A new pace

"To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act." - Anatole France

As important as strides during Tuesday workouts have been to teaching leg turnover and developing lactic acid tolerance, my Thursday workouts are the ones so far that have pushed me to really dig deep and challenge myself.

For the past 4 Thursdays, I've been doing "pace booster" runs where I warmup and cooldown at a modest effort. But sandwiched in between have been uptempo runs of progressively longer runs. For instance, yesterday's workout included 40 minutes at half marathon pace, twice the time when I started the program.

The program bases paces for the different workouts after using a running calculator, which predicts finishing times based on race times and adequate training. For instance, I used my finishing time from a 10K race last summer to find what my marathon time should be if I did the proper training. My most recent marathon, in January, came within seconds of that predicted finish time.

Instead of continuing to train at paces that would yield the same result, I punched numbers into the calculator to find training paces for my goal marathon time. That means I'm running my workouts at paces faster than ever before. So far, so good. To build in a little more recovery, though, I've used Fridays as a pure recovery day - no training - in advance of my long runs on Saturdays.

On an unrelated note, the Lake Agassiz Pacers will be hosting the St. Patrick's Day 5K in downtown Fargo tomorrow. If you're interested and haven't signed up, visit LAP's Web site for the details.

Posted by: RunningSpud on 3/12/2010 at 7:17 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Tags: running

The final strides

In hopes of avoiding a repeat of yesterday morning, I went to bed early last night to make sure I'd be able to have a strong workout today. Well, seems like I made the same mistake again, pressing the off button for the alarm instead of snooze.

But, like Monday, I woke up about an hour later, and considering the time, still had enough buffer to give me time for my stride workout today.

Overall, the workout takes just more than an hour and aims to build leg turnover and develop some lactic acid resistance. My goal for the stride workout is to warmup with an easy run for 20 to 30 minutes, then perform 10 "strides" of 20 seconds each. The strides are near full effort, and a 1-minute recovery jog separates them. Then I finish off the run with another 20 to 30 minutes at an easy pace.

So far, these workouts have gone well, and my marathon program calls for one more stride workout before implementing some other types of training. What really has me excited is the upcoming hill workouts, which will get me back to running in the country and provide a change of scenery.

Posted by: RunningSpud on 3/09/2010 at 12:45 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink

Tags: running

Getting past today

The early wakeup call today didn't do me any favors. In fact, I made the mistake of hitting snooze a couple times, stretching and telling myself that I'd get up in a moment.

Well, that moment turned into about an hour, and I missed running with my friends. Still, Riley and I headed out through the misty fog for nearly 6 miles.

It turned into a pretty lousy run - just proof that everyone has one every now and then - and just about everything that could go wrong did.

My thoughts turned to a comment that I've heard others say: There's no such thing as a bad run. Well, in a way, it's true, so I've already set my sights on tomorrow's stride workout.

Posted by: RunningSpud on 3/08/2010 at 1:49 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Tags: running

Another new workout

Things have been a little hectic lately, which explains why the blog hasn't seen it's usual daily postings. But I'm hoping to change that, especially since so much has been going on with my running.

More than anything, my latest training program has been building my confidence as a runner. So far, strides and steady state runs - sustained intense segments within a workout - have acted like building blocks to what's to come. As each workout started, I've felt a little doubt that I would be able to run the prescribed paces for the planned distance.

I'll explain my stride workout in more detail soon, because I've come to really enjoy doing them.

On Saturday, I finished another workout new to me: A 90-minute progression run. The run, broken into thirds, calls for 30-minute segments. Each segment gets faster than the previous, so the final 30 minutes is run at half marathon pace. It may not sound difficult, but the fast segment comes after an hour of running.

It's been an interesting journey the past 4 weeks of my marathon program and as each tough workout is completed, I find myself eager for more.

Posted by: RunningSpud on 3/07/2010 at 3:14 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Tags: running

A few more strides

"Even with the best of maps and instruments, we can never fully chart our journeys." - Gail Pool

It's usually not easy to get up at 4:30 each morning, pull on some running clothes and shoes, and demand the body to run. The routine has become familiar, though, this winter as I set my sights on turning myself into a better runner.

And this morning, as I drifted in and out of sleep, it was a bit of a struggle to get motivated.

But once I was out of bed and downstairs in The Lab, I slipped on a pair of shoes. Each Tuesday and Thursday, my new training program calls for speed workouts. As in previous Tuesdays, the program called for strides - short 20-second bursts followed by slower running to give some recovery time.

It's amazing how much these stride workouts have paid dividends. The full workout - including a warmup, strides and cooldown - takes just more than 60 minutes, but I feel revitalized each time. If I'm not awake before the workout starts, there's no doubt that I'm wide awake afterward. And my legs feel great the rest of the day. They are becoming my favorite workout simply for the way I feel the rest of the day.

On Wednesday, Riley and I will join friends for an easy morning run, and I'll brace myself for another tough workout on Thursday: A "pace booster" run of 30 minutes, which will test my ability to run hard for an extended period, sandwiched between a good warmup and cooldown.

Posted by: RunningSpud on 3/02/2010 at 5:45 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink

Tags: running