Training Week 1 Results

I had an awesome week!  Focused training is just what I needed.

Sunday:  4 Miles Easy (pace 10:04)
Result:  4.0 miles in 42:30, 10:32 pace
I had planned to do a longer run since I only ran 5 miles on Saturday.  At the 1.7 mile mark, I realized I had dropped my sunglasses, so I turned around.  It was more than a mile before I found them.  Fortunately I keep them in a soft case so they were unscathed.  I was close to home, so I just did a little extra loop in the neighborhood and settled for 4 miles for the day.

Monday: Rest Day
I really rested!  I didn't even walk anywhere this day.  Les came home for lunch and I cleaned and did laundry - yes, it still has to be done!

Tuesday:  4 Miles Hills (no planned pace)
Result:  8.3 miles in 1:30:12, 10:52 pace
Also walked 2.1 miles.

Wednesday:  4 Miles Easy (pace 10:04)
Result: 4.1 miles in 49:47, 12:09 pace
This is the only day that I experienced soreness.  I know it was from running at a faster pace on a longer run on Tuesday.  I took several walk breaks and was fine with it.
Also walked 2.5 miles

Thursday: 4 Miles Easy (pace 10:04)
Result:  5.2 miles in 52:34, 10:07 pace
I felt so good this day!  Taking it easier on Wednesday really helped my recovery.
Also walked 5.4 miles 

Friday:  Rest Day
Result:  Walked 3 miles

Saturday:  10 Miles LSD (pace 10:04-11:04)
Result: 10.10 miles in 1:48:48, 10:46 pace
I am so pleased with today's run!  I kept my miles at a very steady pace and ended up with a negative split.  Unfortunately, my Garmin died at the 5 mile mark.  I quickly opened the Strava app on my iPhone and ran on!  I did the first 5 miles in 54:48, 10:58 pace and the second 5.1 in 54:00, 10:35 pace.
Since it is Saturday, I also walked 1.9 miles to the Farmer's Market.

I took this picture at the 4 mile mark of today's run.  Looks like rain is headed our way:

I took this picture just past the 5 mile mark:

Then it started pouring!  And I ran in the rain for about a mile and half!  It actually felt really good today, it seemed to cool the air a bit. I'm starting to think it's possible to adjust to running in this warm, humid climate and not die each time I'm out.

Totals for this week:
Ran 31.70
Walked 14.90
Total 46.60
Planned Miles:  26

Weather or Not to Run

There is no such thing as bad weather, just soft people. 
 ~ Bill Bowerman 

The above quote from Runner's World makes me smile.  There are days when I just don't want to run, so I turn to the weather app on my phone hoping for an excuse!  But not today - I have a training plan and I'm going to follow it.

My plan was 4 miles of hills.  The closest hill is Diamond Head - more than 2 miles away.  The longest I have run in the past 10 days is 6 miles, so I decided to go longer this morning.  I ended up running 8.3 miles with an overall pace of 10:52.

The view from Diamond Head is worth the effort!

Another thing about weather is that it really does affect pace.  Jeff Galloway suggests when the temperature rises above 60° F runners should slow down by 30 seconds a mile for every 5 degrees above 60° F.  It is usually about 70° F when I get up so I am working to keep my pace under 11:00 min/mile for now.  That seems reasonable and I'm certainly working harder than when I'm at home and it's in the 50s.  My average HR was 144 with a max of 159.

Training Week 1

I'm not calling this Marathon Training - just Training for now!  Maybe I'll get inspired to sign up for another marathon, but for now, I'm just training to be a better runner.

I'm leaning heavily towards changing my rest days.  If I was planning on doing the really long runs (15 miles or more) I would want a rest day after it, but since I'm not going to run those distances I think I'll be okay with an easy run the day after a long run.

Here's what the plan looks like:

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)

Planned total:  26 miles

Here's what I'm planning:

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

I like the idea of a rest day on Monday.  Sundays are busy and I'm usually on my feet a lot.  This also puts me on a similar schedule with Les - he usually rides Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

This Week

I'm going to start off this week's report with today's run.  I was awake quite a bit during the night, my stomach was complaining, then my head was hurting, blah, blah, blah.  I had to drag myself out of bed and talk myself into heading out the door.  Then I waited 10 minutes for my Garmin to find all the satellites:

I decided I would just run Ala Moana Park, about five miles, and walk when I needed.  After a 3 minute warmup, I started running... and running and running!  I felt great!  I pushed hard and climbed up the Strava Leaderboard for two segments!  I am now third overall for Magic Island, but even more telling is how much I have improved since I started running this stretch:

Date/Average Pace/Ave HR/Total time for the segment (0.9 mile)

1		Jun 15, 2013	9:30/mi	161 bpm			8:34/mi
2		May 30, 2013	10:44/mi	154 bpm			9:40/mi
3		May 3, 2013	12:05/mi	146 bpm			10:53/mi
4		Mar 31, 2013	12:25/mi	134 bpm			11:11/mi

5.02 miles in 51:16, 10:13 pace - this includes my warmup!  My slowest mile was mile one at 11:40 and my fastest was mile four at 9:46.  And of course, I feel SO much better than when I got up or if I had stayed home!  Kinda funny that I posted this yesterday:

It's been a good week:

Sunday - Rested

Monday - Ran 6.19 miles in 1:09:36, 11:14 pace
Pre-flight run

Tuesday - Ran 3.44 miles in 43:49, 12:45 pace
This run started out great, then I took a tumble at about the 2 mile mark.  Ouch!

Wednesday - Walked 8.5 miles
Back to lots of island walking!

Thursday - Ran 6.2 miles in 1:04:23, 10:24 pace
Also walked 4.3 miles

Friday - Walked 4.7 miles

Saturday - Ran 5.02 miles in 51:16, 10:13 pace

Totals for this week:
Ran 20.85
Walked 17.50
Total 38.35

Time for a Plan

For the past many months my running has been sub-par.  I've run, I've even run a couple half marathons, but I've run without a plan.  Why does that matter?  When I don't have a plan and I miss a day, it's not a big deal.  I didn't miss a "planned" run.  This lack of a plan has resulted in very low mileage for this year.

 

I do have valid reasons for much of this.  In September, my Dad went into the hospital.  In October, Les lost his job.  In November, I ran the Santa Barbara marathon very unprepared.  I had followed a training plan, but missed many long runs.  Since then, I've had a lot of obstacles, but it's time for a change!

Starting on Sunday, I will be following my marathon training plan again.  No, I am not signed up for a marathon and I don't plan on running anything longer than a half marathon (13.1)  But I know I benefited from focused daily runs - easy, hills, tempo, strides, marathon pace, and long runs.  I will still need to be flexible when we are traveling, but I always know enough days in advance to move my rest day around if necessary.

I still remember crossing the finish line of my first marathon.  The sense of accomplishment was amazing!  It's time to feel amazing again!

Marine Layer = Perfect Running/Cycling Weather

We've been home for a week and go back to Hawaii on Monday morning.  I have enjoyed the weather so much!  The days have been warm, but the mornings and evenings have been so pleasant.  54-58 degrees for lows all week.

Sunday - Rested
Les had a 6:45 a.m. flight, which meant getting up at 4:45 a.m.  We were still on Hawaii time so that equated to 1:45 a.m.!  Not to my liking at all.  I needed a very large coffee about half way through Sunday school!

Monday - Ran 6.30 miles in 1:06:56, 10:38 pace

Tuesday - Rode 12.5 miles in 1:14:17, 10.1 mph
This sign was on the trail:

There was a bear on the trail a couple years ago that never caused any trouble, so I bravely forged ahead!  I had great plans to ride several times this week, but this ended up being my only ride.

Wednesday - Rested
I stayed up way past my bedtime on Tuesday night (as in, I didn't get home until after 1:00 a.m.!)  But it was worth it to spend time with some very special friends!

Thursday - Ran 7 miles in 1:21:25, 11:38 pace
I definitely I prefer the hills and cooler temps of Simi to the flat and warmer temps of Honolulu!

Friday - Rested
Les and I planned to get up and go riding, but it just didn't happen!

Saturday - Ran 10 miles in 1:50:00, 11:00 pace
Les is always looking for a "square" ride, so my goal for this morning was a "square" run. 10 miles with over 1,000 feet of climbing = square.  My total elevation gained was 1,146 feet.  I won't get that in Honolulu!

Totals for this week:
Ran 23.30
Rode 12.50
Total 35.80

I'm also happy to report that I am now down 7 of the 10 pounds I gained earlier this year... it's always easier to put it on than it is to take it off, but I'm headed in the right direction.

Multiple Locations

We started this week on Maui.  Spent 3 days on Oahu, one day traveling, and finally made it to California!  It was so pleasant to wake up to 57 degrees this morning.

Sunday - Rested/Played SAG (Support and Gear) for Les' Haleakala ride.

Monday - Rested

Tuesday - Walked 2.9 miles

Wednesday - Ran 9.38 miles in 1:55:28, 12:19 pace

Thursday - Ran 5.02 miles in 56:19, 11:13 pace
Also walked 2.4 miles

Friday - Sat in a shuttle, sat in an airplane, sat in a shuttle bus, sat in a train.
A little too much sitting for my taste!

Saturday - Ran 7.15 miles in 1:22:23, 11:32 pace
Besides the fact that it was 3:00 a.m. in Hawaii when I went running this morning, I actually felt pretty good!  My total elevation gain was over 800 feet - more than I've done in the past 2 weeks.  Yeah, it's a bit hilly around here.

Totals for this week:
Ran 21.54
Walked 5.30
Total 26.84

I'm looking forward to putting some cycling miles in my total next week!