Wednesday, August 19, 2009

The week after the 30K plus

On Sat. I completed the 30K. At least the planned 30K. We ended up doing 19.3 miles in total. I can say that some of us (mostly me) complained about the extra .8 of a mile . . . a little bit. Mostly when it became clear when we were 8 miles away from the end of the route that we would be running almost a mile further.

This is my longest run since the marathon. Unlike my 15 mile run, there were no stomach cramps! The 15 mile run two weeks prior was very disappointing because I fell off-pace. This past Sat., I felt good and kept pace. I worried and thought about the stomach cramps a few times, but felt good. I tried to change what I eat. The night before went with pasta and then the morning before the run I woke up extra early and had a Peanut butter sandwich. I switched the GU for powerbar Gel. I also swapped the Cytromax for Nuun. No problems!

We ran at a 9:40 pace (due mostly to walking breaks). I'm not sure about the planned walking breaks. Last year in my training, I ran straight through and stopped only if necessary. Yet, last year I ended up injured so I'm up for anything.

The big key is that my knee is holding up. Both my knees were sore on Sat, but by Sunday they were getting better. Then by Monday morning there felt just as good as before the lone run. So on Monday night I did a 4 mile hill run and had a pace about 8:30. Tonight (Wed.) I went to the track and put in some Yasso 800s. I had a very busy week (had a speech on Wed) and got little sleep the prior two nights so I was very unsure of whether I would increase the number of 800s. I did 4 and 5 800s the prior two weeks. Today I ended up doing 6 800s (just what I had hoped to do). I ran them between 3:16 and 3:30. The first couple I ran a bit too fast (around the 3:16-3:20 mark). The last 4 800s I was between 3:26 and 3:30. It's a good workout.

Sometimes I just don't understand people. There is a group of Team in Trainers there every Wed night and they generally leave in a group (during my run). Some of them will cross the track, walking very slow, not paying attention, and leaving no room for runners to pass. I just don't get it. I almost ran into a lady today because she is fumbling around and changing her direction while she is walking across the track. One of her teammates had to tell her to watch out.

There also was a man who was at the track and he was running very fast. I was doing my 800s (about 7 min a mile pace or a bit less) and this guy was just going right by me. Impressive.

With my knee holding up, I am really excited for the marathon this year. I am starting to believe that I'll be able to complete my training injury free . . . while learning a lot about how to run.

My Yazzo 800s splits:












Split Time Distance Elevation Gain Elevation Loss Avg Speed





1 0:02:13 0.25 85 38 8:52





2 0:03:16 0.5 38 36 6:31





3 0:03:03 0.31 25 43 9:50





4 0:03:19 0.5 84 54 6:38





5 0:03:20 0.31 27 27 10:48





6 0:03:26 0.5 28 33 6:52





7 0:03:32 0.32 28 50 10:59





8 0:03:26 0.51 28 24 6:48





9 0:03:57 0.32 30 16 12:27





10 0:03:26 0.51 88 35 6:46





11 0:03:31 0.25 49 65 13:59





12 0:03:29 0.51 0 57 6:53





13 0:00:04 0.01 9 0 6:51





Summary 0:40:08 4.8 520 476 8:22







Looking at my splits, I really went out too fast in the 800s initially and that slowed down my cool-down period between the splits later on.

1 comment:

lifestudent said...

I used to train with a group and can confirm they are a pain ... both during and after the runs. It seems like when you are with a group you pay less attention to your surroundings and have a high liklihood of getting in the way of other runners. Oh well! I guess that is the joy of running on popular paths ...