There are a lot of things that can steer a training program off it’s track. As I finish Week Eight and look ahead to Week Nine of my BEST plan, I am smack-dab in middle of the Christmas and New Years festivities. What makes training and sticking to the plan difficult during these days is the departure from a normal routine. For me during this season, it means family parties and days off from work.
After my 11 miler on Sunday, the plan called for me to run two 6 milers. I dismissed any idea or running on Christmas Eve (Monday) or Christmas Day (Tuesday). When I was a little kid, the day after Christmas used to be my second favorite day of the year (last day of school is the runaway first place winner). I loved December 26th because you still have the large majority of your holiday time ahead of you, and you had the added bonus of all those new toys. So on this December 26th, I knew that I should probably get in one of those 6 milers. But I didn’t really want to do it. I was with my family and comfortable in the Christmas aftermath.
After being inside all of Christmas Day, Patti wanted to get out in the elements for a refreshing walk. When I heard that, my mind quickly rationalized a skipped run. I knew Patti would walk about 5 miles and do so at a pretty good pace. I could join her and skip one of my 6 milers without total guilt. I did join her and we did have a brisk 5 mile walk before lunch. Our pace was close to 15:00 minutes per mile.
The day went on and it finally hit me that taking three consecutive days off from running probably wasn’t a good choice. So I went to the Y and put in a slow 6 miler before dinner. When I was done I was glad that now I could take Thursday off and still complete the week with a 6 miler on Friday morning.
Thursday came and I surprised myself by cancelling the day off and putting in my miles as planned. It was helpful that Maddie wanted to go to the Y for a workout also. For the week, 23 miles planned and completed. If I wanted to count the walk (which I won’t) it would be 28 miles.
The holiday season isn’t over yet. There are more family functions this weekend and I’m just today (Friday) getting back to the office. I have a 13 miler scheduled for the weekend and by running on Thursday, I have some options and should be well rested. I addition to the increase to 13 miles next week, my two mid week runs go up to 7 miles. I have now completed two weeks of the Endurance Phase and the miles will really start to get challenging. 7 miles is a pretty lengthy ‘short run’ for me.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Week Eight - Long Run Report (12/24/07)
Its Christmas Eve and yesterday (12/23) I did my Week Eight Long Run of 11 miles. My friend Suzy came along for the first 7 miles. Patti and I have been good friends with Suzy, her husband Tom and family for about 10 years. We were introduced through one of those suburban neighborhood playgroup things.
Suzy is going to Orlando with her sister to run the Disney Half Marathon race. Her race is less than three weeks away and Suzy’s longest run so far was a 6 miler. I think she has realistic expectations for her race and will walk when she needs to walk and plan on an 11 minute per mile pace. Suzy is a good athlete and even though she didn’t have the benefit of the BEST program from the start (she is following Hal Higdon), I’m sure she and her sister will do fine. Suzy is very excited about the accomplishment and her goal is to finish. Nevertheless she wants to extend her long run as much as possible. Her goal today was 8, but she ran out of gas and wisely cut back to 7. From what Suzy described to me, it sounded like her muscles were out of sugar: she had a mild case of hitting the wall. I know the feeling when your legs just can’t move. She only had some cheese and crackers before the run. I urged her to eat a bigger meal before these long slow runs. Her body is not accustomed to running for over 75 minutes.
We ran together at her goal pace of about 11 minutes per mile. When she was finished, I went on for 4 more miles. We ran at Ridley Creek State Park. Since this course is measured every tenth of a mile, it was easy to manage our distances. I ran the final 4 miles at a 9:30 pace: faster than the 10:00 Long Run pace but slower than Marathon Pace. With the first 7 miles at 11:00, my run will look pretty slow on the training log, but it was encouraging to be able to speed it up after already running for well over an hour.
I have to run two 6 milers to finish off the week. Hopefully the report on those runs is uneventful.
Suzy is going to Orlando with her sister to run the Disney Half Marathon race. Her race is less than three weeks away and Suzy’s longest run so far was a 6 miler. I think she has realistic expectations for her race and will walk when she needs to walk and plan on an 11 minute per mile pace. Suzy is a good athlete and even though she didn’t have the benefit of the BEST program from the start (she is following Hal Higdon), I’m sure she and her sister will do fine. Suzy is very excited about the accomplishment and her goal is to finish. Nevertheless she wants to extend her long run as much as possible. Her goal today was 8, but she ran out of gas and wisely cut back to 7. From what Suzy described to me, it sounded like her muscles were out of sugar: she had a mild case of hitting the wall. I know the feeling when your legs just can’t move. She only had some cheese and crackers before the run. I urged her to eat a bigger meal before these long slow runs. Her body is not accustomed to running for over 75 minutes.
We ran together at her goal pace of about 11 minutes per mile. When she was finished, I went on for 4 more miles. We ran at Ridley Creek State Park. Since this course is measured every tenth of a mile, it was easy to manage our distances. I ran the final 4 miles at a 9:30 pace: faster than the 10:00 Long Run pace but slower than Marathon Pace. With the first 7 miles at 11:00, my run will look pretty slow on the training log, but it was encouraging to be able to speed it up after already running for well over an hour.
I have to run two 6 milers to finish off the week. Hopefully the report on those runs is uneventful.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
End of Week Seven (12/20/07)
It is only Thursday and I am already writing my week ending wrap up. The difference between running three days per week and four days is huge. With a four run week, you are forced to have at least two runs on consecutive days. If you don’t plan well, you can be forced to run on three straight days. This happened to me on a few weeks in the Base Phase. Three runs per week is much more forgiving to the legs and the scheduling.
This was the first week of the Endurance Phase. The plan called for a weekend 9 miler followed by two mid week 6 milers.
Sunday was my day for the 9 miler. I had a busy morning with 8:30 Mass, Peter’s CCD Christmas Show and other household odds and ends. The weather forecast called for low 40’s and rain. By the time I went out for the run, the rain had stopped and the skies actually cleared up.
Earlier in the week, I went on the G-Map Pedometer web site to map out a couple alternatives for a 9 mile run. Where I live it is impossible to avoid lots of hills on a loop course or an out and back run. I know that running hills is good strengthening work, but I wanted to avoid excessive hills if I could.
I decided on a point-to-point run from my house to my father’s house. Patti and the kids would meet me there later for dinner. I played with lots of routes until I came up with one that measured almost exactly 9 miles. There was one stretch of road that I was unfamiliar with, so I took Danny for a driving lesson on the route to make sure the road went through and I wasn’t stuck 7 miles from home at some dead end. I even stashed a water bottle at mile 6.
I started the run at 3:15 and a little tired from the day’s activity. By the time I got to mile 2, I realized that I once again my outdoor running was faster than my treadmill pace. The course worked out well and had two significant sets of hills; each with a long downhill, followed by a shorter, but steep uphill. Since this was my first official ‘Long Run’ of the plan, I was allowing myself a 10 minute per mile pace. I was pleased with the run and finished in 1:23:39, a 9:18 pace. The run felt great; I could have gone faster. I put together a ninety minute playlist and didn’t even make it to the last song. Of course I forgot about the water bottle until I was about 200 yards beyond the spot. No way was I turning back.
I didn’t feel it until Monday, but I woke up to significant soreness. While walking around Monday, I was somewhat concerned that my two mid week runs would be tough and I might end up wishing I had gone slower on Sunday. I took Tuesday off also. This is the beauty of running three days a week.
I had no choice on Wednesday and took it slow for my 6 miler at the Y. This run actually helped shake the aching from my legs. I decided to run the next day (today) to finish off my week with a slightly faster 6 miler. All runs and miles were completed for the week.
Next week, I need to get in an 11 miler on the weekend and two mid week 6 milers. With Christmas in the middle of next week (Tuesday), I will need to be flexible on when I can run. Our friend Suzy is training for a January half marathon and is looking for some running companionship. We are going to run together this weekend. I just need to find a way to work her 8 miler into my 11 miler. The Ridley Creek State Park loop should be a good place for that.
I actually feel guilty about finishing this week on Thursday. But something tells me that tomorrow morning, I will be grateful to have the day off.
This was the first week of the Endurance Phase. The plan called for a weekend 9 miler followed by two mid week 6 milers.
Sunday was my day for the 9 miler. I had a busy morning with 8:30 Mass, Peter’s CCD Christmas Show and other household odds and ends. The weather forecast called for low 40’s and rain. By the time I went out for the run, the rain had stopped and the skies actually cleared up.
Earlier in the week, I went on the G-Map Pedometer web site to map out a couple alternatives for a 9 mile run. Where I live it is impossible to avoid lots of hills on a loop course or an out and back run. I know that running hills is good strengthening work, but I wanted to avoid excessive hills if I could.
I decided on a point-to-point run from my house to my father’s house. Patti and the kids would meet me there later for dinner. I played with lots of routes until I came up with one that measured almost exactly 9 miles. There was one stretch of road that I was unfamiliar with, so I took Danny for a driving lesson on the route to make sure the road went through and I wasn’t stuck 7 miles from home at some dead end. I even stashed a water bottle at mile 6.
I started the run at 3:15 and a little tired from the day’s activity. By the time I got to mile 2, I realized that I once again my outdoor running was faster than my treadmill pace. The course worked out well and had two significant sets of hills; each with a long downhill, followed by a shorter, but steep uphill. Since this was my first official ‘Long Run’ of the plan, I was allowing myself a 10 minute per mile pace. I was pleased with the run and finished in 1:23:39, a 9:18 pace. The run felt great; I could have gone faster. I put together a ninety minute playlist and didn’t even make it to the last song. Of course I forgot about the water bottle until I was about 200 yards beyond the spot. No way was I turning back.
I didn’t feel it until Monday, but I woke up to significant soreness. While walking around Monday, I was somewhat concerned that my two mid week runs would be tough and I might end up wishing I had gone slower on Sunday. I took Tuesday off also. This is the beauty of running three days a week.
I had no choice on Wednesday and took it slow for my 6 miler at the Y. This run actually helped shake the aching from my legs. I decided to run the next day (today) to finish off my week with a slightly faster 6 miler. All runs and miles were completed for the week.
Next week, I need to get in an 11 miler on the weekend and two mid week 6 milers. With Christmas in the middle of next week (Tuesday), I will need to be flexible on when I can run. Our friend Suzy is training for a January half marathon and is looking for some running companionship. We are going to run together this weekend. I just need to find a way to work her 8 miler into my 11 miler. The Ridley Creek State Park loop should be a good place for that.
I actually feel guilty about finishing this week on Thursday. But something tells me that tomorrow morning, I will be grateful to have the day off.
Monday, December 17, 2007
End of Week Six - Move to Endurance Phase (12-14-07)
Based on my original plan, this was to be the last week in my Base building phase. After six weeks of running four times per week and gradually increasing the length of the runs, I thought I would be ready for the transition to the Endurance Phase. In last week’s report, I hinted that I might extend the Base Phase another week. I have decided to stick with the plan and move into the Endurance Phase next week.
Week six called for 22 total miles. Two 5 milers and two 6 milers was the plan and I was able to put in all four runs and complete all the miles as planned.
My first run of the week was outdoors at Ridley Creek State Park. It was a good 6 mile run. My overall pace for the run was 9:24, but the final 3 miles were run at a pace slightly faster that 9:00. I was happy with this run. Since I wasn’t able to get out for this run until Monday, my remaining three runs would have be done with little rest.
I ran three consecutive days (Wed-Thu-Fri) at the Y. These were all slow runs ranging from 9:34 to 9:58. This caused my weekly pace to the slowest since Week Two. I am finding that my outdoor running pace is faster than the electronic paces on the treadmill. I’m a little surprised that the hills and cold weather are not slowing me down more. So these slow treadmill workouts are not as much of a concern as they were before.
When I started this plan, one of my goals was to lose some weight. At the start of my training I weighed in at 203 lbs. I am unfortunately one of those people with fluctuating body weight. At 6’1”, 203 is on the heavy side for me. At the end of this week, I weighed in at 198; a five pound loss. I had hoped to lose more, but I never seem to lose much weight when I am running higher mileage than usual. I’m confident that by the time of the Ocean Drive Marathon (3/30/08), I’ll be at 190 or below without any problem.
Next week I am going to start the 8 week Endurance Phase of my plan. After some hesitance I am ready to start the weekly long runs. These weekly long runs are the basis for all marathon plans, and now they will take center stage in my training for the next couple months.
I will start with a 9 miler this weekend and then bump it up by 2 miles each week. The plan has me doing a 23 miler on 2/2/08. During the Endurance Phase I am rewarded with the cut back to just three days of running. I will start off with two 6 milers for my mid-week runs. Every other week I will bump that up by 1 mile. So by the time I am doing the 23 miler, my mid-week runs will be at 9 miles. The week of 2/2/08 will be my highest mileage week (41 miles). While I have confidence in the plan, I will need to take each week as it comes and adjust if necessary.
For those who are thinking how I could have my last long run 7 weeks before the race, don’t worry. I also have two more 20+ mile runs placed in the final 5 weeks of the plan.
After doing the 6 milers at the Y this past week, I have come to the opinion that 6 miles is about my limit for indoor running. If I stick with that opinion, it means that I will be doing most of my running outdoors in late December and January. With the short days, I will also need to be running in the dark. Maybe I won’t stick with that opinion,,, we shall see.
One last thought of my move to the Endurance Phase. In earlier reports, I brought up my desire to run lots of miles at Marathon Pace. That has just not materialized and I don’t know how it will during the next phase when I will either be running long miles or recovering from running long miles. Don’t be surprised if I adjust the plan to fit in some tempo running at race pace.
For the Base Phase, I get an A for doing the miles and perfect attendance, but a C for my pace. I’ll take a solid B average for the phase.
Week six called for 22 total miles. Two 5 milers and two 6 milers was the plan and I was able to put in all four runs and complete all the miles as planned.
My first run of the week was outdoors at Ridley Creek State Park. It was a good 6 mile run. My overall pace for the run was 9:24, but the final 3 miles were run at a pace slightly faster that 9:00. I was happy with this run. Since I wasn’t able to get out for this run until Monday, my remaining three runs would have be done with little rest.
I ran three consecutive days (Wed-Thu-Fri) at the Y. These were all slow runs ranging from 9:34 to 9:58. This caused my weekly pace to the slowest since Week Two. I am finding that my outdoor running pace is faster than the electronic paces on the treadmill. I’m a little surprised that the hills and cold weather are not slowing me down more. So these slow treadmill workouts are not as much of a concern as they were before.
When I started this plan, one of my goals was to lose some weight. At the start of my training I weighed in at 203 lbs. I am unfortunately one of those people with fluctuating body weight. At 6’1”, 203 is on the heavy side for me. At the end of this week, I weighed in at 198; a five pound loss. I had hoped to lose more, but I never seem to lose much weight when I am running higher mileage than usual. I’m confident that by the time of the Ocean Drive Marathon (3/30/08), I’ll be at 190 or below without any problem.
Next week I am going to start the 8 week Endurance Phase of my plan. After some hesitance I am ready to start the weekly long runs. These weekly long runs are the basis for all marathon plans, and now they will take center stage in my training for the next couple months.
I will start with a 9 miler this weekend and then bump it up by 2 miles each week. The plan has me doing a 23 miler on 2/2/08. During the Endurance Phase I am rewarded with the cut back to just three days of running. I will start off with two 6 milers for my mid-week runs. Every other week I will bump that up by 1 mile. So by the time I am doing the 23 miler, my mid-week runs will be at 9 miles. The week of 2/2/08 will be my highest mileage week (41 miles). While I have confidence in the plan, I will need to take each week as it comes and adjust if necessary.
For those who are thinking how I could have my last long run 7 weeks before the race, don’t worry. I also have two more 20+ mile runs placed in the final 5 weeks of the plan.
After doing the 6 milers at the Y this past week, I have come to the opinion that 6 miles is about my limit for indoor running. If I stick with that opinion, it means that I will be doing most of my running outdoors in late December and January. With the short days, I will also need to be running in the dark. Maybe I won’t stick with that opinion,,, we shall see.
One last thought of my move to the Endurance Phase. In earlier reports, I brought up my desire to run lots of miles at Marathon Pace. That has just not materialized and I don’t know how it will during the next phase when I will either be running long miles or recovering from running long miles. Don’t be surprised if I adjust the plan to fit in some tempo running at race pace.
For the Base Phase, I get an A for doing the miles and perfect attendance, but a C for my pace. I’ll take a solid B average for the phase.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
End of Week Five (12/7/07)
Week Five was a good week of running. I had hoped to get outside for a weekend run, but the weather did not cooperate. I did my Sunday 5 miles at the Y. The week’s plan had four runs of 5 miles each, and I completed them all for a total of twenty miles for the week. My overall pace for the week (9:27) was a little faster than Week Four, but still slower than my norm from previous years..
If I were to look at my overall pace from previous years (but sadly, I can’t) I would find an average pace close to a minute per mile faster than my current 9:30 pace. Naturally, I am concerned that the years have just made me slower, but I think not. The regular increases in my mileage and the eye toward a larger goal has naturally made my running more conservative as I follow this plan. I understand why the pace is slower, but nevertheless, I’m getting anxious to test my conditioning with a fast run. But at this point, I am happy with a solid 20 mile week under my belt.
I have not mentioned it yet, but one of my goals for this plan, was to do a lot of cross training. I got off to a good start, but have been trailing off the past couple weeks. At the close of Week Five, I have been on my feet running fro about 12 hours. During the same time I have logged about 3 hours of cross training. It has been a combination of workouts with the heavy bag in the basement and stationary bike sessions at the Y. I also made it out for a 1,000 meter swim a few nights ago. When I get into less running days in future phases, I hope to get more regular with cross training.
I also inadvertently experimented with a different type of cross training in Week Five. I was planning on another evening run at the Y on Wednesday. The drive home from work that night was icy and snowy. When I got home, the urge to relax took over and I enjoyed my dinner with some wine. As the evening moved on a bit, I realized that it was still early and the relaxation from the wine was replaced with an urge to put in the miles and sleep in the next morning. So I went out for my run anyway. It was an uneventful 5 miles, but since this was a first for me, I did go a little slower than usual. Anyway, a good Elvis Costello playlist got me through the run.
I look forward to Week Six. The schedule calls for 22 miles; two5 milers and two 6 milers. I am pretty sure that I will add another week to the Base Phase so that I will end the phase with four 6 milers in Week Seven. Then I will begin the Endurance Phase with a 10 miler. But before I get ahead of myself, I need to focus on the coming week with these 6 milers.
If I were to look at my overall pace from previous years (but sadly, I can’t) I would find an average pace close to a minute per mile faster than my current 9:30 pace. Naturally, I am concerned that the years have just made me slower, but I think not. The regular increases in my mileage and the eye toward a larger goal has naturally made my running more conservative as I follow this plan. I understand why the pace is slower, but nevertheless, I’m getting anxious to test my conditioning with a fast run. But at this point, I am happy with a solid 20 mile week under my belt.
I have not mentioned it yet, but one of my goals for this plan, was to do a lot of cross training. I got off to a good start, but have been trailing off the past couple weeks. At the close of Week Five, I have been on my feet running fro about 12 hours. During the same time I have logged about 3 hours of cross training. It has been a combination of workouts with the heavy bag in the basement and stationary bike sessions at the Y. I also made it out for a 1,000 meter swim a few nights ago. When I get into less running days in future phases, I hope to get more regular with cross training.
I also inadvertently experimented with a different type of cross training in Week Five. I was planning on another evening run at the Y on Wednesday. The drive home from work that night was icy and snowy. When I got home, the urge to relax took over and I enjoyed my dinner with some wine. As the evening moved on a bit, I realized that it was still early and the relaxation from the wine was replaced with an urge to put in the miles and sleep in the next morning. So I went out for my run anyway. It was an uneventful 5 miles, but since this was a first for me, I did go a little slower than usual. Anyway, a good Elvis Costello playlist got me through the run.
I look forward to Week Six. The schedule calls for 22 miles; two5 milers and two 6 milers. I am pretty sure that I will add another week to the Base Phase so that I will end the phase with four 6 milers in Week Seven. Then I will begin the Endurance Phase with a 10 miler. But before I get ahead of myself, I need to focus on the coming week with these 6 milers.
End of Week Four (11/30/07)
At the end of Week Four I am just now starting to feel like I have come back to the decent running shape. I have never been a high mileage runner, but I always like to think that I can rip off a decent 5 miler at any time and could make it through a slow 10 miler. At the beginning of Week One, I was struggling to make it through the 3 milers. It seems about right for me that fours weeks of consistent running would get me back. I am probably right now at the point I should have been at the start of my training; but there is nothing I can do about that.
All miles are good miles, but I have a bias in my brain that disqualifies anything less than 3 miles as not really much of a run. I know that’s not right, but on the other hand, I consider a good 5 miler as real training. At one point in 2006, I had a streak of weeks where I would run 5 miles on the treadmill every Friday morning. Each week, I would increase the pace by .1 MPH. If it were not for the Crash, I could give you all the details. But the spreadsheet in my brain seems to remember that I finished up about 10 consecutive Fridays with a treadmill 5 miler in about 38:30.
Week Four was my first chance to go the 5 mile distance in my plan. The week calls for 18 total miles, alternating between 4 and 5 mile runs. After the slow start in Week One, I have now clicked off three straight weeks of making all my runs and all my miles. Total plan miles was 18,, I ran them all.
Overall, my blended pace of 9:32 was a modest improvement in my pace over Week Three. I am now fully beyond the disillusionment of running all these Base miles at Marathon Pace (MP). I’m pretty sure that on any given day, I could run my miles at MP. However, I have come to the realization, that to stay injury free, it would not be smart to do so.
Sunday was an inspiring workout. Madeline and I ran the Media 5 Miler course. The course is challenging and fun. It winds through the town and brings you through State Street area twice. The run in Media was a good MP workout (8:58 pace). The hills and weather were a welcome respite from the treadmill where I would be the rest of the week.
I needed to pick up Danny at a concert on Wednesday evening and knew that it would be very late when I got home. So, I skipped my run on Wednesday morning in favor of running Wednesday night while I waited for the concert to be over. For some reason, the evening run seemed easier that usual. It might have been due to the time of the day. Most of my runs are very early in the morning and can be very stiff at first. On this evening run, as soon as I started, it felt easier than it should have been.
Next week, my schedule call for four runs of 5 miles each. It is going to feel great to do a twenty mile week.
Over this past week, I have spent a lot of time thinking about my transition from Base to Endurance. I’m not sure if I want to make the switch after Week Five (4x5 miles = 20 total) or after Week Seven (4x6 miles = 24 total). My original plan was to make the move after Week Six (5,6,5,6 = 22 miles). But for some reason my original plan doesn’t look symmetrical. Once I go to Endurance, I will start the dreaded Long Runs, but also plan to cut back to three runs per week. I think more about this later.
All miles are good miles, but I have a bias in my brain that disqualifies anything less than 3 miles as not really much of a run. I know that’s not right, but on the other hand, I consider a good 5 miler as real training. At one point in 2006, I had a streak of weeks where I would run 5 miles on the treadmill every Friday morning. Each week, I would increase the pace by .1 MPH. If it were not for the Crash, I could give you all the details. But the spreadsheet in my brain seems to remember that I finished up about 10 consecutive Fridays with a treadmill 5 miler in about 38:30.
Week Four was my first chance to go the 5 mile distance in my plan. The week calls for 18 total miles, alternating between 4 and 5 mile runs. After the slow start in Week One, I have now clicked off three straight weeks of making all my runs and all my miles. Total plan miles was 18,, I ran them all.
Overall, my blended pace of 9:32 was a modest improvement in my pace over Week Three. I am now fully beyond the disillusionment of running all these Base miles at Marathon Pace (MP). I’m pretty sure that on any given day, I could run my miles at MP. However, I have come to the realization, that to stay injury free, it would not be smart to do so.
Sunday was an inspiring workout. Madeline and I ran the Media 5 Miler course. The course is challenging and fun. It winds through the town and brings you through State Street area twice. The run in Media was a good MP workout (8:58 pace). The hills and weather were a welcome respite from the treadmill where I would be the rest of the week.
I needed to pick up Danny at a concert on Wednesday evening and knew that it would be very late when I got home. So, I skipped my run on Wednesday morning in favor of running Wednesday night while I waited for the concert to be over. For some reason, the evening run seemed easier that usual. It might have been due to the time of the day. Most of my runs are very early in the morning and can be very stiff at first. On this evening run, as soon as I started, it felt easier than it should have been.
Next week, my schedule call for four runs of 5 miles each. It is going to feel great to do a twenty mile week.
Over this past week, I have spent a lot of time thinking about my transition from Base to Endurance. I’m not sure if I want to make the switch after Week Five (4x5 miles = 20 total) or after Week Seven (4x6 miles = 24 total). My original plan was to make the move after Week Six (5,6,5,6 = 22 miles). But for some reason my original plan doesn’t look symmetrical. Once I go to Endurance, I will start the dreaded Long Runs, but also plan to cut back to three runs per week. I think more about this later.
Monday, December 10, 2007
End of Week Three (11/23/07)
I am one of the few people in the office this morning. The stores opened at 4:00 AM for the insanity known as Black Friday. I don’t think I know anyone who actually would go shopping that early, but I suppose some do. As lonely as it is in the office, the Y was equally deserted this morning. While the rest of the 5:30 AM regulars were home sleeping off their turkey, I made it in for the last run of the week.
Week Three called for me to run 4 miles, four times this week for a 16 mile week. This was a boring week, as everything went as planned and there was no doubt along the way that I would get in all the runs and all the miles.
At the end of last week, I reported that my week would work out best, if I ran on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Mission accomplished. I also wanted to get in more miles at Marathon Pace (MP). My overall pace this week was faster than Week Two, but I am still not running many of these miles at MP (8:50 – 9:00)
On Sunday, I got out into the elements for my first non-treadmill run of the program. RCSP stands for Ridley Creek State Park. The park features a 4.3 mile paved trail, with each tenth of a mile marked. This place will definitely be one of my more frequent locations for longer runs in the weeks to come. I have run here many times and it’s the place where I first realized that Maddie could beat me in a five mile race. We have had lots of great runs here together.
There is an Internet debate in the running forums over treadmill running vs. outdoor running. From what I have read, it is a lopsided debate among Internet runners, who by and large have considerable disdain for the treadmill. They call it the dreadmill. Clearly you can see that I have no objection to the treadmill.
The knock against treadmill running is primarily centered on the fact that it does not have the same environmental factors associated with running outside. There is also a frequently voiced opinion (represented as fact), that you must set the incline to 1% in order to compensate for the outdoor elements. There is also a strong opinion that by running on the treadmill, you are missing out on the wonders of nature.
I understand all of the anti-treadmill arguments. But its just too convenient for me to get to the gym at 5:30 AM , crank up the Ipod, get in a good run, shower and be off to work. I don’t mind running in bad weather, but I’m not crazy about running in the dark. Don’t get me wrong, I love to run outside. I love to see the flowers and trees, smell the air, feel the breeze and spit whenever I want to. But I like the accommodating access to the warm, bright digital running at the Y, where I can see the people, watch the morning news and let Jerry Garcia fill me in on the wonders of nature.
On Sunday, I ran my four miles at the park at a 9:09 pace. This was my fastest run of the week. It could even qualify for a MP run.
Going into Week Four, my legs feel strong and the 16 mile week I just completed has me feeling confident that I am coming out of my poor conditioned state I was in three weeks ago. I have alternating 4 and 5 mile runs for a total of 18 miles next week.
Week Three called for me to run 4 miles, four times this week for a 16 mile week. This was a boring week, as everything went as planned and there was no doubt along the way that I would get in all the runs and all the miles.
At the end of last week, I reported that my week would work out best, if I ran on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Mission accomplished. I also wanted to get in more miles at Marathon Pace (MP). My overall pace this week was faster than Week Two, but I am still not running many of these miles at MP (8:50 – 9:00)
On Sunday, I got out into the elements for my first non-treadmill run of the program. RCSP stands for Ridley Creek State Park. The park features a 4.3 mile paved trail, with each tenth of a mile marked. This place will definitely be one of my more frequent locations for longer runs in the weeks to come. I have run here many times and it’s the place where I first realized that Maddie could beat me in a five mile race. We have had lots of great runs here together.
There is an Internet debate in the running forums over treadmill running vs. outdoor running. From what I have read, it is a lopsided debate among Internet runners, who by and large have considerable disdain for the treadmill. They call it the dreadmill. Clearly you can see that I have no objection to the treadmill.
The knock against treadmill running is primarily centered on the fact that it does not have the same environmental factors associated with running outside. There is also a frequently voiced opinion (represented as fact), that you must set the incline to 1% in order to compensate for the outdoor elements. There is also a strong opinion that by running on the treadmill, you are missing out on the wonders of nature.
I understand all of the anti-treadmill arguments. But its just too convenient for me to get to the gym at 5:30 AM , crank up the Ipod, get in a good run, shower and be off to work. I don’t mind running in bad weather, but I’m not crazy about running in the dark. Don’t get me wrong, I love to run outside. I love to see the flowers and trees, smell the air, feel the breeze and spit whenever I want to. But I like the accommodating access to the warm, bright digital running at the Y, where I can see the people, watch the morning news and let Jerry Garcia fill me in on the wonders of nature.
On Sunday, I ran my four miles at the park at a 9:09 pace. This was my fastest run of the week. It could even qualify for a MP run.
Going into Week Four, my legs feel strong and the 16 mile week I just completed has me feeling confident that I am coming out of my poor conditioned state I was in three weeks ago. I have alternating 4 and 5 mile runs for a total of 18 miles next week.
End of Week Two (11/16/07)
The cutback on miles and pace in Week One was necessary to get in the four runs. I was looking forward to a stronger Week Two, but put myself at a disadvantage by not running on the weekend. The plan called for four runs, alternating between 3 and 4 miles: 14 total miles.
Since my first run of the week was not until Tuesday, I was not afforded the benefit of any rest days, if I intended to get in my four runs. So as I contemplated this on Monday, I came up with a few scenarios that might get me through this ‘no rest days’ dilemma. In my consideration of the coming week, I also could not avoid my constant fear of blowing out my calf and the resulting potential for this whole thing to fall apart. I knew I would not run fast, and thought that the planned 14 miles would not be completed.
Tuesday’s run was not in doubt. With three days off, I could surely do 3 miles. After my early morning 4 miler on Wednesday, I was feeling good. On my drive to work after the run, I mulled over the smart thing to do for the rest of the week. I decided I might need to back off on some miles. But on Thursday morning, I was inspired and complete all my planned miles and did the same on Friday. I ran slow, but got in all the miles: 14 for the week.
The past two weeks have caused me to reconsider the planned pace for the Base Phase of my BEST plan. My intention was to train my legs to learn the Marathon Pace (MP) by running as many of these miles at that pace as possible. For my plan, MP is 8:50 - 9:00 per mile and that has not materialized with the exception of the first two runs in Week One. And for those first two runs, my calf strain flared up. I can’t deny the cause and affect.
I still would like to come out of the Base Phase with lots of miles at MP. But based on my poor conditioning from the start, I should have planned on easing into that pace..
In my running experience, I have never been a big stretcher. With Maddie's experience on Cross Country and spring Track teams, she has a much more disciplined approach to stretching. When we run together, I always impatiently wait while she stretches before and after each run.
My personal view on stretching was that it was bad to stretch cold muscles and since I was never big on warm up runs either, I never really stretched much before running. I also believe that stretching a sore muscle will only make it worse. But in order to look the part of a runner, I would go through the motions of wall pushups and hamstring pulls after most of my runs. I know all the moves, but I just never made it part of a routine and never associated much benefit to stretching.
With twenty weeks of training ahead of my 46 year old body and touchy calf muscles, I figured I ought to modify my approach. My runs this week were all preceded by a five minute brisk walk, followed by gentle stretching. After my runs, I also walked and stretched. My point of view on the topic of stretching has not really changed, but I think I’m better off with a short warm up for each run, even if it’s only a five minute walk and some light stretching.
Looking ahead to next week, I need four runs of 4 miles each. I will do my best to get outside in the cold weather over the weekend. So far, all of my miles have been on the treadmill. To maximize rest days, the ideal days for my runs would be Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
Since my first run of the week was not until Tuesday, I was not afforded the benefit of any rest days, if I intended to get in my four runs. So as I contemplated this on Monday, I came up with a few scenarios that might get me through this ‘no rest days’ dilemma. In my consideration of the coming week, I also could not avoid my constant fear of blowing out my calf and the resulting potential for this whole thing to fall apart. I knew I would not run fast, and thought that the planned 14 miles would not be completed.
Tuesday’s run was not in doubt. With three days off, I could surely do 3 miles. After my early morning 4 miler on Wednesday, I was feeling good. On my drive to work after the run, I mulled over the smart thing to do for the rest of the week. I decided I might need to back off on some miles. But on Thursday morning, I was inspired and complete all my planned miles and did the same on Friday. I ran slow, but got in all the miles: 14 for the week.
The past two weeks have caused me to reconsider the planned pace for the Base Phase of my BEST plan. My intention was to train my legs to learn the Marathon Pace (MP) by running as many of these miles at that pace as possible. For my plan, MP is 8:50 - 9:00 per mile and that has not materialized with the exception of the first two runs in Week One. And for those first two runs, my calf strain flared up. I can’t deny the cause and affect.
I still would like to come out of the Base Phase with lots of miles at MP. But based on my poor conditioning from the start, I should have planned on easing into that pace..
In my running experience, I have never been a big stretcher. With Maddie's experience on Cross Country and spring Track teams, she has a much more disciplined approach to stretching. When we run together, I always impatiently wait while she stretches before and after each run.
My personal view on stretching was that it was bad to stretch cold muscles and since I was never big on warm up runs either, I never really stretched much before running. I also believe that stretching a sore muscle will only make it worse. But in order to look the part of a runner, I would go through the motions of wall pushups and hamstring pulls after most of my runs. I know all the moves, but I just never made it part of a routine and never associated much benefit to stretching.
With twenty weeks of training ahead of my 46 year old body and touchy calf muscles, I figured I ought to modify my approach. My runs this week were all preceded by a five minute brisk walk, followed by gentle stretching. After my runs, I also walked and stretched. My point of view on the topic of stretching has not really changed, but I think I’m better off with a short warm up for each run, even if it’s only a five minute walk and some light stretching.
Looking ahead to next week, I need four runs of 4 miles each. I will do my best to get outside in the cold weather over the weekend. So far, all of my miles have been on the treadmill. To maximize rest days, the ideal days for my runs would be Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
End of Week One (11/9/07)
Not great, maybe not even good, but I’ll take it.
This is beginning of my Base building phase. The schedule called for me to get in four runs. For this week, all runs were to be 3 miles and run at my goal Marathon Pace. Well I got in all my runs, but had to cut some
The plan total weekly miles was 12, I ran 10.5.
The majority of times when I have been sidelined with injury, it was due to problems with my calf muscles. Starting this week with very little base conditioning; I was listening real close to my body. There might be some paranoia in play, but I was feeling something down there that concerned me. I really did not want to bonk on this plan in the first week.
Saturday afternoon I was able to keep up the pace and felt like I could have run farther or faster. Since the plan called for 3 miles, I had no intention of going farther. Toward the end of the run, the calf felt tender. Tuesday morning, I felt slight pulling of the left calf after only a mile and decided to stop at 2 miles.
Wednesday was a welcome day of rest. I went into the Thursday and Friday runs planning on running slower than Marathon Pace. It worked well. I completed my last two runs of the week, feeling good. I didn’t run all the miles I planned. I did not run the pace I planned, but I did get all my runs in and will be entering Week Two without problems.
This is beginning of my Base building phase. The schedule called for me to get in four runs. For this week, all runs were to be 3 miles and run at my goal Marathon Pace. Well I got in all my runs, but had to cut some
The plan total weekly miles was 12, I ran 10.5.
The majority of times when I have been sidelined with injury, it was due to problems with my calf muscles. Starting this week with very little base conditioning; I was listening real close to my body. There might be some paranoia in play, but I was feeling something down there that concerned me. I really did not want to bonk on this plan in the first week.
Saturday afternoon I was able to keep up the pace and felt like I could have run farther or faster. Since the plan called for 3 miles, I had no intention of going farther. Toward the end of the run, the calf felt tender. Tuesday morning, I felt slight pulling of the left calf after only a mile and decided to stop at 2 miles.
Wednesday was a welcome day of rest. I went into the Thursday and Friday runs planning on running slower than Marathon Pace. It worked well. I completed my last two runs of the week, feeling good. I didn’t run all the miles I planned. I did not run the pace I planned, but I did get all my runs in and will be entering Week Two without problems.
The Plan Takes Shape
Disclaimer: I will not go into a lot of specifics on the plan here. I expect to have adjustments as I go and will incorporate all that I learn into the final plan at the end.
Most training programs are the result of research and based on the successful execution of those who followed the plan. What I have set out to do with my BEST marathon training is take in and consider much of this information and break it down into the a plan that I think will work for me.
The elements of the plan are not completely new, but at least the acronym is. It stands for the four phases of the plan:
Base Building
Endurance
Speed
Taper
Base Phase
The objective of the Base Phase is build the runner to a point where serious Long Runs can be done at an acceptable pace. Starting with your running base is a logical starting point and my plan is not original in the concept. The Base Phase calls for four runs per week with lots of your miles at goal Marathon Pace.
My plan starts with a modest Week One consisting of 4 runs or 3 miles each. I gradually increase the length of runs to Week Sixe, when I have runs of 5 and 6 miles plans for a total of 22 weekly miles.
When I get past the Base Phase, I will reduce to three runs per week. When, I decided to crank up the spreadsheet and come up with my plan, I was pretty sure that my plan would consist of three running days per week and no more. Running is something that I enjoy and at this stage of my life I can only enjoy it if I am well rested and have a healthy pair of legs. For me, a day off between runs is the best way to stay rested and healthy.
Endurance Phase
The plans I have seen start with a Long Run from the very first week and continue throughout the duration of the plan. In my BEST plan, the weekly Long Run is really only a staple during the Endurance Phase. I plan to concentrate my Long Runs into an eight week period with focus and a sense of new breakthrough each week, and with completion of the phase in sight. Remember, I don’t want a plan that is too hard or too boring. I don’t want to dread my weekend runs for the next twenty weeks.
I do not dispute the value and necessity of the Long Run and I have plenty of Long Runs in my plan. I agree with the training experts that you should not run Long Runs at goal pace. To do so, would tear you down. The goal of the Endurance Phase in general and the Long Run specifically is to teach your mind and body what it is like to be on your feet running for the same duration, you plan to be on the marathon course. There is great benefit to learning how to fuel your body and in teaching your body how to use the fuel it has.
To ignore the psychological aspect of running is a big mistake. There is more to success in running a race then muscle. It is equally true that your training is enhanced by a positive state of mind. In the Base Phase you learn the pace and build up miles. In the Endurance Phase, you learn the distance. In the Speed phase you learn how to run fast. In the taper you sharpen up, rest and prepare. These are all essential for a good race.
The Endurance Phase is 8 weeks long. It starts with an 8 miler and goes to a 23 miler. There are also midweek runs scheduled, but the Endurance Phase will only have 3 runs per week.I am well aware that the purists and so called experts out there have already dismissed my plan as inadequate. Who cares?
Speed (Strength) Phase
When I was getting ready to run the Philadelphia Distance Run (half marathon) a few years back, I remember my favorite work was Mile Repeats. At the time I felt like these interval sessions made me faster and stronger. I was running these in the last couple weeks before the race and wished I had started doing speedwork sooner.
I think this will be a great way to shake out of the long slow running in the Endurance Phase and really get sharp. I plugged some miles in my plan, but I have not yet fully figured out how I will run them.
I know that Mile Repeats will be a key work out. I would plan on running these at below 8:00 minutes per mile. I also think I might try my hand at Yasso 800’s at least once toward the end of the Speed Phase. Runners World magazine and some guy named Yasso came up with this workout as a predictor of marathon performance and pacing. It goes something like this. If you want to run a 3:45 (hours/minutes) marathon, you should be able to do 800 repeats at 3:45 (minutes/seconds) with the same amount of rest time for each interval.
Marathon Pace runs will also be important to sharpen up during the late stages of my training.
During this Phase I will try to stick with just three runs per week.
Taper Phase
I have a three week taper planned. I kick the Taper Phase off with one last 20+ mile run and then its all about rest and sharpening. It is really too early to decide on exact workouts.
I will continue to work with my plan throughout. But my first week or training starts tomorrow. I will now start a journal of weekly reports.
Most training programs are the result of research and based on the successful execution of those who followed the plan. What I have set out to do with my BEST marathon training is take in and consider much of this information and break it down into the a plan that I think will work for me.
The elements of the plan are not completely new, but at least the acronym is. It stands for the four phases of the plan:
Base Building
Endurance
Speed
Taper
Base Phase
The objective of the Base Phase is build the runner to a point where serious Long Runs can be done at an acceptable pace. Starting with your running base is a logical starting point and my plan is not original in the concept. The Base Phase calls for four runs per week with lots of your miles at goal Marathon Pace.
My plan starts with a modest Week One consisting of 4 runs or 3 miles each. I gradually increase the length of runs to Week Sixe, when I have runs of 5 and 6 miles plans for a total of 22 weekly miles.
When I get past the Base Phase, I will reduce to three runs per week. When, I decided to crank up the spreadsheet and come up with my plan, I was pretty sure that my plan would consist of three running days per week and no more. Running is something that I enjoy and at this stage of my life I can only enjoy it if I am well rested and have a healthy pair of legs. For me, a day off between runs is the best way to stay rested and healthy.
Endurance Phase
The plans I have seen start with a Long Run from the very first week and continue throughout the duration of the plan. In my BEST plan, the weekly Long Run is really only a staple during the Endurance Phase. I plan to concentrate my Long Runs into an eight week period with focus and a sense of new breakthrough each week, and with completion of the phase in sight. Remember, I don’t want a plan that is too hard or too boring. I don’t want to dread my weekend runs for the next twenty weeks.
I do not dispute the value and necessity of the Long Run and I have plenty of Long Runs in my plan. I agree with the training experts that you should not run Long Runs at goal pace. To do so, would tear you down. The goal of the Endurance Phase in general and the Long Run specifically is to teach your mind and body what it is like to be on your feet running for the same duration, you plan to be on the marathon course. There is great benefit to learning how to fuel your body and in teaching your body how to use the fuel it has.
To ignore the psychological aspect of running is a big mistake. There is more to success in running a race then muscle. It is equally true that your training is enhanced by a positive state of mind. In the Base Phase you learn the pace and build up miles. In the Endurance Phase, you learn the distance. In the Speed phase you learn how to run fast. In the taper you sharpen up, rest and prepare. These are all essential for a good race.
The Endurance Phase is 8 weeks long. It starts with an 8 miler and goes to a 23 miler. There are also midweek runs scheduled, but the Endurance Phase will only have 3 runs per week.I am well aware that the purists and so called experts out there have already dismissed my plan as inadequate. Who cares?
Speed (Strength) Phase
When I was getting ready to run the Philadelphia Distance Run (half marathon) a few years back, I remember my favorite work was Mile Repeats. At the time I felt like these interval sessions made me faster and stronger. I was running these in the last couple weeks before the race and wished I had started doing speedwork sooner.
I think this will be a great way to shake out of the long slow running in the Endurance Phase and really get sharp. I plugged some miles in my plan, but I have not yet fully figured out how I will run them.
I know that Mile Repeats will be a key work out. I would plan on running these at below 8:00 minutes per mile. I also think I might try my hand at Yasso 800’s at least once toward the end of the Speed Phase. Runners World magazine and some guy named Yasso came up with this workout as a predictor of marathon performance and pacing. It goes something like this. If you want to run a 3:45 (hours/minutes) marathon, you should be able to do 800 repeats at 3:45 (minutes/seconds) with the same amount of rest time for each interval.
Marathon Pace runs will also be important to sharpen up during the late stages of my training.
During this Phase I will try to stick with just three runs per week.
Taper Phase
I have a three week taper planned. I kick the Taper Phase off with one last 20+ mile run and then its all about rest and sharpening. It is really too early to decide on exact workouts.
I will continue to work with my plan throughout. But my first week or training starts tomorrow. I will now start a journal of weekly reports.
OK, Lets start planning
I sit here now staring at the new spreadsheet in front of me. There are no recorded runs to be proud of, just empty cells. The first order of business is to plan the marathon and the training program. Logging the runs will come later.
A logical choice would be to prepare for the 2008 Philadelphia Marathon. It’s now October 2007 and I really don’t want to wait for more than a year to do this. Besides, the large city marathons are so played. I have had my eye on the Ocean Drive Marathon (ODM) for a few years. It is run on the last weekend in March. The race starts in Cape May NJ and runs up the shore. Actually it runs along the Ocean Drive, through Cape May, Wildwood, Stone Harbor, Avalon and ends on the promenade in Sea Isle City.
The ODM is about 22 weeks from now, so the timing works for me. There is also a certain fit that this race would hold for me. For the past twenty years, I have been going to Sea Isle City to vacation with my family and also with Patti’s family. I know every step of the promenade and have run it more times than I could possibly remember. I can imagine coming near the end of four hours of agonizing pain and looking for just something to help me finish. I think turning onto the last stretch in Sea Isle at the 57th street entrance after 25 miles, would do the trick and provide plenty of inspiration.
So the ODM it is. This decision of course does not come without reservations. Marathonguide.com provides lots of good information on marathons all over the world. The deal with ODM is that some years the weather has turned miserably. In 2007, there were reports of relentless headwinds the entire way. I have run into those headwinds on the Jersey shore before and its not real fun. I can only think that if they are bad in August, they could be worse in March. Nevertheless, I’ve spent my entire adult life worrying about the weather in Sea Isle, why should the marathon be any different?
My goal for the race is to break 4 hours. Everything you read about running your first marathon says that your goal should be to just finish. I don’t know how you train and prepare for ‘just finish’. I understand the sentiment behind the statement, but don’t buy it. I don’t think you need to have lofty goals, and I don’t think you need to consider the whole effort worthless if you don’t reach your goal. But for me, I will have a goal in mind and prepare for the race, with the purpose of attaining the goal.
3:59:59. A nine minute per mile pace the whole way will actually provide me with about a 4 minute cushion. In the next twenty weeks, I will see from my training, if the goal is realistic.
A logical choice would be to prepare for the 2008 Philadelphia Marathon. It’s now October 2007 and I really don’t want to wait for more than a year to do this. Besides, the large city marathons are so played. I have had my eye on the Ocean Drive Marathon (ODM) for a few years. It is run on the last weekend in March. The race starts in Cape May NJ and runs up the shore. Actually it runs along the Ocean Drive, through Cape May, Wildwood, Stone Harbor, Avalon and ends on the promenade in Sea Isle City.
The ODM is about 22 weeks from now, so the timing works for me. There is also a certain fit that this race would hold for me. For the past twenty years, I have been going to Sea Isle City to vacation with my family and also with Patti’s family. I know every step of the promenade and have run it more times than I could possibly remember. I can imagine coming near the end of four hours of agonizing pain and looking for just something to help me finish. I think turning onto the last stretch in Sea Isle at the 57th street entrance after 25 miles, would do the trick and provide plenty of inspiration.
So the ODM it is. This decision of course does not come without reservations. Marathonguide.com provides lots of good information on marathons all over the world. The deal with ODM is that some years the weather has turned miserably. In 2007, there were reports of relentless headwinds the entire way. I have run into those headwinds on the Jersey shore before and its not real fun. I can only think that if they are bad in August, they could be worse in March. Nevertheless, I’ve spent my entire adult life worrying about the weather in Sea Isle, why should the marathon be any different?
My goal for the race is to break 4 hours. Everything you read about running your first marathon says that your goal should be to just finish. I don’t know how you train and prepare for ‘just finish’. I understand the sentiment behind the statement, but don’t buy it. I don’t think you need to have lofty goals, and I don’t think you need to consider the whole effort worthless if you don’t reach your goal. But for me, I will have a goal in mind and prepare for the race, with the purpose of attaining the goal.
3:59:59. A nine minute per mile pace the whole way will actually provide me with about a 4 minute cushion. In the next twenty weeks, I will see from my training, if the goal is realistic.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
The Crash
I once said to someone, ‘What’s the use of running, if you can’t log it on a spreadsheet?’ Over the course of the past several years, I have developed an addiction that links my physical activity with Microsoft Excel. Actually, before I hit the hard stuff, I started on Lotus 1-2-3 back in the 80’s.
I maintained a spreadsheet file for every year that provided a complete history of every step that I have taken. Among other things, the file would include:
* The date and time of all runs
* The distance covered and the time
* The pace
* The projected yearly pace
* The course
* A description of the course
* Who I ran with, mostly alone or with my kids
The spreadsheets also had other sections, like the several marathon training programs that I never executed as well as training programs for shorter races that I did complete. For a period of time I was an avid fitness swimmer. I have to qualify the term swimmer, with the word ‘fitness’ because, I swim very slow. My swim workouts and other cross training are also recorded for time in my logs.
One day in June of this year, I was at a meeting at work and came back to my desk and saw very strange things on my monitor. I rebooted my laptop and the kept getting the same weird messages. I called the Help Desk and after a short time we concluded that the hard drive on the laptop had crashed. I am one of those bad people at work that fails to copy all important documents to the file server regularly where it is backed up nightly.
I knew that most, if not all of my important work files could be retrieved from my E-Mail attachments. In my line of work, anything important is eventually E-Mailed to someone. When the demise of my computer sunk in, my concern was immediately for my lost training logs.
The Help Desk guys at work looked into sending the hard drive for restoration, but the cost was over $1,000. I could not in good conscience ask the company to spend the money so I could compare my long runs in 2001 vs. 2006 to determine optimal training pace for a half marathon, or other such trivial analysis.
I convinced myself that this was OK. I further rationalized that losing these files would bring me some needed freedom from my compulsion. Each year, the spreadsheets became more and more complicated. Sometimes I would log a run and be shamed at the slow pace. If I missed a few runs, my projected yearly totals would drop and I would be enslaved by the spreadsheet to make up the miles. My worthiness as a runner was judged by how it looked in the rows and columns of my log file. Finally now, I could just run for the fun and benefits of exercise.
Who did I think I was kidding?
I went along under this self deception for too long. I rarely ran. It took a few months until I reached the final stage of acceptance. I needed to accept the loss of this piece of me. I also needed to accept that my statement ‘What’s the use of running, if you can’t log it on a spreadsheet?’ was more sincere than I thought.
Call me a geek, call me whatever you want, but running is too simple of an activity. I need to complicate it with analysis. I should point out that I can blame heredity somewhat for my addiction. My father records everything. While he keeps low tech logs (a copybook), his logs include the placement every ornament and Christmas ball on the tree.
The creation of BEST Marathon Training is born out of a new spreadsheet. I have turned the corner and accept that my years of data are gone. I can no longer come back from running my 3.2 mile loop in Media and determine that this was the 113th time I ran that course and 18th fastest. But I must move on. Its not like the album Highway 61 Revisited was erased forever, just my files. But I will create more, and most importantly, I will save them to regularly off my hard drive.
Why didn’t I at least print them?
I maintained a spreadsheet file for every year that provided a complete history of every step that I have taken. Among other things, the file would include:
* The date and time of all runs
* The distance covered and the time
* The pace
* The projected yearly pace
* The course
* A description of the course
* Who I ran with, mostly alone or with my kids
The spreadsheets also had other sections, like the several marathon training programs that I never executed as well as training programs for shorter races that I did complete. For a period of time I was an avid fitness swimmer. I have to qualify the term swimmer, with the word ‘fitness’ because, I swim very slow. My swim workouts and other cross training are also recorded for time in my logs.
One day in June of this year, I was at a meeting at work and came back to my desk and saw very strange things on my monitor. I rebooted my laptop and the kept getting the same weird messages. I called the Help Desk and after a short time we concluded that the hard drive on the laptop had crashed. I am one of those bad people at work that fails to copy all important documents to the file server regularly where it is backed up nightly.
I knew that most, if not all of my important work files could be retrieved from my E-Mail attachments. In my line of work, anything important is eventually E-Mailed to someone. When the demise of my computer sunk in, my concern was immediately for my lost training logs.
The Help Desk guys at work looked into sending the hard drive for restoration, but the cost was over $1,000. I could not in good conscience ask the company to spend the money so I could compare my long runs in 2001 vs. 2006 to determine optimal training pace for a half marathon, or other such trivial analysis.
I convinced myself that this was OK. I further rationalized that losing these files would bring me some needed freedom from my compulsion. Each year, the spreadsheets became more and more complicated. Sometimes I would log a run and be shamed at the slow pace. If I missed a few runs, my projected yearly totals would drop and I would be enslaved by the spreadsheet to make up the miles. My worthiness as a runner was judged by how it looked in the rows and columns of my log file. Finally now, I could just run for the fun and benefits of exercise.
Who did I think I was kidding?
I went along under this self deception for too long. I rarely ran. It took a few months until I reached the final stage of acceptance. I needed to accept the loss of this piece of me. I also needed to accept that my statement ‘What’s the use of running, if you can’t log it on a spreadsheet?’ was more sincere than I thought.
Call me a geek, call me whatever you want, but running is too simple of an activity. I need to complicate it with analysis. I should point out that I can blame heredity somewhat for my addiction. My father records everything. While he keeps low tech logs (a copybook), his logs include the placement every ornament and Christmas ball on the tree.
The creation of BEST Marathon Training is born out of a new spreadsheet. I have turned the corner and accept that my years of data are gone. I can no longer come back from running my 3.2 mile loop in Media and determine that this was the 113th time I ran that course and 18th fastest. But I must move on. Its not like the album Highway 61 Revisited was erased forever, just my files. But I will create more, and most importantly, I will save them to regularly off my hard drive.
Why didn’t I at least print them?
A Short History
I am 46 years old, born in 1961. Next year, my wife Patti and I will celebrate my twentieth wedding anniversary. We have two sons Danny and Peter (17 & 12), and Madeline (15).
I have been running for exercise and enjoyment my entire adult life. The first road race I remember was in the late 80’s. It was a 10K in the Poconos. Since then I have run is lots of races. While I have never strayed for long from some schedule of regular running, there have been several stretches of time when my running totals for a month might be less than 10 miles. My running over the past twenty years has been sporadically consistent.
The best run of my life was the 2001 Philadelphia Distance Run when I ran all 13.1 miles at a 8:19 pace for a finish of 1:49. I’ve run a bunch of 10 mile events, always planning to run at a flat 8:00 pace, but never quite hitting that mark. My best time for a 10 miler was 82 minutes. For shorter races, I have run under the 8:00 pace.
But still my drawer is full of race t-shirts and none of them say ‘marathon’.
My running resume is not very impressive. I never ran competitively, but have always loved the sport of running. It gives me a good feeling physically and emotionally. The achievement, of which I am most proud, is the fact that I have stirred interest in running with my children. All three ran Cross Country in their middle school years. On Fathers Day Weekend, the town of Media holds a very challenging Five Mile road race. I now run this with all my kids.
I have been running for exercise and enjoyment my entire adult life. The first road race I remember was in the late 80’s. It was a 10K in the Poconos. Since then I have run is lots of races. While I have never strayed for long from some schedule of regular running, there have been several stretches of time when my running totals for a month might be less than 10 miles. My running over the past twenty years has been sporadically consistent.
The best run of my life was the 2001 Philadelphia Distance Run when I ran all 13.1 miles at a 8:19 pace for a finish of 1:49. I’ve run a bunch of 10 mile events, always planning to run at a flat 8:00 pace, but never quite hitting that mark. My best time for a 10 miler was 82 minutes. For shorter races, I have run under the 8:00 pace.
But still my drawer is full of race t-shirts and none of them say ‘marathon’.
My running resume is not very impressive. I never ran competitively, but have always loved the sport of running. It gives me a good feeling physically and emotionally. The achievement, of which I am most proud, is the fact that I have stirred interest in running with my children. All three ran Cross Country in their middle school years. On Fathers Day Weekend, the town of Media holds a very challenging Five Mile road race. I now run this with all my kids.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
The Weeks Leading up to Nov 1, 2007
I have talked about running a marathon for about 26.2 years. I think now is a fitting time to actually do it.
If this were intended to be an inspirational essay on uplifting the human spirit through personal challenge, I would do my best to describe the self actualization this goal would represent to me. But its not and I won’t. Throughout my discourse, you will come to understand that my reasons for wanting to run a marathon are simple. It’s an achievement that I want to have. It’s a check-mark. After more than twenty years of running, it will bring me the freedom to stop thinking about it. I think my brother John would understand.
But it isn’t enough to just accomplish the goal. If you stay with me, you will read as I unravel a truly perfect marathon training program. In fact I think it’s the BEST.
Over the years, I’ve read very much on the subject of running and training. As you know, all you need to be an expert in just about anything in 2007 is a web browser.I have given careful study to the theories and principles behind the plans by guys like, Lydiard, Higdon, Pfitzinger, Galloway, Daniels,,, just to name a few. Add to this knowledge base, all of the articles and presentations in the running magazine web sites and hundreds of other running and marathon sites with training plans and advice. Lots of the information is presented by doctors or people who have actually coached runners and the advice is the result of research studies with statistical backing. But mine is not.
After careful consideration, I find that the programs don’t satisfy me for one of two reasons: too hard or too boring. So I’ve set out to devise a plan that will work for me and others like me.
If this were intended to be an inspirational essay on uplifting the human spirit through personal challenge, I would do my best to describe the self actualization this goal would represent to me. But its not and I won’t. Throughout my discourse, you will come to understand that my reasons for wanting to run a marathon are simple. It’s an achievement that I want to have. It’s a check-mark. After more than twenty years of running, it will bring me the freedom to stop thinking about it. I think my brother John would understand.
But it isn’t enough to just accomplish the goal. If you stay with me, you will read as I unravel a truly perfect marathon training program. In fact I think it’s the BEST.
Over the years, I’ve read very much on the subject of running and training. As you know, all you need to be an expert in just about anything in 2007 is a web browser.I have given careful study to the theories and principles behind the plans by guys like, Lydiard, Higdon, Pfitzinger, Galloway, Daniels,,, just to name a few. Add to this knowledge base, all of the articles and presentations in the running magazine web sites and hundreds of other running and marathon sites with training plans and advice. Lots of the information is presented by doctors or people who have actually coached runners and the advice is the result of research studies with statistical backing. But mine is not.
After careful consideration, I find that the programs don’t satisfy me for one of two reasons: too hard or too boring. So I’ve set out to devise a plan that will work for me and others like me.
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