Bobby Knight Says Have a Good Wednesdey Night

Bob Knight really has nothing to do with this, but you can't help but notice his pronunciation whenever he says a day of the week. The "a" in day magically becomes an "e" and Monday becomes Mondey. Next time you get a chance, listen to Bob say the days of the week. Who knows when that will be, but make a mental note of it. Maybe commenter Yasso or one of the anonymous commenters can dig up some good youtube of Bob Knight. Here's the best I can do. Check out "Wednesdey Night" around the 49 second mark. Go Mizzou, by the way.

***
This week is shaping up to be a bit different than planned. I ran the 7 mile run on Tuesday at an 8:17 pace on a goal of 8:20. This morning, I ran half of the 8 mile run. I will run the other half (4 miles) on Thursday. Then , on Friday I will run 10 miles with 8 of them in the 7:10-7:20 range. So it will be four days in a row, but the reduced mileage this week should make it manageable. Then we'll complete the week with the 10K on Sunday.

I am feeling a bit fatigued this week. I seem to be a little more tired than I have been and my legs don't have much spring to them. One factor is that I had four weeks in a row of increasing mileage. The last four weeks (in miles) looked like this: 39-42-45-47. In most plans, runners have three weeks of increased mileage and then reduce miles in week 4. I have followed that theory in most every training session. So, I think the four week increase probably has something to do with the fatigue. Throw in the 20 miler on Sunday and the Yasso's on Friday night and you could probably come to the conclusion that it makes sense to be a little tired right now.

I'll run an easy 4 on Thursday and make the call on Friday on how many hard miles I want to do. I will be running all out at the 10K on Sunday. My previous Windrunner 10Ks were 44:41 (7:12/mi pace) in 2005 and 44:26 (7:09/mi pace) in 2006. I'd like to crack the 7:00 mark this year, which would be a 43:30. In '06, I came down with a wicked cramp or side stitch at about mile 4. I struggled through the last 2.2 miles or so and was still able to beat my time from the previous year. I am looking forward to getting back out there this year and beating the 7:00/mile pace.

Halfway Home

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. I'll try to catch up this week. I have a a few idea that I may trot this week as well. Just a couple things to break up some of the "I ran this fast this week" kind of pattern I have fallen into.

Most importantly, today was the completion of the first half of marathon training. That's right, eight weeks down, eight to go. The next five weeks are the last push before the three week tapering up until the marathon. As I mentioned before, I have a few races coming up pretty soon. This coming Sunday, I am running the Windrunner 10K in the western 'burbs.

How about some results from the week?
Wednesday: 9 Miles @ 8:04 (goal of 8:25)
Friday: Yasso 800s (goal of 3:20)
#1- 3:14
#2- 3:14
#3- 3:13
#4- 3:13
#5- 3:15
#6- 3:13
#7- 3:12
#8- 3:15
#9- 3:14
#10- 2:56
Average: 3:12

Sunday: 20 miles @ 8:24 (goal of 8:20)

Thoughts:
Wednesday's run went pretty well, especially considering it was the second of two back-to-back nine milers.
Friday night's Yasso's went very well. They went much better than last time. The goal was a 3:20, but I came in with a 3:12. It seemed to be a little easier than the first time and it seemed like the right speed for me to run.
Sunday's 20 Miler was not the best run I have had lately. I had an abnormal 20 mile course and had a crowded lake path to deal with because of the air and water show. I also didn't get as much sleep as I probably should have which also resulted in me getting out later than I would have preferred. So, all thing considered, an 8:24 is fine. Because my course was not my usual 20 mile route, I didn't really know exactly where my miler markers were. This also led me to not being able to accurately run the last five miles hard. I kind of lost track of where I was supposed to be when, so I just tried to come in around 8:20 to 8:25.
***
The week ahead is a reduced mileage week.
Tuesday: 8 Miles @ 8:20
Wednesday: 7 Miles @ 8:20
Friday: 10 Miles, 8 @ 7:15
Sunday: Windrunner 10K - I will talk about my goal for this race later in the week. I also my swap the Wednesday and Friday run so I can be fully rested for the 10K on Sunday.

Have a good week!

Did I Catch a Niner in There?

Good news. The great weather over the weekend has carried over well into this week. The extended forecast looks like a little rain mixed in with high temps right around 80.

It was about 65 this morning when I went out for another nine miler. The goal was still an 8:25, but I came in at an 8:00. It felt pretty good and the cooler weather really makes a big difference. Let's hope this cooling trend continues all the way to October. I'd love an overcast 50 degree day on October 12th.

I have another nine miler to run tomorrow morning. On Friday, Yasso and his 800s enter the picture once again. I think I'll be doing them in the early evening so I can have Tiffany keep track of my times and provide support. She's the best.
***
People have started asking me what my goal time for the marathon is going to be this year. It's kind of hard to say right now. Some people say you should have three goals when you enter a marathon. The first is to finish. The second is a reachable goal if you feel decent. The third goal is if everything breaks right and you have that day where you feel great.

I usually skip the second goal. Barring a major disaster or injury, I will finish the marathon. So, I am training to beat my previous best time of 3 hours and 30 minutes. To run a 3:30, you have to average 8 minute miles over the 26.2 mile course. Not to state the obvious, but I'll need to average sub-8s to beat 3:30. I'd be pleased with anything under 3:30. I will later determine what my goal will be. Right now, I am thinking a 3:25 may be within reach. That would be a 7:50 pace, which honestly looks pretty scary to me. I'll have a pretty good idea of how aggressive I will get with the goal after running the Windrunner 10K on August 24th and the Chicago Half Marathon on September 14th. I'll obviously keep you posted.

Solid Running Weekend

For those of you in the Chicago area, you know this weekend's weather was great. For those of you not in Chicago, this weekend's weather was about as good as it gets in early August. We had high temps in the upper 70's and lower 80's. It's not quite perfect running weather, but it beats the heck out of the 90's.
***
Friday's run was scheduled to be a 9 miler with the middle 7 at a 7:17 pace. I struggled through my first mile, which basically is the warm-up mile. Sometimes that first mile is really hit and miss. It can feel good and your run could turn out to be bad or mediocre. Or it can feel bad and your run could turn out to be good. I guess it's kind of like the stories you hear about starting pitchers warming up in the bullpen before the game starts. Once I hit mile number 2, I picked up the pace. My right knee was a little achy, but I decided to give these tough 7 miles whatever I could muster. If I only made it 5 or 6 miles at the hard pace, it'd be better than nothing. I started to feel pretty good by mile 3. I made it through miles 4, 5 and 6 feeling strong, while still running a few seconds under my pace. At that point, I only had two hard miles left and picked up the pace even more because I was feeling really good. I ended up completing the 7 mile stretch @ a 7:01 pace. It was probably my best run of training yet.
***
Sunday's run was scheduled to be a 17 miler. Because I had the pleasure of having my first guest runner accompany me for about 10.5 miles in the middle of the run, I upped it to a round 18 miles. My friend and fellow marathoner Rich Cancellare met me on the lakepath at Wilson Ave. this morning. Rich has run several marathons including Chicago (a few times), Houston, Tulsa and the Paris (yes, Paris, France). He is not running the Chicago marathon this fall, but will be running another one in Texas in several months. Rich and I run at a pretty similar pace, so it makes for a good run whenever we can get out togther, which is not very often. We started out with a goal of an 8:20 for our 10 miles together. We ran the first two miles too hard. According to Rich's Garmin, we were somewhere around an 8:00 pace. I think we slightly backed it down and hit our turnaround point. We actually ended up running about 5.25 miles before we turned around. As we turned around at Chicago Ave on the lakepath, we both felt the force of a 20+ mph wind blowing directly at us. As it turned out, we had a strong tailwind the first half that we really didn't notice. I read a while back that running into the wind can add 8-11% to your time, while running with it only increases your speed by 2-4%. I don't know how accurate that really is, nor do I remember where I read it, but I think it's pretty believable. Anyway, we completed the second half slower than the first and came in around an 8:18. I ran the first 3.75 miles at an 8:00 pace, so I was looking pretty good heading into the homestretch. I backed it down a little in preparations for my strong three mile finish I had planned. I was trying to run the last three miles under 24 minutes. I hit the 16 mile mark in 7:45, then the 17 mile mark at 16:00. So I was right on pace for a 24 minute last three miles. I put everything I had into the last mile and brought it home at 23:04, good for a 7:41 pace over the last three miles and a 7:04 the last mile. I know the numbers are starting to get a little much at this point, so I'll wrap it up. Total pace for the 18 miles was an 8:10. I am very happy with that and feel good about being able to finish strong.
***
The Week Ahead:
Tuesday 9 mi @ 8:25
Wednesday 9 mi @ 8:25
Friday: Yasso 800's with a 3:20 goal
Sunday: 20 mile run, number 2; goal pace of 8:20

Two 9's

I don't have much time, but I wanted to fill you in on the Tuesday and Wednesday runs. They were both 9 milers to be run at an 8:25 pace. Most of my short runs from now until the last two weeks will be in the 8-12 mile range, with the longer runs still coming on the weekends. It can get tough, because the length of the runs means I have to be out for at least an hour every run. One way around that would be to add a fifth day of running, but I don't want to do that. I have done five day training weeks in the past. I would usually end up with one mediocre run because you're always running at least three days in a row in a five day a week running plan. Some people will tell you that you have to run 5 or 6 days a week to train for a marathon. I feel you have to find the right plan that you can tailor to your own individual strengths and weaknesses, as well as time constraints.

So the runs went well. I came in at a 8:03 on Tuesday and an 8:16 last night. Everything felt good, which is a huge plus coming off of the 20 miler on Sunday. It's not unusual to be sore for a few days after a 20 mile run.

We're looking at another 9 miles again on Friday, although the pace will be picked up for the middle 6 or 7 to a 7:17. That one is going to be tough. That's pretty close to my fastest 10K time. I should add that I have only run two 10Ks, so there's not exactly a huge pool to draw from. I am going to do the same 10K on August 24th.

I also signed up the the Chicago Half Marathon on September 14th. I like to get a half marathon in before the full marathon. It's a good practice run and can pretty much tell me where I am at in terms of physical and mental race shape. It also gets me some practice of running in a larger crowd, drinking and running at the same time and helps me pace a little more evenly.

20 Miles of Pleasure

That's right. 20 miles in the books on the first of the longest training runs. As I mentioned before, the 20 milers are pretty brutal. It's kind of like running a marathon without the adrenaline, the support, the other runners around, the water and Gatorade every couple miles...so I guess it's like a marathon without the perks - if there is such a thing.

I came in at 2:49:46 or an 8:29 pace. That's only a few seconds off of the goal pace of 8:25. I got out early enough to at least minimize the heat. It was still a little warm, but there was a breeze from time to time. One tough part of the long run along the lakefront is the stretch that goes from Fullerton south. There's little or no shade during the stretch until you get down near Navy Pier. All-in-all, it was a pretty successful 20 miler and I am happy to get the first one over with.

Buster Poindexter? Actually, Hot Hot Heat was a reference to the band of the same name, not Buster's wonderful 80's hit. Here's a video of theirs:



Not the greatest band or song ever. The video isn't bad though.
***
Here's this week's schedule:
Tuesday : 9 Miles @ 8:25
Wednesday : 9 Miles @ 8:25
Friday: 9 Miles w/7 mi @ 7:17
Sunday: 17 Miles @ 8:25 with a Fast Finish - Fast Finish is running the last 3-5 miles @ an 8:00 pace

Hot Hot Heat

I think I am done running in the heat. I ran today right around noon and it was miserable. If the forecast calls for anything around 90 degrees, I am getting up early in the morning to run. It's just not worth running when it's this hot. Your energy level is just sapped after a short amount of time.

I ran today's nine-miler under the goal pace of 8:25. I came in at an 8:15, but it was a struggle. All things considered, I'll take it though. 85 degrees and coming in under goal is something to be happy about.

Wednesday's run also was actually much worse than today's. I was supposed to run 7 miles with three of them at a 6:38 pace. I only made it 2 miles of the 3 at the 6:38 pace. I just didn't have the energy or stamina that day. I know I said it much earlier on, but there are some day when you just don't have it. I feel pretty good about the fact that they are only coming every three weeks or so.

I am seriously considering changing my hard run day from Wednesday to Friday. I have had a few instances during this training period where I get fatigued on the back-to-back runs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I am not really sure how much the heat has to do with it, but I am not really sure I want to find out if that's the reason. The Wednesday hard runs are designed to push my body and further prepare myself to run faster for a longer amount of time. In theory, the more times I do it and more miles I can add on, the easier it should become. I want to be able to give the hard runs 100%, so it may be best to swap them with the Friday run.
***
So, I have a big 20 miler on tap for Sunday morning. I am going to try to get up and get the run in before it gets really hot. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.