Vacations

Do you run on your vacations? I went on a 2 week road trip with my wife and beagle, we drove from New York City to Wyoming (and back), which is a really long way. We covered more than 5,000 miles, and while we did some high-altitude hiking (10 - 11,000 feet or so) and some biking in the Tetons (and good 8,000 feet) which couldn't have done any harm exercise wise, I didn't get any running in. I did take my running shoes, and even took my Runner's World iPhone armband, almost as vital as running shoes, but alas they never saw daylight.

This is a really long way. I mean, a really long way.

Before I took my 2 week extended rest, I did one run "free of the couch" which was a reasonable 2.8 miles in about 27 mins. It's short of my 5k pace by quite some margin, and my focus between now and October 27th is to gain some speed. Beating 30 mins is a must, beating my 28 mins 48 seconds is a target, and coming in close to 25 mins is a stretch target. I have 3 weeks!

Will my legs and lungs be reliable as Old Faithful?

My two runs since I got back have told me I am up against it somewhat. To beat 25 mins, I have to average 8 mins/miles. During this whole exercise, I haven't even come close.

Going in the wrong direction...

It seems there are 2 ways I can target going faster - one is to put in more mileage and another is to run faster, more often. So this week, I am going to do 3 miles a day, starting today and target 26 mins minutes by the end of the week, Sun - Friday. Take the weekend off and then next week, run 4 miles a day for 5 continuous days, and then the final week, before race day, follow this chart from Runner's World for a 25/min run.

Runner's World, June 2012

No pressure, eh?

Middle Age Fitness Helps Prevent Age Related Diseases

A new study has found that age-related diseases can be significantly delayed my aerobic fitness in middle-age, even if you have never previously exercised regularly.

http://nyti.ms/ONn3I0

New York Times

Free from the Couch - Week 8

Week 8 is the last 3 lessons of Couch to 5K, and the final ramp up to running 5K in 30 mins. Since lesson one, this helpful little app has slowly been building me up to getting a 5K run in less than 30 minutes. During the final week, it has you running for 25, 28 and then 30 mins at full running pace.

The 25 mins run was the toughest for some reason. My first mile was around 10 mins with the second mile around 9:30 and the last 0.6 miles at the same pace. Overall time was 9:39 per mile for 2.6 miles.

The 28 mins run was slower still. A first mile of 10:10 seconds (truly pedestrian) and a further 1.8 miles at just slightly less than 10 mins, for a 2.8 mile return on 28 minutes.

No more Couch

Today was the final lesson - I had to hit 3.1 miles, and had to run faster than any previous time . After 1 mile, I hit 9 mins 3 seconds, and the second mile amazingly 8 mins 50 seconds, with only the 3rd mile being slow at over 10 mins. Overall I managed 3.1 miles in 29:30, so a good 30 seconds to spare. But there's still a lot not going right.

In the first two runs this week, I lost control of my breathing and heart rate within the first 5 mins, killing my first mile time. In the last run (this evening) I got a side stitch after about 1.8 miles, which really killed my pace to virtually walking speed; hence the 10 mins+ 3rd mile. Funnily enough, I am not hugely tired in the run, but I am finding that my mind is drifting at times and my breathing becomes very shallow, leading to the stitch and/or breathlessness.

So after 8 weeks, and quite honestly not truly believing I'd get here after my very first post I am in reaosnably good shape to run 5K in 30 mins or less. I now have about 6 weeks before my first race, and to knock off 4 and a half minutes from my time - which means upping my average pace by about 3/4 of a mile per hour.

Plateaued at 6mph? 

Easier said than done... Well tonight I celebrated with a bacon cheeseburger and beer! Next run is couch free.

Returning to the Wall

3 days ago, for the first time, I was unable to complete one of the workouts. 2 miles @ 9:27 was enough for me to hit the quit button and cut the run short. I felt like Casey Seeger (C-gar!) in An Officer and a Gentleman where she is unable to get over Sgt. Foley's wall. Today, I returned. Veni, vini, vici.

Even though I defeated the wall, it seemed difficult. Again after just over two miles, I got cramp in my shoulder (of all places) and a stitch started forming in my stomach. I saw the quit button again, but this time didn't reach for it.

So what's going on?

Well, for the last 7 weeks, I have trained my body to run for about 20 mins, and hit about 2 miles. Even though in the early workouts, much of that was walking, the conditioning psychologically has been "2 miles" or "20 minutes", whichever comes first. Even the loop I have slowly carved out in Red Hook is, more or less, 2 miles. I can break it up into manageable chunks; just this road, just this corner, OK half way, now just head back, just one more corner. I'm always ready for the finish line, and not really focused on the run itself.

At this point I am torn, as I only have 3 workouts to do, I really ought to finish. However I should also break out of this repetition before I decide this is only routine. Perhaps 2 weeks of doing 2 laps (which would be 4 miles) at a much slower pace before going back to 3.1 miles and getting my 5K time. At this point I am not sure.

The Wall Part 2

Today was the first day I cut a run short. Session 7.3 was supposed to be a 22 minute run, then after a one minute walk another minute's run. I started off well, and after 1.5 miles felt pretty good and strong, but out of seemingly nowhere after 2 miles my legs went and I felt cramped in my side and stomach. I am pretty sure it was down to not drinking enough water over the last 2 days and being generally pretty stressed. I am going to try and do 7.3 again at the weekend, and have a 3-day rest, which I haven't had since I started this routine.

Week 7 and a Goal in Sight

Today I signed up for Run the River 5K, which is in support of the Young Professionals Council. The event is on Randall's Island just of the east side of Manhattan on October 27th. I ran this event in 2010 with a time of 28:49. Two years older and achier, that's the time to beat. Of course, 25 mins would be really awesome, but at this point just beating a younger me would actually feel great.

Today I managed a rather feeble 2.3 miles in 23:58 (first mile was 10 mins). That compares to 21:11 two sessions ago and 21:56 last session. I seem to be going backwards. I seem to have gotten comfortable with a certain pace and regress back to it, rather than pushing harder as I get used to the speed and feeling of running. I'll see how it goes on Wednesday.

Week 6 - The Elusive 3rd mile

Week 6 has shaken things up a little, where previously each week focused on a routine that was repeated 3 times, week 6 had three different routines.

1) After warmup, jog 6:00 mins, walk 1, Jog 12 mins, walk 2
2) After warmup, jog 10 mins, walk 1, jog 8 mins, walk 2
3) After warmup, jog 20 mins

So today was 6.3 and I completed the 20 mins. It's been difficult to guage my pace until now, as usually I'll start running after setting up the GPS tracer or have to stop to tie a shoelace (this has happened a couple of times) and walking for 2, 3 or 4 mins out of the total run time impacts the pace a lot.

So after 6 weeks, I feel a little better, look a little better and know I am running a little better. But by how much? Well, not as much as I might have thought.

Today I ran 2.3 miles. The first mile I ran in 9:34, which if maintained for 5K would get me in a sniff under 30 mins. The second mile was 9:04, which if started and maintained for 5K would get me in in just about 28 mins. My fastest 5K in recent years has been 28 mins 50 seconds, give or take. However, I really want to beat 25 minutes, so there is a lot of work to do.

To beat 25 mins, I have to average 8 min miles which means an average pace of 7.5 mph. How fast am I now?

Averaged 5mph

Over the last 6 weeks I have averaged just around 5 mph. There has been a slight uptick in the last week, but not nearly enough. Not only to I have to find an extra 20% speed, I need to maintain it for the 3rd mile. During today's run towards the end, I was flagging so it's going to be a few weeks yet.

The June edition of Runner's World has a section on beating 30 mins, 25 mins and 20 mins respectively for a 5K. Their guidance is 25 mins is achievable by "runners who regularly perform long runs of at least eight miles and can complete one all-out mile in about 7:25 to 7:45". That feels like one hell of a mountain to climb.

Despite my best run yet, I suddenly feel further from my goal than ever.