Training By Time

I have only been running a short time, but ever since I started I have read many times over that it is best for beginners to run by time rather than distance. It is beneficial in different ways to run for thirty minutes rather than run for, say, three miles.

It has taken me an entire year to heed that advice.

A couple of weeks ago, when coming back from a slight foot injury, I decided to run by time and not worry about distance at all. I have not had a bad run since then. (knock on wood)

There are a couple of different things, both mental and physical, that make training by time better for me. First of all the body does not know what one mile or one kilometer is, but it does know what thirty minutes or an hour is. Time is more realistic to the body, and the body knows the difference between minutes rather than miles.

Another aspect for me is mental. Twenty minutes will always be twenty minutes, but one mile can be anywhere from eight minutes to eleven minutes for me. As long as I keep my pace the way it needs to be for that particular run, my mind is in it better because I know how much longer I am running for.

Another thing that I tend to do is run fast to get that first mile done with, or speed up to finish that last mile. This can mess up my workout and I will completely fail to reach my goal for that run. Now if I focus on time, then it does not matter how fast I run, that last five minutes will always be five minutes.

One of my problems however, is that I am a stat whore. I love compiling numbers and measuring the distance I run each week and month. No problem there, I can always plan my runs by time and log them by mileage.

Problem solved.

So the training plan I have written up for my first marathon starts next week. Every run is by time rather than distance, even the speed workouts. The only workouts where I am measuring my runs by distance are the Yasso 800's.

I will be doing five of them starting at 6x800 and working up to 10x800 a few weeks before the marathon. I am interested in seeing how well that will measure preparedness for the marathon.

Speed Work

Today I had a day off work. So the plan was to get up early and go to the track for some speed work. Besides some speed play here and there, I have never really done organized speed work. So today was the day.

When the alarm went off, I was cold and tired and achy. So I turned the alarm off and went back to sleep. My kids woke me up about an hour and a half later and after a little moving around I knew that I needed to get out and run as soon as possible or else it would not happen at all.

I have been wanting to find my mile time, so the plan was to do a time trial and find that. Then I wanted to do three or four Yasso 800's just to see where my fitness is and have something to measure improvement as I get closer to the marathon.

I did not feel like driving to the track so I ran in the neighborhood. I still planned to do the mile but instead of 800's I would do three half mile intervals.

I warmed up as I was making my way to a good street to run on. I got to the corner and I was off. I ran hard and made an effort not to look at my Garmin at all. I just focused on the run and tried to keep my form good. It seemed to take a long time to finish this mile. When my watch finally beeped I was all too happy to slow down.

My mile time was 8:12.

Not incredibly fast, but I remember the very first time I tried to "run" a mile it took me about fifteen minutes and I could not even run the whole thing. In fact I think I walked more than half of it at the time.

So time for intervals. I decided to change it up and do four quarter mile intervals with quarter mile recoveries. I realized after the fact that I would do better with shorter recoveries, but live and learn.

Here are the interval times for those:

2:16
2:10
2:15
2:08

For some reason, I think I could have done them a little harder. I do not want to push myself into an injury, so I do not plan on doing speed work every week until I actually start my marathon training program.

But I do enjoy speed work... at least I do as of right now. That will probably change when I am pushing myself even more. I did a total of four miles this morning and mentally is was so much easier than running four miles at an easy pace because it was mixed up so much.

It feels good!

Am I Ready?

I had a very humbling run yesterday. It was only two miles, but one of the worst I have had in a long time.

I went after work, and although it had been a while since I ate, I did have a couple of my wife's onion rings before heading out. I did not think that would be a big deal. During the run I was cramping in my side, could that be from only a couple of onion rings? I could not run properly and no matter what I did I could not get into a proper rhythm.

Next week starts my training for the Broad Street Run. After my run yesterday the plan I have seems a little too ambitious. Will I even be able to do some of the training runs that it has planned for me? Will I have a good run after the thirteen weeks of training? Will I even make it through the thirteen weeks of training?

I know that this is a mental block that a lot of runners get, but it is making me think. I have two more "free runs" before training starts next week. I am running an easy three tomorrow and a long four or five on Sunday. I think while running these runs I will be reviewing my training plan and maybe making some tweaks to it.

I do not want my training to be so easy that it does nothing for me and I have a bad run... but I also do not want it to be so advanced that I set myself up for injury and failure.

2008: A Year In Review

Well, 2008 has been a great year for me. It is the year that I finally fell in love with running. This may be a long post, but here it goes.

I started the year cycling. I had been doing it on a regular basis for a bit over a year. I was doing it to get back into shape, but was pretty "business casual" about it. I was still using the no name mountain bike that I had bought at Target over 7 years ago, but I changed out the knobby off road tires for slick road ones.

Over the last few years I have tried to take up running a few times. It was not until April of this year that I found the C25K program, and thought that it would be perfect for me. I was basically a couch potato and would love to be able to run 5k on a regular basis.

I did the first week in these crappy shoes that I got from PayLess. My feet were killing me and I knew that I had to get real running shoes. I could not afford the local running store, so I went to a department store and got a pair of New Balance. Immediately I could feel the difference and I fell in love with running shoes. I still to this day have some sort of weird thing for them, and actually check them out on other runners.

By this time I had started to abandon cycling and really wanted to get into running. I followed the C25k program for only the first three weeks. To be honest I do not even remember why I stopped, but I regret stopping. The first week in May would be the last time I would run until August. On top of that I would not ride my bike, except while doing it with my, now 5 year old, son.

Something clicked inside of me near the beginning of August. I wanted to run and I knew that I just had to do it. I would go out and run for 15 minutes and then turn around and run back. I never really got far, and there were a lot of walk breaks involved, but I was doing it. It was easier for me to do because I was not really tracking my runs, just running.

My first breakthrough came a couple weeks later when I ran two miles without stopping. It felt really good, and I realized that I could have done it all along, but I was not letting myself do it.

I kept better track of my runs and worried more about building mileage and endurance rather than speed and pace. I noted improvements in time, and celebrated milestones in speed, but my main focus was distance. I increased mileage gradually, I think sometimes too slow, but focused on running longer and farther.

My first race was a pumpkin run 5k in October. I signed up less than a week before it and got my brother to do the same. We got there and were immediately intimidated. Everyone looked faster and more experienced at running than us and I was sure that I would finish dead last. Three point one miles was the farthest I had ever run, and I only did it once.

I got caught up in the excitement of running with so many other people and went out too fast. I walked quite a few times and thought I was going to die on one of the hills, but the race was a good one. I finished near the back of the pack, but there were plenty of people behind me!

The following week was the Run The Bridge 10k that crosses the Ben Franklin Bridge into Philadelphia and back, then goes through Camden and ends in the Riversharks minor league baseball stadium. I did NOT run this race, but I was pissed off at myself because if I had continued with the C25K program and ran through the summer I know I could have done it. There is always next year.

Late November was the Philadelphia Marathon. I had no intention of running this at all during the year, but as I fell in love with running I knew that I was going to go over and watch it. I have already decided that this will be my first marathon, hopefully in 2009.

It was a fun day watching the marathon. I got over there early with my brother who was attempting the full marathon for the first time. His training was interrupted by injury, but preferred to try it than have a DNS.

I had a great time watching the marathon. I never thought I would like watching strangers run, but it was fun. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the festivities of such an event and was glad that I went. I am excited to be a runner next time rather than a spectator.

My brother ended up stopping at the half, because his injury was acting up again, but he has vowed to run it all the way through next year. I will also be doing it.

My second race was a 5k that came in December. I was by myself, but much more confident since I knew a little more of what to expect at an organized race. I just got a Garmin Forerunner 305 a couple days before and was excited to try it out.

This race was even better than my first. The route was nicer, the weather was better, and I ran the whole thing without stopping. On top of that I PR'd with a 32:14, breaking my goal finish of 33 minutes.

My mileage gradually increased each week and each month. The last few weeks of the year I have developed some serious shin splints, so I am resting up. 2008 has been a great year, and I am excited to run through 2009.

Here are some numbers:

Total Distance in 2008: 114.9 miles
Longest Month: 30.9 miles
Longest Week: 8.6 miles
Longest Single Run: 5 miles

Races Run: 2 5k's
PR's Set: 2
Fastest 5k: 32:14

I will be tracking all my runs in 2009 and setting bigger and better goals... but more on that in the first post of 2009.

The Last of The Firsts of 2008

I am warning you now... this post is going to be long.

I have had a lot of firsts during 2008, and I will talk about them in a later post. Today was my last day of running for 2008 (more on that in the next post), and I find it fitting that it was full of firsts.

The first time that I drove somewhere in order to run.
I wanted a little bit of fresh scenery, and I have been tossing around the idea of finding more places to run and writing about them, so I decided to go to Copper River Park in Collingswood, NJ. I used to think it strange to drive more than you are actually running, and I still do a little, but it is nice to get out of your neighborhood and find new places to run.

The first time I carried a camera and snapped photos while running.
It seems that I see something amazing on every run that I do, yet I never have anything to record it with. I decided to carry my camera with me this morning since it was my first time running Cooper River Park. I snapped some pretty nice pictures. Check them out at my Flickr page. I will not carry my camera with me every time, but one thing it did for me today is help me keep my pace slow during my LSD and also helped me to enjoy my surroundings and have a relaxing run.

The first time I ran 5 miles.
Today was my LSD run, and 5 miles is my new record for long run. I did it at a very slow and relaxing pace, and did not take any walk breaks. I only stopped for about ten seconds at a time to snap a photo.. This run was a very good quality and it also boosted my confidence that my endurance is improving.

The first time I ran over 1 hour.
Again, proof that my endurance is improving. I had no walk breaks at all and I felt incredible after the run. My pace was very slow and 5 miles is not very far to go in an hour, but I will be working on speed next year.

So here is my run. The distance around the river is about 3.75 miles, but I wanted to do 5. So when I finished my lap around the river I did the last mile and quarter on the track that they have there.

The track is nothing fancy, just dirt, but it felt great running on it. I had to make a conscience effort to keep my pace slow, and the pace of the track part of my run was almost a minute faster than the rest of my run. This is another confidence builder, knowing that I will be able to go fast on the track when I start my speed workouts.

Speaking of tracks, I am glad I found this one because all the local schools keep theirs locked up tighter than Fort Knox. I have two high school tracks within running distance of my house and can not use them. In fact if you look closely at this satellite photo you will see a much nicer track above and slightly to the right of this one. That belongs to a Catholic high school and, of course, is all locked up.

Long Cold and Wet

Last night, when I checked this morning's weather report, I was excited to see that it called for snow early in the morning. It was supposed to turn to a wintry mix around the time I was scheduled to run, but the snow would accumulate to about an inch.

I was excited because it meant that first thing in the morning everything would be snowy, the sky would be overcast, and there would be a natural peace to the atmosphere. I was excited to run in such weather and even more excited that it would be my long run. I mentally amended my run to take me by some places that would look nice in the snow and I made sure I would have my camera on hand.

When I woke up and looked outside... nothing but rain. Heavy rain that was freezing all over everything. When I got outside the steps were slippery, the cars were iced over, and the roads were already slushy. The only good thing was that there was still a natural peace in the atmosphere since no one dared get out of bed yet.

I could barely stay stable on the icy steps and worried that the road would not be any better. My mind began thinking about making screw shoes, and wondered if I would be able to get through my run today. The road was better. Icy in parts, but bearable. I again amended my route, but this time to stay away from heavy traffic and take roads that would allow me to move back and forth in order to avoid ice.

It was not long before my jacket was dripping with water. There were multiple times in the first mile that I thought about cutting the run short. This weather was miserable. Shortly after the first mile I stepped in a puddle that was much larger than it appeared. Cold quickly went though my foot. I was going to use this as an excuse to stop, but decided to keep going.

A few walk breaks, and four puddles later, I decided to loop around this one block onto the main road and run back to the main intersection a few blocks from my house. Since my jacket was covering my Garmin I was not sure how far I had ran, but estimated it was almost three miles, and decided that would be enough for me.

When I got to the intersection I looked and my Garmin told me I had already gone over three and a half miles! I did not even realize it. I decided to finish the entire four miles and immediately felt better about the run.

While finishing that last half mile I thought about running. This is one of the reasons why I run. To test my limits and my endurance. To run no matter what is thrown at me, and to keep going.

Most people run because it is fashionable to run a mile every day or spend thirty minutes on the treadmill at the gym. A lot of people run a single marathon so that they can cross it off their list, just to never run again.

I run because it is primal and the human machine can push it's limits and run no matter what the circumstances. I run to build my endurance and eventually expand my limitations. The harder I run the better I become at it.

I run because that is what I am created to do.

I Want To Breath Smoke

My favorite times during a run are when I drift off into a daydream state and it seems as if I am having an out of body experience. It does not happen every time I run, and it can be simple or complex.

Today was one of those days.

It was an easy two mile run. I actually turned my alarm off and slept in. I sort of regretted doing that, but as soon as I woke up two hours later I went out and ran.

It was cold outside. The coldest I have ever ran in, 29 degrees.

At one point in the run, my eyes followed the road, and my breath hung thick and heavy in the air. My eyes drifted from the road to my breath floating in front of my face.

I watched it come out thick and spread around me. Immediately my mind started wandering to the different endurance athletes I read about on the Internet and watch on YouTube.

My mind floated away and I no longer focused on pain or distance or pace. I felt invincible. I felt like I could go on forever and take on anything. I felt like a machine.

I felt like I could breath smoke.

Running In The Rain

I seem to have a lot of trouble with motivation. When I wake up early for a morning run, it takes me forever to get moving and convince myself to run. All the while I know that once I start running I feel great.

This morning was raining... and I mean really coming down. I have run in overcast and slight drizzles, but never in rain this hard. My mind was telling me to stay in bed, but I knew I couldn't do that and enjoy the rest of the day.

I finally got out there and ran in the downpour. I immediately felt great. I was listening to music in one ear while I ran, not something I do all the time, and it helped pump me up and run for Him. I noticed that while I was focused on things other than running, like prayer, praise, the music, or thinking about other things, the running went by so easy. It was only when I focused on my breathing, or the hurt in my legs, that I had trouble running.

I know that a lot of running is mental, and I am still training myself to get over the mental hurdles so that I can run with ease. There was even one point in my run when I was thinking about someone I read about in Runners World. I forget the details but this guy has run numerous marathons, his first marathon in over 5 hours and his best marathon in about 2:45 or so. It gave me inspiration because I know that I am very far off from a marathon, but with dedication I can do it.

I just have to keep running.