Steady 4+ mile at projected marathon pace - 1/13/2010

Needed to keep HR under 156, but for some reason the mood struck to run a bit faster than planned as I have been running slow over the past few weeks. Felt good to get below 8min miles for the first time in awhile, but of course I should have followed the plan. Average HR at 160 for the run...still a higher than I used to be able to run at this pace, but not bad nonetheless.

Met Lucho today in person. It is always great to meet someone in after following their blog for awhile. Had the same experience with Brandon last year when we banged out a 10-mile Heil Loop. Spent a bunch of time talking about training and pacing. Got some great ideas for the next couple of months as I figured out whether Colfax is in my future. Step one was pretty clear...run more. This of course is always my problem as I constantly complain about not having the time with work, family, etc. However, Brandon, Lucho and GZ all make it work with multiple kids and jobs...so I just have to choose to make the miles happen. Step two, give MAF a real try. I have basically been doing this for the last couple of weeks after switching to HR-based training by following Brandon's lead. So now I really need to dial in the right HR. I had mentioned to Lucho yesterday that I through my LT was in the 160's. However I dug up my Boulder Center for Sports Medicine data and came up with the following; report states that my LT back in Sept of 08 was 174 not 172 for a pace between 7:19 down to 6:55 for supra-LT. The max HR listed on the report for VOMax is 182. So, the question is if this puts my MAF target HR closer to 150 rather than 145? I think I heard that MAF is between 25 and 30 beats less than LT? Lucho, what do you think? Step three, do two weeks of MAF with a 5 mile MAF test each week to check current fitness and then jump into a 4 week block of mainly MAF with some progression runs and maybe a bit of tempo. This all fits quite nicely into the current RW plan I am following.

More to come...easy MAF run today either at work or after work....

Stupid HIP is still bugging me a bit, bursitis I think. Not a long term-worry, just an annoyance.




Details here...

Easy 7 miles - Waneka Loop - 1-9-2010

Just missed catching the Oatmeal 5K at Waneka by about 15 minutes...hoped to intersect with the leaders but needed to keep moving. Annoying again keeping the HR 145 or under, especially with a few little inclines. Stayed with the plan and kept the overall HR at 144 for the 7 miles. Did some strides for just under a mile after the prescribed 7. Felt ok overall. No pain later in the day..slight tightness in the right knee late in the run, but felt it would not have been an issue if I had continued the run. I guess twinges are just going to be there as I reach 40. Wonder how long it will take to improve the pace? Pace was consistent through most of the run until the last 3/4 mile which was mostly uphill.Easy 7 miles - Waneka Loop

Details here...

Friday 10/9/09

5.19 miles mostly easy in 41:25 at a pace of 7:58. Ran most of the sections of the Coal Creek Crossing including the off-trail hill and the Coal Creek Path hill...did not do the crossing obviously.

Felt smooth and relaxed today. Had to hold back the pace for a lot of the run, which is always a good feeling. The Lunaracers are just so fast...they just want to go!

Tried the Lucho lace method today where I skipped the bottom-most eye lets. Really worked great with definitely less hot spots. Put the original inserts back in with the thin Newton socks. Good combo for Sunday.

My replacement NB M100's shipped last night in a 9.5. I may just keep the 9's around until the new ones arrive just in case. Would have loved to run them on Sunday, but in reality the LR's are just fine as there are few sections that require any real traction.

GPS Data...

10/8/2009 Thursday

Dragged my sorry ass out of bed this morning for a pre-work run. Had a few good nights of sleep so it was not as hard as it could have been. Hit the road around 5:50 or so for an easy jaunt around Louisville. Ran down to the Coal Creek Path and then over to Dillon. At this point I decided to mock the golfers by doing a loop around the Coal Creek Golf Course. Figured they were all asleep and warm in their houses, especially since it was still dark and raining. Ran along the cart path that the backs up to 36 and then up the hill to Avista. Nice little jog in my typical run along this course.

Made a point to keep the Garmin under the jacket and reversed so as not to get the damn thing wet. It seems that the thing is not only not water resistant, but more of a sponge. This allowed me to run on feel.

Overall pace of around 8:30 or so for 6 even with a little build near the end in the low 8's and some high 7's thrown in.

Not a bad run, great to get it out of the way in the morning. The kids are finally sleeping late enough that I can realistically start moving my runs to the morning. This will be key to me finally adding miles as long as I leave early enough to get back just before 7am to get breakfast ready. Looks like I may not have the family as my excuse for much longer. Certainly I would prefer to run in the light of day at work, but it is so much more efficient to get it done in the morning...and, if I get up early enough I could conceivably starting seeing 7 mile-10 mile runs before work. This would be nice. Probably could add a double or two during the week at work as well.

Ran in the old Mizunos this morning. Overall felt ok except for the freakin callous on my big right toe right on the joint. I think this is the main result of moving to a less supportive/thinner shoe as there really is not much cushion under foot whereas the bigger, thicker sneaks seem to shield me from this problem. Need to figure out some solution to this as it is getting really annoying!

GPS Data here....

Wednesday / Thursday

Easy recovery at work on Wednesday. Ran along Coal Creek up to the Aquarius Trailhead and back down 42 to the hospital. A little sluggish, but focused on an easy pace. Avg HR at 145 with a pace around 8:40 or so. Working at keeping the easy days easy.

Thursday AM did a traditional 3 mile tempo. Intended to keep the pace just under my project half pace of about 7:20-7:30. But, as usual I ended up pushing a little harder down closer to 10K pace. Actually, I ended up running right around my avg pace from BB09. Overall I felt a bit sluggish and tired….probably from not sleeping well. However, the pace did not seem too hard to maintain. Feeling positive about the run overall. The 3 was a perfect loop around Davidson Mesa with the recovery jog a half loop around Harper back home. Nice morning to be out!