Week 8 Training Update

26 Oct

Due to fatigue, I was obliged to scale back the ambitious workout plan outlined below. I did a 1.5 mile time trial on Friday, finishing in 7:57 on close to max effort. The evening before I had aquajogged for thirty minutes, so I wasn't completely fresh. I suppose the performance is acceptable. It's my first time under 8:00 in three and a half years, and my fastest time ever since I ran 7:50 as a freshman in college. I came through 1600 in 5:14. It may be hard to believe, based on this 7:57, that I plan on running a 4:03 1500 in late spring. I've got a long ways to go, I know. However, I've only been training for two months. I have seven more months of training before peaking in early June (excluding a few weeks of rest), so I can still get there. This sport is all about patience. You can only build fitness with month upon month of consistent training. I cringe when I think that Deena Kastor can sustain my 1.5 mile pace for 26.2. However, as soon as this thought creeps up I remind myself of the cardinal rule of distance running: NEVER compare yourself to others. All that matters is self-improvement.
This afternoon I did a workout on the track. I had originally planned for a 2x15 minute tempo, but after running 400 meters I was forced to revise this plan. I came through the quarter in 80 seconds, too fast for a 15 minute effort. I quickly decided to do a 3200 meter repeat. I finished in in 10:55, running an even 5:27/5:28. I rested for 11 minutes, and then did another 3200, this time in 11:22 (5:41/5:41). Again, it's an acceptable performance. Nothing spectacular, but acceptable. The 10:55 hurt pretty bad in the second half; it was at about 90 percent effort. At max effort, I could probably run 10:40 right now, which is my sophomore high school PR. The second 3200 felt much more relaxed. I was thoroughly exhausted at the end, too tired to do a cool down (not good, I know). It was good to get in a workout with sustained aerobic exertion. I hadn't done anything like that yet. I will be able to do another 2-3 solid workouts prior to the Phoenix 5K. My goal is 16:45, or roughly 5:25 pace. With additional fitness and the thrill of competition, this goal is certainly within my reach.
I only did 18 miles this week. I was too exhausted to make the Saturday morning team run. My fatigue, I now realize, is the result of only 6 hours of sleep a night. I'm going to extend that to my usual 8 hours. That should fix the problem. With the intensity of my athletic pursuits, sufficient sleep is essential. 6 hours simply doesn't cut it.

22 Oct

Well, after a week of training in the pool, I'm back into the swing of things. I did a track workout on Tuesday, three sets of 4 x .236 miles; that's evidently the size of this undersized track. Coach Bill gave me 60 seconds of rest between the repeats, and 2 minutes between sets. Despite fears of being sluggish, I actually felt very strong. I did them all in 59-61 seconds (that's about 62-63 seconds for a full 400 meters), and finished with a 58. It's possible that I'm overestimating the size of the track, because if I was indeed running 62 second quarters with only 60 seconds of rest, that means I am in VERY good shape. Yeah, now that I think about it, I probably wasn't running that fast, especially given the fact that I aquajogged most of last week. Even so, I was running at least 65 second 400 meter pace. I actually accelerated in the second half of each repeat. The workout was hard, but not super painful. I remember my 400 meter repeat sessions in high school being much harder. My legs didn't start to feel heavy until the last set. Coach Bill and I really worked on my form. It turns out I'm swing my arms too much from side to side. I need to focus on keeping them close to my body. I also have a tendency to overstride, which causes a loss in efficiency. Finally, I've got to keep my body straight, straight enough to drop a plumb line from my head to my hips. That's how the Africans run. Coach Bill showed me a clip of Haile Gebreselassie from the movie Endurance. He keeps his torso perfectly straight. That's how I want to run.
Today I ran six miles on the treadmill, ending with 2.5 miles at 6:00 pace. My right calf is somewhat tight so I'm going to aquajog tomorrow. I've learned not to push through tightness. It's just not a good idea. Better to back off than get injured. Friday I've got two workouts planned: a 1.5 mile run in the morning (part of my Air Force PT test) and a 2 x 20 minute tempo run in the evening. Saturday I'm doing a long run of around 10 miles, and on Sunday I'll do my usual 5 mile "assessment" on the track. I should be able to hit 29:35 (5:55 pace) without working too hard.