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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Life after the PR

I have done three recovery sessions this week. Two on Monday (AM, PM) and one yesterday (Tuesday). My right shin is sore, I am not sure if am still feeling the effects of the half-marathon’s effort. I had a great race on Saturday but am a bit concerned about this problem. Everything else is great. I am leaning towards not doing any quality workouts this week to fully recover from the Kzoo half-marathon. It’s only 4 ½ weeks until Traverse City and I need to be extremely careful with my body. I don’t want to waste 4 fantastic months of training!

Monday—AM: 3 miles, recovery. PM: 6 miles, recovery. 9 miles total.
Tuesday—PM: 8.5 miles, easy.

Monday, April 26, 2010

New PR! 1:29:47 in the Kzoo Half-Marathon

Hope you all had a good weekend! I am very satisfied with my performance in the Kalamazoo half-marathon. I ran in 1:29:47, a new PR in this distance! I knew that my shape was good but not good enough to run under 1:30:00.

On Saturday morning, I woke up at 6 am and had coffee, a banana, an English muffin and some Gatorade for breakfast. I then headed to the start of the race. It was breezy and a bit cool, but managed to stay warm until the race started. The fist two miles were downhill. I ran them well under 7 min/mile. I was feeling very good but knew that the most difficult part of that course was the second half so I stayed calm and relaxed. Miles 3,4 and 5 were in Kalamazoo downtown. They are flat as a pancake and I tagged behind two guys who were running at a very good pace. In mile 6, there is a long hill that I ran well. The sixth mile was not as slow as I expected it to be and that gave me some confidence. I focused on maintaining a good running form without worrying about the pace. My quads felt a bit tight after the hill and I didn’t want to push excessively. Miles 7 and 8 were easy, I knew I had enough gas to put the hammer down from mile 9 onwards and that’s precisely what I did. To be honest, I didn’t really know I was running in a sub 1:30 pace! Mile 10 and 11 are relatively flat and I picked my pace up a bit. My legs were fine and I was not feeling very tired. Miles 12 and 13 have a couple of hills that could make you suffer at this stage of the race. Rather than slowing down, I attacked them. Finishing races off has historically been one of my shortcomings and am working hard to overcome it. I knew that I had a shot of running under 1:30 and I went for it! Two years ago I would had slowed down. When you slow down, you don’t feel fulfilled at the end… I know that feeling very well and I don’t want to experience it anymore. I am training really hard and I need to show that when am racing. When I crossed the 13 mile marker, I knew I was going to run under 1:30 and I ran as hard as I could. The last 1/10 of a mile felt very good because I dreamed with running under 1:30 for a long time and I was very close to demolish that barrier. I crossed the finish line in 1:29:47, my fastest half-marathon ever!

During the race, I asked myself several times: Do you remember when you used to run in the back of the pack? Do you prefer the back or the front? If you prefer running in the front, then keep pushing! This is a big step but it is not the final one. I am going to continue working as hard as possible to run a Boston qualifying time in Traverse City. My result this past Saturday is a big boost to my morale and am feeling better than ever. My legs are a bit sore after the effort and I will try to recover them ASAP. The first two days of this week will be easy and after evaluating my runs I will decide the other workouts.

Friday, April 23, 2010

First race of the year!

I am running a half-marathon in Kalamazoo tomorrow morning (April 24th). The weather forecast is not very good (with rain) but I would still like to run. As I said in a previous post, the course is not an easy one. The weather and a difficult course could make things difficult. This is why I have designed two race plans. One includes running the 13 miles at marathon pace (7:20-7:25). Another has 10 miles at 7:00 min/mile and the last 3.1 miles at 5k pace (6:30-6:45). I will decide which one to use after seeing the conditions. Meanwhile, the week has been good so far… Three easy runs on Wed. Th and Fr to get ready for tomorrow’s race.

Wednesday: Two sessions, total 11.5 miles. AM: 5 miles recovery. PM: 6.5 miles easy. I felt very good in the evening session.

Thursday: 7 easy miles.

Friday: 4 very easy miles with 4*1 minute surges. I wanted to feel my legs and they seem to be ready for tomorrow.

I will let you know how things develop in Kalamazoo…

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Boston Marathon Week


5 weeks and 2 days until the Traverse City Marathon… I am entering the most important part of my preparation for the race. In the horizon 2 long runs (2:40 hrs. or more) and 2 marathon pace runs are waiting for me. I feel strong and, above all, healthy. This week has been good so far. As I said in my last post, chances are that am going to run a half marathon in Kalamazoo this Saturday. This week’s training is thus designed for that purpose.

Monday—60 mins. (7.5 miles). I went for a run with Scott. The pace was a little bit faster than what I wanted but still within my range. No major problems. Strength training to end.

Tuesday—4x10 mins tempo (2 mins recovery). Total miles: 8. I knew this tempo was not going to be pretty. I didn’t rest enough and my times were not good. Anyhow, the tempo run is done and I now have three days to fully recover before running in Kzoo.

Wednesday:  AM: 5 miles, PM: 6 miles. Total miles 11. I felt good in the morning run, my legs were faster than expected and am happy about that. The pace was in the mid 8’s, no major issues to report. I then went to the gym for 30 mins to do some strength training. The PM run will also be at a very easy pace. This is the first double header of the season! Will let you know how I feel in my run.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Th/Fr/Sat/Sun

Thursday: 7.5 miles @ 8:25 avg. This was a nice run in a warm weather (82 degrees). I was pleasantly surprised that my legs were not in bad shape after the very difficult tempo run on Wednesday. The pace was indeed fast in the first two miles and I decided to slow down a bit because my right calf was a bit sore. I am reaching a point at which running at 8:15-8:30 is just really easy. It’s difficult to slow down when am running fine but am doing a job so far.

Friday: Off. I took Friday off because my right calf has been bothering me quite a bit since Wednesday night. I really wanted to run but decided against it in the afternoon. I figured that taking one day off was the most intelligent decision at this stage of my training. Yes, taking one day off will not affect my form but could result in many days off (due to an injury) if am not feeling good.

Saturday (QW2): 15.2 miles total. 2x10 mins tempo (2 mins recovery), 9 miles, 20 mins tempo. My right calf is not 100%, I still have moderate pain so I decided to go slow in the warm up (12 minutes) and then do the first set of tempos. I felt fine in the warm up and did a very good job in the first 2x10 mins. tempos. The wind was very strong (gusting up to 30 miles per hour) and that certainly slowed me down a bit. The next 8 miles were easy. Again, the 8:15-8:30 min/mile pace felt very easy. I didn’t have any major problem completing the first 11.25 miles. The biggest challenge came at the end: a 20 minute tempo with 11.25 miles already in my legs. Four weeks ago, I did a similar work out and the last tempo was not good. I had a very good 20 min. tempo today. I ran in the upper limit for a tempo run (7:05 min/mile) not because I couldn’t go faster but because I consciously decided to be conservative and don’t force my right calf. I ended this run feeling very strong. I am happy! In addition to putting together a strong 15 miler, I ran almost 11 miles of the Kalamazoo half marathon course. I wanted to get a sense of how easy or difficult it is. I think it is not easy. The first 4 miles are very easy but the rest is tricky. It has many hills and that could be costly at the end. At least I know what to expect next Saturday. My legs are stronger and ready for the hills. I have a race plan in mind but will describe it in detail later…

Sunday: 6 miles very easy. Easy recovery day, 6 miles in the upper 8's and low 9's. I felt good and wanted to go faster but didn't do it.


Total miles this week: 54.5

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Mid-week report

It's been a decent week so far. This is supposed to be a down week and am doing everything possible to maintain the 'easy runs' as easy as possible. 

Monday:  Easy 7 miles+ strength.  My legs didn't feel very good at the beginning and I didn't push the pace at all. I was happy running in the high 8's and low 9's mins/mile. I just can't believe how easy the low 9's feel... they used to be a torture 2 years ago. It was very windy outside, windy and cool.  Strength training at the end.

Tuesday: Another easy day. 9 miles+strength. I decided to do another easy day before running the tempo. The pace was in the mid-8's, very easy and comfortable. Still very windy outside. No major problems during the run. My calves are a bit tight but the pace was just right. No major problems during the run. Strength to end the day.

Wednesday: (QW 1): 8x5 mins tempo (30-45 secs recovery). Total 9.5 miles. This was a difficult workout. The weather was great and I decided to do my tempo run in an outdoor track. I warmed up for 12 mins. and then began the tempos. I felt fine in the first three but not so good in the final 5. The track is not very fast and I could feel it. I initially thought that my pace was very slow but I was wrong. I ran at 6:30 min/mile average which is substantially better than the 6:45-7:05 min/mile that my plan calls for. Actually, I must say that I was in very good shape for the last 2 tempo intervals so I can't complain at all. Ended with a 2 mile cool down. I went home and iced my right calf that was very sore after the workout (because of the new surface, I think).
 
Thursday and Friday will be easy days... very easy days as I prepare for a grueling workout on Saturday. Will tell you about this later in the week.

On a completely different note, I am very likely to run the Kalamazoo half-marathon next weekend (April 25). I really look forward to seeing how my new plan translates into actual racing. I don't know if am ready for a half-marathon PR but it would be great to see how my body is responding to the new training regime.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Peak Week 1... done!

I usually am very good at knowing the routes am running. Well, that was not the case last Saturday. I got completely lost and ended up running 19.5 miles and walking another 3-4. Yes, I need to be more careful and really know my routes. I really liked the course and I wanted to keep running the whole day. It was one of those days that you wish you could have on marathon day. I felt very good. In fact, I felt better and better as the run progressed. I started relatively slow (8:30 min/mile) and sped up in the second half of my run. No aches, no pain, no mental breakdowns (except when I found out that I was lost in the middle of some corn fields) and no hesitation about my pace. A good slow long run.

The long run was preceded by a 4 mile very easy run indoors on Friday morning. I ran well after the great tempo run on Thursday. Overall, I had a great week. I continue to feel good about my chances of running a marathon PR in TC. This week am going to cut down the mileage a bit.

The Zurich Marathon was yesterday... I read that they changed the course as is now faster than the previous years. I have a special appreciation for that marathon because I ran fast in 2009 despite the warm weather and the slow course. I will go back to run it sometime. I am getting ready to watch the Boston Marathon next Monday... I hope to be running in Boston next year.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Looking good

I love the days when my legs move without any problem! I have loved my runs this week. After an average week last week, I decided to start this week with three easy runs (Mo, Tu, and We)… that decision has paid off. Besides my training plan, I have also changed my training philosophy a bit, listening to my body more carefully. I run hard when I have to log a quality run and rest when I have to rest even if I feel great. Although it is still early to say if my new strategies will result in a new marathon PR, I am feeling stronger and healthier. I know that good things will follow if I stay healthy. This week’s training has been as follows:

Tu: Easy run, 9 miles (8:16/mile). It was a great running day: temperature in the high 70s, decent humidity levels, lots of sunshine, etc… My legs were still a bit tired from the MP run last Saturday but after 3 miles they were just smoothly hitting the road. I started slow and progressively picked the pace up in the last three miles (7:56 min/mile avg). I didn’t want to stop but I had to do it.

We: 6 miles, easy (8:25). Wow! It was windy, rainy and gray outside. The first 5 miles weren’t that bad. But in the 6th mile, it was pouring!! So I decided to call it quits and get ready for a very difficult workout tomorrow. I went to the gym and did some strength training. I am not doing as much strength training as in the previous months. The runs are longer and I don’t want to deplete all my energies in the gym.

Th: What a day!!! My plan called for a 2x20 mins tempo and I was a bit skeptical about my chances to perform well. I did the first tempo by myself. I wanted to play safe and ran a comfortable pace of 6:30 per mile. I then recovered for 10 mins and joined Scott and Simeon who were also doing a tempo run. They talked about doing it at 6:25 and I didn’t really know if I was going to survive at that pace. I was pleasantly surprised because my legs just kept moving very smoothly, no pain, no extra-effort! I just kept feeling better and better as the second tempo progressed. I actually wanted to pick the pace up in the last ¼ mile but Simeon said: nice and easy, Sergio… nice and easy. I heard the message and maintained the 6:25 pace. Running with other people just makes things so much easier. 10 mins cool down. I am a bit tired… I guess it’s normal after this workout. Tomorrow: recovery run… nice and easy!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

New Week

This is going to be a difficult week! If everything goes as expected, I will have my first peak at 62 miles. Easy to say, not so easy to do!

I ran an easy 8 miler yesterday evening. The pace was comfortable but my legs didn't feel good. They are a little bit tired from last week's training. I am entering an unknown territory in terms of weekly mileage. I feel that my endurance is getting better and better every day but it's necessary to be extremely cautious to avoid injuries. Lately, during my runs, I have been thinking that a year ago I was dreaming of finishing a marathon under 4 hrs. That is, running at 8:50 mins/mile. But now am running my easy runs at 8:20-30 mins/mile! Who would predict that? Anyway, I just hope that everything goes as planned this week.

The difficult runs for this week are a 2x20 mins tempo run with 4 mins recovery (Wednesday or Thursday)and a 2:30 hrs. long run on Saturday. I may also do one easy to steady run today or tomorrow and easy runs the other days...

Monday, April 5, 2010

Running 60 mile per week!

I completed another week of hard training in preparation for the Traverse City Marathon. I had three quality runs last week, including a 12 mile marathon pace run, and 4 easy runs for a total of 59 miles (95 kms). I feel very strong but still need to work on developing more speed. I am logging tons of miles and thus am being very careful about the speed and effort that I put into each of my runs.

Here is a quick synthesis of my workouts:

Monday (QW 1): Speed intervals. 15 minutes warm-up, 6x800 mts. (3:05, 3:03, 3:03, 3:04, 3:01, 2:55), 2.5 miles cool down. I was hesitant about doing this workout. I worked hard to complete the long run on Saturday and didn’t know if I had enough energy for this session. To my surprise, it turned out to be a great workout. I usually struggle with the fast 800’s but not this time. 8 miles total.

Tuesday: 9 easy miles to recover

Wednesday: 9 miles, the first half was fast (under 8 min/mile) but managed to stay in the recovery zone for the second half of the run. Again, running with my friends was not the smartest thing to do but I enjoyed it.

Thursday (QW 2): ok, I really struggled in my long tempo run today. I did 12 mins warm-up, 2x15 mins tempo (3 mins recovery), 1x10 mins tempo and 10 mins cool down. I didn’t feel goo, the hot weather appeared and I really, really struggled… By the end of this run, I was glad it was over!!! I recovered with an ice-cold bath and some chocolate milk…

Friday: Easy 7.5 miles

Saturday (QW 3): My first marathon simulation… 12 miles @ 7:25, 1.5 miles cool down. I was slower than expected, the course (a bit hilly) didn’t help. Well, the run is done and I recovered pretty fast!

Sunday: 5 miles, very easy (9 min/mile)… I just wanted to get my legs moving after the demanding run the previous day.

Overall, the week was good. I am not happy with my speed but need to be careful as the mileage increases… My legs feel great! This week is my first peak at 62-64 miles. A completely new territory for me!