Sunday, February 17, 2008
6000
Yesterday I did a 20 mile trail run that had 6000 feet of gross elevation gain. Half of that was in the second five miles. Completely unplanned and totally sick. The top of Mt. Diablo just didn't seem that far away. Running through a mid-calf-deep stream that criss-crossed the trail 10 times at the bottom of the mountain felt great. I can't say that my quads are happy today, but I promise you that I'm going to do that again within the next two weeks.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Zen
I had a lazy winter (my apologies to those that are still experiencing winter - here in the Bay Area, winter was about three weeks long, with lots of rain and lows in the mid-30s - it is now sunny and in the 70s again). I only ran about 15 miles a week and packed on about 10 pounds. As you saw from the elevation profiles below, that particular program won't work for what I have on my calendar. Two weeks ago, I started ramping up my miles.
Going from 15 miles a week to 45 miles a week is not recommended. Surprisingly, I'm simply weary and a little tight. Maybe muscle memory does last longer than a month. Or maybe I'm just going to break down in another week.
My training for the April 12th race is simple:
M - 8 mile hill run (two massive hills)
Tu - 6 mile flat recovery run
W - 10 mile hill run (two massive hills and one smallish hill)
Th - 6 mile flat recovery run
F - 6 mile flat junk mile run
Sa - 14 - 22 mile hill run
Su - off
No tempo runs. No speed work. No watch. That's right, no watch. Either someone else has a watch or I map out the run beforehand to figure out the distance. I don't plan on picking up a watch until after the June 21st 50k. It's all about getting a large mileage base in preparation of going under 3 hours in a fall marathon.
For past marathons, I've relied on a 16 to 20 week program, again going from 15 to 45 miles in a week, lots of speed work, and my genetics to get me to the finish line in under my goal time. That almost worked last year at St. George, missing 3 hours by 2:07. I'm not leaving it to talent this year. My entire running year is dedicated to crushing 3 hours.
Six months of base and strength building followed by three months of sharpening and speed work should do it.
Going from 15 miles a week to 45 miles a week is not recommended. Surprisingly, I'm simply weary and a little tight. Maybe muscle memory does last longer than a month. Or maybe I'm just going to break down in another week.
My training for the April 12th race is simple:
M - 8 mile hill run (two massive hills)
Tu - 6 mile flat recovery run
W - 10 mile hill run (two massive hills and one smallish hill)
Th - 6 mile flat recovery run
F - 6 mile flat junk mile run
Sa - 14 - 22 mile hill run
Su - off
No tempo runs. No speed work. No watch. That's right, no watch. Either someone else has a watch or I map out the run beforehand to figure out the distance. I don't plan on picking up a watch until after the June 21st 50k. It's all about getting a large mileage base in preparation of going under 3 hours in a fall marathon.
For past marathons, I've relied on a 16 to 20 week program, again going from 15 to 45 miles in a week, lots of speed work, and my genetics to get me to the finish line in under my goal time. That almost worked last year at St. George, missing 3 hours by 2:07. I'm not leaving it to talent this year. My entire running year is dedicated to crushing 3 hours.
Six months of base and strength building followed by three months of sharpening and speed work should do it.
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