New Races Planned

Well, I've decided to try a marathon...

I registered for the Pacific Shoreline Marathon in February, 2006. As part of the plan I'm following, a race one month prior to the marathon is recommended, so I'm doing the OC Half Marathon in early January.

The plan I found is 16 weeks in length, which means it starts next week and overlaps with my half-marathon plan. As the weekly distances are similar, I'm going to move to the marathon plan right away. Here it is, compliments of Runner's World:

Week - 1 = 15 MILES
Mon.	Tues.	Weds.	Thur.	Fri.	Sat.	Sun.
3-EZ	4-EZ	R/XT	4-EZ	R	4-EZ	R/XT
Week - 2 = 16 MILES
Mon.	Tues.	Weds.	Thur.	Fri.	Sat.	Sun.
3-EZ	4-EZ	R/XT	4-EZ	R	5EZ	R/XT
Week - 3 = 18 MILES
Mon.	Tues.	Weds.	Thur.	Fri.	Sat.	Sun.
3-EZ	5-EZ	R/XT	4-EZ	R	6-EZ	R/XT
Week - 4 = 15 MILES
Mon.	Tues.	Weds.	Thur.	Fri.	Sat.	Sun.
3-EZ	3-EZ	R/XT	3-EZ	3-EZ	3-EZ	R/XT
Week - 5 = 22 MILES
Mon.	Tues.	Weds.	Thur.	Fri.	Sat.	Sun.
3-EZ	5-EZ	3-EZ	4-EZ	R	7-EZ	R/XT
Week - 6 = 24 MILES
Mon.	Tues.	Weds.	Thur.	Fri.	Sat.	Sun.
3-EZ	5-EZ	2-EZ	6-EZ	R	8-EZ	R/XT
Week - 7 = 26 MILES
Mon.	Tues.	Weds.	Thur.	Fri.	Sat.	Sun.
3-EZ	6-EZ	R/XT	4-EZ	3-EZ	R	10-LSD
Week - 8 = 20 MILES
Mon.	Tues.	Weds.	Thur.	Fri.	Sat.	Sun.
R	4-EZ	4-EZ	R/XT	4-EZ	R	8-LSD
Week - 9 = 27 MILES
Mon.	Tues.	Weds.	Thur.	Fri.	Sat.	Sun.
R/XT	4-EZ	7-EZ	R	4-EZ	R	12-LSD
Week - 10 = 24 MILES
Mon.	Tues.	Weds.	Thur.	Fri.	Sat.	Sun.
R/XT	R/XT	7-EZ	3-EZ	4-EZ	R	10-LSD
Week - 11 = 26 MILES
Mon.	Tues.	Weds.	Thur.	Fri.	Sat.	Sun.
R	R/XT	7-EZ	R/XT	3-EZ	R	16-LSD
Week - 12 = 11 MILES (Plus Race)
Mon.	Tues.	Weds.	Thur.	Fri.	Sat.	Sun.
R	R/XT	3-EZ	8-EZ	R	R	RACE*
Week - 13 = 32 MILES
Mon.	Tues.	Weds.	Thur.	Fri.	Sat.	Sun.
R	5-EZ	3-EZ	R/XT	4-EZ	R	20-LSD
Week - 14 = 28 MILES
Mon.	Tues.	Weds.	Thur.	Fri.	Sat.	Sun.
3-EZ	8-EZ	R	4-EZ	R	13-LSD	R
Week - 15 = 2 4 MILES
Mon.	Tues.	Weds.	Thur.	Fri.	Sat.	Sun.
3-EZ	5-EZ	R	4-EZ	3-EZ	9-LSD	R
Week - 16 = 13 MILES (39 WITH MARATHON)
Mon.	Tues.	Weds.	Thur.	Fri.	Sat.	Sun.
3-EZ	3-EZ	R	5-EZ	2-EZ	R	26.2-RACE

Glossary of Training Terms and Symbols

• R: Rest day. Do no running or other strenuous physical activity.
  
  
• EZ: An easy or recovery run done at a comfortable pace.
  
  
• XT: Cross training that can include any one of a number of low-impact sports (i.e. bicycling, swimming, hiking, exercise machines, weight training) that burn calories and provide cardiovascular benefits while giving you a physical and mental break from running.

29th Annual Bridge to Bridge

This Sunday Teresa and I (and Billy?) are running the Bridge to Bridge 12K. Good fun to be sure, but this changes my training plan a bit. There is no way I'm going to run 10 miles on Saturday and 7.5 miles on Sunday!

Updated plan for the week is:

Tues/Thurs: 5 miles
Sat: 3 miles
Sun: 7.45 miles

This keeps me at 20 miles for the week, but won't have me fried on Sunday. I'll try for the 10 mile run on the 8th...

Michelle's Training Log: Week 8

Short Run 1: 09/20/2005 @ 6:05am
Total Distance 5.16m, Avg Pace 9:49/mi, Avg Heart Rate 168bpm

Good run, and amazingly so. I was up at 2:30am this day and did not go back to bed. I stopped for a sugarfree Red Bull on the way to my run and apparently that made a heck of a difference in my pace. The run section of this session was:

Distance 4.52m, Avg Pace 9:10/mi, Avg Heart Rate 175bpm

Short Run 2: 09/22/2005 @ 6:07am
Total Distance 5.58m, Avg Pace 11:08/mi, Avg Heart Rate 155bpm

Not a great day. I was *exhausted* from my very short night of sleep earlier in the week; I was never able to catch up on rest due to offsites for my team and another group I support at work. This was a run/walk day for sure. Running pace averaged 9m40s or so.

Long Run: 09/24/2005 @ 7:08am
Total Distance 10.17m, Avg Pace 9:47/mi, Avg Heart Rate 165bpm

Excellent day! I successfully completed 9 miles, split by a brief (0.14mi) walk. Running pace averaged 9:15/mi. I was again shocked that I could run as far as I did. My body felt fine with the only notable discomfort in my hip joints, and they were just tired. I am already getting nervous for next week's long run -- 10 miles -- crossing the double digit line.

I took a new gadget recommended by another running friend, the amphipod. It was great to have liquid and a pocket for my keys with me; the belt really did not bounce. The amphipod took a bit to get used to, but just a bit. I noticed the additional weight as I ran and the balance of the weight as I consumed the water. I filled the water bottles with Cytomax which I don't think I'll repeat. The Cytomax citrus was so sweet it actually made me thirsty. I'm sure the contents were beneficial, but feeling thirsty is not good. It seems they have a 'lite' version -- I'm going to try that next. I had a Clif Shot with me as well, premixed with water. It tasted pretty bad so I just poured it out...

Good Tips from a Good Buddie

Hydration System: amphipod

Article on the Plantar Fascia: Plantar Fasciitis: A Common Cause of Heel Pain

Advice Received from Two Podiatrists: never go barefoot. It is really bad for your feet. Getting out of bed in the morning is the worst time of day for your feet. If you can put something on before stepping out of bed, do it.

Gel with Protein: AccelGel

Michelle's Training Log: Week 7

Short Run 1: 09/13/2005 @ 6:56am
Total Distance 4.98m, Avg Pace 11:07/mi, Avg Heart Rate 157bpm

Short Run 2: 09/15/2005 @ 6:27am
Total Distance 4.31m, Avg Pace 10:38/mi, Avg Heart Rate 164bpm

I ran around the office on this day, up Tasman and down Great America. Pace while running 9:44/mi out and 10:04/mi back.

Long Run: 08/20/2005 @ 8:14am
Total Distance 8.76m, Avg Pace 10:22/mi, Avg Heart Rate 169bpm

I DID IT! I cannot believe it, but I ran 8 miles. Pace out was 9:41/mi and back was 10:12/mi. Two personal bests for me on this run: 1) ran 4 miles straight -- twice! and 2) ran 8 miles total.

I'm off schedule with my stated plan due to the wedding and honeymoon. This week I finally completed 'week 5' in the plan. I'm going to update the plan to match my logs. Also, I slept like crap this week and it shows in my heart rate...

ChiRunning

My management coach, Andrea Corney, told me about an approach to running that promised an injury free experience. It's called ChiRunning. She's used it and found it highly effective.

I borrowed her DVD that describes the approach, which is centered (no pun intended) on body position while running -- it seems to make sense. I'm going to try it on my runs this week and registered for a half-day workshop next weekend.

Michelle's Updated Training Plan

Thanks to a friend with a couple marathons under his belt, I've got a revised plan that takes into account the extra weeks between the end of my 8 week plan and the race. Here it is:

Tues/Thurs: Run Walk
Week 1: 2 miles
Week 2: 2.5 miles
Week 3: 3 miles
Week 4: 3.5 miles
Week 5: 4 miles
Week 6: 4.5 miles
Week 7: 5 miles
Week 8: 5 miles
Week 9: 5 miles
Week 10: 5 miles
Week 11: 5 miles
Week 12: 5 miles
Week 13: 4 miles (Tuesday)/3 miles (Thursday)

Saturday: Long Run
Week 1: 4 miles
Week 2: 5 miles
Week 3: 6 miles
Week 4: 7 miles
Week 5: 8 miles
Week 6: 9 miles
Week 7: 7 miles
Week 8: 10 miles
Week 9: 11 miles
Week 10: 9 miles
Week 11: 12 miles
Week 12: 8 miles
Week 13: race week

Sunrise ... Sunset

Well, I'm up and ready to run, but it's dark outside. Another lesson learned which should have been obvious to me! I'll need a change in schedule soon to accomodate running before work. Either start work later, run at night, or drive to work and run in that area ...

I found this handy tool for getting montly list of sunrise/sunset times: http://www.sunrisesunset.com

Michelle's Training Log: Week 5

All in all this was not a great week. The runs were OK, but tough to get in as Sean and I got married on the third. I did run three days, but did not get my long run. I plan to repeat week five next week. I continue to be amazed by the odd places that hurt and how the pain seems to pass. It's like I'm working out the kinks or something...

Short Run 1: 08/30/2005 @ 6:14am
Total Distance 4.94m, Avg Pace 10.48/mi, Avg Heart Rate 154bpm

Still running on the bay trail. This run went well; pace during the running lap now 9:40/mi.

Short Run 2: 09/01/2005 @ 7:15am
Total Distance 4.42m, Avg Pace 11:46/mi, Avg Heart Rate 149bpm

Lots of walking during this session. About 2/3s of the way through, my right foot started hurting -- sharp pain along the arch. I switched to walking immediately. A bit of digging revealed an apparently common source of pain - the plantar fascia. This was a fast run with my pace at 9:12/mi.

Long Run: 09/04/2005 @ 12:18pm
Total Distance 4.75m, Avg Pace 11:08/mi, Avg Heart Rate 155bpm

Not really a long run. Nothing hurt. :) I got a late start and decided to cut the run short due to heat and timing for the day.