Monday, January 14, 2008

Training Update

Wednesday 5.89 miles/56:04/9:32 average pace



Group run with Maritza and a new runner friend who happens to live in my apartment complex. She was telling us how she runs with the Nike training group and leads the 9:30 pace group. No coincidence that was our pace I guess! It was very fun to be out wtih the group again. The run felt easy- even the hills. Maritza did great and was chatting all the way up the hill like it was nothing.



Thursday I cross trained: 35 minutes elliptical trainer, plus 15 or so minutes weights at the gym. I did assisted pull ups and dips and then a bunch of crunches.



Friday 4.0/34:28/8:37 average pace



I took the day off to go to a few appointments and so I ran Friday afternoon near my house. There is a long gradual hill and I was surprised at my pace in that mile- 8:49. Then I flew back down with my last two miles at 8:18 and 8:03. Wowzers! It felt awesome to run fast and it felt pretty easy. Great run.



Saturday 11.0 miles/1:43:08/9:23 average pace



Late Saturday morning Zach and I drove over to the peninsula to do our long run at Crystal Springs Reservoir (aka Sawyer Camp Trail). It was a beautiful sunny day and there were lots of people out. It's not easy but it's definitely one of my favorite trails. It's slightly rolling for the first 4 miles then there is a long hill up to the top of the dam att the 5 mile mark. It's a tough hill but you get rewarded with a great view. I took a break at the top and ate a Gu then headed back down. Zach kept going up another hill to the 6 mile mark. I really cruised through the second half (mentally I mean, my pace was still slow) and then added a bit on for a total of 11 miles. I was a little tired but not bad. My legs felt sore yesterday all over but nothing specific. They feel better today but I put off my 3 mile run until after work for a few extra hours of recovery (ok, mostly just because I wanted to sleep in this morning).



TOTAL miles 23.9
PLUS 1600 m swim

I'm going for about 27-30 miles this coming week. I have two weeks until I begin a 12 week training plan for Boston, so I'll build my mileage a little to prepare. I am doing the Pfitzinger schedule again, but I'm altering it a little. Basically I am only going to run 4 days a week, so I cut one run off each week. I tried not to cut key workouts, so the intensity will not really be affected, just the total volume. I don't want to risk overtraining or injury again, and I need to work on my swimming and biking.

On the healthy eating/diet front- I had a very successful week and avoided all kinds of delicious terrible-for-you food, and drank only a single beer. As of last Friday, I have lost 6.5 lbs! :) I am feeling really good and will keep on the "diet" for another couple weeks. Then I will be running more and will need to be eating more, so I will focus on maintaining and getting stronger.

Have a great week everyone!

8 comments:

Zach said...

Good work on the long run this weekend and thanks for keeping me company on the first part.

Anonymous said...

Enjoy the next two weeks before training begins!

Michele said...

I was cutting back on my Pfitzinger schedule too then I just decided to go with FIRST for these last few weeks before my marathon.

Great job on the workouts. Skinny and fast, some people have it all ;)

SavvyFitChica said...

Congrats on such a great week. You accomplished so much with your running and your diet! Good for you!
Killer splits!
Kelsalynn

jahowie said...

Great job on the long run!! Your splits are very good. Keep up the good work.

Gotta Run..... said...

Way to drop the pounds!! Passing up food favs can be hard but you proved to be stronger.

From looking at your pace numbers i would say that the 9:30 pace group that you ran with is a bit slower that you really are. You seem to be closer to a 9:00 or less on the average. Still, it is always great to have company every now and then.

Boston... here you come!

ShirleyPerly said...

Hey, your plan sounds much like mine, Pfitz 12-week with only 4 days of running plus biking & swimming. Best of luck training and great job on the diet!

Ewen said...

How can you last a week on one beer?!

The four run sessions per week should work if you have biking and swim sessions on some of the other days. Sounds a bit like the FIRST program.

I hope it goes well - April is not far away.