Posted on Aug 09, 2009 under running |
I didn’t get to run on Thursday because we were having dinner with a co-worker of mine who is leaving us to go to medical school at Harvard. I don’t think there is any better reason to skip running. I was able to get in some pretty good workouts in this week if you look at the times. However, from my perspective, a lot of the runs didn’t really feel that fast. Meaning, after many of the runs this week, I would think to myself that I didn’t run that fast, but looking at the overall time and splits, it looks like I ran really well. After Saturday’s run, I have come to the conclusion that I have simply moved up a level in my training program. I am going to attribute this level up by switching to running at night. Since that switch, I have been able to get some quality runs in, at very fast times and paces. And from those workouts, my body has gotten a lot more comfortable running that fast. So now when I am running, even though I feel like it’s slower, the time and pace is significantly faster than a month or two before. So on those rare occasions that I have a really good workout, my time and pace will be that much faster. Now is probably a good time to start increasing the mileage, although the reason why I haven’t done it yet (other than the fact that I wasn’t physically capable) is the time factor. Running in the mornings was hard because I was waking up so early just to get in a short run, waking up any earlier would have been very hard for me, especially since I’m not really a morning person. Now that I’m runnning after work (which I come home fairly late), running for too long is not something that I really want to do, since I still have to shower, eat dinner, do a little more work, relax and then go to bed. I’m hoping increasing the mileage on Saturdays will be good enough, maybe throwing in a slightly longer run once or twice a week.
Nike+ graph of my pace during the Brick ride and run. Notice the sluggish start where my legs felt like 'bricks'!
Speaking of longer runs, I attempted to go on one on Tuesday using a route I found on nikeplus.com. It was supposed to be a 5.34 mile run, but I somehow ended up (not by choice) running 6.75 miles instead. If you read the note I wrote about the run, you’ll see that I made a wrong turn and ended up running into a lot of dead ends with no idea where I was at. It was not cool, but Nike+ still said I ran at a fairly decent pace, so I won’t complain. But next long run I have, I will make sure that I know exactly where to turn to avoid this fiasco..
The most obvious way I noticed my improvement was by Saturday’s brick ride and run. The first time I did this Brick Workout, I tried biking to Lake Miramar and run after that. The problem for me was that the route to the Lake was filled with a bunch of hills that just killed me before the run even started. I did not have a good run after that and just wanted to get it over with. On this Saturday, I drove to the Lake and biked the same route that I was going to run after. I didn’t necessarily go crazy during the bike ride, but broke a sweat and got the heartrate going. The bike ride did do its job for the name of the workout though because my legs literally felt like bricks! I have heard from others that they start to loosen up after the first half mile or so and I kept looking at each quarter mile marker on the road. At half a mile, I did feel my legs start to loosen up (or maybe I just thought that since that’s when others feel it). It didn’t really feel like I ran the first mile that fast, but I was surprised when I saw that I ran a 6:47. The rest of the run felt just as slow, but the splits weren’t too bad and to my surpise, very consistent. I was able to finish the run pretty strong too, which was good. Afterwards, I looked at the time and didn’t think much of it, until I actually logged it online. I thought to myself “don’t I usually run a lot slower than this??” I went back to see my old times and found my previous fastest time which was about a minute and a half slower! And this workout was just a run by itself, with no biking before. That just makes this past Saturday’s run even more significant and shows how much I have improved.
Monday, August 3, 2009
The Loop – 4 mi / 26:48, 6:42 min/mile
Finally measured my regular route with Nike+, each lap is exactly (1.01) miles! So glad that it’s not less than a mile.. Now I have the option to run any route, we’ll see how that turns out. Had a pretty good run today, Monday’s are good running days, work days..not so much..Splits: 6:39, 6:52, 6:43, 6:34.
HR Avg: 173 Max: 189
Calories: 517
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Wrong Turn Route – 6.75 mi / 48:25, 7:10 min/mile
Decided not to run my regular route today, #fail. Found a nice 5.34 mile route from nikeplus.com, which looked simple enough, just had to remember to go up Black Mountain Rd. Except the Black Mt Rd I turned on was not the right one, I had to turn on Kearny Villa Rd which became Black Mt! I got lost for almost 2 miles! Check out the route I was supposed to run (http://bit.ly/9DUmn) vs what I actually ran (http://bit.ly/ZV0TF) see miles 2-3…only silver lining: ran the most single-day miles in weeks T_T
HR Avg: 167 Max: 180
Calories: 880
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
The Loop – 4 mi / 29:40, 7:25 min/mile
Took it easy today after last night’s wrong turn run. Calves felt kind of tight during the run, going to try wearing my @zensah compression socks, hope that helps with recovery. Won’t have time to run after work tomorrow, so going to try running in the morning. It’s been weeks, hope I will wake up for it!!
HR Avg: 158 Max: 176
Calories: 493
Friday, August 7, 2009
The Loop – 4 mi / 27:22, 6:50 min/mile
It’s weird, the run felt a lot slower than the time said. And it was very evenly paced too! I didn’t really try to kill the pace or anything, tomorrow will be a harder run. Splits: 6:50, 6:46, 7:04, 6:39
HR Avg: 161 Max: 185
Calories: 474
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Lake Miramar Brick Ride & Run – 5 mi / 34:30, 6:54 min/mile
Legs felt very heavy (like bricks!) after the 5 mile bike ride, but still pulled off a great first mile. Stayed consistent throughout and finished strong. Was very surprised to see that I ran the fastest on this route today. Cooled down with another 5 mile bike ride. Very pleased with this workout as a whole!!
Splits: 6:47, 6:58, 7:09, 6:59, 6:35
HR Avg: 178 Max: 198
Calories: 695
DailyMile Running Updates: August 3-8, 2009
I didn’t get to run on Thursday because we were having dinner with a co-worker of mine who is leaving us to go to medical school at Harvard. I don’t think there is any better reason to skip running. I was able to get in some pretty good workouts in this week if you look at the times. However, from my perspective, a lot of the runs didn’t really feel that fast. Meaning, after many of the runs this week, I would think to myself that I didn’t run that fast, but looking at the overall time and splits, it looks like I ran really well. After Saturday’s run, I have come to the conclusion that I have simply moved up a level in my training program. I am going to attribute this level up by switching to running at night [http://www.trail-running-blog.com/training/running-in-the-morning-vs-running-at-night/]. Since that switch, I have been able to get some quality runs in, at very fast times and paces. And from those workouts, my body has gotten a lot more comfortable running that fast. So now when I am running, even though I feel like it’s slower, the time and pace is significantly faster than a month or two before. So on those rare occasions that I have a really good workout, my time and pace will be that much faster. Now is probably a good time to start increasing the mileage, although the reason why I haven’t done it yet (other than the fact that I wasn’t physically capable) is the time factor. Running in the mornings was hard because I was waking up so early just to get in a short run, waking up any earlier would have been very hard for me, especially since I’m not really a morning person. Now that I’m runnning after work (which I come home fairly late), running for too long is not something that I really want to do, since I still have to shower, eat dinner, do a little more work, relax and then go to bed. I’m hoping increasing the mileage on Saturdays will be good enough, maybe throwing in a slightly longer run once or twice a week.
Speaking of longer runs, I attempted to go on one on Tuesday using a route I found on nikeplus.com. It was supposed to be a 5.34 mile run, but I somehow ended up (not by choice) running 6.75 miles instead. If you read the note I wrote about the run, you’ll see that I made a wrong turn and ended up running into a lot of dead ends with no idea where I was at. It was not cool, but Nike+ still said I ran at a fairly decent pace, so I won’t complain. But next long run I have, I will make sure that I know exactly where to turn to avoid this fiasco..
The most obvious way I noticed my improvement was by Saturday’s brick ride & run [anchor link]. The first time I did this Brick Workout, [http://www.trail-running-blog.com/training/brick-workout-bike-run-for-endurance-training/] I tried biking to Lake Miramar and run after that. The problem for me was that the route to the Lake was filled with a bunch of hills that just killed me before the run even started. I did not have a good run after that and just wanted to get it over with. On this Saturday, I drove to the Lake and biked the same route that I was going to run after. I didn’t necessarily go crazy during the bike ride, but broke a sweat and got the heartrate going. The bike ride did do its job for the name of the workout though because my legs literally felt like bricks! I have heard from others that they start to loosen up after the first half mile or so and I kept looking at each quarter mile marker on the road. At half a mile, I did feel my legs start to loosen up (or maybe I just thought that since that’s when others feel it). It didn’t really feel like I ran the first mile that fast, but I was surprised when I saw that I ran a 6:47. The rest of the run felt just as slow, but the splits weren’t too bad and to my surpise, very consistent. I was able to finish the run pretty strong too, which was good. Afterwards, I looked at the time and didn’t think much of it, until I actually logged it online. I thought to myself “don’t I usually run a lot slower than this??” I went back to see my old times and found my previous fastest time [http://www.dailymile.com/people/SDrunner/entries/214987/] which was about a minute and a half slower! And this workout was just a run by itself, with no biking before. That just makes this past Saturday’s run even more significant and shows how much I have improved.
Monday, August 3, 2009
The Loop – 4 mi / 26:48, 6:42 min/mile
Finally measured my regular route with Nike+, each lap is exactly (1.01) miles! So glad that it’s not less than a mile.. Now I have the option to run any route, we’ll see how that turns out. Had a pretty good run today, Monday’s are good running days, work days..not so much..Splits: 6:39, 6:52, 6:43, 6:34.
HR Avg: 173 Max: 189
Calories: 517
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Wrong Turn Route – 6.75 mi / 48:25, 7:10 min/mile
Decided not to run my regular route today, #fail. Found a nice 5.34 mile route from nikeplus.com, which looked simple enough, just had to remember to go up Black Mountain Rd. Except the Black Mt Rd I turned on was not the right one, I had to turn on Kearny Villa Rd which became Black Mt! I got lost for almost 2 miles! Check out the route I was supposed to run (http://bit.ly/9DUmn) vs what I actually ran (http://bit.ly/ZV0TF) see miles 2-3…only silver lining: ran the most single-day miles in weeks T_T
HR Avg: 167 Max: 180
Calories: 880
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
The Loop – 4 mi / 29:40, 7:25 min/mile
Took it easy today after last night’s wrong turn run. Calves felt kind of tight during the run, going to try wearing my @zensah compression socks, hope that helps with recovery. Won’t have time to run after work tomorrow, so going to try running in the morning. It’s been weeks, hope I will wake up for it!!
HR Avg: 158 Max: 176
Calories: 493
Friday, August 7, 2009
The Loop – 4 mi / 27:22, 6:50 min/mile
It’s weird, the run felt a lot slower than the time said. And it was very evenly paced too! I didn’t really try to kill the pace or anything, tomorrow will be a harder run. Splits: 6:50, 6:46, 7:04, 6:39
HR Avg: 161 Max: 185
Calories: 474
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Lake Miramar Brick Ride & Run – 5 mi / 34:30, 6:54 min/mile
Legs felt very heavy (like bricks!) after the 5 mile bike ride, but still pulled off a great first mile. Stayed consistent throughout and finished strong. Was very surprised to see that I ran the fastest on this route today. Cooled down with another 5 mile bike ride. Very pleased with this workout as a whole!!
Splits: 6:47, 6:58, 7:09, 6:59, 6:35
HR Avg: 178 Max: 198
Calories: 695
August 9th, 2009 at 6:12 AM
Oh my, you really did get lost in Miramar, didn’t you? That’s not a terribly scenic route, either. The road name changes in that area can be tricky. I live off Black Mountain, but farther up — be glad you didn’t have to tackle THAT hill.
August 9th, 2009 at 3:13 PM
nice running! very cool to see that your times are getting faster. i always like getting home from a run that didn’t feel too good and seeing the splits in my favor. (the bad days are when you get back and it’s definitely not-so-good!) 🙂
how did you like the compression socks? i have some – love them. don’t know if i believe in all the technology behind them or not, but they do feel pretty good!
August 12th, 2009 at 10:52 AM
That Nike+ graph is pretty. Way better than Garmin. :o)
Great week of run. You’re speedy!
August 13th, 2009 at 5:30 AM
You are doing really well working the bike in. I love riding and it has really helped with my running, espeically with hills. I have been swimming because I am going to do a tri. However, I find it to be a great cardio workout and is so much nicer on the joints. I think my running is benefiting from the crosstraiing.