So yesterday (Wednesday) I had my other 3 mile time trial and I was yet again a little nervous for it. This time I studied the trail/course a little more on google maps pedometer. I saw where the 1 mile mark and 2 mile mark where exactly so I could take my splits this time around. As usual I had a 1.6 mile warm up where I stretched a little longer then usual to get nice and loose as well as try and get rid of the nervous I had.
Finally after all the stretching I started my 2nd 3 mile time trial hoping for a better time. As before I felt the early pace was very unfamiliar and began monitoring my pace at least until I got to the mile mark. I passed the mini hill and sandy horse trail not knowing what pace I was going at. For some reason I felt more sluggish than last time and still very nervous for how long I could keep this pace. Finally I got to the 1 mile mark and clocked it in at around 6:54 perhaps taking a couple seconds away for inaccuracy. Once I saw this I felt both relieved and pressure to push harder the last two miles if I plan to beat my previous time which was a 6:48/mile pace. I was relieved because although I felt very sluggish I was only 6 seconds off of my previous per mile pace. However, this only put pressure on the next two miles to go even faster than 6:48 per mile pace.
At this point I focused on keeping the same pace until I got to the straight along the road which would lead to the 2 mile mark. Once I was on the trail along the road I picked up my pace and concentrated on toeing off and keeping my form sharp. When the 2 mile mark came along I clocked it at 6:45 which was exactly what I was looking for. I didn't pick the pace up by too much but also managed to get right below the 6:48 per mile pace I needed to beat to run faster this time around. I had about 200 meters of the straight along the road before I made a right turn going along the end of the golf course. I used this short distance to recharge mentally while maintaining the same pace. I knew I had to have a strong final mile effort to beat my previous time of 20:25 so once I made the right turn into the back end of the golf course I was ready to start pushing just a little bit more. I knew once I finished this back end of the golf course I would only have a half mile left until the finish point. So although I was still pushing I wanted to control my breathing and make sure I wouldn't be out of breath when I decided to go into my final two pushes. I was doing some math in my head and realized if I made it to the half mile left mark at 16:58 and held on to a 6:48 pace I would be able to tie my previous time trial. However, I came around at 17:02 and I knew I had to make this last half mile really count. I refocused on toeing off and keeping my form in check. I made it to the final bend and started a hard finish but couldn't hold it to the very end but managed to keep a good fast pace and ended at 20:19 for 3.01 miles. Although it is a faster time than my previous effort I am still no where near how fast I know I could go or how hard I feel my training has prepared me. Yes, my training has only been to build strength for the half-marathon and marathon I plan on running, but I would still like to know my training can produce some speed for my legs if I ever choose to call on it.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Saturday, July 14, 2012
13.1 mile Long Run
Today is Saturday and that means LONG RUN. And boy was it a long one today. The previous four weeks I had done 10 miles each day but this week I upped my milage and although I should have only gone up to12 miles I made the decision to just make it a half-marathon distance. After all, I am going to run a half marathon on my birthday, October 28th. So I need to make sure I can actually run the distance during a long run effort. So although it was freaking long I am glad to have put this distance under my belt.
Today was a very hot and humid day. Around 84* degrees with 20% humidity which is quite a lot for southern California. But I made sure to hydrate plenty before my run. Plus I pushed my race time to 5:20 p.m. so the Sun would be going down and the cool winds would start as I would be coming back from the 13 miler.
Like any other day I warmed up to my usual spot 1.6 miles from home start. I felt some rumbling in my stomach so I made sure to go to the bathroom before this extra long run for me. So after that I started off and once I hit the 2 mile total mark I went into 6x5min hard effort (taking into account the distance) with 1 min breaks in between. Once that was over at around the 50 min mark which happen to be a couple of meters before my half way turn around point, I went into Easy pace for the rest of the run. Also just to add to this epic long run I had a white fluffy dog run straight at my ankles barking its head off. I flinched just a little bit because it caught me off guard but screw that pup, I kept on running. Another surprise was that there was about 8 people horse back riding taking up the entire trail so I had to jump the trail fence and pass them. Luckily it was during one of the 5 min hard efforts. Once I passed them I jumped back over the trail fence and went into the 1 min recovery. However, I had to deal with horses two more times after this first encounter at around the 4.5 mile mark. The next encounter came right in the last 20 seconds of my final 5 min hard effort. It was right before I would enter a small tunnel so I had to completely stop and wait for the rider to pass through and then continue after them. This then led me to my half way point where I clocked in at 51:29 minutes for 6.55 miles. It was really sandy through miles 5-8 because of the constant horse riders, so that only added to the fun... Anyways I had to deal with the group of 8 riders again in this area on the way back. After that though I was all alone in fatigue. But I knew this was part of the run so I just pushed through it and focused on each coming land mark; the park rangers parking lot, the golf course, ranger station, 2 miles left bush, and then the first stop light I would have to deal with.
Overall, I think this was a great first 13 mile long run experience. Sure I had some obstacles to deal with but that only made it more memorable. I am definitely taking into account the un scheduled breaks I benefited from but other then that I think I could have gone a little faster. I ended at 1:45:20 for 13.109 miles. That is 25 minutes longer then I had ever run before this past year. So here is to a great land mark I have added to my training and hoping it only makes me stronger for the actual race.
Today was a very hot and humid day. Around 84* degrees with 20% humidity which is quite a lot for southern California. But I made sure to hydrate plenty before my run. Plus I pushed my race time to 5:20 p.m. so the Sun would be going down and the cool winds would start as I would be coming back from the 13 miler.
Like any other day I warmed up to my usual spot 1.6 miles from home start. I felt some rumbling in my stomach so I made sure to go to the bathroom before this extra long run for me. So after that I started off and once I hit the 2 mile total mark I went into 6x5min hard effort (taking into account the distance) with 1 min breaks in between. Once that was over at around the 50 min mark which happen to be a couple of meters before my half way turn around point, I went into Easy pace for the rest of the run. Also just to add to this epic long run I had a white fluffy dog run straight at my ankles barking its head off. I flinched just a little bit because it caught me off guard but screw that pup, I kept on running. Another surprise was that there was about 8 people horse back riding taking up the entire trail so I had to jump the trail fence and pass them. Luckily it was during one of the 5 min hard efforts. Once I passed them I jumped back over the trail fence and went into the 1 min recovery. However, I had to deal with horses two more times after this first encounter at around the 4.5 mile mark. The next encounter came right in the last 20 seconds of my final 5 min hard effort. It was right before I would enter a small tunnel so I had to completely stop and wait for the rider to pass through and then continue after them. This then led me to my half way point where I clocked in at 51:29 minutes for 6.55 miles. It was really sandy through miles 5-8 because of the constant horse riders, so that only added to the fun... Anyways I had to deal with the group of 8 riders again in this area on the way back. After that though I was all alone in fatigue. But I knew this was part of the run so I just pushed through it and focused on each coming land mark; the park rangers parking lot, the golf course, ranger station, 2 miles left bush, and then the first stop light I would have to deal with.
Overall, I think this was a great first 13 mile long run experience. Sure I had some obstacles to deal with but that only made it more memorable. I am definitely taking into account the un scheduled breaks I benefited from but other then that I think I could have gone a little faster. I ended at 1:45:20 for 13.109 miles. That is 25 minutes longer then I had ever run before this past year. So here is to a great land mark I have added to my training and hoping it only makes me stronger for the actual race.
Friday, July 13, 2012
3 mile time trial 7/11/12
So I had been getting really bored of not knowing exactly what I am capable of now. I usually like running an all out mile to know where my fitness level is at but my scheduled work outs had not given me that opportunity. However, I found that I could sneak in a 3 mile time trial and count it as a tempo run instead of a broken down tempo run of 4x5min intervals. So I planned this starting Monday and saved my efforts for a good hard time trial on Wednesday. When the day finally came I did my usual 1.6 mile warm up and stretched, extra long stretching this time. I was feeling a little nervous having not even raced or done a time trial this long in over three years. I had done an all out mile on a track but even that is much shorter and I knew exactly how much I have done and have left.
I planned this new 3 mile time trial on a course I had not run before so that only added to my nerves. I started off and I immediately felt like I had no idea what pace I should be shooting for. I pictured optimistically I could run around 18:50s, but to how I have been feeling lately as slow as 21 min flat. I had run 4 miles at night on a track at 6:55 pace but lately I had been feeling that I have had no speed control what so ever. So the trial began and I was rolling what I feel was around 6:30ish pace. I kept my self in check still fighting fatigue every now and then but nothing I would yield to. I knew from mapping out the course that once I hit a corner and made a right I had almost exactly half a mile left to finish. I pushed just a little harder maybe lasted for about a minute before slowing down just a bit. Finally I came to a spot where I knew there was a quarter mile left and I just pushed again but with about 200 meters left I was loosing steam. I made the last bend and saw my finish point and went a little hard to finish as if I was trying. I ended with a 20:25 3.02mile time trial. I was very disappointed. As I made the half way point I realized 18:50s was much to fast and aimed for 19:30s. That would have been exactly 6:30 per mile pace and I would have been pretty happy with that. I had not ran a distance that long that fast in a long time, however the 20:25 was too slow for how hard I have been working.
Although it was slow, I am glad I finally ran a time trial to see where I am at. I have been training for 14 weeks without any significant mark that would let me understand where my training is at. I will definitely use this time trial to help gauge where my tempo runs should be at and work at calibrating my inner speedometer and pedometer. I have already planned to do another 3 mile time trial next Wednesday so I can run it knowing the course as well as focusing on how fast I should be going and hopefully improve the time. This first time trial was a completely blind experience in regards to what pace I am capable of, what the distance covered feels and is like, and what my training has helped and lacks in speed. So in conclusion this is finding a victory within what I would consider a downer.
I planned this new 3 mile time trial on a course I had not run before so that only added to my nerves. I started off and I immediately felt like I had no idea what pace I should be shooting for. I pictured optimistically I could run around 18:50s, but to how I have been feeling lately as slow as 21 min flat. I had run 4 miles at night on a track at 6:55 pace but lately I had been feeling that I have had no speed control what so ever. So the trial began and I was rolling what I feel was around 6:30ish pace. I kept my self in check still fighting fatigue every now and then but nothing I would yield to. I knew from mapping out the course that once I hit a corner and made a right I had almost exactly half a mile left to finish. I pushed just a little harder maybe lasted for about a minute before slowing down just a bit. Finally I came to a spot where I knew there was a quarter mile left and I just pushed again but with about 200 meters left I was loosing steam. I made the last bend and saw my finish point and went a little hard to finish as if I was trying. I ended with a 20:25 3.02mile time trial. I was very disappointed. As I made the half way point I realized 18:50s was much to fast and aimed for 19:30s. That would have been exactly 6:30 per mile pace and I would have been pretty happy with that. I had not ran a distance that long that fast in a long time, however the 20:25 was too slow for how hard I have been working.
Although it was slow, I am glad I finally ran a time trial to see where I am at. I have been training for 14 weeks without any significant mark that would let me understand where my training is at. I will definitely use this time trial to help gauge where my tempo runs should be at and work at calibrating my inner speedometer and pedometer. I have already planned to do another 3 mile time trial next Wednesday so I can run it knowing the course as well as focusing on how fast I should be going and hopefully improve the time. This first time trial was a completely blind experience in regards to what pace I am capable of, what the distance covered feels and is like, and what my training has helped and lacks in speed. So in conclusion this is finding a victory within what I would consider a downer.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Reflections of a Runner
I have finally decided to start a blog about my running experience. I am in no way an accomplished runner. I have not ran any particularly fast times, nor have I been running for very long. I only ran one year in high school, one quarter in college, and then on and off several times the last five years. The most I am proud of is my love and passion for the sport. It has stuck with me since my senior year in high school and although I did not run consistently the last six years, I have followed the sport online, attended several track meets as a spectator, encouraged runners at my high school, and read several books and articles about training philosophies and the mechanics of running. Certainly nothing more then the average running enthusiast has done. But at this point in my running journey I feel I could benefit from further reflection of my own training, my philosophy of training, my feelings while enduring injury and set backs, and staying motivated through preparation for racing dates. One of the many reasons I ran on and off after my single quarter in college was due to injury and lack of motivation. It is very tough to run and train alone without having a partner to push and motivate you weekly, monthly, and yearly. I hope to use this blog as additional motivation to keep training and running throughout the rest of my life. I love how healthy it makes me feel but I think most of all, I love being part of the strong and passionate community of runners that share their stories and training with each other.
This blog will be mostly filled with my day to day reflections while training; What I felt like during my run, what I wanted to accomplish, what I was focused on, if there were any difficulties I noted, any pain or injuries that I felt starting, what the day was like, random thoughts I had during my run, what I feel I need to work on, what training I should add and look forward to, and finally what personal goals I hope to accomplish for future races and training.
This blog will be mostly filled with my day to day reflections while training; What I felt like during my run, what I wanted to accomplish, what I was focused on, if there were any difficulties I noted, any pain or injuries that I felt starting, what the day was like, random thoughts I had during my run, what I feel I need to work on, what training I should add and look forward to, and finally what personal goals I hope to accomplish for future races and training.
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