I haven't been posting that much because my computer is acting up again - I've lost my drivers for sound and I can't download any pictures - I'm going to have to do a complete overhaul on it but really don't want to take the time or spend the money on it right now - so I've just left the computer sitting on my desk running at about 60%.
Other than not being able to post pictures to my blog, I have been running quite a bit. I'm currently at 120 miles for the month and on-pace to finish this month at about 140 miles. My 5k race (the first race this year)) is in a week, and I'm starting to look forward to racing again. I don't have very high goals for this race other than to just enjoy myself. Cycling on my off days is really helping me get my conditioning back quick - I feel pretty good running after a cycling day. I'm currently on a 11-day streak right now, and I feel pretty strong so I'm pleased with my progress this month.
Goal wise for my race next week, I've been kind of wishy-washy on. I'm really not too sure what to set for myself. I've thought about it quite a bit because I hate going into a race without any specific targets. So this morning I decided to take a look at some of my past 5k training runs:
6.26.2010 Run 3.1 Mile - Tempo 3.1 Mi - 28:59 / 9:21
6.24.2010 Run 3.1 Mile - Easy 3.1 Mi - 31:11 / 10:04
6.21.2010 Run 3.1 Mile - Easy 3.1 Mi - 30:30 / 9:51
6.7.2010 Run 3.19 Mile - Easy 3.19 Mi - 31:43 / 9:57
4.25.2010 Run 3.1 Mile - Easy 3.1 Mi - 29:29 / 9:31
4.7.2010 Run 3.1 Mile - Easy 3.1 Mi - 29:20 / 9:28
Looking at this I think I can set up the following:
Goal A : Run a sub 28:30 min
Goal B : Run a sub 29 min
Goal C : Run a sub 30 min
Last July 4th I ran this in 28:27 with some solid 80 mile months going into the race - this year I took off April and May basically but I did have a great June so I'm guessing I could have about the same results. BTW my PB for this distance? I ran on 12/30/09 - 28:04..... on this exact course by myself.
Keep Steppin'
Bob
Showing posts with label planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label planning. Show all posts
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Sliding into Half Marathon Training
Well my 10k is over and done with and I'm not going to take any time off - I have 8 weeks until the Half marathon and I'm diving right into training for it. Once again I'm going to set-up my own training schedule with a long run topping out at around 12 miles. I'm planning on having 6 weeks of solid training with 1-2 weeks taper time. Hopefully I'll max out at approx 30 miles per week.
During the run-up to my 10k I did set a consecutive day streak of 25-days that I'd barely mentioned. That 25-day streak was actually a yearly goal that I had set back in January so I'm very pleased with being able to set this. I broke the on-going streak totally by accident; some reason I had thought that I had run that day but I never got out the door. Interesting that my brain had thought I had run..... I'm currently on an 8-day streak ad feeling pretty good. My lower calves are still a little sore from my effort off the 10k but it's nothing I can't handle.
With the Half getting close now, I'm getting a little nervous. I know I'll enjoy the run itself but it's the training going up to it that has me a little uptight. Since this is my first in about 20 something years - I want to enjoy myself, but to do this I need to make sure I train without taking a week or two off like I did going into my 10k.
Today's run is going to be an easy 3-4 miler around the house before Abby get's home from school - I'm dropping Cade off at Maas' house around noon because Abby and I have soccer practice this afternoon before Beth gets home from work. With my warmup/cooldown and walking I should log about 5-6 miles for the day which is good for me right now. Saturday this week I'm going to try to sneek in a ride in the morning, and Sunday will be my long run (scheduled for 6.2 miles this week). Overall I'm expecting about 25 miles this week (before my biking), with the biking thrown in I'm hoping for a 35-40 mile week. We'll see where I'm at on Sunday.
P90x is going pretty good. Beth and I took a few days off going into my 10k, but we're back at it. I'm getting stronger it seems almost everyday fomr this program. I feel like my shoulders are getting wider and I have more defined muscle groups now. I'm noticing my legs, stomach, and arms now. Nothing is 'popping' out but I'm slowly getting there. Weight-wise I'm almost always under the 200 lbs mark and my lowest has been 196.5 which is about 6 lbs off since we've started the program.
Final note today comes from my logbook. Since I just set a new PR for my 10k distance, I was looking at my other PR's. I do have several standing that are over 3-4 months old but one particular sticks out and that's my 4 mile PR. I set it back in April of last year with a 10:31 average pace. I'm going to destroy this PR very soon (shoot maybe today.) After this the next oldest is my mile time of 8:15 that I set last September. I'm going to have to make a serious bid at breaking this sometime BEFORE my scheduled Half. To be honest, if I set a 4 mile PR this week - I'll squeeze in this attempt most likely during the first week in April. I think I could shave off about 5-10 seconds off this PR right now under the right circumstances.
Keep Steppin'
bob
During the run-up to my 10k I did set a consecutive day streak of 25-days that I'd barely mentioned. That 25-day streak was actually a yearly goal that I had set back in January so I'm very pleased with being able to set this. I broke the on-going streak totally by accident; some reason I had thought that I had run that day but I never got out the door. Interesting that my brain had thought I had run..... I'm currently on an 8-day streak ad feeling pretty good. My lower calves are still a little sore from my effort off the 10k but it's nothing I can't handle.
With the Half getting close now, I'm getting a little nervous. I know I'll enjoy the run itself but it's the training going up to it that has me a little uptight. Since this is my first in about 20 something years - I want to enjoy myself, but to do this I need to make sure I train without taking a week or two off like I did going into my 10k.
Today's run is going to be an easy 3-4 miler around the house before Abby get's home from school - I'm dropping Cade off at Maas' house around noon because Abby and I have soccer practice this afternoon before Beth gets home from work. With my warmup/cooldown and walking I should log about 5-6 miles for the day which is good for me right now. Saturday this week I'm going to try to sneek in a ride in the morning, and Sunday will be my long run (scheduled for 6.2 miles this week). Overall I'm expecting about 25 miles this week (before my biking), with the biking thrown in I'm hoping for a 35-40 mile week. We'll see where I'm at on Sunday.
P90x is going pretty good. Beth and I took a few days off going into my 10k, but we're back at it. I'm getting stronger it seems almost everyday fomr this program. I feel like my shoulders are getting wider and I have more defined muscle groups now. I'm noticing my legs, stomach, and arms now. Nothing is 'popping' out but I'm slowly getting there. Weight-wise I'm almost always under the 200 lbs mark and my lowest has been 196.5 which is about 6 lbs off since we've started the program.
Final note today comes from my logbook. Since I just set a new PR for my 10k distance, I was looking at my other PR's. I do have several standing that are over 3-4 months old but one particular sticks out and that's my 4 mile PR. I set it back in April of last year with a 10:31 average pace. I'm going to destroy this PR very soon (shoot maybe today.) After this the next oldest is my mile time of 8:15 that I set last September. I'm going to have to make a serious bid at breaking this sometime BEFORE my scheduled Half. To be honest, if I set a 4 mile PR this week - I'll squeeze in this attempt most likely during the first week in April. I think I could shave off about 5-10 seconds off this PR right now under the right circumstances.
Keep Steppin'
bob
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
A So Called Rest Day
So yesterday was a rest day for me. No I didn't break my streak (12 days now), I just took it really easy. A couple walks and an easy 2.3 mile run. Because I have put so many miles in for 2010 so far I wanted to take it really easy today but I didn't want to just sit on my butt. Once again we had beautiful weather so I got out the door for the 2 miler around 7:30 pm. With just a smattering of cloud cover, I did a VERY easy 9:50 pace. This is pretty much what I want for my easy paced runs right now. Just a tad under 10 min miles and I'll recover nicely.
This morning I woke with an upset stomach coupled with a pretty bad headache. I know I haven't written about my headaches before, but I suffer from them daily. I manage the pain pretty well and usually within 5 mins of waking I can tell how bad its going to be. I've done everything possible to have this condition checked out but about 10 years ago I decided that I'll always have them and I'll just deal with it. Most of the time I can just pop a few excedrine and I'm fine but every once in a while they just lay me out. I try not to complain to my wife because I'm sure she doesn't want to hear it, and there's nothing I can do about them so complaining won't help.
Anyway this morning I could tell right away that it was going to be a struggle, hopefully when I get my run in today, it will clear my head a little, but with the stomach ache on top of it I'm a little worried I'm comming down with a little bug. We'll see how I feel tomorrow.
Today the plan is to get in a 4 miler with Bogey at about the same pace as yesterday's run (9:50). That with the cool down and my walks to Abby's school should give me about 7 miles for the day which is exactly what I want. On Wednesday (tomorrow) I already know I won't have any kids in the morning so I'm planning a duplicate of my cycling distance from last week (27 miles). That ride took a lot out of my legs last week and I want to see a few things:
On my last post I mentioned that I was concerned about getting in a 'long' run and a trial 10k before my 10k training schedule kicks into play - well another blogger Casey who writes Running After Violet is doing a virtual 10k run on the 23rd of this month so I signed up for it. It fits my schedule pretty well and I'll still be able to get my attempt at 9-10 miles in this weekend. So I get the best of both worlds....... :) (BTW I don't think it's too late to sign up, come join us.) So the plan is to do a 27 mile bike ride tomorrow and a 9-10 miler this Saturday, then the following Satuday I'll be attempting a PB at the 10k distance..... Hmmmmm all the runs in-between are going to be VERY slow. On top of this, I'm looking at my PB's yesteday thinking it would be nice to attempt a new PB at the 2 mile distance....... Maybe I can work this in next month.
I almost forgot to welcome my new followers! Thank you for stopping by, leave comments, thoughts, questions - I'll most likely incorporate them into a post (or two).
Keep Steppin'
bob
This morning I woke with an upset stomach coupled with a pretty bad headache. I know I haven't written about my headaches before, but I suffer from them daily. I manage the pain pretty well and usually within 5 mins of waking I can tell how bad its going to be. I've done everything possible to have this condition checked out but about 10 years ago I decided that I'll always have them and I'll just deal with it. Most of the time I can just pop a few excedrine and I'm fine but every once in a while they just lay me out. I try not to complain to my wife because I'm sure she doesn't want to hear it, and there's nothing I can do about them so complaining won't help.
Anyway this morning I could tell right away that it was going to be a struggle, hopefully when I get my run in today, it will clear my head a little, but with the stomach ache on top of it I'm a little worried I'm comming down with a little bug. We'll see how I feel tomorrow.
Today the plan is to get in a 4 miler with Bogey at about the same pace as yesterday's run (9:50). That with the cool down and my walks to Abby's school should give me about 7 miles for the day which is exactly what I want. On Wednesday (tomorrow) I already know I won't have any kids in the morning so I'm planning a duplicate of my cycling distance from last week (27 miles). That ride took a lot out of my legs last week and I want to see a few things:
- Thursday and Friday last week were pretty tough - can I recover a little faster this time?
- The ride itself was pretty rough on my quads, can I do this ride on back-to-back without my body crashing during the ride?
On my last post I mentioned that I was concerned about getting in a 'long' run and a trial 10k before my 10k training schedule kicks into play - well another blogger Casey who writes Running After Violet is doing a virtual 10k run on the 23rd of this month so I signed up for it. It fits my schedule pretty well and I'll still be able to get my attempt at 9-10 miles in this weekend. So I get the best of both worlds....... :) (BTW I don't think it's too late to sign up, come join us.) So the plan is to do a 27 mile bike ride tomorrow and a 9-10 miler this Saturday, then the following Satuday I'll be attempting a PB at the 10k distance..... Hmmmmm all the runs in-between are going to be VERY slow. On top of this, I'm looking at my PB's yesteday thinking it would be nice to attempt a new PB at the 2 mile distance....... Maybe I can work this in next month.
I almost forgot to welcome my new followers! Thank you for stopping by, leave comments, thoughts, questions - I'll most likely incorporate them into a post (or two).
Keep Steppin'
bob
Monday, December 28, 2009
Finishing the Year - and 'Other Stuff'
Well the year is almost over and tomorrow is my 2nd Annual Birthday Race (2nd ABHBLD 5k Run for short). (See this for last year's report). Even though I through out the challenge for people to join me tomorrow, I haven't been contacted by anyone that they will show up. Hmmmm I don't know if I should be depressed or ecstatic that I'll be first overall again this year. Last year I completed this in 30:45 missing my goal time of 30:30. So to set my goal I look a gander at my log and noticed that I've only run this particular course three times, two of these have been races:7/4/08 - 36:27 (RACE)
12/26/08 - 32:10 (TRAINING)
12/29/08 - 30:45 (RACE, last years' ABHBLD 5k Run)
Funny I haven't run this course this past year. I was going to run in on the 4th of July, but they changed that 5k course this past year. I didn't blog about that race but long story short, I thought I was going to run this course and didn't check the web site before I left. Beth brought the kids to the lower end of the 'old' course (closest to our house) while I went out for a warm up. I didn't know the course had changed until we took a left turn instead of a right turn. Poor Beth and the kids never saw me since they weren't on the course...... It took a while for me to live that one down. :)
Back to tomorrow's plan, I'm planning on running this after 8 pm tomorrow since I'll be playing golf, and then having a birthday dinner at my parents. I might try to squeeze it in after my golf game but I might not have the time to do that. I'm going to have to play it by ear, but that's ok since I'll be running alone.....
Race goal time is going to be a PB attempt to break 28:27 (9:11 pace) which ironically was set at that 4th of July race I mentioned above. Yesterday on a different course (slightly longer and steeper) I clocked a 9:13 pace over 3.19 miles so I think this is totally possible on this course. My stretch goal tomorrow is going to be a sub 28 mins. I really don't think I can do this because I haven't really trained for a sub 28 but physically I feel pretty good so I'm going to throw it out there as a stretch.
Naturally I'll post a race report so please stay tuned, I'll try to get it up within 24 hrs.
On to training - I basically took the week off. I'm not sure why I tend to take complete weeks off and I really want to change this tendency about my training this upcoming year. After tomorrow's race, I'm going into 10k training mode, with plans to up my mileage to 30 miles per week for the next 10-12 weeks. The 10k I'm planning to sign up for will be Newport's Spirit Run in late March. So far I don't have a race goal, but I'll set that after the New Year.
Keep Steppin'
Bob
Friday, December 18, 2009
800 Miles in a Wimper
Not exactly what I had planned for my 800th mile for the year, but I'll take it. Walking the girls to school this morning I clicked over 800 mile mark. No fireworks, no really good story, shoot Cade just wanted to get home so he could go pee. Still I'm happy that I reached this goal this year.
Since the year is coming to a close, I've come up with my goals for next year. Without further ado:
1. Run my first half marathon on Memorial Day. Sub 2:15:00 race goal.
2. Run a 10k in March - Sub 60:00 min race goal.
3. Run/Cycle/Walk 900 miles - stretch goal 1000 miles.
4. Run a 5k race on 4th of July - sub 28:00 min race goal.
5. Consecutive day streak - 25 days.
6. Run a 'long run' of 10+ miles.
7. Run/Cycle/Walk 120 miles in one month.
8. Become much more consistent overall - (example: every month total mileage ie 40+) I don't want to have such wild swings off my average.
9. Get my weight below 185.
All of these would be PB's except #8 since I can't really track that.
There's a few other things I'm eyeing, like a few more races, and maybe even another half sometime next year but beyond what I'm listing, I think I should be good for the upcoming year. I just want to run injury free and enjoy myself, but at the same time push myself a little more this upcoming year and see if my mile times start coming down. This is my last year in the under 40 group so I want to make it count.
The other night I took Bogey out and we did 6.8 miles pretty easily. I actually ran up a few hills that I couldn't make it up earlier in the year. If fact one hill at the 6 mile mark I've never run up until this run, ad even though it hurt I still made it up with extra in my legs. So I'll take that as a win this week. Overall my pace was 10:05 per mile which was right in the middle of my target pace for a long run. Afterwards I could feel my legs were tired but not too bad. The following day (yesterday) I was sore but nothing I couldn't handle. I'm thinking sometime next week I'm going to shoot for a 8 mile distance for a PB to close out the year. That with my upcoming attempt at a 5k PB on my birthday should close out a good year.
Looking back, I didn't quite progress like I wanted to, but really it's tough when I haven't been consistent like I wanted. Below is a graph out of my log book - it's my overall monthly mileage for the last 24 months. You can see what I'm talking about regarding consistency.
Really What I'd like to see is me 'beating' the mileage for the month that is 'dropping' off this chart. This will begin to start in March of next year. Until then I want to log over 40 miles in Jan and Feb to try to keep my average up. I'll post this again in July to show my progress. I'm putting stock into this metric for the upcoming year because I believe that if this graph does continue to climb my overall times will decrease. In fact I think I'll be in a better position (stronger) to start more tempo runs this upcoming year. If you notice the overall percentage of my tempo runs are almost nil. I did that on purpose because I wanted to spend the last two years building a solid foundation, lose weight, and make running a part of my life again. 2010 has always been my goal year in regards to distance and speed. I'll just have to see how it plays out.
Another graph I wanted to share that I look at quite a bit recently is my overall time spent running/walking/cycling - see below:
My goal here is to really have the whole 30 days over 1:00:00 or 30 hours of workout time for the month. Once again consistency this upcoming year is going to be important to me. I'll post this again in July for comparison.
Switching gears I wanted to once again take time to say Hello and Welcome to my new readers, and everyone who has started following me from FB. Thanks for taking the time and reading what I have to say. As long as I get more readers I'll continue to write about my progress - I might take time off here and there but I'll always be around. I'm starting to see quite a few more hits on this site which means to me that what I'm writing is either helpful, funny, or at least interesting. Thanks!
Keep Steppin'
Bob
Since the year is coming to a close, I've come up with my goals for next year. Without further ado:
1. Run my first half marathon on Memorial Day. Sub 2:15:00 race goal.
2. Run a 10k in March - Sub 60:00 min race goal.
3. Run/Cycle/Walk 900 miles - stretch goal 1000 miles.
4. Run a 5k race on 4th of July - sub 28:00 min race goal.
5. Consecutive day streak - 25 days.
6. Run a 'long run' of 10+ miles.
7. Run/Cycle/Walk 120 miles in one month.
8. Become much more consistent overall - (example: every month total mileage ie 40+) I don't want to have such wild swings off my average.
9. Get my weight below 185.
All of these would be PB's except #8 since I can't really track that.
There's a few other things I'm eyeing, like a few more races, and maybe even another half sometime next year but beyond what I'm listing, I think I should be good for the upcoming year. I just want to run injury free and enjoy myself, but at the same time push myself a little more this upcoming year and see if my mile times start coming down. This is my last year in the under 40 group so I want to make it count.
The other night I took Bogey out and we did 6.8 miles pretty easily. I actually ran up a few hills that I couldn't make it up earlier in the year. If fact one hill at the 6 mile mark I've never run up until this run, ad even though it hurt I still made it up with extra in my legs. So I'll take that as a win this week. Overall my pace was 10:05 per mile which was right in the middle of my target pace for a long run. Afterwards I could feel my legs were tired but not too bad. The following day (yesterday) I was sore but nothing I couldn't handle. I'm thinking sometime next week I'm going to shoot for a 8 mile distance for a PB to close out the year. That with my upcoming attempt at a 5k PB on my birthday should close out a good year.
Looking back, I didn't quite progress like I wanted to, but really it's tough when I haven't been consistent like I wanted. Below is a graph out of my log book - it's my overall monthly mileage for the last 24 months. You can see what I'm talking about regarding consistency.
Really What I'd like to see is me 'beating' the mileage for the month that is 'dropping' off this chart. This will begin to start in March of next year. Until then I want to log over 40 miles in Jan and Feb to try to keep my average up. I'll post this again in July to show my progress. I'm putting stock into this metric for the upcoming year because I believe that if this graph does continue to climb my overall times will decrease. In fact I think I'll be in a better position (stronger) to start more tempo runs this upcoming year. If you notice the overall percentage of my tempo runs are almost nil. I did that on purpose because I wanted to spend the last two years building a solid foundation, lose weight, and make running a part of my life again. 2010 has always been my goal year in regards to distance and speed. I'll just have to see how it plays out.
Another graph I wanted to share that I look at quite a bit recently is my overall time spent running/walking/cycling - see below:
My goal here is to really have the whole 30 days over 1:00:00 or 30 hours of workout time for the month. Once again consistency this upcoming year is going to be important to me. I'll post this again in July for comparison.
Switching gears I wanted to once again take time to say Hello and Welcome to my new readers, and everyone who has started following me from FB. Thanks for taking the time and reading what I have to say. As long as I get more readers I'll continue to write about my progress - I might take time off here and there but I'll always be around. I'm starting to see quite a few more hits on this site which means to me that what I'm writing is either helpful, funny, or at least interesting. Thanks!
Keep Steppin'
Bob
Monday, October 5, 2009
It's Been a Long Weekend.
I've had a pretty bad head cold since last Thursday. I'm not sure where it came from but I starting to feel better today. So because of the cold I didn't run either Saturday or Sunday and only did very minimal mileage on Thursday and Friday. Today I did get out this morning but the run was very difficult, I'm still having difficulty breathing through my nose, and my upper chest is a little congested still, but I'm going to try to get through the day without taking any medication.
Planning for Thanksgiving is going along well, with my PB in the mile the other day I'm leaning towards setting a PB goal for a 5k race then. I want to run a 2 miler sometime in the next week or so and see what pops up with that run then I'm going to set a time goal for the race.
My stocks last week took a pretty hard hit, but I'm working back this morning. The ISM Index report this morning was favorable so that helped us get off to a good start. FUQI is my big mover this morning up 1.46 at the time of this posting. Ten day high sits at 31 (current the stock is at 27.8) so I'm hoping for a larger jump in the next few days - I'm still being defensive overall until the Jobless Claims on Thursday come out. We really need to see this number turn - Got that Mr. President?
Keep Steppin'
Bob
Planning for Thanksgiving is going along well, with my PB in the mile the other day I'm leaning towards setting a PB goal for a 5k race then. I want to run a 2 miler sometime in the next week or so and see what pops up with that run then I'm going to set a time goal for the race.
My stocks last week took a pretty hard hit, but I'm working back this morning. The ISM Index report this morning was favorable so that helped us get off to a good start. FUQI is my big mover this morning up 1.46 at the time of this posting. Ten day high sits at 31 (current the stock is at 27.8) so I'm hoping for a larger jump in the next few days - I'm still being defensive overall until the Jobless Claims on Thursday come out. We really need to see this number turn - Got that Mr. President?
Keep Steppin'
Bob
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Nice Morning(s)
I'm starting to shift my running time to the mornings, the reasoning has to do with being home now. I walk Abby to school and then take Cade out for a nice run in the stroller. I've already mentioned that I'm still getting used to running with a stroller, but in the long run it should help me.Yesterday's run was a (very) short but it's so nice being out at that time (8:00 am). When I'm out running, all I think about is that last year I'd be stuck in some stupid meeting trying to figure out how to make someone else money just to keep my job. Now I'm enjoying time spent with my son as I try to figure out which researched stocks I need to buy/sell for the day. Less than an hour later I'm making those changes and I'm dictating HOW I'm making money. Now you have to realize that I'm also spending 2-4 hours daily just researching stocks, and another 1-2 hours listening to analysis discuss stock plays. During this time I'm also checking my inventory for interday trades trying to make sure I don't miss anything that might make me some money or I'm taking an on-line class about day trading or how to use my desktop platform. I still have a long way to go and I'm just barely scratching the surface with my knowledge on the subject, but I'm starting to make some money now so that's encouraging.
I'm planning on keeping my evening running in place 3-4 days a week though. Hey I have to keep my running partner happy (see above) Can you believe he's 9 months old now? And he doesn't have any problem keeping up with me on a 4 miler. The evening runs will be longer and quicker pace - these runs are still 'my time' so I want to keep them going.
The morning running is really helping me put some focus on my morning planning - it forces me to evaluate my decisions BEFORE I go make any changes. That way when I choose actions I'm sure I'm doing the right thing.
Today's run was difficult not because of the weather or my conditioning; it's just pushing the running stroller. I know once I get used to it, it will help me in the long run but man it's tough! On top of pushing, Cade wouldn't stop talking - asking questions........ And anyone who has kids that are about three know when they ask a question (about a million in 30 seconds) and you give an answer then NEVER hear it the first time - SO they ask you again. So here I am gasping telling Cade that "Yes, the house is in that direction, and Yes we are going away from the house." Sigh.......Hopefully I'll get a nice run in tonight.
NOTE: WLP had a nice pullback this morning - still in an upwards trend. Good chance to get into the stock. Also take a look at DVN (I think I've mentioned this already - Natural gas play) and PALM. PALM is having its having it's earnings report tomorrow after the market closes, I think they are going to report earnings better than expectations.
Keep Steppin'
Bob
Monday, May 4, 2009
Month End April 2009
Well I kind of puttered out again at the end of this month. I must have an mental aversion in reaching 100 mines in a month. 97.5 was my miles logged.... A PB (but I didn't break the mythical 100 like I was hoping to.) After Friday came and went I was in a funk - mentally I didn't want to run because I knew I missed that 100 mile goal again. Isn't it funny how you 'play' mind games with yourself without really realizing it?
Still this past month was very good to me. I hit several PB (See the sidebar) and overall felt really strong physically and mentally up until the final days of the month. I've taken three days off now and feel ready to start this month. The 27th I'm planning to run my first official race of the year so I have about 3 weeks of hard training to put in - then I'll scale it back a little just so I'm sure my legs are fresh before the race. I'm not concerned about my conditioning, and I fully expect to set a PB at this race.
Still this past month was very good to me. I hit several PB (See the sidebar) and overall felt really strong physically and mentally up until the final days of the month. I've taken three days off now and feel ready to start this month. The 27th I'm planning to run my first official race of the year so I have about 3 weeks of hard training to put in - then I'll scale it back a little just so I'm sure my legs are fresh before the race. I'm not concerned about my conditioning, and I fully expect to set a PB at this race.
Goal wise, short term this month It's pretty thin. I want to hit 77 miles for the month and run a sub 30 min 5k in my race. I'm not going to 'tweak' either of these because I set them about 6 months ago and (hopefully) I'll accomplish both and I can look back over the past 6 months and feel good about my progress. Long term - I'm starting to look at late 2009 and early 2010. Pace wise I'm hoping to be in the mid to high 8 min mile pace for a 5k distance at that point. If I can do that I'll start planning my first half mary at that point. Mileage wise - I'm thinking I top out at around 130-140 miles per month. Beyond that I really don't have much more time in the day. I see some early runs on the weekends - I'll have to give up my 'sleeping in time.'
Keep Steppin'
Bob
Monday, April 13, 2009
I'm a wuss....
OK I didn't even attempt the 7 miles yesterday, but I did get out and logged a couple miles with Bogey. Too much going on and too much good food.
Still I've had a couple of very good weeks and can't hang my head because I didn't get this run in. As I mentioned in my last post I was concerned of the the distance, and I'm thinking I'm not quite ready mentally to handle that. I'm guessing in the net few weeks I'll be making the attempt though. Physically, I'm basically ready - and actually I most likely could struggle out a 10 miler without too much pain, but mentally I'm not quite there.
This week I'm planning about 25 miles total - legs feel strong, and even though I'm 16 days into a streak I'm surprised that my body feels so good. Thursday will be my 20th day in-a-row and that will be a completed goal for me so I'm eyeing this pretty closely at this point. Will I extend this streak? I'm not quite sure at this point, I'm guessing that I will but I'm not planning anything beyond Thursday at this point.
Hopefully I'll get some cycling miles in this week - it's already been a couple of weeks since I rode last so I'm itching to get in the saddle again. I'm really tossing around (in my head still) about doing a biathlons after a half mary next year. First I have to do a 10k this year though.
Keep Steppin'
Bob
Still I've had a couple of very good weeks and can't hang my head because I didn't get this run in. As I mentioned in my last post I was concerned of the the distance, and I'm thinking I'm not quite ready mentally to handle that. I'm guessing in the net few weeks I'll be making the attempt though. Physically, I'm basically ready - and actually I most likely could struggle out a 10 miler without too much pain, but mentally I'm not quite there.
This week I'm planning about 25 miles total - legs feel strong, and even though I'm 16 days into a streak I'm surprised that my body feels so good. Thursday will be my 20th day in-a-row and that will be a completed goal for me so I'm eyeing this pretty closely at this point. Will I extend this streak? I'm not quite sure at this point, I'm guessing that I will but I'm not planning anything beyond Thursday at this point.
Hopefully I'll get some cycling miles in this week - it's already been a couple of weeks since I rode last so I'm itching to get in the saddle again. I'm really tossing around (in my head still) about doing a biathlons after a half mary next year. First I have to do a 10k this year though.
Keep Steppin'
Bob
Monday, April 6, 2009
Mile PB (and a few other things...)
This weekend was pretty good for me. Saturday I did go into work for a few hours to get caught up on some paperwork, but other than that it was good. Late Saturday afternoon I went out for a walk with Bogey and then decided to put in a quick mile by myself. 8:44 later I had a PB by :08 seconds. Really I didn't try that hard to set a PB - I didn't give any prior thought in attempting this other than I felt good and lets 'put the pedal down' today. Looking back in my log; my old PB of 8:52 I set on this course in August of last year so I was happy to see that disappear off my sidebar here. (Progress is always good).
Beyond that - since taking that week off in March I'm now working on a 10-day running streak. 20 miles in the past 7-days and 88 miles in the last 30-days. I'm on a roll right now, with little (if no) discomfort in my body. If fact yesterday's mileage of 4-miles (total) was the first time I've struggled in a run recently. With with my lower legs wanting to shut down - I was still able to complete my run in decent time using a decent effort, so I'm very pleased with my results and overall improvement.
Along with yesterday's PB; that makes four new PB's in the past 30 days. It's obvious that I'm hitting a peak in my training right now, so I'll have to remember this when I start coming off of this high. Keeping that in mind I thought it was a good time to start planning my next 'phase' of training. Since July of last year - I've basically been working on getting my base mileage up to about 20-25 miles per week and in a few months, (If I'm constant) I'll be able to say I've reached that goal and have would have held this mileage for approx 10-weeks. Armed with this information, I've decided to launch myself into a 12-week 10k program that will end right before the 4th of July. During that program I'll race twice: Memorial Day (5k) and 4th of July (10k). My goal for the 5k will be to run a sub 30 min race, and for the 10k - since it will be my first? Just having fun. I'm sure I'll set a goal time here, (1:04:11 is my PB right now) but that's still a ways off. Beyond this, I'm tossing around the idea of a half next year for Memorial Day - but I'm hoping to throw in a few other races before the end of the year first.
Oh - I almost forgot: I try to welcome all of my stalkers - I mean "Followers" here. Thank you for signing up and actually reading this stuff. I try to keep it interesting and I do welcome your comments (I read them all ;) )
Keep Steppin'
Bob
Beyond that - since taking that week off in March I'm now working on a 10-day running streak. 20 miles in the past 7-days and 88 miles in the last 30-days. I'm on a roll right now, with little (if no) discomfort in my body. If fact yesterday's mileage of 4-miles (total) was the first time I've struggled in a run recently. With with my lower legs wanting to shut down - I was still able to complete my run in decent time using a decent effort, so I'm very pleased with my results and overall improvement.
Along with yesterday's PB; that makes four new PB's in the past 30 days. It's obvious that I'm hitting a peak in my training right now, so I'll have to remember this when I start coming off of this high. Keeping that in mind I thought it was a good time to start planning my next 'phase' of training. Since July of last year - I've basically been working on getting my base mileage up to about 20-25 miles per week and in a few months, (If I'm constant) I'll be able to say I've reached that goal and have would have held this mileage for approx 10-weeks. Armed with this information, I've decided to launch myself into a 12-week 10k program that will end right before the 4th of July. During that program I'll race twice: Memorial Day (5k) and 4th of July (10k). My goal for the 5k will be to run a sub 30 min race, and for the 10k - since it will be my first? Just having fun. I'm sure I'll set a goal time here, (1:04:11 is my PB right now) but that's still a ways off. Beyond this, I'm tossing around the idea of a half next year for Memorial Day - but I'm hoping to throw in a few other races before the end of the year first.
Oh - I almost forgot: I try to welcome all of my stalkers - I mean "Followers" here. Thank you for signing up and actually reading this stuff. I try to keep it interesting and I do welcome your comments (I read them all ;) )
Keep Steppin'
Bob
Monday, March 9, 2009
Another New Week
Last week went pretty well - I missed out on my run Saturday. But other than that it was a good week. I would have like to but in more miles under my belt (15.7) so I'm going to work on that this week.Sunday Beth talked me into going to see the doctor. I've have had heartburn and anxiety since before Christmas. The vacation helped, but the first week back in the office both symptoms returned. I got a good doctor - she prescribed more running, and a blood test. So that helped my anxiety levels almost right off. At least I didn't feel like an idiot. The blood test(s) are just some basic screens; I don't expect to see anything abnormal in them.
Sunday afternoon following the doctor's orders - I stepped out and ran a 10k. I finished in 1:04:11 which was a PB for me. I felt pretty good and relaxed throughout the run. Today my legs are just a tiny bit sore though. Considering I normally don't do that kind of distance I was pleased with my effort and results. Hopefully I can find this kind of time to run this more often without Beth killing me.
Plan this week is to get in about 22-23 miles +softball. I'm putting it down for my readers so I can be held accountable.
Keep Steppin'
Bob
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Updated Goals!
I've updated my goals on my sidebar, Nothing spectacular just added Jan 09. Near the end of the year I'll be setting some long term goals so I can start eyeing my long-term aspirations. For the racing year, I'm eyeballing a 5k run in March 09 as my next race - beyond that will be another 5k in May 09. For July 4th next year I'm thinking I'll do a 10k instead or my normal 5k, and begin prepping myself for the 1/2 in May 2010.
Keep Steppin'
Bob
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