Daily Quote: "When I'm doing hills, I say to myself, 'I love the hill, I love the hill." It helps." --SHAWN COLVIN, SINGER-SONGWRITER
My morning heart rate has soared to 55 bpm...normally my morning heart rates are in the 38-41 bpm range. This is my clue that I'm not fully recovered from yesterday's Long Run and should take the day off to recuperate...my sore right ankle could also use an extra day of recovery. Therefore, no runs nor cross-training today, just rest and relax.
Tonight should be a busy night for cab driving due to the NASCAR fans flying in to McCarren Airport, the projection is 160,000 fans!!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Long Run AND Hill Repeats
Daily Quote: "It's the road signs: BEWARE OF LIONS." --KIP LAGAT, KENYAN DISTANCE RUNNER, EXPLAINING WHY HIS COUNTRY PRODUCES SO MANY GREAT RUNNERS
Today's workout is the Long Run as scheduled in "Runner's World Run Less, Run Faster" book, pg 236, for a marathon race goal of 3:40. My mission, run 20 miles at 8:53 minute per mile pace.
8:30 a.m. Out and back to Red Rock Canyon. Sunny, 62-70 degrees, with little wind. Set my virtual training partner for the 8:53 minute pace and set out for a new course, up Alta Road towards Red Rock Canyon that's a gradual climb, but an easy negative split as I'll be coming back down hill.
I reached the overpass at I-215 around nine miles out and proceeded to do hill repeats on the 7% Grade, four times, 8:00 minute pace, with a light jog back to the start of the grade. My cardiac drift was 184 bpm during the hill repeats. I then proceeded with my Long Run.
I reached the 10 mile turn-around and was four minutes behind Garfield, which I was sure I could catch up to him it's all downhill from here. I did notice that I was almost finished with the single bottle of Gatorade I had carried with me, which caused me a little concern.
Miles 11-17 were fun, it was like a free fall towards home. My heart rate was in the zone, and was making good time on Garfield!
The eighteen mile mark I was starting to bonk as I was out of fluids and was very thirsty, my time dropped drastically to 9:30 minute miles.
I finished the run with a time of 3:03, which was 9:10 minute miles and Garfield had beaten me badly...I swore revenge on him next week.
Today's workout is the Long Run as scheduled in "Runner's World Run Less, Run Faster" book, pg 236, for a marathon race goal of 3:40. My mission, run 20 miles at 8:53 minute per mile pace.
8:30 a.m. Out and back to Red Rock Canyon. Sunny, 62-70 degrees, with little wind. Set my virtual training partner for the 8:53 minute pace and set out for a new course, up Alta Road towards Red Rock Canyon that's a gradual climb, but an easy negative split as I'll be coming back down hill.
I reached the overpass at I-215 around nine miles out and proceeded to do hill repeats on the 7% Grade, four times, 8:00 minute pace, with a light jog back to the start of the grade. My cardiac drift was 184 bpm during the hill repeats. I then proceeded with my Long Run.
I reached the 10 mile turn-around and was four minutes behind Garfield, which I was sure I could catch up to him it's all downhill from here. I did notice that I was almost finished with the single bottle of Gatorade I had carried with me, which caused me a little concern.
Miles 11-17 were fun, it was like a free fall towards home. My heart rate was in the zone, and was making good time on Garfield!
The eighteen mile mark I was starting to bonk as I was out of fluids and was very thirsty, my time dropped drastically to 9:30 minute miles.
I finished the run with a time of 3:03, which was 9:10 minute miles and Garfield had beaten me badly...I swore revenge on him next week.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Next Race?!?
Daily Quote: "I'm a night runner. I don't want to see how far I have to go. And I like to have the street to myself." --JEFF CORWIN, HOW OF CORWIN'S QUEST
I've been hungering for a race due to all the current speed drills and went to the Las Vegas Track Club site for a short race in March. I've found a fun 5k race that close to home, "Run Away With Cirque Du Soleil 5K," at the Spring Reserve on Saturday, March 29th. The race looks like fun and has warm-up with Cirque du Soleil employees, music by band members of Cirque du Soleil, entertainment by Cirque du Soleil performers, massage therapy, as well as face painting and a circus play area for children. This will be a first race at the Spring Perserve and it's probably on dirt and gravel trails, which will make it my very first trail race as well.
Early Morning, after work, 2:15 a.m. Warm-up: 10 minutes on rowing machine. Weight Circuit Training. Cool-down: 10 minutes on elliptical. I haven't used the rower in a couple of weeks and my arms feel like putty.
Later Morning, after sleeping seven hours, 10:00 a.m. Today's cross-training workout is called, "Cross-Training Workout #2, Mode 1," and trained exactly stated in the book, "Runner's World Run Less, Run Faster:"
Stationary cycling (45 Minutes)
Workout: 10 minutes easy spinning as a warm-up, alternate resistance between PE level of 4 (Level 4 is Hard. Noticeable increase in breathing; difficult to talk in full sentences.) for 1 minutes with 4 minutes of fast spinning at a PE level of 1 (Level 1 is Easy. No increase in breathing rate; can go all day.) Repeat this six times. Finish with 5 minutes easy as a cool-down. I feel very tired now, but I'm looking forward to my 20-miler tomorrow as the weather is going to be perfect!! My available time will be tight and I may not be able to have time to post the Long Run in this blog until Thursday.
I've been hungering for a race due to all the current speed drills and went to the Las Vegas Track Club site for a short race in March. I've found a fun 5k race that close to home, "Run Away With Cirque Du Soleil 5K," at the Spring Reserve on Saturday, March 29th. The race looks like fun and has warm-up with Cirque du Soleil employees, music by band members of Cirque du Soleil, entertainment by Cirque du Soleil performers, massage therapy, as well as face painting and a circus play area for children. This will be a first race at the Spring Perserve and it's probably on dirt and gravel trails, which will make it my very first trail race as well.
Early Morning, after work, 2:15 a.m. Warm-up: 10 minutes on rowing machine. Weight Circuit Training. Cool-down: 10 minutes on elliptical. I haven't used the rower in a couple of weeks and my arms feel like putty.
Later Morning, after sleeping seven hours, 10:00 a.m. Today's cross-training workout is called, "Cross-Training Workout #2, Mode 1," and trained exactly stated in the book, "Runner's World Run Less, Run Faster:"
Stationary cycling (45 Minutes)
Workout: 10 minutes easy spinning as a warm-up, alternate resistance between PE level of 4 (Level 4 is Hard. Noticeable increase in breathing; difficult to talk in full sentences.) for 1 minutes with 4 minutes of fast spinning at a PE level of 1 (Level 1 is Easy. No increase in breathing rate; can go all day.) Repeat this six times. Finish with 5 minutes easy as a cool-down. I feel very tired now, but I'm looking forward to my 20-miler tomorrow as the weather is going to be perfect!! My available time will be tight and I may not be able to have time to post the Long Run in this blog until Thursday.
Monday, February 25, 2008
8 Weeks Until Boston
Daily Quote: "If you're going through hell, keep going." --Winston Churchill
Today's workout is a Tempo run as scheduled in "Runner's World, Run Less, Run Faster" book, under Boston Marathon Qualifying Program, 3:41, pg 235 (3:40 Boston Marathon goal training schedule).
9:00 a.m. Life Fitness Treadmill set at a 1% grade. 6 mile run: 1 miles easy, 4 miles at 7:50 minute mile pace, 1 mile easy. Average heart rate: 162 bpm. Cardiac Drift: 179 bpm. (Note: maximum heart rate is 190 bpm.) Slower than last week's tempo speed of 7:35 pace for three miles, but an additional mile longer. Felt very strong and had no pain nor soreness during or after the run.
These speed sessions have me eager to run a short race soon, I'll need to search the Las Vegas Track Club site for a race around the middle or end of March.
8 WEEKS UNTIL BOSTON MARATHON REPORT: FEBRUARY 18-24, 2008
Finished eighth week of marathon training and ran only 31 miles as I'm still following the guidelines of "FIRST Training Program" as explained in "Runner's World, Run Less, Run Faster" book, but rather than just doing two cross-training sessions per week I'll be cross-training every day as to promote additional weight loss.
I've lost another pound and now 173 pounds on a six foot frame. I continue to eat more healthier fare like fruits and veggies, and last week I didn't eat any red meat! Interestingly, my resolve not to eat red meat has coincided with a huge meat recall, which encourages my resolve to avoid saturated fats.
I completed three weight circuit training sessions last week. I'm now using free weights for biceps, triceps, chest and shoulders rather than the usual machine workouts, I'll continue using machines for the other muscle groupings. Last week I also incorporated pull-ups into my weight lifting sessions.
I've been sleeping very well last week...about 7-8 hours every night. One good aspect of FIRST Training is I'm able to get better sleep, something that was very difficult with high mileage training. My morning heart rates have remained low, 38-41 bpm.
A short recap of last week's training:
Monday: Tempo Run, 6 miles.
Tuesday: Cross-Training, weight circuit training and stationary cycling.
Wednesday: Long Run, 18 miles.
Thursday: Cross-Training, weight circuit training and stationary cycling.
Friday: Intervals, 7 miles.
Saturday: Cross-Training, swimming.
Sunday: Cross-Training, weight circuit training and stationary cycling.
Total Weekly Running Mileage: 31 miles.
Today's workout is a Tempo run as scheduled in "Runner's World, Run Less, Run Faster" book, under Boston Marathon Qualifying Program, 3:41, pg 235 (3:40 Boston Marathon goal training schedule).
9:00 a.m. Life Fitness Treadmill set at a 1% grade. 6 mile run: 1 miles easy, 4 miles at 7:50 minute mile pace, 1 mile easy. Average heart rate: 162 bpm. Cardiac Drift: 179 bpm. (Note: maximum heart rate is 190 bpm.) Slower than last week's tempo speed of 7:35 pace for three miles, but an additional mile longer. Felt very strong and had no pain nor soreness during or after the run.
These speed sessions have me eager to run a short race soon, I'll need to search the Las Vegas Track Club site for a race around the middle or end of March.
8 WEEKS UNTIL BOSTON MARATHON REPORT: FEBRUARY 18-24, 2008
Finished eighth week of marathon training and ran only 31 miles as I'm still following the guidelines of "FIRST Training Program" as explained in "Runner's World, Run Less, Run Faster" book, but rather than just doing two cross-training sessions per week I'll be cross-training every day as to promote additional weight loss.
I've lost another pound and now 173 pounds on a six foot frame. I continue to eat more healthier fare like fruits and veggies, and last week I didn't eat any red meat! Interestingly, my resolve not to eat red meat has coincided with a huge meat recall, which encourages my resolve to avoid saturated fats.
I completed three weight circuit training sessions last week. I'm now using free weights for biceps, triceps, chest and shoulders rather than the usual machine workouts, I'll continue using machines for the other muscle groupings. Last week I also incorporated pull-ups into my weight lifting sessions.
I've been sleeping very well last week...about 7-8 hours every night. One good aspect of FIRST Training is I'm able to get better sleep, something that was very difficult with high mileage training. My morning heart rates have remained low, 38-41 bpm.
A short recap of last week's training:
Monday: Tempo Run, 6 miles.
Tuesday: Cross-Training, weight circuit training and stationary cycling.
Wednesday: Long Run, 18 miles.
Thursday: Cross-Training, weight circuit training and stationary cycling.
Friday: Intervals, 7 miles.
Saturday: Cross-Training, swimming.
Sunday: Cross-Training, weight circuit training and stationary cycling.
Total Weekly Running Mileage: 31 miles.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
More Cross-Training
Daily Quote: "This may not be my fastest marathon, but it will be my most special." --MARK BUCIAK, ON RUNNING HIS 27TH BOSTON MARATHON 11 WEEKS AFTER OPEN-HEART SURGERY
The weather in Las Vegas is fantastic today; 72 degrees, sunny with no winds, unfortunately I'm back to cross-training on the upright stationary bike and also doing the weight circuit training...I really miss running every day and can hardly wait to finish my experiment with the FIRST Training Program (only running three quality runs per week) and the upcoming Boston Marathon so I can return to high mileage training.
10:45 a.m. Warm-up, 10 minutes on the elliptical machine. Weight circuit training, 30 minutes. Lifted weight primarily on the circuit machines, with the exception of my chest, shoulders, biceps and triceps, which I worked with dumbbells. I also completed three reps of chin-ups and hope to increase them to four reps this coming week.
I quickly followed the weight circuit training with the Cross-Training Workout #2, Mode 2, as written in the book, "Runner's World, Run Less, Run Faster," pg 106-07. This is my favorite cross-training routine from the book! I should try something different next time so my body doesn't get too accustomed to the same exercise.
Stationary cycling (50 minutes) Workout: 10 minutes easy spinning as a warm-up, 15 minutes moderate to hard, 5 minutes easy; 15 minutes moderate to hard, 5 minutes easy as recovery; all with cadence of about 95 to 100 rpm. I ignored the gym's television and zoned out on my thoughts today.
Our bowling team, "One Wonders," won all four games tonight at the Bishop Gorman League, which meets at the Gold Coast Bowling Lanes!! I was able to bowl over my average in all of my games. My team member, Mary Ely, is doing fantastic and was bowling way over her average with her new bowling ball, she was key to our winning so convincingly.
The weather in Las Vegas is fantastic today; 72 degrees, sunny with no winds, unfortunately I'm back to cross-training on the upright stationary bike and also doing the weight circuit training...I really miss running every day and can hardly wait to finish my experiment with the FIRST Training Program (only running three quality runs per week) and the upcoming Boston Marathon so I can return to high mileage training.
10:45 a.m. Warm-up, 10 minutes on the elliptical machine. Weight circuit training, 30 minutes. Lifted weight primarily on the circuit machines, with the exception of my chest, shoulders, biceps and triceps, which I worked with dumbbells. I also completed three reps of chin-ups and hope to increase them to four reps this coming week.
I quickly followed the weight circuit training with the Cross-Training Workout #2, Mode 2, as written in the book, "Runner's World, Run Less, Run Faster," pg 106-07. This is my favorite cross-training routine from the book! I should try something different next time so my body doesn't get too accustomed to the same exercise.
Stationary cycling (50 minutes) Workout: 10 minutes easy spinning as a warm-up, 15 minutes moderate to hard, 5 minutes easy; 15 minutes moderate to hard, 5 minutes easy as recovery; all with cadence of about 95 to 100 rpm. I ignored the gym's television and zoned out on my thoughts today.
Our bowling team, "One Wonders," won all four games tonight at the Bishop Gorman League, which meets at the Gold Coast Bowling Lanes!! I was able to bowl over my average in all of my games. My team member, Mary Ely, is doing fantastic and was bowling way over her average with her new bowling ball, she was key to our winning so convincingly.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Swimming Improvement
Daily Quote: "It is true that speed kills. In distance running, it kills anyone who does not have it." --BROOKS JOHNSON, U.S. OLYMPIC COACH FOR WOMEN'S RUNNING
Saturdays have been my Rest Day, but like last week, I swam today as to facilitate more weight loss. I've also practiced doing my flip-turns, as previously I would just restart at the end of the pool's lap, now I strive to flip over without stopping...my flips need a lot of work!
10:00 a.m. Cross-training Workout #2 Mode 6: Swam 8 lengths. Followed immediately by kicking 2 lengths. Rest 1 minute. Repeated this sequence five times. I'm still having troubles completing the last, fifth swimming interval...it's too tough as I was breathing heavily to the point of gasping, therefore I flipped over and finished with a backstroke again. I'm only swimming once a week therefore my swimming progress will be very slow, once I finish the Boston Marathon I'll have more time to perfect my swimming.
Saturdays have been my Rest Day, but like last week, I swam today as to facilitate more weight loss. I've also practiced doing my flip-turns, as previously I would just restart at the end of the pool's lap, now I strive to flip over without stopping...my flips need a lot of work!
10:00 a.m. Cross-training Workout #2 Mode 6: Swam 8 lengths. Followed immediately by kicking 2 lengths. Rest 1 minute. Repeated this sequence five times. I'm still having troubles completing the last, fifth swimming interval...it's too tough as I was breathing heavily to the point of gasping, therefore I flipped over and finished with a backstroke again. I'm only swimming once a week therefore my swimming progress will be very slow, once I finish the Boston Marathon I'll have more time to perfect my swimming.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Dazed and Confused.
Daily Quote: "If the hill has its own name, then it's probably a pretty tough hill." --MARTY STERN, FIVE-TIME WINNING COACH FOR NCAA MEN'S CROSS-COUNTRY
The above quote reminds me that I need to do some hill training next week for Boston's Heartbreak Hill and the Newton Hills!
Today's speed-work is from "Runner's World, Run Less, Run Faster" Boston Qualifying Training Program for a 3:40 time (pg 235).
20 minute warm-up.
2 x (6 x 400m @ 1:39) (1:30 RI)
(2:30 RI between sets)
10 minute cool-down.
Life Fitness Treadmill set at a 1% Grade. Average heart rate: 172 bpm. Cardiac Drift: 187 bpm. (Note my maximum heart rate is 190 bpm.)
I was in such oxygen debt I had problems keeping track what repetition I was at before the next set...I was getting confused and forced myself to calculate via the mill's console the time that I've already ran divided by 1:39 reps...not easy in my dazed condition.
Barely enough time to take a shower and a quick lunch before leaving for work, which is another stressful 12-hour night driving a Checker Cab in Vegas' notorious traffic.
TGIF!!!
The above quote reminds me that I need to do some hill training next week for Boston's Heartbreak Hill and the Newton Hills!
Today's speed-work is from "Runner's World, Run Less, Run Faster" Boston Qualifying Training Program for a 3:40 time (pg 235).
20 minute warm-up.
2 x (6 x 400m @ 1:39) (1:30 RI)
(2:30 RI between sets)
10 minute cool-down.
Life Fitness Treadmill set at a 1% Grade. Average heart rate: 172 bpm. Cardiac Drift: 187 bpm. (Note my maximum heart rate is 190 bpm.)
I was in such oxygen debt I had problems keeping track what repetition I was at before the next set...I was getting confused and forced myself to calculate via the mill's console the time that I've already ran divided by 1:39 reps...not easy in my dazed condition.
Barely enough time to take a shower and a quick lunch before leaving for work, which is another stressful 12-hour night driving a Checker Cab in Vegas' notorious traffic.
TGIF!!!
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