Cross Training Plans and Today's Hills

While training for my marathon this time around, I plan to do more cross training.  I usually have two easy days of running each week, so I plan to ride my bike on those days.  I'm hoping that will prevent injuries, while making every run count.  TrainingPeaks says this about cross training:

On easy days, cross-training should involve a sustained aerobic effort with an activity like cycling or using an elliptical trainer, for the same amount of time you'd spend on the day's mileage.

Yesterday I rode 7.27 miles in 47:51.  My plan was 4 miles easy, which should have taken about 40 minutes.  Some of that was downhill, so I think that's about right.

Today I ran hills and I mean, I RAN hills!

Mile 1:  11:14
Mile 2:  11:48 - this mile contains one of the "walls" in our neighborhood.  Super steep (10% average grade) for about a quarter of a mile.
Mile 3:  11:12 - this took me to the top of the neighborhood, but I still had a few little hills to go.
Mile 4:  9:31
Mile 5:  9:19  - the last half mile had two little hills that I pushed as hard as I could.

5.01 miles in 53:03, 10:35 pace.

Yesterday's Run - AKA Burning off a Deep Fried Twinkie

We really enjoyed our vacation. Probably a little too much where food was involved! We spent most of Friday at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Les and I both love riding rides - we're like two kids on roller coasters.

When we made our first pass on the Boardwalk Monday night we spotted the Deep Fried Twinkies booth. Les said we had to try them. We finally did yesterday afternoon. I thought they tasted better than the original plain Twinkie. I don't really care for the sponge cake, but frying them was another story!

My planned run for yesterday morning was 10 miles. I needed it! It was foggy the entire time I ran. The first half was a little slower because I made several photo stops along the way, but it was worth it.

I ran to the end of the SC wharf. Just as I got there I heard barking. Sea lions were starting to wake up. There are stairs that go below the wharf, and the sea lions are protected by a fence. It was cool seeing them up close.

I continued on my way and discovered a great trail. The views were spectacular! Dramatic cliffs, waves, and a lighthouse which houses a surfing museum.

Total distance - 10 miles in 1:39:30. 9:57 pace. Planned pace for this run was 10:04 to 11:04.

Ave HR 149
Max HR 160
Calories burned 1,017

So was I a success in burning off that Twinkie? According to multiple websites, a deep fried Twinkie is 425 calories. I could have had two!!

M2T W2

We have company coming on Wednesday, so I don't know how this week will go.  It's early enough in my training, I'm not too concerned.

This is week two of marathon training; after this week there will be 14 weeks until race day.

Your schedule will be similar to last week's. You'll rest today, then have three easy runs, one day on hills, and another day of rest. Your long run will inch up to 12 miles.

In this early stage, you'll want to establish a routine that blends well with everything else in your daily life. Figure out what times of day are most convenient for running, and scout out some safe, convenient routes that you can regularly take.


Sunday:  Rest Day
Monday: 4 Miles Easy (pace 10:04)
Tuesday:  5 Miles Hills (no planned pace)
Wednesday:  Rest Day
Thursday: 5 Miles Easy (pace 10:04)
Friday:  5 Miles Easy (pace 10:04)
Saturday:  12 Miles LSD  (pace 10:04-11:04)

How to Plan a Vacation

Step #1:  Find an event in a really cool locale.  This can be running or cycling.
Step #2:  Say to your spouse, "Wouldn't it be cool to go to XYZ locale for a vacation?"
Step #3:  Register for said event.
Step #4:  Enjoy a great vacation and a great event!

What?  That's not how you plan your vacations??  Last month Les and I spent a long weekend in Ojai.  He rode the Ojai Valley Double Metric Century (126 miles) on Saturday and I ran the Ojai to Ocean Marathon on Sunday.

This week, we're in Santa Cruz because the Santa Cruz Century is on Saturday.  The San Francisco Marathon is on Sunday - but I'm not ready for that!  I guess I should have signed up for the Half, but $115 to run 13.1 miles is too high for my budget.  (The full was $155.)  So I'm just doing my first week of marathon training along the beautiful California coast.  And running with a camera!

Santa Cruz is a great location - we've got the Beach Boardwalk and Monterey is about 45 miles south, with San Francisco being about 75 miles north.  And the weather?  Perfection!  Lows in the 50s, highs in the 70s.

Have you ever planned a vacation around this kind of event?

Quip of the Day

We are in Santa Cruz, California this week for vacation. While out on my run this morning (yes, I run on vacation) a group of guys were hanging out. One yelled to me, "Hey! What are you running from? Are there zombies back there?"

I simply replied, "The pie I ate last night." And ran on.

I'll enjoy great food this week, and have fun exploring a new city by foot. And hopefully weigh the same when I get home!

M2T W1

Well, here we go again!  Week 1 of Marathon Training.  I was able to reapply my Break 4:00 Marathon Plan in TrainingPeaks.  I don't know that it's physically possible for ME to break 4 hours, but I really did like this plan ~ the speed drills, tempo runs, marathon pacing and long runs, so I'm doing it again.  I'll include their comments at the beginning of each week.

Your training kicks off with a day of rest. This week includes three easy, short runs; one run on hills; and two days of rest. On Saturday, your first long, slow distance (LSD) run will be 10 miles.

If you want to add miles, do it on an easy day. But don't extend any run by more than one or two miles, or add miles on Friday (the day before your long run).

Sunday:  Rest Day
Monday: 4 Miles Easy (pace 10:04)
Tuesday:  4 Miles Hills (no planned pace)
Wednesday:  Rest Day
Thursday: 4 Miles Easy (pace 10:04)
Friday:  4 Miles Easy (pace 10:04)
Saturday:  10 Miles LSD (pace 10:04-11:04)

Double Duty

Since I was injured on Sunday, my miles this week were very low.  I finally felt good this morning and decided to do something I hadn't done in a LONG time - I rode my bike, then went for a run!

My ride was an easy cruiser.  7.24 miles in 35:16, 12.3 mph.
Ave HR 141
Max HR 156
Calories burned 293

Cycling shoes

After a quick change of shoes, I took a serving a Hammer Gel, grabbed a fresh water bottle and I was on my way.

Running shoes

The first couple miles of my run were great.  It usually takes a little while to get warmed up, but I took care of that on the bike.

Mile 1:  9:55
Mile 2:  9:28
Mile 3:  9:51
Mile 4:  11:59 - the only mile with a significant hill, I walked part of it.
Mile 5:  10:24
Mile 6:  9:07

Total distance 6.2 in 1:02:33, 10:05 pace.  I start marathon training tomorrow.  My planned pace for next week is 10:04.  I thought I might have lost a bit after my marathon, but I feel like I'm right on track.

Ave HR 153
Max HR 164
Calories burned 619

Total for this morning:
13.44 miles in 1:37:49
Ave HR 148
Total calories burned  912

And here's an updated picture of my hand.  I've kept it slathered in Neosporin (cyclist's trick to keep it from scabbing) and it is healing quite nicely!

What Now, Week 2 Results

I was off the bike almost all week.  With the injury to my hand, plus pain in my wrist, I knew I wouldn't be able to do even an easy cruiser ride. I finally got to ride this morning.  I missed it!

Sunday - Long run
Results: 5.95 miles pre-crash, 6.55 miles total in 1:08:53, 10:31 pace

Monday - Easy ride
Results:  Rested

Tuesday - Easy run
Results:  2.11 miles in 36:57, 17:29 pace.
I was actually a little faster than this, but I didn't pause my Garmin when I stopped and talked the LAPD.

Wednesday - Rest
Results:  Rested

Thursday - Trail Ride
Results:  Ran 4.95 miles in 1:00:12, 12:12 pace
 
Friday - Easy ride
Results:  Rested.

Saturday - Long run
Results:  Double duty - full post coming soon!
Rode 7.24 miles in 35:16
Ran 6.2 miles in 1:02:33

Totals for the week
Running:  19.81
Cycling:  7.24
Total:  27.05

Returning to the Scene

I headed out for an easy run this morning.  I have a slight cold or allergies - my ears are still stopped up and it's quite annoying!  I decided to return to the scene of my stumble on Sunday. I've told people I fell on a broken sidewalk, but I wasn't really sure what happened.  Maybe I just tripped over my own feet...

Uh, yeah.  Broken sidewalk, wouldn't you say?

Thought for the Day

From Runner's World:

Relish the bad training runs. Without them it's difficult to recognize, much less appreciate, the good ones.
~Pat Teske

 I needed this reminder!

48 Hours Post Crash and A Chat with LAPD

I wasn't sure how I was going to feel this morning, so I headed out walking.  After about half a mile, I tried to run.  Both my knees are deeply bruised, so it didn't take long to realize I would be walking this morning.  I'm thankful for my milk drinking lifestyle that has kept my bones healthy, I know I could have snapped a wrist or a collarbone when I went down on Sunday.

A car stopped me this morning.  The driver was a female LAPD captain.  I don't have it verbatim, but she said something like this:

You have been running as long as I've lived here.  I remember seeing you walking, then running.  You lost a lot of weight and just kept running.

She made my day!  It's been more than six years since I got down to my current weight.  I walked the rest of the way home with a big smile knowing that I'll be running again soon.

Just Call Me Grace

I went for a great run this morning.  My plan was 10 miles and I was feeling rested and fast.

Mile 1 - 10:18
Mile 2 - 9:33
Mile 3 - 9:39
Mile 4 - 9:40
Mile 5 - 9:47

Just before the 6 mile mark, I came up a hill, then started down a steep downhill.  My pace was about 9 minutes a mile when...

I went down.  HARD.  I'm pretty sure I tripped over a sidewalk that had buckled due to an overgrown tree root.  It happened very fast.  My worst injury is my left hand...

I'm left handed, of course!  My right elbow and knee have minimal damage.  I'll survive, but I didn't run another 4 miles.  Luckily, I was about a half a mile from home, so I walked there.  I don't know what this will mean for my activities this week, I will probably be pretty sore tomorrow.

Final stats on my run:

6.55 miles in 1:08:53, 10:31 pace.
Ave HR 144
Max HR 161
Calories burned 649

It was still a good run!

What Now, Week 2

This is my final in between week.  Training for marathon #2 starts next Sunday!

Sunday - Long run (if my ears are cleared up)

Monday - Easy ride

Tuesday - Easy run

Wednesday - Rest

Thursday - Trail Ride

Friday - Easy ride

Saturday - Long run

What Now, Week 1 Results

I didn't follow my plan this week at all.  I ran when I scheduled a ride and rode when I scheduled a run!  We had high (for us) humidity that made me really glad I don't live where it's humid all the time.  I'll take the dry heat any day.

Sunday - Easy recovery ride
Result:  Rested

Monday - Easy run
Result:  Rode 8.2 miles in 44:27, 11.1 mph

Tuesday - Trail ride
Result:  Ran 6.16 miles in 1:02:13, 10:06 pace

Wednesday - Rest
Result:  Rode 10.52 miles in 1:14:07, 8.5 mph
This was a trail ride.  Les had a 7:00 a.m. conference call that he was going to take at home, so it meant we needed to get moving!  We went higher up the trail than I had in a long time.
Water aerobics in the afternoon, too.

Thursday - Easy run
Result:  Ran 5.01 miles in 59:18, 11:50 pace

Friday - Easy ride
Result:  Rode 8.22 miles in 43:21, 11.4 mph

Saturday - Long run
Result:  Rested
Sometime yesterday morning I started having ear problems.  I feel like I've been on an airplane and they need to pop, kinda like I'm in a cave or tunnel.  Very annoying, but also keeping me feeling a little off balance.  A long run was not going to happen.  It was still a great week.

Total miles for the week:
Running:  11.17
Cycling: 26.94
Total:  38:11

The View

Taken from the highest point of our ride this morning.  Will climb for great views!

Will Climb for Chocolate

After yesterday's post about attacking hills, I thought it was funny that I received an email from Terry Bicycles with the subject "Will Climb for Chocolate."  If you're not a cyclist (or married to a cyclist) you may not be aware that the Tour de France is going on right now.  They are in the middle of week 2, of a 3 week bicycle race that covers over 2,000 miles.

Most people know that the winner of the Tour de France gets the Yellow Jersey.  What you may not know is there are three other jersey classifications - the Green Jersey, the Polka Dot Jersey, and the White Jersey.  I won't bore you with all the details, but you can read all about it here.

So, back to that email from Terry.  It said this:

The red polka dot jersey.
Most people know that the polka dot jersey is awarded to the best climber in the mountain stages of the Tour de France. The King of the Mountains title was first awarded in 1933, but it wasn't until 1975 that the white jersey with red dots was officially designated as the KOM jersey. What isn't very well known is where that came from: the polka dot wrapper of a chocolate bar company sponsor!!

Now that's what I'm talking about ~ chocolate!  Isn't it a little ironic that my blog background is currently red with white polka dots?  In my opinion, if you're gonna climb hard, you need to be rewarded with chocolate.

Wonder how many calories a pro cyclist burns and consumes in a day?  Pro, Ted King, blogged about it recently.  Every.Single.Bite.  Including some chocolate.  The entire post is quite entertaining, but if you don't have time to read it, here is his simple conclusion:

– By my calculation, I consumed 5,082 calories. All of which were delicious, especially the risotto and the honey waffles
– Calories expended on the ride: 5,067.69
– Ride time: 5:23 and change (approx. 107 miles)

I, on the other hand, rode 10.52 miles in 1:14:07 this morning, burning 608 calories.  My ride had one continuous climb, then a wonderful downhill.  I earned a little bit of chocolate

The moral of this story:  If you really want to enjoy chocolate, become a pro cyclist!

Attacking the Hills

I've been giving a lot of thought to my next marathon.  A LOT of thought.  I don't want the same results.  I want to run smarter and finish faster.  One thing that is going to be different is the most significant hill on the course is a half-mile segment between miles 23 and 24.  A hill that late in the course is going to hurt!

With that hill in mind, I have had to rethink my training.  The O2O was flat/downhill, so I didn't try to run fast going uphill.  I headed out today ready to take on hills.  And not just get to the top, but push hard.  Here's what today's run looked like:

My times were:
Mile 1 - 11:00
Mile 2 - 11:03
Mile 3 - 9:18
Mile 4 - 9:58
Mile 5 - 10:01
Mile 6 - 9:29 - I was really happy with this mile since the first half is gradually uphill, I definitely kept pressing.

Total distance - 6.16 miles in 1:02:13, 10:06 pace

Ave HR - 145
Max HR - 163
Calories burned - 616

What Now, Week 1

I finished Marathon Recovery and Marathon Training doesn't start for two more weeks.  What should I do this week?

Last week felt pretty successful.  Some running, some cycling, some swimming.   I'll probably do something like this:

Sunday - Easy recovery ride
Monday - Easy run
Tuesday - Trail ride
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - Easy run
Friday - Easy ride
Saturday - Long run

With some water aerobics thrown in 2-3 times.

Marathon Recovery, Week 4 Results

This is the final week Hal Higdon's Marathon Recovery plan.  The complete details for this week are here.  I did not follow the plan at all, but I had a great week!

Sunday: An hour of cross-training.
Result:  Rode 7.26 miles in 35:43, 12.2 mph

Monday:  Rest
Result: AquaJive, 30 minutes

Tuesday:  Five miles.
Result:  Rode 13.12 miles in 1:23:55, 9.4 mph 

Wednesday:  Five miles.
Result:  Ran 8 miles in 1:28:49, 11:06pace.
I thought about doing a half marathon this morning, but my legs said otherwise.  They weren't quite recovered from Tuesday's ride.  So I ran hills, lots of hills...

Thursday:  Three miles.
Result:  Rested

Friday:  Two miles.
Result:  Rode 7.65 miles in 42:40, 10.8 mph
Les and I took it really easy.  We both had ambitious plans for Saturday.
In the afternoon I also did 30 minutes of AquaJive

Saturday:  Rest
Result:  Ran 14 miles in 2:28:36, 10:37 pace
This was my first LSD since my marathon a little over a month ago.  I had planned to do a half marathon, but after yesterday's ride my total miles for the week was 36.  A 14 miler gave me a 50 mile week!  I was going for distance, not speed, but I was pleased with my pace. This was an extremely hilly route ~ something I wanted to do to build strength and endurance.

It was also a pretty warm morning, with high humidity.  Well, high for us - 88% humidity.  I was drenched by the second mile.  As soon as I got home, I jumped right into the pool ~ great way to bring my core temperature down.

Ave HR 148
Max HR 160
Calories burned 1,402

Totals for the week:
Running:  22.00
Cycling:  28.03
Total:  50.03

I'm A Triathlete, Sorta

Anyone reading this blog will recognize that I am a runner.  Perhaps the "Marathon" part of the title gave it away.  Or all my gabbing about marathon training, long runs, easy runs, and marathon recovery.  One of my first posts on this blog is one I copied from my other blog - it's called "Running - How I Began."  I've been at it for over 15 years now and finally have my first marathon under my belt.

A little over two years ago, in the middle of some serious running burnout, Les and I went to Catalina Island for our anniversary.  We rented bikes while we were there and I found a new activity.  I kept running, but I added mountain biking to the fun.  It really made a difference, switching up from running to cycling.

Now that summer is here, I've added one more activity.  Swimming.  Actually, spending time in and around the pool.  I'm not really much of a swimmer.  I can make it across the pool, but I've never gotten the breathing technique down.  But there is one activity that I really enjoy - water aerobics!

Several years ago Les bought me an AquaJogger.  I have the most basic model - just the belt (it can be found much cheaper here.)  It came with some exercise explanations, but what really made it work for me was when I bought the AquaJive cassette tape (it's now available on CD).  This is a 30 minute workout.  The instructor reminds me of an 80s aerobics instructor, but it's fun and I get my heart rate up, without stressing joints and tendons.  Today, I used it for the first time this year.  My plan for the rest of the summer is to do this 2-3 times a week on days when I have an easy ride or run in the morning.

I won't be registering for any triathlons, but it's fun to have other activities to supplement running.  What do you do to mix up your activity?

Marathon Recovery, Week 4

This is the final week Hal Higdon's Marathon Recovery plan.  The complete details for this week are here.  The idea here was to recover from my marathon in a safe and slow manner.  It has worked!  Training for Marathon #2 starts in three weeks!

Sunday: An hour of cross-training.

Monday:  Rest

Tuesday:  Five miles.

Wednesday:  Five miles.

Thursday:  Three miles.

Friday:  Two miles.

Saturday:  Rest

TIP OF THE WEEK: "Food has real nutritional value, whereas sports drinks are just sugar," says Nancy Clark, R.D., author of Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook and a nutritionist with SportsMedine Brookline of Boston. Clark recommends fruit or yogurt (frozen and otherwise) as a superior snack to cookies or candy bars. Research by Dr. (Edward F.) Coyle indicates that 1 gram of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight per hour is necessary for the most efficient glycogen replacement. That translates to 2 calories per pound, or 300 calories for a 150-pound runner.

I agree with that statement in part.  MOST sports drinks are full of sugar, but NOT Hammer Nutrition!  You won't find any sugar in any of their products.