Something A Little Different

Today due to the fact it was so cold, windy and icey. I decided to run my 5k in the gym. Ok I lied it was due to the fact that I don't own a scale and I really wanted to weigh myself for the first time in a month. While on the treadmill I noticed for the first time an option that said "5k Nature Run". It looked interesting so I chose my pace and proceeded to run. Basically the setting is suppose to simulate the ups and downs (hills) of an outdoor run. It actually turned out pretty hard as the grade at some points was 4.5% and I bascially train on flat courses. Yeah it was good because I've known for a while in the back of my head I need to do some hill work or mix it up now and then on a hilly course like Central Park. It was tough but satisfying. Oh yeah I weighed myself and had lost about 4lbs since the last time which was almost a month ago. I'm not really dieting but eating healthy and clearly my target optimium running weight has not been reached as I continue to lose will amply giving my body what it needs.

False Alarm Results

MRIs showed nothing out of the ordinary regarding my back. I chalk up the piriformis pain to the strain it underwent during my first 5k. Massage therapist and Chiropracter have been keeping me loose it seems. The Snowflake 4miler was cancelled last Saturday due to ice but this Sunday is Coogan's 3k which I am entered for with the broken in Mizuno Trainers. Did a 9 miler on Sunday which was my longest run to date. I slow it down vs. last weeks 8 miler which I think I probalby ran too fast. Am a bit sore but nothing again out of the ordinary.

Breaking in new Trainers

I'm excited today as I will be shelving (for today) the 12.8oz Nike Air Max Moto 5+ and trying out the Mizuno Wave Rider 11's comming in at 11.2oz. While that might not sound like a lot think aobut 1.6oz x 2(feet)x foot strikes per mile etc it ends up being quite a bit of savings. (Probably more a psychological edge). They say that each oz of savings shaves about 1 sec per mile off one's time. I'll let you know if thats true..LOL.

False Alarm?

At lot has happened over the past few days. On Friday I went to my orthopedist who diagnosed me with Piriformis Syndrome. I'm somewhat skeptical because since friday I've run a 3 mile easy on Saturday and a 7 mile easy today pain free. In fact today's 7 was my first LSD sub 10 min yet. He reccomended physical therapy. There they will make me do all the stretches that I do now and some new ones for the Piriformis Muscle which I began on Friday. I'm clearly no doctor but I think the pain I experienced on Wednesday was extreme soreness from my race and the subsequent DOMS associated with that. I will continue to do everyday the new streches I have learned and hope that I can continue along my course before all this occurrred (fingers crossed). Oh I got a massage yesterday, that helped as well no doubt. We will see about PT, I've never been a big fan.

What a Disater!!

What a difference a day makes. Wednesday I had one of my best training runs ever. Thursday I run 100 Yards and have to stop due to pain. However I walked a bit and was able to run through it but it had/has me scared. After my race I was very sore in the right glut. It seemed to dissapate but reared its ugly head yesterday. I'm hoping I don't have Piriforms Syndrome. Anyway, lots of Advil, Ice and Rest for today. I'm hoping I can continue my 1/2 marathon training uninterrupted. If need be I'll rest on Saturday instead of my easy 3 miler. I do not want to miss Sunday's 7 miler. I'm nervous.

What a Gift!!

My goal this week is to do easy recovery runs as I was feeling pretty darn sore after Sunday's 4 mile race in Central Park. The weather in NYC today was nothng short of spectacular. The high was 68 degrees!!! At around 6pm when I begin my easy 4 miles it was a balmy 57 degrees. What I have found is that I tend to run most of my runs faster than I should. Somebody passes me and I feel I have to speed up. There is no better receipe for failure than this. Thus I promised myself I would be conscious of this, espcially this week as I recover from the race. As part of this plan I decided today that while I would wear my Garmin 305, I would not check it on any part of the run. Just a start at the beginning and a stop at the end. I would run easy based upon perceived effort. My ran began on 12th and Hudson River Park and I started to head south..easy. I made a right turn onto the long pier that dashes 250 yards into the Hudson River. Low and behold right in front of my was a huge Norwegian Cruise Lines ship that had just set sail to who knows where. It was dusk and all its lights were on and it was just a beautiful sight. A nice little motivator. I continued along the perimeter of the pier and back onto the park's running path. Tempted always to look at my watch but not doing so. I'm running pretty easy and I'm curious if I'm going slower than the 10s I'm probably running. After 2 miles down at the water ferry in Battery Park City I make a U-turn for the return trip. Again tempted to look at my watch to check my HR and pace but maintaining the will power not to look and just running based upon my desire to go easy using perceived effort only. At mile 3.5 it started to drizzle which turned into a little shower. Was just lovely and cooling!. 4 Miles done easy boom stop. When it was all said and done I had run 9:47 pace at my lowest heart rate for a 4 mile run. While 9:47 vs 10:00 might not sound like a lot, on a 4 mile run that is almost 1 minute faster. Needless to say the weather and sights were a gift.

Questions and More Questions

Yesterday was day one of my 3 month 1/2 marathon training program. As I embark I have more questions than answers. Do I incorporate speedwork into the program or not? I want to get faster but I do NOT want to get injured. After Sunday's 4 miler (an all out effort) my legs ache in places I didn't know existed. I've read as much as I could on speed work and there are basically two camps. Camp A says speed work is not for novices and the chance of injury is high. Camp B says you can do beginner speed work to get faster. I can say that at almost 20 lbs lighter my performance has improved dramatically. However, at 170lbs I'm going to guess that my weight will continue to drop to about 155lbs in six months. I don't know how much faster that will make me or how much more I can lose beyond that based upon my genetic disposition. But, I digress. My thinking is that doing speed work at my current weight will only put extra strain on my ligaments. The 3 or 4 prep races I will have completed (fingers crossed) by the time the 1/2 rolls around will have been enough speed work. Plus Amy says don't do speed work in the winter. I'll defer to her. So its 5 days a week of increased mileage peaking around 29 miles prior to taper for the 1/2. I will throw in a tempo run or two just because. No intervals not yet.

Introduction

You ask what does 0 to 3:30 mean? I'll explain. I decided to start running primarily to lose weight and get in shape. At 43, while not decaying rapidly, you aren't exactly a spring chicken either. I started (after a few spurts and fits over the past ten years) to run with a seriousness that I never had before. Nov 1, 2008 was essentially the start of my "new life". So begin my running (@190lbs) in Hudson River Park (I live in the meatpacking area of the west village). That first run was about 1/2 mile @ 12min pace. Without getting into the nitty gritty details of base training I've arrived Feb 3rd(after 3 months of base) at the following 171 lbs,22 miles/week, 10min pace easy runs, 9:30 pace 85% MHR runs and mental bliss. Feb 4th I had my first race in Central Park: The Gridiron Classic 4 miler. I ran with a dear friend who could have gone out at 6:30 pace to come in top 5 or 10 in her age group but she was kind enough to run with me for moral support (hugs to you Amy). I ran that race @ 9 min pace (NYRR champion chip) and @ 8:57 pace by my watch. Either way it was a good effort and I am proud. What's next? I'm currently in the very beginning of a 12 week 1/2 marathon training program that will culminate with the Brooklyn 1/2 Marathon on April 26th. After that a month or two of additional (higher) base and then an 18 week marathon program to ready me for the 2008 NYC Marathon. So you still are wondering what is 0 to 3:30. Well, I figure most any individual can train to complete a marathon and that is my what I plan to do first with two softer sub goals. Soft goal A is to finish in 4:30 or better and soft goal B is to finish better than 4:15. Why 4:30? When I am on a 10 mile run averaging 10 min pace I feel I can keep going a long time so 10 min pace for 26.2 is 4:22. I figure if I can do a bit better 4:15 is realistic. Ideally I would like to break 4 hours but at this point I don't know if that is doable so its not really in the front of my mind but certainly a goal for marathon #2 down the road. So what is 0 to 3:30? Zero is the number of miles I was running per week 3 months ago. 3:30 is as far as I can tell the ultimate goal I one day hope to achieve for a marathon. Can I do it? I honestly have no idea. Time will tell.