Training for the Half Marathon, Week 10/10

Well, I am officially tapering.  One week ago I did my last long run (16 miles) in preparation for my first half marathon.  Instead of my usual weekend long run, I did a 6 mile tempo run on Saturday.  Today, just an easy four miles with the dogs (two miles for Molly, two miles for Snicker).  They are both napping to show their appreciation. 

Tomorrow, I'll do about 4 miles with intervals.  Half mile easy warm-up, 4x800's with 400meter rests in between, and then a half mile cooldown. I'm going to try to push the intensity.

Looking at my running log over the this ten week training plan, I have put in 204.2 miles.  Probably the most I have ever ran in a two-month period.   Saturday's forecast for Chico, CA:   cloudy with a chance of rain, racetime temp:  mid-40's.

Training When the Weather Outside is Frightful

It's been a couple of days since posting last.  Mostly because we actually got our predicted snow storm.  About 10 inches total. 

Friday morning I got to dust off the cross country skis.  These poor sticks haven't seen any action for 5 or six years.  I went for a 2.7 mile distance which took about a full hour.  It seemed easy--heart rate comfortably in the 130's.  I can't figure out quite how to classify the exercise.  I know I should just call it cross training and be done, but I somehow thinks it ought to count as more in my training plan.  They say that cross country skiing uses 80% of your muscle (compared to running which uses about 60%).  I spent the rest of the day doing snow removal.

On Saturday, a little more snow removal and then I was needing a run.  Local trails were still pretty icy so I went out to the high school track and got in 6 miles with four at tempo pace (8:16, 8:13, 8:33, 8:29) and I threw in some bleachers while I was at it.

This was my last bug hurrah before my race on the March 5th.  This week i'm tapering:  I'll plan on doing 4 miles easy on Monday, 4 miles with some intervals on Tuesday, then an easy 2 on Thursday, half marathon on Saturday. 

Bring on the Snow!

Batten down the hatches!  They are predicting a big storm for the west coast.  Here in Paradise we are expecting 10-14 inches.  Last week we got 7 inches, but I was so busy with snow removal that I didn't really get to play in it.

This time, I am hoping to get in a little play time.  Here's the plan:  if the weather guys are wrong and it's only a couple of inches, I'm going for a nice tempo run in the fresh snow.  If they are right and we get burried, then I'm either going to break out the cross-country skis or snowshoes.  I don't have access to a treadmill, so this will have to suffice for my Friday workout tomorrow.

Now I know that compared to the rest of the country this winter, 10-14 inches in nothing.  But here in Northern California we're more easily impressed.  So, the firewood stack is replenished, the snow blade is on the John Deere and the kid in me says YIPPEE!

My Knees Lie To Me

Anyone else have conversations with their knees?

Mine talk to me all the time. 

After my 16 miler on Monday, I was ready for a break.  I hobbled around the house yesterday like a spry 120 year old.  (That's why they call it a recovery day, right?)  But this morning I was laying in bed contemplating getting up for my workout.  I took a quick survey:

• quads? check. 
• hams? check
• calves?  check
• feet? check
• knees?  Mutinous uproar!  There is no way, we're still sore from what you did to us the other day. 

Well, I compromised and pushed back the workout by two hours.  And guess what?  My knees lied to me.  The first half a mile or so of warm-up they complained, but after that, they felt great!  In fact they feel better now than when I was laying in bed. 

I know we're supposed to listen to what our body is telling us, but sometimes my body lies.

So, today's workout consisted of a 1.1 mile warm-up, 4x800 intervals with 400m rest periods in between, and finishing with a nice 1.9 mile tempo-ish run. 

I got try out the new Garmin 305 today.  For my warm-up and cool-down, I just did the "start" and "stop" method.  But when I was at the track I programmed in my intervals and rests and the wonderful little watch (yeah, I know, most people think the Forerunner 305 is HUGE, but it is much smaller than the handheld (eTrex Legend) that I used to run with) told me when to run and when to rest and displayed a great little distance to go for each segment.  Yippee! 

Oh yeah, I also met another runner training for the Bidwell Classic.  Now I know two people in the race.

I Feel The Need, The Need For Speed

This past weekend I was supposed to do my last long run before the Half Marathon.  I had scheduled a 17 mile run (thanks to Jeff Galloway's Half Marathon Training Plan).  I have been doing my long runs on Sunday mornings.  Howver, we were digging out of a snowstorm at the end of the week, which meant that all of the local running routes were iced over.  On top of that, our church was having it's annual business meeting after the Sunday morning service, which meant that my list of things to prepare was quite long.  Needless to say, there was no running in store fo me over the weekend.

Not getting in my long run on Sunday was an interesting experiment in my endorphin addiction.  I felt worse not having run than I would have had I logged a long run.  Grumpy, frustrated runner.

Thankfully, Monday was the President's Day holiday which meant a day day off.  The kids wanted to go see their cousins in Chico and I knew this was my golden opportunity to sneak in a long run.  "Honey, would you mind if I go for a run while you and the kids are at your sister's house?" 

My wife's sister lives very close to the beginning of Upper Bidwell Park.  I mapped out a 16 mile out and back route (basically run until the dirt road ends).  What a great run! 

I had my handheld GPS ready to go and I was going to track my splits and aim for a 10:30 min/mile.  Ooops, forgot to change the batteries in the GPS and it died a mile and half in.  I guess I will just run by feel.  The whole run took 2:32:45.  That works out to a 9:34 pace.  And it felt good too! 

Here's a few shots of the route.  This is the little dirt trail that runs along the paved portion of the road--why run on asphalt when you can run on dirt?



This is the dirt/gravel portion of the road.  The road less traveled (except for a few friendly mountain bikers).

Regarding the unpowered GPS--I feel a little like Darth Vader..."You've failed me for the last time!"

While I was out on my run, those nice folks at UPS delivered my new Garmin Forerunner 305.  So, now I can record my splits and other workout data without having to write it down with a pen and paper.  Woohoo!  This thing has a lot of features, I can't wait to try it out. 

Not today though.  Today I get to let my legs rest after their hard work yesterday. 

Into the taper I go--the race is a week and a half away!

Weddings and Watches and Marathons

One of the interesting parts of being a pastor is the extras that you get asked to do.  Today, I am performing a wedding.  While that kind of event always makes my schedule a little busier (counseling appointments, rehearsal, wedding) it does often come with a nice little perk--the family usually kicks down a little cash to thank me for my services. 

So what does a runner do when he gets a little extra cash?  Why register for his first marathon of course!  And maybe a new running watch.  Woohoo!

You got it, even though my first half marathon is two weeks away, I have just registered for the San Francisco Marathon on July 31, 2011.  No post-race blues for me after completing the Bidwell Classic.  On to training for the next big event.  That's where the watch will come in handy--I'm going with the Garmin Forerunner 305--because it's cheap (compared to the new models), has a great reputation, and does everything I need it to do. 

By the way, I ripped of the title of this blog from this year's SF marathon:  Worth the Hurt!  Gotta love it.  One of the cool things about the SF marathon (along with a lot of marathons) is that they encourage fundraising for a cause you believe in.  More on that in a few weeks.  Until then:

168.7 miles down, 55 miles to go (until the finish line of the Bidwell Classic).

Race Course Tempo Run

Two weeks and two days from now I plan to be running the Bidwell Classic Half Marathon in Chico, CA. 
The half marathon course is a double loop through the lower section of the park.  My training plan for today called for a tempo run of 6-7 miles, so what better than to run one loop of the race course.

I had the opportunity to run a couple of miles with Greg of Planes, Trains and Running, a blog about travel and running.  He's doing a neighborhood by neighborhood write-up of the Oakland Marathon, which he'll run next month as his 11th marathon.  Running and chatting with Greg reminded me of the great comraderie that runners share. 

The results:  6.2 miles at an average pace of 8:39.  I was quite surprised.  What a difference lower altitude and flat ground makes!