Breaking in my Netwon All Weather Trainers

I am slowly trying to break in my Newton All Weather Trainers so that I can add them to my training shoe rotation to help with running form, speed, etc...

Today I ran the first mile at 8:30 in the Newton All Weather Trainers. My turnover rate felt good maybe a little faster than normal.

I ran the next two miles at 6:58/mile in my regular trainers. This felt a little labored. My legs felt a little heavy. Probably from the increase in mileage from the previous week. My heart rate was pretty average at: 148-150, so I was happy about that.

The last mile was 8:30 per mile, again in my regular trainers. Felt good. Maybe a little effort to get the pace down because I felt like my legs just wanted to RUN! That is a good thing.

Sunday: Rest Day

I spent today resting my legs and sifting through my training plan to see what the next week would have in store for me. More speed, more endurance, and generally more running! I'm looking forward to the week.

My Saturday run might be broken up into 2 sets because I am thinking of running a 5k on Saturday. I might get some miles in after the run. Here is what it is going to look like:

6 Miles to help Build Endurance - "Speed with a Kick"

Today's run was an intense one. I haven't done speed work in a while and when you couple that with a few miles, 6 to be exact, things tend to get interesting. I'm working through my 4 Month Training Plan from Run1Fast Coaching. You can follow the coach on Twitter at @Run1Fast. It was originally created for me back in August of 2009, but I figured this is probably the most concise training plan that I have ever had so I might as well put it to good use!

The plan had me warm up with a 1/2 mile at an easy pace so I warmed up at about 8:00/mile which was pretty boring. The next 5 miles consisted of 7:30-7:45 per mile pace with 5x200 meter pick-up accelerations at 6:40/mile. That was much more fun. The final cool down was back to 8:00/mile for another 1/2 mile.

I would sum up this workout as one of my favorites so far. The distance is about perfect for where my current level of fitness is and it also let me push myself to a level where I could feel like I was suffering without completely exhausting myself. The Coach at Run1Fast obviously knows his stuff because other plans I've tried have never had this level of accuracy when dealing with my own personal physiology.

The plan has me running a slow 6 on Saturday. I feel like I could do 10 to 12, but I'm going to be patient and stick to the plan, trusting that it will make me a better runner. I've already got my route picked out around the Ashford/Dunwoody area of Atlanta. It has hills and more hills so it should be a good leg burner.

I'm looking forward to it and will likely suck down some GU before and during the run. Not because I will need the nutrition. I mean, its not like I'm running for over an hour. I just like the stuff.

Running to Build Endurance, Again.

Didn't think I was going to get on a treadmill tonight at LA Fitness, shocker, so I decided to try the gym in my building. The room was empty which tells me the people in my building don't workout, or they have already worked out and have better things to do with their lives at 7:00pm. Obviously they are better at time management then myself, or they don't work like dogs.

Seeing as I was the only one in the room, I happily snapped a quick picture of myself on the treadmill, alone, and started my run. I ran 5 miles with a basic build up starting at 8:00 per mile and ending at 8:00 per mile. In the middle I ramped up the pace a bit.

Here is how the mile splits ended up:

Mile 1 - 8:00/mile
Mile 2 - 7:45/mile
Mile 3 - 7:30/mile
Mile 4 - 7:15/mile
Mile 5 - 8:00/mile
Average Heart Rate: 145 BPM

It was a good run overall. I'm looking forward to more of these runs in the coming weeks. One thing I was told is not to skip the warm-up and cool-down portions of my workouts. I plan on keeping to that advice.

Monday - First day of my training plan: Revisited

I am revisiting a training plan that I started back in August of last year. It was a pretty aggressive plan with periodized training sections. It did not have a ton of mileage involved with it, but that fit my training level and available time to train back in August. I actually have about the same fitness level and training time available now, so I thought it would be good to re-incorporate the plan back in to my world.

I worked out today and felt good throughout the run. The first and last miles were at 8:00/mile and the 1.5 miles in the middle were at 7:03/per mile. My heart rate hovered from 148 to 153 during the run so I was rather relaxed, even with the tempo pace.

Here is how the rest of the week will come together:

2.6 Miles in 20 Minutes: Treadmill time constraints!

This morning I was very excited about my run. In fact, I got to the gym at around 9:00am to see if I could hop on an treadmill, get my run in, and head home before 10:00. Well, to my surprise, the LA Fitness was already packed and there was a line of people waiting on treadmills because it was so cold outside.

Now, I don't mind waiting my turn, at all. No big deal, really. I am patient. However, when I wait 20 minutes to jump on a treadmill and I am forced to get off the treadmill in 20 minutes, that's when things get a bit more bitter.

Personally, I'm not able to really get a good workout going in 20 minutes. I guess it would be a good warm-up to then go do something else in the gym, but when you go to the gym specifically to use the treadmill and you only get 20 minutes to barrel through a couple of miles, the benefits are not there.

So today, just like every other runner, walker, and jogger on a treadmill at LA Fitness, I caved and stopped my run at 20 minutes. If I had another 10 minutes I would have been VERY happy, but with 20 minutes it just didn't seem to fulfill my needs!

In conclusion, if anyone from LA Fitness is reading this, please extend the usage of exercise equipment to 30 minutes when there is a wait. You will have more healthy patrons, and less unfulfilled ones.

My 2 cents.

4.5 Miles Closer to my New Year's Resolution

When I got home from work at around 6:30 tonight it was about 30 degrees outside with a wind chill of around 25.

I forced myself out the front door and away from the treadmill knowing that snow was on the way and this might be my last chance to run outdoors until the weekend.

I was able to log 4.5 miles in the dark, wearing my cool (or not so cool) looking reflective gear.



2010 Goal Update
Mileage Goal: 1010 miles in 365 days
Year to date: 12.1 miles

Race Goal: 24 Races in 12 Months
Year to date: 0 Races

Adding to New Year's Resolutions during the year is OK.

I am rarely if ever satisfied with plans, goals, etc. Why should my New Year's Resolution be so perfect that I wouldn't want to tweak it the 4th day in? I've already decided that running 1010 miles in 2010 is a pretty cool and doable goal. It will require me not to procrastinate on the training and to stay consistent. Great goal.

Well, I've got this other goal on my mind and I think I should add it on top of the 1010. Now, in addition to running 1010 in 2010, I will also attempt to race in 24 races before 1/1/2011. Obviously that averages out to 2 races per month, but I think of most of them as Fun Runs and others as Races, I think I can fit them into my 1010 in 2010 goal quite nicely.

Glad I thought of it. So now by midnight 12/31/2010 I will:
1) Run 1010 miles
2) Run in 24 organized races of any distance

2010 Goal Update
Mileage Goal: 1010 miles in 365 days
Year to date: 7.6 miles

Race Goal: 24 Races in 12 Months
Year to date: 0 Races

New Years Resolution - Day 3 - Completed!

So it is January 3rd, and my idea of running 1010 miles in one year is slowly coming together. I'm trying to figure out the best place to log my miles. Then I need to figure out a way to track in on this blog. As of today, I have not figured out either one, however I have not let that get in the way of me not training!

I went back up to LA Fitness today and it was packed with Resolution Hunters. Some were experienced training enthusiasts while others were obviously new to the "fitness club" scene.

I started in the pool. When I got there.. every lane was taken so I waited. Once I got started I only swam 600yds. Time was an issue so I hammered out the yardage and then hopped out and hit the treadmill.

I ran a 5k on the treadmill with an average heart rate of 147 and pace of 7:45 per mile. It was a nice easy run and I felt like I had much more to give.

So, as my quest of 1010 miles in a year continues, I look forward to training and racing and getting stronger along the way.

Goal: 1010 in 2010
Daily Mileage: 3.1
Monthly Mileage: 7.6
Year to Date: 7.6
Mileage to Goal: 1002.4

New Years Resolution 2010 - Day 2 of 365

I spent today recovering from the Capital One Bowl fiasco where I watched my blessed LSU Tigers lose their bowl game. Very sad. After I shook that off, I decided to head to the gym to join the other New Years Resolution faithful for day 2 of 365. I was happy to find the gym packed with people who were young, old, over weight, and under weight. It was very motivating and helped to push me along during my workout.

I started out with 500yds in the pool. I am just now getting back into the swimming groove and did not want to over do it. I then moved on to the treadmill and did a 10 minute warm up at 8:00/mile and then ran a 5k at 7:30 per mile.

Overall, it was a good workout. I am getting more and more serious about making a lifestyle change to cater to a more healthy, consistently active lifestyle. Something more of what I had 5 years ago while in Houston, but maybe not as insane.

I'm looking forward to what 2010 will bring and will make every effort to make the most of it!

Goal: 1010 in 2010
Daily Mileage: 4.5
Monthly Mileage: 4.5
Year to Date: 4.5
Mileage to Goal: 1005.5

New Year Resolution - Run 1010 in 2010

I've been mulling over this whole New Year Resolution thing and the goals keep revolving around running. One thing I know I've been lacking over the past few years is consistency in training. Some months I would take off weeks if not the entire month and then try to jump back into it.

So, I realized that my goal should include something that would force me to remain consistent through each week and each month so that I could set small goals to hit in order to reach the much larger goal by the end of the year.

This year I have decided to put together a total mileage goal to hit by the end of the year. I thought about doing 2010 miles since it would be pretty cool to hit the same number as the year, but I'm in no shape to start with they kind of mileage, so I opted for 1010 in 2010. It has a nice ring to it.

I plan to give my self monthly, quarterly, and mid year goals to make sure I am on track. If I get out ahead of the goal number, that is great. I just want to hit my goal. Who knows, next year I might go for 2011 in 2011!