Quick note: After I posted about my treadmill run on Wednesday, I went back and reviewed my running schedule...doh! I was supposed to have run 6 miles on Wednesday after all! So I didn't really add any extra miles to the week, which is OK. I just decided to forgo the extra 3 miles and leave my total mileage at 33 for the week.
The past couple of days have not been great from a running perspective. I had a busy afternoon on Friday, so despite the nice(r) conditions outside, I wasn't able to get out before dark. So I had to suck it up and go to the gym for a treadmill run.
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Thursday, January 28, 2016
MAF Tests
I've mentioned a few times how I'm currently experimenting with heart rate training. More specifically, I'm trying to follow the MAF method and attempting to keep my heart rate under 145 for each run. I calculated this heart rate using the 180 formula, which is essentially just 180 minus my age.
It's started out pretty tough to try to keep my heart rate under 145. I had just finished training for my half-marathon and it was a little bit of a challenge to switch from a couple of days of speed work each week to slow and easy runs all the time. It was also a challenge to run at the pace required to keep my heart rate below 145. When I started running using this method, my pace was around 12-13 minute miles and I had to take several walking breaks to keep my heart rate down.
It's started out pretty tough to try to keep my heart rate under 145. I had just finished training for my half-marathon and it was a little bit of a challenge to switch from a couple of days of speed work each week to slow and easy runs all the time. It was also a challenge to run at the pace required to keep my heart rate below 145. When I started running using this method, my pace was around 12-13 minute miles and I had to take several walking breaks to keep my heart rate down.
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Treadmill Run
Just a quick update while I'm waiting for dinner to finish cooking...
This afternoon I put on my running clothes, psyched myself up to run in the chilly air and went outside to find am ugly, wet mess. Our temperatures were above freezing today so all the lovely snow we had this past weekend started to melt. This is great news for driving, but not so great news for running as I would have had to run through spots where the water was inches deep. At this point, running the street (with the deep puddles) is my only outside option as the sidewalks and trails aren't clear. So I decided to forgo the fresh air and headed to the gym.
I was dreading the gym a bit as it's always crowded this time of year and therefore pretty warm. I guess people were still stuck at home today because it really wasn't too bad. Warm, but not stifling. I had a 5 mile run on the schedule for today, but since I only managed to squeeze in a 3 mile run yesterday, I decided to run 6 instead to make up some mileage.
Overall, the run went pretty well. I managed to get into a groove fairly early on and zoned out a bit while I listened to instrumental music and watched a close-captioned episode of Property Brothers. The best thing that came out this run today was actually my first third or so. Despite the warmth of the gym and despite the fact I was a little tired going into this run, I was running at around a 10:00 minute mile pace for the first two miles! At one point, I even ran for a bit UNDER 10 minute miles and was able to keep my heart rate in check.
The fact that I was able to run at this pace, even for only a mile or two, is super encouraging. Sometime, as I'm trudging through my miles, getting frustrated with having to slow down for each subsequent mile, I wonder whether or not the heart rate training is really paying off. Today gave me hope that it's actually making a difference! I'm really looking forward to my third test coming up this weekend. I am hopeful that the numbers will show another drop in time.
This afternoon I put on my running clothes, psyched myself up to run in the chilly air and went outside to find am ugly, wet mess. Our temperatures were above freezing today so all the lovely snow we had this past weekend started to melt. This is great news for driving, but not so great news for running as I would have had to run through spots where the water was inches deep. At this point, running the street (with the deep puddles) is my only outside option as the sidewalks and trails aren't clear. So I decided to forgo the fresh air and headed to the gym.
I was dreading the gym a bit as it's always crowded this time of year and therefore pretty warm. I guess people were still stuck at home today because it really wasn't too bad. Warm, but not stifling. I had a 5 mile run on the schedule for today, but since I only managed to squeeze in a 3 mile run yesterday, I decided to run 6 instead to make up some mileage.
Overall, the run went pretty well. I managed to get into a groove fairly early on and zoned out a bit while I listened to instrumental music and watched a close-captioned episode of Property Brothers. The best thing that came out this run today was actually my first third or so. Despite the warmth of the gym and despite the fact I was a little tired going into this run, I was running at around a 10:00 minute mile pace for the first two miles! At one point, I even ran for a bit UNDER 10 minute miles and was able to keep my heart rate in check.
The fact that I was able to run at this pace, even for only a mile or two, is super encouraging. Sometime, as I'm trudging through my miles, getting frustrated with having to slow down for each subsequent mile, I wonder whether or not the heart rate training is really paying off. Today gave me hope that it's actually making a difference! I'm really looking forward to my third test coming up this weekend. I am hopeful that the numbers will show another drop in time.
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Winter Running
If you hadn't heard, the Northeast was slated for (and received) a fair bit of winter weather this past weekend. You may recall from my schedule that I posted the other day, that I try to do my long runs on the weekends. Since the blizzard of 2016 was going to hit Friday - Sunday, I knew that the long weekend run was out this week. Luckily, we had several days notice for this storm so I was able to switch my schedule around a bit and fit in (almost) all my runs.
I managed to squeeze in a 9 miler after work on Wednesday, a 6 mile run after work on Thursday, and a 6 mile run Friday morning before the storm. I had already run 4 on Monday, so that brought my week total to 25 miles, definitely shy of my planned 33.
I spent most of Saturday doing chores around the house. I accomplished a lot, but didn't get in any cardio or exercise of any type. So when I woke up on Sunday to find that the snow had stopped, I was hopeful that I might be able to get a run in. Here's the winter wonderland I woke up to that morning - so pretty!
After a lazy morning of coffee, waffles, and chores, I ventured outside to see if a run was doable. To my happy surprise, my street and the main neighborhood roads had been somewhat cleared. There was still ice and snow on the roads, but it was compact - perfect for my YaxTrax. I received my YaxTrax (traction cleats for running in the snow/ice) a few years ago, but hadn't had the opportunity to try them out yet. Here's what they look like on my shoes:
After figuring out how to put them on and doing a brief test walk on the snow, I headed out for a 5 mile run. Between dodging snow piles, walkers, sledders, and 4WD vehicles, it was a little slow going, but it still felt great to be outside in the fresh air. I ran painfully slow (even slower than my normal MAF method training), but I put the miles in and made it to an even 30 miles for this week.
It looks like the weather is going to cooperate better the rest of this week. Let's see if I can fit in all my runs (35 miles) and most importantly, make it to the gym this weekend to run my third MAF test to see if I've made any progress with these slow runs.
I managed to squeeze in a 9 miler after work on Wednesday, a 6 mile run after work on Thursday, and a 6 mile run Friday morning before the storm. I had already run 4 on Monday, so that brought my week total to 25 miles, definitely shy of my planned 33.
I spent most of Saturday doing chores around the house. I accomplished a lot, but didn't get in any cardio or exercise of any type. So when I woke up on Sunday to find that the snow had stopped, I was hopeful that I might be able to get a run in. Here's the winter wonderland I woke up to that morning - so pretty!
After a lazy morning of coffee, waffles, and chores, I ventured outside to see if a run was doable. To my happy surprise, my street and the main neighborhood roads had been somewhat cleared. There was still ice and snow on the roads, but it was compact - perfect for my YaxTrax. I received my YaxTrax (traction cleats for running in the snow/ice) a few years ago, but hadn't had the opportunity to try them out yet. Here's what they look like on my shoes:
After figuring out how to put them on and doing a brief test walk on the snow, I headed out for a 5 mile run. Between dodging snow piles, walkers, sledders, and 4WD vehicles, it was a little slow going, but it still felt great to be outside in the fresh air. I ran painfully slow (even slower than my normal MAF method training), but I put the miles in and made it to an even 30 miles for this week.
It looks like the weather is going to cooperate better the rest of this week. Let's see if I can fit in all my runs (35 miles) and most importantly, make it to the gym this weekend to run my third MAF test to see if I've made any progress with these slow runs.
Monday, January 18, 2016
Current Training Plan
After having accomplished my goal of running a sub-2 hour half marathon in December 2015, I knew that I needed to take a step back and focus on strengthening and building my running base before jumping back into racing again. I truly believe one of the key factors of my success in meeting my goal was the fact that I took the time over the summer to build a strong running foundation.
From June to late August, I built my base by running 25-30 miles per week at a slow, easy pace. Although it was challenging at first not to have a "plan" that I was working towards, I eventually just relaxed and had fun with it. By switching my focus from a running schedule culminating in a race to a running schedule simply to build mileage, I felt better physically and mentally by the start of Fall.
So after my great base-building experience over the summer, I decided to focus on base building again this winter. I eventually want to meet my goal of a sub-23 minute 5K this Spring, so I'll spend the first few months of this year building my base and then follow a more specific plan to improve my speed.
For this go round of base-building, I decided to give heart-rate training a shot. More specifically, I'm going to follow the MAF method (at least the exercise piece - I'm not going to change my diet at this point.) The MAF method requires that you calculate your maximum aerobic heart rate and run all of your weekly mileage below that rate. According to the 180 formula, my maximum heart rate is 145 so I am making a concerted effort to keep my heart rate below that number for every single run.
Every couple of weeks, you perform a MAF test, which requires you to run 3-5 miles AT your maximum aerobic heart rate and to record the time for each mile. In theory, by running at a lower heart rate, you're working more aerobically and you become a more efficient runner. That means for each MAF test you should see a decrease in mileage times because your fitness improves to allow you to run faster at a lower heart rate.
So here's a look at my running schedule for the MAF method. I'm building my base for about 15 weeks and trying to average between 25 - 35 miles per week. Since I'm writing this post in the middle of my training, I've included previously completed weeks. You'll notice that all hasn't gone according to plan as I was sick after Christmas this year and had to take some days off for travel.
| Week | M | T | W | R | F | S | S | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/14/15 |
OFF
|
4
|
3
|
3
|
8
|
4
|
5 (Test)
|
27
|
12/21/15
| 4 |
OFF
|
6
|
4
|
3
|
5
|
SICK
|
22
|
12/28/15
|
SICK
|
SICK
|
SICK
|
3
|
4
|
4
|
5 (Test)
|
16
|
01/04/16
| 3 | OFF |
OFF
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 15 |
01/11/16
| 4 | 4 |
OFF
| 3 |
6
|
5
|
6
|
28
|
01/18/16
| 4 | OFF | 6 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 33 |
01/25/16
| OFF | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 5 (Test) | 35 |
02/01/16
| 3 | OFF | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 18 |
02/08/16
| OFF | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 35 |
02/15/16
| 5 | OFF | 6 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 35 |
02/22/16
| OFF | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 5 (Test) | 35 |
02/29/16
| 3 | OFF | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 18 |
03/07/16
| OFF | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 35 |
03/14/16
| 5 | OFF | 6 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 35 |
03/21/16
| OFF | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 5 (Test) | 35 |
Kind of a boring schedule, but I'm very interested in seeing whether or not my times decrease for my miles. As you can see above, I've already done two MAF tests and I'll reveal the results of those in a separate post later this week. :)
I admit that part of me is a little worried that running so slowly will make me a slower runner. But I figure even if that appears to happen after this trial, I can always just follow the same schedule I did this summer as I did last summer and hopefully have a great fall running season!
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Long Time, No Blog
I had the best intentions last year to continually update this blog with my progress towards my goal of running a sub-2:00 hour half marathon.
Obviously, my good intentions weren't enough to make it happen.
So let's try this again! But this time, with a new goal. Yes, that's right - I accomplished my sub-2:00 hour half marathon goal last year! After a disappointing May race, I was able to run a 1:57:50 in December. I'll post more details about my journey to a sub-2:00 race (bumps - literally and figuratively) in a later blog post.
This year, I actually have two goals. The first is to run a sub-23:00 5K and the second is to run a sub 1:50 half-marathon. Given my progress and success over the past year, I think these are realistic and achievable goals. Stay tuned for additional blog posts as I document (this time, for REAL) my journey towards these mileposts!
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