Rage Against the Machine- treadmill edition

There are two camps when it comes to the treadmill: tolerate it, or hate it with a passion. Love isn't in the lexicon on 99% of runners when it comes to the treadmill. From unchanging scenery to constant pace to sitting in front of a TV, it is what most runners will avoid at all costs.

I was one of those "hate it" people, but have moved into the "tolerate it" camp. Some explaining is in order...

Working as a teacher, your hours are set yet flexible- you need to be at school from 8-3:30, but you're often there early or at a meeting late. Daylight in the winter is scant, so you need a headlamp, or clear path, or an indoor area. For me, the treadmill is that alternative. Even in the city, it is a quicker and safer alternative to the darkness. To me, it's a mileage saver.

There are also real running benefits. The main one is that you can mix pace a little easier than outside. Why? The alternative to running the pace is falling off. Sometimes you need a little pace shift to move the run along on your easy 5-8 miler that you, quite simply, didn't want to go out for anyway (everyone has those days).

Coping with the indoors:

-doing time based intervals. Whether at 3k, 5k, half marathon, or marathon pace, you can knock out 1-10 minutes worth of solid running, take a short jog rest, the. Go at it again.

-adjust your incline. Moving up or down can make for just the challenge you need to get through the slog of the machine. I opt for changes every 5-10 minutes, sometimes shorter. Go up to 3 or 4% (maybe higher), then work down every few seconds or minutes.

Reflections Eternal

on 1st Ave in NYC en route to 2:39:21, photo cred Lisa Kenyan.

Since the year is about up, its about time to take a look back at 2014. I'll start with the quick and dirty...

MILES: Currently at 3,178 miles, but should be at 3,323 miles by the end of the year.

RACES:
-Valentine's Day 5k: 16:11, 12th place
-Mercer Island 1/2 Marathon: 1:14:42, 7th place
-Seahawks 12k: 42:30, 7th place
-Rock n Roll 1/2 Marathon: 1:14:14, 5th place
-Fremont 5k: 16:17, 7th place
-Shore Run 10k: 33:23 (PR), 5th place
-Seafair 8k: 25:58, 7th place
-Railroad Days 10k: 33:51, 7th place
-Labor Day 1/2 Marathon: 1:13:14, 6th place
-NYC Marathon: 2:39:21, 110th place (39th US, 95th Male)

Plus an indoor 5k time trial in 15:58 (new PR) in March, and another in December in 16:28.

Not a bad year for me. Apparently I have a stranglehold on 7th place. So when I race, just pencil my name in. Overall I can see lots of improvement. My 5k was right around 16:15 on the roads, with a nice PR indoors (just need an official one now). My 10k was a PR of 25 seconds, and my 1/2 marathon moved down another 43 seconds. Marathon wasn't what I hoped for but there were some extenuating circumstances with that aggressive wind.

Looking at those times, I need to make the next leap from 15:58 to under 15:40, from 1:13 to 1:11-1:12 low. You can't run 2:29 with the PRs I have, even with the mileage I put in during marathon cycles.

Thanks to Brooks Running for the support of the Fanatics, and onward to working with Team Nuun in 2015!

Super goal pace all the way.

NYC Recap #windWindWIND

I said I was going to recap the NYC Marathon at some point. So it is now or never. The results can be found here. I opted for the Overall Men's results. I'm at the bottom- 95th.

Nutshell: I'm pleased with how I fought through it, and how I ran over the last 8-10 miles when the race got tough. I'm happy to be in the Top 100 Men at NYC; that's something! I'm happy to be under 2:40. In the same breath I am disappointed. I thought 2:33-2:34 was doable. I was likely in the best shape of my life. If not for a poor weather day, I would have had a massive PR.

Pre-Race: Well, a Polar Vortex rolled through that dropped temps to the low 40s during the day and 30s overnight, with winds that whipped through at 20-30mph! Race day the rain had disappeared but the wind was a steady 25 mph head on. Not ideal. Far from.

The Race: I made the amateur mistake of starting about 4-5 rows too far back. The result was being behind a ton of riff-raff at the start on the Verrazano. First mile was 6:30 or so, which was tough work getting blown sideways. As I kept rolling down the hill I was asking people what they wanted to run and the general mood was "shrug"- aka "this wind has thrown my plan out the window." So I settled into a group around 4 and realized I was going too slow. If I wanted to make any sort of attempt at the mid 2:30's I needed to move up.

There's one problem with moving up: wind. When you moved to the front of a group you got stuck taking the brunt of the wind. Over the course of a mile or so, somewhere in Brooklyn, I made the move to hopscotch up a group. It took me a solid 25 blocks to latch on. But my perseverance paid off as this was the group I would stick with into Manhattan. I sat in the back and tried to zone out, just listen to the rhythm and go. Problem with that strategy: everyone in the back was dangling off, so you needed to be ready to skip up to the back of the guys in front as people peeled off.

From 14-20 I struggled. It was. Tough stretch into Manhattan over the Queensborough, and then down the wind tunnel that is 1st avenue. By the time we turned around in the Bronx I was trying to count down miles. At 23 in Central Park I realized I needed to get a move on to make 2:40. I started to count down guys as I upped my tempo. If not for that realization 2:41 was happening, as I had no motivation to keep going.

Bottom line: Fun in retrospect, terrible during. I'm good with NYC for a while.

December Re-Start

The past 2 weeks have been up and down. After hitting 70 miles to kick off December, I hit another 70. Somehow or another I felt that a month out from the marathon was a good time to amp back up. I would come to find out I needed a rest week.

How did I get to the realization of needing to rest? Upon finishing my long run my Achilles seemed tight. So I went through MONDAY expecting to run only to feel dog tired (day off number 1). Then on Wednesday I ate poorly, leading to poor energy (day off number 2). After a short Friday run, I was back at the workout grind for Saturday- 5 sets of 5 minutes in 5:40 pace, with 2 minutes off followed by 2.5 miles at 5:55 per mile.

Bottom line is I need to reboot. As December rolls around, staying on track is tough due to family, and work demands. I just need to stay focused on getting a good start heading into half marathon and 5k training. 

Later this week I plan to sketch out some training modifications- ie ways to hit super goal pace.

It's cold outside...

We ventured indoors today for our workout. By we, I mean myself a few clubmates. We're fortunate to have the Dempsey indoor in town at the University of Washington. 

While not that cold out, the chance to run inside with your shirt off in December is pretty great. The goal of the workout? 5k at 5k race pace.... 5x1k with 0 rest. If nothing else, I wanted to gauge where I was at fitness wise coming off the marathon.

Result: 16:28. Back in March I ran a PR indoors at the Dempsey, going 15:58. So this is a good starting point. With no speed work, I was able to hit 60 second laps (307 or 308m), putting me under 5:20 per mile (5:18). Considering I did a 3.5 mile progression last week and struggled to go under 81 per 400, this is great. I didn't kill myself to do it either. Up next will be a good December block of training leading into a potential January 1/2.

On the road...

Back on the horse. My NYC recap never happened, or might happen, or... Alas I'm back.

The road to 2:29 is being paved each day. Might be a short country road or a long interstate. Goal is to build to it.

This week is 70-75 miles, a step up from 45 the week before. Much is made of the 10% rule. During regular training cycles, it is a handy rule of thumb. When rebuilding from a peak? Less helpful. Your body can tolerate more, otherwise you'd do 25...+2.5! Etc. Tomorrow is tempo. We'll see how that goes. Should be easy, but it's in the cold so who knows.

The Final Countdown

The taper is in full effect. 60 measly miles for the week, but 7 days of running. I've made a concerted effort to maintain routine, not aim for longer days of running (and fewest days). Schedule is important to me. Result has been a good, fresh feel.

My last few workouts have been great. Starting with my most recent...

-5 miles at 5:50-5:55, 1 mile at 5:30 (5:50 average) today

-10x800 in 2:33 average (all 2:32-2:34), with 2 minutes rest

-9&1 (5:52 average)

-2 sets of 4 miles with 3 minutes rest. 22:29, 22:18. (5:37/5:32)

-10 miles in 71:30 (easy), then 3 sets of 2 miles in 5:49-5:50, 2 min rest

-7&1 (5:45 down to 5:17)

-18 miles with the last 13 in 6:10.

One workout left before shutting everything down. It's 4 miles in 5:50, followed by a fast mile. We shuffle off on Thursday and the race is Sunday. I'll blog more on Wednesday, and do a race wrap on Sunday. At some point I'll reflect on the whole cycle. Right now? Check the box and get set for 26.2 miles in the city.

Lost & Found

If you're going to be the king of something, no man's land isn't it.

Week of 8/10

Miles- 96

Race: Railroad Days 10k, 33:50, 7th overall

Tuesday Workout: 6x1k @ 10k goal pace- 319, 318, 318, 318, 317, 315

Saturday workout: 10k race & 3 miles marathon pace (555, 554, 555).

Week of 8/17

Miles: 86

Race: none

Tuesday workout: 3 sets of 4x400 w/ 200 rest (75 average)

Saturday workout: 8 easy (55:00), 2x3 miles in marathon pace (548, 549, 548- 17:26; 5:44, 5:45, 5:44- 17:15)

I missed a week. It was an accident. You'd think I was busy, but not true. I was just plain lazy. I raced on 8/16 and it went ok. In truth, I wanted to run 32:55 or so. But I just didn't have it. I started strong before getting caught in no man's land. I thought I was cruising but I was just losing ground. Then it ended, mercifully. 

I felt really spent at the end of last week. By the end of last week I'd run a 7 week average of 96 miles a week. If you include the 1st 2 weeks of summer where I was still building mileage, my average is 92 miles a week. Coming down to 86 this week felt like a treat. I opted for a mini taper this week and next with the start of school coming, and the drained feeling at the end of last week. 

To cap off the week I nailed the Saturday workout. The 3 mile sets felt like I was cruising. I stopped and felt like I could run another set or two. To be 14 miles in and feeling fresh is precisely how I want to feel.

Things change starting Monday. Summer of run is basically over, as I'm back in my school getting ready for kids. I'm also going to try a run-bus commuting combination to get my mileage in, save some time, and save some money. 

Next up: Labor Day 1/2 Marathon on 8/31. Goal- race well, stick my nose in the thick of it, and launch into a solid 4-5 week block.

If You're Tired, Clap Once

If you're tired, keep going. You're almost there. Almost.

Miles: 106.19

Long run: 18.18 miles

Workout Wednesday: 4x2 miles (5:32-5:36 target) w/ 2 minutes rest. Went 11:09 (5:38, 5:31), 11:08 (5:36, 5:32), 11:03 (5:34, 5:29), 11:08 (5:38, 5:30). 

Saturday Workout: 6-1-2-1, all continuous. (6 & 2 average 5:55), 1st drop mile 5:24; 2nd drop mile in 5:30. Total 10.01 miles in 57:55 (5:47/mile)

Another week in the string is done. This was the most mileage of the year, and most in the cycle. It's a long way to November, so the point is to get the work in without it being overly quick. Job done! The mileage has provided some quality support for my aerobic system, making an hour of hard running feel manageable. Since the marathon is largely an aerobic event, the goal is to work that system and slowly lower the lactate threshold enough to make marathon pace feel very comfortable.

Wednesday was done solo so my wife and I could enjoy our 8th wedding anniversary in the evening. Longish hard-ish reps are not easy when running alone in the morning. But I hit the target, and didn't feel terrible. 2 minutes goes by quicker than you think!

Saturday was great. We had a large group (12) through 7. The continuous work with dropping the pace in the middle does a few things. First it trains the body to run hard when tired. Second it helps you with recovering to settle back to your marathon pace. If you consider water stops and moves by peers, you need to be ready to shift up and down in gears. Thirdly it has some impact on your lactate threshold. By how much, I'm not sure. But the drop mile or two is a tried and true method of our training group. It's not easy, but you get strong.

Coming up: I've got weeks of 95, 103, and 86 planned. I'm excited about losing 10 miles and later 20! Get some fresher legs. Railroad Days 10k is in a week, followed by the Labor Day Half on the Sunday before Labor Day. 

Below is how my miles worked out. I put them in a spreadsheet later. Lots of adding!

Eat run nap rinse repeat

Run, run, run, and run some more.

Miles: 95.8 on singles (no double days!)

Wednesday Workout: 13 miler w/ 6 @ 5:50-6:00 (5:56 avg), and 1 @ 5:14, all continuous.

Saturday Workout: 6 (5:50 avg), 1 (5:35), 1 (5:17)- part of a 13 mile day.

The average number of miles I've run in the last 5 weeks has been 93, which is pretty great. Overall, I've taken to napping a little more and getting to the foam roller. I did get in one core workout consisting of leg lifts, planks (straight, and both sides), side leg raises with the foot turned, and push-ups. I want to do more, but just don't have the willpower to force myself to work on my core after running or in the evening.

The upside is that most of the runs are feeling really good. I'm out in the morning at 6:30 or 7:00 and beat the heat. The first mile or two is a drag, usually 7:30-7:50 min/mi, before it settles into a comfortable 6:40-7:00 min/mi pace. The goal is to make 6:50 feel comfortable so that dropping down to 5:50 for the marathon feels like less of a jump. 

Coming Up: Marathon training has started, and kicks off with a kick in the pants week of 105 miles and two workouts. The original plan was to do 8x1k on Wednesday and a longish race simulation on Saturday. I might keep the race simulation in there for Saturday as my club (Club Northwest) has a series run that includes a half marathon. It would be a good chance to get in 10 at marathon pace and kick the last 5k while getting some fluids support that's more challenging otherwise. But Wednesday I've shifted to a morning run away from teammates for the day, making 3:10 per K a tough ask. Instead it will be 4x2miles at 5:32-5:36 pace and 2 minutes rest. Still hard, but more appropriate for the time of day! 

Seafair 8k Race Report

You need to carefully hone your super-goal pace.

Race: Seafair Torchlight Run 8k

Result: 25:58 for 12th out of a thousand+ people.

I honestly am not sure why I show up to Seafair each year. It has a trifecta I can't stand- warmth (80+ starting in the evening), inaccurate course (never 8k, never ever!), and a bunch of hills (a kid must have drawn the elevation map!). 

All that said, it was fun. As the saying above states: your super goal pace needs honing. So I went out in 5:12, followed by a 4:56 (garmin splits). I'm not in that sort of shape (5:05 average per mile). I paid for it as all super goal pace racers do. That is because super goal pace isn't really a pace you have any business running. Now or in the immediate future. Trust me. On one of the uphills around mile 2.5 I began to eat it. Legs... Have...no... Power....

Being that we strung out early on, it wasn't like there was a group or pack to sit in with. So I did what any sensible racer would do- I slowed down (not on purpose) and tried to not bury myself on the viaduct. 

Upon climbing the hill to the finish, I immediately told my wife "that was awful, and short, but sub 26! No one needs to know. And I'm not doing this again."

I'll need someone to reference this post in about 11 months when the itch to race Seafair arises yet again. 

String it together

Run where you're at, not where you want to be.

Mileage: 90.8

Workout: (Wed) 4x1 mile with 3 min rest, cutdown style- 5:21, 5:15, 5:14, 5:08.

Race: Seafair Torchlight 8k- 25:58 for 7th (course was .15-.17 short!). 

The challenge of 3, 4, 5 weeks of higher mileage is the cumulative fatigue. The daily runs feel fine- after about 30-40 minutes! The first few miles are "why am I doing this? Sleeping would be so much better!" 

The upside is daily runs are consistently in the 7:00-7:10 range on average. Usually the first mile or two is slow (7:30-7:45) followed by some miles sub 7. The new challenge is to fit in my core work more consistently. I often veg out on the couch, opting to relax instead. If 2-3 of those days had core work I think my running would improve. 

On tap this week: longish runs of 11-16 instead of double days. No real workout- maybe 4-6 miles around marathon pace as part of a longer run. Marathon training is around the corner, so I want to feel fresh.

If I Could Run 100 Miles, Then I...

Turn off the brain and go. Just go.

Miles: 100.04

Wednesday workout: 7x3' hard downhill, 3' rest.

Saturday workout: 3x2 miles (5:20), 3' rest.

The 100 mile week is the mythical barrier. To me it's a nice round number, and the gateway to aerobic fitness. Overall solid week. The Saturday workout was a struggle due to wind and tired legs. Thankfully trusty workout partners rule the day. 

Week ending 7/12

The more you run, the better you'll get.

Total miles: 92

Workouts: Wednesday- 2x1mile, 2x800 with 2 minutes rest. 5:23, 5:24, 2:35, 2:33.

Race: Run of the Mill 5k- 16:17, 12th.

Overall, it was a successful week. Wednesday I hoped to do 3x1mile and work down from half marathon to 5k pace. But the heat made running much faster than 5:20 pretty tough. The 800s were a solid mid workout compromise.

Racing also went well. I've learned to stop checking my watch when I race. I dial in on those around me and get settled. Looking at my watch throws me into a panic- "Am I too fast? Why am I so slow? God this doesn't feel good." The first mile was hard as it was an entirely steady uphill. It's followed by a downhill that isn't down enough, and winds on a path. The last mile is entirely downhill but the damage is already done. I settled into 5:15-5:20 until the final downhill.

The legs are tired but I feel like I'm turning a corner. My aerobic system feels good, and I settle into 6:45-7:00 once I'm warmed up (and awake!).

Onward to 100.

Here we go!

The Summer of Run is in full swing. I teach, so the big running building block for me comes mid June (say, the 16th or so) and runs through August 31st. After that? All bets are off. I squeeze in 60-70 between teaching and parenting. But over a 8-9 week summer span? My mileage drifts from 60-70 up to 80-100. It's glorious.

This will be the spot to document that mileage. 

Big Picture: all eyes are on the New York City Marathon, a race I've been meaning to return to since I ran it in 2007. I'm a different (re: better/more experienced) runner now so I'm hoping for a far better result.

The Here and Now: building base with an eye on a few 5k's and whatnot.

Up Next: Run of the Mill 5k on Saturday, and a track 5k a week or two later.