Well, I've been lazy the past couple weeks, but only in regards to updating my blog. With my running, I haven't slacked off a bit. In fact, I've stepped it up. Last week I got sick Sunday night, but it was close to a 24 hour bug so I didn't let it affect my running plans too much. I was a little weaker so I didn't run as far, but I didn't take any extra days off.
The extra rest (mileage-wise) must have helped, because last Thursday I had a great run (details here). I set out with a bit of a spring in my step, and I didn't realize quite how fast I was going. The first half mile was in 8:13. That was the first time I looked at my watch, and I was quite surprised. Effort-wise, I felt like I was doing 9:00. Once I saw that, I decided to punch it up a notch and just run pretty fast the rest of the way. The next half mile was in 7:08. After that, I settled in at around 7:35-7:40 for the rest of the way. I put in a kick at the end, doing the last tenth of a mile at around 6:00. I ended up doing a 5k in 23:35. (The data shows a little different, but that's because I didn't hit stop on my watch right away.) This shocked me, because I feel like I could have maintained a slightly faster pace the entire time, and my goal at the time for my next 5k race was going to be under 24:00. Obviously I'm going to have to set a loftier goal than that, so here it is: instead of under 24:00, I'm going to shoot for under 23:00. I have an opportunity coming up on December 5th, so here's hoping I make it!
I had a tough 7 mile run on Saturday that felt more difficult than it should have. I think dehydration contributed to the difficulty. On Sunday, I ran on the treadmill, doing a warmup and cooldown with 3 8:00 miles in the middle. So far I've run everyday this week, but Monday through Wednesday were mostly easy or marathon paced runs. That brings me to today.
Today, I decided it was time for some VO2-max intervals (details here). Using my trusty pace from Daniels' Running Formula, I set out to do a 10 minute warmup, 6x(3:00 at 7:24 pace, 2:00 at easy pace), followed by a 10 minute cooldown. Well, I tried to run at about 7:24 pace, but I really wasn't breathing as hard as I believe I should have. In fact, it felt downright easy. The last time I did intervals, I was definitely breathing heavily after the first two, and couldn't even finish the fifth. Well, I ended up doing the next 5 at closer to 7:15, and even then, I didn't feel like I was stressing my aerobic system to it's maximum until I hit the fifth interval.
The fifth interval was a doozy, because for those of you familiar with Lakeville and North Park, I was heading back west on the path, and the interval started when I was at the bottom of the steep hill close to Highview (the one with a bench off to the side at the top). Well, that hill immediately took all the easiness out of it, and the next 8 minutes were a battle, but happily, I was triumphant. It was a bit of a struggle to keep running in the first few minutes of the cooldown, but eventually my heart settled down and I was able to run without much effort again.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Monster Dash!
Well, the day has come and gone, and I broke the 2hour mark with room to spare. I didn't quite hit my goal of 1:55 (my official time is 1:55:17), but there were some extenuating circumstances. More on that later. Even with those 17 seconds over my goal time, I'm still extremely satisfied with my performance. Here is the GPS of the run, but I forgot to hit stop right away at the end so there are a few extra seconds in there.
On the morning of the race, Carena and I got out the door a little later than we had hoped, so it was kinda sketch for a little while. Luckily, we found parking and were at the starting line with a minute and a half to go. While it was cutting it close, it actually worked out great because we didn't have to stand around idle freezing our butts off.
I started off halfway between the 1:51 pace marker and the 2:00 pace marker, which was a big mistake. It seems like people always overestimate themselves and line up too close to the front, so I was stuck in a big group of people running at around 10:00 pace. In the beginning, it was really crowded so I had no choice but to follow the pace. In the future, I guess I'll have to be one of the morons who starts further ahead than I should in order to go the pace I want from the get go.
The next 5 miles or so I probably did a little faster than I should have. I had decided on the "no guts, no glory" method and didn't want to have the possibility of finishing and regretting not pushing myself hard enough. In the end, I think it hurt my time. The best performance, for me, is when I maintain a constant pace throughout the whole race. I ran them all right around 8:30 pace, but I should have probably maintained closer to 8:40 pace.
At mile 9, I started feeling the consequences of running those early miles too fast. My legs were starting complain, and I slowed down a bit to the 8:45 pace range. I had not realized that the route went so far along Minnehaha Parkway, so I was not ready for the hills. In fact, 8:45 was probably a little bit too fast considering all the hills. There was a hill just before the 9 mile marker that really sapped my energy (even though it appears the hill doesn't show up on my elevation graph from my GPS). It was short, just a city block, but it was terribly steep.
Miles 11 and 12 were my downfall. As I was going up the hill just before Lyndale, I noticed all the runners ahead of me were stopped at the intersection. I could see traffic going by, so I decided to make the most of it and walk up the hill. I walked to the top, and sure enough, there was a cop directing traffic, and we had to wait another 15 seconds before we could pass. I did feel bad for the guy. Everyone was complaining to him, but he just kept saying, "Take it up with your race director." They must not have had permits to block traffic there, which I'm not very happy about. I'm almost certain I would've hit my goal time of 1:55 if it weren't for this snafu. I was having enough trouble maintaining my pace at the time without having to worry about making up for lost time waiting at an intersection.
Nevertheless, I pushed on. At around mile 12, we came back to Lake Harriet, and were met with gusting winds blowing in an unfavorable direction. Some bystanders joked to the others, "run behind the tall guy," which made me want to punch them at the time because I didn't really have anyone around to break the wind for me. This last mile was all willpower. I had gone out too fast and had nothing left. I kept looking at my GPS, trying to maintain an 8:46 pace, which was near impossible for me at that point. Somehow I was able to, and when I crossed the 13 mile marker, I ran as fast as I could given the circumstances. I started gasping for air and felt like I couldn't physically maintain the pace, even for .1 miles. I just kept telling myself that I would be so disappointed if I missed my goal by something like 3 seconds that I could've made up at the end. Mercifully, while I was arguing with myself about whether I could slow down or not, I crossed the finish line. I had given it my all, and had a finishing time of 1:55:17 and a shiny medal to prove it.
On the morning of the race, Carena and I got out the door a little later than we had hoped, so it was kinda sketch for a little while. Luckily, we found parking and were at the starting line with a minute and a half to go. While it was cutting it close, it actually worked out great because we didn't have to stand around idle freezing our butts off.
I started off halfway between the 1:51 pace marker and the 2:00 pace marker, which was a big mistake. It seems like people always overestimate themselves and line up too close to the front, so I was stuck in a big group of people running at around 10:00 pace. In the beginning, it was really crowded so I had no choice but to follow the pace. In the future, I guess I'll have to be one of the morons who starts further ahead than I should in order to go the pace I want from the get go.
The next 5 miles or so I probably did a little faster than I should have. I had decided on the "no guts, no glory" method and didn't want to have the possibility of finishing and regretting not pushing myself hard enough. In the end, I think it hurt my time. The best performance, for me, is when I maintain a constant pace throughout the whole race. I ran them all right around 8:30 pace, but I should have probably maintained closer to 8:40 pace.
At mile 9, I started feeling the consequences of running those early miles too fast. My legs were starting complain, and I slowed down a bit to the 8:45 pace range. I had not realized that the route went so far along Minnehaha Parkway, so I was not ready for the hills. In fact, 8:45 was probably a little bit too fast considering all the hills. There was a hill just before the 9 mile marker that really sapped my energy (even though it appears the hill doesn't show up on my elevation graph from my GPS). It was short, just a city block, but it was terribly steep.
Miles 11 and 12 were my downfall. As I was going up the hill just before Lyndale, I noticed all the runners ahead of me were stopped at the intersection. I could see traffic going by, so I decided to make the most of it and walk up the hill. I walked to the top, and sure enough, there was a cop directing traffic, and we had to wait another 15 seconds before we could pass. I did feel bad for the guy. Everyone was complaining to him, but he just kept saying, "Take it up with your race director." They must not have had permits to block traffic there, which I'm not very happy about. I'm almost certain I would've hit my goal time of 1:55 if it weren't for this snafu. I was having enough trouble maintaining my pace at the time without having to worry about making up for lost time waiting at an intersection.
Nevertheless, I pushed on. At around mile 12, we came back to Lake Harriet, and were met with gusting winds blowing in an unfavorable direction. Some bystanders joked to the others, "run behind the tall guy," which made me want to punch them at the time because I didn't really have anyone around to break the wind for me. This last mile was all willpower. I had gone out too fast and had nothing left. I kept looking at my GPS, trying to maintain an 8:46 pace, which was near impossible for me at that point. Somehow I was able to, and when I crossed the 13 mile marker, I ran as fast as I could given the circumstances. I started gasping for air and felt like I couldn't physically maintain the pace, even for .1 miles. I just kept telling myself that I would be so disappointed if I missed my goal by something like 3 seconds that I could've made up at the end. Mercifully, while I was arguing with myself about whether I could slow down or not, I crossed the finish line. I had given it my all, and had a finishing time of 1:55:17 and a shiny medal to prove it.
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