I haven't forgotten this blog. I'm still running and I even have a race coming up in a week and a half that I hope to PR in. Now that I am no longer training for a marathon I don't have near the motivation to write down everything that happens to me along a journey that I'm not taking.
Since I am already so close to my 500 mile goal (484 out of 500 as of 9/11) I decided to modify the goal to 600 miles for the calendar year. Barring an injury I don't see why I won't hit that goal either. 650 miles might be a much hard distance to reach but I think it would be still doable.
Speed training has been fun and I hope to see some positive results this fall in the races I have coming up. Cross training (Boot Camp) has been going good as well.
I've taken the plunge and signed up for a week long class in November to become a fitness Personal Trainer. I am taking the required CPR class this weekend. I also want to become a running coach and get certified in that as well. The 2014 schedule is already complete and most all the classes are full for the remainder of the year so I will just have to keep an eye out for 2015. Hopefully I can get in a class when they schedule a session in Dallas.
Perhaps I will move my blog in the direction of overall fitness and not just running. Running will still be a major part of the blog but not the sole subject.
Showing posts with label Cross Training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cross Training. Show all posts
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Saturday, August 2, 2014
LiveWire Run Club 8/2
I couldn't have asked for better running weather this morning. It started out around 68 degrees. In August. In Texas. After the sun came up, there was a nice light breeze to help keep things cool. When it is nice and cool like that I try to run my hardest since I have a goal to run a half marathon in under 2 hours. I ran within my "goal per mile times" which is between 8:45 and 9:00 per mile. It's not a lot but I also ran a negative split this morning and did a hill repeat (at the end of my run!) while keeping my pace about the same.
All this week I have been hitting the speed training and cross training hard, so I was a little worried about how my legs might feel. I think it is safe to say my legs were fine.
I absolutely love runs like this. It helps keep me motivated during the summer when good runs like today are hard to come by cause it gets so hot forcing me to slow down. I'm really enjoying my speed class as well. I've learned some good running techniques that are helping me with my form and speed.
I can't wait to run my fall half marathons. I am aiming to finish under 2 hours in either my October (Michelob Ultra Half Marathon) or November (DRC Half Marathon) races.
Split
|
Time
|
Distance
|
Avg Pace
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | 1:19:25.6 | 8.94 | 8:53 |
| 1 | 9:09.4 | 1.00 | 9:09 |
| 2 | 8:48.4 | 1.00 | 8:48 |
| 3 | 9:03.1 | 1.00 | 9:03 |
| 4 | 8:40.4 | 1.00 | 8:40 |
| 5 | 8:52.4 | 1.00 | 8:52 |
| 6 | 8:45.4 | 1.00 | 8:45 |
| 7 | 8:54.2 | 1.00 | 8:54 |
| 8 | 8:48.6 | 1.00 | 8:49 |
| 9 | 8:23.6 | 0.94 | 8:55 |
All this week I have been hitting the speed training and cross training hard, so I was a little worried about how my legs might feel. I think it is safe to say my legs were fine.
I absolutely love runs like this. It helps keep me motivated during the summer when good runs like today are hard to come by cause it gets so hot forcing me to slow down. I'm really enjoying my speed class as well. I've learned some good running techniques that are helping me with my form and speed.
I can't wait to run my fall half marathons. I am aiming to finish under 2 hours in either my October (Michelob Ultra Half Marathon) or November (DRC Half Marathon) races.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
LiveWire Run Club 6/28
I promise I haven't forgotten this blog but I was out of town the past two weekends and so I didn't get any chances to run.
With that in mind, I was a little worried about how this morning's long run was going to go. I ran an average pace of 10:09/mi which is faster than what it felt like. My feet felt heavy for much of the run. The weather was cloudy but it was very humid with temps in the high 70s. I force myself to run slower because I am very concerned about overheating since I don't always handle the heat well.
With the summer heat I like to focus less on my speed and try to work more on my form and whatnot. This morning we ran some hill repeats and so I worked on trying to bound up the hill with good form. Going uphill you should run up on the balls of your feet, which actually puts more spring in your step. Going downhill you should lean forward, shorten your stride a little, increase your cadence some, and let the hill pull you down the road/trail/sidewalk.
For more regular terrain I just try to focus on my stride, strike, and cadence. I want to really maintain a steady cadence and shorten/lengthen my stride as needed. The thing about lengthening my stride too much is I need to increase my turnover otherwise my cadence has to slow down. Thankfully in my LiveWire Adrenaline class that is one of things were we focused on this week.
Finally, I set a goal for the year several weeks ago to run 500 miles this year. As of this blog entry I have logged 345 out of 500 miles, which puts me at 69% complete. I feel this is very doable especially since I have half marathon races in August, September, October, November, and December which means, barring injury or illness, I have about 66 more guaranteed miles which would put me at around 410 miles.
I'm going to try to run on the 4th since I won't have a chance to run the next two weekends.
With that in mind, I was a little worried about how this morning's long run was going to go. I ran an average pace of 10:09/mi which is faster than what it felt like. My feet felt heavy for much of the run. The weather was cloudy but it was very humid with temps in the high 70s. I force myself to run slower because I am very concerned about overheating since I don't always handle the heat well.
With the summer heat I like to focus less on my speed and try to work more on my form and whatnot. This morning we ran some hill repeats and so I worked on trying to bound up the hill with good form. Going uphill you should run up on the balls of your feet, which actually puts more spring in your step. Going downhill you should lean forward, shorten your stride a little, increase your cadence some, and let the hill pull you down the road/trail/sidewalk.
For more regular terrain I just try to focus on my stride, strike, and cadence. I want to really maintain a steady cadence and shorten/lengthen my stride as needed. The thing about lengthening my stride too much is I need to increase my turnover otherwise my cadence has to slow down. Thankfully in my LiveWire Adrenaline class that is one of things were we focused on this week.
Finally, I set a goal for the year several weeks ago to run 500 miles this year. As of this blog entry I have logged 345 out of 500 miles, which puts me at 69% complete. I feel this is very doable especially since I have half marathon races in August, September, October, November, and December which means, barring injury or illness, I have about 66 more guaranteed miles which would put me at around 410 miles.
I'm going to try to run on the 4th since I won't have a chance to run the next two weekends.
Saturday, June 7, 2014
LiveWire Run Club 6/7
Today was (what I consider) my first real run since my marathon. I've run smaller distances like 3 or 4 miles but today was my first "long" run I've done in several weeks. It felt great, especially since I got to run with people. It sounds weird but during much of my marathon training I was running solo. The group I ran with all run at about my pace so they helped push me and I helped them push the pace.
Now that I am finished training for my marathon I want to change gears towards finishing a half marathon in under 2 hours. To do that, I figure I need to average better than 9:15/mile. This morning I ran a 9:28/mile average and that was even with our group running slower to allow for someone to catch up.
It was warm this morning but the heat didn't bother me too much since I've been doing cross training in the evenings where the temps have been in the 90s lately. Running in this heat should help me with the Hottest Half in August. Last year I really seemed to struggle and I'd like to see if I can do better this time around.
I'm excited about my slate of races coming up. I have a race in the months of August, September, October, November, and December. I've been training in a speed class lately called Adrenaline offered by LiveWire Fitness. I've learned some cool techniques like bounding on hills which I feel is helping me become a better runner. Here's a good article that gives five different techniques to make you a better runner, especially when trying to conquer a hill.
I am going to work on my account of the Mountains2Beach Marathon this weekend. I've been extremely busy since I ran the race and haven't had time to sit down and write down everything about the race. I'll try my best to get it done tomorrow morning.
Now that I am finished training for my marathon I want to change gears towards finishing a half marathon in under 2 hours. To do that, I figure I need to average better than 9:15/mile. This morning I ran a 9:28/mile average and that was even with our group running slower to allow for someone to catch up.
It was warm this morning but the heat didn't bother me too much since I've been doing cross training in the evenings where the temps have been in the 90s lately. Running in this heat should help me with the Hottest Half in August. Last year I really seemed to struggle and I'd like to see if I can do better this time around.
I'm excited about my slate of races coming up. I have a race in the months of August, September, October, November, and December. I've been training in a speed class lately called Adrenaline offered by LiveWire Fitness. I've learned some cool techniques like bounding on hills which I feel is helping me become a better runner. Here's a good article that gives five different techniques to make you a better runner, especially when trying to conquer a hill.
I am going to work on my account of the Mountains2Beach Marathon this weekend. I've been extremely busy since I ran the race and haven't had time to sit down and write down everything about the race. I'll try my best to get it done tomorrow morning.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Week 20 - 8 Miles
So today was my last training run before the Mountains2Beach Marathon. This morning was an easy 8 miles. The weather was very nice -- not too hot and not too cool. Hopefully this is the last time I have to wake up for a 5:30 run on a Saturday for a while.
I felt great the entire run. Didn't have hardly any trouble with my legs warming up. No cramps or anything else that would slow me down. Just the road/sidewalk, my music, and me. I haven't had a chance to have a great run like this in a long time because the distance has taken a lot of the enjoyment out it.
I'm have two goals with my first marathon. First and foremost I want to finish. That is what is most important to me. Second, I'd like to finish in under 5 hours. I'm not sure this is doable but if I do finish within that time, I'll be very happy.
I also tried the Garmin Connect mobile app where I link my watch to my phone. It worked for the most part but my watch or phone kept losing the connection and so there are gaps on the route. I'm going to try to go on another training run Monday evening and see if switch arms my phone is on helps any. I don't like wearing things on my left arm but the distance from the watch to the phone will be much smaller, so maybe that will help with the disconnects.
I feel excited and a little nervous about this race. I feel like I am as ready as I can be. I've been hitting my cross training really hard the past couple months and my long runs have been challenging yet I've been able to handle them for the most part. The only thing I am worried about is my endurance. My physical ability really drops off after 13 miles so it will be interesting to see how I do for a full 26 miles. The best key to a good run will be to not start out too fast. I've been running between 10:30/mile and 11:00 for the most part so if I stick to that pace I think I will do fine.
I felt great the entire run. Didn't have hardly any trouble with my legs warming up. No cramps or anything else that would slow me down. Just the road/sidewalk, my music, and me. I haven't had a chance to have a great run like this in a long time because the distance has taken a lot of the enjoyment out it.
I'm have two goals with my first marathon. First and foremost I want to finish. That is what is most important to me. Second, I'd like to finish in under 5 hours. I'm not sure this is doable but if I do finish within that time, I'll be very happy.
I also tried the Garmin Connect mobile app where I link my watch to my phone. It worked for the most part but my watch or phone kept losing the connection and so there are gaps on the route. I'm going to try to go on another training run Monday evening and see if switch arms my phone is on helps any. I don't like wearing things on my left arm but the distance from the watch to the phone will be much smaller, so maybe that will help with the disconnects.
I feel excited and a little nervous about this race. I feel like I am as ready as I can be. I've been hitting my cross training really hard the past couple months and my long runs have been challenging yet I've been able to handle them for the most part. The only thing I am worried about is my endurance. My physical ability really drops off after 13 miles so it will be interesting to see how I do for a full 26 miles. The best key to a good run will be to not start out too fast. I've been running between 10:30/mile and 11:00 for the most part so if I stick to that pace I think I will do fine.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)