Blog Archives - Cape Cod Coaching

No Complaining

1/30/2014

No complaining. Make it a discipline. It will serve you well. This is different than looking at the world through rose colored glasses...trying to be "positive" all the time. It is simply a matter of accepting circumstances as they are...without comment. Endurance athletes need this quality. Well...actually we all do.

Complaining weakens you physically and spiritually. It attracts harm. Work to change undesirable circumstances...but soldier on always.

Two Sides to Every Coin

1/30/2014

Nice to know that with the bitter cold come some unexpected benefits...one of which is better recovery from running. You can read about it here.

Week #7- Half marathon preparation

1/26/2014

Mary encountered weather and scheduling obstacles this week but still did a good job making the most of it. Here's what she did:

Monday - 60mins run, HR was really difficult to keep under 150. Freezing out.
Tuesday - 30mins easy jog in AM
Wednesday - Snow storm. No roads. Gym closed.
Thursday - 30mins easy jog in AM
Friday - nothing...work, obligations etc
Saturday - 75mins as follows: 5 x 12mins run/3mins brisk walk
Sunday - CCAC Grand Prix, 4.7mi - overall pace- 7:23

A couple of notes:
1) Pace at 150bpm is improving.
2) Weekly race performance holding steady.

This week...Wednesday and Saturday are the key days. The CCAC Grand Prix is over but Mary has an obligation on Sunday and will only have time for a quick run.

Here's what we have planned:

Mon - Active recovery, do something, just move a bit, if you can

Tue - 30mins easy jog - sub 150bpm

Wed - 60mins on treadmill as follows: 20mins easy, then 6 x 2mins at 5% grade at challenging (not brutal, ~8:45?) pace with 3mins recovery jog, cool-down until 60mins is done
- SPIN? - if yes, go easy - hydrate - heart rate under 145bpm

Thu - 30mins easy jog - sub 150bpm
- Swim? - if yes, make it moderate effort

Fri - 30mins easy jog - sub 150bpm

Sat - 90mins as follows: 5x15mins at 150bpm or below with 3mins brisk walk after each 15mins run EXCEPT run last 15mins segment at half marathon to marathon effort - if it feels right - don't force it.

Sun - 30mins easy jog - sub 150bpm

No static stretching before running

1/22/2014

When I first started running back in the late 70's, we were told to stretch before runs. I did it for a while...had lots of little injuries...and somewhere, not too far down the road, gave it up. So did nearly all of my running friends. Countless articles would come out regarding the importance of stretching before runs...and we ignored every one of them.

None of my running pals ever stretched before runs. We would simply start our runs real slow and let things warm up that way. Maybe we'd do a little mobilizing...like a cat or dog might do...but nothing else. Stretching afterwords was a different story...some did it and some didn't. We never noticed much effect either way.

As it turns out...our instincts might have been correct. This recent study showed that static stretching before running, decreased performance significantly...13 seconds on average in a one mile uphill time trial. This article does a great job of explaining it all.

It seems best to save the static stretching for after your running...and just do a bit of dynamic stretching beforehand as this article suggests. Just starting out your runs very easy may still be the best method.

Week #6 - Half marathon prep

1/19/2014

Things are moving right along with Mary's half marathon preparation. Again she had a really tight schedule, but still managed to stick with most of it. This coming week will be the last week of the CCAC Grand Prix. That will help as then will be able to focus more specifically on half marathon preparation.

Here's what she did the past week:
Monday - light activity
Tuesday - 30mins jog (AM) ,10min pace
Wednesday - 60mins treadmill, including hill repeats as scheduled. Felt really good. No spin.
Thursday - Overslept...tired
Friday - 25mins easy run
Saturday - 72mins jog 10mins/walk 2mins
Sunday - Grand Prix 4.1 miles. 20mins warm-up, Race @7:15 pace, 25mins cool-down

This week...we'll continue with our gentle progression. Here's what it looks like:

Mon - 45-60min recovery run…keep it nice and easy…OK to go longer…heart rate under 150bpm
Tue - 20-30min jog or walk or something else easy, active recovery day
Wed - 60mins on treadmill as follows: 20mins easy, then 6 x 2mins at 5% grade at challenging (not brutal, ~8:45?) pace with 3mins recovery jog, cool-down until 60mins is done
- SPIN - go easy - hydrate - heart rate under 145bpm
Thu - 20-30min jog or walk or SLEEP
Fri - Swim - moderate effort
Sat - 75mins like this: 5 x 12mins at 150bpm or below with 3min brisk walks after each 12mins run
Sun - Grand Prix Finale - good long warm-up and cool-down, like you have been doing

Week #5 - Half marathon prep

1/14/2014

Mary had a very hectic schedule last week but did an excellent job of making the best of it. Here's what she did last week:

Monday - Light weightlifting - 20 mins Low weight 15 reps, 12 exercises.

Tuesday - 4 degrees out. Stayed inside. Jogged in place, stair repeats during TV breaks, and 5 push-ups after stairs. Around round after 20mins.

Wednesday - Still 4 degrees out and windy - Ran 30mins in the AM.

Thursday - Day off. Needed sleep. Crazy schedule.

Friday - 30mins on treadmill. Heart rate lower than 150, elevation of 1%. Swam 45mins-2,000 yds.

Saturday - 60 minutes run.

Sunday - CCAC Gran Prix race - 20min warm up, race (3.1-3.2mi?), then another 20mins easy.

This week...work schedule should be a little easier. We'll add some treadmill "hills" to the Wed workout. Schedule looks like this:

Mon - Active recovery or short jog, if you have time

Tue - 20-30mins easy jog

Wed - 60mins on treadmill as follows: 20mins easy, then 6 x 90secs at 5% grade at challenging (not brutal, ~8:45?) pace with 3:30 recovery jog, cool-down until 60mins is done
- Spin? If yes….go easy…heart rate under 140bpm

Thu - 20-30mins easy jog
- Swim - keep it moderate

Fri - 30mins jog, entire run under 150bpm - take off or walk if you are fried

Sat - 72mins like this: 6 x 10mins at 150bpm or below with 2min walks after each 10mins run

Sun - Grand Prix - good long warm-up and cool-down, like you have been doing

Great article on why goal-setting is silly

1/11/2014

Runners often want to know how fast they can run in the future. How fast can I get? How fast can I run this race? Do I have the potential to break 3 hours for the marathon? Do I have the potential to break 4 hours? Can I win the state championship? Can I go to the Olympics? Can I qualify for the Crossfit Games? What's going to happen to me? ...tee hee...

When people ask these questions...what I really want to say is; "Who cares?" But I usually say something a bit more diplomatic like; "Train relentlessly and see where it takes you." Sure it's fun...and sometimes quite effective...to imagine outcomes. But the only way to find out how good you can be at something is to consistently concentrate on it...work at it...train...and see then what happens. I feel it's best to quit worrying about the future...stay more focused in the present...and just keep taking the next obvious step.

This article does a brilliant job of describing how goal-setting can actually work against you and why many successful people do not set goals. It goes against the prevailing sentiments...but I feel it offers an interesting and liberating perspective. It's worth a look.

Week #4 - Hyannis Half Marathon Prep

1/9/2014

Forgot to post Mary's training for week #4. Week #3 went OK. Health stabilized and she got in a nice volume of gentle running. Here's what it looked like:

Monday - Off

Tuesday - 35mins easy jogging with 1min breaks after each 5min jog. Heart Rate below 145.

Wednesday - 65mins of running and jogging. 6 miles total. 10 to 11 minute pace. No spin.

Thursday - 45mins easy jog on the snowy bike path. Heart Rate under 150. Walking break after 20mins. No swimming.

Friday - Lots of shoveling.

Saturday - More shoveling. 45 minutes on the treadmill at 1% incline and heart rate under 140.

Sunday - Weary Traveler 4.9mi race - 20min warm-up, Race, 20 minute cool-down.

Emphasis on Week #4 is trying to increase volume of easy running. Since Mary is going all...out or close to it...in the Grand Prix race...we are making that the one hard effort for the week and making everything else restorative in nature. Here's the schedule for Week #4:

Mon - Active recovery - walk, stretch

Tue - walk/jog 20-30mins easy

Wed - 45-60mins, at "Y" on treadmill, jog 5mins/walk 1min, keep heart rate under 150bpm, incline at 1%

Thu - walk/jog 20-30mins (before spin or swim)
- spin (nothing over 145bpm) or swim

Fri - 30-45mins treadmill, heart rate under 150bpm, incline 1%

Sat - 60+mins easy outdoor run, last 10mins do 10secs fast/50secs easy

Sun - Grand Prix - good long warm-up and cool-down

Local Weather Report #2 - 1/4/14

1/4/2014

As of 10:00AM today, the roads in the Hyannisport area are already pretty clear. Good place to run from is the Conference Center (formerly Sheraton) in Hyannis. Head down Greenwood Ave and out to Hyannisport. Probably have to do loops if you are doing anything other than a short run. Craigville Beach road is also pretty clear...but it's kind of narrow due to the snow banks...and the sidewalk hasn't been touched. Everything should improve from here.

Local Weather Report - 1/3/14

1/3/2014

K-Mart sucks! Wind shifted more to the West and caused snow drifts all over the walkway.

Barnstable HS will be nice. It's all plowed and everything. Right now, nothing outside is too good given the wind chill.