treadmill

I May Be A Believer After All…

February 21, 2011 by Kristy 4 Comments

2/21/11

6 miles speed

I get nervous every time I do speed work. I worry that I won’t hit my splits and that I’ll never get faster. I tell myself that I’m built for endurance, NOT speed. I’ve said numerous times that I was on the fence as to whether speed work makes a difference. I’m giving it a real, fair try this training cycle to see what happens. In the past, speed work has been very taxing on my body. I tend to take longer to recover and often my tempo and long runs suffer because of it. I was just reading in Brad Hudson’s Run Faster that runners whose strength is speed generally recover faster from speed work and runners whose strength is endurance (me!) recover faster from longer runs. The converse is also true which explains my prolonged recovery after speed work and my speedy recovery after 20-milers.

Today’s speed work called for 6×800 at 3:33 (7:06 pace). I did 5×800 (the 6th one so wasn’t happening…I was exhausted). My spilts: 3:34, 3:34, 3:33, 3:32, 3:32! Woohoo! Why was I so happy? Let me explain:

1. I have never done 800s this fast before. I generally hover around the 3:40 range. I was surprised I was so consistent too.

2. For the past 7 weeks, I’ve been doing speed work on the treadmill because of the weather. Today I went to the track (yeah!) but I was concerned about my ability to adequately pace myself. It’s so much easier on the treadmill – just set the pace and stick to it. The track is much harder.

3. I did a 20-miler 2 days ago! Now I’m wondering what my splits would be with fresh, rested legs!

So maybe all this speed nonsense is helping?! Could it be that I’m a believer in speed work? Nine more weeks of speed work plus a little bit of confidence in myself and who knows what’ll happen?

I’ll leave you with this picture from SF (technically Stinson Beach, CA). This is how I felt after my run today…

Speedy Tempo

February 8, 2011 by Kristy 2 Comments

2/8/11

8 miles

1:09

8:37 avg pace

The training plan called for some nonsense like 3×1-mile repeats at 7:15 pace. I loathe mile repeats. Since I didn’t feel like running a 5K this morning and my legs haven’t 100% recovered from Sunday’s 18-miler, I changed things up. I’ve wanted to do this workout for awhile now…

1 mile warm-up
2 miles at 10K pace – 7:53. Since I haven’t run a 10K in about 10 years, I have no idea what pace this would be…so I estimated just under 8:00.
2 miles at half marathon pace – 8:13. My half marathon time last September was 1:49 (8:19 pace).
2 miles at goal marathon pace – 8:46.
1 mile cool-down

There you have it…a speedy tempo. I’m definitely doing this run again. I really enjoyed it.

This is my last run on the treadmill this week, all my other runs will be outdoors in San Francisco! Woooohoooo! Hello 60+ degrees and sunshine!

Snowstorm #85

January 26, 2011 by Kristy 4 Comments

1/26/11

7 miles tempo

1:01

8:43 avg pace

I retract what I said about the hourly forecast on weather.com being a runner’s best friend. It failed me big time this morning. I woke up happy to be able to fit in my 7 mile tempo outside before snowstorm #85 began this afternoon. I walked downstairs to put Hawk out and saw this…

It was actively snowing hard and continued through the afternoon. To say I was grumpy was an understatement. Since I have a treadmill in my basement, there was no escaping this tempo run. Thankfully, my DVR was stocked with good shows (if you consider True Life, Teen Mom 2, and I Survived to be quality TV. I do.).

The good ‘ol plan called for 5 miles at 8:24 pace with a 1 mile warm-up and 1 mile cool-down.

Splits:
M1 – 10:00 (I know, I was delaying the inevitable)
M2 – 8:29 (easing in)
M3 to M5 – 8:20
M6 – 8:06
M7 – 9:30

The tempo miles felt surprisingly easy. Not sure if it was the treadmill or the thrilling episode of True Life (or…the speed work paying off)?

Getting prepared for snowstorm #86. Tomorrow is a rest day but I hope to get some yoga in.

Longing for the Track

January 25, 2011 by Kristy 5 Comments

1/25/11

5 miles speed work

Oh how I miss going to the track to do speed work! Until the weather gets nicer and it begins to get lighter earlier, I’m resigned to do my speed work on the treadmill. Boo. Today’s plan called for a ladder workout. Ladder workouts are increasing intervals (400m, 800m, etc.) and decreasing intervals (1200m, 1000m, etc.). Sometimes you go up the ladder and back down (for example: 400m, 600m, 800m, 1000m, 1200m, 1000m, 800m, you get the idea). Today I got to go just down the ladder and for that I was very happy.

Scheduled workout:
Warm-up
1200m in 5:25
1000m in 4:28
800m in 3:33
600m in 2:38
400m in 1:44
Cool-down
*with 200m rest interval in between

This workout is hard to do on the treadmill. On the track I would know “run a lap and a half in 2:38”. For the treadmill I had to figure out that 600m roughly equals .37 miles and I should aim to run it at 7:00 pace. So I had to keep an eye on my distance the whole time, meaning no towel to cover up my misery! My attention to Gossip Girl was seriously interrupted too.

I’m hoping to get in a tempo run tomorrow, depending on the weather. Yes, that will make for 2 hard days back-to-back but I have a reason. I have a 20-miler on Saturday that I’m really excited about. I want to take Thursday as a rest day and do some easy miles on Friday so my legs are well rested come Saturday.

Off to catch up on The Bachelor. Can wait to hear more about Brad’s opening up and crazy Michelle’s antics.

Is It Spring Yet?

January 14, 2011 by Kristy 1 Comment

1/14/11

7 miles easy

1:07

9:34 avg pace

Since my run on Tuesday, we were lucky enough to get 6 more inches of snow. Wonderful. I couldn’t bear the treadmill today so I slapped on the YakTrax and went outside. Apparently those 6 inches on top of old snow made for a near impossible run. I had no traction (even with the YakTrax) and was barely moving in some spots. I eeked out 5 miles and went home and did another 2 miles on the treadmill. Here are some pics in case you think I’m being a wimp 🙂

I asked myself for the millionth time why I’m training for a spring marathon. Didn’t I learn my lesson last year? We had about 4 feet of snow on the ground and finding plowed areas to run was rather interesting. Did I loose my mind (again)? Give me summer running any day over this.

If you are training for a spring marathon (or just want to run outside) and you’d rather throw yourself on a kitchen knife (my sister-in-law’s saying which I think is dead on) instead of doing another treadmill run, here are some tips:

1. Plan Ahead – We all know the hourly forecast on weather.com is a runner’s best friend but the weekly forecast can be too. Check it out and see when the warmest days are that week and schedule your runs around that, if possible. I prefer to do my long runs on Saturdays but if I see warmer temperatures on Sunday, I’ll make the switch.

2. Improvise – You go out and find your favorite running route or trail covered in snow and ice. You may need to run around (pun intended) and find a different, safer place to run. Some routes are plowed and others aren’t. Knowing this ahead of time can help. Last winter I ended up running back and forth in a lovely, plowed industrial area during a long run just to rack up some miles.

3. Dress Right – Keep in mind you are supposed to dress like it’s 20 degrees warmer. Think lots of sweat-wicking layers. If you are still unsure, check out What Should I Wear? on runnersworld.com

4. Beat the Mental Blahs – It’s tough to get motivated and leave your warm house for the frigid cold. Getting your butt out the door is the toughest part. But you made a commitment to train for a race and those miles are not going to run themselves. The first mile will suck but you will warm up eventually and will not freeze to death. I promise 🙂

5. Start Slow: So you made it out the door and take off like lightening. Probably not a good idea. You just went from breathing in warm air to sucking in large amounts of cold air and your lungs are paying the price. It’s best to start off slower in the cold weather and let your body acclimate to the temperature. Give yourself a mile or two to warm-up.

6. Refuel: Hooray! You finished your long run and all you can think about is getting a hot shower. But…remember the importance of refueling? This is why chocolate milk is my go-to choice for refueling. I can drink it in no time and be in the shower within 5 minutes of walking in the door.

I have a 15-miler on tap for tomorrow and I will be running on a plowed trail!

Happy Friday!

Snowed In

January 12, 2011 by Kristy 5 Comments

1/12/11

4 miles easy

36:06

9:01 avg pace

A quick post today.

I woke up to this…

and this…

so I had to do some of this…

Key word being some. I was bored to tears. Even the 16 & Pregnant: Life After Labor finale couldn’t keep my attention.

I do have a treadmill in my basement. I’m very lucky to not have to trudge to the gym. And I have a TV across from the treadmill where I can watch a bunch of DVR’d shows. It’s a great set-up but sometimes I still feel like a hamster on a wheel.

Looking forward to running outside on Friday and Saturday!