivation is that my Mom used to run. She passed away in '96 but years earlier she started running when she was about 50. She ran small-town races and had several age group wins in 15K and 10 mile distance. I didn't run then and I'm not sure if I ever watched my Mom run a race. Those years I was in college or working out of state or down here.
About five years ago I started getting back into shape and lost ~35 pounds. I still was not a runner but worked out quite a bit at the club. A few years later, just before I turned 46, I decided to try running. It was so hard in the beginning and the first 10 minutes of each run was very uncomfortable. There was no doubt what my first race would be. I was going to run a 2-mile race in my hometown. Race day came and I ran a 14:34. At that point in time I had only run outside a total of 20 miles and maybe 50 total miles. I was 2nd in my age group and the guy (Scott) that beat me was someone I knew as a kid. He always wins his age group.
I was determined to beat Scott the next year. I trained as well as I could as a beginning runner and my only goal was to beat Scott. So it was race day again. Scott and his buddies were lined on at the left side of the start, I was on the right. Then off we went. About 1/3 of a mile into the race I passed Scott and he never caught me. I finished in 12:56 which ended up being 1:12 ahead of Scott. Yeah, baby!
I was sitting on a bench during the awards ceremony and there were 2 women sitting on a picnic table behind me. At about the time the 2-mile awards were starting, one woman said to the other "This is where Scott will get up". I was thinking to myself "Wrong, lady. This is where I will get up!" My 7th grade gym teacher called my name and was smiling widely as she handed me my medal. I was proud of myself and knew my Mom would have been proud of me too if she were there. I was very happy to have gotten a 1st place age group finish as she had done years earlier.
That motivation and personal success has continued and today I stretch my goals to longer and longer distances. What I enjoy about running now is being able to train with my friends. I look forward to running with them several times a week, talking about future goals, races, current events, and normal chit-chat. I can't wait to get together with them for a 12-miler on Friday.
--Mark
On to motivation. While running my hill I was thinking about my motivation for running. Part of my motivation is that my Mom used to run. She passed away in '96 but years earlier she started running when she was about 50. She ran small-town races and had several age group wins in 15K and 10 mile distance. I didn't run then and I'm not sure if I ever watched my Mom run a race. Those years I was in college or working out of state or down here.
About five years ago I started getting back into shape and lost ~35 pounds. I still was not a runner but worked out quite a bit at the club. A few years later, just before I turned 46, I decided to try running. It was so hard in the beginning and the first 10 minutes of each run was very uncomfortable. There was no doubt what my first race would be. I was going to run a 2-mile race in my hometown. Race day came and I ran a 14:34. At that point in time I had only run outside a total of 20 miles and maybe 50 total miles. I was 2nd in my age group and the guy (Scott) that beat me was someone I knew as a kid. He always wins his age group.
I was determined to beat Scott the next year. I trained as well as I could as a beginning runner and my only goal was to beat Scott. So it was race day again. Scott and his buddies were lined on at the left side of the start, I was on the right. Then off we went. About 1/3 of a mile into the race I passed Scott and he never caught me. I finished in 12:56 which ended up being 1:12 ahead of Scott. Yeah, baby!
I was sitting on a bench during the awards ceremony and there were 2 women sitting on a picnic table behind me. At about the time the 2-mile awards were starting, one woman said to the other "This is where Scott will get up". I was thinking to myself "Wrong, lady. This is where I will get up!" My 7th grade gym teacher called my name and was smiling widely as she handed me my medal. I was proud of myself and knew my Mom would have been proud of me too if she were there. I was very happy to have gotten a 1st place age group finish as she had done years earlier.
That motivation and personal success has continued and today I stretch my goals to longer and longer distances. What I enjoy about running now is being able to train with my friends. I look forward to running with them several times a week, talking about future goals, races, current events, and normal chit-chat. I can't wait to get together with them for a 12-miler on Friday.
--Mark
Saturday, June 21, 2008
another nice Afton run
I did an early morning 25K Afton loop this morning with friends. My time was 2:45 which was a few minutes slower than last week but that was due to a few extra stops. So really I ran the loop at essentially the same pace as last Sunday. My heart rate averaged 136 vs Sunday's 144. I think the lower HR today was due mostly to running in lower temperature conditions. Today was my last practice loop at Afton before the race on July 5th. I feel really good right now and feel confident about the 50K.
I skipped breakfast before the run today. I wanted to see if that would help reduce intestinal problems. So far so good. My plan now is to have 2 10oz bottles with a 'Sustained Energy' mixture per loop in the race. I will also carry a 22 oz water bottle and refill as necessary. After the first loop I'll swap out the empty fuel bottles for two full ones (assuming there is a drop area I can do that.)
I trained for, and ran, the Fargo marathon with three friends. Two ran with me today. The third, Kim, ran Grandma's marathon this morning. She smoked it and got an 11 minute PR with a finish in 3:21. Awesome job Kim! When I recover from Afton, and Kim recovers from Grandma's, it will be full speed ahead training for the TC marathon.
Oh yeah. I broke 1000 miles for the year this morning. My previous yearly high was 920 (last year.) I should break 2000 by the end of the year.
woodtick watch: Today I used 3M Ultrathon insect repellent lotion on my legs. At our first stop about 60 minutes into the run I found one woodtick and one deertick crawling on my legs. I don't mind the woodticks but I HATE deer ticks. I had lyme disease about 10 years ago, and take my word for it, it's no fun to have. I assume that several more crawled on my during the run but they must have all dropped off after getting a taste of the repellent.
--Mark
I skipped breakfast before the run today. I wanted to see if that would help reduce intestinal problems. So far so good. My plan now is to have 2 10oz bottles with a 'Sustained Energy' mixture per loop in the race. I will also carry a 22 oz water bottle and refill as necessary. After the first loop I'll swap out the empty fuel bottles for two full ones (assuming there is a drop area I can do that.)
I trained for, and ran, the Fargo marathon with three friends. Two ran with me today. The third, Kim, ran Grandma's marathon this morning. She smoked it and got an 11 minute PR with a finish in 3:21. Awesome job Kim! When I recover from Afton, and Kim recovers from Grandma's, it will be full speed ahead training for the TC marathon.
Oh yeah. I broke 1000 miles for the year this morning. My previous yearly high was 920 (last year.) I should break 2000 by the end of the year.
woodtick watch: Today I used 3M Ultrathon insect repellent lotion on my legs. At our first stop about 60 minutes into the run I found one woodtick and one deertick crawling on my legs. I don't mind the woodticks but I HATE deer ticks. I had lyme disease about 10 years ago, and take my word for it, it's no fun to have. I assume that several more crawled on my during the run but they must have all dropped off after getting a taste of the repellent.
--Mark
Monday, June 16, 2008
A half-Afton test run
I went out Sunday afternoon to do a practice loop at Afton. This time I planned to keep my heart rate under 150 most of the time so it meant walking up most of the big hills. This strategy worked out very well and I felt good at the end of the 25K loop. Mine was probably 25.3K because I got off on the wrong trails a few times and had to backtrack.
I finished in 2:41 with an average HR of 144. Perfect.
All I know now is that I can have a very successful first loop but I know the second will be more difficult. My legs were somewhat tired near the end of the run yesterday. My plan is that if I can stay well down into the aerobic zone and consume Sustained Energy at a constant rate as well as keep hydrated, I have a chance of completing the 50K without a crash and burn.
I didn't see much wildlife but I did flush a turkey, heard some pheasants, and ran by a deer that just stood about 15 feet away. I also picked-up about 8 friendly woodticks. :-(
--Mark
I finished in 2:41 with an average HR of 144. Perfect.
All I know now is that I can have a very successful first loop but I know the second will be more difficult. My legs were somewhat tired near the end of the run yesterday. My plan is that if I can stay well down into the aerobic zone and consume Sustained Energy at a constant rate as well as keep hydrated, I have a chance of completing the 50K without a crash and burn.
I didn't see much wildlife but I did flush a turkey, heard some pheasants, and ran by a deer that just stood about 15 feet away. I also picked-up about 8 friendly woodticks. :-(
--Mark
New shoes
On Friday I had an appointment for a 'gait analysis'. My goal was to find a solution to my foot problems after fast/hard road races or fast treadmill workouts.
I was originally fit into Brooks Adrenaline stability shoes when I first took up running about 3 years ago. For the most part they have been very comfortable and have worked well for me. I am susceptible to hurting my foot, either right or left, near the front of the cuboid bone. The injury usually resolves itself in a few days to a few weeks.
To keep this short, here is what my 'gait analysis' person found: My left leg is 5mm longer than the right, my ankles are strong and my arches are weak. I should be wearing 'neutral' shoes, not 'stability' shoes.
I tried three different shoes and the ones that I had the best form in are Brooks Glycerin. So, I'm wearing the new Brooks shoes with 'green' Superfeet insoles and a 5mm lift under my right heel. This appointment took almost 40 minutes and she didn't cut corners and made sure I was in what she thought was the best setup for me.
I can expect to be a little sore for a few weeks and then I should feel great in the shoes in about 6 weeks. I'm interested to see how this goes.
edit: I had my Gait Analysis done by Wendi at Gear West. See http://www.gearwest.com/gait-analysis-pg-14.html for more information.
--Mark
I was originally fit into Brooks Adrenaline stability shoes when I first took up running about 3 years ago. For the most part they have been very comfortable and have worked well for me. I am susceptible to hurting my foot, either right or left, near the front of the cuboid bone. The injury usually resolves itself in a few days to a few weeks.
To keep this short, here is what my 'gait analysis' person found: My left leg is 5mm longer than the right, my ankles are strong and my arches are weak. I should be wearing 'neutral' shoes, not 'stability' shoes.
I tried three different shoes and the ones that I had the best form in are Brooks Glycerin. So, I'm wearing the new Brooks shoes with 'green' Superfeet insoles and a 5mm lift under my right heel. This appointment took almost 40 minutes and she didn't cut corners and made sure I was in what she thought was the best setup for me.
I can expect to be a little sore for a few weeks and then I should feel great in the shoes in about 6 weeks. I'm interested to see how this goes.
edit: I had my Gait Analysis done by Wendi at Gear West. See http://www.gearwest.com/gait-analysis-pg-14.html for more information.
--Mark
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
heart rates and other things
In my previous posting I stated I thought my average marathon HR should be 160. Steve's comment made me do a little more investigating and I went back to a website (runningtools.com) calculator I found months ago. You can enter your AT or max HR and it gives you HR averages for different race distances. I entered in 167 for my AT and 182 for my max and it gave me marathon HRs of 155 and 154, respectively.
This morning my regular running partners and I went out for a 9.3 mile run. Another one of our friends joined us for the first three miles. He pulled us along a little faster than we really wanted to go but I didn't say anything because his shirt had the phrase: Shut up and run. :-) After 3 miles he left us and we just kept the pace going. We finished the 9.3 in 1:09:12 or a 7:26 average pace. A new loop record for us. I'm not very 'pace aware' so I was thinking that this run better be at 8:00 or better or I have no chance in my next marathon. I have lost some confidence in my ability since my Fargo experience. Well, we had great running weather this morning with temps in the mid-50s and cloudy skies. My average HR was 144 for the run so this was a great confidence booster today.
So now my plan for Afton is to try to run/walk with a HR in the mid/lower 150s. At this moment I think it will give me my best chance for success (finishing just as I run out of energy).
My plan for the rest of the week:
Thursday - run 6.2
Friday - run 12
Saturday - rest
Sunday - run a loop at Afton in the afternoon heat!
--Mark
This morning my regular running partners and I went out for a 9.3 mile run. Another one of our friends joined us for the first three miles. He pulled us along a little faster than we really wanted to go but I didn't say anything because his shirt had the phrase: Shut up and run. :-) After 3 miles he left us and we just kept the pace going. We finished the 9.3 in 1:09:12 or a 7:26 average pace. A new loop record for us. I'm not very 'pace aware' so I was thinking that this run better be at 8:00 or better or I have no chance in my next marathon. I have lost some confidence in my ability since my Fargo experience. Well, we had great running weather this morning with temps in the mid-50s and cloudy skies. My average HR was 144 for the run so this was a great confidence booster today.
So now my plan for Afton is to try to run/walk with a HR in the mid/lower 150s. At this moment I think it will give me my best chance for success (finishing just as I run out of energy).
My plan for the rest of the week:
Thursday - run 6.2
Friday - run 12
Saturday - rest
Sunday - run a loop at Afton in the afternoon heat!
--Mark
Sunday, June 8, 2008
A little heat and hill training
I have to prepare for Afton and had some time yesterday afternoon to go for a run from home. My goals were to keep my heart rate in the range of 150 to 160. There are several long hills on my planned route and I was going to walk up them if my HR got to 160.
It was 80 degrees and humid so the weather was perfect for my training. I mixed up a hand-held with HEED and took off. My first couple miles were under 7:00's and my HR did get up to 165 but there were a few runners on the path for me to pass. :-) After that I settled into a nice pace, keeping my HR under 160.
Why 160? I was reading that for a marathon your HR should average 5 beats under your half marathon average. I blew it in Fargo by having my HR in the low 170's for several miles. The only half marathon that I have ever 'raced' was one year ago. My average HR there was 163 and I know I'm in better shape now so I picked 160 as something I can average for hours. That's what I'll do in Afton in three weeks and that also my average HR from Afton last year (160).
So what happened is that if my HR reached 160 up a hill, I'd walk until it was back down to 152 and then I'd take off again. I ended up walking about 10 times. My average HR was 157 and my average pace was 8:17 for 7.7 miles in the heat.
I hope to finish the Afton 50K. If I do finish, I will be happy with anything under 6 hours.
--Mark
It was 80 degrees and humid so the weather was perfect for my training. I mixed up a hand-held with HEED and took off. My first couple miles were under 7:00's and my HR did get up to 165 but there were a few runners on the path for me to pass. :-) After that I settled into a nice pace, keeping my HR under 160.
Why 160? I was reading that for a marathon your HR should average 5 beats under your half marathon average. I blew it in Fargo by having my HR in the low 170's for several miles. The only half marathon that I have ever 'raced' was one year ago. My average HR there was 163 and I know I'm in better shape now so I picked 160 as something I can average for hours. That's what I'll do in Afton in three weeks and that also my average HR from Afton last year (160).
So what happened is that if my HR reached 160 up a hill, I'd walk until it was back down to 152 and then I'd take off again. I ended up walking about 10 times. My average HR was 157 and my average pace was 8:17 for 7.7 miles in the heat.
I hope to finish the Afton 50K. If I do finish, I will be happy with anything under 6 hours.
--Mark
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