Run - Walk Experiment continues

Since I had success using the run-walk 1 minute method for an 8 mile run, I decided to use it for today's 15 mile run. I downloaded a free app (Run-Walk Interval Timer) from Google Play which was easier to use than the previous one I had downloaded. I debated how I would tolerate the stopping and starting and to my surprise it was not a problem. The one minute intervals always seemed short for running and the walking intervals were long enough that I could drink and fully recover. So the result is I am still on track.

I should provide some back drop for those that will look at my times and wonder why I am so slow. My fastest marathon is 4 hours but I haven't broken 5 hours in 10+ years. The last sub 5 also was before my last knee surgery which was followed by a 20 lb weight increase which now is closer to 30. My focus instead turned towards running trails and finishing short to mid distance ultras. My theory was that as I added distance I would lose the weight and with the weight off I would get faster. It was a good theory that has been complicated with years of dealing with injuries. So this year is simply about getting my distance in without pushing hard especially on uneven surfaces (trails) which I hope will reduce my chances of injury. I also believe the run-walk method will reduce the stress on my legs as they get used to roads again, and at this point in time, I am pretty much injury free so it's working.

I am running the roads not the trails to avoid causing issues, once the snow melts I will run the trails as a few of the marathons are definitely off road. Here is the elevation profile, the route is in Rosemount and Eagan, basically I head from Rosemount via Diamond Path up Pilot Knob, down Cliff to Lexington to Wilderness to Dodd to Shannon Park.

I adhered to the run walk method regardless of going up or down hills, it was hard not to run down the hills and my ultra brain sure thought about walking up some of the hills. My plan was to run sub 13 minute pace which would be a 5 hr 40 minute marathon. Remember my goal is to finish uninjured, yes I want to go faster but first I need to have my legs fully back. I will admit that I do want to see at least 1 of the 12 marathons to be sub 5 but that will be weight, weather and day dependent. The overall pace was around 12 minute, 50 second pace and since this includes stoplights and stopping to get water bottles out of my nathan, I am having to admit that the run-walk method is working. I did struggle over the last 3 miles but I think that was as much related to the cold air, fueling that I did today. I am cutting back on gels and blocks as much as possible and am not using Heed or S-caps. I am using Nuun tablets but it seemed like after I ate some Clif Shot blocks my energy felt better. I also think part of my issue today is my legs adapting to the pounding of my weight on the pavement. 

I also have a pace (blue) versus heart rate (red) chart and it shows my heart rate never going to high but going up as the miles increased. I also can see that my recovery pace as shown by the lower HR average during the walking breaks trended up as well.

The higher spikes on pace were from messing with the Nathan, stop lights or my initial start.

So next week I will push the long run to 17 miles and use the same process. After that I will have just 2 more long runs before the first marathon. And after the first marathon no more long runs, just marathons.

An interesting run - walk - run experiment

I have tried many different ways to extend my long runs mostly through adding in walking breaks. On Sundays run I took a minute walking break every 5 minutes for the first 5 miles then I switched to time the walking break when the runkeeper app told me my distance and pace which happens every 5 minutes so effectively it was like 1 to 1 /2 minutes of walking to 3 1/2 to 4 minutes of running. My overall pace wasn't impressive but I had no issues getting in the distance so I figured it worked.

Anyway, during that run I listened to a podcast where the guy talked about using a gym boss timer which he sat to 1 minute of running and 1 minute of walking. I have heard Galloway talk about this approach and even decrease the interval to 30 seconds running and then 30 seconds of walking. I have never tried such short intervals but I thought it might be worth trying as I have heard Jeff Galloway talk about it often and it always seems to work for those he convinces to do it. Since I didn't want to buy a timer I went to Google Play and downloaded a timer for my phone.

So on today's run I went to the Big River Regional trail and decided to give it a try. I was amazed at how easy it was and much to my surprise, two things happened, I ran faster and I walked faster which led to faster mile time than I expected. My times are below and the only mile that is quite a bit different was the first one and that's because it took me a few minutes to get Runkeeper and the timer going on my phone as initially I didn't have the voice on for the timer and it's pretty hard to hear a timer inside of your coat when the voice isn't turned on, so I stopped and figured out how to turn it on. After that I waited to hear "rest" or "repetition x - workout", it was pretty mindless which led to the time passing quickly. You can also see the pace changes and again I was surprised at how consistent it looks.

Since it worked so good, next weekend I will try the shorter intervals on my long run and see how it goes. If nothing else it will keep my mind occupied in a different way although I am still not sure I like the idea of doing it during a marathon. Of course if it works, it might be worth doing even if I don't like it.

Back on track, maybe :-)

I had laid out a reasonable 10 week plan and all was going well until I returned from San Jose to below zero temps and a nasty cough last weekend. I had to abort my long run as I couldn't breathe in the cold air without causing an instant (not very pleasant) reaction, so that led me to re-juggle my schedule yet again and today I sloshed, slipped and even ran on occasion to get in a 13 mile run on an absolutely beautiful day. The temp hit the mid 40's, what a difference a week makes, now it just needs to continue to warm gradually to melt all of this snow and ice. I love spring.

So I am close to be being where I wanted to be I just consumed a weekend with a shorter long run, oh well, who needs a step back week. Anyway, here are the plans for my long runs over the next 7 weeks to get to my first marathon of the year:

I have built my mileage faster in the past but I had a better base and yes I was also in better shape. The good news is I have 6 hours to complete the marathon and I may need every minute.

One thing that I thought about today is how much I love running and pushing myself to get through longer distances, the other thing is that I didn't have any real pain during the run, just very wet and cold feet and legs that kept telling me, are you sure about this?

No calf pain on a run longer than 10 miles is a delight. I wore my New Balance 870's which have a 9 mm drop, I had bought the NB 870's hoping that the higher heel drop would help, they are a supportive shoe with a decent amount of space in the forefoot and for this run they worked out great. My only complaint is that they are so blue and I like my shoes to look dirty and with all of the water I ran through they still look like brand new shoes. I hate running in what look like new shoes, normally I will run into the woods and find some mud but there is still too much snow and no mud is visible, maybe next week I will get a chance.

You gotta have hope, the nice part is that spring is coming and within a month or so, I will have my wish and if we get lucky maybe in just a few weeks.

Bring on the rain and the mud, go away snow and ice, I know I can't wait!!!!!!!!

Winter Blahs - 10 weeks to my first Marathon of 2014

Well it happened again this year, I went into January with great expectations for my training and I was working to get into weekly routine, for the first 3 weeks, it was an ok but not a good routine, I got in all of 46 miles. For the next 4 weeks I have gotten in the grand total of 21 miles and 6 of those were running with Wayne last week.

So what happened, the normal and the not normal. The not normal was at the near the end of week 4 my back went south which led to a poor week 5. The back was better by week 6 but between the weather, work, robotics and an obvious lack of commitment, well,  I just haven't gotten my runs in.

So from here on most of my margin is gone and with my first marathon just a little under 10 weeks away, the time is now to get focused on sticking to my plan. So with maybe just a little room for adjustments, here is my planned weekly mile totals, you can see my long runs are either on Saturday or Sunday, the good news is once I get my training in for the first event, the rest of the events pretty much take care of themselves.

So for those that be wondering how I am going to ramp to this mileage, that is pretty simple, back on January 19th, I had gotten in a 9 mile run so you can see I am resuming from that point and ignoring the last 4 weeks, after all with my base being what it is (meaning not so good) I probably haven't lost a lot of training.

And as for the remainder of the year, in looking at the calendar, I will be able to keep it on cruise control with maybe the need to add a longish run in August.

The nice thing about taking the time to look at where I am, is that it gives me some time to consider what I want to do, although I am close to going beyond the point of no return, I still have time to get it together. The other nice thing about looking ahead is it allows me to think about what do I expect to accomplish this year. Is my goal to simply run all of the events or do I want to have a time goal. I have run marathons between 4 and 6 hours over the years but have not gotten under 5 hours since my last knee surgery back in 2003, I have also not trained very well or consistently nor worked to get the weight down either of which would make running faster easier. So a reasonable goal would be to simply get under 5 hours.

I had originally thought that I would push the pace at TCM but since I signed up for the Ultra Loony that might not be the race to do so, in looking at the calendar, my other options appear to be Grandmas or the St. Paul Urban Trail Marathon, of course my other option is to just take what I have on the day I run and let things take care of themselves.