The warm weather this week has been great and my runs have been feeling really good. This past week I ran three miles on Tuesday, and six on Wednesday. I was supposed to do three more on Thursday but my legs were a little tired and I had some pains in my knees. Knowing that I had a long run due yesterday and that I would be running an additional 5k today, I decided to use Thursday as a rest day and took a 1.5 mile walk instead. After resting Thursday and Friday my legs felt good on Saturday and I set out on the Hilliard Rails to Trails course to do 10.5 miles. As usual, the first three miles were somewhat uncomfortable but I was able to find my stride and ran a majority of the ten miles. My overall time was 1:48:38 which was a 10:20 pace. This is right in line with where I want to be for the full marathon. I also managed to run my first ever negative split at a distance over ten miles. My first half was 54:41 and the second was 53:57. While I still have work to do, my confidence is gaining and I am feeling better about my ability to finish the race.
Until last weekend all of my runs were short loops around my neighborhood which allowed me to circle by my house and pick up a water bottle as I passed by. Now that the mileage has started to pick up, I have located longer trails and paths but none of them have drinking fountains available. As a result, I will need to carry my fluids with me. Last week I tried to carry my water bottle in my hand the whole time and this didn't work so well for me. I found myself drinking faster just to avoid having to carry it any longer. This past week I did some research and talked to my local running store and decided to buy a hydration belt. I decided on a Nathan Triangle belt which comes with one 22oz. bottle and has a zippered pouch just big enough to store my keys and one gel pack. This is the model I chose - http://www.nathansports.com/our_products/hydration_nutrition/triangle.html I was nervous about how it would feel to have this bottle sitting on my spine for the length of the run and I was afraid the belt might start to rub and become uncomfortable. I was pleasantly surprised that neither became an issue. In fact, I hardly even noticed I had the belt on. I think this will come in handy as my runs get longer and longer.
Today I took part in the Arnold Classic 5k ( http://arnoldsportsfestival.com/pump-run/ ) which is a part of the Governator's annual sports festival that he puts on here in Columbus. It was a great time and there were over 1000 runners taking part in the three different run/walk events that were offered. I was planning to just go out and take it really easy and fully expected to walk at least part of the distance based on how my legs felt after yesterday. To my surprise, I felt really good and comfortably completed the run with a 9:08 pace which for me, is pretty good. My legs are definitely tired and a little sore this evening but I don't have any pain. I just feel like I have completed a good workout. The results from this week's runs are below:
Three mile - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2332931
Six mile - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2353074
Ten & a half mile - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2399891
Arnold 5k - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2433312
This coming week I will again continue to build on my miles and will add an additional 3.5 miles to my weekly total. On my schedule is a 3-7-4 with a rest on Friday and then 12 miles on Saturday. Hopefully I will continue to stay healthy and build on some more good miles.
-bgw
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Training Weeks - 8 & 9
I am a week behind on updating my training but with good reason. At this time last weekend I was enjoying 70 degree weather in sunny Sedona, Arizona. I had never been before and did not really know what to expect. What I found was amazing to me. Sedona is a town surrounded by beautiful Red Rocks that I can not adequately describe. This was just one example of the many rock formations we got to enjoy while we were there.
The week we went I ran Tues. through Thurs. (3-5-3) and I did manage to get a four mile run in on Saturday morning before we went hiking. This was shorter that the planned seven miles but we made up for it by hiking and climbing an additional seven miles that day. Sunday I got to see the Grand Canyon for the first time, drove on Route 66, and did more hiking on some Red Rock trails. We probably did between four and five miles of hiking that day and again, saw some amazing things. Monday we
went to Red Rock National Park and hiked and climbed up to 4100 feet over a five mile trail. This was really fun, and the sites from the top were incredible. Then we went to Slide Rock National Park which is a river that forms a natural slide that is packed with swimming kids during the summer. Being that this is the melting season for mountain snow, the water was freezing and I decided that it might be best not to jump in. We opted to hike down the river banks and do some more rock climbing. This might have been my favorite part of the weekend. There was no one there but us and we were able to explore freely away from all of the other tourists. There really wasn't a dedicated path down the river bank so we got to climb over rocks and other debris for a few miles before heading back. I would love to go back!!
went to Red Rock National Park and hiked and climbed up to 4100 feet over a five mile trail. This was really fun, and the sites from the top were incredible. Then we went to Slide Rock National Park which is a river that forms a natural slide that is packed with swimming kids during the summer. Being that this is the melting season for mountain snow, the water was freezing and I decided that it might be best not to jump in. We opted to hike down the river banks and do some more rock climbing. This might have been my favorite part of the weekend. There was no one there but us and we were able to explore freely away from all of the other tourists. There really wasn't a dedicated path down the river bank so we got to climb over rocks and other debris for a few miles before heading back. I would love to go back!!We traveled home on Tuesday so I was not able to get in a run but I did get six miles on Wednesday and three on Thursday. Friday was a rest day and I did nine miles Yesterday. Today I rode the bike inside for just under an hour. Here are my results for the week:
Six Miles: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2260218
Three Miles: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2293004
Nine Miles: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2293002
The nine miles was my longest run since the half marathon back in October and it was somewhat difficult for me. I am still having some pain in my shins initially and they tend to loosen up after the first few miles. By 6.5 miles I had really found my rhythm and felt like I could have gone longer than the nine miles but knew I had to make smaller gains. My legs are tired today but pain free. This coming week I will be doing 3-6-3, rest on Friday and then 10.5 miles on Saturday. I will be doing progressively longer runs from now until the marathon and my mid week run will also be getting longer. Ten weeks and counting....I will be in Cleveland before I know it.
-bgw
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