This week, like last week, was a good week. I ran a total of 22.5 miles this week and am getting closer to the recommended 25-35 miles per week range for peak 10k performance. I have done some additional research and am going to add hill sprints into my training, apparently sprinting uphill on an 8% incline for 20 seconds, 10-15 times is good for building running muscle and preventing injuries from the increased mileage I am running.
It was also my first week doing some of my work out inside in the gym. I gave the elliptical a shot, but I am not too happy with it. For some reason it didn't feel like as good of a work out as running and I still get that weird feeling like you do when you get off roller skates when I get off the machine. I am going to try the treadmill this week since that would also allow me to track my total miles with the Nike+ running app.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
2010 Acton Turkey Trot - Results
My 2nd race ever turned out to be even more fun than the first. The weather was crappy but spirits were high and the turnout was good. Although the circumstances were strange, I met one of the Kenyan runners who is a contender for the Boston Marathon. I ran into him in the restroom prior to the race where he was covering himself in Vaseline (not sure why, but I am guessing he wasn't just doing it because his skin was dry).
As for the race, it turned out better than I could have ever expected. I turned in my first sub-30 minute 5k result, over 10 minutes faster than my last 5k just 2 months ago. My official result time was 30:15, but I started my timer right when I crossed the start line and my timer read 29:49.
Onto my next goal, an actual 10k race.
As for the race, it turned out better than I could have ever expected. I turned in my first sub-30 minute 5k result, over 10 minutes faster than my last 5k just 2 months ago. My official result time was 30:15, but I started my timer right when I crossed the start line and my timer read 29:49.
Onto my next goal, an actual 10k race.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
5k to 10k - Week 7
First week of my new training sessions and it felt pretty good. My two medium runs were around 4.5 miles and felt pretty easy. I really like the short runs as they are a good stretch for my legs in the off days and I am surprised at how easy 2 miles feels now.
The long run was where I really saw the difference in this training schedule. I was only aiming to increase my run by .5 a mile each week but this week it was nearly a full mile. My knees and hips felt surprisingly good and my only complaint would have to be the 37 degree weather...got to love New England!
The long run was where I really saw the difference in this training schedule. I was only aiming to increase my run by .5 a mile each week but this week it was nearly a full mile. My knees and hips felt surprisingly good and my only complaint would have to be the 37 degree weather...got to love New England!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Turkey Trottin'
| If anyone is interested there are still spots open in the 2010 Acton Turkey Trot on Friday (11/26). It is a 5k run or walk for local charity. http://comed.ab.mec.edu/ActonTurkeyTrot.pdf I drove the route recently and its not terribly hilly. The only rough part might be the fact that the biggest hill is about half a mile before the finish line. I guess they want you to finish strong... |  |
5k to 10k - Week 1 thru 6
After my race and success, I thought, "What else can I do?". I decided to start training right away for a 10k. Around this time is where I began thinking that there was a small possibility that I may possibly be able to run at least a half marathon and maybe even a full marathon.
Running a 5k is something that I feel most decently in shape people could do easily as long as their time didn't matter, the 10k on the other hand is a completely different beast. My first month of training was great after the 5k, I continued to do my telephone pole method and running 6 days a week up until 4.5 miles where it started to get tough. My body was beat up from running so regularly and not resting; this is when I realized that I probably couldn't brute force my way through this race by running long distances every day. My hips would kill and my knees would get really sore after long runs and prevent me from running for multiple days. I felt terrible and guilty about not running but if I had I probably would have hurt myself, so in retrospect I am glad I didn't.
I dropped down to 3 days a week with between 4.5 & 5 miles a day and I realized I had gotten stale and was definitely not making the progress I needed to be.
I started doing some research on the internet and found quite a few good sites which I have posted in the "Running Links" section that covered training programs for running a 10K or Half Marathon. Below is the program that I started last week in hopes that it will get me to the 10K and well beyond.
This training method, known for its "Long Runs", is apparently pretty widely accepted and each week your long run should be .5 to 1 mile longer than your last. In my case, I am going to do .5 miles so it will take me roughly 12 weeks to get to 12 miles if all goes well.
Running a 5k is something that I feel most decently in shape people could do easily as long as their time didn't matter, the 10k on the other hand is a completely different beast. My first month of training was great after the 5k, I continued to do my telephone pole method and running 6 days a week up until 4.5 miles where it started to get tough. My body was beat up from running so regularly and not resting; this is when I realized that I probably couldn't brute force my way through this race by running long distances every day. My hips would kill and my knees would get really sore after long runs and prevent me from running for multiple days. I felt terrible and guilty about not running but if I had I probably would have hurt myself, so in retrospect I am glad I didn't.
I dropped down to 3 days a week with between 4.5 & 5 miles a day and I realized I had gotten stale and was definitely not making the progress I needed to be.
I started doing some research on the internet and found quite a few good sites which I have posted in the "Running Links" section that covered training programs for running a 10K or Half Marathon. Below is the program that I started last week in hopes that it will get me to the 10K and well beyond.
Schedule
| Run Description
|
This training method, known for its "Long Runs", is apparently pretty widely accepted and each week your long run should be .5 to 1 mile longer than your last. In my case, I am going to do .5 miles so it will take me roughly 12 weeks to get to 12 miles if all goes well.
Couch to 5k - Part 3
The running became a lot easier as I started to take the weight off. If you don't have a lot of weight to lose then I think this process would be a lot quicker, but it took me roughly 4 weeks to run my first mile which is about 1/3 of the way to the 5k.
From there, it was all about the run back to the house from where I finished. I continued using my telephone pole method and occasionally going a pole or two extra. I think the toughest part of finishing the 2nd mile was the fact that there is a pretty big hill to run up at the end which I ultimately walked up most days. My toes would start going pins and needles and my hips would kill but I stuck with the goal I had, to run at least as far as the day before regardless of how bad it was.
On a side note, I've learned that properly fitted shoes and padded socks are the most important things ever. I bit the bullet and bought freaking $14 socks (Thorlo Socks) at Sports Authority and it was the best thing I ever did. The padding prevents blisters and they wick away sweat so when I take them off my feet are pretty much bone dry which is pretty impressive. As for shoes and that disaster, I will cover that later.
I continued my 5-6 days a week of running all the way up until race day in early September. Prior to the race I had never run a full 5k, as I think the highest I got was 2.8 miles. It definitely got easier though as I got in better shape and my last run before the race I knew I could do it. The first race I ever ran in was quite fun, but note that running when you have a rush of adrenaline and your heart is pounding can be pretty hard and scary. I settled in after the first mile into my normal 13 minute mile pace. I enjoyed the experience except for damn Summerhill Rd. which is pretty much straight uphill, but nonetheless I had a good time and I finished!
The whole process took me about 8 weeks and I ended up losing about 20 lbs in the process dropping from 240 to about 220 lbs.
From there, it was all about the run back to the house from where I finished. I continued using my telephone pole method and occasionally going a pole or two extra. I think the toughest part of finishing the 2nd mile was the fact that there is a pretty big hill to run up at the end which I ultimately walked up most days. My toes would start going pins and needles and my hips would kill but I stuck with the goal I had, to run at least as far as the day before regardless of how bad it was.
On a side note, I've learned that properly fitted shoes and padded socks are the most important things ever. I bit the bullet and bought freaking $14 socks (Thorlo Socks) at Sports Authority and it was the best thing I ever did. The padding prevents blisters and they wick away sweat so when I take them off my feet are pretty much bone dry which is pretty impressive. As for shoes and that disaster, I will cover that later.
I continued my 5-6 days a week of running all the way up until race day in early September. Prior to the race I had never run a full 5k, as I think the highest I got was 2.8 miles. It definitely got easier though as I got in better shape and my last run before the race I knew I could do it. The first race I ever ran in was quite fun, but note that running when you have a rush of adrenaline and your heart is pounding can be pretty hard and scary. I settled in after the first mile into my normal 13 minute mile pace. I enjoyed the experience except for damn Summerhill Rd. which is pretty much straight uphill, but nonetheless I had a good time and I finished!
The whole process took me about 8 weeks and I ended up losing about 20 lbs in the process dropping from 240 to about 220 lbs.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Couch to 5k - Part 2
When I first started running my goal was to run 7 days a week, but soon I realized that was just unrealistic given everything that goes on in life. At the beginning I found that dedicating 30 minutes a day 4-6 days a week was reasonable.
My first run was border line pathetic as I made it only about 3 blocks before being completely winded. However, I developed a routine that consisted of me trying to run to the next telephone pole on the street I was running on and then walking the rest of the 30 minutes. There were days where I wished there was a telephone pole at every house because they felt so far apart. I found this gradual increase to really help me pace myself and feel like I was improving every day. For days that I felt really good, I would run an extra telephone pole. I calls this the "Beginner Telephone Pole Workout". For anyone looking for a way to get started running but just aren't sure where to start, give it a try and it just may work.
At the same time as starting to exercise I also downloaded an app from the iTunes Store called MyFitnessPal, or as my wife now affectionately calls it "that damn thing". My friend, Misha, had recommended using LiveStrong which seems to be similar but this one was free so I went with it. Regardless of how you track it, I've found that there is nothing more eye opening than tracking what you eat and seeing it compared to what it should be for a person of your height and weight. Even for people in shape, I recommend doing this even for a week if you haven't before because you could be feeding your body absolute crap (saturated fats, sugars, etc.).
From a diet perspective, I set the app to target losing 2 lbs a week; I tried to cut out more saturated fats and sugar than the guidelines recommended and eat more protein and fiber. The second biggest change for me beside changing what I ate was how often I ate. I used to skip breakfast and eat a big lunch & dinner and snack obnoxiously after dinner. I now eat roughly 6-8 times a day and I try to not have any single meal over 500 calories with most averaging around 150-200 calories.
My first run was border line pathetic as I made it only about 3 blocks before being completely winded. However, I developed a routine that consisted of me trying to run to the next telephone pole on the street I was running on and then walking the rest of the 30 minutes. There were days where I wished there was a telephone pole at every house because they felt so far apart. I found this gradual increase to really help me pace myself and feel like I was improving every day. For days that I felt really good, I would run an extra telephone pole. I calls this the "Beginner Telephone Pole Workout". For anyone looking for a way to get started running but just aren't sure where to start, give it a try and it just may work.
At the same time as starting to exercise I also downloaded an app from the iTunes Store called MyFitnessPal, or as my wife now affectionately calls it "that damn thing". My friend, Misha, had recommended using LiveStrong which seems to be similar but this one was free so I went with it. Regardless of how you track it, I've found that there is nothing more eye opening than tracking what you eat and seeing it compared to what it should be for a person of your height and weight. Even for people in shape, I recommend doing this even for a week if you haven't before because you could be feeding your body absolute crap (saturated fats, sugars, etc.).
From a diet perspective, I set the app to target losing 2 lbs a week; I tried to cut out more saturated fats and sugar than the guidelines recommended and eat more protein and fiber. The second biggest change for me beside changing what I ate was how often I ate. I used to skip breakfast and eat a big lunch & dinner and snack obnoxiously after dinner. I now eat roughly 6-8 times a day and I try to not have any single meal over 500 calories with most averaging around 150-200 calories.
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