I am looking forward to racing soon. It has been a long and sometimes frustrating road to get fit again. I have had quite a few good training sessions and am looking forward to testing the fitness out as well as getting some races in to get the legs ready to go fast. I had a nice tempo this week at 5:30 pace. It was a low-tempo effort and I was surprised at how well I felt. The speed work is paying off and the short hill repeats have given me more speed than I expected to have at this point in the training. There is a winter series coming up here in Denver, and I will register for those races to get a feel of how I am doing before next year's track season starts up.
Right now it is all about consistency and a gradual build. I feel strong, the legs are healthy, and the hardest thing I am going to have to battle in the near future is the weather. We got over 2' of fresh snow yesterday. I'm going to throw the snowshoes on today and take Guinness out for a run. Should be fun!
Finch
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Good Times
I don't know why, but I continue to find it amazing that I am able to run reasonably fast after some training. I know that is how it works, but I had been dealing with injuries, lack of motivation, etc, for quite awhile, and now it has been nice to train, and train hard. Tuesday I did 11miles at lunch, out to Wash park, around, and back. I was cruising under 6:30 pace for the entire run. Real easy, and smooth. I hit 8 yesterday in the freezing rain at around 7 min pace. Today was on the treadmill where I did 4x400 at 72, 1xmile at 5:30, 2x400 at 72. Got in 7 miles. The legs are tired, but the workout was pretty relaxed. The treadmill only goes 72/400 pace so that is what I have to deal with right now. I have been adding in some strides and that is making 72/400 feel very very easy. I still don't have a lot of endurance to hold a fast pace like that for over 1 mile, but the 5:30 in the middle of the workout was reasonably comfortable. My legs were tired, and it was good to get some more work in. I have been feeling fasater and more comfortable each week. The training is paying off. :)
Finch
Finch
Monday, October 19, 2009
San Diego
I had a good run down in San Diego when I was there this weekend. Ran up the Bernardo Mountain Summit Trail. It was a beautiful view from the top and had a little sign-in book. Left a small note, appreciated the view, and was off down the mountain. It was 90 something degrees, so that was a bit difference, but I was surprised to find out that I could climb well. I have not been climbing at all, but I have been puting in a good amount of speedwork . It was nice to have good fitness and be able to hit a long hill hard and finish strong. That has been missing for quite a while. I tried to find a race while I was out there, but no luck. Just walking events over the weekend.
Back up to altitude, and back to training. Should be nice. I had a problem in my hamstring last week while doing some short hill repeats and I can still feel it. I will make sure I am watching that while building back up in the speed. I have felt good doing repeats under 5 min pace, tempos around 530 and some solid long runs. It is feeling like the fitness is coming back! Finally!
Finch
Back up to altitude, and back to training. Should be nice. I had a problem in my hamstring last week while doing some short hill repeats and I can still feel it. I will make sure I am watching that while building back up in the speed. I have felt good doing repeats under 5 min pace, tempos around 530 and some solid long runs. It is feeling like the fitness is coming back! Finally!
Finch
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Coming Together
I have been running more consistently. I need be more consistent on the weekends and then I think that I will be going pretty well! I have been running every Monday with Peter Vail, and we talk about life and running. He was right in what he said a couple weeks ago. Just keep running, going to the fast Niketown run, and getting in some workouts. The motivation will most likely follow the effort. I am excited to be more motivated than I have felt in a long time. I have been doing a longer tempo run each week (6ish) and then hitting the 400m repeats. They have come along nicely as well. I do 8-12 at 72secs. That is as fast as the treadmill will go and that is what I have to work with at lunch. Probably putting in 50-60 miles in a good week and take 10 or so off when I suck on the weekends (more often than not). All in all, it has been fun. 6 min pace was easy the other day, and that has been a long time coming. I will do some racing this winter, and then get ready for Westmont's new track facility opening. I would like to race a mile and then maybe a steeple or 5k. So, I will be running. It is nice to have some fitness back!
Finch
Finch
Friday, September 25, 2009
Enjoying Running
I have really been enjoying my runs lately. I started up with the running group at the downtown Nike Town, and they are quite fast. We have run 10miles in an hour, and then 5.5 last week in under 30. That was really moving for me right now, but shows that there is some speed/endurance in the legs despite not focussing on training. I would like to say it is easy to get out there each day and make the necessary sacrifices to become "fast" again, but it is not. I still am lacking motivation and some commitment. The biggest difference since I joined the running group has been that I have enjoyed my runs a lot more. I have something to work for and I think that may lead to wanting to sacrifice some things to run faster. I think the cooler weather has helped out a lot and I am actually looking forward to the winter. Weird!
We have been out hunting with Guinness a lot this year, and I am looking forward to phaesant season. He should learn a lot this year on wild birds and the goal is to have him steady on his point by the end of winter. I will go home today and run with him after work. I love running with him, but he has gotten so confident and just takes off. I think he knows where I am at all times, but I have no clue where he is. That does not usually work out here in suburbia. Adrienne and I have really been thinking about building a log home in the hills. It better suits our passions and lifestyle, so we will see how that turns out.
There is a cross country race in Lakewood next Tuesday that I might jump in. I don't have too much speed yet, but why not go out and race. I am sure a good butt kicking will get me more motivated. I still do not like losing. That will probably never change. It should be a good time.
Finch
We have been out hunting with Guinness a lot this year, and I am looking forward to phaesant season. He should learn a lot this year on wild birds and the goal is to have him steady on his point by the end of winter. I will go home today and run with him after work. I love running with him, but he has gotten so confident and just takes off. I think he knows where I am at all times, but I have no clue where he is. That does not usually work out here in suburbia. Adrienne and I have really been thinking about building a log home in the hills. It better suits our passions and lifestyle, so we will see how that turns out.
There is a cross country race in Lakewood next Tuesday that I might jump in. I don't have too much speed yet, but why not go out and race. I am sure a good butt kicking will get me more motivated. I still do not like losing. That will probably never change. It should be a good time.
Finch
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Too Long
It has been awhile since I have posted. It is not that I have been lazy, or not running; just that there has been nothing noteworty to write about. I started training some speed again, and will just jump in some races here in a few weeks. I have never been one to be bored running, and I still am not bored, but it would be nice to have some goals and some test of my current ability. Amazingly I have not lost a lot of speed, just the ability to hold it for a prolonged period of time. I have no problem running 4:40 pace, just a problem holing it for more than a mile. So, I will do some tempos and repeats. Probably get in two good stress workouts a week, and supplement that with long runs and easy runs at lunch. I averaged around 30-40 miles a week over the past couple months. No focus, no ambitions, just good 'ol running.
I will look at what races are around in the next month or so, and sign on up. To the pain!
Finch
I will look at what races are around in the next month or so, and sign on up. To the pain!
Finch
Monday, June 8, 2009
Golden Gate Dirty Thirty
The race went well. I was a bit surprised how well it went, but then again, I didn't know what to expect.
Adrienne and I got up at 4:30 in the morning, ate a bit and made some coffee. Got our stuff together, loaded up Guinness, and headed out to Golden Gate Canyon State Park. The drive was nice, and we arrived at around 6:00. My race took off at 7 and Adrienne's at 8, so we had some time to get our stuff together, drop off my drop bag, and mill around for a short time. Come race time, I lined up and took off. I wore a Nathan backpack, and it was a good idea. It had all the nutrition I needed for the race packed in it, including, a Cliffbar (I will not bring this again), 12 Gu's, and 2 liters of Gatorade. The race started out and I thought, "What the hell, I'm going for broke." I decided then and there that I would do my best to win the thing, knowing that I would probably have to deal with a good amount of suffering. There were about 4 of us that took off up front, and we started climbing. We crossed this beautiful little creek about 10-11 times and each time was over a little log, or a quasi-bridge made out of fallen trees and branches. It was pretty neat. I was feeling the climbing already! I have noticed that I do not do well racing over 7000' and this race shot up above 8000'-8500' right away. I wore my HR monitor so that I had some accountability, but it didn't really matter. I was at 165 HR the whole first climb and I walked most of it. I let a few people go, and tried to keep the HR below 165. We finally crested the first climb and I took off down the hill. I looked down one time and was going 5:15 pace :) Needless to say, I caught the group quickly and decided to keep up the pace down the hills and pulled a little gap. We hit the next climb (around 2 miles long) and I walked/jogged most of it trying to keep the HR down. Two people caught me at the top of the hill, but then I pulled some distance on the next downhill. This was the strategy that I would keep for the rest of the day. There were many hills that I was walking up with a HR over 170!!!! Geeze! I was good on the nutrition taking a Gu about every 30-40 mins and keeping the hydration going. I was passed going up a hill around mile 8, and just kept true to my new strategy. We hit a very technical trail at about mile 10-12 and I went off trail many times. Interestingly enough, I came out of the trail in the lead. I guess the guy that passed me leading into the trail got lost worse than I did. I came to the drop bag check point (mile 17) in the lead and was feeling pretty good. I did not take anything from my drop back and just kept on going. There was an 1100' climb out of this aid station and I felt this hill. I started cramping a good amount while going up. First my quads, then my calves, and finally my hamstrings. I downed a Gu, and it took care of the cramping. I decided to slow my walking down up the hills and maintain a good pace on the flats and downs. I was passed at the top of the hill after the aid station and wished the guy good luck. He was climbing strong and I did not think that I could keep up for the remaining 10 miles. Surprisingly, around mile 22 I started feeling pretty good again. I was cruising at 7min pace on the flats and downs, running at around 160HR, and just walking the hills. I got to the final aid station somewhere around mile 25 and they said I was a few minutes behind. I thought, what the heck, I will keep the strategy and hit the downhills a little harder. You never know, right!?! I actually climbed the next hill fairly efficiently and started a screaming downhill!!! I was moving well and feeling smooth. Next thing I knew there was the finish line. The only problem, I had only run about 28 miles :( I missed a turnoff at the top of the last hill and missed the final climb. I headed back up the last mile I descended (around 800' gain)! and saw the trail I missed. I was hurting at this point. I decided to call it a day, disappointed, but also very pleased. It was a great learning experience, and a beautiful day. I was told that I was about 1 minute back right around the trail head that I missed. Either way I would have been happy with the finish. This was the first time I have run over 20 miles in as long as I can remember, and it was a pretty comfortable run. I think I will train specifically for the distance for awhile and see what I can do. If my aerobic fitness was a bit better, I think that I could have held a much more efficient pace up the hills. I still got in 30 good miles of running and over 12,000' of climbing with the addition of my detour. I have to look at my watch readout, but I was on pace for around 5:30. That is a long time running, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The hills took up most of that time, and the elevation was another nice challenge. I think I averaged 164HR! That was the biggest surprise of the day. I am on the edge of aerobic at this HR and probably a bit over the line, but it did not seem to have too much of a negative effect. I felt really good from mile 22 on, and with a bit different nutrition, I think I could have minimized or negated the cramping. I think the hills were the biggest culprit of the cramping, but some more electrolytes could have made the difference.
It was a great experience with a bummer of an ending. I was not too disappointed, but it would have been nice to see how the day would have ended had I taken the right path. I think I will have fun training for this distance and I think it is a good fit physiologically.
Adrienne ran a great 12 mile race with 5,000' of climbing! She took it out conservative, and ended up passing a lot of people over the second half of the race. She has only been training for 4-6 week consistently, and has come a long way. I have not seen her result yet, but she had a great time and is really loving the new challenge. She is training for a 50k in December, but we may find one before that. It is great to be able to train and race these races "together". It is fun to be able to relate to the highs and lows together as well. We are enjoying it quite a bit. I think it is great for Adrienne because she was a very competitive sprinter, jumper, and soccer player. It is great for her to have something new to be competitive in, set goals for, and to have fun doing. I am excited to see how far she is going to come and I know she is going to enjoy the journey!
Until next time...
~Finch
Adrienne and I got up at 4:30 in the morning, ate a bit and made some coffee. Got our stuff together, loaded up Guinness, and headed out to Golden Gate Canyon State Park. The drive was nice, and we arrived at around 6:00. My race took off at 7 and Adrienne's at 8, so we had some time to get our stuff together, drop off my drop bag, and mill around for a short time. Come race time, I lined up and took off. I wore a Nathan backpack, and it was a good idea. It had all the nutrition I needed for the race packed in it, including, a Cliffbar (I will not bring this again), 12 Gu's, and 2 liters of Gatorade. The race started out and I thought, "What the hell, I'm going for broke." I decided then and there that I would do my best to win the thing, knowing that I would probably have to deal with a good amount of suffering. There were about 4 of us that took off up front, and we started climbing. We crossed this beautiful little creek about 10-11 times and each time was over a little log, or a quasi-bridge made out of fallen trees and branches. It was pretty neat. I was feeling the climbing already! I have noticed that I do not do well racing over 7000' and this race shot up above 8000'-8500' right away. I wore my HR monitor so that I had some accountability, but it didn't really matter. I was at 165 HR the whole first climb and I walked most of it. I let a few people go, and tried to keep the HR below 165. We finally crested the first climb and I took off down the hill. I looked down one time and was going 5:15 pace :) Needless to say, I caught the group quickly and decided to keep up the pace down the hills and pulled a little gap. We hit the next climb (around 2 miles long) and I walked/jogged most of it trying to keep the HR down. Two people caught me at the top of the hill, but then I pulled some distance on the next downhill. This was the strategy that I would keep for the rest of the day. There were many hills that I was walking up with a HR over 170!!!! Geeze! I was good on the nutrition taking a Gu about every 30-40 mins and keeping the hydration going. I was passed going up a hill around mile 8, and just kept true to my new strategy. We hit a very technical trail at about mile 10-12 and I went off trail many times. Interestingly enough, I came out of the trail in the lead. I guess the guy that passed me leading into the trail got lost worse than I did. I came to the drop bag check point (mile 17) in the lead and was feeling pretty good. I did not take anything from my drop back and just kept on going. There was an 1100' climb out of this aid station and I felt this hill. I started cramping a good amount while going up. First my quads, then my calves, and finally my hamstrings. I downed a Gu, and it took care of the cramping. I decided to slow my walking down up the hills and maintain a good pace on the flats and downs. I was passed at the top of the hill after the aid station and wished the guy good luck. He was climbing strong and I did not think that I could keep up for the remaining 10 miles. Surprisingly, around mile 22 I started feeling pretty good again. I was cruising at 7min pace on the flats and downs, running at around 160HR, and just walking the hills. I got to the final aid station somewhere around mile 25 and they said I was a few minutes behind. I thought, what the heck, I will keep the strategy and hit the downhills a little harder. You never know, right!?! I actually climbed the next hill fairly efficiently and started a screaming downhill!!! I was moving well and feeling smooth. Next thing I knew there was the finish line. The only problem, I had only run about 28 miles :( I missed a turnoff at the top of the last hill and missed the final climb. I headed back up the last mile I descended (around 800' gain)! and saw the trail I missed. I was hurting at this point. I decided to call it a day, disappointed, but also very pleased. It was a great learning experience, and a beautiful day. I was told that I was about 1 minute back right around the trail head that I missed. Either way I would have been happy with the finish. This was the first time I have run over 20 miles in as long as I can remember, and it was a pretty comfortable run. I think I will train specifically for the distance for awhile and see what I can do. If my aerobic fitness was a bit better, I think that I could have held a much more efficient pace up the hills. I still got in 30 good miles of running and over 12,000' of climbing with the addition of my detour. I have to look at my watch readout, but I was on pace for around 5:30. That is a long time running, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The hills took up most of that time, and the elevation was another nice challenge. I think I averaged 164HR! That was the biggest surprise of the day. I am on the edge of aerobic at this HR and probably a bit over the line, but it did not seem to have too much of a negative effect. I felt really good from mile 22 on, and with a bit different nutrition, I think I could have minimized or negated the cramping. I think the hills were the biggest culprit of the cramping, but some more electrolytes could have made the difference.
It was a great experience with a bummer of an ending. I was not too disappointed, but it would have been nice to see how the day would have ended had I taken the right path. I think I will have fun training for this distance and I think it is a good fit physiologically.
Adrienne ran a great 12 mile race with 5,000' of climbing! She took it out conservative, and ended up passing a lot of people over the second half of the race. She has only been training for 4-6 week consistently, and has come a long way. I have not seen her result yet, but she had a great time and is really loving the new challenge. She is training for a 50k in December, but we may find one before that. It is great to be able to train and race these races "together". It is fun to be able to relate to the highs and lows together as well. We are enjoying it quite a bit. I think it is great for Adrienne because she was a very competitive sprinter, jumper, and soccer player. It is great for her to have something new to be competitive in, set goals for, and to have fun doing. I am excited to see how far she is going to come and I know she is going to enjoy the journey!
Until next time...
~Finch
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