running

Harder ‘N Hell Half Training: Week 5

Another fantastic week.

Monday: Off (I got a new kitten and didn’t want to leave him alone!)
Tuesday: 5, 4x Chester Bowl
Wednesday: 5.6, road
Thursday: 4.4, trail (Park Point)
Friday: 3.4, trail (Hartley)
Saturday: 3.1, trail (SHT starting at Martin Rd)
Sunday: 1.4 + 9.3, trail (1.4 at Tettegouche, 9.3 at Split Rock/SHT)
Total: 32.2

Another week over 30 miles, that’s excellent. It’s warm again here, and so I’m getting a little more heat training. My 9-mile Sunday run was actually a minute per mile faster than my 7-mile Sunday run in week 4, so that was exciting!

I didn’t plan to have Monday off, but I saw a kitten Monday morning that I just HAD to HAVE, so I went and got him. This has put me in an odd situation because I’ll end up running 8 days in a row, but I felt pretty strong even on Sunday after I finished the run, so I am pretty sure I’ll make it.

Harder ‘N Hell Half Training: Week 4

A monster training week.

Monday: 4.5, trail (Bagley)
Tuesday: 5, treadmill (8×400 repeats)
Wednesday: 4, road
Thursday: rest
Friday: 5, trail (Hartley)
Saturday: 5, trail (SHT starting at Spirit Mountain)
Sunday: 7.3, trail (SHT from Getchell to Twin Ponds)
Total: 30.7

Last week was a good week. I probably increased the mileage too much, but I have been lower on mileage than I wanted so far in this training cycle. I am averaging 23 miles/week, which is really low. Obviously I had a bad week 2, but still.

Friday’s run was decent for the most part. I always enjoy running at Hartley. I came across a friend who was biking (actually we had a near-miss, as I was running across a long section of planks and was halfway through when his friend came around the corner of the trail and had to stop at the last minute before riding on to the planks), which was a first. Two minutes after I saw him I wasn’t paying attention and tripped. I landed hard, face-first, and ended up with a stiff neck the next day. I am glad it wasn’t worse, but I need to remember to PICK UP MY FEET.

Over the weekend I spent some significant time on the race course. Saturday I ran a depressing out and back over the first 2.5 miles of the trail. I felt kind of sluggish during the run, but I had a decent time on the stairs of death, only stopping once to catch my breath. There was a family waiting at the top so I felt stupid once I got up there, since they were probably waiting for me to huff and puff my way up. I staggered through the seemingly endless uphill on the way back, reminding myself that I’d not be racing that way (poor 100k runners, they will be!), but it was a bit disheartening.

Sunday I dropped my car off at Twin Ponds and then was dropped off at the Getchell/Highland parking lot. It was misty and cool, and I had on long tights and a lightweight long-sleeved tee, which was a little much. The long tights were fine, but a short-sleeved shirt and some arm warmers would have been better, I think. I didn’t get overheated but a little more ventilation would have been good.

I spent the first part of the run feeling a little nervous and exhilarated, partly because it was windy and partly because I was afraid that my car was so far away. On an out and back, I can always double back early if needed. With a point to point run, I am committed to the distance. I had my phone (in a plastic bag, since it could have rained), lip balm, a roll of mints (for nausea or for dry mouth), my keys, and an energy bar all tucked in the pockets of my handhelds (I brought both). It’s a little more than I carry for a normal run, but it eased my mind.

I practiced a little nutrition experimentation. Around the halfway mark, maybe a little before, I ate half the energy bar I’d brought with. It was a pain in the butt, as the wrapper was hard to open and the bar was hard to tear. I wanted to just tear a chunk off, but it required a significant amount of force and torque to get even a small piece to eat. I ate the second half when I was nearing Enger Tower (a bit over 6 miles in), but I felt pretty gross after eating it. Mints to the rescue! I guess I can see the appeal of gels. I’ll have to give them a try, although I think for longer runs I still need solid food in my stomach to keep it from growling. We’ll see. I did get a nice boost in my step after eating, so I was glad to have the snack.

The best part about the run (physically speaking; the best part about the run OVERALL is the incredible view) was how I felt at the end. I was pretty excited to see my car and I had plenty of energy left in my legs to kick into another gear. I texted my friend David (who is also running the race) “WE ARE GOING TO DO THIS!!! IT’S GOING TO BE AWESOME!!!” Of course 7.3 miles is not 13.1, and I didn’t include the hardest part of the course, but still. I felt much more confident than I have been feeling lately! I may be slow, and I may be the last finisher, but I feel like I can run strong, and if I can have another 8 fantastic weeks of training, maybe I’ll surprise myself come race day.

Weathering the Weather

It’s been chilly here in Duluth the past few days. Like, down in the mid-50s during the day chilly, which is tropical in May, but frigid when it was 90 degrees just a few days prior. It’s all relative.

Tuesday, it rained all day, and I had to do something horrible. I ran on the treadmill. It sucked. It was a good opportunity to do some consistent speedwork though, so I switched up my days and did 8×400 on Tuesday instead of Wednesday. I was sweating in the basement and watching Star Trek: First Contact in order to try to keep myself from looking at the treadmill clock every half a second. It didn’t work. I did run pretty fast though, 8×400 at 10:54 pace. Probably a little too fast, but I don’t care.

Wednesday I ran outside on the road, but I wore a (lightweight) long-sleeved shirt. That was depressing. I was a little bit too warm by the end, but it was drizzly and there was a mean wind, so it was probably for the best. I ran way, way too fast. I treated myself to some music during the run (90s gangsta rap) and I got really into it. I ended up with around a 14 minute pace, which is TOO FAST for an easy run, especially after a tough workout the day before.

It’s easy to run fast when the temperature’s cooler. My Monday and Wednesday runs were both significantly faster than normal. On Monday I ran the hilly Bagley course at a 15:23 pace, one of my fastest paces on that course, and it didn’t feel that difficult. I even hiked up the big hill. Wednesday’s run was over 2 minutes faster than I normally run the same route on an easy day. They say fall PRs are made in summer heat, and I am a believer!

I am lucky today is a rest day so I can slow my roll; I need to take the easy days easy, even when I’m feeling great. I also need to be careful that the sharp drop in temperature doesn’t result in a cough or cold, as it can for me. I need some solid runs on the trails over the weekend and a great overall training week. It should be back in the 70s by Friday, so I think it’s likely!

(Whoops, this published early. I corrected it.)

Running Just To Be On The Run

I really love this song.

This past Saturday, I ran a “practice” 10K. It was both part of my training plan (actually it has a 5K, 10K, and 15K scheduled, but I switched around the order to accommodate a 5K in September) and a Strava challenge I registered for (Run a 10K in August). I also took it as a chance to see how my speed is holding up. The answer was not well.

I used both the app and my watch to record the workout, because I wanted to be able to see my pace at any time and see my splits, like I would do in a real race. I parked at Brighton Beach and warmed up with a short run underneath London Road, starting from the other side of that tunnel.

My speed was not holding up. It didn’t go well. Once again, the heat got to me. I also planned to run this workout like a race, but didn’t prepare like it was a race. Note to self: a Frappuccino 3 hours beforehand is only going to hinder my running abilities. I also should have soaked myself before running to stay cool. My plan went from trying to average a 12:00 pace (lasted 1 mile) to trying to negative split the run in order to salvage it. I wanted to negative split the run by both Strava’s and my watch’s measurements, since I had to stop for a car a couple times on the way out, which Strava doesn’t count in my splits. Here’s how it all went down:

Mile 1: 12:01 (Strava) 12:06
Mile 2: 13:25 (Strava) 13:31
Mile 3: 14:07 (Strava) 14:35
Mile 4: 13:44 (Strava) 14:00
Mile 5: 13:25 (Strava) 13:30
Mile 6: 12:51 (Strava) 12:59
+0.36: 11:07 pace (Strava) ??? (watch)
Overall: 13:07 (Strava) 13:20 (watch)

Yuck. But this kind of intrigued me and now I really want to improve at the 10K distance. It’s a hard distance, because the pace is still fast, similar to a 5K pace, but it’s twice as long (duh), so it’s more taxing on the body. I kind of like the challenge. Now I need to look at a list of races to see what might be available late late late in the year or in the spring…

Harder ‘N Hell Half Training: Week 3

Back in action!

Monday: 3.6 mi, trails (Bagley)
Tuesday: 3.7 mi, road
Wednesday: 5.6 mi (1.3 mi road, 4.3 mi includes 4x hill repeats at Chester Bowl)
Thursday: rest
Friday: rest
Saturday: 7.1 mi (6.4 mi + 0.7 mi warm-up and cool-down, paved trail [Lakewalk], mock race)
Sunday: 4.2 mi, trail (SHT)
Total: 24.4 mi

I bounced back after last week’s early cutback, bringing my mileage up to the low end of where I’d like it to be. I had not planned on doing 2 rest days this week, but Thursday I had some GI issues that carried on to Friday morning, so I decided to be safe rather than sorry. I was having enough trouble staying hydrated without being under the weather, since it was hot again at the end of the week and over the weekend. As I’ve mentioned previously, I don’t have air conditioning, and my house holds in heat. At night it’ll be 20 degrees warmer inside than it is outside. It really sucks. It also results in waking up behind the 8-ball regarding hydration.

I did two hard days over the weekend because I knew it would probably be my last chance to get in some real heat training. Saturday’s run was supposed to be at a 10K race pace, but instead it turned into a lesson in suffering and perseverance. I’ll write a bit more about it later in the week, but if that’s my true 10K pace, I am in big, big, big trouble for this half marathon.

Sunday I did two mostly-downhill miles on the Superior Hiking Trail, starting at 24th Ave W and continuing toward the city, past the Twin Ponds. This translated into two mostly-uphill miles on the way back. I felt really awful during the run and slowed way, way down. The good news is the race is only one way! The easy way! I only have a couple more sections of the trail to recon. I think for some of my upcoming long runs, I may need to coerce someone into picking me up at the end of a point to point run, rather than do all these out-and-backs.

25% of the training for this race is in the books. My confidence isn’t exactly soaring from the first three weeks of training, but I am certain I can complete this race. We’ll see how the next 9 weeks progress.

Doubleday

I ran a double yesterday! Amazing!

It wasn’t planned. My car broke down on Tuesday night, and I needed to take it in to the shop. I had no one to drive me, so I either had to take a bus or run home. So I ran. It was just a little over a mile, and almost entirely downhill, so it wasn’t bad. I don’t normally run so early in the morning (it was 9:00, that’s early for me), other than races. I hadn’t eaten anything yet, and I felt like my energy was flagging even on a short run, so I know I’m probably not one of those people who can do their long runs at like 5 am without a single morsel of food in their bellies. I’m sure for a short run I’d only need a little snack. My quadriceps weren’t quite ready for the pounding they took, but they can just suck it up.

My planned run was another set of 4 hill repeats at Chester Bowl, followed by a descent along the trail by the creek. Instead of trying to run parts of the ascent, I power-hiked all 4 reps, doing my best to try to keep my breathing under control. I only lost 5 seconds off my overall pace for the workout, and since I didn’t stop to take a picture during the run this time, I didn’t have any recovery before I started on the trail. That’s a pretty good argument in favor of the efficiency of power hiking. Small sample size, yes, but still relevant.

I like the idea of incorporating a morning run to add a little volume to my weekly mileage. I don’t like to get up early, and I’m slow, so I doubt these runs would get over 3 miles, but I think that’s good. I felt great after the run, and energized for the day, and I didn’t feel any negative effects during the evening’s hard workout. Once school starts and my schedule and workload will be all over the place, doubles might be the only way to ensure I’m getting in the mileage I need.

Harder ‘N Hell Half Training: Week 2

The week that wasn’t.

Monday: 4.3 mi, trails (Bagley)
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 4.1 mi, paved trail (Lakewalk), 2.3 mi at tempo
Thursday: rest
Friday: rest
Saturday: rest
Sunday: 5.5 mi, road
Total: 14.1 mi (Strava’s rounding is weird)

I have no regrets about taking off three days in a row. It was absolutely the right decision and allowed me to rest up and shake off whatever was bothering me physically. Of course, it’s Monday and I’ve undone all the great sleep I got over the weekend.

I did yoga all three rest days, plus on Sunday. I have found that my body is a lot more receptive to yoga if I do it after a run. My muscles and connective tissues are looser and ready to stretch and contort moreso than they are when I haven’t run. This is obvious, but I didn’t think everything would be SO tight if I hadn’t run, so I need to work on my flexibility more.

I ran on the road on Sunday, to ease back into things (if you can call 5.5 miles “easing,” which I don’t really, but some people like to say “Oh I just did a quick 6 mile recovery run with a stroller and I barely looked at my watch and somehow I was averaging a sub 7 pace, teehee! Just a slow slog!”) as I’ve been logging a lot of trail miles lately, which is probably wearing me out a little more than the mostly-road running I did training for my 5 mile race. My hips are a little sore but other than that, I feel energized today, even though I’ve only had 1/3 the normal dose of coffee. I think that’s a good sign. I am ready to start a great training week this week, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the next 10 weeks go smoothly.