I ran today for the first time since a week ago Sunday. It was only 6k at an average pace of 5:07 per km, but it was a bit difficult.
I guess my cold hasn't completely gone.
Even though it wasn't an "easy" run, it was good to get back at it. Given that I missed all my runs last week, Ian suggested I follow last week's training plan this week and move this week's plan to next.
This means tomorrow night is track night. And from what Anne has told me about her expereinces the last two weeks, it isn't fun. In fact I may puke!
However, I'm up for the challenge and will make sure not to eat a big dinner before going to the track!
About Me
- fedrunner
- Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Trying to reach my full potential as a masters runner
Showing posts with label training plan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label training plan. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Recuperating and looking ahead
Yesterday I went for my first run since the race on Saturday - 5k at just over a 5 minute per kilometre average pace on the treadmill at a 1% to 3% incline.
It felt good to run again and combined with the 20 minutes of stretching afterward, helped to get rid of the stiffness in my legs.
I'm meeting Ian on Friday to discuss my race schedule and training plan for the next few months.
I sent Ian a tentative race schedule a few weeks ago and he seemed ok with it. Included in that is a 5k race here in Ottawa at the end of February that I've already entered. The only other races I've entered are the ING Ottawa Half Marathon at the end of May, the Waterloo Half Marathon May 1st (running with Glen in his first half) and of course the NYC Marathon in November.
So I'm eager to find out what he has in mind to help me prepare for NYC. I had also told Ian that in addition to qualifying for NYC, my goals this year were to improve my times in other race distances. I want to run a 5k in under 19 minutes; a 10k in under 40 minutes and I'd like to run NYC in 3:15 or less.
So, lots of work ahead, but my performance in Georgia has boosted my confidence and I want to keep improving.
Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks!
It felt good to run again and combined with the 20 minutes of stretching afterward, helped to get rid of the stiffness in my legs.
I'm meeting Ian on Friday to discuss my race schedule and training plan for the next few months.
I sent Ian a tentative race schedule a few weeks ago and he seemed ok with it. Included in that is a 5k race here in Ottawa at the end of February that I've already entered. The only other races I've entered are the ING Ottawa Half Marathon at the end of May, the Waterloo Half Marathon May 1st (running with Glen in his first half) and of course the NYC Marathon in November.
So I'm eager to find out what he has in mind to help me prepare for NYC. I had also told Ian that in addition to qualifying for NYC, my goals this year were to improve my times in other race distances. I want to run a 5k in under 19 minutes; a 10k in under 40 minutes and I'd like to run NYC in 3:15 or less.
So, lots of work ahead, but my performance in Georgia has boosted my confidence and I want to keep improving.
Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Ready to rock!
During my 7k run yesterday morning it hit me, a week from now I'll be in Georgia running a half marathon and trying to qualify for the NYC Marathon!
As I've noted in previous posts, I'll need to run the 21.1k distance in 1 hour and 30 minutes or less to qualify. My coach Ian has set a goal time of 1:28:30. As I've also mentioned before, that's a full six minutes faster than any other half marathon I've ever run.
My friend David asked me the other day, "How will you do it?"
A great question. I mulled it over as I ran. I thought about previous, successful races and tried to figure out why I had sometimes achieved my goals, while other times I had failed. What was common to those good performances? What is required for anyone to be successful in a race?
Well first is setting a realistic goal. I believe goals should be challenging, ones that will test your physical and mental limits, but not something that you have no chance of achieving. A goal requires some thought and can be developed based on previous results/performances. But it doesn't always have to be time-based. It can be as simple as just running your first race or finishing a distance that you've never been able to complete before.
When I've had success in the past I believe it all started with a realistic goal. This time around I believed running under 1 hour and 30 minutes was within my capabilities. And the more I think and write about the goal time Ian has set for me, the more I believe it is possible. It will test me, but it's achievable.
The second important ingredient for a successful race is developing a training plan that will properly prepare you. Depending on the race distance and/or goal, an ideal plan should include a good mix of speed, tempo and endurance runs. It should also build mileage slowly and proportionately each week to help avoid injury.
I can say with certainty that my past race successes have come as a result of a well thought out and focussed training plan. I hired Ian for his expertise and experience to develop a plan that would increase my speed and build the required strength/stamina I'll need over a half marathon distance too achieve my goal. I believe that's exactly what I got from him.
Consistent training is critical to race-day success. You can have the best training plan in the world, but if you don't follow it, skip days or take shortcuts you're setting yourself up for failure. Also key to training is battling through those training runs that are difficult, where you may not feel that great physically or mentally you're struggling. They build character and will pay dividends during a race, because no matter the distance, you're bound to feel some discomfort or hit the "wall" at some point. Having fought through pain in training will be invaluable during your race.
Over the last 9 weeks I've only missed 3 days of training. I've been able to hit the paces and complete all the distances Ian set for me, including fighting through a couple of difficult runs (see my "No Fun!" post for an example). So I'm confident I'm physically ready for next week.
Developing a race strategy and sticking to it is also an important factor to race-day success. Your strategy can be as simple as making sure you don't start too fast, drinking enough fluid throughout the race or staying with a pace group. Whatever your strategy is stick to it.
My strategy will be to run a fairly consistent pace throughout the race and make sure I don't start out too fast, which could lead to me running out of gas later in the race. Ian has recommended I keep my pace between 4 minutes and 10 seconds and 4 minutes and 15 seconds per kilometre and try to run an even-split race - meaning I'll cover the first half of the race in the same amount of time as the second half.
As I ran and thought about all these things - the time, effort and planning I've put in over the last 9 weeks, combined with the advice and support I've received from Ian - a feeling of confidence came over me, one I hadn't felt since just before the Hamilton Marathon in November of 2009 where I ran a PR of 3:24:36 to qualify for Boston.
So to answer David's question, the last 9 weeks have been the dress rehearsal, now all that remains is getting out there on the 15th and performing.
I'm ready and looking forward to the challenge!
As I've noted in previous posts, I'll need to run the 21.1k distance in 1 hour and 30 minutes or less to qualify. My coach Ian has set a goal time of 1:28:30. As I've also mentioned before, that's a full six minutes faster than any other half marathon I've ever run.
My friend David asked me the other day, "How will you do it?"
A great question. I mulled it over as I ran. I thought about previous, successful races and tried to figure out why I had sometimes achieved my goals, while other times I had failed. What was common to those good performances? What is required for anyone to be successful in a race?
Well first is setting a realistic goal. I believe goals should be challenging, ones that will test your physical and mental limits, but not something that you have no chance of achieving. A goal requires some thought and can be developed based on previous results/performances. But it doesn't always have to be time-based. It can be as simple as just running your first race or finishing a distance that you've never been able to complete before.
When I've had success in the past I believe it all started with a realistic goal. This time around I believed running under 1 hour and 30 minutes was within my capabilities. And the more I think and write about the goal time Ian has set for me, the more I believe it is possible. It will test me, but it's achievable.
The second important ingredient for a successful race is developing a training plan that will properly prepare you. Depending on the race distance and/or goal, an ideal plan should include a good mix of speed, tempo and endurance runs. It should also build mileage slowly and proportionately each week to help avoid injury.
I can say with certainty that my past race successes have come as a result of a well thought out and focussed training plan. I hired Ian for his expertise and experience to develop a plan that would increase my speed and build the required strength/stamina I'll need over a half marathon distance too achieve my goal. I believe that's exactly what I got from him.
Consistent training is critical to race-day success. You can have the best training plan in the world, but if you don't follow it, skip days or take shortcuts you're setting yourself up for failure. Also key to training is battling through those training runs that are difficult, where you may not feel that great physically or mentally you're struggling. They build character and will pay dividends during a race, because no matter the distance, you're bound to feel some discomfort or hit the "wall" at some point. Having fought through pain in training will be invaluable during your race.
Over the last 9 weeks I've only missed 3 days of training. I've been able to hit the paces and complete all the distances Ian set for me, including fighting through a couple of difficult runs (see my "No Fun!" post for an example). So I'm confident I'm physically ready for next week.
Developing a race strategy and sticking to it is also an important factor to race-day success. Your strategy can be as simple as making sure you don't start too fast, drinking enough fluid throughout the race or staying with a pace group. Whatever your strategy is stick to it.
My strategy will be to run a fairly consistent pace throughout the race and make sure I don't start out too fast, which could lead to me running out of gas later in the race. Ian has recommended I keep my pace between 4 minutes and 10 seconds and 4 minutes and 15 seconds per kilometre and try to run an even-split race - meaning I'll cover the first half of the race in the same amount of time as the second half.
As I ran and thought about all these things - the time, effort and planning I've put in over the last 9 weeks, combined with the advice and support I've received from Ian - a feeling of confidence came over me, one I hadn't felt since just before the Hamilton Marathon in November of 2009 where I ran a PR of 3:24:36 to qualify for Boston.
So to answer David's question, the last 9 weeks have been the dress rehearsal, now all that remains is getting out there on the 15th and performing.
I'm ready and looking forward to the challenge!
Friday, January 7, 2011
More substance
A couple of my loyal readers have requested that my blog posts be more than just a "diary" where I explain my runs, share my training plan and as one of them put it, "give weather reports!"
David really can be a smart ass!
Anyway, they like that I share my goals, describe how my coach pushes me, but want me to go deeper, give some insight into, for example what it takes mentally and physically to get faster. Perhaps make it a bit more instructional, so that they, who are less experienced at running, might pick up some tips to help them realize their goals.
I suppose having run three marathons, countless half marathons and shorter races over the last four years, I do have some experience and expertise that others might find useful in their journeys to start running or improving their PRs.
So, I'll try to share more in my posts. However, I'm relatively new at running races too, still learning and improving, so I encourage others to share their experiences with me and others as we all progress and enjoy the great sport of running.
Enjoy your weekend!
David really can be a smart ass!
Anyway, they like that I share my goals, describe how my coach pushes me, but want me to go deeper, give some insight into, for example what it takes mentally and physically to get faster. Perhaps make it a bit more instructional, so that they, who are less experienced at running, might pick up some tips to help them realize their goals.
I suppose having run three marathons, countless half marathons and shorter races over the last four years, I do have some experience and expertise that others might find useful in their journeys to start running or improving their PRs.
So, I'll try to share more in my posts. However, I'm relatively new at running races too, still learning and improving, so I encourage others to share their experiences with me and others as we all progress and enjoy the great sport of running.
Enjoy your weekend!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Dedicated or crazy...you be the judge!
It was 7:45pm on New Year's Eve and I was all alone in the gym at work, powering up the treadmill to get in the 9k run I had bailed on earlier in the day. Anne and the kids were already at Celine's house eating, drinking and being merry.
As I increased the speed to a 5:15 per km pace, I thought to myself, "What's wrong with this picture?"
However, with my half marathon only two weeks away, I knew this was a crucial week in my training cycle. And as I mentioned in an earlier post, I had to juggle my training plan this week due to some insomnia Tuesday night. So although I was not happy to be running on the last night of 2010, I knew missing a run at this stage of the game could negatively impact my performance on January 15th.
After warming up for 2k, I began the first of five, 1k intervals as follows - 750m with the treadmill at a 6% incline, followed by 250m at a 0% incline, all at a 4:45 per km pace.
The first interval went okay and so did the next two, but as I started the 4th interval, I was having serious thoughts about ending the run early. My heart was pounding and my legs felt like cement pillars.
Somehow I was able to convince myself that the pain was worth it and that if I was going to be here, I might as well complete the entire run. However, as the 7k mark approached, I felt a sense of relief as I could slow the speed down to a very manageable 5:15 per km pace for the last 2k.
After, as I walked from the gym to the change room, I was proud on myself for not bailing on the last two intervals, but a weird feeling washed over me...the place was eerily silent...spooky really...like being in a horror movie and I wasn't the leading character...I was half expecting to run smack into Jason Voorhees around the next corner!
Fortunately, I survived and was able to join the rest of the gang to ring-in 2011 satisfied and guilt-free.
Happy New Year everyone and good luck with all your resolutions and goals!
As I increased the speed to a 5:15 per km pace, I thought to myself, "What's wrong with this picture?"
However, with my half marathon only two weeks away, I knew this was a crucial week in my training cycle. And as I mentioned in an earlier post, I had to juggle my training plan this week due to some insomnia Tuesday night. So although I was not happy to be running on the last night of 2010, I knew missing a run at this stage of the game could negatively impact my performance on January 15th.
After warming up for 2k, I began the first of five, 1k intervals as follows - 750m with the treadmill at a 6% incline, followed by 250m at a 0% incline, all at a 4:45 per km pace.
The first interval went okay and so did the next two, but as I started the 4th interval, I was having serious thoughts about ending the run early. My heart was pounding and my legs felt like cement pillars.
Somehow I was able to convince myself that the pain was worth it and that if I was going to be here, I might as well complete the entire run. However, as the 7k mark approached, I felt a sense of relief as I could slow the speed down to a very manageable 5:15 per km pace for the last 2k.
After, as I walked from the gym to the change room, I was proud on myself for not bailing on the last two intervals, but a weird feeling washed over me...the place was eerily silent...spooky really...like being in a horror movie and I wasn't the leading character...I was half expecting to run smack into Jason Voorhees around the next corner!
Fortunately, I survived and was able to join the rest of the gang to ring-in 2011 satisfied and guilt-free.
Happy New Year everyone and good luck with all your resolutions and goals!
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