Well... I ended up getting a pretty serious cold/sinus infection that stuck around for 3 weeks just after Christmas, so I didn't end up getting to race Doug and Jenny. But... I did get my PR down to 21:01 for a 5k in November, which makes me happy. That's 6:47/mile!
I've been taking some time off from running, but I began P90X2 2.5 weeks ago. There is quite a big philosophical difference between X1 and X2. X2 is much more sports and real world oriented. The structure makes a lot more sense too.
In X1, you start right off on day 1 with big lifting day, working the largest muscles of the upper body, your chest and back. You do all the basic movements in different forms of push-ups and pull-ups. You never really worry about any sort of stabilizer muscles or anything, just the big muscles necessary for heavy lifts in a stable, controlled stance.
In X2, you don't get into anything like that for at least 3 weeks. The first phase is all about building a stable platform, which means you're working all your core muscles and stabilizer muscles. I've noticed my balance improved dramatically so far. Everything you do is on an unstable platform, whether it be medicine balls or a balance ball, you never have a solid platform to work from. In essence, you have to strengthen your core and make that the stable platform.
The first week was darn near impossible for me to do some of the balance moves. My stabilizers just weren't developed enough, or at least hadn't been recruited for use recent enough. Many moves I flat out couldn't do, and many others I felt were extremely sloppy, as in I wasn't sure I was even working the right muscles. Remarkably, when week 2 came around and I had to do the same workouts again, I saw a dramatic improvement. Now there are only a couple exercises that I truly struggle with. Many are still difficult, but I'm talking about ones where I struggle to do more than 2 or 3 with good form. I cannot believe how much better I've become at some of the exercises.
On Monday, I start phase 2, where the main muscle building takes place. I'm kind of excited for that because phase 2 is where the changes in body composition (e.g. appearance) takes place. I'm trying to be in shape in time for Mexico!
I have to head out to office hours now, but soon I'll make a new post about a "diet" I'm trying that has made me shed 4 pounds (almost all fat) in the past 2.5 weeks, without really even thinking about calories or fat (though like anything, you cannot go crazy).
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Another month; no setbacks
Today, it was the mother of all windy days. Unfortunately, it was also a 5 mile tempo run (7 miles total). The wind made it truly a brutal workout, with what should have been "comfortably hard" paces feeling close to interval effort. I ended up adjusting my expectations for pace slightly. I had set out to do the 5 miles at 7:26 per mile, but I could see early on that 7:26 would be pushing it.
In the end I did some faster and some slower, but I averaged almost exactly 7:30 per mile. There was one slower mile that was completely into the wind and uphill for most of it, but I compensated on my last mile to make up the difference. In the end, I set a PR for an 8k by 10 seconds. I arrived at this conclusion by taking my time of 37:31 for 5 miles and and trimming the extra .03 miles for a time of 37:18 when I would've crossed the finish line. Not bad for not giving a kick at the end and not truly exhausting myself like I would in a race condition (though I was closer to full effort than I would have liked).
This was an interval session of 5x(800m in 3:20 (6:40 pace), 400m recovery jog). I ended up doing all the intervals slightly fast, which I probably should try to prevent, but I'd rather go too fast than too slow. I ended up doing most of them in 3:17 or 3:18, which might not seem like a big difference, but I'm starting to do some of my running at a reasonably fast speed, so differences of a couple seconds are starting to make significant differences.
As for the running streak, I think I'll start taking Sundays off from running and just doing P90X Plyometrics soon, but I'm not sure I'm willing to give up the streak I've started yet. It now sits at 55 consecutive days of running a total of 287 miles for an average of 5.2 miles per day.
In the end I did some faster and some slower, but I averaged almost exactly 7:30 per mile. There was one slower mile that was completely into the wind and uphill for most of it, but I compensated on my last mile to make up the difference. In the end, I set a PR for an 8k by 10 seconds. I arrived at this conclusion by taking my time of 37:31 for 5 miles and and trimming the extra .03 miles for a time of 37:18 when I would've crossed the finish line. Not bad for not giving a kick at the end and not truly exhausting myself like I would in a race condition (though I was closer to full effort than I would have liked).
This was an interval session of 5x(800m in 3:20 (6:40 pace), 400m recovery jog). I ended up doing all the intervals slightly fast, which I probably should try to prevent, but I'd rather go too fast than too slow. I ended up doing most of them in 3:17 or 3:18, which might not seem like a big difference, but I'm starting to do some of my running at a reasonably fast speed, so differences of a couple seconds are starting to make significant differences.
As for the running streak, I think I'll start taking Sundays off from running and just doing P90X Plyometrics soon, but I'm not sure I'm willing to give up the streak I've started yet. It now sits at 55 consecutive days of running a total of 287 miles for an average of 5.2 miles per day.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Another good week of training
Well, the streak of good training continues. So far, in my experience, the importance of rest days is overstated. I fully agree that you need to take it easy for most of your runs, but I do not believe that you need to take days entirely off, at least not when you're as slow as I am. The past month I've seen the most drastic improvements of my running, and I've just been following the philosophy of running a minimum of 5k a day, with quality days on Tues and Thurs and a 90+ minute run on Saturday (though it'll be Sunday this week).
The streak began on August 6th, and since then I have run 35 consecutive days and 186 miles for an average of 5.3 miles per day. I have seen my comfortably Easy pace drop from 9:50 to 9:10, my Tempo from 7:40 to 7:15, and my Interval pace from 7:00 to 6:40. I guess my terrible performance at the Urban Wildland was just what I needed to get my butt in gear. Now onto the specifics of this week's training:
Tuesday was an interval day, so I did 4x(5:00 @ 6:40 with 3-4 mins rest). It was probably my most impressive workout I've ever completed. I wasn't able to get it done in the morning, so I ended up doing it in the afternoon when it was a little warm. Normally the temperature really affects my performance, but I'm not sure I could've done any better in the cool a.m.
Thursday's run wasn't quite as great as Tuesday's, but it was still a solid run. I did 2 miles @ 7:15, 3:00 rest, 1 mile 7:13. Not a bad run, and those mile times are about what I ran for my best chip-timed 5k, so I'm already pretty confident I can PR in whatever my next 5k is.
As for my next races, I'm thinking about running the Crazy Horse half-marathon in South Dakota with my friend Jeff, and then trying to find a good 5k about 3 weeks later.
The streak began on August 6th, and since then I have run 35 consecutive days and 186 miles for an average of 5.3 miles per day. I have seen my comfortably Easy pace drop from 9:50 to 9:10, my Tempo from 7:40 to 7:15, and my Interval pace from 7:00 to 6:40. I guess my terrible performance at the Urban Wildland was just what I needed to get my butt in gear. Now onto the specifics of this week's training:
Tuesday was an interval day, so I did 4x(5:00 @ 6:40 with 3-4 mins rest). It was probably my most impressive workout I've ever completed. I wasn't able to get it done in the morning, so I ended up doing it in the afternoon when it was a little warm. Normally the temperature really affects my performance, but I'm not sure I could've done any better in the cool a.m.
Thursday's run wasn't quite as great as Tuesday's, but it was still a solid run. I did 2 miles @ 7:15, 3:00 rest, 1 mile 7:13. Not a bad run, and those mile times are about what I ran for my best chip-timed 5k, so I'm already pretty confident I can PR in whatever my next 5k is.
As for my next races, I'm thinking about running the Crazy Horse half-marathon in South Dakota with my friend Jeff, and then trying to find a good 5k about 3 weeks later.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Intervals in the heat
The darn thunderstorms this morning meant I couldn't run before class, and instead I had to do it at 12:00 in the middle of the heat. It wasn't not terribly hot like it had been 3-4 weeks ago, but it wasn't all that pleasant at that time of day either. I decided I wasn't going to risk being too tired later tonight, and decided to just deal with it and make sure I got some sort of quality run in.
This week I'm taking it "easy" and trying not to run as many total miles, and also cutting down on the quality training. To that end, I set out to do 4x(3:00 fast 2:00 rest). I ended up doing the intervals faster than I intended (probably faster than I should have), but it made for a more impressive workout than I was inspecting. I did the 3:00 intervals at 6:48, 6:49, 6:38, and 6:46. It seems like whenever I do an interval workout, my first interval really sets the pace. I realized that I had run the first one too fast, and set out to do the second one slower, but I can't ever seem to let myself go any slower.
I was pretty exhausted after the last one, so I allowed myself several minutes of walking before I resumed running the rest of the way. I've been running at 6-6:30 in the morning lately, so I wasn't really prepared for the temperature difference, and I was very thirsty before it was all over. Luckily, I ran by a pair of little girls that were just setting up a Kool-Aid stand, and they were willing to let me give them and IOU since I didn't have any money on me (which I promptly paid 20 minutes later). It was very fortuitous, because I'm not sure I would've been able to run the whole way home without that little boost.
All in all, it was a fairly difficult day, perhaps more difficult than it should've been, but being able to push through the heat and fatigue made it a great mental run in addition to the physical aspect.
This week I'm taking it "easy" and trying not to run as many total miles, and also cutting down on the quality training. To that end, I set out to do 4x(3:00 fast 2:00 rest). I ended up doing the intervals faster than I intended (probably faster than I should have), but it made for a more impressive workout than I was inspecting. I did the 3:00 intervals at 6:48, 6:49, 6:38, and 6:46. It seems like whenever I do an interval workout, my first interval really sets the pace. I realized that I had run the first one too fast, and set out to do the second one slower, but I can't ever seem to let myself go any slower.
I was pretty exhausted after the last one, so I allowed myself several minutes of walking before I resumed running the rest of the way. I've been running at 6-6:30 in the morning lately, so I wasn't really prepared for the temperature difference, and I was very thirsty before it was all over. Luckily, I ran by a pair of little girls that were just setting up a Kool-Aid stand, and they were willing to let me give them and IOU since I didn't have any money on me (which I promptly paid 20 minutes later). It was very fortuitous, because I'm not sure I would've been able to run the whole way home without that little boost.
All in all, it was a fairly difficult day, perhaps more difficult than it should've been, but being able to push through the heat and fatigue made it a great mental run in addition to the physical aspect.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Good interval day
Whew, I ran a little over 5.5 miles this morning and it took a lot out of me, but it was a wonderful run! Today is Tuesday, which means intervals. It went quite well, I set out with the goal of doing more than I did last week, which was a total of 15:00 at my interval pace (just under 7:00/mile). Last week, I broke them up into smaller, more manageable intervals, but I wanted to keep every interval over 4:00 today, and I succeeded. I did two 5:00 intervals, and two 4:00 intervals, with 3:00 rest in between (though I gave myself 4:00 rest after the second one).
I did the intervals in 6:55, 6:59, 6:56, and 6:53 for a total of 18:00 at about 6:55. I'm quite happy with that result, and I think this running everyday with no breaks is going to be good for me. I think it'll be easier to stick to a schedule, and I think I'll reap the benefits of consistency and of running the additional miles. Since I was able to improve upon my run from last week, I can conclude that, at least for the moment, the additional running is not contributing to overtraining. Even so, I plan to take an easier week (still 7 days of running, just trimming a bit of mileage off) either every 3rd or 4th week. I haven't decided how often I need the rest, but if my performance on Thursday is better than last week, I think I'll try to go another week before I take an easier week.
If I were able to keep that pace up for a full 5k, that would be a time of 21:26. I'm not sure I could keep that up, as I felt like I was relatively close to vomiting on the last interval, but in a month's time it might be doable. Either way, if I keep this up, sub-21:00 in my next race with Jenny and Doug should be very doable, though 20:00 would be an awfully large stretch. Right now I think I'll put my goal at under 21:00 which would be a 6:45 pace. I'll have to adjust that as the date gets closer and the weather changes, but I definitely think it's within reach. The key is to stick with it and not fall off the wagon. As long as I do that, I should be able to meet my goal.
I did the intervals in 6:55, 6:59, 6:56, and 6:53 for a total of 18:00 at about 6:55. I'm quite happy with that result, and I think this running everyday with no breaks is going to be good for me. I think it'll be easier to stick to a schedule, and I think I'll reap the benefits of consistency and of running the additional miles. Since I was able to improve upon my run from last week, I can conclude that, at least for the moment, the additional running is not contributing to overtraining. Even so, I plan to take an easier week (still 7 days of running, just trimming a bit of mileage off) either every 3rd or 4th week. I haven't decided how often I need the rest, but if my performance on Thursday is better than last week, I think I'll try to go another week before I take an easier week.
If I were able to keep that pace up for a full 5k, that would be a time of 21:26. I'm not sure I could keep that up, as I felt like I was relatively close to vomiting on the last interval, but in a month's time it might be doable. Either way, if I keep this up, sub-21:00 in my next race with Jenny and Doug should be very doable, though 20:00 would be an awfully large stretch. Right now I think I'll put my goal at under 21:00 which would be a 6:45 pace. I'll have to adjust that as the date gets closer and the weather changes, but I definitely think it's within reach. The key is to stick with it and not fall off the wagon. As long as I do that, I should be able to meet my goal.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Week of 8/7 Recap
On Saturday, Greg came over with his bike on his new bike rack, and I ran/he biked to Chaska and back, for a good 12.75 miles. It went pretty well, especially considering the number of miles I had already run that week. Finally the path was open the whole distance, though there was one spot with a huge puddle that we couldn't go around. Luckily, it wasn't too deep so Greg was able to ride through it and ghost-ride his bike back to me so I could get across. I have to say, it was pretty pro. The worst part of the run though had to be the 41 bridge just before Chaska. The entire side was covered in mealworms, sometimes over half an inch thick. It smelled really bad. For the rest of the run, I kept getting a whiff of the smell from Greg's bike, my shoes, and/or my imagination. Anyway, I'm back to trying to run my long runs slower than in the spring, because I think they fatigued me too much for the rest of the week. I ran the first 10, then took my first walk-break and proceeded to run a mile, walk a bit, run a mile, walk a bit until we made it back to my house.
That run put me at 40.97 miles for the week, and counting today's run I'm at 10 consecutive days with over 30:00 a day, and a distance of just over 62 miles.
That run put me at 40.97 miles for the week, and counting today's run I'm at 10 consecutive days with over 30:00 a day, and a distance of just over 62 miles.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Tempo Run
I had been doing 1 speed day a week earlier in the year, but it didn't seem to be helping too much. With only 1 day, I was only able to stress one part of my cardiovascular system (like VO2 max with intervals or lactate threshold with a tempo run) per week, and I didn't get the results I'm used to. In the past, I felt like 2 speed days a week was too much, but I see now that even if I don't have a wonder workout, it's worth it to try twice a week.
On Tuesday, I did some intervals.
Due to my recent performance, I didn't really have a goal in mind as I didn't know what to expect. I ended up doing 5:00 fast, 3:00 easy, 4:00 fast, 3:00 easy, 3:00 fast, 2:00 easy etc. stepping down a minute each time. I ended up with a total of 15:00 at I pace, which isn't too bad. I would really like to consistently do over 20 minutes though. Not all that long ago I was able to do 4x(5:00@6:53, 3:00@9:30), so in the next couple weeks I'd like to get back to that.
Today, I set out to do 3 miles at tempo pace.
Due to my sketchy performances, sometimes I'm not quite so sure what my tempo pace is anymore, so I basically said I needed to run under 8:00, and each mile had to be fast than the last. The reason for this last part is so that I didn't go out too fast to begin with. I didn't care if I had to break up the 3 miles into 3 separate cruise intervals or run them straight through; I just wanted to make sure I got 3 miles in at a good pace. I ended up doing 2 miles at 7:46 and 7:37 respectively, then a 3:00 break, followed by my last mile at 7:24. I'm pretty happy with this. Since I've been so inconsistent, I haven't made much progress, but this workout also shows that I haven't lost too much either. Next week I'll try to do 3 miles at a similar pace, but no break in between. I'd like to build up to being able to do 5 miles or so at this pace, and then start working on bringing the speed up a bit.
On Tuesday, I did some intervals.
Due to my recent performance, I didn't really have a goal in mind as I didn't know what to expect. I ended up doing 5:00 fast, 3:00 easy, 4:00 fast, 3:00 easy, 3:00 fast, 2:00 easy etc. stepping down a minute each time. I ended up with a total of 15:00 at I pace, which isn't too bad. I would really like to consistently do over 20 minutes though. Not all that long ago I was able to do 4x(5:00@6:53, 3:00@9:30), so in the next couple weeks I'd like to get back to that.
Today, I set out to do 3 miles at tempo pace.
Due to my sketchy performances, sometimes I'm not quite so sure what my tempo pace is anymore, so I basically said I needed to run under 8:00, and each mile had to be fast than the last. The reason for this last part is so that I didn't go out too fast to begin with. I didn't care if I had to break up the 3 miles into 3 separate cruise intervals or run them straight through; I just wanted to make sure I got 3 miles in at a good pace. I ended up doing 2 miles at 7:46 and 7:37 respectively, then a 3:00 break, followed by my last mile at 7:24. I'm pretty happy with this. Since I've been so inconsistent, I haven't made much progress, but this workout also shows that I haven't lost too much either. Next week I'll try to do 3 miles at a similar pace, but no break in between. I'd like to build up to being able to do 5 miles or so at this pace, and then start working on bringing the speed up a bit.
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