Training Paces

I've been doing track workouts for a few weeks now but I haven't really had a goal range to try to stay in for my 400s and 800s. I just found a pace calculator
here and based on my PR 5k time of 28:45, it suggests:



Going off my previous runs (both long and track) those figures seem a little slow. So I played with it a little, and my numbers are more in line with this chart, based on a 25:45 5k.



I'm not sure what this means. Am I training too hard right now? Or am I running my 5k's too slow? Anyway I'm going to follow the chart for the 25:45 pace. My ultimate goal is to be able to run a sub 25 minute 5k, so maybe this will help.

Here are last nights 400 times, with a 2 minute recovery jog between each:

1 - 1:49
2 - 1:50
3 - 1:50
4 - 1:49
5 - 1:53
6 - 1:53
7 - 1:48
8 - 1:50

I'm consistent, that's for sure. The 7th one felt very slow so I was surprised to see my lowest split there. My total workout last night was 6 miles in 57:30, even with my jog/walk recoveries. That's a 9:35 pace overall! Splendid.

I *heart* the track.

Tonight was my second track workout. Ever.

When I was in middle school, the school district had a dirt track. Yeah, dirt. Like gravel. It was still "legal", but nothing like what it should have been for the class A school that it was. I moved right before high school and that school had an asphalt track. Yeah, paved. Like a road. That one wasn't legal and all of our meets were at others schools. So all of my running practice was spent in corridors of the school, on the grass football field, or on the road, with the exception of the meets. Now I pretty much stick to sidewalks and roads, so I've never really had the chance to practice on a track, and hooo eeeeee, is it ever nice! My shins are orgasmically pleased. :)

So last week I made the switch to the FIRST marathon training plan.

I.
Love.
It.

It's 3 weekly runs; 1 track/speed workout, 1 tempo run, and 1 LSD. Perfect for a busy shin-splinted mom of 3 like me. Four runs just wasn't happening for me.

Last week at the track I did 5 x 400m with a warmup and cooldown. This week was 4 x 800 with a 1.5 mile warmup and 1.5 mile cooldown.

My 800m splits (via my almost-shelfed-for-the-new-Garmin Polar F4) were:

1. 4:09
2: 4:09
3: 4:03
4: 4:05

Hmmm...that was a little better than I had anticipated. Quite well, if I do say so myself! That is the same pace that I did my 400s in last week, but obviously for twice as long. Yee haw! My secret (not-so-secret anymore) marathon goal is 4:30. Hopefully these 800s are a good sign that my goal is achievable. That would be fabulous. The marathon is still 10 weeks away so that should leave time for a bit of improvement as well.
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Oh yeah, I tried out my fuel belt on my 11-miler last weekend.

It almost made me cry.

You see, when I get mad, really really mad, I cry. Just ask my husband. And I was PISSED at that damn fuel belt. I filled up 2 bottles, strapped it snugly to me and took off, feeling pretty dang official and runneresque. For about 20 feet. Then it would creep up and I would move it back down. Over. And over. And over. My first mile took 14 minutes if that tells you anything. I finally had to ditch the belt in a corn field (no lie) about 3 miles in and stopped and got it on the way back. I felt so freeeeeeeee during those beltless miles. When I came back to the belt - thankfully no one stole it - I figured out that if it was touching my nice and sweaty belly skin that it wouldn't creep up. So it actually stayed put for the last 3 miles, but sexy....oh yeah. Real sexy.

I'm still not sure how I feel about it. I loved the convenience. I had fluids, licorice (works great for carbs), and GU (still haven't tried it) with me so I didn't have to worry about stopping, but it was a real pain in the ass to get it situated. Where do y'all wear yours? I tried it low on the hips and it would creep up. I tried it way up high and felt like I was 80 years old because it was right under my sports bra. Schexy. It never stayed where I wanted it to --in the middle-- because my wonderful children blessed me with a muffin top and love handles where my slim old waist used to be. It would've stayed put on that old waist ya know. *sigh*

Props to Running Warehouse for the super fast super free delivery. I'll definitely be ordering from them again in the near future. I didn't try out the other belt yet...maybe I'll give it a quick spin up and down the driveway to see if it stays. I'm betting it's going back though. It's not very pretty.
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Tonight I did a total of 5 miles. My other 2 runs this week are a 6 mile tempo run on Thursday and my long weekend run is 12 miles.

I still can't believe this is me talking about this many miles.

Change of plans

I've decided to switch training plans, 10 weeks before the marathon. This may or may not be a smart move, but I'll take my chances. I need to do some further research but it looks like I'm switching to the FIRST "first marathon training program." It involves just 3 days per week of running, supplemented with cross training. I think this will fit my schedule better, now I just have to figure out how to transition into this plan without drastically increasing my weekly mileage. Fun stuff. :)

My 10 miler yesterday went great! I ran in the morning which is SO not my style but the temp at 8am was 60 degrees, and you can't really beat that. So off I went after having some oatmeal, water, and 400mg of ibuprofen for my shins (which worked fabulously, btw). At about mile 3 I realized that I missed my turn, so my 10 miler ended up being just over 11. I was too tired to psych myself up about it so I just kept running, and I made it! I need to figure out the fuel situation because....well....right now I really don't have one and I knew I was dehydrated towards the end. Can anyone recommend a fuel belt? They seem so...nerdy. Do they have any fashionable ones?

The plan for week six is supposed to be:
Tuesday: 4 miles
Wednesday: 5 miles
Thursday: 4 miles
Sunday: 11 miles

The FIRST plan is:
Tuesday: 10-20 min warmup, 4x800m (1:30 RI), 10 min cooldown
Wednesday: cross train
Thursday: 1 mile easy, 5 tempo
Sunday: 14 miles @ PMP + 30 sec.

Last week I ran 19 miles so I'm going to have to tweak the FIRST plan. I guess I'll probably cut the long run to 12 or 13 miles, for a weekly total of 22-23 miles. Yeah, that sounds good.

I welcome any input on the FIRST plan. Has it worked for you? Did you struggle with the marathon after following it?

I've been wondering something about my marathon pace. If I can sustain a 10:30 pace for 11 easy miles, is that a realistic pace for my marathon? I guess I'm wondering, for those of you that have ran marathons, how did your training pace compare to your marathon pace...?

Have a great week!

Week FIVE!

I can't believe that I forgot to post this on Monday. D'oh!

Week five goes like this:
Wednesday: 3 miles (5k race)
Thursday: 5 miles
Friday: 3 miles (or elliptical)
Sunday: 10 miles

My first double digit run! That's insane. I used to think people that could do 3 miles were THE SHIT, and now look at me! Oh yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Now watch, I'll fall flat on my face and never finish it. ;)

Training Plan

I am attempting to follow this training plan but having been skipping a run eack week. My shins are a concern of mine (read: they hurt like a mutha!) and I don't want to injure myself. I think I've decided that instead of four running days, I am going to do the three that I have been doing, and add in a fourth day of cross-training. I need to do this for a few weeks and I hope that my shins will improve in that time. I stopped in at Runners yesterday and got some advice (and Gu!) from the nice guy there. If they don't improve...well, eff me! I swear I read about some guy that training for a marathon solely on an elliptical machine with no running whatsoever. I wonder how that turned out for him.

My 8 miler Sunday was fabulous! I stopped for water at 3.5 and 5 miles and finished up in the darkness. I guess the days are getting shorter already. Anyway it took 84 minutes not including the water breaks which is about a 10:30 pace. That's right about where my LSD needs to be I think.

I am doing a 5k tonight and it is disgustingly humid outside. My goal for tonight is 28 minutes. I just need to remember to start out slow - I always work myself up and start too fast and then tank, so I'm going to have to remind myself of that all day today. :)

Spunky little lunchtime run

It finally cooled down a bit here in the mitt (hehe that rhymed! as my 4 year old would point out :)), so I took full advantage and did my 3 scheduled miles during my lunch hour. I had only fueled with pop tarts and a Diet Pepsi for the day so I was skeptical of the quality of this run, but it was actually one of the best yet! My shin splints went away in the first half mile (as opposed to 1-2 miles) and I settled in quite nicely. The very best part is that I was FAST. Like lightning...If lightning traveled at a speed of a 9:40 mile. But for a regular 10 minute girl, this is GREAT.

Still pondering when I officially become a "runner".... I don't believe the "you're a runner once you have signed up for a race" crap. Sorry, I just don't. Maybe there is a speed limit. Or perhaps once I have a marathon under my belt, then I can be an official runner. But not a Katie Holmes marathon, that shit was a Scientolohoax.

Week Four

I'm sucking at this. The runs are going great, except for the tiny yet oh so important fact that I have been SKIPPING A WHOLE RUN for the past 2 weeks! Crud. Chalk it up to too many kids and not enough hours I suppose. And nightly swimming lessons. And a thunderstorm. And a vacation.

Carry on, jogger, carry on.

Today starts week four. I am determined to run the 4 required times. Fo reals. I mean it! The schedule goes like this:

Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: 5 miles
Friday: 3 miles
Sunday: 8 miles

Sunday is uncharted territory for me. My longest run so far is 7.5 miles so 8 is a whole new dealio. It's all psychological, I'm sure. Right?

So to celebrate, I got some new shorts. (all together now... "of COURSE you did, Wendy.") But but but they were on saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaale, she told the husband. ;)

I also got a new PINK clutch purse this weekend. It's official...I am out of control.

PS: I'm over the July humidity. Waiting until 8:30pm and still having to run in 80 degree weather is crap. I don't know how peeps in the southern states do it.

Week Two

Today starts the second week of my marathon training. My scheduled runs are:

Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: 4 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Sunday: 6 miles

Without getting ahead of myself, this week seems like it will be easy. Nothing I haven't done before and my social calendar is relatively empty (read: loser!) with the exception of a wedding on Friday.

My shins are still pretty tender and I lost my favorite ice bag so I'm going to have to find another one. Ziplocs just don't cut it.

Week One

This week is the first scheduled week of my marathon training. I am supposed to run:
Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: 4 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Sunday: 5 miles
Total: 15 miles

Here it is my first week and I already have to modify the damn schedule. We are heading to the lake on Wednesday for the weekend and I am running in a 10k on Friday, so I'm going to have to tweak the schedule. I'll probably end up running 4 miles on Tuesday, 6 on Friday (I'm doing a 2k with Maddie as well), and 5 on Sunday so I still total up to the 15 miles. The following week I have to transition myself into running 4 days a week!

Tonight I ran in my new outfit I bought this week. What a difference! It wicks the sweat away so I barely even get hot. Tonight I did 6.14 miles in 61 minutes. I am hoping to keep the 10k under an hour total and after tonight that actually seems doable. We shall see!

Here is my new outfit. I feel an obsession coming on.
Must. Buy. More....

Here I am with my very own running blog. I say running, but what I really mean is jogging. I think you have to go faster than my snail pace to consider it "running". Anyone know exactly what is considered running vs jogging?

Today I did something I never thought I would do. I registered for my first marathon. Yes, first. I have every intention of doing more than one. I am following the Non-Runners Marathon Trainer program, and I officially start training next week. The Detroit Free Press/Flagster Marathon is on October 19th...can't wait!