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Half marathon result

2/24/2014

Yesterday was the half marathon. Despite more than her share of obstacles and scheduling constraints...Mary completed the Hyannis half marathon in 1:44:47...8:00 per mile pace.

Given all she went through...along with the limited training she was able to do...this was a good result. It was also 4-5mins faster than a half marathon she did last Fall...although off her best. The important thing was that she made progress and is well poised to really develop her fitness when her schedule opens up.

A few notes about Mary's training:

We used walk breaks in several of the distance runs...particularly the long runs. This was not an attempt to imitate the Galloway method...or any other method for that matter. Using walk breaks during distance runs is simply an excellent way to get the volume of training up while limiting the stress. Mary was training for a half marathon. She needed some volume...but she hadn't been training much...and she had a high stress level. Rather than crash training...this was a safer way to quickly build up training distance.
We used patience. We trained based on where Mary was at...not on where she wanted to be. No rushing things. Her training paces were set according to current fitness level...rather than an arbitrary time goal. Accordingly, she made solid progress...and didn't get too beat up in the process. If she continues to train based on current fitness levels, she'll continue to progress.

So there you go...

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Week #10 (final week) - Half marathon prep

2/19/2014

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Ready or not...here it comes. Mary's goal half marathon is this Sunday here in Hyannis. She took a bad fall last Sunday so it created yet another obstacle...but overall she's doing well. Her fitness has improved over the course of the 10 weeks...and she will approach the race realistically...based on the training she has been able to do.

Here's how her last week went:
Monday - Nothing...hurting from fall
Tuesday - 25mins easy jog in AM
Wednesday - Treadmill running with the hill work...as planned...and spin
Thursday - 30mins easy jog in AM
Friday - Light activity
Saturday - 50mins...kept HR under 150bpm
Sunday - After shoveling for 2 hours, 50 mins run
Monday - did the planned Sunday workout...100mins, 10mins run/1min walk, 20min at half marathon pace at the end. Felt pretty good. Maxed out on a huge hill at 179, but pulse generally stayed around the mid 160s. Very cold...which made it difficult.

Here's what I suggested for the final week:
Mon - Did Sunday's workout
Tue - ~30mins easy jog - sub 150bpm
Wed - ~45mins easy jog - sub 150bpm, 6 x 20sec strides w/plenty of recovery...Spin afterwords
Thu - ~30mins easy jog - sub 150bpm
Fri - Off
Sat - 30mins easy
Sun - Race, warm-up with very easy 10-15mins jog, take first mile easy, settle into pace once onto Old Colony. Nothing too dramatic. Avoid charging hills (not that there are many), fighting the wind, or being too competitive early in the race. We don't have a lot of timed data to go on...but pace should be in the vicinity of 8mins per mile. Try to feel it. But it's probably best not to do any early miles much faster than that.

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Sugar Alternative Article

2/17/2014

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Sugar will destroy your health and your running. I've seen people completely turn themselves around...losing weight, running faster, feeling better...by simply cutting out sugar.

Here's a good article...from an exceptional web site...that provides a list of 10 alternatives to sugar. Very useful.

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Half marathon prep - Week#9

2/14/2014

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Lots of obstacles this past week for our friend Mary. Here are the details:

Monday - Light activity, walking, etc...
Tuesday - 30 minutes, HR under 150
Wednesday - Since snow storm predicted...went out early and ran on rail trail for 6 miles, 57 minutes in the deep snow...felt like running in sand. Taught spin class in PM...went easy.
Thursday - 30 minutes, HR under 150
Friday - 35 minutes, HR under 150
Saturday - Away all day...lots of standing...back sore...
Sunday - Went to canal path. Snow lightly covered the ground so that you couldn't see the ice. Fell on back 1:45 seconds into run...slammed head into the pavement...called it quits. Have a little headache and neck hurts, but no pupil issues, memory loss, or nausea. Later in day went out and jogged 50mins.

Assuming everything is OK...I recommended the following training schedule for the upcoming week...along with a visit to my chiropractor or his colleague:

Mon - light jogging, ad lib, see how you are feeling

Tue AM - ~30mins easy jog - sub 150bpm
PM - optional run - keep everything under 150bpm OR swap this with the Wed PM workout

Wed - 5-60mins as follows: 15-20mins easy, then 4-5 x 4mins @10K race EFFORT w/2min easy jog recoveries, then 5-20min cool-down. If you do workout on treadmill, use the incline to create 10K effort, rather than the mph.
- Spin - keep it easy

Thu - ~30mins easy jog - sub 150bpm

Fri - ~30-45mins easy jog - sub 150bpm, 6 x 100m strides at end of workout, all if you have the time

Sat - off - work commitment

Sun - 100-110mins as follows: 7 x 10mins run/1min brisk walk, keep under 150bpm. Then simulate half marathon effort for remainder ~25-30mins, walk a bit. Maybe get a little water at half way

Note: Even though the half marathon race is just two weeks, we are not rushing the process. We just keep trying to make consistent progress...as opposed to crash training...and possibly squeezing out a better result at the half marathon while compromising long-term development.

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Half Marathon Prep - Week #8

2/5/2014

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The half marathon is coming up quickly. Mary's training schedule has been compromised due to a tough work schedule...but she's still sticking with the program pretty closely and is making progress.

Here is Mary's account of her week 7 training:
Monday - 25mins, heart rate under 150. I felt great...fast.
Tuesday - Not much...light activity.
Wednesday - Treadmill run - 10mins up then 4 x 2mins @5% with 3mins easy recovery, 5mins cool down.
- 30mins spin...off bike a lot to help students
Thursday - 30mins easy, under 150bpm
Friday - same as Thursday
Saturday - 90mins - 5 x 15mins run/3min brisk walk - felt great.
Sunday - Jogged 45mins. Heart rate elevated...going slow averaging 170.,,settled into low 160s.

This week...long run needs to be Sunday because Saturday involves work commitment. Wed is also a bit abbreviated but will still be a targeted workout.

Here is the Week 8 schedule:

Mon - Easy, whatever you can do

Tue - ~30mins easy jog - sub 150bpm

Wed - 45min treadmill run - 20mins easy at 1%, then 10mins @3% at ~9:05 pace, then 5mins easy @1%, then 5mins @4% @~9:05 pace, then cool-down

- Spin - keep heart rate down under 145bpm or so

Thu - ~30mins easy jog - sub 150bpm

Fri - ~30-45mins easy jog - sub 150bpm, 6 x 100m strides at end of workout, all if you have the time

Sat - PM walk - active recovery

Sun - 100-110mins as follows: 10mins run/1min brisk walk, keep the first 7-8 segments under 150bpm. After that, go by feel. Make a water stop…or two.

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Health First

2/1/2014

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You cannot train an unhealthy body. Let's remember that.

If you are not responding to training as you should...working hard and getting nowhere...always look at your overall health first. Lack of sleep...poor diet...not enough pure water...too much stress...too much worry...too much thinking...can all impede an otherwise perfect training plan. Your body needs all of its resources to adapt to the stress of training. If you are in a compromised state, the training just makes you tired...not stronger.

If you know Ed Whitlock...probably the greatest age group runner of all time...the first man 70 years old or over to break three hours in the marathon (2:54 at age 73)...then you know how relaxed he is. When you hear him interviewed, he practically puts you to sleep. It's not that he's boring...he's just really relaxed. I believe this is one of his great secrets. He goes with the flow. He hasn't got his foot on the gas pedal all the time like so many of us do.

So this is just a reminder...to myself included...to look after ourselves. No need to push all the time. See to your basic needs. Then you will feel more like training and the training you do will have benefit.

Look upon yourself with a soft eye....easy...

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Half marathon result

Week #10 (final week) - Half marathon prep

Sugar Alternative Article

Half marathon prep - Week#9

Half Marathon Prep - Week #8

Health First

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