Yasoo 800s.. Bring it ON!

Okay, that's a bit of a strong title, but I guess I'm still on a runner's high here... To start with, I overslept this morning (I woke up at the ungodly hour of 5:06 am -- to late to get my run in before work) so I delayed my run until tonight. Around 8:00 pm, I went out, did a 2 mile warmup, did 6 Yasso-800's, and then a 2 mile cooldown. What's a Yasso-800? Well, named after Bart Yasso, it's a type of run that will 1) help get your extended distance speed up; and 2) help determine if you are ready to do a marathon. It's basically a 800 meter (1/2 mile) fast run, at a speed that whose number is equivalent to your target marathon time. That is, if you want to run a 4:10 marathon, you need to run your 800 meter in 4 minutes, 10 seconds (or a 8:20 pace). 6 Yasso-800s means do this 6 times (with a 1/4 mile recovery between each run). Well tonight, I ran my Yasso-800's not a 8:00 pace (which would mean running them in 4:00 minutes), but at a 7:30 pace -- for all 6! Wow, I was impressed with myself, if I do say so myself :) I was very worried about this workout, as it is indeed a tough workout (and I get to to it again in a couple weeks, but this time, do 8 of them).

Now, I did manage to *not* run my 18 mile this past weekend, due to Cub Scout training, in-laws in town, and basic oversleeping, so my legs were fresh. We'll see if I can do my 20 miler this weekend (again, due to Cub Scout training, and other stuff, I get to do my 20-miler on Friday night! yay.....)

Two in a Row

Today was the second of two hard workouts in a row. I don't recommend
it. Since I skipped Tuesday's workout day, I shifted that workout to
Wednesday. Unfortunately, that workout was the Mile Repeats. Today, I
did 9 miles, with 7 of those miles at goal marathon pace. I managed a
9:01 pace for those 7, but I was beat at the end. Tomorrow, I'm
supposed to do 3, with Saturday doing 18. I'd like to skip tomorrow,
but if I do, my Saturday run will suffer. Hmmmm.

Actually, I'm not sure how I'm going to do 18, as I'm in an all day
cub scout training class on Saturday, starting at 8 am. That would
mean, for a 3.5 hour run, I'd have to wake up around 3 am to get the
run in before class. That ain't going to happen. Friday night won't
work either. Maybe Saturday night?

--
Sent from my mobile device

Mile Repeats

Today I did Mile Repeats. Today I also learned how to use the advanced training functionality in my Garmin. I did a 2 mile warmup, 3x1 Mile repeats, with a 1/4 mile recovery in between, and then a 2 mile cooldown. Since the total mileage of that workout was 7.75 miles, I also ran the rest of the way home, making my total 8 miles.

The repeats were good. I could have gone faster (I averaged an 8:18 pace on those miles), but I was worried about my knee. However, at the end of the entire run, I felt refreshed. Taken as a whole, my average pace for the 8 miles was around a 9:22, that the pace was considered 'easy'. Again, taken as a whole.

The buckeyeoutddoors site is very slow this morning (it's slow most mornings), so I don't know what's next. However, since I overslept yesterday, I took that as my 'rest day', so I pick up again tomorrow. My long run on Saturday is 18! (yikes). I also need to be at (another) Cub Scout training class at 8:00 am on Saturday, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do....

Short run today

Keeping this short today. I ran 3.3 miles (I think) this morning at an easy pace. Tomorrow's run is a series of mile-repeats. I'm going to keep my speed a little slow for the benefit of my knee. Regarding my knee, I totally forgot about it until around 2 miles -- and even then, my thought wasn't on pain, but on the fact that it didn't hurt and that I wasn't altering my form. All this is good.

I was focused on the temperature. I was a little cold at the start (it was 61 degrees this morning). Pretty soon I'll be forced to wear something other than a t-shirt and shorts. Yikes, cold weather is coming....

Early Run

Got my long run in today. at 5:40 am. on a saturday. I'm tired now. I got 14 miles in (2 down from last week), but felt good the entire way. had a pb&j at 7 miles, and got to run into my neighborhood with the remains of night run still on my head (head lamp). All told, I was very happy with my run. I knew my knee was there, but it didn't cause any pain. I took it easy though, running up the hills at a slower pace, and down the hills at a slower pace, but was able to get a 9:32 average for the whole thing. Next long run: 18 miles (ouch)

Tentatively Cautious

First of all, those of you reading from Facebook can see my whole blog on this site. Last we met, young readers, I was worried about my knee. I took yesterday off, and had a tentative and cautious run today (5 miles, slow pace: 9:29), and although when I asked my knee if it felt anything and it said 'yes', it never interrupted my thoughts by impolitely making itself known. In other words, I knew it was there, but if I hadn't had pain there on Wednesday, I wouldn't have known there was a potential issue.

Anyway, I ran 5 today, and due to run 14 tomorrow. Since my long runs are supposed to be 60-120 seconds slower per mile than my goal pace (which I took advantage of on my last long run), I should be okay. Plus, it's 2 miles shorter than last week, so that's good.

Hill Repeats

Yes, they are as bad as the title sounds. I tried to find a hill that was steady (no downhills in middle) that I could run for 2 minutes without reaching the end. The hills around my house couldn't cut it, so.. drove to the Safeway parking lot this morning to run on Monument road. Took a leisurely 2 mile warmup, and then proceeded to run uphill for 1 minute for 4 times (jogging back down each time), then running uphill for 2 minutes for 4 times (jogging then then running hard back), and then... sprinting uphill for 1 minute for 4 times. I think my legs finally remembered how to sprint the last two repetitions. Until then, I was just running fast. The last two repetitions -- I got to the '1 minute marker' about 10 seconds ahead of time, so kept running. I was supposed to run 2 miles as a cooldown, but I was beat, so I ran .5 miles, got back into my car, and went home.

Later, walking the two blocks from the parking garage to my office, my left knee hurt really bad every time I took a step. Ouch. Hopefully, that will go away today. I'm supposed to run 5 tomorrow, but if my knee hurts, I don't know what I'm going to do....

One run after another

I didn't have a chance to post after my long run last week. Due to scheduling conflicts, I had to do my long run on Friday night. If you are *not* a night owl, I do not recommend doing a long run beginning at 8:00 pm on a Friday night. I do a lot of night runs, but most of my runs are nighttime -- morning, not nighttime -- late night. By 10:00 pm, I was sleepy tired. I could have just closed my eyes and fallen asleep, without breaking a step. Thinking that this was a little unwise, I decided to stay awake and finish my run.

My long run? 16 miles (actually, 15.8, but was too tired to get the last .2 miles in). I did it in a 9:57 pace, but for the first 9 miles, it was much faster. Miles 14-17 were hard (sleepy tired, and just dog-gone tired at that point). Saturday at 5:00 am I woke up (a little achy) and went to a Cub Scout leader training event -- until 2:00 pm Sunday.

Monday, I just couldn't get up to run, so I ran my easy 5 this morning (Tuesday). It was a very good run, a nice and easy run at a 9:04 pace. Tomorrow, hill repeats. I'm dreading this one....

Ouch, my legs

So today I ran a hill workout -- 7 miles at a hard pace (okay, an 8:51 pace -- which is hard for me), that included some longer hills. Ouch, I'm beat. My legs are very tired. I'm happy I was able to run the pace that I did, and today's pace was much faster than previous runs on this same course, so I *am* getting better (which is good, because I am training!). Anyway, tomorrow is a rest day, which I'm grateful for. I'm trying very hard to keep to this schedule, as it seems to be working. I'm a little afraid of next week's 'hill repeat' workout though. I have a feeling that someone will find me on the side of the road, unable to walk anymore. Anyway, a rest day tomorrow, 2 'easy' days of 5 miles each, then a 16 (!) miler on Saturday -- before my Boy Scout training campout (whew, what a weekend!)

Lets see if I can get through the week

This'll be a short post. I'm interested if I can get through the week, not only in getting my runs in, but also posting a little bit.

I ran an 'easy 4' today. I started off a little stiff, as we (the family) went to DC yesterday and walked through the American History Museum. My first mile was a little slow, but I quickly got up to speed. I did a little research on the 'easy' runs on this program. At first, I thought I was to keep a slow pace, and as it turns out, I just need to keep an easy pace. If I can run faster, I should do so. So today I ran a sub 9 (barely, an 8:59 pace). We'll see how my 'hill' run goes tomorrow. It's supposed to be an 7 mile hill run. Historically, the 6 mile hill run has really wiped me out -- so we'll see.

Very Irregular

Okay, so I'm posting on a very irregular basis (read: very seldomly). I have been running, but just not posting.

Today I bought new shoes to replace my Saucony shoes. I have thought about getting new shoes for some time now, but noticed that both of my shoes have around 500 miles on them. My Adidas have 520 miles and my Saucony has 470. However, my Saucony shoes have broken down faster than my Adidas. My Adidas are still going strong, but I need to make a mental note that at around 200 miles of my new shoes (New Balance 758), I should replace my Adidas.

Overall, my running has been pretty good. In August, I ran 104 miles. I'm running fairly consistently, as I have been following a modified Yasso Marathon training plan for the upcoming Richmond Marathon on November 14 (yikes). Actually, my running has been pretty good. Today, instead of long mileage, my plan had me to a 5k. Not able to find a local 5k, I ran a 2 mile warmup along the W&OD trail, a hard 3 miles (8:07 pace), and then a 2 mile cooldown. I was surprised I was able to keep that pace for 3 miles. Beforehand, I was thinking that I was going to try for a 8:30 pace for the 5k portion, but as I was warming up, I was noticing that I was running a sub 9 in spots, without much fatigue. Anyway, I felt good with my run.

I'm trying to keep to the training plan, although this week I ran only 3 times versus 5 times as per the plan. Previous weeks have been pretty good though. Anyway, we'll see.

I'll try to post more often as I get closer to the Richmond Marathon. It should be fun as my family will be joining me to the race, and we are staying an extra night in Richmond (after the race) to enjoy the town.