I know I ran on the Tuesday and Thursday following the 16K run but I can't remember where; and I know I ran 15K on Saturday, the 21st. I am at a point now where I realize that trying for a 6 minute/kilometre may not be possible. I ran the 15K about 42 seconds slower which I suppose isn't too far off but I felt the need to slow down as I was finishing.
I ran on the Saturday because we flew to Vancouver for a couple of days so I missed the Tueday run. I did run from the hotel to the 7-11 (about 1K each direction) so I did something. On Thursday we ran Butze twice. This time I was much better as I managed to run up all the hills even the last one from the directional sign, but I did avoid the very last hill to the parking lot by cutting out to the highway and running in from there. Butze is hard once, not sure why we run it twice.
Today, we were supposed to run 17K but we weren't sure where the 8.5K marker was located so we ended up running 18K. That means we are only 3K short of the half marathon. It took me a few seconds under one hour and 50 minutes meaning I can take 25 minutes to run the final 3K and still reach my goal.
My legs did feel a bit wobbly when I stopped and they are still a bit sore seven hours later but I am guessing that is normal.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Sunday, July 15, 2012
is run 5K
When I started running all I wanted to do was run 5K. Now I am just 5K short of running a half marathon.
Last Sunday I ran 14K in about 82 minutes. That's getting pretty close to a half marathon in slightly over two hours, ten or so minutes below my goal of 2'15". I felt good after the run and figured I could go further.
On Tuesday, we ran to the recycling depot and back along the old highway. On Thursday, we ran Butze - twice! That was my first feeling of failure. The day hadn't been a good one for running - worked a lot in the garden, ate at the wrong times, a hotter than usual day - so I was already struggling before I took a step. I managed to get around the first loop ok but doing the loop a second time, I ran out of energy when we reached the hills heading back. For the last 15 minutes, I walked more than I ran.
Butze is brutal so I shouldn't have felt too bad, but I was worried about today's 16K run.
I was fine until the 12K mark and then I felt the need to slow down. I tried to keep up with Gail and Mike but there was no way that was possible. I clocked in at just over 95 minutes which is still under a 6 min/km but I am not sure how much further I could have gone today. I shouldn't (and won't) get discouraged - yet. At this pace, I need to run the last 5K in 40 minutes to beat my goal which I should be able to do even if I to walk for half of it.
Last Sunday I ran 14K in about 82 minutes. That's getting pretty close to a half marathon in slightly over two hours, ten or so minutes below my goal of 2'15". I felt good after the run and figured I could go further.
On Tuesday, we ran to the recycling depot and back along the old highway. On Thursday, we ran Butze - twice! That was my first feeling of failure. The day hadn't been a good one for running - worked a lot in the garden, ate at the wrong times, a hotter than usual day - so I was already struggling before I took a step. I managed to get around the first loop ok but doing the loop a second time, I ran out of energy when we reached the hills heading back. For the last 15 minutes, I walked more than I ran.
Butze is brutal so I shouldn't have felt too bad, but I was worried about today's 16K run.
I was fine until the 12K mark and then I felt the need to slow down. I tried to keep up with Gail and Mike but there was no way that was possible. I clocked in at just over 95 minutes which is still under a 6 min/km but I am not sure how much further I could have gone today. I shouldn't (and won't) get discouraged - yet. At this pace, I need to run the last 5K in 40 minutes to beat my goal which I should be able to do even if I to walk for half of it.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
is eat properly
I didn't write anything last week so I am going from memory to recall two weeks of running.
On the Tuesday following the 13K run I have no idea what we did. I am sure we did something around 5K but I cannot remember where we went. On Wednesday, two of us joined Ray for some speed drills and though we managed to complete them we still find it difficult.
On Thursday I missed the run to go to Pat's year end party where I met somebody who had just run the Vancouver marathon. She said that her big difficulty was eating properly before the race i.e. getting enough food in her early enough so she wasn't burned out during her race. She found herself struggling at the end because the race started early in the morning and she hadn't eaten enough. I am not sure if the same problem will occur in a half marathon, but I do find it hard to make sure I get something in me before running but not too soon before running to make me uncomfortable. Same with drinking water. I have been told that the Victoria half marathon starts at 7:30 so I will need to eat about 6:00. I am going to look for advice on timing meals.
Because I missed Thursday, I ran Saturday morning looping the highway from the SPCA to McDonald's. It was before 8:00 and there were a couple of other runners out.
Sunday was a bit of a recovery week so we only did 12K.
Tuesday was another sunny day so we did the waterfront route backwards, running down George Hill and up Bill Murray.
Wednesday, Gail and I were the only ones to show up for speed work so we decided to just run 200m and walk 100m and then work our way up to full laps over the next month. We found it less strenuous.
On Thursday we changed a bit of our usual SPCA run. Instead of running up Frederick and turning at 11th we continued to 7th and ran up (well- walked up) the stairs to get back to Alfred and then 11th to take us back to the track.
On Friday I decided to drive to Butze. It was just after 7:30 so I was the first car there. Because we are moving up to 14, 16, and 18K over the next few weeks, I wanted to find the distance markers for 7, 8, and 9K. I ran from Butze to the 9k and back to Butze (about 8.5K), found all three markers (we need to refresh the paint) and managed to complete it in less than the time it took me to do the 8K back in May,
I will be interested to see what I manage to do on Sunday when we run 14K and then again next Sunday when we do 16K.
On the Tuesday following the 13K run I have no idea what we did. I am sure we did something around 5K but I cannot remember where we went. On Wednesday, two of us joined Ray for some speed drills and though we managed to complete them we still find it difficult.
On Thursday I missed the run to go to Pat's year end party where I met somebody who had just run the Vancouver marathon. She said that her big difficulty was eating properly before the race i.e. getting enough food in her early enough so she wasn't burned out during her race. She found herself struggling at the end because the race started early in the morning and she hadn't eaten enough. I am not sure if the same problem will occur in a half marathon, but I do find it hard to make sure I get something in me before running but not too soon before running to make me uncomfortable. Same with drinking water. I have been told that the Victoria half marathon starts at 7:30 so I will need to eat about 6:00. I am going to look for advice on timing meals.
Because I missed Thursday, I ran Saturday morning looping the highway from the SPCA to McDonald's. It was before 8:00 and there were a couple of other runners out.
Sunday was a bit of a recovery week so we only did 12K.
Tuesday was another sunny day so we did the waterfront route backwards, running down George Hill and up Bill Murray.
Wednesday, Gail and I were the only ones to show up for speed work so we decided to just run 200m and walk 100m and then work our way up to full laps over the next month. We found it less strenuous.
On Thursday we changed a bit of our usual SPCA run. Instead of running up Frederick and turning at 11th we continued to 7th and ran up (well- walked up) the stairs to get back to Alfred and then 11th to take us back to the track.
On Friday I decided to drive to Butze. It was just after 7:30 so I was the first car there. Because we are moving up to 14, 16, and 18K over the next few weeks, I wanted to find the distance markers for 7, 8, and 9K. I ran from Butze to the 9k and back to Butze (about 8.5K), found all three markers (we need to refresh the paint) and managed to complete it in less than the time it took me to do the 8K back in May,
I will be interested to see what I manage to do on Sunday when we run 14K and then again next Sunday when we do 16K.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
keep a steady pace
This week was a little different than the others. On Tuesday we ran for 45 minutes doing most of the Glory Days 5K portion plus the getting there and getting back so somewhere between 6 and 7K. Knowing I couldn't make Thursday, I decided to go to the track on Wednesday and do speed drills with Ray and Bob. Tough stuff but I was able to complete the 8 laps (with a 100m walking break between) at a pace faster than normal - in other words "no talking allowed (or for the punsters aloud).
On Friday, I did four laps trying to calibrate my IPod so it is a little more accurate. And on Saturday, at 7:30 a.m. in gorgeous sunshine, I ran 5K to test the newly calibrated IPod. It said I ran 5.28K which was much more accurate than usual but still not good enough. I completed the 5K in 29'55'' which is a couple of minutes better than my first 5K at the Cannery Run.
On Sunday, we ran 13K which is our longest run yet. I ran the first 6.5 with Ray and for reasons too difficult to explain, Ray checked our pacing. We were running a 5'40"/km, much faster than the 6 min/km that I seem to find comfortable. Ray continued on and Gail who was not far behind us caught up to me. By the time we reached 9K, I had to slow down. (I had probably been slowing down before that.) When we reached the beginning of the hill from the SPCA to Sherman, I told Gail to go ahead as I was finding it too difficult to maintain her pace. In fact, there were a couple of times on that hill where I almost felt like quitting. I managed to keep going and the rest of the way in was fine.
Unfortunately, when I went to check my IPod to see the time and the accuracy of the calibration, I discovered that I had mistakenly shut it off after 7 minutes. Brilliant technician I am. I am pretty sure that I did the first half in 36 minutes and the back half in 39 which is still an ok pace.
Side note: I would love to learn the story behind some of the items found on the side of the road. As I am chugging along, I noticed what appeared to be a lady's under garment. Now, how did that get there?
On Friday, I did four laps trying to calibrate my IPod so it is a little more accurate. And on Saturday, at 7:30 a.m. in gorgeous sunshine, I ran 5K to test the newly calibrated IPod. It said I ran 5.28K which was much more accurate than usual but still not good enough. I completed the 5K in 29'55'' which is a couple of minutes better than my first 5K at the Cannery Run.
On Sunday, we ran 13K which is our longest run yet. I ran the first 6.5 with Ray and for reasons too difficult to explain, Ray checked our pacing. We were running a 5'40"/km, much faster than the 6 min/km that I seem to find comfortable. Ray continued on and Gail who was not far behind us caught up to me. By the time we reached 9K, I had to slow down. (I had probably been slowing down before that.) When we reached the beginning of the hill from the SPCA to Sherman, I told Gail to go ahead as I was finding it too difficult to maintain her pace. In fact, there were a couple of times on that hill where I almost felt like quitting. I managed to keep going and the rest of the way in was fine.
Unfortunately, when I went to check my IPod to see the time and the accuracy of the calibration, I discovered that I had mistakenly shut it off after 7 minutes. Brilliant technician I am. I am pretty sure that I did the first half in 36 minutes and the back half in 39 which is still an ok pace.
Side note: I would love to learn the story behind some of the items found on the side of the road. As I am chugging along, I noticed what appeared to be a lady's under garment. Now, how did that get there?
Sunday, June 17, 2012
get up the hill
Week five is now complete. On the rare nice days we have, it is essential that we run along the waterfront which is what we did on Tuesday. On Thursday we ran passed the hospital and looped back through Ominica. Each of those runs was about 5-6K taking 35 or so minutes. On Friday, I ran Butze. I almost made it up the hill from the directional sign. When I stopped I didn't realize that just around the corner was the flat area. If I had known that I would have pushed myself for another 10 seconds. Still couldn't make it up the hill to the parking lot, but I did break the 37 minute mark for the run.
On Sunday, we ran 12K. We figured the 6K marker was around the shoe tree but we ran about 100m past it just to be sure. When we crossed the highway and headed back, we found the marker about 50m or so on the town side of the tree. That means we ran closer to 12.5K. I was a couple of minutes longer than I was for the Skeena relay but I will blame the miserable weather. I was drenched when we were done.
Next week we advance to 13K. Still not sure what 21K will feel like but I still had enough in me to run further than 12K today.
On Sunday, we ran 12K. We figured the 6K marker was around the shoe tree but we ran about 100m past it just to be sure. When we crossed the highway and headed back, we found the marker about 50m or so on the town side of the tree. That means we ran closer to 12.5K. I was a couple of minutes longer than I was for the Skeena relay but I will blame the miserable weather. I was drenched when we were done.
Next week we advance to 13K. Still not sure what 21K will feel like but I still had enough in me to run further than 12K today.
Monday, June 11, 2012
is recover
This week was a recovery week so Sunday's run was only 9K. I love saying ONLY 9K. We ran from the Lester Centre through the Butze parking lot and then back to the highway and return. We figured it to be more than 9k maybe 9.5. Gail and I ran together and finished at about 57 minutes. We ran out to Butze with Ray but he decided to continue to Oliver Lake. We will have to do that in a couple of weeks but we won't run from his house on Graham to the Lester Centre as a warm up.
The three of us ran to Butze and running and talking were not a problem. The distraction made the time go faster.
Earlier in the week, we ran about 5K on Tuesday and on Thursday we drove to Butze and ran the trail. The Butze trail is a hard 35-40 minutes, so I didn't feel guilty about not running for the recommended 45 minutes. On Friday, I ran to Butze from the church at Conrad and Prince Rupert Boulevard. I figured it was slightly more than 7K and I completed it in about 45 minutes. The program we are following recommends 4-5 runs each week, but I figure four should be enough. Sunday is the only challenging day. We have to do 12K next week followed by a 13 and then a 14 before our next recovery week.
The three of us ran to Butze and running and talking were not a problem. The distraction made the time go faster.
Earlier in the week, we ran about 5K on Tuesday and on Thursday we drove to Butze and ran the trail. The Butze trail is a hard 35-40 minutes, so I didn't feel guilty about not running for the recommended 45 minutes. On Friday, I ran to Butze from the church at Conrad and Prince Rupert Boulevard. I figured it was slightly more than 7K and I completed it in about 45 minutes. The program we are following recommends 4-5 runs each week, but I figure four should be enough. Sunday is the only challenging day. We have to do 12K next week followed by a 13 and then a 14 before our next recovery week.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
is brag a little
Week Three concluded by running 12.1K as part of the Skeena River Relay. I was supposed to run 12K on Sunday so when I was asked to run on Saturday, I figured I was just running the distance one day early.
I was very pleased with my time which was about 73 minutes. I have now completed four races each longer than the last one.
Cannery Run 5K 6'25"/kilometre/
PR Half Marathon 8K 6'32"/kilometre
Glory Days 10K 6'09"/kilometre
Skeena Relay 12.1K 6'02"/kilometre (based on 73 minutes which is not the official time)
Even though I am not working on speed, I am getting (ever so slowly) faster. This is a pace that definitely gets me through a half marathon in under 2 hours 15 minutes.
And when I finished yesterday, I had no trouble maintaining a fairly normal conversation (no breathlessness) and my legs felt fine. Still not sure what 21K will be like but I am not worried about 15K. I also suggested to Leslie that we should form a Learn2Run graduates team for next year's relay.
Earlier in the week, we ran 7.4K on Tuesday and about 5K on Thursday. On Wednesday, I went to the Gym for the last time until the fall. With running outside three+ times a week, I haven't been going often enough to get my money's worth. I visited the pool for the first time in a bunch of years and they have a decent gym - especially cardio stuff which is really all I care about. I am thinking of getting a punch card for crossing training during the summer.
I was very pleased with my time which was about 73 minutes. I have now completed four races each longer than the last one.
Cannery Run 5K 6'25"/kilometre/
PR Half Marathon 8K 6'32"/kilometre
Glory Days 10K 6'09"/kilometre
Skeena Relay 12.1K 6'02"/kilometre (based on 73 minutes which is not the official time)
Even though I am not working on speed, I am getting (ever so slowly) faster. This is a pace that definitely gets me through a half marathon in under 2 hours 15 minutes.
And when I finished yesterday, I had no trouble maintaining a fairly normal conversation (no breathlessness) and my legs felt fine. Still not sure what 21K will be like but I am not worried about 15K. I also suggested to Leslie that we should form a Learn2Run graduates team for next year's relay.
Earlier in the week, we ran 7.4K on Tuesday and about 5K on Thursday. On Wednesday, I went to the Gym for the last time until the fall. With running outside three+ times a week, I haven't been going often enough to get my money's worth. I visited the pool for the first time in a bunch of years and they have a decent gym - especially cardio stuff which is really all I care about. I am thinking of getting a punch card for crossing training during the summer.
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