Showing posts with label Half Marathon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Half Marathon. Show all posts

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Getting Back Into Rhythm

After a wonderful school year and countless hours spent thinking about a wonderful wedding, it was time for me to get back into "real" training.  I needed to decide on a marathon that I will do this fall, and come up with a training plan for that race.  And since the window to qualify for the Olympic Trials is slowly closing, I've decided on the Chicago Marathon in October.  I believe there will be a ton of guys looking to run the standard, and that race gives me roughly 4 months of training from after the wedding.

As soon as school got out, I finally got the motivation and energy to build up the miles again.  If I can recall, I was only running about 40 miles per week since the beginning of the year, and hadn't wrote a single mile in my running journal since my stress fractures in March of 2014.  So, I need to get back into a routine and get my act together!  I finally logged some miles in my journal at the end of April to keep myself accountable, and to my surprise, my mileage only stuck around 40/week.  But with school over, things are looking brighter.

I need to keep posting on this blog as well, so this will be the first of many weeks leading up to Chicago, and an OTQ time.  Also, after racing the Rock 'n Roll San Diego half marathon last Sunday, I now have a pretty accurate account of my fitness and where I should be training... (slow), but it's a start.  And in case you're wondering, I ran 1:10:54.  One of my slowest half marathons ever!  It sure is a kick in the ass, and now I have zero excuses to get back out there and train my brains out!

Racing outta shape, and too cheap to buy the photos...
With the Fiance at the finish!
Week 1 of marathon training:

Mon - drove back to ABQ
Tue - pm. 10 miles
Wed - am. 7 miles / pm. 9 miles
Thur - am. 4 miles / pm. 11 miles (bonked in the heat)
Fri - am. 6x1 mile w/3min rest (5:36, 5:30, 5:34, 5:25, 5:26, 5:23) 10 total
Sat - am. 12 miles in the foothills
Sun - am. 18 miles

Total: 81 miles

Friday, January 10, 2014

USA Half Marathon Championships / Houston Half Marathon on the Horizon


If I could sum up my training for the upcoming USA Half Marathon Championships next Sunday in three words it would be; pretty damn good.  Looking forward to the half marathon, I only have one race to use as a barometer, and that would be the treacherous club national race last month in Bend, Oregon.  Running 32 minutes for a 10k is never a good thing, but on that course in those conditions, I shouldn't be too upset.  The effort was solid, and I felt good about placing 49th.  Nevertheless, I really don't have an accurate perception on my fitness in the half marathon.

I can look back on the weeks and access my workouts.  Like any runner who's had consistent training, we always lean towards optimism and believe we are fitting and faster than we might actually be.  If you don't feel this way, then why bother racing a National Championship?  For the most part, it's nearly impossible to tell what you are going to run, which is exactly why we RACE - to find out our ability on that given day.  And with the past month of training and building from my last National Championship (Twin Cities, not club nats), I feel pretty damn good going to Houston next week.

Some of the confidence comes from specific workouts, and from consistent mileage, while maintain a paycheck from my job as a teacher...  I think one solid workout I did over the winter break was 8x1000m in 3:02 average.  The other one has to be a few of the long run workouts.  An easy 4 miles, followed by 6x1 mile with 70 seconds jogging in: 5:15, 5:10, 5:03, 5:00, 4:57, 4:50, followed by 12 more miles seems to do the trick.  With my last long run workout this Sunday and an easy tempo run on Wednesday before the Sunday race, I feel ready to go.  I've crunched some numbers and already know the goal is at least 4:57 per mile.  Is that realistic when I've probably only done that a few times in workouts?  Why not?  With the depth of guys racing next weekend on a nearly flat course and the predicted perfect weather; anything is possible.


The Field is loaded with the following runners:
ArmijoJesseAlbuquerqueNM
ArmstrongChassGreenvilleSC
AsheEricBostonMA
AtkinsColeBlowing RockNC
BarkhausErikSeattleWA
BarrettMattMadisonWI
BirdsongBrandonManitou SpringsCO
BiwottShadrackFolsomCA
BoitJosphatMammoth LakesCA
BoydTravisEdmondsWA
BraunAaronEnglewoodCO
BrownSeanAuroraCO
BruceBenFlagstaffAZ
CabadaFernandoBoulderCO
CarsonJaredAustinTX
CarsonJoshAtlantaGA
CejaJavierWichitaKS
ChavezMichaelFort CollinsCO
CookRileySouth WeberUT
CosensRyanCosta MesaCA
CoyleJohnLoganUT
CriscioneJeremyGainesvilleFL
CurleyCraigTucsonAZ
DavidsonAaronLenexaKS
DewittJohnOshkoshWI
DialynasThomasDenverCO
DworakBrandonMemphisTN
EgglestonJeffreyBoulderCO
FinnelBrianMadisonWI
FreedJeremyLongmontCO
FuentesDavidAustinTX
GrayJosephColorado SpringsCO
GreenoDanMinneapolisMN
GreyMatthewMinneapolisMN
GreyJonathanMinneapolisMN
HoltJasonKaysvilleUT
HuntMitchellFremontNE
JeffreysTimBrooklynNY
KahnDanielHoustonTX
KammConnorNashvilleTN
KeflezighiMebSan DiegoCA
KerrDanielWinston-SalemNC
KienzleRyanCantonOH
KrauseElliotMadisonWI
KremskeDanWoodstockIL
KrongJakeSalt Lake CityUT
LeakGregorySteilacoomWA
LeBlancJarrettBaton RougeLA
LeonCraigEugeneOR
LlanoMatthewFlagstaffAZ
MacPhersonScottColumbiaMO
MarotzJakeSaint PaulMN
MartinBrentGambierOH
MartinNathanSpring ArborMI
McCandlessTylerBoulderCO
MercadoDiegoEugeneOR
MooreJoeManhattanKS
MottJonathanBabson ParkFL
MunozJoseSan AntonioTX
NadlerEnochRichardsonTX
O'ConnorKieranArlingtonVA
OsmanAhmedFlagstaffAZ
PayneBenFt Walton BeachFL
PennelTylerBlowing RockNC
PetersenPaulFort CollinsCO
ProctorSethOrlandoFL
ProctorGabrielMammoth LakesCA
PuskedraLukeBeavertonOR
QuigleySeanLafayetteCO
ReinaRioAustinTX
ReneauMichaelMinneapolisMN
ReyesSergioPalmdaleCA
RitchieTimBrightonMA
RonoAronBeavertonOR
SathreBenjaminChaskaMN
SewaldTylerGreeleyCO
ShermanLoganPlanoTX
SiebachKarlOremUT
SloaneChristopherGaithersburgMD
SolisAnthonySacramentoCA
SuverCurtisColorado SpringsCO
TapiaDanielCastrovilleCA
TaylorJustinSt AugustineFL
ThorLukaGretnaNE
TunningleyRoryAustinTX
VeghTiborRaleighNC
WhiteheadJoshMadisonAL
WileyRobertGurneeIL
WyattVerrelleAkronOH
YorkBrandonMadisonAL