Hello All -
This week saw a small shift in my running schedule that will carry into next week. I pressed REALLY hard last week and into the beginning of this week and as a result, my knees really started to hurt. After some consulting with my running coach and acupuncturist, it was decided that I should take 1 or 2 extra days off. So what I did was - run on Sunday rather than Saturday (giving me Fri & Sat off after my Thu. run), and I will take Monday and Tuesday off from running, while doing some strength training Monday and acupuncture Tuesday....then it will be back to running on Wednesday and Thursday with my next long run next Saturday. Should be just fine.
Today(Sunday)'s long run was supposed to be 12.8 miles (twice around Lake Murray). As I was driving to the lake I thought "well, I am getting extra days off and it sure would be nice to run the half marathon again @ 13.1....screw it - why not?" So off I went with my new running glasses and new fuel belt that I got for my birthday. The first 10 miles were so easy it felt like I was cruising around the zoo with my family on a lazy evening looking at the flamingos. There was no pain anywhere to speak of. A little bit of tightness in my knees and right hip at about mile 11...and mile 12 and 13 started to get awfully hard, but in the end I actually had some gas left in my tank and sprinted the last 1/4 mile to finish in a SOLID 2:29:34. For the record, my Carlsbad 1/2 Marathon time was 2:42:51. I went from a 12:26/mi average at Carlsbad, to a nifty 11:25/mi average today. There were no hills run today (which DOES matter)...but I ran the entire thing pain free and felt great doing it. Very nice.
So - week #8 is now in the books with week#9 coming up. Week #9 will be a bit different in that my total miles will not increase, but my long run will. As stated, Monday and Tuesday will be "Therapy/Treatment" days for the knees and glutes, Wednesday will be 6 miles flat, Thursday will be 4 miles flat and on my birthday (Saturday) I will be at Lake Miramar for 15 miles. 25 miles total for the week and this week is the official start of what I am calling the "Satanic Cinco". That would be the final 5 weeks leading up to the 2 week marathon countdown. More on that later.
Mileage dedications: Mile 7 - Nanaw (my grandmother). For all her love. Mile 10 - Kathie (my mother in law). Mile 10 I will be walking down the 163. I dedicate this mile to her for teaching me to just "slow down once in a while"...and enjoy life. I wish she could see me now.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
*UPDATE* WEEK#7 COMPLETED
Week#7 is now in the books. 22 total miles were run this week and the Saturday run was extremely difficult and painful. My weekday runs were all strong, nothing unexpected and everything went fine. Beginning Thursday I started adding in resistence band exercises with my stretching IN ADDITION to starting up my running diet that was given to me earlier in the week by my nutritionist.
Saturday's run was 12 miles and was scheduled to be relatively the same course as last Saturday - just add one mile. But I made two decisions on the morning of the run that really changed things. 1) Because the weather was supposed to be 80 degrees today, I decided to sleep in a bit and push my run into the later part of the morning. (I have read several articles that say the single most difficult and tragic thing that can happen is to train at 50-60 degrees, then race day comes and the temperature jumps to 75-80. The hydration process really gets interrupted and it affects your performance.) Well, needless to say this is a VERY BIG CHANGE...and I am glad I did it, but the next time I do it will be on a shorter run. 2) The second thing I did was that I plotted a course that goes uphill, downhill, flat, uphill, downhill, flat every every three miles. So what I did is run 4 laps of this course for a total of 12 miles. Bottom line: all the muscles you THINK would hurt.......HURT! Glutes, Hips, Knees - all the "hill climbing" muscle groups. I would say the only part of me that really, really caused me any significant discomfort was the top of the patella on my right knee. Pretty sore and I will be mentioning it to my acupuncturist.All in all - a HARDCORE run that saw me really want to walk several times...but I didn't and I am proud of myself. I finished the 12 mile hill run in a very pedestrian 2:36:40 (13:03/MI).Considering the hills that were tackled...I am willing to accept that. Granted I was off my 12:00/MI pace, but as I stated...that's ok. I finished without walking.
Week #8 INCOMING!! This week sees 3 mi Monday, 5 mi Wednesday, 4 mi Thursday and a flat 12.8 (no hills) on Saturday. Total mileage for week #8 will be 24.8.
Mileage dedications: Mile#3 I dedicate to Katy. My little "scooter". I remember how right after she was born I immediately launched myself into weight loss and exercise. Mile#4 I dedicate to Tori. My stick o' dynomite. Who needs a bobcat for yardwork when I have her. :-)
draft
Saturday's run was 12 miles and was scheduled to be relatively the same course as last Saturday - just add one mile. But I made two decisions on the morning of the run that really changed things. 1) Because the weather was supposed to be 80 degrees today, I decided to sleep in a bit and push my run into the later part of the morning. (I have read several articles that say the single most difficult and tragic thing that can happen is to train at 50-60 degrees, then race day comes and the temperature jumps to 75-80. The hydration process really gets interrupted and it affects your performance.) Well, needless to say this is a VERY BIG CHANGE...and I am glad I did it, but the next time I do it will be on a shorter run. 2) The second thing I did was that I plotted a course that goes uphill, downhill, flat, uphill, downhill, flat every every three miles. So what I did is run 4 laps of this course for a total of 12 miles. Bottom line: all the muscles you THINK would hurt.......HURT! Glutes, Hips, Knees - all the "hill climbing" muscle groups. I would say the only part of me that really, really caused me any significant discomfort was the top of the patella on my right knee. Pretty sore and I will be mentioning it to my acupuncturist.All in all - a HARDCORE run that saw me really want to walk several times...but I didn't and I am proud of myself. I finished the 12 mile hill run in a very pedestrian 2:36:40 (13:03/MI).Considering the hills that were tackled...I am willing to accept that. Granted I was off my 12:00/MI pace, but as I stated...that's ok. I finished without walking.
Week #8 INCOMING!! This week sees 3 mi Monday, 5 mi Wednesday, 4 mi Thursday and a flat 12.8 (no hills) on Saturday. Total mileage for week #8 will be 24.8.
Mileage dedications: Mile#3 I dedicate to Katy. My little "scooter". I remember how right after she was born I immediately launched myself into weight loss and exercise. Mile#4 I dedicate to Tori. My stick o' dynomite. Who needs a bobcat for yardwork when I have her. :-)
draft
Sunday, March 16, 2008
*UPDATE* FROM LITTLE STEPS - TO GIANT LEAPS!!
Greetings everyone! WEEK#6 COMPLETED.
Well, I am sitting here with a huge smile on my face knowing that I just completed the best week of training I have ever had, and as an added bonus - I am receiving my "official" menu from the nutritionist tomorrow morning and having a little pow-wow with my running doctor to go over my ortho inserts/shoes/knee strength probably one last time. For the record, I have completed 21 weeks of the 32 week training course. This last week my plan was for ONE of my runs to be a hill run (probably Monday thus giving me the rest of the week to recover before my Saturday long run). Well, not only did I run a hill on Monday...but I ran one on Wednesday and Saturday as well. Thursday was the only day that I simply ran a little 3 mile flat stretch. Now - on to Saturday's run.
I was feeling really, REALLY good as I left the house and I had scheduled myself to run a flat 11 miles at one of the Lakes. The main problem that running at the Lakes poses is that while it helps with overall running, it does not prepare you adequately for the uphill and downhill slopes that are always encountered during a marathon/half marathon. I have known since my half marathon in January that my training would eventually take me away from the flatlands of the Lakes and I would have to run hills. As I left the house this morning I made a mental decision "today is the day I ditch the baby bottle and pacifier - I am sick of surviving runs. Time to start destroying some runs."
This is always a bit dicey....because if you aren't careful it is very easy to get hurt with this mentality. But my thinking was "Bill - you have all the knowledge and equipment you are going to have for the ACTUAL marathon. The only thing you are missing is some nutritional content, which is coming soon. It's time to put up or shut up." So with that being said, I took off at the Lake, then left Lake Murray and went north up Lake Murray Blvd. to Navajo Rd. I turned east and ran in front of the Vons shopping center, then turned southwest down Fletcher Parkwy and continued to Costco in La Mesa. I turned north on Baltimore Dr. and then made a left back on Lake Murray Blvd. again and returned to the lake, and then ran 4 additional miles at the lake. Total distance traveled was 11 miles in a time of 2:21:15 (12:50/mi). Definately off of my targeted pace of 12:00/mi...but if you had seen me after the run, you would have been SOOOO impressed. I was standing there talking to my running buddy Cordell(who happened to be there doing his run) and I told him where I ran to. He stared at me and was like "uuuuh - and how do you feel?" I said, "AWESOME!!" And the rest is history.
So now here I come - charging down week#7 with a new found confidence. This week I am going to run a 3 mile hill Monday, then 4 mile flat surface Wednesay and 3 mile flat surface Thursday. On Saturday I am going to do the same run again, but add 1 mile to it for a 12 miler. Total miles for week #7 will be 22 (now we are gettin' up there).
Looking GOOD!!
Bill
Mile Marker Dedication for this week: On marathon day, mile #9 will be dedicated to Doc Vic (mile 9 is an uphill climb to the top of the 163 - without him I couldn't be doing this). Mile #11 will be dedicated to my nephew Jake who is running from 11 to 12 with me.
Well, I am sitting here with a huge smile on my face knowing that I just completed the best week of training I have ever had, and as an added bonus - I am receiving my "official" menu from the nutritionist tomorrow morning and having a little pow-wow with my running doctor to go over my ortho inserts/shoes/knee strength probably one last time. For the record, I have completed 21 weeks of the 32 week training course. This last week my plan was for ONE of my runs to be a hill run (probably Monday thus giving me the rest of the week to recover before my Saturday long run). Well, not only did I run a hill on Monday...but I ran one on Wednesday and Saturday as well. Thursday was the only day that I simply ran a little 3 mile flat stretch. Now - on to Saturday's run.
I was feeling really, REALLY good as I left the house and I had scheduled myself to run a flat 11 miles at one of the Lakes. The main problem that running at the Lakes poses is that while it helps with overall running, it does not prepare you adequately for the uphill and downhill slopes that are always encountered during a marathon/half marathon. I have known since my half marathon in January that my training would eventually take me away from the flatlands of the Lakes and I would have to run hills. As I left the house this morning I made a mental decision "today is the day I ditch the baby bottle and pacifier - I am sick of surviving runs. Time to start destroying some runs."
This is always a bit dicey....because if you aren't careful it is very easy to get hurt with this mentality. But my thinking was "Bill - you have all the knowledge and equipment you are going to have for the ACTUAL marathon. The only thing you are missing is some nutritional content, which is coming soon. It's time to put up or shut up." So with that being said, I took off at the Lake, then left Lake Murray and went north up Lake Murray Blvd. to Navajo Rd. I turned east and ran in front of the Vons shopping center, then turned southwest down Fletcher Parkwy and continued to Costco in La Mesa. I turned north on Baltimore Dr. and then made a left back on Lake Murray Blvd. again and returned to the lake, and then ran 4 additional miles at the lake. Total distance traveled was 11 miles in a time of 2:21:15 (12:50/mi). Definately off of my targeted pace of 12:00/mi...but if you had seen me after the run, you would have been SOOOO impressed. I was standing there talking to my running buddy Cordell(who happened to be there doing his run) and I told him where I ran to. He stared at me and was like "uuuuh - and how do you feel?" I said, "AWESOME!!" And the rest is history.
So now here I come - charging down week#7 with a new found confidence. This week I am going to run a 3 mile hill Monday, then 4 mile flat surface Wednesay and 3 mile flat surface Thursday. On Saturday I am going to do the same run again, but add 1 mile to it for a 12 miler. Total miles for week #7 will be 22 (now we are gettin' up there).
Looking GOOD!!
Bill
Mile Marker Dedication for this week: On marathon day, mile #9 will be dedicated to Doc Vic (mile 9 is an uphill climb to the top of the 163 - without him I couldn't be doing this). Mile #11 will be dedicated to my nephew Jake who is running from 11 to 12 with me.
Monday, March 10, 2008
EXCITEMENT BREWING - NEW INFO!!
I read a chapter in a book about marathon running about a man who ran a marathon in Iowa. For his mental focus, he dedicated each mile of the marathon to someone significant in his life (parents, kids, etc.). I have decided to do the same.
There are now 12 weeks to race day. I will post the "Mile Dedications" at the end of each week. I will begin by dedicating Mile #1 to God for getting me to the start line (among other things lol) and Mile #26 to myself (for obvious reasons). Each mile I run I will think of someone else important in my life. STAY TUNED!
Bill
There are now 12 weeks to race day. I will post the "Mile Dedications" at the end of each week. I will begin by dedicating Mile #1 to God for getting me to the start line (among other things lol) and Mile #26 to myself (for obvious reasons). Each mile I run I will think of someone else important in my life. STAY TUNED!
Bill
Saturday, March 8, 2008
*New Update* Week #5 Completed
Greetings Everyone!
Well, today saw a week #5 end with a very large 12 mile WAR at Lake Murray. First, a little background on the week.
This week saw me have a 100% nutritional failure. All of my willpower was thrown out the window and I was eating absolute GARBAGE all week. Candy, fast food, girl scout cookies...you name it, I ate it. To go along with that, I came down with a really gnarly sinus cold right around Wednesday. It knocked me out of work for two days and really knocked me out. I really had to pay attention to my body and because of this I made the decision to skip my Thursday 3 mile run so as not to jeopardize missing my Saturday run. It was a plan that ended up working for the best. Now, on to the runs:
Monday I lifted weights and jumped on the elliptical. That worked out pretty good. Wednesday I ran a solid 4 miles at the Lake. You already know what happend the rest of the week.
Today (Saturday), I was really apprehensive about the run. I knew that I was scheduled for 11 miles, but because I missed my Thursday run I had to try and ratchet it up a little (even if it was only an additional .5 mile). That being said, I also knew that I was in for some pain because I had eaten so poorly and been sick. Well, I ran....and it SUCKED. At mile 2 my hips and knees were very, VERY tight. At mile 5 I was starting to feel like there was no way I would make it. I kept working on the mental aspect of the run and kept thinking positive. In the end, I ran 10 miles, then walked 1, then ran the last mile. 12 miles total....in 2:35:17 for an average of 12:56/Mile. I am honestly not very happy with the TIME, but I am extremely happy with the fact that not only did I battle through a bad run, but I battled through a bad run when I KNEW it was going poorly. It would be one thing if I didn't understand what was happening, but knew it....and made the adjustments necessary. I really need to talk to the nutritionist...I need help with the food part of it. I have to call my running doctor back and let him know that I am really feeling it in my knees and hips now...much more than I was before (and is this normal). And last (and certainly not least), I have an appointment with my Acupuncturist this coming Tuesday (Thank God) and I need to let her know that the pain is now localized on my knees and hips...and my eating willpower is awful.
Overall thought for the week - horrible physical performance that could have been MUCH worse had I given up mentally. I would say this is one of the strongest mental moments I have had in the past 20 weeks. Rock solid, focused and determinted ie-Commit,Train,Succeed.
This next week (Week#6) sees a MAJOR ramp up in running. Mon(3mi),Tues(Accu),
Wed(3mi),Thurs (3mi) and Sat. (11mi). Total mileage for week #6 = 20 miles AND it's time to start adding hills. Here we go... Woo-hoo!
Talk to you all next week!!
Bill
Well, today saw a week #5 end with a very large 12 mile WAR at Lake Murray. First, a little background on the week.
This week saw me have a 100% nutritional failure. All of my willpower was thrown out the window and I was eating absolute GARBAGE all week. Candy, fast food, girl scout cookies...you name it, I ate it. To go along with that, I came down with a really gnarly sinus cold right around Wednesday. It knocked me out of work for two days and really knocked me out. I really had to pay attention to my body and because of this I made the decision to skip my Thursday 3 mile run so as not to jeopardize missing my Saturday run. It was a plan that ended up working for the best. Now, on to the runs:
Monday I lifted weights and jumped on the elliptical. That worked out pretty good. Wednesday I ran a solid 4 miles at the Lake. You already know what happend the rest of the week.
Today (Saturday), I was really apprehensive about the run. I knew that I was scheduled for 11 miles, but because I missed my Thursday run I had to try and ratchet it up a little (even if it was only an additional .5 mile). That being said, I also knew that I was in for some pain because I had eaten so poorly and been sick. Well, I ran....and it SUCKED. At mile 2 my hips and knees were very, VERY tight. At mile 5 I was starting to feel like there was no way I would make it. I kept working on the mental aspect of the run and kept thinking positive. In the end, I ran 10 miles, then walked 1, then ran the last mile. 12 miles total....in 2:35:17 for an average of 12:56/Mile. I am honestly not very happy with the TIME, but I am extremely happy with the fact that not only did I battle through a bad run, but I battled through a bad run when I KNEW it was going poorly. It would be one thing if I didn't understand what was happening, but knew it....and made the adjustments necessary. I really need to talk to the nutritionist...I need help with the food part of it. I have to call my running doctor back and let him know that I am really feeling it in my knees and hips now...much more than I was before (and is this normal). And last (and certainly not least), I have an appointment with my Acupuncturist this coming Tuesday (Thank God) and I need to let her know that the pain is now localized on my knees and hips...and my eating willpower is awful.
Overall thought for the week - horrible physical performance that could have been MUCH worse had I given up mentally. I would say this is one of the strongest mental moments I have had in the past 20 weeks. Rock solid, focused and determinted ie-Commit,Train,Succeed.
This next week (Week#6) sees a MAJOR ramp up in running. Mon(3mi),Tues(Accu),
Wed(3mi),Thurs (3mi) and Sat. (11mi). Total mileage for week #6 = 20 miles AND it's time to start adding hills. Here we go... Woo-hoo!
Talk to you all next week!!
Bill
Saturday, March 1, 2008
*UPDATE* Week 4 Complete!
Hey there, Hi there, Ho there everyone...
So today week #4 officially came to a close with a 10 mile run at Lake Miramar. This was my first time running at Miramar, so I really didn't know what to expect. The running trail does, however, come highly recommended by my running doctor and his staff - so I figured "why not?".
Well, it is definately a tougher run than Lake Murray. It isn't too much harder, but enough to where I can definately feel the strain on the legs. The main difference between the two is that at Lake Murray you go out to the 3 mile marker and back, then out and back, out and back. There is no constant loop around the lake because the dam is blocked off (post 9/11). At Lake Miramar, they recently upgraded the security around the dam and re-opened the trail - so it is a complete 5 mile loop all the way around ~ with the final mile being across the top of the dam. Very nice and very challenging. Now - regarding my performance.
Overall, the performance was VERY good. I came in at a nice and crisp 1:57:04 (11:42/mi). Considering I am targeting 12:00/mi for the marathon, I am pretty pleased with that. For the entire run, the cartilage in my knee was really bothering me. Not painful, but enough to where I noticed it was there. From mile 5 to 10, my hamstrings were fairly tight so I had to be careful. From Mile 8 to 10, the outside of my hip was starting to tighten up and my left knee started getting just a little hint of weakness. The good news is that I am now rolling with no knee brace on the left side, which is a far cry from where I was at this point 6 weeks ago. My playlist was very good on my iPod and I actually had fun today (despite the pain) LOL.
MAJOR improvements are being made and the best I feel is yet to come. Next week is 3 mi(Mon), 4 mi(Wed) Lifting(Thur) and 11 miles on Sat. Total mileage for week #5 will be 18. w00+!!
-Bill
So today week #4 officially came to a close with a 10 mile run at Lake Miramar. This was my first time running at Miramar, so I really didn't know what to expect. The running trail does, however, come highly recommended by my running doctor and his staff - so I figured "why not?".
Well, it is definately a tougher run than Lake Murray. It isn't too much harder, but enough to where I can definately feel the strain on the legs. The main difference between the two is that at Lake Murray you go out to the 3 mile marker and back, then out and back, out and back. There is no constant loop around the lake because the dam is blocked off (post 9/11). At Lake Miramar, they recently upgraded the security around the dam and re-opened the trail - so it is a complete 5 mile loop all the way around ~ with the final mile being across the top of the dam. Very nice and very challenging. Now - regarding my performance.
Overall, the performance was VERY good. I came in at a nice and crisp 1:57:04 (11:42/mi). Considering I am targeting 12:00/mi for the marathon, I am pretty pleased with that. For the entire run, the cartilage in my knee was really bothering me. Not painful, but enough to where I noticed it was there. From mile 5 to 10, my hamstrings were fairly tight so I had to be careful. From Mile 8 to 10, the outside of my hip was starting to tighten up and my left knee started getting just a little hint of weakness. The good news is that I am now rolling with no knee brace on the left side, which is a far cry from where I was at this point 6 weeks ago. My playlist was very good on my iPod and I actually had fun today (despite the pain) LOL.
MAJOR improvements are being made and the best I feel is yet to come. Next week is 3 mi(Mon), 4 mi(Wed) Lifting(Thur) and 11 miles on Sat. Total mileage for week #5 will be 18. w00+!!
-Bill
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