Sun: 50k!/4:12/5:02/Neo Everything went as well as I could have hoped for. Didn't start off great, as I took a while to get ready and ended up waking Miho up at around 5:30, which was unpleasant. Prepared by making three PB wraps in tortillas, an apple cut in two, and put my camelbak bladder with 1L of water in the bigger Innov8 pack. I wore shorts with compression socks, heat tech layer underneath, one layer on top of that and a light wind layer. Brought extra short and long sleeve tops in case I wanted to change (which I didn't).
Headed off NW along the Arakawa with the intention of just taking it easy and going 25K each way. I did end up using the garmin, but set it to the time so I wouldn't be tempted to check my pace or time. I did get alerts every 10K, and my splits were 48:51/50:15/49:42/51:11/52:29. Pretty much the time I was hoping for. The first 15k were comfortable and went by relatively quickly. Things got a bit tedious during the next 15k, especially as there weren't any markers, so I wasn't sure exactly where to turn around. I had intended to eat food every 10k, but ended up eating breakfast less than an hour before I left, so I didn't feel like eating anything until around the 20k mark, when I ate half an apple. I was drinking water about every 5k or so. The distance started to go by more quickly after about 30k, and I ate my first PB wrap around then. Eating PB and running was a bit challenging, but still way better than nasty gels. I wasn't surprised to start losing speed during the last 20k, and the last 10k were especially challenging. I ate the rest of the apple at about 40k, and then was just pushing. I never actually thought about quitting (at least not too seriously), but was very happy when I got that last alert that marked 50k.
My legs felt amazingly good at the end of it, much better than the marathons I have run (even though my marathon time was better than my two actual marathons 3:31), and I'm sure it's related to the fact that there was not the intensity and adrenaline that goes into racing. Also, I was super impressed with the Neos, very comfortable the whole time, and not a blister to speak of. The bottoms of my feet were tired for sure, but still no blisters. I also didn't have any chafing at all, which surprised me, probably because of the cool 10-12C conditions.
I can't say I felt a lot of elation at finishing, but still very satisfied. Miho was still mad when I got home, so that did not add to the joy. I guess I never really doubted whether I could actually do it, since it isn't that much further than a marathon. But it is reassuring to know that I can do it alone and not find it boring or tedious, and that I can run a decent time like that just in training.
And so now I find myself faced with the question: I can run 50k; so what?
Mon: Rest.
Tue: Bike 33k
Wed: Bike 33k
Thu: 12.4/59:34/4:49/Neo My legs felt ready to run today, and although I took it easy on the speed, it was still tough. Not pain really, just really tired legs and a real effort to keep up a normal pace. Will try again to see how it feels.
Fri: 12.2/57:18/4:42/Mach 11 Felt better today, not nearly as much work to keep up a decent pace. Legs still tired, and a little achy in the left hamstring, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Sat: 12.2/57:54/4:31/VFF Same distance and the previous day, but a very different run in terms of how I felt. Running during the day is always nicer, and it was warm and sunny. Was able to continue building speed throughout, although running a 4:20 pace towards the end was tiring and made me think about how hard it would be to keep up during a whole marathon. But still plenty of time to prepare for that!
Total Mileage: 86.8 Very happy that I could put in decent mileage during the same week of the 50k run! will see if I can't get over the 90k mark this week.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
2000 km of Training Week 13: 1227.5 to go
Sun: 23.2/1:44:39/4:30/VFF Didn't really have a plan for this run except to run over 20. Got a good start running with the wind and it felt good to go fast, so I just kept it up. 5K split times were: 4:32/4:20/4:26/4:27. I continue to feel like my speed is increasing lately, and it's nice to see I can keep it up over a medium distance as well. VFFs felt good overall, no blisters on my right foot, slight irritation on my left, but nothing bad.
Mon: Rest. Legs a bit tired from yesterday, and cold, rainy weather.
Tue: Bike 33k.
Wed: 14.2/1:04:43/4:32/Neo Good fast run. 2nd run in the Neos, and still very happy.
Thu: Bike 33K
Fri: 12.5/56:50/4:32/Mach 11 Kept this run pretty short in anticipation of my big run on Sunday.
Sat: Rest up for tomorrow.
Total Mileage: 49.9
Mon: Rest. Legs a bit tired from yesterday, and cold, rainy weather.
Tue: Bike 33k.
Wed: 14.2/1:04:43/4:32/Neo Good fast run. 2nd run in the Neos, and still very happy.
Thu: Bike 33K
Fri: 12.5/56:50/4:32/Mach 11 Kept this run pretty short in anticipation of my big run on Sunday.
Sat: Rest up for tomorrow.
Total Mileage: 49.9
Monday, February 14, 2011
2000 km of Training Week 12: 1277.4 to go
Sun: Rest
Mon: 12.5/58:30/4:41/Evo Normal run home from work, nothing to report.
Tue: Bike 33K
Wed: Namban workout 12K total? About 3k warmup then 3000/2000/1000. Couldn't get my watch right for the first one, but finished first and figure I was around a 3:40 pace or better. 2000 was 7:20 and 1000 was 3:37. Jay jumped out ahead of me for both of those, but I was second. A small group and clearly some of the faster Nambanners were not there, but it was fun to run at the front have Jay push me. Also met a nice French guy named Alex who helped to get me moving but who was ultimately slower than me.
Thu: Bike 33K
Fri: 14/1:03:23/4:25/Neo My first run in the new Neos and my first run in a snowstorm! Fortunately not slippery at all, and I got going out the gate pretty fast and just kept it that way. The Neos felt way too big when I wore them to work during the day, but it turns out they were just right when I laced them well. No movement around the heel, but nice and roomy around the forefoot. No blisters whatsoever for this fast run!
Sat: Rest. Cold rainy weather and decided to relax at home and get in a good run on Saturday.
Total Mileage: 38.5 Planned to take it easy this week, but not this easy! Planning on a big week next week, so no big deal.
Mon: 12.5/58:30/4:41/Evo Normal run home from work, nothing to report.
Tue: Bike 33K
Wed: Namban workout 12K total? About 3k warmup then 3000/2000/1000. Couldn't get my watch right for the first one, but finished first and figure I was around a 3:40 pace or better. 2000 was 7:20 and 1000 was 3:37. Jay jumped out ahead of me for both of those, but I was second. A small group and clearly some of the faster Nambanners were not there, but it was fun to run at the front have Jay push me. Also met a nice French guy named Alex who helped to get me moving but who was ultimately slower than me.
Thu: Bike 33K
Fri: 14/1:03:23/4:25/Neo My first run in the new Neos and my first run in a snowstorm! Fortunately not slippery at all, and I got going out the gate pretty fast and just kept it that way. The Neos felt way too big when I wore them to work during the day, but it turns out they were just right when I laced them well. No movement around the heel, but nice and roomy around the forefoot. No blisters whatsoever for this fast run!
Sat: Rest. Cold rainy weather and decided to relax at home and get in a good run on Saturday.
Total Mileage: 38.5 Planned to take it easy this week, but not this easy! Planning on a big week next week, so no big deal.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
2000 km of Training Week 11: 1315.9 to go
Sun: Rest
Mon: 13.8/1:02:33/4:31/Mach 11 My first try using the Garmin for an interval workout: 1.8 warm up then 3k X3 with 1K rests. Went well at first, but got pretty tired and was afraid of doing damage to my knee, so backed off for the last interval.
Tue: 12.5/57:59/4:38/Evo Thought my legs would be more tired from the intervals, but they felt good. Had a late meeting, so tried to get home quickly and was surprised by the pace!
Wed: 19/1:31:32/4:49/Evo First time running the long route with not only not having issues, but also adding mileage and feeling good the whole run. Surprising considering it was my third day of running in a row and that I the previous 2 days were relatively fast.
Thu: Bike 33K
Fri: 18.2/1:24:44/4:23/Mach 11 My first time using the Garmin for a workout: 3K warmup, 10K tempo at 4:15-4:30, 3K cool down. Was a bit annoying because of all the beeping it made when I was running too slow at first and then too fast during the tempo at first, but helped me to keep it reasonable. I was surprised at how comfortable 4:15 felt, and actually added a couple of kms on because there was a guy running in front of me that I wanted to catch. I did catch him eventually, and while he did put up a fight for a bit, I was able to leave him behind pretty comfortably. Actually, what I really wanted to do was chat with him and see if he was interested in running together because our paces were similar, but my shy and competitive sides won.
Sat: 18.2/1:26:40/4:45/VFF Legs were a bit tired for this one, took it slow and tried just to keep the pace comfortably under 5:00. A little soreness on the inside of my left calf afterwards, which has not happened in a while, but it went away within 24 hrs. I did get a bit of a stomach bug this night, and wonder if it was from getting chilled because I wore pretty light clothes with no wind layer.
Total mileage: 81.7 Good to get it up over 80k! And was very happy both with the pace of my running and how well my body reacted. Will ease back a bit next week and then see if I can do the same or more again the week after.
Mon: 13.8/1:02:33/4:31/Mach 11 My first try using the Garmin for an interval workout: 1.8 warm up then 3k X3 with 1K rests. Went well at first, but got pretty tired and was afraid of doing damage to my knee, so backed off for the last interval.
Tue: 12.5/57:59/4:38/Evo Thought my legs would be more tired from the intervals, but they felt good. Had a late meeting, so tried to get home quickly and was surprised by the pace!
Wed: 19/1:31:32/4:49/Evo First time running the long route with not only not having issues, but also adding mileage and feeling good the whole run. Surprising considering it was my third day of running in a row and that I the previous 2 days were relatively fast.
Thu: Bike 33K
Fri: 18.2/1:24:44/4:23/Mach 11 My first time using the Garmin for a workout: 3K warmup, 10K tempo at 4:15-4:30, 3K cool down. Was a bit annoying because of all the beeping it made when I was running too slow at first and then too fast during the tempo at first, but helped me to keep it reasonable. I was surprised at how comfortable 4:15 felt, and actually added a couple of kms on because there was a guy running in front of me that I wanted to catch. I did catch him eventually, and while he did put up a fight for a bit, I was able to leave him behind pretty comfortably. Actually, what I really wanted to do was chat with him and see if he was interested in running together because our paces were similar, but my shy and competitive sides won.
Sat: 18.2/1:26:40/4:45/VFF Legs were a bit tired for this one, took it slow and tried just to keep the pace comfortably under 5:00. A little soreness on the inside of my left calf afterwards, which has not happened in a while, but it went away within 24 hrs. I did get a bit of a stomach bug this night, and wonder if it was from getting chilled because I wore pretty light clothes with no wind layer.
Total mileage: 81.7 Good to get it up over 80k! And was very happy both with the pace of my running and how well my body reacted. Will ease back a bit next week and then see if I can do the same or more again the week after.
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