Well this morning I got up early to do my long run. 15.1 miles was what I had scheduled myself to run. About a mile longer than last Saturday's run. So last night I set my alarm for 5:59 AM. Would have set it for earlier but didn't hit the sack till 10:20 PM last night. Temperature this morning when I got up was in the mid 70s. Plenty warm so I didn't bother with a shirt. Had a small glass of ice cold water then headed out the door. Shorts, shades, shoes, socks, watch and a small paper towel, (to wipe my brow). (It's a challenge to keep the sweat off my sunglasses.) My goal pace was a few seconds under 8 minutes a mile. Eight times 15 being 120 or exactly two hours so I had an easy remember time to beat. (My marathon goal pace is 7:26, so my long runs are 30 seconds over that. I took that from the FIRST (Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training) plan's guidance on the long run.) At five miles, and at eight miles I seemed to be on track. (I don't have a GPS device so I was going on what I could remember from my map www.mapmyrun.com). After 12 miles or so I was getting a bit thirsty and a bit tired. By 13 or so miles I was feeling almost completely exhausted. I started debating whether to walk or not. I negotiated with myself that I would allow my tired body to walk a little once I got to 21st street (several blocks away at that point). So when I finally reached the corner to turn and go west on 21st street I let myself walk. After about half a block, I felt a little better so I started running. After running another block I told myself that I would walk a little more once I got to 22nd St. Made it to 22nd street and walked almost all of that short block before turning on Gatewood St.and jogging up the hill. I trotted around the corner then ran downhill to my house. Man, I was beat. Next time I will take some water or hide a bottle somewhere on the route the night before. It was about 77 or 78 degrees when I finished at 8:15 AM. I realize that 78 degrees is not particularly hot, but try running in it for two hours at a fairly high level of exertion. Ugh.
As a result of the heat and weariness I decided look at hourly overnight temperatures. Seems this time of year here in Oklahoma, it is coolest from about 5 AM to 6 AM. Well if I want to enjoy those slightly cooler temps I need to get up earlier, which in turn means I need to go to bed earlier. So tonight I set my calendar on my ipod touch to remind me to go to bed. Scheduled bed time for 9:45 with an alert 30 minutes before. Going to start out with getting up at 5:45 AM, then after a few days move up a little to 5:40 and then 5:30. For me, I have to get something close to eight hours sleep or I am tired the next day. So getting up at 5:30 AM would mean going to bed at 9:30. Won't do much for my social life (not that I have much of a social life). But if I want to run a 3:15 marathon I have to make some sacrifices. Hence today's title "The will to win". And the will to win is nothing without the will to prepare to win. See the following quotations: "Most people have the will to win, few have the will to prepare to win".-Bobby Knight "Winning isn't everything, but the will to win is everything."-Vince Lombardi "The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital."-Joe Paterno. "It's not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that makes the difference."-Bear Bryant.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Putting in the miles
Well since my last post I have done a bit more study on marathon training schedules. I'm leaning toward Pfitzinger (and Douglas). Looking at Pfitz's 18/70 schedule. http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=4432 I believe this is one that can get me to my goal. However to even begin on this plan I need to increase my mileage to where I am running 50 miles a week for about a month. So right now I have scheduled myself to run gradually increasing mileage for the next several weeks. The last few weeks I have been running about 28 to 29 miles a week. As you can see I have quite a ways to go to reach 50 miles a week. But I should be up to 40 by early July.
Now Pfitz would have me run 6 days a week. Looking at the FIRST schedule with its three runs a week makes for quite a contrast. So I have half a mind to try and blend the two plans. Maybe five runs a week with less recovery or "junk" miles as some would say. Actually Hal Higdon's intermediate plans are five runs a week. His advanced I and II are six days a week. Pfitz seems to have a bit more detail when compared to Higdon's. With Higdon's one day a week is hills and one day a week is at marathon goal pace, one day long run. Around here there isn't much in the way of hills. Nothing long and steep enough to qualify as a suitable place for hill training. And I don't want to have to drive somewhere to find a good hill. Fortunately Pfitz's schedule doesn't include hills. However, Pfitz does have quite a few runs with 10 x 100m strides as well as a number of runs at 5K pace or other faster than marathon pace. The FIRST plan has at one of its three weekly runs, intervals (track repeats). These are of varying lengths, from 400 to 1600 meters, often mixing distances in a single workout. Another day is a tempo run. Pfitz has mostly 6 x 100 or 10 x 100 strides. He does have a few intervals in the final six weeks of the plan. So that will be easier to schedule I hope. The challenge for me will be finding a track to run on. Maybe I can find a group of runners with a connection to Bishop McGuiness High School. They have a nice track. OCU uses their track two or three days a week. As to the 10 x 100 strides or 6 x 100 strides, I should be able to find a street in my neighborhood for that. The average block length in my neighborhood is about 100 meters.
Now if I want to modify Pfitz 18/70 the challenge will be what to cut. Seems the recovery miles days often have speed work added in. I may just tweak the miles a bit. Anyway I have several weeks still to figure it out.
Happy summer running to everyone! Hope to see you June 30th at the Purcell Lake Run (Heart of Oklahoma). http://www.purcelllakerun.com/Purcell_Lake_Run/Home.html
Now Pfitz would have me run 6 days a week. Looking at the FIRST schedule with its three runs a week makes for quite a contrast. So I have half a mind to try and blend the two plans. Maybe five runs a week with less recovery or "junk" miles as some would say. Actually Hal Higdon's intermediate plans are five runs a week. His advanced I and II are six days a week. Pfitz seems to have a bit more detail when compared to Higdon's. With Higdon's one day a week is hills and one day a week is at marathon goal pace, one day long run. Around here there isn't much in the way of hills. Nothing long and steep enough to qualify as a suitable place for hill training. And I don't want to have to drive somewhere to find a good hill. Fortunately Pfitz's schedule doesn't include hills. However, Pfitz does have quite a few runs with 10 x 100m strides as well as a number of runs at 5K pace or other faster than marathon pace. The FIRST plan has at one of its three weekly runs, intervals (track repeats). These are of varying lengths, from 400 to 1600 meters, often mixing distances in a single workout. Another day is a tempo run. Pfitz has mostly 6 x 100 or 10 x 100 strides. He does have a few intervals in the final six weeks of the plan. So that will be easier to schedule I hope. The challenge for me will be finding a track to run on. Maybe I can find a group of runners with a connection to Bishop McGuiness High School. They have a nice track. OCU uses their track two or three days a week. As to the 10 x 100 strides or 6 x 100 strides, I should be able to find a street in my neighborhood for that. The average block length in my neighborhood is about 100 meters.
Now if I want to modify Pfitz 18/70 the challenge will be what to cut. Seems the recovery miles days often have speed work added in. I may just tweak the miles a bit. Anyway I have several weeks still to figure it out.
Happy summer running to everyone! Hope to see you June 30th at the Purcell Lake Run (Heart of Oklahoma). http://www.purcelllakerun.com/Purcell_Lake_Run/Home.html
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