Workout Details
Today, my friend Mike came over with his bike to join me on a run. I set out to do 10-12 originally, but I modified that to a full 13.1 during the run. Well... that was before it was 85+ degrees outside, so I quickly came back to Earth and settled for 11.8 miles.
I hadn't had a run of this distance in Shakopee before, so I took the opportunity to explore a little bit. I ran/he biked through downtown Shakopee until we hit a nice path that runs along the river. We soon found out that the path leads all the way to Chaska. It was very pleasant; the trees hovered over the majority of the path so we were out of direct sunlight for the most part. It was a very cool trail. It runs by the remains of the old Shakopee Brewery.
I ended up doing the first 10 miles in 1:31:19, which is a little faster than a 2 hour half-marathon pace. Considering the heat, I don't think that's too bad. I ended up walking for a bit when we reached civilization. I needed some water before I could start up again; I had only brought one water bottle which was not enough for this heat. We found a gas station, and I ended up filling my bottle up in the bathroom sink. It was not my favorite thing to do. Anyway, I got some water in me and I was able to run the rest of the way home (except my cooldown walk), even finishing the last half mile or so at under 8:00 pace.
I was pooped and completely dehydrated, so I immediately gulped down 2 Carnation Instant Breakfasts, my post-run meal of choice. Then I took the opportunity to cook us some burgers on my new grill, and now I'm off to a party at a friend's house. What a great day!
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Hottest May Ever
So the sod for my house came on Tuesday, and we haven't had anything but scorching hot temperatures and dry weather since. On the plus side, I also got a new grill to use on these dry, sunny days. Anyway, this blog isn't about my ruminations; it's supposed to be about running.
Workout Details
Tuesday I set out to do a tempo run at about 11:30, which was a bit later than I should've gone. It was already 80-85 degrees by the time I stepped outside. Well, the heat really affected me. It's the first time running in this kind of temperature since last year, so my body has not acclimated at all yet. I did my mile warmup, and set off for 2 miles at 7:40, followed by a brief rest, and another mile at 7:40 before cooldown. That was ambitious. If it was 50 degrees, I'm confident I would've been successful. As it was, I did not succeed. I got 1.5 miles done on my first interval, but I had to take a walk break. Then... when I started up again, I could only manage another kilometer (.63 miles). All in all, I ended at 4 miles in 35:25. At least it was enough fast running to serve the purpose of the workout, but I wish I could have done more. There's always next week.
Tomorrow I plan to do 10-12 miles, but it's going to be extremely hot, so I might tucker out early. My friend Mike is coming into town and going to bike it with me, so he had the bright idea of him bringing my rollerblades in his backpack just in case. It should be fun. I've got a couple ideas of where to run so I can explore a bit more of Shakopee on foot.
I missed the registration for the Minneapolis Half-marathon; I went to sign up today with no luck. Oh well, I was on the fence anyway.
Workout Details
Tuesday I set out to do a tempo run at about 11:30, which was a bit later than I should've gone. It was already 80-85 degrees by the time I stepped outside. Well, the heat really affected me. It's the first time running in this kind of temperature since last year, so my body has not acclimated at all yet. I did my mile warmup, and set off for 2 miles at 7:40, followed by a brief rest, and another mile at 7:40 before cooldown. That was ambitious. If it was 50 degrees, I'm confident I would've been successful. As it was, I did not succeed. I got 1.5 miles done on my first interval, but I had to take a walk break. Then... when I started up again, I could only manage another kilometer (.63 miles). All in all, I ended at 4 miles in 35:25. At least it was enough fast running to serve the purpose of the workout, but I wish I could have done more. There's always next week.
Tomorrow I plan to do 10-12 miles, but it's going to be extremely hot, so I might tucker out early. My friend Mike is coming into town and going to bike it with me, so he had the bright idea of him bringing my rollerblades in his backpack just in case. It should be fun. I've got a couple ideas of where to run so I can explore a bit more of Shakopee on foot.
I missed the registration for the Minneapolis Half-marathon; I went to sign up today with no luck. Oh well, I was on the fence anyway.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Running in the rain
So today my friend Carla came over to run. She hadn't been running too much lately, so we planned to do about 5 miles. I wanted to get a long run in, so I wanted to set out early and get 5 or 6 miles in and arrive back at my house around the same time she did. This would give me a total of 10-11 miles. My timing wasn't too great. I was about 1.5 miles out from my house when I saw her drive by, so I turned around and booked it home. I pounded out a 7:35 mile to try to get home so she wasn't waiting too long, but at the same time, I didn't want to overdo it and make it so I would hurt myself in trying to get a little distance in. Anyway, I got home and we set out for a little over 5 miles at a nice easy pace.
As we left, the clouds were rolling in, but at about the 1.5 mile mark, the rain started coming down. For whatever reason, I have a hard time starting a run when it's raining, but if I'm already outside, I don't mind it at all. We were soaked through pretty quickly, but it only rained for about 5 or 10 minutes. While my shirt and shorts were soaked, my shoes were still pretty good. That all changed about 20 minutes later when it started raining harder than before. Within 20 seconds my shoes were soaked through. That's really the one thing I don't like about running in the rain. I don't mind being wet myself, but my feet are another story.
I ended up doing 8.3 miles in 1:19:04. I really had wanted to do more, but it just didn't work out with the timing. I wasn't about to leave Carla at my house while I went back out and did another 3-4 miles.
Now I'm left in a tough situation. I had wanted to try to bang out 10+ miles at under 9:00 pace today so that I could have a feeling about how I would perform in the Minneapolis Marathon before I signed up. Now, having run less mileage at a slower pace (albeit while feeling extremely fresh at the end), I have no idea where I'm at. I would like to be able to run under 2:00 at the very least, and I'm pretty confident I could do that. But I also like to at least have a chance at breaking my PR each time I race, and I'm not confident I would be able to. Oh well, I have until the 28th to sign up before prices get raised again.
If I feel good tomorrow and my little aches and slight calf muscle strain isn't apparent, I might consider running long again on Wednesday or Thursday. We'll see.
Finally, I'd like to give a shout out to my friend Jeff who is dealing with some Achilles issues at the moment. I hope it gets better soon and you're able to do Grandma's! Either way, you should run TC in October (but beware, normally it's filled by this time, so time is running out!).
As we left, the clouds were rolling in, but at about the 1.5 mile mark, the rain started coming down. For whatever reason, I have a hard time starting a run when it's raining, but if I'm already outside, I don't mind it at all. We were soaked through pretty quickly, but it only rained for about 5 or 10 minutes. While my shirt and shorts were soaked, my shoes were still pretty good. That all changed about 20 minutes later when it started raining harder than before. Within 20 seconds my shoes were soaked through. That's really the one thing I don't like about running in the rain. I don't mind being wet myself, but my feet are another story.
I ended up doing 8.3 miles in 1:19:04. I really had wanted to do more, but it just didn't work out with the timing. I wasn't about to leave Carla at my house while I went back out and did another 3-4 miles.
Now I'm left in a tough situation. I had wanted to try to bang out 10+ miles at under 9:00 pace today so that I could have a feeling about how I would perform in the Minneapolis Marathon before I signed up. Now, having run less mileage at a slower pace (albeit while feeling extremely fresh at the end), I have no idea where I'm at. I would like to be able to run under 2:00 at the very least, and I'm pretty confident I could do that. But I also like to at least have a chance at breaking my PR each time I race, and I'm not confident I would be able to. Oh well, I have until the 28th to sign up before prices get raised again.
If I feel good tomorrow and my little aches and slight calf muscle strain isn't apparent, I might consider running long again on Wednesday or Thursday. We'll see.
Finally, I'd like to give a shout out to my friend Jeff who is dealing with some Achilles issues at the moment. I hope it gets better soon and you're able to do Grandma's! Either way, you should run TC in October (but beware, normally it's filled by this time, so time is running out!).
Monday, May 17, 2010
Weekend Run
This weekend was a fun one as far as running goes. I met my friends Ben and Mim, who are training for a half-marathon on June 6, for a run in Hyland Park. We went just under 6 miles at a pretty leisurely pace. It was a gorgeous day and I was able to get some sun (actually too much). I've been running by myself for the most part, so it was fun to run with other people.
Then on Sunday, I decided I was going to try for a 10k (~6.2 miles), not at race pace, but at a reasonably high effort, which for me is around 8:15-8:20 a mile. I know, I know; last post I said I was going to take it easy. I'm not sure it's possible for me to do that, though. The times I enjoy running the most are when I'm able to push myself and surpass my expectations. Anyway, I was doing great and could have easily completed it, but I felt some tightness below my calf so I took it easy after 8k (~5 miles). Either way, I did 8k in 41:45 for an average pace of 8:23. It was in the middle of the day with the sun shining brightly, and I wasn't really winded, so once my legs get accustomed to the mileage, I think I'll be able to put in some pretty respectable times.
After doing more than 6 miles each day of the weekend (especially with a bunch of them at a faster pace), I really should take a day off today, but as I look out my window, the sun is shining and begging me to go outside and enjoy it.
Dave
Then on Sunday, I decided I was going to try for a 10k (~6.2 miles), not at race pace, but at a reasonably high effort, which for me is around 8:15-8:20 a mile. I know, I know; last post I said I was going to take it easy. I'm not sure it's possible for me to do that, though. The times I enjoy running the most are when I'm able to push myself and surpass my expectations. Anyway, I was doing great and could have easily completed it, but I felt some tightness below my calf so I took it easy after 8k (~5 miles). Either way, I did 8k in 41:45 for an average pace of 8:23. It was in the middle of the day with the sun shining brightly, and I wasn't really winded, so once my legs get accustomed to the mileage, I think I'll be able to put in some pretty respectable times.
After doing more than 6 miles each day of the weekend (especially with a bunch of them at a faster pace), I really should take a day off today, but as I look out my window, the sun is shining and begging me to go outside and enjoy it.
Dave
Friday, May 14, 2010
Checking In
Well, it's been a month since I last checked in. I'm not sure if anyone still reads this due to my sporadic updates, but who knows.
I've been running pretty consistently lately. My foot has given me zero trouble, and I've had little injuries here or there from pushing too hard, but nothing too bad. I've come to realize that I don't have the willpower to take it easy and increase my mileage slowly. I push it too high, too fast, get hurt, get healthy, rinse, repeat, but every time I get better and faster. I think I'm probably near the running shape I was in last October when I completed my 1:55 half-marathon, but I've also been doing P90x, so my overall conditioning is probably the best it's ever been. So far, my longest outing this year has been about 8.5 miles, but I think I could have gone farther. I just didn't want to overdo it, since I had set out to do 6 and didn't bring any fluids.
My plan for a 4 hour marathon in June has been postponed. I had planned to do the Mickelson Trail Marathon, but my friend who lives in Rapid City has moved, and nobody wants to go with me! :-(. Anyway, I just figured I'd check in and let everyone know what's up. As soon as I surpass my previous fitness, I'm sure I'll start blogging more. It's just hard to write up a post about something I was able to faster and longer before. I've run about 20 miles each the past two weeks, and once I get my mileage stabilized at 25-30 for a couple weeks, I'll start throwing some speed work in and really get results. I'm really trying to avoid significant setbacks though, so I'm trying to get there slowly. No promises though.
Dave
I've been running pretty consistently lately. My foot has given me zero trouble, and I've had little injuries here or there from pushing too hard, but nothing too bad. I've come to realize that I don't have the willpower to take it easy and increase my mileage slowly. I push it too high, too fast, get hurt, get healthy, rinse, repeat, but every time I get better and faster. I think I'm probably near the running shape I was in last October when I completed my 1:55 half-marathon, but I've also been doing P90x, so my overall conditioning is probably the best it's ever been. So far, my longest outing this year has been about 8.5 miles, but I think I could have gone farther. I just didn't want to overdo it, since I had set out to do 6 and didn't bring any fluids.
My plan for a 4 hour marathon in June has been postponed. I had planned to do the Mickelson Trail Marathon, but my friend who lives in Rapid City has moved, and nobody wants to go with me! :-(. Anyway, I just figured I'd check in and let everyone know what's up. As soon as I surpass my previous fitness, I'm sure I'll start blogging more. It's just hard to write up a post about something I was able to faster and longer before. I've run about 20 miles each the past two weeks, and once I get my mileage stabilized at 25-30 for a couple weeks, I'll start throwing some speed work in and really get results. I'm really trying to avoid significant setbacks though, so I'm trying to get there slowly. No promises though.
Dave
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