It's been a few years since I've ran a paved
half marathon.
You can call me lazy if you want to.
I'm pretty satisfied with my PR in that
distance, and haven't felt the need to do what it would take to improve it, (abandon
my family completely and move to a running commune).
There is just a little bit of climbing along
the route; but, overall, it drops 200 ft and should be a PRIME smaller race for
anyone looking for a fast downhill half PR (anyone but me!). And, with Eugene Marathon around the corner, it would be a fantastic tune-up race!
A couple of girlfriends and I have been able
to get to the course to do some preview runs. We shared smiles, sweat and
laughs-- as well as views like this!
Maybe running slowly will make the sights even
more enjoyable? I can't think of a better place to run a paved race...
I'm not as prepped as I would like to be for
this race (which is only 2 weeks away!), and am running much lower weekly
volume and shorter long runs than in past half marathon training. But, I have
had some very good tempo runs, and a nice 16 miler.
A PR is probably an unrealistic goal for me this
time around, (unless my feet sprout wheels), but I still want to see what I have
in me for the day.
Now… would you cross your fingers
for sunny weather on March 5th?
I'd like to see the ambulance coming before it
picks me up at the finish line!
Last week I did one of my favorite workouts: Cruise intervals!
For the first few years I ran, I had no idea what they were. I saw something on the McMillan calculator about cruise intervals and wondered what they were, but I didn't figure it out until I read this training book. (There is a 3rd edition out now, which I plan to purchase since my original copy is getting ragged.)
It's all quite simple, really.
Cruise intervals are designed to take a tempo workout and break it up into manageable pieces.
Training week - Retroactive (Because somebody asked for more training details. Don't get too used to this.)
Sun 10/9 PM Long (easy)
Course: into "town" and 2x hill loop
Distance: 18.01 miles
Duration: 2:33:43
Pace: 8:33 / mile
Heart Rate: Average: 133 / Max: 158
Weather: 61° F
Notes: Had a great run in perfect temperature. No wind.
Stopped and chatted with friend after mile 6.
Have a head cold, day 3 and getting better (?).
Mon 10/10 PM Easy
Distance: 5 miles
Duration: 43:00
Pace: 8:36 / mile
Equipment: Brooks Launch 2 (Lt blue)
Notes: garmin out of juice
(I am pretty sure I did weights this day, but didn't record it)
Tue 10/11 Rest
Wed 10/12/2011 AM Interval
Distance: 11.65 miles
Duration: 1:30:37
Pace: 7:47 / mile avg.
Notes:
WU .3@ 10:00 (gravel) and 1.5 @ 8:28
goal 6x5 min hard (interval pace 6:07) w/ 3 minute recoveries @ easy pace
6:15, (8:12 recovery)
6:00, (8:17 recovery),
6:11 (8:51 recovery),
6:09 (interrupted interval to make a stop :( (9:11 recovery)
6:22 (10:19 recovery...dying now)
6:14 (10:34 recovery)
Long cool down 8:50-9 MM
(late note:
Interval pace is HARD. At least, it is the hardest pace for me to hit and/or maintain. All the other workouts I can usually nail within a few seconds, but I seem to struggle with I pace. )
PM Weights
lunges 1x20 @70.0 lb
squats 1x10 @70.0 lb right after lunges, no rest
decline bench 2x10@ 50.0 lb
crunches 1x40 @(I should be doing more...)
Thurs 10/13 AM
Easy
Distance: 7.14 miles
Duration: 1:01:02
Pace: 8:33 / mile
Heart Rate: Average: 132 / Max: 148
Fri 10/14 3PM Easy
Distance: 5 miles
Duration: 41:23
Pace: 8:17 / mile
Notes: It's always FUN on the treadmill.
VO2 Max: 38.1
late PM Easy
Distance: 5.53 miles
Duration: 46:36
Pace: 8:26 / mile
Heart Rate: Average: 130 / Max: 146
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Notes: Tired legs, felt jittery. Bad eating day. Decided to postpone T pace/ R pace to tomorrow.
VO2 Max: 37.6
Sat 10/15 AM Threshold
Distance: 6.4 miles
Duration: 46:42
Pace: 7:18 / mile avg.
Heart Rate: Average: 146 / Max: 161
Notes: 1.5 mile warm up @8:39
3x 10 minutes -Threshold pace (goal pace 6:40) with 1 minute rest.
10@ 6:43 (took a longer rest to take a layer off)
10@ 6:37 (1 minute @ 9:34 recovery)
10@ 6:40 (1 minute @10:00 recovery
CD @ 8:53
VO2 Max: 45.0
***
The reason you clicked on this post (kidding)
The Difference Between Tempo and Threshold Running
an expository piece
by Small Town Runner disclaimer: I am NOT a coach. But, if you want a coach, email me. I know a few good ones.
OK, all joking aside, Ilanarama did ask in her comment last post, "What's the difference between "tempo" and "threshold"?She's a student of the game, and I think she probably has her own answer for that question, but just for anyone wondering- here is my differentiation.
Are the two terms interchangeable? I think: Pretty much, but not exactly.
I once heard a podcast where Ryan Hall mentioned his KEY workout before a marathon included 12 miles of steady tempo. (I waited for the punchline....)
The interview asked.."And what pace would that be for you?" Hall politely answered "marathon pace."
The term TEMPO gets thrown around a lot. In general use, I have observed that it means "faster than easy pace and slower than race pace" for most folks. Some people go as far as to use a running calculator (like McMillan or Vdot) to determine their optimal pace for TEMPO training. Others may plug in a training plan to SmartCoach to find tempo pace. Others might wait for their coach to give it to them once a week.
My definition of TEMPO, up to April 2011, was a pace slightly slower than 10K, but faster than half marathon pace, (the pace window given by McMillan's calculator). I usually ran "tempo" for 20-40 minutes steady. All of my graphs in the last post from 2010- April 2011 use "tempo" pace because I had not started doing Daniel's Vdot training yet. Once I started using his training, I converted my jargon.
In Daniels Vdot training, he uses the term THRESHOLD pace running (referring to the pace that is where your muscles begin to accumulate lactate). The pace per mile is essentially the same as McMillan's TEMPO. A 45 min 10K runner would train "tempo" at 7:20-7:39/mile using McMillan; the same person would train at 7:25/mile using Daniels' "threshold" pace.
Daniels is very specific in his instructions that the THRESHOLD pace be for a max duration of 20 minutes (he calls this TEMPO). Any Threshold pace running over 20 minutes should be broken up with easy running (Threshold intervals) or be adjusted slower for every 5 minutes over 20. Therefore, a 40 minute steady threshold/ tempo for the same person would be ran at 7:40, an hour of straight threshold/tempo would be done at 7:57 (marathon pace).
So, that's the difference between the two...in a nutshell.
If you still don't get it, don't worry. I think I just confused myself too.
***
A consolation prize came in the mail!
I guess that if the overall winner is a Master, that it doesn't bump the second female to overall winner. It doesn't hurt to ask. :) I still ended up with a discount on shoes..Hm... Maybe I can get up to Portland again within 90 days...?? Probably need 3 more of those to get out of race detention though. Very nice of the RD. I will try to do this race again and will recommend it to others.
I almost lost the "Mom of the Year" award yesterday.
While making oatmeal at breakfast I accidentally switched cayenne pepper for cinnamon. I am usually pretty liberal with the cinnamon and put a nice, thick coat over the raisins. For some reason it didn't smell right though, and I was able to scrape most of it off before I stirred and handed it to the midgets.
My husband brought home an air-popper for popcorn. Thiswillbe my downfall in one way or another.
Despite reading the directions, I put wayyyyyy too much corn in the machine, turned it on and immediately it started smoking.
After I got the right amount of corn in and it started popping, the kids were practically climbing the counters to get a good show. I had NO idea popcorn could provide so much entertainment. Too bad my 2 year old knows how to plug things in and flip switches. This will be one of those things I have to hide in a secret compartment so the house doesn't go down in flames.
How does my six-year-old do it? Are all boys like this? He figured out how to make a harness out of the rope, and then climbed up and over the branch enough times to completely wind the rope up (to get stuck). He might still be there now. :)
Yay! It's race weekend! Jenn @ Running Sane is ready for a SUPER FAST 10K!!! She's almost done training for Grandma's marathon and is primed for a fantastic new PR in both distances! Can't wait to see how she does and read the race report. GO JENN! I know you'll be sporting a fantastic new 10K time =D
Johann @ Run Tall, Walk Tallis taking on the grandaddy of Ultra-marathons: Comrades in South Africa. It is a true test of endurance with a serious cut-off time. He is READY for this! GO Johann!
EDIT: Also - Good luck to Laurie@(mis)adventures of a jogging stroller mom on her second marathon in a month (and second ever!): Ridgeline ramble, a trail race. And to Kim @(just)trying is for little girls!
And a big shout out to all other racers this weekend!! Have fun!
Now, on to the random..
My toenail is still hanging on by a thread. I think there is supposed to be a new nail under there, but where?! I don't see it....I wear a band-aid on it to keep it from flapping around.
Nathan (my oldest) is really starting to catch on to reading. Small words, simple sentences, but I am SO proud and happy to see this door opening up for him.
My neighbor gave me a really interesting hydration pack. He used to use it...not sure why he doesn't still. I am blessed to have people like this in my neighborhood!
I finally tried about 2 miles of tempo this week. I kept it pretty slow, as in I wasn't trying to beat my actual suggested training paces, so I wasn't "racing in training". This is all part of my new approach, which looks a little like my old approach pre-Boston training cycle.
My GPS watch ran out of battery today mid-run. :/ Luckily I knew that it was about to happen, so I watched my other watch. But now I wonder...as a new user of this product...how do I get the info for my run into my Garmin log(s) ? I should look at the manual...when I have a spare second.
The circus came to Yoncalla yesterday and we went. My husband really did NOT want to go, but he put on a happy face :).. My kids LOVED it. Pretty sure one of them would like to run away with the performers! I was pretty impressed with the juggling act. Very fast! This was a one-ring circus, very family friendly, and only a few animals...
Do you use a back-up watch in training?
When you are running, do you turn your watch off for every stop? Do you like the circus?
Yes, darling. I am taking the day off (well, no running anyway). It was a spontaneous thing.
Just sounded FUN!
Now that I am done being sarcastic ...or just dreaming that I would ever do an impromptu rest day, let me fill you in on a little info.
I haven't missed a long run for anything other than a race or recovery from a race in 15 months.
The last time was for injury. I am feeling like a fool and taking today off. I might take tomorrow off too.
If I can handle it.
I have achilles tendinitis,
I think.
Or something similar.
***
Where am I?
My right foot is sore just below the ankle on the right side only. Not too bad- except when I stop and try to start again. No cooling down allowed! I've been icing and stretching and taking ibuprofen around the clock.
I am in a scheduled cutback week- a cutback from 68, 69, 70 mile weeks. I was supposed to run about 55 miles this week. I have 29 :( .
How did I get here?
It didn't start off too bad yesterday, until I did that tempo portion and had to make an emergency pit stop at mile 6.1. Really didn't want to stop. I was on a roll! When I started again, it was like the heel locked up. I got it going again pretty well and finished the 7 miles in 46:30 (6:39 pace, with the watched stopped for the stop). After the tempo was done I still had about 4 miles to get home and I hobble-jogged.
Looking at the last few weeks, I was overconfident in my mileage increases. I was overconfident in my speed work. I was overconfident my ability to handle hills two days in a row.
See a trend?
Not so confident now. Yeah, I finished the tempo in my goal time. Actually, well ahead of my goal time, but I spent the rest of my run thinking, "You IDIOT."
Where I am going:
I am sticking to my vows and trying to stay rational. I am TRYING to tell myself that taking a couple of days off will be just fine right now and that I can pick it up Monday without lost fitness, speed, etc...
I don't sound convinced, do I?
I have been foam rolling, sleeping extra, lifting weights, riding the trainer bike (just a little), eating. Trying to be nice to others.
My mind is processing thoughts:
What if I already hit my peak mileage at 9 weeks out?
What if I can't do any more speed work?
What if it gets worse?
Could it be the shoes? No...probably not.
If I take off a day or two or three, am I going to lose all that I have gained?
Maybe God is trying to get my attention.... Probably. Maybe He's trying to tell me that Boston really is NOT that important. Other things are.
And THIS is why He did not make me a four minute miler. I struggle to think of anything besides running!!
Sorry to whine! I think I just need some rational people to tell me some rational things.
***
Now, time to put on my Audry Hepburn sunglasses and enjoy my holiday (at the looney bin)!!!
Running recap for the week
Hubby has the older boys, so I had a rare moment to blog without interruption :)
This week, running presented a few challenges and a few new tricks too. It has been both a TOUGH week and a week of rewards.
Monday AM- easy/peasy recovery run. I feel like I can do 10 in my sleep if that's all that's on the plate right now.
Tuesday- I overslept due to an alarm clock issue. :p
I debated whether or not to run on the treadmill or just wait until the kids went to bed. I went with option 2, as I have a MENTAL block about running more than 5 miles on the TM and had 9 to do- plus the screen is hard to read and I had speed work to do. Hubby thinks the TM might be slipping (but just for him) and I didn't want to take chances. So I left at about 8 PM.
** side note: This is not long enough after dinner for me!! I was gently reminded of what it feels like to have my gut busting up into my lungs, and NO THANK YOU, I will stick to mornings if I can, before breakfast.**
Anyhoo...the moon wasn't out yet and it wasn't getting any lighter, so hubs kindly duct-taped a small flashlight to my hat. RIDICULOUS. Of course, the problem is that once you start moving at all, the hat wants to also. I must not have a linebacker neck, because my head was raring and wobbling like a bobble-head doll. As soon as I got past the driveway I ripped it off my head and carried it in my hand. I purchased an inexpensive headlamp the following day. Thank you Bi-mart. :)
Continuing with the run... The workout was for 6x5 minutes "hard", whatever that means.
(I just came up with it as a nice idea- something like what I have seen in the Daniels book.) Sounded good.
After a few miles warm up I hit the 5 minutes countdown on El-Watcho (now filled with condensation).
I must say that it is nice not to be restricted to mileposts, and after the 1600's I have had recently, to stop a little earlier. Most of the recoveries were about 200 yards+/-.
Just for kicks, I decided to take #3 as a 1600 instead and had to restart the watch, but finished in 6:04. Nice. Would still like to do a sub 6, though. Finished the entire run as 10.5 miles and in record time. went to bed and woke up to do..
Wednesday AM - Nine-ish miles easy. In my sleep. haha. It felt more like the "Bataan Death March", but I still did allright and without any DOMS- just fatigue.
Thursday AM - I had a looming feeling about fatigue and the planned tempo run. It was supposed to be 6 miles @ 6:52 pace (41:12)..which is close to my PR 10K pace. (So much for not racing during training, huh? )
I had some serious doubts, as I have not met a few tempo goals due to the large hill on the route. I moved the tempo to a rolling, but not-so-steep area, and somehow managed to do the 6 miles, with two turnarounds, in 40:52.
**side note: Now I have a few thoughts: Should I have used a gel/sports drink? I haven't been using any except for races, and the last long run before. (My legs flagged at mile 3, but seemed to tap into reserves again, strangely, shortly after that.) And, When is the next 10K around here? And, this is with back-to-back days with fatigue...should I even bother to rest before a 10K, like I have in the past, or just plow through? Anyway...always wondering about this stuff. **
Total run, just shy of 9 miles. Slow warm up.
Friday AM- I can't even remember...Oh yeah. Nine easy on 4 hours of sleep. Another "Death March" with no specific pain or soreness- just fatigue. I see a pattern evolving here. Managed to run almost at goal easy pace- a little slow, but not terrible.
Saturday/Today- I shall refer to this run as "The Journey to Mordor and Back" run (referring to Lord of the Rings, Dad). This is the preferred route for the 20 miler, given no injuries.
**side note: I drove out a water bottle the day before and left it at mile 7/13. First time I have done this in months! There were two old nasty bottles waiting for me there. **
This route involves a gradual ascent, with a few steep descents on the way out, and the opposite coming back. I wore the headlamp and was SEEN, though I had to readjust it a bit and I need to check to see if I have a wound from it pressing on my forehead through the hat. :)
**side note: After 2 years or long distances in the dark, I can't believe I have functioned with only a the moon, a flashing light and reflective vest (dropping off the flashlight at the mailbox). Why didn't I buy one sooner?! **
I stopped way too many times today- to take off the LS shirt, to go to the bathroom a few times, to get water. I HATE stopping. I need to figure out how to take a shirt off while keeping my vest on. Rrg. Any ideas? Any case. I stop my watch for these short pit stops. And I really try to keep them short.
I am not sure which hobbit I identify most with after today, but I am certain I am not Gandolf. Maybe I have a bit of Golem in me. Total time running: 2:46:48
Tomorrow I am sleeping in. (except to go to church) And drinking coffee all day.
Some non-running achievements in our house this week:
My oldest, Nathan discovered he can make himself fake-burp. I can see life with boys will only get more interesting... lots of burping and nerf guns.
My youngest discovered onions. He likes them raw. Takes after my mom, I guess :)
And a question, since you might have skipped past all the boring running stuff above:How do you take your coffee?
I tried a new thing today. Coffee + Vanilla powerbar gel (unused from long run) + milk= vanilla latte. ? Not quite, but if I closed my eyes, I was almost sitting in a quaint little book shop sipping espresso.
After four weeks of running this crazy training plan (Who wrote this thing anyway?!). I had my first scheduled cutback week. Now I have some numbers and a few conclusions.
At this point, I am feeling pretty optimistic about how things are going. I am 1/4 of the way through this training cycle and am happy to say :
My body seems to be adapting to the weight training very well. Special thanks for the comments on my last post, (especially Jill, who weighed in with some encouraging personal experience as well as some coaching research). My "easy" run Friday (following Thursday afternoon's heavier-than-usual weight session) felt incredible! It was all I could do to restrain myself to an easy pace. I can finally say that DOMS really isn't an issue in my legs now, as there was still no soreness Saturday morning (today).
There are NO injury issues going on right now. It probably helps that I am not trying to introduce a new day of speed work during this cycle, and that I have covered this amount of mileage recently. We shall see how things go as I continue to build in the miles...In contrast, while training for Eugene a year ago, I had issues with achilles tendinitis, and some sort of tendinitis in the front of the foot/ankle, so I was always wondering if it would spell my death for the marathon. I don't feel that way in training at all right now.
I seem to be hitting my goal training paces for most runs. But then again, it can be kind of hard to be certain sometimes with my complicated system. The graphs below show my paces as a cumulative pace for each run including warm-up, cool-down and whatever I did for speed that day. For instance, I just plug in the total time spent running and the total distance and the computer calculates the overall pace. I keep the interval/tempo times in my notes separately. Again...we shall see how this continues with added mileage. I hope to pick it up a bit in the next few weeks. I am also conscious of the fact that I could be topped out speed-wise and that this might be as fast as it gets.
Today's cutback long run was 16 miles. My goal was to keep it easy: no progression, just easy on the body. It felt like that's what I did.
Ironically, I was listening to a podcast from http://www.marathontalk.com/ and the guest was mentioning that you should not be trying to "smash out" your long runs at this point in training (12 weeks out); and, that you'd be better to back it off a bit even if you feel like you could hammer it. The point being that you might bring yourself to peak at the wrong time in your cycle. Just what I needed to hear. Despite that, I finished faster than the last 16 miler, felt rested and all on 4 hours of sleep (I did feel sleepy- and I need to get better rest, but the legs were good to go.)
Longer tempo runs mean longer warm up/cool down..
Last year's stats... just because I can't help trying to draw comparisons with the only other marathon I have prepared for. (note the 4 day week makes for a few less runs on the chart).
And so..I am happy to report that there is not much to report with running.
My main goal for the next 4 weeks is to continue following the original plan and avoid accidents, such as :
tripping over rocks or toys
falling into potholes
running into stationary objects
twisting an ankle
breaking a toe
suffering a stress fracture
getting mono
***
On the home front. I am also excited to say that I have stuck with my meal menu for three weeks! In that time frame, I have reduced my shopping time, prep time, stress and had dinner on the table at a much better time most evenings. HOORAY!!
I did make a change in plans twice, once when I knew I didn't want to cook omelets and we had left-overs, and another time when I had less ham left than I hoped, so I made ham and pintos. Please note. Beans are not an ideal dinner suggestion for the night before a long run, at least in our home :D
On Thanksgiving I tried to upload a video of Beezus, a beloved neighborhood pet. It was funny, but the darn thing just wouldn't load. Could it be that my computer is antique outdated? Perhaps. Or it could be a possible user malfunction? Anyhow...sorry if you were disappointed to miss the big appearance. I'll save that for another time.
It's been a while since I posted. Mostly because I haven't had much to write about I have been too busy getting ready for Thanksgiving and recovering from it. The plan was to go up to my parent's house for the big day and enjoy dinner cooked by my mom. Prime Rib. (WTHeck?) We had to postpone it due to illness. We stayed home and Jon worked. My oldest was bummed.
I more than made up for it on Sunday. My parents came down and I cooked a turkey with all the extras. When the bird was about 20 degrees away from done, the handle of my oven fell off! Oh yes! This will make a great memory. The year we scrambled to put the oven door back on while the turkey kept a-cooking. It actually took an hour longer than I had planned, but was fantastic and juicy. Worth the wait. Blessed again!!
My middle son (Matthew) was VERY proud of his loaf of bread. (I didn't give him a lot of dough to work with =D . He loves to bake, though)
About running...
November is almost done and I am patiently trying to rebuild my mileage after an extreme taper (totally worth it!) and half marathon on the 20th. I'll just say that it's hard to be patient sometimes. My quads are still rebuilding and I definitely won't be doing any speed work still for another week (at least!) and then hope to get back to two days- one tempo and one interval/fartlek.
Does anyone else have trouble in the post-race recovery time frame? How do you get back into your regular training? Last half I did (in June, before this one) I was too anxious and I think it cost me- calf strain or tear.
I have a lot of exciting things ahead in the next few weeks! There are approximately two more weeks to weigh out my options for Boston training. By then, I hope to have a solid plan and be able to get started with 16-18 weeks of training for the race. Possibilities include:
Pete Pfitzinger 18/70 (I plan to buy his book this week, regardless)
Revisiting SmartCoach (I used it for Eugene in may- but tweaked it)
Making my own plan (Scary! It would have to be ON PAPER)
Something I haven't thought of yet...?
What about you? If you are training for Boston (or any other spring marathon), what are your plans? I'd really like to know!...
