Keep Moving Forward: A Training Log (Comments Welcome)

[lhermiston]

Oh man, you guys, THIS WEATHER. 60-some degrees this afternoon when I went out for my run. I was in love. I don't care that it's not going to be this warm again this week or that it's Iowa and that means we've still got another blizzard or two left before spring is truly here. I was just enjoying the heck out of this weather.

Today's workout called for a 2-mile warm up, followed by 5 x 1 mile @ Tempo (8:05/mile) w/1 minute resting intervals, and ending with a 1-mile cool down. I modified things slightly: cut the warm up to 1 mile and just walked during my resting interval so as to not disrupt my ability to track my Tempo times.

My Tempo times were ... not great. I started off with an 8 minute mile, but then hit 7:49 and 7:45 on the next two miles. This particular route is hilly and it's still hard for me to compensate for altitude changes while trying to maintain a pace. I tried to correct my pace and slow down and managed a 8:47 mile. PFFFFFT. Rebounded with an 8:01 final tempo mile, so I bookend-ed the workout with two on-pace miles. The cool down was NBD.

Today's Distance: 7 miles
Avg. Pace: 8:29/mile
Time: 59:27

 

[DopeyBadger]

Today's workout called for a 2-mile warm up, followed by 5 x 1 mile @ Tempo (8:05/mile) w/1 minute resting intervals, and ending with a 1-mile cool down. I modified things slightly: cut the warm up to 1 mile and just walked during my resting interval so as to not disrupt my ability to track my Tempo times.

I think you were confused today. The workout was 5x1 mile at T (7:35), not Tempo (8:05). No biggie. Also, remember to try and avoid hills for T paced work because it changes the purpose. Any paces of T pace or faster should be on as flat road as possible. Anything slower than T can (and should) be done with normal hills and such. 9 weeks!

 

[lhermiston]

I think you were confused today. The workout was 5x1 mile at T (7:35), not Tempo (8:05). No biggie. Also, remember to try and avoid hills for T paced work because it changes the purpose. Any paces of T pace or faster should be on as flat road as possible. Anything slower than T can (and should) be done with normal hills and such. 9 weeks!

You are right. I most certainly was off my rocker today. Would it be of more value to do today's prescribed workout instead of tomorrow's EA workout? For whatever it's worth, I'm feeling fresh.

 

[DopeyBadger]

You are right. I most certainly was off my rocker today. Would it be of more value to do today's prescribed workout instead of tomorrow's EA workout? For whatever it's worth, I'm feeling fresh.

Don't even worry about it. You were a touch slow on 3 out of 5, but that's way better than being too fast. Just move on and stick to the schedule. Glad to hear you're feeling good though. You'll need that as the plan progresses into the heavy portion now.

 

[lhermiston]

So, today was 6 miles @ EA (9:47/mile) with the added twist of being a blind run. All in all, I was pretty darn close:

Mile 1 - 9:18
Mile 2 - 9:38*
Mile 3 - 9:31
Mile 4 - 9:42*
Mile 5 - 9:38*
Mile 6 - 9:39*

That's four of six that were right within range and a fifth that was really close! Now, I won't be running my marathon at EA, but it's still good to know I have a good feel for that pace. Or, I assume that's good, at least?

ALSO...I interviewed the race director for my upcoming marathon today. She was really jazzed about the upcoming race and her enthusiasm was highly infectious. I did check the route today and it's going to be HILLY, but a lot of my routes are pretty hilly already, so I'm hoping I'll be fairly conditioned for hills already.

Today's Distance: 6 miles
Avg. Pace: 9:34/mile
Time: 57:27

 

[lhermiston]

Quick informal survey for those of you following along ... what are your thoughts on the log? Is it entertaining? What do you like? What don't you like? Anything you'd like to see more/less of? Should I totally change the format or keep with what I've been doing?

I've never done a log like this and I don't have a lot of time to read others (sorry!), so I hope you all find this enjoyable or can give me tips on making it a better read. I'm definitely going to stick with it since I like using this as a means to get my thoughts together on training, but if I'm going to write, I might as well make sure it's something people want to read.

Thanks gang!

 

[FFigawi]

You should write for you, not us. Tell your story as you see fit. Altering your style or content might make you less likely to keep up with posting, so put it all out there.

 

[SarahDisney]

Definitely do what you like. If writing it out like this helps you, then keep doing it.
I don't comment on the individual run logs because I'm usually either too busy or tired to think, but I do think the way you write it out makes it easy to understand how you're doing and what your thoughts are on the run. I enjoy reading it.

 

[ZellyB]

I like your journal! And I agree with @FFigawi and @SarahDisney do what you like and what helps you.

I find everybody’s journals to be unique and that’s what I like about them.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Or, I assume that's good, at least?

That's a great sign to hit the blind pacing.

You should write for you, not us. Tell your story as you see fit. Altering your style or content might make you less likely to keep up with posting, so put it all out there.

Definitely do what you like. If writing it out like this helps you, then keep doing it.
I don't comment on the individual run logs because I'm usually either too busy or tired to think, but I do think the way you write it out makes it easy to understand how you're doing and what your thoughts are on the run. I enjoy reading it.

I like your journal! And I agree with @FFigawi and @SarahDisney do what you like and what helps you.

I find everybody’s journals to be unique and that’s what I like about them.

Agree with all of this. Write for you and how you want to.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

I enjoy following along and especially like the picture! Like others said, "you do you" when it comes to your journal.

 

[lhermiston]

Thanks for all the feedback on the training log. It's much appreciated!

Friday was another 6 miles @ EA (9:47/mile), though this time it was not a blind run. Not a whole lot to report, really. I was actually further off on a few of my miles running with pace updates than I was running blind. Maybe that goes to show that running by feel is more consistent? I dunno...

Anyway...

Friday's Distance: 6 miles
Avg. Pace: 9:36/mile
Time: 57:39

 

[lhermiston]

So yesterday (I haven't been awesome about updating on time this weekend) was 9 miles @ EB (9:06/mile). It was about 50 degrees when I went out yesterday afternoon and that felt really great.

My legs did not feel as awesome throughout the run. Nothing significant, but I'm keeping an eye on my knees, which have troubled me in the past. On the whole, though, I've been really pleased with how I've since the beginning of my DopeyBadger training back in October. I'm running more - and more often - and have thus far avoiding anything but the occasional standard aches associated with distance running. I ran my first two marathons somewhat injured and it has left me wondering what I could do if I went in closer to 100 percent.

So far, I've been feeling really good. The true test is in the next six weeks or so, but I'm feeling confident.

Anyway, my EB run went really well. Almost every mile was within range (I had one at 8:54 and another at 8:44), so that's positive. Today is another 9 miles, this time at Long Run (8:46/mile)

Saturday's Distance: 9 miles
Avg. Pace: 8:58/mile
Time: 1:20:46

 

[lhermiston]

Also, here's the Q & A I did with the race director for my upcoming marathon, in case anyone is interested.

http://www.thegazette.com/subject/n...t-cedar-rapids-to-iowa-city-marathon-20180304

 

[lhermiston]

Another 9 miles this morning, this time at LR (8:46/mile).

I'll be honest, my legs didn't have a ton of life in them this morning, so it felt like I had to work a little harder to power through. That, and I actually had to run faster than yesterday due to the prescribed workout.

Really, though, it was a pretty solid workout. It was a nice, brisk morning and the wind wasn't too bad. My times per mile were all pretty good, too.

My marathon is in 8 weeks, which means about 6 weeks of training and 2 weeks of tapering. That doesn't feel like much, at all. But, I'm feeling good, strong and healthy and I have trust in the plan. I'm pumped to see what the next two months bring.

Today's Distance: 9 miles
Avg. Pace: 8:42/mile
Time: 1:18:16
Distance This Week: 37
Year To Date: 280

 

[DopeyBadger]

I'll be honest, my legs didn't have a ton of life in them this morning, so it felt like I had to work a little harder to power through. That, and I actually had to run faster than yesterday due to the prescribed workout.

Really, though, it was a pretty solid workout. It was a nice, brisk morning and the wind wasn't too bad. My times per mile were all pretty good, too.

Sounds like the appropriate description given where you are at in the training plan. Not much time left. Now comes the peak portion of the training. Keep up the good work!

 

[ZellyB]

Great job and you are getting really close to marathon time!! Keep up the hard work and can't wait to read about the pay off.

 

[jennamfeo]

Great little interview with the race director! It's cool that your job and your hobby just met in the middle like that. Sounds like your training is going well and the marathon will be here before you know! Woo!

 

[lhermiston]

After a rainy/sleety/snowy Monday and a snowy Tuesday morning and early afternoon, the skies cleared up *just* enough for my run. Today's work out called for a 1 mile warmup, 7 miles @ Tempo (8:05/mile) (I double-checked, DopeyBadger!) and a half mile cool down.

It was a drag to have to layer up again today, but it's still March in Iowa and frankly, I was just happy the sidewalks were relatively clear after all of the precipitation and considering it was only a few degrees above freezing. I definitely lucked out.

After my warmup mile, I kicked it into Tempo gear and ... ran way too fast, 7:39. The next six miles were mostly better:

- 8:05
- 8:16
- 7:56
- 7:46 (oops)
- 8:05
- 8:05

So, a surprisingly consistent tempo run considering it felt a little all over the place and that's not a pace that I'm super used to. Huzzah for tempo runs.

Sidebar: I think I need to say something about my Hoka shoes. Anyone who has followed this log from the beginning (all six pages of it!) will recall I was pretty hard on my shoes early on. Well, I've now put more than 300 miles on these shoes and I'm pretty happy with the results. Ever since my stress fracture 2-3 years ago I've had seemingly every foot, knee, ankle and leg pain imaginable. I suspect a lot of it is because I'm a heel striker and I supinate quite a bit. I burn through shoes in seemingly record time and feel aches and pains pretty quickly. Well, that hasn't happened with these shoes. I'm really pleased with the results.

So, I've gone from pretty anti-Hoka to thinking I'll probably get another pair at the end of the month when I'm over 400 miles and in need of fresh shoes for the marathon. Who woulda thunk? Of course, I have to give credit to my wife who suggested re-lacing the shoes, which prevented the tongue from digging into my ankle.

Anyway...

Today's Distance: 8.5 miles
Avg. Pace: 8:13/mile
Time: 1:09:56

 

[ZellyB]

Great consistency on those paces!

I’m glad the Hokas seem to be working for you. I know a lot of people who swear by them but I do think most havecsaid there’s a definite adjustment period.