We're getting close, guys! Just 10 short weeks to Boston. I really, really, really, really want to do well this year. Last year was solid, but I want great this year. It's been hard this season with frequent snow and ice...
This week was special because my friend and running buddy had her first baby. I was asked to be her birthing partner and so I was there for the whole process. Let me say this...I'm glad I got myself some endurance! People, if you plan to be a birthing partner, definitely work on building your endurance. You're gonna need it. The baby came out healthy and happy and mother & son are doing well!
Monday: TM in the morning. I think I did like 6M. Core work at lunch, spin class at night.
Tuesday: 4M on the TM in the morning.
PM - Fastest Finish class with Matt and Tom. We did fast tempo work. I beat the dudes.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/444048549
Wednesday: 8M with middle 3, 4, 5, 6 at marathon pace. Let's just say I tried to keep pace. I think I did, but Garmin was super out of whack. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/444454640
Thursday: BABY DAY. I was in the hospital from 12am to 1pm, so workout had to be done in the afternoon. At 2pm, I dragged my butt to the gym for 800m repeats. It was a major snow storm in NYC, so no way was I going to head to the tracks... Did the repeats at 6:40 something, so that's pretty good. I got home and passed out.
Friday: OFF!
Saturday: 1st 20M of the season. I think I did well. Only issue I had was a slight calf cramp after mile 17, but I bet it was hydration issues. It's so hard to keep hydrated when there is only 1 water spot in the Park that's easily accessible and open in the winter. Classic Counter Clock 6-5-5-4 loop. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/445573324 I'm actually pretty pleased at my stride length of 1.12m. Elites have 1.5 to 2m stride length, so anything over 1m for a bum like me is pretty cool beans.
Next Sunday (2/23) is Central Park Marathon. Yep. 5 loops of the 5M loop plus some more. I think I can do it safely at 8:10-8:20 pace...let's hope I don't embarrass myself...
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Monday, February 10, 2014
Week 12, 11.
Week 12 was a recovery week, so we didn't do anything too interesting. I did record probably the fastest 72nd Street Transverse crossing ever, at 6:44, on Tuesday, February 4.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/437307742
So after a little bit of discussion, I decided that I have to graduate out of my comfortable, happy, Faster Finish classes. I LOVE THAT CLASS, but if I want to improve, things must get shaken. And shaken it would be.
I have teamed up with my friend and fellow Tu-tu hater, Ms. Finn to create our own speed work team. We'll be doing some tough Hansons (not the pop group...) style intervals on Tuesdays. I've decided to call it Fastest Finish, and Week 11 started with just that.
Monday - 6M on TM in the AM, Core Work on the Squishy Disc, Spin at night.
Tuesday - 4M on TM in the AM.
PM: Fastest Finish.
Wednesday - AM: 6M. It was supposed to be 5M, but since it was on a TM due to snow again, I threw in an extra mile. Getting pretty sick of the snow...
PM: Pilates.
Thursday - AM: The workout was interval runs with stretches at 10K pace. From 72nd to Engineer's Gate (1M) at 10K pace, with attack on Cat Hill. Recover to bottom of Harlem Hill. Attack Harlem Hill to next mile marker (top of 102nd Hill) at 10K. Recover the next two hills, then speed downhill from Reservoir back to 72nd. Didn't quite work out that way.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/441512516
I got way too worked about pace again. This always prompts me to stop on middle of Harlem Hill. Disappointed, I restart the adventure. Second time around, it goes just as worse with three stops. I almost want to cry. I come out of the Harlem Hill-102nd Hill stretch with 7:30, which is good pace, but considering the stops, it's crap. While I recover down the 102nd Hill, I decide to redeem myself by going all out on the 2nd Hill (6:58) and recover down. Then from the 3rd Hill to 72nd all out, no recovery. Some dude decides to race me on the flats, and I smoke him for added ego-boost. But I felt crappy for the rest of the day, having completely failed on Harlem Hills.
Thursday PM: Pilates with Taylor. My right foot cramped :(
Friday - OFF.
Saturday - 18M with Yung Hae. The team is back! Easy for first 4, 8:-8:15 for the next 13, 14-17 at marathon pace. (Almost) nailed it - everything went pretty well until the last bit, of course. I pooped out on Harlem Hill again (pacing) and had to stop at one point for water. My water bottle failed to cooperate.
The brand-new Garmin 620 failed to register GPS properly and other numbers, like caloric burn seems way off...After some internet research, apparently the Heart Rate Monitor and the Garmin has some kind of AI thing going on and that the more I use, the more it "learns" about me and the numbers get accurate.
...Why can't they just produce an accurate item from the get-go? Because this will mean that for the next 10-20 runs, it's going to be inaccurate...I sometimes hate technology. Sigh.
Sunday - easy recovery on the TM.
Sunday Night - learned Week 10 will have my first 20M run.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/437307742
So after a little bit of discussion, I decided that I have to graduate out of my comfortable, happy, Faster Finish classes. I LOVE THAT CLASS, but if I want to improve, things must get shaken. And shaken it would be.
I have teamed up with my friend and fellow Tu-tu hater, Ms. Finn to create our own speed work team. We'll be doing some tough Hansons (not the pop group...) style intervals on Tuesdays. I've decided to call it Fastest Finish, and Week 11 started with just that.
Monday - 6M on TM in the AM, Core Work on the Squishy Disc, Spin at night.
Tuesday - 4M on TM in the AM.
PM: Fastest Finish.
The workout schedule said 1M with 600m recovery X3, with 1Ms at 6:40 pace. That's not going to happen, no way. But we managed to crank out some good time, considering it had some hills:
Wednesday - AM: 6M. It was supposed to be 5M, but since it was on a TM due to snow again, I threw in an extra mile. Getting pretty sick of the snow...
PM: Pilates.
Thursday - AM: The workout was interval runs with stretches at 10K pace. From 72nd to Engineer's Gate (1M) at 10K pace, with attack on Cat Hill. Recover to bottom of Harlem Hill. Attack Harlem Hill to next mile marker (top of 102nd Hill) at 10K. Recover the next two hills, then speed downhill from Reservoir back to 72nd. Didn't quite work out that way.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/441512516
I got way too worked about pace again. This always prompts me to stop on middle of Harlem Hill. Disappointed, I restart the adventure. Second time around, it goes just as worse with three stops. I almost want to cry. I come out of the Harlem Hill-102nd Hill stretch with 7:30, which is good pace, but considering the stops, it's crap. While I recover down the 102nd Hill, I decide to redeem myself by going all out on the 2nd Hill (6:58) and recover down. Then from the 3rd Hill to 72nd all out, no recovery. Some dude decides to race me on the flats, and I smoke him for added ego-boost. But I felt crappy for the rest of the day, having completely failed on Harlem Hills.
Thursday PM: Pilates with Taylor. My right foot cramped :(
Friday - OFF.
Saturday - 18M with Yung Hae. The team is back! Easy for first 4, 8:-8:15 for the next 13, 14-17 at marathon pace. (Almost) nailed it - everything went pretty well until the last bit, of course. I pooped out on Harlem Hill again (pacing) and had to stop at one point for water. My water bottle failed to cooperate.
The brand-new Garmin 620 failed to register GPS properly and other numbers, like caloric burn seems way off...After some internet research, apparently the Heart Rate Monitor and the Garmin has some kind of AI thing going on and that the more I use, the more it "learns" about me and the numbers get accurate.
...Why can't they just produce an accurate item from the get-go? Because this will mean that for the next 10-20 runs, it's going to be inaccurate...I sometimes hate technology. Sigh.
Sunday - easy recovery on the TM.
Sunday Night - learned Week 10 will have my first 20M run.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Week 13 - FATNESS TEST
Some elite dude ran Arizona Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon as his "Fitness Test" to see if how much damage the holidays had on him.
Inspired, I decided that the little two-looper Fred Lebow Half Marathon should be myFitness Fatness Test.
Fit and Fat: just a single letter difference but a whole world apart.
This week was awful week for running in NYC with snow, super cold, ice, etc. etc. It went down like this:
Monday:
Warmest day of the week, and since it was a holiday, ran outside - 6M. Legs felt pretty weak from skiing the day before, but Garmin was saying I was going fast, until I noticed the guy was beeping mile laps at odd spots. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/433128738 ...yep, it's off. I wonder why...
PM: Spin. Ladder endurance thingy.
Tuesday:
AM: Sleep in! yay!
PM: Faster Finish was downgraded to Snowy Finish, so I took to the TM.
10 min w/u. 3 min on, 2 min off; for 5M. 5 min c/d. 3 min parts accelerated from 7:00 to 6:38. Take that, TM!
Wednesday:
AM: Still Snow. So much Snow. 7M on TM.
Lunch: Pilates.
Thursday:
AM: STILL ON TM. w/u 1M, 4M with various inclines to mimic Central Park (5.5% max) @ 7:37, 1M c/d.
PM: Pilates.
Friday: - NADA -
Saturday:
AM: Shake Up Run. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/435434148
The sprints are at a pretty good pace, which makes me happy.
Sunday: RACE!
Surprisingly, the conditions were near identical to last year.
Fred Lebow Manhattan Half
Distance: 13.1 miles, 21.1 kilometers
Date/Time: January 26, 2014, 8:00 AM
Location: Central Park
Weather: 18 Degrees, 41% humidity, 12 mph, Fair
Last year, I struggled to keep it within marathon pace. This year, I struggled from over speeding. I felt like I had to pull myself in over and over.
I should've just let it have it...because...at second half of mile 10, I had a heart attack.
I realized that I just might PR in Central Park. My previous PR for a half marathon is at Brooklyn Half, a much easier, flatter course. None of this crazy hills. So for me to realize that I just might PR, it was shittin' bricks time. I freak out, my heart rate goes crazy and I feel a throw up coming on. I literally choked - I had to slow down. When the heart attack finally went away, I was able to push harder. The last two miles wasn't as a struggle as last year. It felt "right".
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/comparison?activityId=436294190&activityId2=266536872
I wasn't very tired afterwards, but just really cold. So yea, it was much different feeling race than last year!
headed to Phoenix for a half marathon. Gotta find out how much fitness I managed to maintain over the holiday beer & cookie binge. #sub65
— Rob Watson (@robbiedxc) January 17, 2014
Well, he won this race!Inspired, I decided that the little two-looper Fred Lebow Half Marathon should be my
Fit and Fat: just a single letter difference but a whole world apart.
This week was awful week for running in NYC with snow, super cold, ice, etc. etc. It went down like this:
Monday:
Warmest day of the week, and since it was a holiday, ran outside - 6M. Legs felt pretty weak from skiing the day before, but Garmin was saying I was going fast, until I noticed the guy was beeping mile laps at odd spots. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/433128738 ...yep, it's off. I wonder why...
PM: Spin. Ladder endurance thingy.
Tuesday:
AM: Sleep in! yay!
PM: Faster Finish was downgraded to Snowy Finish, so I took to the TM.
10 min w/u. 3 min on, 2 min off; for 5M. 5 min c/d. 3 min parts accelerated from 7:00 to 6:38. Take that, TM!
Wednesday:
AM: Still Snow. So much Snow. 7M on TM.
Lunch: Pilates.
Thursday:
AM: STILL ON TM. w/u 1M, 4M with various inclines to mimic Central Park (5.5% max) @ 7:37, 1M c/d.
PM: Pilates.
Friday: - NADA -
Saturday:
AM: Shake Up Run. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/435434148
The sprints are at a pretty good pace, which makes me happy.
Sunday: RACE!
Surprisingly, the conditions were near identical to last year.
Fred Lebow Manhattan Half
Distance: 13.1 miles, 21.1 kilometers
Date/Time: January 26, 2014, 8:00 AM
Location: Central Park
Weather: 18 Degrees, 41% humidity, 12 mph, Fair
| Manhattan Half-Marathon Distance: 13.1 miles, 21.1 kilometers Date/Time: January 27, 2013, 8:00 AM Location: Central Park, NYC Weather: 20 degrees, 60% humidity, 17 mph, Fair |
Last year, I struggled to keep it within marathon pace. This year, I struggled from over speeding. I felt like I had to pull myself in over and over.
I should've just let it have it...because...at second half of mile 10, I had a heart attack.
I realized that I just might PR in Central Park. My previous PR for a half marathon is at Brooklyn Half, a much easier, flatter course. None of this crazy hills. So for me to realize that I just might PR, it was shittin' bricks time. I freak out, my heart rate goes crazy and I feel a throw up coming on. I literally choked - I had to slow down. When the heart attack finally went away, I was able to push harder. The last two miles wasn't as a struggle as last year. It felt "right".
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/comparison?activityId=436294190&activityId2=266536872
I wasn't very tired afterwards, but just really cold. So yea, it was much different feeling race than last year!
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Week 14.
Another solid week done, although for some reason, I was extremely tired this week. It could be because I'm recovering from a cold.
But here goes!
Monday:
AM: 6M on treadmill. Nothing special.
Lunch: Put in a solid leg work out, since half marathon is almost around the corner and going full speed up Harlem Hill, Middle Hill and Cat Hill twice is gonna hurt!!
PM: Spin Class
Tuesday:
AM: Workout said spin, but did not want to spin, so I illegally ran 4Ms. Easy, though.
PM: Faster Finish Week 1. This was 8 min of Strawberry Hill Repeats followed by 2 min break, times three. The repeats were to be easy repeat, followed by hard repeat. Since they were so short, I recorded a PR. 6:11 pace going up.
Wednesday:
AM: This day was extremely icy. It ran the night before, then the temperature sank to below zero. It was super black ice along the roads, which forced me to run on Bridle Path. I am not used to running on squishy dirt, and I swear this severely added to my fatigue.
Lunch: Pilates
Thursday:
AM: Cat Hill Repeat. It was 8 repeats with a twist. Instead of hard up, easy down, it was hard up, hard down, then easy up, easy down. It was strangely hard, probably because I didn't get to take a break after the hard up. Some random dude actually cheered me on. I must have sounded awful or something (._.)
These COULD be faster, but I say it's good enough right now. At least they were all around 10K pace going up.
PM: Pilates
Friday:
PM: TRX. OK, this class is fun, but it's damaging to my long run. I put too much energy into this class that I didn't get enough muscular rest before I went on the Saturday run. Come to think about it, it's barely a 12 hour rest. Having had weird bridle path run on Wednesday and Cat Hill on Tuesday, I should've rested.
Saturday:
10M Long Run. Which shouldn't be this hard... It was supposed to be relatively easy, with just middle 6M at MP. It was hard from the get-go, and my legs felt like jelly. It was super exhausting.
Sunday:
Elliptical...yuck.
But here goes!
Monday:
AM: 6M on treadmill. Nothing special.
Lunch: Put in a solid leg work out, since half marathon is almost around the corner and going full speed up Harlem Hill, Middle Hill and Cat Hill twice is gonna hurt!!
PM: Spin Class
Tuesday:
AM: Workout said spin, but did not want to spin, so I illegally ran 4Ms. Easy, though.
PM: Faster Finish Week 1. This was 8 min of Strawberry Hill Repeats followed by 2 min break, times three. The repeats were to be easy repeat, followed by hard repeat. Since they were so short, I recorded a PR. 6:11 pace going up.
Wednesday:
AM: This day was extremely icy. It ran the night before, then the temperature sank to below zero. It was super black ice along the roads, which forced me to run on Bridle Path. I am not used to running on squishy dirt, and I swear this severely added to my fatigue.
Lunch: Pilates
Thursday:
AM: Cat Hill Repeat. It was 8 repeats with a twist. Instead of hard up, easy down, it was hard up, hard down, then easy up, easy down. It was strangely hard, probably because I didn't get to take a break after the hard up. Some random dude actually cheered me on. I must have sounded awful or something (._.)
These COULD be faster, but I say it's good enough right now. At least they were all around 10K pace going up.
PM: Pilates
Friday:
PM: TRX. OK, this class is fun, but it's damaging to my long run. I put too much energy into this class that I didn't get enough muscular rest before I went on the Saturday run. Come to think about it, it's barely a 12 hour rest. Having had weird bridle path run on Wednesday and Cat Hill on Tuesday, I should've rested.
Saturday:
10M Long Run. Which shouldn't be this hard... It was supposed to be relatively easy, with just middle 6M at MP. It was hard from the get-go, and my legs felt like jelly. It was super exhausting.
Sunday:
Elliptical...yuck.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
K, I'm Back.
So I didn't run the California International Marathon. I have been nursing Posterior Tibia Tendonitis, which seems to pop up whenever I don't want to go up a hill. Funny, how things like that happens.
While on break, I managed to get certified by USATF as a Level 1 T&F Coach. Insane. I hated T&F when I was in elementary school. Now, apparently, I'm good enough to coach it. There's something wrong. You don't want this coach for sure!
I also managed to sneak in some runs in Hawaii, on the Kona Coast. Yep, ran a small portion the Ironman Kona course and decided that these IM folks are insane.
ANYWAYS....
We're back to Boston training and back to getting that Unicorn at the finish line. Last year, I got my Unicorn, but some dumb asses ruined it for others. I sincerely hope all those who missed it are able to get their legit Unicorns this year.
So far, training has been tame. Coach Terry has been slow to build me up because he thinks I'm old and fragile. Well, I'm old. He got that right. But not so fragile. We are down to week 14 right now, with 2 weeks of training already under my belt. I managed a real solid long run for this early in the season (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/428136133). It's not reaaaaaaaaaalllllllyyyyyyy a long run unless it's 17+ miles, but I think it's good for now.
This week, things are still tame, as I prep for Manhattan Half at the end of the month. I'm looking to set a personal course record, which means, I have to beat 1:42:35. That's a 7:50/mile pace so it might be doable if I concentrate.
I need to decide what my pre-Boston tune up race is going to be. Originally, I was thinking NYC Half, but now that Mr. Watson is running it, I'd MUCH RATHER BE CHEERING than running. hmmm.
While on break, I managed to get certified by USATF as a Level 1 T&F Coach. Insane. I hated T&F when I was in elementary school. Now, apparently, I'm good enough to coach it. There's something wrong. You don't want this coach for sure!
I also managed to sneak in some runs in Hawaii, on the Kona Coast. Yep, ran a small portion the Ironman Kona course and decided that these IM folks are insane.
ANYWAYS....
We're back to Boston training and back to getting that Unicorn at the finish line. Last year, I got my Unicorn, but some dumb asses ruined it for others. I sincerely hope all those who missed it are able to get their legit Unicorns this year.
So far, training has been tame. Coach Terry has been slow to build me up because he thinks I'm old and fragile. Well, I'm old. He got that right. But not so fragile. We are down to week 14 right now, with 2 weeks of training already under my belt. I managed a real solid long run for this early in the season (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/428136133). It's not reaaaaaaaaaalllllllyyyyyyy a long run unless it's 17+ miles, but I think it's good for now.
This week, things are still tame, as I prep for Manhattan Half at the end of the month. I'm looking to set a personal course record, which means, I have to beat 1:42:35. That's a 7:50/mile pace so it might be doable if I concentrate.
I need to decide what my pre-Boston tune up race is going to be. Originally, I was thinking NYC Half, but now that Mr. Watson is running it, I'd MUCH RATHER BE CHEERING than running. hmmm.
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