Today it was finally warm enough to go for a run in shorts and a T-Shirt. It doesn't quiet make up for the run I did yesterday in 34 degree rain and ice.
Yesterday I cut my run short and only did about 4 miles. The conditions got really dangerous and cars were having trouble driving. There was about 2 inches of ice on the roads and people were driving way too fast. For safety's sake, I cut the run short.
Today was a lot better. It was 47 degrees and sunny when I went for my run. I met up with my Feel the Love 5k partner Laura O'Mara and went for a run from the Haddonfield Running Company. I went out in a t shirt and shorts and we ran for an hour. It felt easy and the run was at conversation pace. After we ran through a mile marker check point we calculated our pace 7:30 per mile. It was great to see my watch register a run over an hour again.
In other news, Quinn Rogowski entered this world today 1:24 pm to proud parents Brett & MaryRose Rogowski.... the exact time I finished my run and got back in my car today. Also, the 30,000 participant cap for the Broad Street Run 10 Miler was reached today. I'm glad I registered the first day.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
Alumni Mile and Snow
Time for quick update of my training. I've been running about 4 times a week and supplementing my training with aqua jogging and biking. The extensor tendonitis has seemed to clear up. My long run has worked its way up to 8 miles and my pace has started to pick up. On Monday night I did a run a that was little less than 8 miles. I used the heart rate monitor to where I was at. My pace was around 6:50-6:55 per mile and my heart rate was right around 160 bpm. This is considerably faster than my first run for the year at the same bpm.
I also had the joy of doing some running in the snow. With about a foot of it still on the ground and people refusing to shovel their sidewalks, its a part of every run. On Sunday, I joined Nick DeSantis and Garrett Watkinson for Nick's easy run. We ran about 45-50 minutes in the 8 inches of snow that prevented us from going to Atlantic City. It was at my normal run pace and I felt strong. After the run, we did some striders on the road. The striders felt good and so did moving fast. When I have the opportunity and it's safe conditions, I will add them into my normal run.
Last night I ran my first race of 2011. The Rider vs Monmouth Alumni Mile. There were 4 guys running and I knew before the race that I was going to place second. I did an abbreviated warm up with fellow Rider Alum John Smith and while we were warming up, we saw our competition. They looked slightly out of shape. They asked what I was shooting for as a goal time and I said about 5:00. They said they were nowhere close to that shape and would be happy breaking 6:00. John Smith has been training and was shooting for a 4:25. I then changed my goal to not be lapped by Smith.
The gun went off and John took off. I settled in at my own pace and was well ahead of 3rd place. I went through the first 200 in about 37 seconds (right on pace for 5:00), but knew it wasn't gonna hit the time by myself. I went through the 400 in 75, 800 in 2:31, 1200 in 3:47 and finished in 5:05. On lap number 7 I was running scared. About halfway through the first turn, I heard the bell ring for John's last lap. He had already lapped everyone else in the field by this point. I picked up the pace and surged through the lap and managed to not get lapped. Smith finished in 4:31 by himself and I finished 2nd. For the second straight year (and the complete history of the Rider Monmouth indoor dual) all Rider Alumni beat all Monmouth Alumni. I know I could have gone faster if I had someone to run with.
I've also set my racing schedule for this winter / spring.
February 12, 2011
5th Annual Feel the Love 5k:
Team Lomstead
March 19, 2011
Haddonfield Adrenaline 5k
March 26, 2011,
Phillies 5k
I may add some other 5k's in there. Hopefully I'll run sub 18 next month. I'm shooting for 17:30-45. I think it's an obtainable goal, but I really won't know what kind of shape I'm in until I race.
I also had the joy of doing some running in the snow. With about a foot of it still on the ground and people refusing to shovel their sidewalks, its a part of every run. On Sunday, I joined Nick DeSantis and Garrett Watkinson for Nick's easy run. We ran about 45-50 minutes in the 8 inches of snow that prevented us from going to Atlantic City. It was at my normal run pace and I felt strong. After the run, we did some striders on the road. The striders felt good and so did moving fast. When I have the opportunity and it's safe conditions, I will add them into my normal run.
Last night I ran my first race of 2011. The Rider vs Monmouth Alumni Mile. There were 4 guys running and I knew before the race that I was going to place second. I did an abbreviated warm up with fellow Rider Alum John Smith and while we were warming up, we saw our competition. They looked slightly out of shape. They asked what I was shooting for as a goal time and I said about 5:00. They said they were nowhere close to that shape and would be happy breaking 6:00. John Smith has been training and was shooting for a 4:25. I then changed my goal to not be lapped by Smith.
The gun went off and John took off. I settled in at my own pace and was well ahead of 3rd place. I went through the first 200 in about 37 seconds (right on pace for 5:00), but knew it wasn't gonna hit the time by myself. I went through the 400 in 75, 800 in 2:31, 1200 in 3:47 and finished in 5:05. On lap number 7 I was running scared. About halfway through the first turn, I heard the bell ring for John's last lap. He had already lapped everyone else in the field by this point. I picked up the pace and surged through the lap and managed to not get lapped. Smith finished in 4:31 by himself and I finished 2nd. For the second straight year (and the complete history of the Rider Monmouth indoor dual) all Rider Alumni beat all Monmouth Alumni. I know I could have gone faster if I had someone to run with.
I've also set my racing schedule for this winter / spring.
February 12, 2011
5th Annual Feel the Love 5k:
Team Lomstead
March 19, 2011
Haddonfield Adrenaline 5k
March 26, 2011,
Phillies 5k
I may add some other 5k's in there. Hopefully I'll run sub 18 next month. I'm shooting for 17:30-45. I think it's an obtainable goal, but I really won't know what kind of shape I'm in until I race.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
First Run 2.0
After several days of not feeling any pain in my foot, I decided to test it out on an easy run. I don't know if it was the new shoes, time off, the significantly slower pace, or all of the above but I felt great.
I put on my new heart rate monitor and went out the door with the goal of keeping my heart rate between 70-80% of my maximum heart rate (about 154-168 bpm). I was able to program the watch to alert me when I was exceeding this limit. What I learned was I'm not nearly in the shape I thought I was in and need to run at a significantly slower pace. I quickly got to my target range and needed to back off the pace. To stay in my target range I felt like I was crawling out there (probably because I was). I felt like I could have easily held the pace for another 7 miles. I ran 3.5 miles in 26:44 (~7:38 mile pace). My average heart rate was 162 bpm and the highest I got up to was 169 bpm.
The only redeeming factor for me is that estimating from VDOT tables I'm in approximately 17:50-18:10 5k shape (For those that don't know about training using VDOT, I'll hopefully get a page in the near future on this blog that will explain it in more detail). It's not a great time, but better than I thought I was. Of course estimates from a table in a book are significantly different than an actual race result. Depending on how my training goes this month, I may look for a low key 5k got get a better estimate of my fitness. One of my goals by the end of 2011 is to get back under 17 minutes for 5k. With proper training and staying healthy, this should be an obtainable goal.
I put on my new heart rate monitor and went out the door with the goal of keeping my heart rate between 70-80% of my maximum heart rate (about 154-168 bpm). I was able to program the watch to alert me when I was exceeding this limit. What I learned was I'm not nearly in the shape I thought I was in and need to run at a significantly slower pace. I quickly got to my target range and needed to back off the pace. To stay in my target range I felt like I was crawling out there (probably because I was). I felt like I could have easily held the pace for another 7 miles. I ran 3.5 miles in 26:44 (~7:38 mile pace). My average heart rate was 162 bpm and the highest I got up to was 169 bpm.
The only redeeming factor for me is that estimating from VDOT tables I'm in approximately 17:50-18:10 5k shape (For those that don't know about training using VDOT, I'll hopefully get a page in the near future on this blog that will explain it in more detail). It's not a great time, but better than I thought I was. Of course estimates from a table in a book are significantly different than an actual race result. Depending on how my training goes this month, I may look for a low key 5k got get a better estimate of my fitness. One of my goals by the end of 2011 is to get back under 17 minutes for 5k. With proper training and staying healthy, this should be an obtainable goal.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Year, New Philosophy, and a New Start
"Take a primitive organism, any weak, pitiful organism. Say a freshman. Make it lift or jump or run. Let it rest. What happens? A little miracle. It gets a little better. It gets a little stronger or faster or more enduring. That's all training is. Stress. Recover. Improve. You'd think any damn fool could do it, even... But you don't. You work too hard and rest too little and get hurt." - Bill Bowerman
Proper Stress + Proper Recovery = Improved Performance
After this holiday season, I received some gear that will help me out as I start again, a brand new pair of running shoes and a heart rate monitor. Theoretically, if I can run based off of my heart rate (which puts a numeric value to my perceived effort) I should be able to optimize my stress and recovery and prevent over training.
I've spent the last week training on the stationary bike and aqua jogging, but soon the gym will be soon be packed with New Years Resolutionists. I will try to avoid the gym during "prime" hours to attempt to get a continuous workout in. My foot has been feeling better for the last couple days and I will test it out tomorrow. I'm going to start out slow and continue to bike and aqua jog until I get fully acclimated to training again.
I have also set the race I plan to train for this winter: the Broad Street Run. I've run this race the last couple years, but have never raced well there. Hopefully with a solid training plan, I'll be able to change those results.
Happy New Year
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