Week two is done, and I met all my scheduled runs. It wasn't all pretty, but there were no major problems.
The week was to include three lunch time runs of around 3 miles each, then a long run on the weekend of 6 miles. It still feels a bit odd to think of a 6 mile run as being my long run, but that is the progression I have planned. Keep it slow and gradual, so calf and hamstring issues don't come back.
My lunch runs were 3, 3, and 3.5 miles. I kept them all around a 10:30 pace. Run 1 almost felt normal, but run 2 had some problems. I tripped over a root and came up with a slight ankle strain, which went away quickly, but caused my calf to tighten up again. Of course, it was the same leg as the calf issue. I was able to continue, and finish without any major pain, and even increase slightly to 3.5 miles for run 3.
The weekend run was done on streets instead of the Tobacco Trail, as I had driven to Knoxville to visit my parents over the weekend. The calf tightness came and went throughout the run there, but there was no actual pain.
Since the week went much as before, I still plan on continuing to train through this calf issue. In addition to concentrating on form and keeping my pace a bit slower that I had been running, I have started self massaging my calf and quads with a massage stick. So far, it does seem to help.
Next weeks plan is actually the same as last week. Three lunch runs, then a 6 mile run on the weekend.
See you on the road.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Week 1 training result
Week 1 of my marathon countdown has finished. This was one that I approached with a bit of trepidation, as I wasn't sure that my hamstring and calf issues were behind me.
The week scheduled was a light one. Three lunch runs of around 3 miles each, and restarting my long run progressions on the weekend with a 5 mile run.
Coming off an injury, I decided to start slow. In fact, I went all the way back to how I started training for my first 10K in 20 years last fall. I pulled out the podrunner podcasts again, and used them to make sure that I did not go out too fast. Monday and Wednesday I used the week 1 podcast. Five minute warm up walk, followed by 5 intervals of 4 minute runs and 2 minute walks, followed by a 3 minute cool down. These went well, so I went to the week 2 mix on Friday. Five minute warm up walk, followed by 6 intervals of 4 minute runs and 90 second walks, followed by a three minute cool down. Finished the three lunch runs with some soreness and tightness, but no pain.
That left the weekend 5 mile run. It was a bit of an internal debate if I was ready for 5 miles, but I decided that I should start it, and at least walk for 5 miles if necessary, just to get the time in on my feet. I went to the Tobacco Trail for my run, thinking the softer surface would be good for my first longer run in a while. I set my watch for half mile splits, and decided to do a full two minute walk after each split. The first split was rocky, I could not get into a good rhythm. Felt like I was bouncing all over the trail. Eventually I did settle down, and was able to finish. Total time was 55 minutes. Almost the same as my first 8K time last fall after I went through the 10 week podrunner program.
So, all in all, it went well. Now, a few hours later, I do have a bit of tightness still in my calf, but I can walk without any pain or limp, so perhaps I am on the right track.
Next week, I plan on doing my lunch runs pretty much the same, followed by a 6 mile run on the weekend if all goes well. I may get back on the bike for some cross training, but that is something I will plan day to day, depending on how I feel.
Anyone thinking of starting a running program, and looking for a good set of interval based training sessions that start you slowly, and gradually bring you up, I highly recommend the podrunner interval podcast programs. They are free, and can be downloaded at http://www.djsteveboy.com/mixes.html.
See you on the road.
The week scheduled was a light one. Three lunch runs of around 3 miles each, and restarting my long run progressions on the weekend with a 5 mile run.
Coming off an injury, I decided to start slow. In fact, I went all the way back to how I started training for my first 10K in 20 years last fall. I pulled out the podrunner podcasts again, and used them to make sure that I did not go out too fast. Monday and Wednesday I used the week 1 podcast. Five minute warm up walk, followed by 5 intervals of 4 minute runs and 2 minute walks, followed by a 3 minute cool down. These went well, so I went to the week 2 mix on Friday. Five minute warm up walk, followed by 6 intervals of 4 minute runs and 90 second walks, followed by a three minute cool down. Finished the three lunch runs with some soreness and tightness, but no pain.
That left the weekend 5 mile run. It was a bit of an internal debate if I was ready for 5 miles, but I decided that I should start it, and at least walk for 5 miles if necessary, just to get the time in on my feet. I went to the Tobacco Trail for my run, thinking the softer surface would be good for my first longer run in a while. I set my watch for half mile splits, and decided to do a full two minute walk after each split. The first split was rocky, I could not get into a good rhythm. Felt like I was bouncing all over the trail. Eventually I did settle down, and was able to finish. Total time was 55 minutes. Almost the same as my first 8K time last fall after I went through the 10 week podrunner program.
So, all in all, it went well. Now, a few hours later, I do have a bit of tightness still in my calf, but I can walk without any pain or limp, so perhaps I am on the right track.
Next week, I plan on doing my lunch runs pretty much the same, followed by a 6 mile run on the weekend if all goes well. I may get back on the bike for some cross training, but that is something I will plan day to day, depending on how I feel.
Anyone thinking of starting a running program, and looking for a good set of interval based training sessions that start you slowly, and gradually bring you up, I highly recommend the podrunner interval podcast programs. They are free, and can be downloaded at http://www.djsteveboy.com/mixes.html.
See you on the road.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Training plans, setbacks, and reboots
Come this weekend, it will be 25 weeks until my first marathon attempt. That may seem like a lot of time. After all, I just finished two half marathons recently, and have done a lot of training this year, but I feel like I am already behind.
In coming up with a training plan, I had originally plotted out a 30 week schedule. Which I should have started a few weeks ago. However, the hamstring pull just prior to my last half changed that. After the half, I took a full week off, then started running again very gradually. Unfortunately, I didn't start back gradually enough. I am now working through a calf strain. So, instead of now being on week 4 of plan A, I am getting ready to start plan B.
My basic plan is an amalgam of the Galloway and the Hal Higdon plans, similar to how I ramped up my mileage for my half marathons. As in the Galloway method, I plan on using run/walk intervals. Hopefully, as my calf strengthens, my intervals will go back to taking a 60 second walk break every 1 or 2 miles. My long runs will be on the weekend, with shorter runs during lunch time. The lunch runs will be either 3 or 4 times per week, with some occasional speed work as I build up to that. I will also do some cross training on my bike on the off days from running.
The real question for me was how to plan the long run progression. Galloway has long runs over a 26 week period going up to either 26 or 28 miles, peaking three weeks prior to the marathon. Higdon has a 20 week ramp up that only goes to 20 miles, but you do more than one 20 mile run. Both plans have cut back weeks once you get up to close to the 20 mile point.
So, do I train up to a 20 mile peak, or work up to a full 26 mile training run? All the reading and research I did made it clear that you can do a full marathon without running that distance prior to the race. But, I think I have spent far too long in my past life as a working musician for that to be my first option. Most of my life has been spent in a practice room putting in far more hours per day in practice than are actually used in concert. There is the idea that you always practice to go beyond what you will actually need in performance. You try to leave yourself room for a little bit extra, and not show up with just what you need to get by with. It makes me a bit nervous to think of training up to a certain point, knowing that you will need to go further when the time comes to perform.
So, my plan B includes training up to a full 26 mile practice run. The progression should go as follows for my long weekend runs.
5, 6, 6, 8, 10, 5, 6, 8, 12, 5, 14, 5, 17, 5, 6, 20, 5, 6, 23, 6, 7, 26, 7, 6, 6, Race
Its not a straight progression, as I had to plan for vacation weeks, a short race or two, and the possibility of BikeMS, but all the weeks work out on my calendar. Now, I just have to stay healthy and injury free for the next 25 weeks.
Or, if needed, I do have a plan C.
See you on the road.
In coming up with a training plan, I had originally plotted out a 30 week schedule. Which I should have started a few weeks ago. However, the hamstring pull just prior to my last half changed that. After the half, I took a full week off, then started running again very gradually. Unfortunately, I didn't start back gradually enough. I am now working through a calf strain. So, instead of now being on week 4 of plan A, I am getting ready to start plan B.
My basic plan is an amalgam of the Galloway and the Hal Higdon plans, similar to how I ramped up my mileage for my half marathons. As in the Galloway method, I plan on using run/walk intervals. Hopefully, as my calf strengthens, my intervals will go back to taking a 60 second walk break every 1 or 2 miles. My long runs will be on the weekend, with shorter runs during lunch time. The lunch runs will be either 3 or 4 times per week, with some occasional speed work as I build up to that. I will also do some cross training on my bike on the off days from running.
The real question for me was how to plan the long run progression. Galloway has long runs over a 26 week period going up to either 26 or 28 miles, peaking three weeks prior to the marathon. Higdon has a 20 week ramp up that only goes to 20 miles, but you do more than one 20 mile run. Both plans have cut back weeks once you get up to close to the 20 mile point.
So, do I train up to a 20 mile peak, or work up to a full 26 mile training run? All the reading and research I did made it clear that you can do a full marathon without running that distance prior to the race. But, I think I have spent far too long in my past life as a working musician for that to be my first option. Most of my life has been spent in a practice room putting in far more hours per day in practice than are actually used in concert. There is the idea that you always practice to go beyond what you will actually need in performance. You try to leave yourself room for a little bit extra, and not show up with just what you need to get by with. It makes me a bit nervous to think of training up to a certain point, knowing that you will need to go further when the time comes to perform.
So, my plan B includes training up to a full 26 mile practice run. The progression should go as follows for my long weekend runs.
5, 6, 6, 8, 10, 5, 6, 8, 12, 5, 14, 5, 17, 5, 6, 20, 5, 6, 23, 6, 7, 26, 7, 6, 6, Race
Its not a straight progression, as I had to plan for vacation weeks, a short race or two, and the possibility of BikeMS, but all the weeks work out on my calendar. Now, I just have to stay healthy and injury free for the next 25 weeks.
Or, if needed, I do have a plan C.
See you on the road.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Update from April
Not much to say with this update from last month.
The main event last month was completing my second half marathon. As a result, with lots of tapering for that event due to a sore hamstring, and a full week off after the event, the months totals were far less than in previous months.
Here are the totals.
9 Runs for a total of 41 miles in a little over 7 hours.
5 Bike rides for a total of 79 miles in a little over 5 hours.
I am close to finishing my training schedule in preparation of my first marathon in November. Now that I can ride after work, I have cut back a bit on my lunch runs. Once I get used to a schedule of both ridding and running, I plan on resuming my long runs on the weekend. Hopefully, I will resume long runs by the end of the month, in plenty of time to ramp up from 6 miles, to over 20 miles prior to the OBX marathon.
See you on the road.
The main event last month was completing my second half marathon. As a result, with lots of tapering for that event due to a sore hamstring, and a full week off after the event, the months totals were far less than in previous months.
Here are the totals.
9 Runs for a total of 41 miles in a little over 7 hours.
5 Bike rides for a total of 79 miles in a little over 5 hours.
I am close to finishing my training schedule in preparation of my first marathon in November. Now that I can ride after work, I have cut back a bit on my lunch runs. Once I get used to a schedule of both ridding and running, I plan on resuming my long runs on the weekend. Hopefully, I will resume long runs by the end of the month, in plenty of time to ramp up from 6 miles, to over 20 miles prior to the OBX marathon.
See you on the road.
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