So, it turns out I don't like it. Now, am I going to use it for the rest of the year (50 more weeks) or am I going to give up and order the kind I have been using for the past 15 years or so?
It is cumbersome, that's the main thing. I don't like having the week spread out over 4 pages. That is just ridiculous. And the "intensity factor" thing I am just using to record my shoe mileage. And I am missing the helpful charts from the Glover book, which it turns on I relied on a lot (pace and race time predictors, etc.)
Have been getting some good runs in lately, though. Have found a new way to get the long runs done on these hot days when I can't get started at 5 am. What I do is just a very short 1-3 miler outside and then I come in and do 1-3 on the treadmill. Well, what I actually do depends on the weather when I start and what happens to be on TV at the time. Like, if it's raining then I start on the treadmill, but if it just looks like it might rain any minute, then I start outside. Because it usually doesn't and then I get some miles outside before it does. And if there is something absorbing on the TV when I'm on the mill, then I might stay until it is over. Like that movie "Shaun of the Dead" that I got sucked into on Sunday afternoon. And I go back and forth, mill and outside, until I get the mileage done.
I don't have to carry water, I don't have to carry GU, I don't have to plan a route because I can just run wherever for a couple of miles (which opens up many intriguing possibilities for place I don't ordinarily run to and from that are a short distance away), I don't have to worry about bathroom breaks and where to take them, I don't have to feel guilty about leaving the dogs for long periods, I don't have to drive anywhere. It is great.
I got a 10 miler done last Monday, and another 12 this Sunday. And I didn't feel as beat up as I usually do after. That's something.
Another new thing I'm trying that I do like: GU Chomps. So far I've had the orange and the strawberry. Very satisfying. I don't know how they would be to carry on a long run, but with this new method that involves me having to walk through the kitchen every couple of miles, they work great.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Fairfax 5k race report
No one reads them anyway so I will just put it here. I did this one on Saturday morning. I haven't done it in a bunch of years. I guess the date conflicted with dog shows or something. It's in the neighborhood and even closer than I realized when I actually decided to run to the start instead of driving my car.
Yeah, so to make it a longer run, I ran to and from the race. It's a bit over 2 miles from my house. Last night I suddenly realized just how familiar I am with the course, since I have to drive about half of it everytime I go to and from the dog training club. And the route there is part of a 4-mile out and back that I do pretty regularly.
The nice thing about the run there is that it was mostly downhill until the end, which I walked so I would not be too out of breath when I went to pick up my race number. I was pretty sweaty and disgusting by that point, and feeling quite self-conscious.
It was a very small crowd this year, less than 75 people for the walk and the run. Don Connolly (race director) actually told us all at the start that they would just skip the award ceremony and hand us our medals as we crossed the finish line, since they had more than enough medals to give one to everyone there. That worked for me, because I didn't want to stay for the awards ceremony since I needed to get going on that jog back home before I stiffened up.
A newspaper article had said that they were hoping to get over a hundred people this year. I guess there was just too much competition, with at least two other 5ks going on at the same time this weekend. I know there were more people there last year, when Susan and Becky ran it. I think there was a high school girls team that showed up last year, and they skipped it this time for some reason.
It's a double loop course. They always describe it as mostly flat, which is ridiculous because it is more than half hills. For some reason, the hills didn't seem as long or as steep to me this year. I've done this one in the 23-24 minute range, but that was a long time ago. Last time, I was in the 27s, but that was on a year when I had already done the Madiera Mile and the Hyde Park Blast in the days right before this race. My goal time was 28:30 (9:10 pace), very modest but in line with my current training and racing.
At the start, lined up behind the fitter-looking women. Not too many of them, so couldn't go too far back. Went through the first mile under 9 minute pace, and was pretty pleased. Passed a woman wearing an Ipod right away, and happy with that too. Passed two of the fit women right before the first water stop at the halfway point back by the start/finish area. Just kept thinking, glide, glide, glide---that is kind of my new mantra, I guess. I am smooth and I glide. I just glide right past you.
Well, before too long the fitter of these two women couldn't take it anymore so she passed me back. I let her get ahead but stayed pretty close behind her. Sometimes drafting off her, sometimes just using her for shade. Second mile was in the 8:40s. Woohoohoo. And I wasn't even feeling too bad.
Didn't see a mile marker for 3. Tried to finish strong without throwing up. Could have caught that woman but that would have meant throwing up. Her friend was struggling and well back. They turned out to be younger than me anyway.
Finished in an official time of 27:24, which was much better than my goal, and even a little faster than the last time I did this race. Had a cup of water, walked around in circles for a bit to catch my breath, and then grabbed another cup of water to sip on as I started the slog home. I basically walked until the water was gone and then switched to a jog. It wasn't as awful as I expected, even though it was mostly uphill.
In the end, I was 8th woman overall (not saying much since it was such a small race) but only 3 of 3 in my age group. The women who beat me (by several minutes) were so far ahead that I never saw them after the start.
So, glad I got in this pretty good little workout close to home, and I will try to make it back there for this race when the schedule permits.
Yeah, so to make it a longer run, I ran to and from the race. It's a bit over 2 miles from my house. Last night I suddenly realized just how familiar I am with the course, since I have to drive about half of it everytime I go to and from the dog training club. And the route there is part of a 4-mile out and back that I do pretty regularly.
The nice thing about the run there is that it was mostly downhill until the end, which I walked so I would not be too out of breath when I went to pick up my race number. I was pretty sweaty and disgusting by that point, and feeling quite self-conscious.
It was a very small crowd this year, less than 75 people for the walk and the run. Don Connolly (race director) actually told us all at the start that they would just skip the award ceremony and hand us our medals as we crossed the finish line, since they had more than enough medals to give one to everyone there. That worked for me, because I didn't want to stay for the awards ceremony since I needed to get going on that jog back home before I stiffened up.
A newspaper article had said that they were hoping to get over a hundred people this year. I guess there was just too much competition, with at least two other 5ks going on at the same time this weekend. I know there were more people there last year, when Susan and Becky ran it. I think there was a high school girls team that showed up last year, and they skipped it this time for some reason.
It's a double loop course. They always describe it as mostly flat, which is ridiculous because it is more than half hills. For some reason, the hills didn't seem as long or as steep to me this year. I've done this one in the 23-24 minute range, but that was a long time ago. Last time, I was in the 27s, but that was on a year when I had already done the Madiera Mile and the Hyde Park Blast in the days right before this race. My goal time was 28:30 (9:10 pace), very modest but in line with my current training and racing.
At the start, lined up behind the fitter-looking women. Not too many of them, so couldn't go too far back. Went through the first mile under 9 minute pace, and was pretty pleased. Passed a woman wearing an Ipod right away, and happy with that too. Passed two of the fit women right before the first water stop at the halfway point back by the start/finish area. Just kept thinking, glide, glide, glide---that is kind of my new mantra, I guess. I am smooth and I glide. I just glide right past you.
Well, before too long the fitter of these two women couldn't take it anymore so she passed me back. I let her get ahead but stayed pretty close behind her. Sometimes drafting off her, sometimes just using her for shade. Second mile was in the 8:40s. Woohoohoo. And I wasn't even feeling too bad.
Didn't see a mile marker for 3. Tried to finish strong without throwing up. Could have caught that woman but that would have meant throwing up. Her friend was struggling and well back. They turned out to be younger than me anyway.
Finished in an official time of 27:24, which was much better than my goal, and even a little faster than the last time I did this race. Had a cup of water, walked around in circles for a bit to catch my breath, and then grabbed another cup of water to sip on as I started the slog home. I basically walked until the water was gone and then switched to a jog. It wasn't as awful as I expected, even though it was mostly uphill.
In the end, I was 8th woman overall (not saying much since it was such a small race) but only 3 of 3 in my age group. The women who beat me (by several minutes) were so far ahead that I never saw them after the start.
So, glad I got in this pretty good little workout close to home, and I will try to make it back there for this race when the schedule permits.
Friday, July 09, 2010
Trying to decide
Can't make up my mind if I will run today or not. Doing Fairfax Day 5k tomorrow. Not that I am going to be competitive. Well, I guess if I am going to run I should get to it.
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
My New Training Log
It is time to turnover to a new training log. For the past, what, 10-12 years I have been using "The Runner's Training Diary" from Bob & Shelly Glover. Obviously I must like it, or else I really don't like change. Or both!
I do like it, but they revised it a couple of years ago and I liked the previous edition better. Because I really don't like change at all! Mostly, what they did was put a bunch more info in the back. Good info but not really needed, and it makes it more difficult to flip back and forth between the diary pages and the yearly summary pages and the charts and schedules---all of which I use a lot.
So I decided to try something new. Ordered "The Runner's Diary" from Matt Fitzgerald. Will start using it next week. But have dipped into it a bit and not sure I like it better. There are a few things I'll like but other things I will miss.
What I don't like so far:
I do like it, but they revised it a couple of years ago and I liked the previous edition better. Because I really don't like change at all! Mostly, what they did was put a bunch more info in the back. Good info but not really needed, and it makes it more difficult to flip back and forth between the diary pages and the yearly summary pages and the charts and schedules---all of which I use a lot.
So I decided to try something new. Ordered "The Runner's Diary" from Matt Fitzgerald. Will start using it next week. But have dipped into it a bit and not sure I like it better. There are a few things I'll like but other things I will miss.
What I don't like so far:
- Bigger, more awkward size, plus oversized cover pages that will get bent and look messy
- Doesn't have the handy marathon training schedules like the Glover book
- Has pace charts, but not the handy predictor charts that Glover has
- 4 pages per week vs. 2 pages per week in Glover, will make it hard to flip around from week to week
- Doesn't have the little spot to write in what shoes I wore, so I have to just put it in the regular notes
- Monthly Planning Calendar pages where I can record a summary of my planned runs for the whole month
- That's it, actually, I can't find anything else I like better at the moment
- The spaces to record your nutrition for the day, because although it sounds appealing who knows if I will actually be able to keep up with it
- The "rating" space, because again, who knows if I will actually use that
- Intensity Factor, which might be fun to track if I can get the hang of computing it easily. You are supposed to take your current, "functional threshold pace" (the pace you could sustain for an hour in race conditions), convert that to seconds per mile, and then compare it to how fast you ran your workout. So you get an intensity percentage. Now who knows what my FTP is? So I am just going to figure it on a 60 minute 10k or something like that. Anyway, whatever you use, as long as you keep using the same thing I guess the Intensity Factors could be compared to each other. Doesn't this sound like too much work, though? That's what I'm thinking.
- Weekly Summary, again could be good if I use it, but will it be too much work.
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