January 23 - 29 Training

Mon: AM - 8.9 miles easy with 4x20s pickups (7:15); body felt about 80% coming off the flu.  Didn't have much push off on the pickups.  PM - 5.1 miles easy (7:19). Miserable conditions; very cold, windy and rainy. 


Tue: AM - 10.1 miles easy (6:59); took another easy day to make sure the body was back to its normal state.  PM - 4.2 miles easy (7:38)


Wed: AM - 14 miles including 6x(800m, 400m).  The goal was sub 2:25 for the 800, 68s for the 400 with 400 recovery jog after the 800 and 800 jog after each 400.  This was a very tough workout and probably the first time attempting to run 800s at sub 2:25.  I ran (2:23, 69), (2:21, 67), (2:23, 66), (2:24, 69), (2:24, 69), and (2:26, 70).  Things got really tough after the 3rd set. I thought about stopping the workout after five sets, but toughed it out and completed all six sets.  On the last 3 sets, I fought hard on the 400s to hit 68s, but could only managed 69/70.  I swear the legs felt like bricks!  PM - 5 miles very easy (8:18)


Thu: AM - 10.4 miles moderate progression working down to 6:00 (6:23); felt very smooth and comfortable. After the run I went straight into doing circuit training for my Army physical training.   PM - 4.3 miles easy (7:50)


Fri: 10.1 miles easy (7:25); legs felt very heavy and tired from the consecutive workouts (intervals, moderate progression and circuit training).


Sat: 21 miles long run (6:30). Ran the first 14 miles easy on rolling hills, the next 5 miles at sub 5:45 pace, and then 2 miles cooldown.  I ran a similar workout (fast-finish long run) four weeks ago, but the fast-finish portion was at sub 5:50 pace.  Comparing the two, I felt more comfortable and smooth in today's run, which is a good sign that my marathon fitness is improving. 

Dec 31, 2016                                      Jan 28, 2017

Sun: AM - 6 miles easy (7:44); PM - 4.1 miles easy (7:48)


Weekly Total: 103.3 miles on 12 miles/ 7 days
Solid week of training!  I couldn't be any happier with how my body responded coming off of the stomach flu two Saturdays ago.  One day I was laying in bed the entire day, and a few days later I was knocking out one of the toughest intervals sessions.  And I also got back into the triple digits for the weekly mileage.  Life is good! 

January 2 - 8 Training

Mon: AM - 8.2 miles easy (7:20); PM - 4.1 miles easy (7:38).  Looking forward to going back to work tomorrow, only because I'll be able to knock out my second run during lunch hour and have the evenings free to play with the kids.

Tue: AM - 10.7 miles including 5x1k at sub 5:05 pace w/ 400m slow jog, 4x200m fast w/ 200m jog.  Workout went really well, probably one of my better interval sessions I've had in a while.  My 1k splits were 3:06, 3:08, 3:06, 3:06 and 3:06.  I was pretty happy to see that all of my splits, with the exception of the 2nd rep, were consistent at 3:06 (4:59 pace). For the 200s, the goal was to close hard and fast while keeping good form.  Again, I surprised myself with the splits and ran all of them in 30s.  PM - 5.1 miles very easy (8:11); Running 8:00+/mile felt really good after this morning's workout. 

Wed: AM - 8.1 miles easy (7:20); PM - 5 miles easy (7:12)

Thu: AM - 9.3 miles including 4x1/4 mile uphill, 4x1/4 mile downhill.  Ran the uphill repeats in 72, 73, 73, 72 and the downhill repeats in 61, 63, 61, and 61.  Got in some really good work, and by the end of the workout I felt like I needed a new set of lungs.  I ran this same workout three weeks ago in 76, 78, 79, 80 for the uphill and 66, 65, 64, 63 for the downhill, so today's workout was a nice improvement.  PM - 4.9 miles easy (7:32)

Fri: AM - 7.5 miles easy (7:41); PM - 5 miles easy (7:21)

Sat: 22.4 miles long run (6:49).  Man, it was freezing (23 deg with a real-feel of 15).  I managed to finish my run before the roads were covered in snow.  This week's long run was nice and easy with the main purpose of spending time on my feet.  Ran the first 13 miles on rolling hills and then the last 9 miles on fairly flat ground. 
 

Sun: AM - 6.6 miles easy (7:23). Today was even colder with a real-feel of 3 degrees!  There was also snow on the ground from yesterday, but luckily the roads were still runnable; PM - 4 miles easy (7:30)

Weekly Total: 101.1 miles on 13 runs/7 days
A good week of training that included some decent variety (speed, hills and endurance).  It was also the coldest week with temperatures well below freezing from Thursday through Sunday.  I really don't mind the freezing temps, as long as the roads are not too icy/snowy to run on. 

March 30 - April 5 Training

Mon: AM – 8.4 miles easy with 6x20s pickups (7:03);  PM – 4.5 miles easy (7:58)

Tue: AM – 14.1 miles including 9 miles progression in 52:06 (5:48).  The goal was to run the progression in 3 mile blocks at 6:10 pace (18:30), 5:50 (17:30), and 5:30 pace (16:30) respectively.  Ran the segments in 18:25, 17:25, and 16:16. The first segment felt easy, the second one felt comfortable and the last segment was tough. Was really thrilled with the workout.  Running 5:25 pace for a 3-mile tempo alone is tough, so to do it at the end of a progression run is a good sign that I'm fit.  PM – 4.1 miles easy (7:24)

Wed: AM – 8.1 miles easy (7:04); felt good and smooth.  I’ve noticed that the legs have been feeling pretty good after a quality workout.  This shows that I'm able to recover from my workouts pretty quickly. Nutrition is probably the most important part of recovery.  PM – 3.9 miles easy (7:25)

Thu: AM – 6 miles easy with 4x20s pickups (7:06); PM – 4.5 miles easy (8:01)

Fri: 12 miles including 3-2-1 mile intervals with 3:00 rest/400m jog.  Goal was 5:30 pace for the 3 miles, 5:10-5:15 pace for the 2 miles and 5:00 for the mile.  Ran the workout on the track so the actual distances were 4800m, 3200m, and 1600m.  I ran 16:10 (5:22, 5:25, 5:23), 11:24 (5:12, 5:12) and 4:56, respectively.  The 3 miles felt good and comfortably hard, the 2 miles was tough, and the last mile hurt.  It was probably the first time breaking 5:00 for a mile in a workout.  

Sat: 20 miles long run (6:38).  Legs felt really good as if I didn’t run a workout yesterday.  First 10 miles were rolling/hilly and the last 10 fairly flat.  Averaged 6:30 pace for the last 10 miles.  

Sun: 7.4 miles (7:09)

Weekly Total: 93.1 miles on 11 runs/7 days

This was probably my best week of training.  Nailing the tough workouts on Tuesday and Friday has boosted my confidence and proves that I'm fit and ready for Boston.  With just two weeks away from raceday, it's time to freshen up the legs and peak to run Boston Strong. 

November 10-16 Training

Mon: AM – 8.5 miles easy with 6x30s pick-ups (6:53); PM – 4.2 miles easy (7:19)

Tue: AM – 12.4 miles with 10M moderate progression run (62:20 – 6:14 pace). Goal was to start at 6:30 and progress down to 6:10 pace. Felt comfortable and controlled. Splits were 6:24, 6:25, 6:21, 6:14, 6:14, 6:11, 6:10, 6:07, 6:09, and 6:09. PM – 4 miles easy (7:29)

Wed: AM – 7 miles easy (7:26); PM – 4.8 miles easy (7:07)

Thu: AM – 8.6 miles with 8x200m w/ 200m rec. Felt good despite the freezing temps (real-feel of 32 deg). Goal was to hit the 200s in 32-33s. Splits were 32, 31, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, and 32. PM – 4.6 miles easy (7:42)

Fri: AM – 5 miles easy (7:39); PM – 4.2 miles easy (7:23)

Sat: AM – 16.1 miles long run with 10x1/2 mile steady, 1/2 mile hard on rolling terrain. Really tough (physically and mentally) workout. Ran a 4mile warm-up and then 10 miles alternating a 1/2 mile at a steady pace with a 1/2 mile hard. The intent of the workout was to simulate the changing of pace for a rolling course like CIM. What made this workout tough is the steady pace running after running hard for a half mile….a hilly course also made the workout more challenging. I had to keep reminding myself not to slack on the steady portions, which is easy and normal to do when running fartleks or intervals. My average pace for the steady and hard portion of the workout were 6:19 and 5:37 pace, respectively. Splits were 3:06/2:52, 3:13/2:51, 3:12/2:48, 3:14/2:50, 3:18/2:54, 3:06/2:43, 3:05/2:50, 3:08/2:49, 3:07/2:46, and 3:08/2:40. PM – 4.6 miles easy (7:09)

Sun: 8.5 miles easy (7:05)

Weekly Total: 92.3 miles on 13 runs/7 days
Another great week of training.  This was the 11th week of 90+ miles during this marathon training cycle.  I have one more hard week of training and then I'll start tapering/peaking for CIM.  

Weekly Summary: May 21-27

Mon: 8.5M easy
Tue: 10M easy
Wed: 9.5M easy
Thu: 12M including 12x400 w/ 200 rec + 4x200 w/ 200 rec
Fri: AM - 6M easy; PM - 9M easy
Sat: 9M easy
Sun: 16M LR; 3M easy, 2x2M tempo w/ .5M easy, 8.5 easy

Weekly Total: 80 miles on 8 runs/7 days

I took 3 days very easy following the half-marathon to ensure my legs had enough recovery. There was some soreness in the quads, but it disappeared by Thursday allowing me to do a workout. On Thursday, I did repeats of 400s followed by some 200s. I ran the 400s slightly faster than 5k pace, but not too hard that I'll need a full recovery, and the 200s at a fast but controlled pace. The workout went well and I hit splits of 73-74s for the 400s and 33-34s for the 200s. On Sunday I did a long run which included 2x2M tempo. I ran the 2M tempos in 11:25 (5:43, 5:42) and 10:56 (5:29, 5:27). It seemed like the legs finally woke up after the first 2M tempo. This coming Saturday is the Hospital Hill half-marathon, so I will be taking it easy and decreasing the volume to freshen up the legs. It will be another tough half-marathon course, but I'm sure I'll be ready for it.

1200s

Had an excellent track workout yesterday. The workout was 5 x 1200m with 400m recovery jog. Based on my recent race (Trolley Run) and using the pace chart in Jack Daniels' Running Formula book, I was aiming to split the 1200s in 3:51.

I either underestimated my fitness or looked at the wrong row in the pacing chart, because I never split a 3:51 in any of the repeats. My splits for the workout were 3:47, 3:49, 3:48, 3:46, and 3:44. I pushed the pace in the last 400 of the last repeat finishing with a 71 second last lap (400m splits were 77, 76, 71). I was amazed with my last lap, because 71 seconds is almost as fast as I would normally run my 400 repeats. Overall, the workout was great and it gave me a good sense of where my fitness is at.

Wed: 11M including 5x1200 (3:47, 3:49, 3:48, 3:46, & 3:44)

The importance of pacing

Ran 4 x 2K intervals last night at the track in 6:39, 6:40, 6:38, and 6:37.  In the first two repeats my pacing was a little inconsistent in the early lap(s). I'd go through the first lap in 76 seconds, slow down (not intentionally) in the 2nd lap to about 82 seconds and then hold the remaining 3 laps at 80 seconds for a 6:39-6:40 2K. I decided to approach the last two intervals differently and force an 80 second first lap, realizing that running the first lap a few seconds faster wasn't doing much to the overall 2K time and probably just making myself tired faster.  Amazingly, I was dead on at 80 second laps for 1600 meters (5:20) and felt like I had still had some fuel left in the tank in the last 400, so I pushed on and finished strong.  I ran 78 and 76 seconds respectively for the last lap of the last 2K repeats. 

This goes to show how important pacing is and that running 1-3 seconds too fast early on makes a huge difference.  For proof, take a look at the below marathon splits analysis of my Hamburg and Berlin marathon.  I hope to apply the lessons learned and run a much smarter race, similar to Hamburg, at Rotterdam. 

Signs of life in the legs

After taking Monday completely off from running, I did an easy 4 miles during lunch on Tuesday, and then hit the track later that night to get some turnover in the legs.  I did a ladder workout of 300 to 700 (200 rec) with my friend Paul.  The workout went surprisingly well and the turnover felt smooth.  Today, I did an easy 10 miles on trails.  I expected some heaviness or fatigue in the legs, but none at all.  This is not only a positive sign of how quicly my legs recovered from Berlin, but also a confidence booster that the fitness is still high. 

300 - "55
400 - 1:14
500 - 1:35
600 - 1:52
700 - 2:13
700 - 2:14
600 - 1:53
500 - 1:31
400 - 1:10
300 - :51

Mon: DNR; core exercises
Tues: Noon - 4M @ 7:02 pace; PM - 9M including ladder of 300 to 700m.
Wed: 10M @ 6:56 pace

4 August

My legs and body are consistently feeling fatigue and flat coming off of 12-hour night shifts. When I get off from work I'm constantly asking myself whether I should even put on the running shoes. Of course there's only one answer to that question.

Today, I went straight to the track after getting off from work for some quality speed session. I wanted to get the workout done as soon as possible so that I could still have some time for a nice meal and 6-7 hours of sleep. During my warmup, I was considering on cancelling the workout because my body and legs were feeling fatigue. However, I started to feel better once I got onto the track and did a couple strides. I did 5 x 1K with 200m slow easy jogs for recovery. I probably had my best track workout of 1K intervals to date. Splits were 3:09, 3:08, 3:08, 3:07 & 3:06. I came through the 400/800 consistently in 1:15-16/2:31-2. I could not have been happier with the result of this workout, especially following long hours of work.

Today: 10M including 5 x 1K (3:09, 3:08, 3:08, 3:07 & 3:06)
Mon: AM - 6M @ 7:06 pace; 4M @ 7:06 pace

28 July

I had 6 x 800m repeats planned for tonight's track session, but ended up changing it to 12 x 400m (200m recovery) since that's what the Dutch club had on their schedule. Despite a solo effort, Paul is still injured, I had an excellent workout. I ran the 400 meters faster as I got closer to 12 repeats. My first 400m was 74 seconds and my last one was the fastest at 66 seconds. I was very happy with the result of this workout, especially that my legs were feeling flat during the warmup.

Splits: 74, 73, 71, 71, 71, 71, 71, 70, 70, 69, 69, 66.

Today: Noon - 6M @ 7:17 pace; PM - 9M including 12 x 400m w/ 200m recovery.

30 June

It turned out that our relay team lost by 63 seconds despite having a nice cushion lead going into the 6th leg and having the 2009 Netherland's Half-Marathon Champion Patrick Stitzinger (1:02) running the 7th and last leg.

I'd say that we actually lost the relay because our 5th runner ran two consecutive legs, the 5th and 6th leg totaling 32 kilometers (20 miles). Initially, he was supposed to only run the 5th leg, but due to another injured runner someone had to double. In the weather conditions we ran in, high 70s and very humid, it would have been smarter to have him run an early and late leg versus two consective legs (note the two bib numbers below). He ended up totally bonking in the 6th leg running 1:31 for 17.3K. On the other hand, we still should have easily won the race if Patrick (left below) had at least run a tempo run. He ran 57 minutes for 15K, which he normally finishes in 44-45 minutes.

Regardless of the end results, we all still had a lot of fun. The team won 4 of the 7 legs. I won the 3rd leg of the race and was given a trophy at tonight's track session since I didn't stay till the end. Interesting that the results had my time at 59:21, about 30 seconds faster than what I had.

Tonight, I did some shorter intervals with the club. We did 10 sets of 300m (100m rec.) + 200m (100m rec.), total 5000 meters of speed. I'd list the splits but it'll be a bunch of repetitive numbers. I ran the 300 meters in 52-54 seconds and the 200 meters in 34-35 seconds.

Today: AM - 4M @ 7:17 pace; PM - 8.5M including 10 sets of 300m + 200m
Mon: 10.1M @ 7:00 pace

23 June

I think Friday's 10K and the easy runs of 9 miles on Sat, 18 on Sun, and 12 on two runs yesterday finally caught up to the legs. They felt fatigued, but I still managed to get in a good track workout on a solo effort. Paul is still injured and Emily was a no show. The workout tonight was shorter intervals of 15 x 300m with 100m slow jog for recovery. The last time I did short intervals was a month ago. I remembered that I did some 300m repeats and the splits were around 50-52. I figured I'd shoot for 52-53s since the legs were a bit fatigued and the recovery was slow jogging. I was practically dead on at 52-53 splits. My last repeat was 47 seconds only because I was pushed by Wil (the coach), who tagged along after my first 100m and tried to beat me to the finish. I held him off. Splits were 52, 50, 53, 53, 53, 53, 53, 53, 52, 52, 51, 52, 52, 52, 47.

I will take the next day or two very easy. My next race is supposed to be the US Army Europe 10-Mile in Grafenwöhr (Germany) on Saturday. The 10-miler is the qualifying race for the USAREUR 10-Mile team that will run in the Army Ten-Miler in Washington DC. Grafenwöhr is a 5-hour drive from the Netherlands. With the race at 0800 on Saturday I would have to leave for Grafenwöhr on Friday. Unfortunately, I am unable to get off from work early and do not want to spend the whole night driving. It looks as though there'll be no Army Ten-Miler for a 2nd straight year.

Today: Noon - 3M @ 7:23 pace; PM - 8M including 15 x 300m w/ 100m recovery
Mon: Noon - 7M @ 7:12 pace including 7 x 10 sec. hill sprints; PM - 5M @ 7:13 pace