Next week at this time I will be running the White Rock marathon for the 7th time. I I've had a good week of running with runs of 4.6, 8, 7.7, 6.5 and today ran a nice easy 4.5. I'm feeling good with my running right now, but haven't gotten the long runs in that I probably need to make this a great run but I'm hoping my experience and by making one really smart decision I can make it a good one.
I usually run the 1st half way too fast and really suffer during the last 6-8 miles. This year my goal is to run an even split or even a negative split if I have anything left in the tank the last 4-5 miles. I'm not sure if it will work out or not since my longest runs have been in the 15-17 miles range, but I guess I'll find out on race day.
Right now the weather is looking a little warm with a low of 47 and a high in the 60s, but that could easily change by race day. The course has changed this year again, but this time it's a major change as they have moved the start/finish out of downtown to Fair Park, so it should be interesting to see how the course looks this year. Looking forward to seeing some of my running buddies as well, it seems like I see most of these people only at races but it's still nice to have a small chat and see how they are doing.
Well this will be a really nice and easy week with 2-3 runs of 4 miles and then it will be race day. Nothing better than race day to a runner.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
A Better Week
After Sundays disappointing run I decided to make some changes and so far so good. I started off the week with 3 straight days of 7+ mile runs and pushed the pace more than usual and was able to run from 8:30's to 8:45's for them. I took Thursday and Friday off and then did a longer run today with a group instead of doing it on my own. It was much easier to get the miles in while chatting with others than it has been for me to get through my long runs by myself. Ended up getting 16.5 today which put me right at 53 miles for the past 7 days. Even though I haven't been able to get my long runs dialed in as of late, I'm still getting some decent miles in at a good pace.
Now I'll take it a little easy for the next couple of weeks and see what I can do at White Rock on the 5th. The past 3 times I have run it I haven't tapered at all and used it as just a regular long training run. This year I want to see if I can run it at a decent pace in see how close to 4 hours I can get. I know I haven't trained properly for it, but I'll just see what happens anyway.
Now I'll take it a little easy for the next couple of weeks and see what I can do at White Rock on the 5th. The past 3 times I have run it I haven't tapered at all and used it as just a regular long training run. This year I want to see if I can run it at a decent pace in see how close to 4 hours I can get. I know I haven't trained properly for it, but I'll just see what happens anyway.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Going back to Work
Well, not work work, but back to running with more focus. I've spent the past few years working on longer distances and even though I've been running some serious long distances in training, I haven't been pushing myself to suffer. I used to enjoy the feeling I would get when I pushed the pace really hard. Back in high school I would get the dry heaves after every one of my races. I would just push for the finish line with everything I had until I crossed the finish line.
I never was the fastest runner, but I could push the pace and suffer more than most. When I was in the Marine Corps I was consistently running sub 16 minute 3 milers and would suffer the whole time. When I started running my first marathons I was able to run around 3:40 with very little training and long runs of 16-17 miles. I really didn't know any better back then.
Then something happened as I got older, I started running longer distances, not because I was so good at them; but because I didn't like how running a 5k, 10k and half marathons hurt. You had to suffer to run those at a fast pace and I got to where I didn't like that anymore. I started running marathons as "training runs", which meant I could run them at a slow pace and not have to worry about how fast or slow I ran them. When I would run one in about 5 hours it was easy to explain it as "just a training run to get in the miles". What I really should have said was "I didn't want to run it too fast because it would hurt".
Lately I got to where I would run with my ipod so I could just escape on my long runs and not think about the run. That worked last year and I was able to get runs in from 5-8 hours, but this year I was having problems with motivation. I couldn't find that happy place and would quit after a couple of hours, so something needed to change.
My last 2 runs I have run without my music and focused on running. I was aware of my feet striking the ground, the rhythm of my breathing and my running form. It was great to hear the little sounds that I was missing and was aware that I was running free. These 2 runs have motivated me to become a different runner and I'm not sure what that means right now.
I'm still hoping to get in enough miles to finish Rocky Raccoon in February, but if I don't I'm not going to worry about it. I will run some 10ks, half marathons, and fulls. I'm going to try and suffer more on training runs and run free. I'm staying away from the music for awhile and see what that brings as well. I'm going to try and find that runner I was 20 years ago, the one that didn't mind suffering for a few hours because of the reward that was at the finish line.
I never was the fastest runner, but I could push the pace and suffer more than most. When I was in the Marine Corps I was consistently running sub 16 minute 3 milers and would suffer the whole time. When I started running my first marathons I was able to run around 3:40 with very little training and long runs of 16-17 miles. I really didn't know any better back then.
Then something happened as I got older, I started running longer distances, not because I was so good at them; but because I didn't like how running a 5k, 10k and half marathons hurt. You had to suffer to run those at a fast pace and I got to where I didn't like that anymore. I started running marathons as "training runs", which meant I could run them at a slow pace and not have to worry about how fast or slow I ran them. When I would run one in about 5 hours it was easy to explain it as "just a training run to get in the miles". What I really should have said was "I didn't want to run it too fast because it would hurt".
Lately I got to where I would run with my ipod so I could just escape on my long runs and not think about the run. That worked last year and I was able to get runs in from 5-8 hours, but this year I was having problems with motivation. I couldn't find that happy place and would quit after a couple of hours, so something needed to change.
My last 2 runs I have run without my music and focused on running. I was aware of my feet striking the ground, the rhythm of my breathing and my running form. It was great to hear the little sounds that I was missing and was aware that I was running free. These 2 runs have motivated me to become a different runner and I'm not sure what that means right now.
I'm still hoping to get in enough miles to finish Rocky Raccoon in February, but if I don't I'm not going to worry about it. I will run some 10ks, half marathons, and fulls. I'm going to try and suffer more on training runs and run free. I'm staying away from the music for awhile and see what that brings as well. I'm going to try and find that runner I was 20 years ago, the one that didn't mind suffering for a few hours because of the reward that was at the finish line.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Lack of Motivation
Here it mid way through November and I am having some serious issues with the long run. My weekday runs are going well, getting some good 6-9 mile runs in and at a decent pace for me. I couldn't be happier with them at this point and haven't been this healthy in a couple of years. My problem is the long run, I've managed to get some 15-17 mile runs in but they haven't been much fun at all. I get to about 2 hours in and all I can think about is quitting! Today I started off for a 20 miler and I felt great for the first 12 and figured it would be one of the those days where I could run forever. Not sure what's going on but soon after that my legs felt tired and I didn't have that Pep that I had just a mile back. Soon I was walking and called it a day at 14 and just walked back to the house. I took a shower and watched some football games on TV. I didn't feel tired or sore or any other issue that I can point to. I'm just having some mental issues about my long runs.
Last year I relished my long runs and would just let my mind wander for the 4-6 hours I was out there running but for some reason I can't find that place this year and my mind says quit after I get a couple of hours in. I think this weekend I'm going to run with a group and see if that will help because I need to get some good quality runs in if I'm going to hit any of my goals this year.
I signed up for White Rock in Dallas in 3 weeks so hopefully that will motivate me as well. It will be my 7th time to run it so I'm hoping to run it over 20 times while still being able to run. That gives me 13 more years to stay in running shape! Lol
Last year I relished my long runs and would just let my mind wander for the 4-6 hours I was out there running but for some reason I can't find that place this year and my mind says quit after I get a couple of hours in. I think this weekend I'm going to run with a group and see if that will help because I need to get some good quality runs in if I'm going to hit any of my goals this year.
I signed up for White Rock in Dallas in 3 weeks so hopefully that will motivate me as well. It will be my 7th time to run it so I'm hoping to run it over 20 times while still being able to run. That gives me 13 more years to stay in running shape! Lol
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