My stomach is feeling back to normal, though!
Today was a marathon-pace workout. According to various calculators and my last 5K time, my VDOT value is 42.8 and my marathon pace is 8:16/mile. WHAAAAAA? Rounding down (incorrectly but more comfortably) to a nice round 42 yields a MP of 8:25/mile.
I didn't quite make it. I ran (suffered?) 12 miles of MP and my average pace was 8:27/mile, not including a few short walk breaks while taking gels and cooling off. I'm happy with that. The relatively refreshingly brisk temps of noon-ish yielded to a sunny clammy 27C or so. I started my run with a humidex of 35C.
Fortunately, I've gotten used to this sort of thing but acclimatization only goes so far. I should have eaten afterward but there was no way my stomach was going to accept anything but water. Other than that, I felt fine. My legs felt relatively fresh (had a timidly squeaking right hamstring but it shut up after an hour or so).
It was a valuable workout; I ran on the route of the marathon that I still haven't signed up for...I don't feel 100% recovered yet, but maybe a week of jogging, relaxing, and avoiding gluten up north will fix things. I'm bringing up GF stuff and will avoid scratched cookware and so forth. Will see how it goes!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
back to the sauna, back on track
I took two weeks off. We were hiking lots and spending long days exploring, plus for the most part we were staying in pretty little B&Bs and I didn't want to release the sweaty post-run beast therein. Also, I was getting a bit run down anyway: avoiding gluten while dining in a predominantly bread-and-deep-fry region was pretty much impossible, though I mostly ate steamed shellfish and salad (not complaining at all! Nfld now has a snow crab fishery!!!!). Finally, I gave up at the Quidi Vidi brewery: I took a small sip of the last three beers offered. At that point, symptoms had already returned and there wasn't much I could do until returning to my gluten-free kitchenware, in for a penny, in for a pound. I can't remember the last time I'd tasted a proper beer. It was amazing.
It was a good vacation from many things, at any rate!
I was able to resume running pretty easily when I came back, although it's been kind of touch and go with emergency bathroom breaks for the first while (hopefully we're past that now, although it amazes me that I put up with that for years). Plus my knees have been affected. Usually it's mostly my fingers and shoulders, but a joint is a joint, eh? Fortunately, it didn't affect running at all, but sleeping was tricky for a few days. My knees, especially my left one, had to be just so...finally, I put a night splint on my left foot which kept the knee somewhat in alignment, enough so that I could sleep for at least an hour or two at a time. It feels a lot more normal now; I think the worst is over!
I've put in three harder workouts since my return and I've got a marathon-pace workout tomorrow. I still haven't signed up for the race. We're going to hang out with my extended family up north for a week and I'll have to see how I feel from that. I will have more control over my diet there; last year, I felt ok, just drowsy near the end.
Anyway, the workout I did yesterday went really well. I was surprised. it was 10X 1/2 mile tempo with 30 seconds rest...it was hot, 27C, so I walked for the rest intervals. My tempo pace was a bit slow but fine: avg 7:52/mile. The whole workout seemed to go by quickly.
Hopefully the weather will cooperate for my workout tomorrow! That's the only day I can do it on the route: we leave Saturday.
In other news: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms97mz3H69E :(
It was a good vacation from many things, at any rate!
I was able to resume running pretty easily when I came back, although it's been kind of touch and go with emergency bathroom breaks for the first while (hopefully we're past that now, although it amazes me that I put up with that for years). Plus my knees have been affected. Usually it's mostly my fingers and shoulders, but a joint is a joint, eh? Fortunately, it didn't affect running at all, but sleeping was tricky for a few days. My knees, especially my left one, had to be just so...finally, I put a night splint on my left foot which kept the knee somewhat in alignment, enough so that I could sleep for at least an hour or two at a time. It feels a lot more normal now; I think the worst is over!
I've put in three harder workouts since my return and I've got a marathon-pace workout tomorrow. I still haven't signed up for the race. We're going to hang out with my extended family up north for a week and I'll have to see how I feel from that. I will have more control over my diet there; last year, I felt ok, just drowsy near the end.
Anyway, the workout I did yesterday went really well. I was surprised. it was 10X 1/2 mile tempo with 30 seconds rest...it was hot, 27C, so I walked for the rest intervals. My tempo pace was a bit slow but fine: avg 7:52/mile. The whole workout seemed to go by quickly.
Hopefully the weather will cooperate for my workout tomorrow! That's the only day I can do it on the route: we leave Saturday.
In other news: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms97mz3H69E :(
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Sound mind, sound body
Except when you tear both of them up!
Saturday was the tough-ish MP run.
Sunday was the Spartan run. I can't climb a rope (yet) but I can carry a tire partway up a ski hill, and grass can be very sharp, among other things I learned.
Monday was my organic chemistry final (postponed (indefinitely for a while) due to the postal strike). I lost sleep over the past week over the uncertainty of the exam date, but fortunately it arrived in time and I wrote it. It was a very cathartic brain dump; it felt surprisingly intuitive. And now I feel the void--I was reviewing equations constantly, especially before bed.
Today was housework, yardwork, packing and an interval workout: We're headed to Newfoundland and I'm not sure how I will be able to get runs in, or what runs, if any, so it was best to get at least one of the tough ones out of the way.
This was an interval workout, 5X 1k, hard, with recoveries equal in duration. It was so hot, though, that a couple of them ended up being a bit longer. The temp was 28C. Some muscles were still sore from the Spartan race. My warm up jog was slower than 10:00/mile...I was not moving.
To soften the upcoming challenge, I decided to do out-and-backs on a stretch I know well. After the first interval, I changed my mind--slowing down for the sharp turn, though fine on other occasions, did not befit conditions which so strongly favoured a slower pace.
4:28. Actually, this is only a couple of seconds or so too slow, but somehow I thought that it was way too slow.
Fortunately, there is 5k's worth of 1/2k markers, and I know where they are and, thus how much or little remains of an interval when I'm suffering in the middle of it.
And a magical thing happened: I've been concentrating on form and I realized that, if I lean forward a little more, lift my shoulders a bit more, move my arms a bit more, and generally run into the discomfort instead of backing off it, things are more efficient.
4:12.
Was it a fluke? I was worried I'd start to droop.
4:01
4:05
4:10
The 4:01 was excessive...I tried to keep it up but I was getting hotter and more thirsty and more sore. The new form felt great but I wasn't able to capture it as well during the last interval...but I must not forget it! The adjustment took off at least 20 seconds per interval, I think.
I was supposed to do 4:26ish per k, and ended up doing 4:11. Not bad for 31ish C humidex (fortunately, the heat burned off a lot of humidity!) Hopefully this will make the upcoming tempo runs more palatable.
Saturday was the tough-ish MP run.
Sunday was the Spartan run. I can't climb a rope (yet) but I can carry a tire partway up a ski hill, and grass can be very sharp, among other things I learned.
Monday was my organic chemistry final (postponed (indefinitely for a while) due to the postal strike). I lost sleep over the past week over the uncertainty of the exam date, but fortunately it arrived in time and I wrote it. It was a very cathartic brain dump; it felt surprisingly intuitive. And now I feel the void--I was reviewing equations constantly, especially before bed.
Today was housework, yardwork, packing and an interval workout: We're headed to Newfoundland and I'm not sure how I will be able to get runs in, or what runs, if any, so it was best to get at least one of the tough ones out of the way.
This was an interval workout, 5X 1k, hard, with recoveries equal in duration. It was so hot, though, that a couple of them ended up being a bit longer. The temp was 28C. Some muscles were still sore from the Spartan race. My warm up jog was slower than 10:00/mile...I was not moving.
To soften the upcoming challenge, I decided to do out-and-backs on a stretch I know well. After the first interval, I changed my mind--slowing down for the sharp turn, though fine on other occasions, did not befit conditions which so strongly favoured a slower pace.
4:28. Actually, this is only a couple of seconds or so too slow, but somehow I thought that it was way too slow.
Fortunately, there is 5k's worth of 1/2k markers, and I know where they are and, thus how much or little remains of an interval when I'm suffering in the middle of it.
And a magical thing happened: I've been concentrating on form and I realized that, if I lean forward a little more, lift my shoulders a bit more, move my arms a bit more, and generally run into the discomfort instead of backing off it, things are more efficient.
4:12.
Was it a fluke? I was worried I'd start to droop.
4:01
4:05
4:10
The 4:01 was excessive...I tried to keep it up but I was getting hotter and more thirsty and more sore. The new form felt great but I wasn't able to capture it as well during the last interval...but I must not forget it! The adjustment took off at least 20 seconds per interval, I think.
I was supposed to do 4:26ish per k, and ended up doing 4:11. Not bad for 31ish C humidex (fortunately, the heat burned off a lot of humidity!) Hopefully this will make the upcoming tempo runs more palatable.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Marathon pace run
I'm even more sold on the early Sept marathon but I still haven't bought my bib: I have to evade the family curse first. In early August, we'll be going to the lake where my grandmother broke her hip, my aunt broke her foot, and I did something to my foot last year...I didn't get it checked out but I couldn't run for almost 2 months (stupidly, I still tried to get in a run here or there before accepting that I had to rest, which delayed recovery), and then I couldn't jog for almost 2 months after that. I think I cracked something while landing on a rock the wrong way. Anyway, I'll likely sign up for the race before that trip; regardless, I'll be extra careful and actually wear trail shoes on the gravel/rock bits.
With my eye on early Sept, I did a marathon-pace workout this morning. I didn't feel like getting up at 6:30 after staying up until midnight or so, but with the upcoming heat and humidity, I didn't have much choice. Fortunately, I was well hydrated. Unfortunately, I was kind of nervous about the workout. My jogging pace is about 10:00-10:30/mile these days, and my marathon pace should be 8:15-20/mile. My marathon pace wasn't plucked out of thin air: I plugged my recent slightly saggy 5K result into a VDOT calculator. Saggy = easy, right? However, it would be faster than my 2 slow 1/2 marathons this winter. I decided that I'd be happy with 8:25/mile.
After a 1/2 mile jog (over 10:00/mile), I picked things up.
Mile 1: 8:34. Too slow, but what was one slow mile? I had to ease into it and get used to easing into it. Not like I'm going to toss off a few warm-up miles before the marathon.
Mile 2: 8:27. Almost there. Keeping things easy. I also had my first gel, a Gu Roctane. Maybe having some at the beginning instead of just at the end will help.
Mile 3: 8:23. cool. It was comfortable but still sort of foreign. I noticed that my breathing was a loose 2-2..this would be my guide. I also noticed that my weird shoulder glitch was acting up. It's not painful at first, more of a flaw in form caused in part by holding a dog leash for many miles. My right shoulder drops, my arms become T-Rex-like, and this throws everything off to the point where I get off balance enough to step to the side now and then (the funky balance thing also crops up when I've been exposed to wheat). I've been practicing squaring my shoulders and moving my arms more.
Mile 4: 8:27. By now I was on the course, the uphill 'back' end. This is sort of daunting, too, some short but steep sections. Running there more often, especially in MP and tempo runs, should flatten the inclines somewhat. I tried to imagine them more flat, and as an opportunity to switch up activated muscles and give some a rest.
Mile 5: 8:11. Things were starting to click but I still had to keep resetting my shoulders. But this is a more natural pace for me somehow than 8:20-30.
Mile 6. 8:08. Ok. This was mostly downhill and a bit of a break.
Mile 7. 8:18. Going back uphill (I turned around to repeat the worst section of the course). Fortunately, before the first incline, some guy cut into the path ahead of me and he was going at the perfect pace! I was really grateful just coast behind someone for a while. I dropped him at the top to have another gel. This was an expresso love--it has a Gaz stamp of approval and since I like coffee during runs, I decided to try it. It was better than I expected, and the lingering of flavour was actually kind of nice.
Mile 8. 8:09. ok.
Mile 9. 8:05. ok, though I was starting to get kind of tired of resetting my shoulders. But it has to be done. And I was getting kind of tired in general...it wasn't bad and breathing was still pretty easy but my muscles were feeling the effort and it was starting to feel kind of hot. This mile seemed kind of long.
Mile 10. 8:07. ok.
0.89. 8:07/mile. ok. I could have kept going. I thought of taking it to 11 miles, but, nope, I'm going to save the extra for the next workout.
Total 10.89 miles in 1:30:01. Pace per mile: 8:16. NICE!!
Same irregularity that cropped up last time I did MP workouts: I don't actually go at the marathon pace, just around it. Oh, well. I'm happy with how it turned out. My expectation was to feel burnt after a few miles around 8:40 or so.
No bodyrock today: we're doing the Spartan race tomorrow. That'll be a good core workout.
With my eye on early Sept, I did a marathon-pace workout this morning. I didn't feel like getting up at 6:30 after staying up until midnight or so, but with the upcoming heat and humidity, I didn't have much choice. Fortunately, I was well hydrated. Unfortunately, I was kind of nervous about the workout. My jogging pace is about 10:00-10:30/mile these days, and my marathon pace should be 8:15-20/mile. My marathon pace wasn't plucked out of thin air: I plugged my recent slightly saggy 5K result into a VDOT calculator. Saggy = easy, right? However, it would be faster than my 2 slow 1/2 marathons this winter. I decided that I'd be happy with 8:25/mile.
After a 1/2 mile jog (over 10:00/mile), I picked things up.
Mile 1: 8:34. Too slow, but what was one slow mile? I had to ease into it and get used to easing into it. Not like I'm going to toss off a few warm-up miles before the marathon.
Mile 2: 8:27. Almost there. Keeping things easy. I also had my first gel, a Gu Roctane. Maybe having some at the beginning instead of just at the end will help.
Mile 3: 8:23. cool. It was comfortable but still sort of foreign. I noticed that my breathing was a loose 2-2..this would be my guide. I also noticed that my weird shoulder glitch was acting up. It's not painful at first, more of a flaw in form caused in part by holding a dog leash for many miles. My right shoulder drops, my arms become T-Rex-like, and this throws everything off to the point where I get off balance enough to step to the side now and then (the funky balance thing also crops up when I've been exposed to wheat). I've been practicing squaring my shoulders and moving my arms more.
Mile 4: 8:27. By now I was on the course, the uphill 'back' end. This is sort of daunting, too, some short but steep sections. Running there more often, especially in MP and tempo runs, should flatten the inclines somewhat. I tried to imagine them more flat, and as an opportunity to switch up activated muscles and give some a rest.
Mile 5: 8:11. Things were starting to click but I still had to keep resetting my shoulders. But this is a more natural pace for me somehow than 8:20-30.
Mile 6. 8:08. Ok. This was mostly downhill and a bit of a break.
Mile 7. 8:18. Going back uphill (I turned around to repeat the worst section of the course). Fortunately, before the first incline, some guy cut into the path ahead of me and he was going at the perfect pace! I was really grateful just coast behind someone for a while. I dropped him at the top to have another gel. This was an expresso love--it has a Gaz stamp of approval and since I like coffee during runs, I decided to try it. It was better than I expected, and the lingering of flavour was actually kind of nice.
Mile 8. 8:09. ok.
Mile 9. 8:05. ok, though I was starting to get kind of tired of resetting my shoulders. But it has to be done. And I was getting kind of tired in general...it wasn't bad and breathing was still pretty easy but my muscles were feeling the effort and it was starting to feel kind of hot. This mile seemed kind of long.
Mile 10. 8:07. ok.
0.89. 8:07/mile. ok. I could have kept going. I thought of taking it to 11 miles, but, nope, I'm going to save the extra for the next workout.
Total 10.89 miles in 1:30:01. Pace per mile: 8:16. NICE!!
Same irregularity that cropped up last time I did MP workouts: I don't actually go at the marathon pace, just around it. Oh, well. I'm happy with how it turned out. My expectation was to feel burnt after a few miles around 8:40 or so.
No bodyrock today: we're doing the Spartan race tomorrow. That'll be a good core workout.
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