From now on there is no more kidding around. Whether I’m racing in the Steamtown Marathon on Oct. 7 or going back to Harrisburg on Nov. 10, I’m in full training mode starting Monday.
Then again, it wasn’t like I wasn’t training during the last two months. Though the aim was to get in shape in order to be able to handle the schedule I set up for myself. In other words, I guess I was training for my training.
So what do I have in store for myself? Funny I should ask… check this out:
Week 1
July 2-8
20 miles in 2:10
4 miles easy +
5 x 1 mile @ 5:10/mile +
5 miles easy
or Ephrata Firecracker Five Miler @ 8:30 a.m. on July 4
Week 2
July 9-15
20 miles in 2:15
2 miles easy +
10 miles in 58
2 miles easy
Week 3
July 16-22
4 miles easy +
8 miles in 48 +
1 mile in 5:35 +
6 miles in 36 +
1 mile in 5:35 +
2 miles easy
knockdown in 33, 32, 31
or Bon-Ton 5 Miler, York Galleria, York, Pa. @ 7:30 a.m. on July 22
Week 4
July 23-29
22 miles with 5 miles in 28
knockdown in 32, 31, 30
Week 5
July 30- August 5
22 miles in 2:28
2 miles easy +
10 miles in 58 +
2 miles easy
Week 6
August 6-12
20 miles with 12 in 72
knockdown in 32, 30, 29
or Ox Trot 5 Miler, Bowmansville, Pa. @ 8 a.m. on Aug. 11
Week 7
August 13-19
22 miles with 5 in 28, 10 easy, and 5 in 28
knockdown in 31, 30, 28
Week 8
August 20-26
22 miles in 2:27
4 easy +
10 in 57
1 mile cool down
or York 10 miler, York, Pa. @ 8 a.m. on Aug. 25
Week 9
August 27- September 2
23 miles with 12 in 72
knockdown in 31, 31, 27
Week 10
September 3-9
22 miles with 5 in 28
knockdown in 32, 30, 29
Week 11
September 10-16
22 miles easy
4 miles easy +
5 x 1 mile @ 5:10/mile +
5 miles easy
Week 12
September 17-23
BLAST WEEK
Week 13
September 24-30
22 miles easy
5k or 10k race
Hands on House Half Marathon/5k @ 9 a.m.
Week 14
October 1-7
* 13 easy
* 10 easy
* 4 miles warm up and cool down + 3 in 16
* 6 miles easy
* 4-5 miles easy
* 3 miles easy
* 4 miles easy
How it works is I do two “quality” workouts a week and the other five days are spent racking up the mileage. Of course a lot of what I do will depend on what happens when the baby comes in the middle of August. That’s the monkey wrench, but I think it will be OK.
Here’s the week of June 25- July 1.
Monday – 20 miles in 2:13:03
It was super-humid and I didn't get out until later in the day. Either way, I did OK until around the 17th mile where I started to tie up a bit. I stopped at 15 miles to drink, which may have been too late. Either way, I got another 20-mile run in and it felt pretty good.
splits:
1st 5: 33:31
2nd 5: 32:23
3rd 5: 33:17
4th 5: 33:51
Tuesday – 15 miles in 1:40:04
This was the hottest and most humid day of the year, but that fact that I did this workout says something... like I'm crazy. Either way, I stuck it out thanks to having my Gatorade mixture with me on the route and the fact that I'm pretty strong. I also have adapted the theory that there is no such thing as overtraining, just under-resting. I picked that up from Floyd Landis' book and so far it seems like it's right on the money.
On another note, I have started to soak my feet in the ice-cold tub after runs... so far so good.
splits:
1st 5: 33:38
2nd 5: 32:45
3rd 5: 33:40
Wednesday – 15 miles in 1:41:55
The fact that I did this run under the conditions proves that I am either a badass or more than a little crazy... I'm going with the latter. It was hazy, hot and humid, and when the sun was out it was more than miserable. Running on the field was nearly unbearable, so I went home, got a drink, got out the garden hose and started up again with the hope of adding another 20 to 30 minutes. Somehow, though, I was able to go for eight more miles.
Thursday – 15 miles in 1:42:24
The temperature wasn't as bad, but it was still unbearably humid. Plus, if I'm not mistaken, I bonked a bit... or maybe it has something to do with the fact that I had a big-assed diet coke instead of coffee. If I'm ever drug tested, the only thing they will find is that I'm hopped up on coffee and ibuprofen. Other than that, I'm clean.
Regardless, I struggled in the humidity and went slow. Maybe it's the mileage... who knows. Still, I'm pleased about getting in the miles.
splits:
1st 5: 33:47
2nd: 33:59
3rd: 34:39
Friday – 16 miles in 1:45:18
Finally! A good day to run. It was overcast and much cooler, even though it was still humid. Nevertheless, I kept a solid pace the entire time and even picked up a little at the end, though I didn't have enough energy to run a solid, six-minute pace.
It's been a busy week and it's just beginning. I talked to Floyd Landis for a story today and that was a blast. Hopefully the story comes off well.
splits:
1st 5: 33:14
2nd 5: 33:04
3rd 5: 31:54
Saturday – 15 miles in 1:37:43
Another excellent day to run... the weather was great and the humidity even broke. In fact, I didn't even feel tight or sore or need much warm up time at the start. I just went out and got into it even though I was sitting on my ass at home and writing all day.
splits:
1st 5: 32:44
2nd 5: 32:45
3rd 5: 32:14
Sunday – 6 miles in 39:42
Went out "naked" today, which is a term I stole from the baseball players I typically write about. To play naked, as they say, is to play a game without taking a "greenie." A greenie, of course, is amphetamines. Running naked in my instance has nothing to do with greenies. Instead, I ran without having coffee or ibuprofen this morning.
Needless to say, I felt a little bit of a difference, but that was fine. Today was an easy day and I treated it as such -- I even ran with my iPod today and the weather was spectacular. Too bad such a nice day came on an easy day... I could have hammered.
But there will be time for that. Sometimes a guy just needs to go light.
1st 5 split: 32:44
There’s 102 miles… Kind of tough at times this week with the heat and humidity, but I hung tough.