my intermittent blog about training and racing

To start off, I need to explain that this year I am logging my running in terms of time instead of distance. This helps me to stay relaxed during training runs because I tell myself I have to run for "X" number of minutes whether I run fast or slow. When I run with a distance goal in mind, I can't help but speed up so I can get the run over with sooner. Since my goal this year is to patiently increase my training to a decent level again, this is the right approach for me right now. When I look back at my training in the past, I spent most of '07 and '08 doing relaxed/patient mileage building, and then I had good consistently high mileage (60-80 mpw) during 2009 and 2010. I made the mistake at the end of 2010 of breaking the 100 mpw barrier without spending enough time in the 80-90 mpw first. I have been in an injury cycle ever since then. I would love to be the type of runner that can run 120 mpw (the time I did run in the 100 mpw range was the most enjoyable time of my life) but I have to accept that "durability" is my weak point.

On Monday, I did LSD for time of 1:48:xx. Ran fast for 5 minutes at the end. Felt good the whole time. None of the usual aches (left knee, right foot, left tibia) showed up at any time during the run. I had a head cold all last week, so I left the house with the option to go for just an hour if I still felt conjested while running. Thankfully, I think I am pretty much over the cold. Now if our 7 month old boy could get over the cold too, then my wife an I could have a decent night of sleep instead of getting up multiple times in the night to comfort him after he has a coughing fit.

During January, I have run about 4:30-5:00 hours per week (probably about 35-45 mpw). I was hoping to fit a 5:30 week in between the two SLC winter series races, but the head cold (and lack of sleep) forced me to adjust my plans. I know that the guys I want to be competetive with are double or tiple my mileage, and that tempts me to force my mileage higher. However, I have done that many times in the past, only to end up injured. One reason I have been hesitant to post on this blog in the past is because I don't want to reveal just how low and pathetic my mileage is. Right now, I'm trying to have the maturity to not care how I compare to the other guys, and just to do what I know is the right approach for the runner that I am.
 

SLC winter series 10K, 34:37, 6th overall.

This was a fun race for me. I went into the race with the plan to just treat it like a 5 mile tempo run with a "race type" effort on the last mile. I didn't think my legs were ready to handle 6.2 miles of racing since my only real speedwork has been the 5k race from two weeks ago. Right off the bat, I didn't try to stay with Riley and company. I just settled into a fast yet comfortable pace. At about a half mile, I heard someone tuck in right behind me. I glanced over my shoulder, and although I didn't get a look at his face, I did get the feeling that it was a high schooler from his smallish stature. For the first 5K, I ran comfortably, enjoying the tailwind and tracking the tangents along the slightly curved road. I could tell my follower was putting in a harder effort than me by his heavier breathing. My instinct was to drop him, but then I reminded myself that I really didn't intend to "go to the well" on this race, so I decided that if he was with me at the turn around, I would let him draft off me for most of the way back. We hit the turn around at about 16:40. I knew the head wind would be strong, but it was still shocking just how much slower it was on the way back. My follower stayed right behind me. I wasn't checking my spits every mile, but I did track that mile 4 to 5 was a 5:50 mile.

I sped up a tiny bit from mile marker 5 to mile 5.2 (the 1 mile marker on the other side of the road). At this point I made the move that I had planned a few miles earlier. I sped up dramatically and swerved to the other side of the road. This was kind of a cruel move to make on the youngster, but I figured it was a good object lesson for him in three ways. 1-When you make a move, the whole point is to "gap" the other person, so make the move quickly and dramatically, and keep pushing for a while after the move. 2-Make a move at the most psycologically difficult part of the race. To me, the start of the last mile of a race is usually the most tempting time to give into the pain and just hang on, waiting for the finish to get closer. 3-If you are drafting off someone, be ready for them to make dramatic moves if you don't do it first.

I pushed hard the last mile and tried to accelerate all the way to the finish. I can't remember my splits but I think my last mile was about 5:20. 34:37 is not a great time, but considering the wind and lack of full effort, I am optimistic about how things are going for me right now. I learned after the race that the "youngster" was Benjamin Pachev. We talked and congragulated each other afterwards. I am really impressed with his talent and drive, especially at 15 years old. Good job Benjamin!

I did 2 hours and 8 minutes of LSD on Sunday afternoon (about 17.5 miles). This took me to a total of 7 hours of running this week (about 58-60 miles). I really enjoyed the long run. When I started it was raining a little bit so my plan was to head up to research park where I could run on the treadmill at my work if it kept raining. fortunately, the rain subsided so I was able to run outside the whole time. I passed by the golf course behind the hogle zoo and noticed that all the snow was melted so I just ran back and forth on the grass for 30 minutes. It was really quiet and peacefull and the view of the valley was great. I looped back home through liberty park. My legs started to ach the last 20 minutes but I wasn't nearly as wiped out as I usually am after a long run. It takes a lot of patience for me to run slow for such a long time, but I think I will benefit greatly from these sorts of LSD runs at this point in my training. My goal is to build up to a 3 hour long before the SLC marathon in April. I don't have time to build up both endurance and speed in time for the SLC marathon, but I want to at least build up a great endurance base that I can then add speed to later in the year. I'm excited that my mileage is increasing and my legs don't feel horrible as I do it.
 

splits: 5:27 mile 1, 5:50-5:40 to halfway (26:30) second half 5:30-5:20 (25:26)

I started this race with the plan to run about the same pace as I ran for the 10K. The wind wasn’t an issue and I have 2 more weeks of training under my belt, so I figured I could handle the additional 3.1 miles at the same pace. My 10k time was 34:37 (5:35/mile) so I was shooting for 51:xx. I tucked right in behind the top 4 guys for the first K, but then I backed off to settle into my own pace. My first mile was about 5:28. I relaxed a little too much and ran the second mile in 5:50. I forget exactly where Josh caught up to me, but I sped up to stay with him. We ran about 5:45 pace until the turn around. Josh commented that I didn’t seem to be breathing very hard. I felt like I was still running fairly fast. With my lack of speed work, I’m apprehensive about how my legs will hold up to mile after mile of fast running. We hit halfway in 26:30. I knew I would have to push if I wanted to be under 52 minutes. I pulled away from Josh, but I glanced back a couple times and could see him, so I was still motivated to keep pushing. I hit 6 miles in 34:00. I pushed hard the last 5k to run under 17 minutes. My last mile was just under 5:20. I was really tired, but I told myself that running fast on tired legs was just what I needed to get back to form. I am proud of myself for my negative split. I probably should have run the first half faster, but overall it was another step in the right direction.