I just wanted to stop by on a Sunday for quick update. I put in an easy 5 miles yesterday. The weather seems to be cooperating this weekend - even though it was a brilliant, sunny day, the temperatures were in the mid to upper 60s. Perfect for a run along the coast.
The realization is setting in. The long training journey is almost over. Yup. One more week. Then it's time to collect my reward. It's MY reward. For MY hard work (sorry for being selfish!)
If there is one huge difference between this marathon and my first marathon - this time I *really* could care less about my finish. Yes - I have a time goal. But that is secondary to enjoying myself. And as long as the weather is nice (and right now the extended forecast is saying so), I will do that.
Yessiree. I am ready. Ready to be allowed to join my fellow runners who deserve to reap the rewards for THEIR hard work. I think I'm beginning to understand the lure of the marathon.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
Nine Days - OMG!!!!
I came to a sudden realization yesterday when @anatorias sent a tweet. Nine more days. I really *am* coming down the homestretch. I should be saying things like "nervous", "taper madness", "obsessive weather checking", so on and so on. But I'm actually feeling pretty peaceful. Of course that's because I'm an old fart and know that nine days is waaay too far away to panic about. Yet. Check with me about Thursday of next week.
I put in my last speed work session of this cycle last night. 8 miles total with 3 one mile intervals. My hamstrings felt tight, so I held back just a little. My times:
Interval 1: 9:22
Interval 2: 9:26
Interval 3: 9:40 (slowness caused by friction of tongue dragging on the track)
Today is a scheduled rest day.
This weekend I need to do some important things. I need to hit the Nutrition Superstore here in Costa Mesa to buy gobs of Hammer Gel. I need to break out the painters tape and prepare some gel/Endurolyte packets. And I need to start thinking about my iPod playlist. I'll probably pull together about 3 hours of music. I'm going to try to not use my iPod until I get sick of running (around hour three or so). I really want to enjoy this one. I want to be able to smile for the finish line picture!
And thanks everyone for your opinions and experiences regarding the Saturday 5K. I think I'm going to pass. If there was a 10K option, I would probably go and just run it for fun. But I don't think I can run a 5K "for fun". So, I'm going to play it safe here and not tempt myself to do too much a week prior to my goal marathon. Besides, last year's t-shirt *was* pretty boring.
I put in my last speed work session of this cycle last night. 8 miles total with 3 one mile intervals. My hamstrings felt tight, so I held back just a little. My times:
Interval 1: 9:22
Interval 2: 9:26
Interval 3: 9:40 (slowness caused by friction of tongue dragging on the track)
Today is a scheduled rest day.
This weekend I need to do some important things. I need to hit the Nutrition Superstore here in Costa Mesa to buy gobs of Hammer Gel. I need to break out the painters tape and prepare some gel/Endurolyte packets. And I need to start thinking about my iPod playlist. I'll probably pull together about 3 hours of music. I'm going to try to not use my iPod until I get sick of running (around hour three or so). I really want to enjoy this one. I want to be able to smile for the finish line picture!
And thanks everyone for your opinions and experiences regarding the Saturday 5K. I think I'm going to pass. If there was a 10K option, I would probably go and just run it for fun. But I don't think I can run a 5K "for fun". So, I'm going to play it safe here and not tempt myself to do too much a week prior to my goal marathon. Besides, last year's t-shirt *was* pretty boring.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Back to the Task at Hand
It's tough to get back on the trails and put in the miles after an invigorating hike like Sunday's. But, it time to fine tune, so I put in seven miles at Crystal Cove in the late evening. It was interesting to feel how fresh my legs were after a couple days off. I guess that's what taper is all about. Final stats: seven miles with 6 100 yard stride outs at an average heart rate of 77% of max. And I got to enjoy a wonderful sunset.
This week's schedule is a little strange. Lots of rest days:
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 7 miles GA with 6 100 yard strides
Thursday: 3.25 mile warm up, 3 X 1600 intervals with 400 yard rest, 1 mile warm down for a total of 8 miles
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 5 mile recovery
Sunday: 12 mile long run
Total: 32 miles
I'm a little up in the air about Saturday at this point. When I started this whole running madness back in July of 2007, the first race I ran was the Harbor Heritage Run 5K. So, there is a place in my heart for this race. The 23rd running of the race is this Saturday - and I sort of kind of would like to run it. But at this point in my training cycle, I should be taking it easy instead of running a 5K. Not to mention that I've no doubt lost some speed over he past few weeks. Advice anyone?
I'll be hitting the track this evening for some 1600 intervals. I'm supposed to run these at 5K pace (around 8:10), but I think I'm going to target something like 9:15 to 9:30 miles and will be taking the warm up/warm down easier than normal as well. It was nice running on fresh legs last night. I'd like to keep things that way for a couple of weeks.
This week's schedule is a little strange. Lots of rest days:
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 7 miles GA with 6 100 yard strides
Thursday: 3.25 mile warm up, 3 X 1600 intervals with 400 yard rest, 1 mile warm down for a total of 8 miles
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 5 mile recovery
Sunday: 12 mile long run
Total: 32 miles
I'm a little up in the air about Saturday at this point. When I started this whole running madness back in July of 2007, the first race I ran was the Harbor Heritage Run 5K. So, there is a place in my heart for this race. The 23rd running of the race is this Saturday - and I sort of kind of would like to run it. But at this point in my training cycle, I should be taking it easy instead of running a 5K. Not to mention that I've no doubt lost some speed over he past few weeks. Advice anyone?
I'll be hitting the track this evening for some 1600 intervals. I'm supposed to run these at 5K pace (around 8:10), but I think I'm going to target something like 9:15 to 9:30 miles and will be taking the warm up/warm down easier than normal as well. It was nice running on fresh legs last night. I'd like to keep things that way for a couple of weeks.
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