alien invasion

i've been invaded by aliens. two quality workouts in one week, 34.8 miles total. also known as "what i should have done to train for the marathon i ran a few weeks ago" (or 7 other ones before it).

memorial day 800's - 6 of them - 3:19, 3:19, 3:19, 3:21, 3:18, 3:21

i don't remember what my goal time was, but i'll take the 3:19 average. it was warm, 80º.

steamy sunday mile repeats - 3 of them - 6:59, 7:00, 6:54
after a long, booze-filled wedding weekend in tennessee, i wasn't quite able to hop out of bed early in the morning to run. i waited out a late afternoon t-storm which dropped the temp from 93-ishº to 71-ishº, but it was still quite muggy. i ran through steam rising off the hot pavement. i'm telling myself the late nights and the distilled beverages didn't help; i was aiming for 6:49's.

the aliens might also be doing some other weird stuff. for the past week+, usually at bedtime (10-11pm), it feels like my heart is racing but my pulse is normal. yeah yeah, i need to call a doctor. i tried to monday but they put me on hold for 7 minutes so i hung up. i won't lie, i am a little afraid to run because i don't want to collapse from a heart attack at the old age of 26.

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my two run run run

(you know, like biggie)

tuesday i got in a few miles over lunch and a speed workout (6x800) after work. i kept the lunch run easy because a) i needed to save my legs for the evening workout and b) i didn't want to cut my lunch break short in order to shower so i ran slow to prevent sweating. i did take a mexican shower with some body spray, just in case.

lunch run: 4.12 miles, 37:40 (avg pace 9:09), 72*
pm run: 7 miles w/ 6x800, 1:00:14 (avg pace 8:36), 63*

my main motivation for doing speed work was to hear garmin play the super mario song when i successfully completed the workout. my goal pace for the 800's was 3:30-3:40 and i am pleased to see that none of them were slower than that. i also did these on the streetz (of suburbia...) again so the terrain was rolling, but i thought i was "finding" the pace better than last time. as i ran, i pondered about the benefits of doing intervals on the track as well as the road. sometimes it's nice to see the finish line ahead, but training in race-like conditions is pretty beneficial too. avg pace for the 800's - 7:09 (last time - 7:17).

learned some horrible news on tuesday as well. i'm off to stock up before world war 3 breaks out.

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push it

jess and i must be channeling the same speed demons this week. she recently rocked her first 800 workout in awhile and i just did my first since december 2008 (yikes that's a long time!).

1x800 - 3:31 flat with some downhill

2x800 - 3:49 uphill, garmin beeped at me the entire time "speed up!"

3x800 - 3:34 flat with some downhill

4x800 - 3:40 flat with some uphill

i did these on 'the streets' (vs track) along with a mile warmup, 3-minutes active recovery after each rep and a mile cooldown. normally i do a 2-mile warmup and cooldown, but i was feeling lazy today. i wasn't entirely sure what pace to aim for since i'm just getting back in the swing of things, so i plucked 3:30-3:40 out of mid-air. i programmed the workout into my garmin so i wouldn't have to constantly check to see how far it'd been, plus i like the mario brothers-ish tune it plays when you complete the workout.

other than thinking about how hard the 800's were, i also pondered why my upper body is more sore after doing yoga than pushups, how badly i need to get my core into shape, and good lord there are a lot of acorns on the ground!

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i got another coupon code for zing bar lovers (wheat, gluten, soy and corn free) - enter "boo" for 15% off chocolate peanut butter or chocolate coconut flavored bars, valid til 10/31. (i was emailed this coupon and am just sharing it; i am not being paid or perk'd to do so. i can't even eat zing bars 'cause of the nuts!).

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dropping fast

i wimped out today and cut my run short.

when i packed my bag at lunch for my post-work run, i was counting on it being 50 degrees, and only packed shorts and a short-sleeved technical shirt. when i left work at 4:30, it was indeed 50 degrees, with 15mph winds, and the temperature was dropping fast.

it was cold.

my body never really warmed up and i attribute this to being under-dressed. the temp dropped very quickly to 43 ("feels like 37") and i was miserable. had i brought long sleeves, i probably would've been fine...

after a 1 mile warm up, i strode off into rep #1. about 3 steps into it, my left shoe came untied, but i ignored it for the entire 800m and re-tied it when i was done. it was so hard to breathe. i know this was because of the cold temperature and my lack-of-clothing on my back/chest, and i paid for it tonight. in each rep i was struggling to inhale; i wasn't getting enough oxygen.

i continued to push out repeats, but i didn't get in as many as i had planned. :( bummer. i'm just not as hardcore as all of you who stuck it out and completed your track work this week! my left shoe came untied again in rep 3, but not until the last turn at least. i was wearing the same shoes i ran the atlanta marathon in (saucony grid type a2), and they re-blistered my right pinky toe.

my lungs and airways never opened up, and i actually got pretty mucus-y (tmi? sorry). it's so nice to feel like you are choking on your saliva and all. my legs felt great though, and i am happy for that. i could definitely feel weakness in my core and upper body, and hopefully that will help remind/motivate me to crunch, pushup, dip, etc more.

on a side note, i slammed my knee into the shower door post-run when i was hopping in to clean up for dinner. that should be great for tomorrow's 20k! at least it's a guaranteed pr (...my first 20k) and i wasn't planning on racing it anyway. it's a touch sore but not bothering me, and i'm sure it's fine.

1x800 - 3:11, 185
2x800 - 3:11, 175
3x800 - 3:11, 179
4x800 - 3:17, 180
5x800 - 3:14, 179
6x800 - 3:16, 177

pm run - 6 miles (incl. 6x800 w/ 400 jogs), 50:53 (8:29 avg pace), avg/max hr (167/192)

good luck to those racing this weekend!
john (the long run) - rocket city marathon
kevin (5ks and cabernets) - white rock marathon
jess (seejessrun) - white rock marathon
d10 (justrunning for fun) - thunder road marathon
laura (absolut(ly) fit) - honolulu marathon
(and anyone else i forgot!)

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foggy bottom

so it was a beautiful day here today...

just kidding. it rained all day but thankfully stopped shortly before i got out of work and left me with no excuses. i got to the track a little before 5 and visibility was about 100m. at least the rain/fog kept the lane hogs away.

the ever accurate weather people were predicting thunderstorms around 6pm so i had to hurry. luckily those never rolled in, and i got my workout done quickly so i would've been safe either way.

today's workout... 8x800 at 3:20 pace, for a total of 7miles including warm up and cool down. when i do my 800s at the track i tend to slack off on the warm up and cool down, when i do them on the (relatively flat) 1/2 mile stretch of street near my house i am better about actually doing them. anyway, it went pretty well and i pushed myself through the repeats instead of cutting them short again.

1x800 - 3:14, 178
2x800 - 3:17, 184
3x800 - 3:08, 182
4x800 - 3:14, 184
5x800 - 3:15, 184
6x800 - 3:15, 184
7x800 - 3:17, 185
8x800 - 3:21, 184

i had to run in lane 2 because lane 1 had an enormous puddle in one of the turns. somehow my left shoe still soaked up a bunch of water during my warm up mile though, and the wet, heavy squishy-ness was all i could think about for the first 2 reps. in rep 3 i started thinking negatively and wanted to quit, but the last time i did 800s i cut them short and i really wanted to get back on track with them so i pressed on. after rep 4 i said to myself, halfway there, lets at least get 6. rep 5 i started actually feeling good - while doing speedwork, i know, what's wrong with me? with that one down i told myself only 3 more, i'm still feeling good, i will finish this workout. the last 3 reps went well, i felt strong throughout, and was glad to actually finish an 800 workout again.

all of my first laps were 1:36-1:37, and i even felt smooth and even-paced throughout the reps. finally, i've found some consistency. my recovery periods (jogging a 400) ranged from 2:15 to 2:34 with heartrates from 161-174. i was a little disappointed in my last rep for being 'over goal pace' but the rest of them were better than pace so i can't complain.

pm run: 7.25 miles (1mi warm, 8x800 w/ 400 jogs, 0.5 cool), 57:17 (7:54 avg pace), avg/max hr (174/200)

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800s take 2

well i did get up and out the door this morning but i was still "not there" mentally and my legs were absent as well. just wasn't feeling it, and it sucked.

did a 2mile warm up which was ok i guess. i wasn't really into it but i transitioned straight into my 800s anyway (which i did on the street again vs the track). first rep, felt like junk. already having to seriously talk myself into finishing the rep and starting another one. second rep, still felt like junk although my time was fine. talked myself into another. third rep, wanted to quit multiple times within the 1/2 mile. forced myself to finish. talked myself into another. fourth rep, still junk, still wanted to quit. told myself i could quit after it if i still felt crappy at the end since usually after a couple reps my legs, body and mind get used to the flow and pain (of pushing myself) and i start to enjoy it. not the case today. i was miserable.

so i quit. 4x800 instead of 7x800. i'm trying to tell myself it's ok because i did mile repeats on tuesday and maybe i shouldn't be trying to do multiple speed workouts in a week, but that still seems like a pretty lame excuse. then i think, well maybe my body is tired from sunday's 16-miler, but that's a lame excuse too 'cause i don't think i feel tired. man up legs! let's pull it together here.

mile 1 - 9:20, 139
mile 2 - 9:31, 157
1x800 - 3:26, 180
2x800 - 3:11, 180
3x800 - 3:26, 186
4x800 - 3:16, 183
mile 4.25 to 6 - 11:39, 173 *quitter miles, recovery and transition into 'finish-logging-the-miles' run
mile 7 - 9:03, 173
mile 8 - 8:40, 172
mile 8.25 - 1:37, 178

hr wouldn't recover and stuck around in 'tempo' hr zone even though i was clearly not doing a tempo run. i know my 800 times weren't even that bad and i quit because my body/mind was complaining. kinda feel like i should've stuck it out. rar. hopefully i can get back on track next week.

at least it didn't rain i guess.

am run: 8.25 miles, 1:11:27 (8:40 avg pace), avg/max hr (167/194)

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lazy with no excuses

today's daily run is a big fat dnf. dns, actually.

once again i did not get up early this morning to get my run in. now that i am home from work i am not really feeling up to doing the scheduled 800s. i could think of a million excuses but i'm just going to suck it up and accept the fact that i am being lazy. this is actually a hard entry to type. i want to go run, but i want to get my 800s in for the week and i have had a somewhat of a bad day and i feel like it will affect the quality of the run.

so, instead of taking tomorrow off, i will be running my 800's. tomorrow morning i will get up early and get my run in before work. weather forecast is calling for rain but i will be up and out running rain or shine.

today i suck. tomorrow i will make up for this.

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just some more 800s

it's getting cooler out. a cool 49 degrees this morning when i headed out for my run. i toughened up and did not put on long-sleeves, telling myself i would warm up quickly. i always forget my temperature tolerances by the time the cooler weather comes back around. can never remember what my short- vs. long- sleeved threshold is. oh well.

fast 6 miles this morning. well, slow 2-mile warm up, fast 3, slow 1-mile cool down really. had 6x800 on the schedule which i ran on the streets again. the first rep was supposedly way slow. i know it was a little uncomfortable, but the first rep usually feels harder while your body adjusts to the quicker pace. i think i might not have stopped my watch in the few seconds between my warm up miles and the first set, and that's where the extra time came from. but, i can't remember so i'll suck it up and claim the less-than-desirable time.

2mile warm up - 18:48, 139
1x800 - 3:41, 170
2x800 - 3:11, 170
3x800 - 3:17, 174
4x800 - 3:08, 155
5x800 - 3:18, 179
6x800 - 3:10, 175
1mile cool down - 9:34, 163

the 4th rep i had more operator error and forgot to start a new split when i started the 800 so it was combined with the previous rest period, hence the way lower avg hr. the 5th rep felt like death (i also had to take a pit stop immediately after it), but the 6th rep felt great (probably because of the 5min break i had for bathroom purposes).

as evident in today's splits, i still need to work on pacing and keeping it constant... a lot. i know my mind was more focused on surviving and keeping my lungs breathing (still having asthma troubles) than whether or not my pace as consistent. really need to work on that.

in non-running news, i successfully completed 1 core workout for the week after my run this morning. 300 crunches and a session of 'ball work'.

am run: 6 miles, 49:16 (8:13 avg pace), avg/max hr (153/190)

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i shoulda ran in the morning

the winds were out in full force this evening, 17-23mph. not exactly favorable for 800 repeats around the wide-open track. i swear the wind was gusting into me for 3/4 of each lap. seriously.

in addition to the gale-force winds, the track hogs were out walking their laps, taking up as many lanes as possible. seriously. there was one group of 4 fatties taking up lanes 1-5 (while drinking sodas i might add). thanks for not moving over. there was another pair of ladies walking in lanes 1-3 but occasionally they moved over out of lane 1. i always thought it was common sense for walkers to use the outer lanes if runners were present.... the extra steps certainly wouldn't kill the people that were out tonight.

at any rate i survived my 6x800's, and managed to run them pretty darn close to pace (3:20) even though i had to fight the winds and extend each lap 100m or so to maneuver around the walkers. i didn't feel as fluid as i did on tuesday's mile repeats, and i didn't really loosen up until the 3rd set.

1. 3:23, 164 avg hr
2. 3:20, 173
3. 3:19, 176
4. 3:22, 177
5. 3:17, 180
6. 3:19, 180

not too shabby of a turn out though. glad i pushed myself out the door to get this run in. after 12 days of running (covering almost 82 miles) and no rest, i'm sure my legs are looking forward to a day off tomorrow. they've been nice enough to hold it together for me this week.

pm run: 7miles (2mi warm, 6x800 w/ 400 jogs, 0.75cool), 57:20 (8:11 avg pace), avg/max hr (160/190)

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drizzly run

i almost let the barely sprinkling/drizzling rain talk me out of running this morning. and it was some seriously light rain. luckily i "toughed" it out - would have been a pathetic excuse.

5:00am - 2mi warm up, 5x800, 1.5mi cool down; total run time 50:24

i realized i forgot my stopwatch as i was nearing the end of my warmup so after rep 1 i stopped by the house to pick it up. i don't have the brain power at 5am (or ever?) to do the math myself.

i did a little better at keeping the 800s closer to my goal pace of 3:20, but as always there is still room for improvement. today my times were 3:32, 3:13, 3:20, 3:11, 3:19. this week and last week i had a headwind in reps 1, 3 & 5 but it hasn't been anything debilitating. i'm consistently faster on reps 2 and 4, which also feel easier as i'm doing them, but i'm not exactly sure why.

i started to do my usual yoga workout after but kept being distracted by the mess of clothes around the house. i decided i'll try to get to yoga (and abs and pushups...) after work and tidy up a bit before going to work to relieve a little of my messy-home stress.

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another good speed day

it was extra hard to get out of bed this morning for some reason. i kept snoozing my alarm, but eventually did get up a little before 5:30 to force myself out the door on my run.

5x800 on the street, which is basically flat but not track/pancake flat so i'm hoping that gives me some sort of an edge since i'm doing some speedwork off the track. after a 1.8ish mile warmup i knocked out my 800s in 3:24, 3:11, 3:20, 3:06, and 3:16. so... i'm still incapable of finding the pace although i am getting closer - the first, third, and fifth 800s were near target pace (3:20).

the fourth one felt super easy, while also being entirely way too fast for this workout. i felt a little like constantina tomescu-dita during it, even though i obviously wasn't running at her pace. it is a confidence booster though to still feel good and strong in the fourth repeat. it gives me hope for when i have to increase the reps.

i keep feeling rushed after my morning runs and haven't been stretching like i should (or at all most days) so hopefully i will get onto myself for that. after this morning's run i got in 3 sets of 12 (real) pushups and 300 abs before hitting the shower.

my official, 18-week training for the goofy challenge begins on monday (9/8) and i couldn't be more excited. lets just hope i don't slack off between now and january '09.

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almost on pace

5x800@3:20 was on schedule for today. after tuesday's disappointing tempo run i thought i might do this workout on the track, but then i was too lazy to drive "all" (3mi) to the track so i did it on the streets. after a 1mi+ warm-up i hit my 800s almost on pace - 3:27, 3:09, 3:16, 3:05, 3:16. it's a nice boost to (basically) hit my goals after being way off on tuesday. my right shin is a little sore and my right calf has been a little tight/achey the past couple of days but hopefully tomorrow's day off will help keep that from getting worse. any pain is the last thing i need... total of just over 4mi for the day

day off tomorrow, probably switching sat/sun and doing my longer run sat and a shorter-long run sun.

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