AFCEA 5k Pre-race ramblings

What a weird training year I've had so far. I have run very infrequently and not very far this year. I ran a one mile indoor track race on February 1st, which is my first indoor track race of any kind. I clocked 6:17 and finished in the middle of the pack, which I think is fine for someone who had not trained very much. Since then I have taken an endurance swim class and am presently in week 6 of the T25 interval training program. I feel very fit, but I have no idea of my run fitness. I presently run 2 to 3 times a week, normally a track workout on Tuesday and Thursday with a treadmill interval session on Sunday or any other time I can fit it in. I've biked to work a few times since the weather has started to perk up.

So, I am going to take on the AFCEA 5k again this Sunday and am not sure what I am capable of. I want to perform well, but did not train like I did for the same race last year. I scanned my previous 5k race and know that I ofter start out the first mile around 20 secs faster than my average pace. Dare I tweak the formula? What if I forbid myself from running the first mile faster than 6:55 and try to negative split? We'll see. I am at a great weight right now only weighing 185 - 189. I think I may surprise myself.

Ahh… speedwork

I have been super casual about running since the National Marathon. I pretty much have just run when I felt like it which has caused me to take a few days off here and there. I have only put in 22 miles since the marathon and today was my first day of speed work.
I hit the WB&A trail for 3 intervals of 800m at my 5K pace (6:36/mi). I pretty much hit each interval with the first 800 at 3:18 followed by a 400m jog and a 3:09 800m, and a slightly off target 3:21 final 800. Given that I did not look at my watch and hit the splits on the mark using only my internal sense of pace paced on my judgment of what the 5K effort should feel like, I am very happy.
I am shooting for a 20:30 at the Armed Forces 5K in May and will be doing another Warrior Dash with my bro and his wife later that May. I should be in shape for some fast *for me) stuff.

Speedwork - Acquire the confidence

Speedwork is serious business. I set out today for some punishment, 5 x 1600m (1 mile) intervals at 5 seconds faster than 5K pace, followed immediately by 4 x 400m at 15 seconds faster than 5K pace. My planned for pace for the 5K will be 6:45/mile. The results now, analysis later:

Mile 1 - 6:34 (-11)

Mile 2 - 7:02 (+17)

Mile 3 - 7:00 (+15)

Mile 4 - 7:05 (+20)

Mile 5 - 7:11 (+26)

Average - 6:56/mile

400m intervals (paces in min/mi)

Interval 1 - 6:11

Interval 2 - 6:25

Interval 3 - 6:35

Interval 4 - 6:36

This workout was really anaerobic. I could feel the strain in muscles as if I were doing heavy squats or lunges. I believe that I held my form well: back straight, head held high, knees lifting, etc. I spent a lot of time trying to judge my pace. If I just take off thinking that I'll hold the pace for a mile I almost always am faster than a 6:40/mile pace, but I often need to rely on stride lengthening to rest mid-mile. I have always left myself with a considerable reserve of "kick" left to finish a mile, but have never used it (this should be a note for future workouts).

I wonder if these speed workouts for my 5K and the 10-miler have taught me to handle a faster pace for the mile. I have never done so much speedwork. If I train this Summer for a few 5Ks along with some marathon-specific training I am hopeful for a 3:20 marathon at MCM this Fall. The McMillan Running Calculator predicts a 3:19:51 marathon for me if I can get a 20:30 5K, which seems entirely possible given my current abilities.

I have two weeks until the Armed Forces 5K. I have 3 more speed sessions. I want to hit the mark in one of them. I have got to stop being afraid of working too hard to last the distance - I have enough training and strength. As I was told today in my mid-cycle review at my job. I have been selected to be senior leader I must acquire the confidence, no one can teach me to go to the next level, I am on my own.

Thursday Speed Workout (3 min fast, 3 min jog)

Speedwork is hard, but sometimes enjoyable. My buns and calves are feeling the workout even now 3 hours after the run. I ran 5 repeats of 3 minutes at a pace 20 seconds faster than your 5K pace, jogging for 3 minutes between each interval.

Intervals

• 0.47 mi - 6:22/mile
• 0.48 mi - 6:18/mile
• 0.45 mi - 6:36/mile
• 0.45 mi - 6:35/mile
• 0.45 mi - 6:36/mile

Total - 6.02 mi in 48.19

Tuesday Quality Workout (Ladder Workout)

Today's workout: Standard one mile warm up, ran 1 x 400/800/1600/800/400 super sets. Run 400 meters at 15 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace, 800 meters at 5K pace, 1600 meters at 10K pace, 800 meters at 5K pace and 400 meters at 15 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace with no rest in between. Jogged 800 meters to cool down.

I put the effort in on this workout during lunch at work. This was not your run of the mill lap around the track. I really felt tired at the end of the workout and had to put my hands on my knees and catch my breath. That to me is success. I don't often run to exhaustion and I recovered really quickly.

I need to learn my watch a little better. I don't have good data for the accuracy of my paces on the stages of the run, but the pace is a slight curve in the general range of my goal paces. The first 400 meters was definitely too fast - the first mile was in 6:37. The 10K pace (middle mile) was too slow and the final 1200 meters was also probably too slow, but the last 400 was right on the 6:30-ish pace I was going for.

Test 5K in 21:51 (7:01/mile)

Today's workout was a test 5K race to be run at my 10K pace. I plan to run the Armed Forces Week 5K in 4 weeks at a sub-21 minute goal time, which is a 6:45/mile pace. Most predictors think you lose 15 seconds off of your pace when going from 5K to 10K, so the goal pace today was 7:00/mile.

I decided to do this run on the treadmill and set the pace to 8.5 mph (7:03/mile). I ran a slow 1 mile warm-up and then started in. I actually thought of quitting on the run several times starting around 1200m. I was glad that I was on the treadmill because I had the visual stimuli to keep telling myself I just need to hold on for one more mile, or you can do another lap, or even you can manage any pain for 800m. The bottomline is that I made it and feel like I am on pace to get the time I was looking for. I let the last 0.1 mile go at 9.5 mph with plenty of kick left in my legs.

Good luck to everyone tomorrow running Boston. Hopefully I can join the qualifiers by 2012.

Friday 5K tempo run (1 mile warmup, 5K in 21:56, .9 mile cooldown)

Today's run was a test of my fitness. I wanted to run a fast-ish 5K race as the tempo phase of my 5 mile run. I ran a real leisurely mile at 9:13/mile pace then I set the treadmill for 8.5 mph (7:03/mile pace) and ran 3.1 miles (5K). I held the pace the whole time and had to fight myself not to "kick" the last half mile since this workout was supposed to be my easy run I missed on Thursday. I finished the remainder of the fifth mile with 6.5 mph setting to about 800 meters and 7 mph for the last half mile. Total: 5 miles - 39:08 - 7:50/mile pace.

This was nice confidence boost because I have rarely tried to run that fast for a sustained period and it actually felt kind of easy after my system stopped freaking out at 1 mile. Its funny that this speed thing really is about guts IMO. I have not been used to overcoming the freak out thing your body goes through when it is testing its thresholds, I suspect this is the same for everybody. Let me try an analogy with skiing. If you are a relatively new skier and you go to the top of your first blue square slope you'll see a hill that you can't walk up and would have to slide down. You would think, "I am going to fall if I ski that thing and it's going to hurt," but if you are prepared you won't fall. You will start to go fast down the hill and be scared. You will "freak out" but when it's time to make that first turn, you just make it like you did on the bunny slopes. Then you make the next turn and the next. Sometimes you will decide to slow down, but you realize that if you are in control at the higher rate of speed why should you slow down. It doesn't even feel appropriate. So, my point is that I have trained to be faster, I have done the work I can run faster if I choose to I just have to not let the freak out win.

Friday Easy Run 4 Miles (expected - 9:53 min/mi; actual - 8:26)

I really did not feel like running today, but I found the will to do it anyways. I put in 33:45 on the treadmill watching the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks stink it up for the first quarter - man, early season basketball is pretty bad.

I have got to start practicing myself as I plan on starting intramural hoops in early January and I haven't played since our loss in the semi-final last April. I'd like to come in a little more game ready this year so I can have little more offense.

Anyways, flag football's last regular season game is this Sunday so I can focus on the 5K and try to put in a good time there before the playoffs begin in December.

5 mile Tempo Run (expected: 3 mi @ 8:20, actual: 3 mi @ 7:30)

Today's training was a 3 mile tempo run with a 1 mile warm-up and a 1 mile cool-down. I had to do this run on the treadmill due to a miserable, wet, and cold day that had me busy visiting my children's teachers throughout the midday. I had just finished helping my oldest with his science project and went downstairs to run.

I knew I could run a good pace because I was well rested so I pushed the pace way beyond this crazy plan from the Runner's World Smart Coach. I ran my tempo run at 8:20 min/mi and ran the next .10 mile at an 9 mph pace for a 23:34 5K in the middle of a 5 mile run. The total time for this run was 41:37, an average pace of 8:19 min/mi.

Beginning my comeback

I have finally decided to resume my training in earnest. I want to run a 5K around the Thanksgiving holiday and have not run in the three weeks since my marathon, though I did play three flag football games. I used the Runner's World Smart Coach to sketch a training plan for me.


The plan today was to run four miles at slow 9:53 min/mi pace. I could not contain myself though and just ran finishing my neighborhood loop of 3.89 miles in 30:26, a 7:49 min/mi pace. I really don't like running on the roads at night because I don't have much shoulder to run on and am too tall to run for long stretches on the sidewalk because a branch will whack me in the face for sure. My wife bought me a reflective vest that should at least warn drivers that someone is on the road, but I think it may be too dangerous to keep this up and I must look for alternatives like running during the lunch hour at work. I don't plan on doing any more running on my treadmill than necessary.

Anyways, I plan on running at least a couple of 5Ks to prove to myself what kind of speed I have. I plan on getting my marathon time down to 3:30 next year and given my performances this year I have a lot of work to do. I'll be looking to run at least two marathons in 2010 and want to break 20 minutes in a 5K, 40 minutes in a 10K, and 1:40 in a half marathon. My current times are 46:21 in the 10K, 1:49:59 in the half-marathon, and 3:58:19 marathon. I have not raced a 5K in an organized race, but I have run 3.13 miles in 22:57 and 23:26 during training.

Overall the body feels good. My left knee felt a touch tight after the run and my lungs definitely felt the burn of the effort, but this went away shortly during and after the run.

The NYC Marathon this weekend was awesome. Congratulations to Meb and Tulu they really showed the class of great winners - supreme effort and respect for their sport and fellow competitors. Also inspirational is the book I am reading now The Perfect Mile the story of the three men who challenged themselves to break the four minute mile barrier in middle of the 20th century.

Happy running!

Pace groups - to fall back or sprint ahead

The Marathon Movie preview I just saw puts the DVD on my short list for Father's Day gifts.

I have been chatting with the members of the 3:50 Geico pace group on the Active.com Frederick Marathon forum. I think that I am going to start my race with them to ensure that I maintain the right pace up to mile 16 and test myself based on my strength at that point. The pacers have given me great food for thought that make me comfortable with the decision. Miles 16 - 22 of the Frederick marathon are really challenging according to the elevation chart, but I think that I've prepared myself well since I have often run elevation gains of 1000+ feet.

Tonight was beautiful weather in my town so I could not help but run outside and accidentally found myself trying to prove something about my 5K abilities. I ran 3.13 miles in 22:57 because my job is having a 5K the Wednesday after the marathon and I have not yet decided whether I want to run it. You see, alot of people at work know I am training for the marathon and I would not like it at all if I could not post a good 5K time. However, I am not sure my legs will permit me to impress if they've been zapped by the 26.2 I am going to race (not run) only 3 days earlier. Pride has got me twisted. If I don't run some people may not understand if I do run I may not look like a superstar (forget the fact that I may hurt myself - can you say stress fracture?). Seems like a simple problem, but I still don't know what to do.