Running With Lydiard

After

2009-12-16T09:59:00.003-07:00

I still don't have a good reason for my dismal marathon performance. Possible factors include not enough carb loading, which I eased up on in hopes of having my stomach behave this time around (I think I was a bit over-filled for NYC), or perhaps taking too long of a taper, which could lead to some de-conditioning of the quads for all of the pounding on the rolling course. Whatever the reasons are, I'm trying to put this one behind me.

Conditions seemed perfect at the start with overcast skies and a temperature of 35 degrees, and I had a very good feeling about how the race would go. The first hour went by quickly with steady miles of 5:52-5:58, but soon after the wind kicked up and became a factor. The halfway mark found me at 1:17:38 (the only accurate split for the online tracking), but around mile 14 I found myself struggling a bit to stay on pace the cross-wind turned into a strong headwind. Mile splits started to fade to 6:00, then 6:10, and by 19 I knew that even 2:40 would be almost impossible. The lungs were fine, but the legs were aching. It hurt to pick them up, and I could feel all the power going out of my stride. The last four miles were grim and slow, and I hit the line in a disappointing 2:49.

On a more positive note, the three friends who also did the race had great days. My training buddy Lucas ran a 2:38, and he looked great when he passed me around the 18 mile mark.

Since the race I've been running sparingly, and the legs really held on to the soreness a bit longer than usual. I'll be back for the spring races, but I'm in no hurry at the moment.

Thanks for reading. I'll be going on extended hiatus for the holidays, but I wish you all good health and good running.

Hello?

2009-11-24T13:07:00.002-07:00

Yeah, I'm still running the California International Marathon on December 6, which is just under two weeks from now. My plan to give a weekly rundown obviously didn't pan out, but I wanted folks who somehow kept me in their Bloglines, feeds or whatnot to know I haven't given up. The training definitely changed for this marathon, as my plan to keep strong mileage all the way up to a two to three week taper eroded as work, family and other interests increasingly grabbed my attention and time.

As far as the training, the weeks pretty much went as follows:
Weeks out: miles * long run * workouts
26: 100
25: 101
24: 100
23: 100
22: 59
21:100
20: 100
19: 100
18 57
17: 94
16: 107
15: 100
14: 100
13: 69
12: 61
11: 89
10: 84
9: 64
8: 100
7: 82
6: 77 * 18 miles w/7 at 5:58 pace
5: 84 * 20.5 miles w/15 at 6:00 pace
4: 85 * 24 miles w/progression to MP during last 4 * 6MP, 6MP
3: 65 * 19 w/3x20 minutes at 5:57, 5:48 and 5:43 pace (15 recovery)
2: 56 * 18 w/14 at 6:00 pace * 7 miles at 5:53 pace

I haven't had time to fill in the workouts and long runs for the earlier weeks, but the last 5 weeks pretty much shows where I am. It seems that my base is holding up fairly well, and that I'm spending a good amount of time at marathon pace. Certainly it's been the faster, sharpening work that's been lacking, but since I had a bit of trouble in the middle of my build it took longer for the marathon pace runs to come around. In order to fit them in and still recover, tempo and anaerobic work definitely suffered.

I'm not going to make any predictions for this race, but if anything I'm a bit undertrained this time around. Still, the marathon pace work and the long runs do look good, so I think I stand a good shot at a good race.

Special thanks to Mystery Coach for his counsel throughout this build. His calm responses to my periodic freak-out emails have been very helpful.Also, thanks to everyone who still checks in on me every once in awhile, and I wish you all good health and good running.

California International Marathon Training Log

2009-01-02T10:57:00.012-07:00

17 weeks out from C.I.M. marathon, 8/3/09-8/9/09
Mo: 8 around 7:20 pace at 8000 feet, half uphill and half down
Tu: 0
We: 14 at 7:00 pace in the morning
We: 6 around 6:50 pace in the evening (too fast)
Th: 13 at 7:22 pace and a bonk, plus 1x25 second uphill sprint
Th: 5 miles at 7:40
Fr: 16 miles at 7:11, plus 8x300 jog, 100 accelerate-sprint
Sa: 12.5 miles w/4x1600m evaluation at 150HR in 6:03(149HR), 6:07(150), 6:04(150), 6:07(150) :42 seconds to 120HR recovery
Su: 20 miles at 7:15 pace
94 miles in 8 runs

Week 16, 8/10/09-8/16/09:
Mo: 10 miles at 7:22 pace
Mo: 5 miles at 7:32 pace
Tu: 12.5 miles w/3 x .7 mile hill repeats at strong effort
Tu: 6 miles at 7:44 pace
We: 8.5 miles at 7:08 pace, 8xstrides
We: 6 miles at 6:55-ish pace
Th: 11 miles w/8x1000 on 5 minutes in 3:23, 3:19, 3:20, 3:22, 3:21, 3:20, 3:21, 3:20
Th: 5 miles at 7:20 pace
Fr: 12 miles at 7:14 pace
Sa: 12 miles w/6x1600 redline run at 6:06, 6:08, 6:07, 6:07, 6:03, 6:02
Su: 19 very hilly miles (Saguaro loop) at 6:53 pace w/second half around 6:15-6:20 pace
107 miles in 11 runs

Week 15, 8/17/09-8/23/09
Mo: 12 miles at 6:56 +1 hill sprint and 8xstrides
Mo: 5 miles easy
Tu: 15 w/3200, 3200, 1600 tempo (400 recovery) averaging 5:45 down to 5:39
We: 13 easy at 7:13 pace
We: 6 easy around 43m
Th: 12.5 w/3x.7 mile steep hill repeats
Fr: 14 miles at 7:25 pace
Sa: 4.5 easy
Su: 18 w/last four around 6 minute pace
100 miles in 9 runs

Week 14, 8/24/09-8/31/09
Mo: 10 miles at 7:08 pace
Tu: 12 miles w/10 at 6:19 pace
We: 13 miles at 7:00 pace, 8x downhill 100m strides
We: 6 miles around 7min pace
Th: 14 miles w/4x.7 mile hill repeats, very tough
Th: 5 miles easy
Fr: 10 miles at 7:09 pace
Sa: 20 miles at 6:52 pace
Su: 10 miles at 7:07 pace
100 miles in 9 runs

Tuesday's marathon-ish pace effort seemed to be a good idea, and while the downhill strides are needed they made the legs a little sore for Thursday's tough hill effort. It felt good to get in a 20 miler Saturday, but the last few miles were tough. I think the hill effort actually put me behind on recovery for about four days, so I need to be sparing with that kind of hard work.

Week 8, 10/5-10/11)
Mo: 11 miles easy
Tu: 20 miles, 6:57 pace
We: 10 miles easy
We: 6 miles easy
Th: 14 miles w/6 at 6:00 pace on rollers
Fr: 12 miles easy
Fr: 4 miles easy
Sa: 9 miles easy
Su: 14 miles w/10 mile race in 57:32 (5:45 pace)
100 miles in 9 runs

All in all a good week of training given the recovery from the 8K race last weekend and the race today. Goals included a 20 miler, a medium-long run with marathon pace at the end and a solid race effort. Two out of three ain't bad.

8 weeks out

2009-10-11T16:29:00.003-07:00

Still hanging in there, though I've really lost the blogging motivation as of late. Here's where I'm at:

8 weeks out, 10/5-10/11
Mo: 11 miles easy
Tu: 20 miles, 6:57 pace
We: 10 miles easy
We: 6 miles easy
Th: 14 miles w/6 at 6:00 pace on rollers
Fr: 12 miles easy
Fr: 4 miles easy
Sa: 9 miles easy
Su: 14 miles w/10 mile race in 57:32 (5:45 pace)
100 miles in 9 runs

All in all a good week of training given the recovery from the 8K race last weekend and the race today. Goals included a 20 miler, a medium-long run with marathon pace at the end and a solid race effort. Two out of three ain't bad.

14 Weeks Out

2009-09-04T16:03:00.001-07:00

Mo: 10 miles at 7:08 pace
Tu: 12 miles w/10 at 6:19 pace
We: 13 miles at 7:00 pace, 8x downhill 100m strides
We: 6 miles around 7min pace
Th: 14 miles w/4x.7 mile hill repeats, very tough
Th: 5 miles easy
Fr: 10 miles at 7:09 pace
Sa: 20 miles at 6:52 pace
Su: 10 miles at 7:07 pace
Total: 100 miles in 9 runs
Tuesday's marathon-ish pace effort seemed to go well, and while the downhill strides are needed they made the legs a little sore for Thursday's tough hill effort. It felt good to get in a 20 miler Saturday, but the last few miles were tough. I think the hill effort actually put me behind on recovery for about four days, so I need to be sparing with that kind of hard work.

The Marathon Training Phase

2009-09-01T15:25:00.010-07:00

Hi Mystery Coach,

During the last several months I have been experimenting with different levels of effort I use for my long runs.I have been trying to better understand why Lydiard said to run it slow. I am beginning to agree with him dueto the factors I have listed below.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Lawrence

Hi Lawrence,

Your question on the effort of the long runs is a good one and not an easy one to answer that will fit at all stages of your development.

To help with the explanation refer to this model:

The model represents a dozen fibers that you would use on a run. The number of reps signifies how fatigue resistant the fiber is. In this runner Fibers 1-6 are used quite often (regular short runs, every day walking around, etc.) and they have developed high fatigue resistance. Fibers 7-8 get activated every so often (Long runs, tempo runs, races), Fibers 9-12 only get activated in very high effort events (sprinting uphills, short fast races (less than 6 minutes long) and maybe during very long hard runs)

Recovery is also different, 1-6 recover quickly (maybe day to day), 7-8 a couple of days, and9-12 may need a week.

To complicate the matter each fiber has a different capacity for improvement and is different from runner to runner. Some runners will have fibers 1-6 improve to 12,000 reps others will have 1-6 stay at 10,000 reps but have 7-8 jump up to 8,000 reps.

The reason the Lydiard system is effective is that it uses many different types of training to increase the fatigue resistance ("stamina first" as Arthur said) of all the fibers. Long runs are just one of the methods.

Lydiard's Marathon Training Phase does a couple of important things;

1) It gives you a break from race training ( I consider long runs that approach marathon pace as race training, they have their place for peaking but are best left out of this phase)

2) It helps improve recovery times (this is important for when you start race training) "Trying" to run faster does not speed up recovery in fact it slows it down. This is why I recommend the efforts such as:

1/4 effort - you could go out and do that run again that day
1/2 effort - you could do the run the next day and the day after and the day after.
3/4 effort - a 1/4 effort the next day and you could do this again the day after

Most runners get ahead of themselves during the Marathon Phase pushing to fast or too long too
quickly. During my running and coaching career I found better results from runners when they did a bit faster 15-18 miler than struggling to get a slower 20-22 miler in each weekend. Better recovery less injuries and more enthusiasm.

You must remember the harder you run any day the more you take away from your recovery energy that you have. Runners who have built for many years have much more energy to recover.

You'll have to try different variations to find what activates and conditions your fibers the best (and don't forget that it may change from year to year depending on how much different fibers can adapt)

I have some runners who did very well on one day doing 3-4 miles (about marathon pace) and the next a 10-15 mile at about 2 minutes per mile slower. Others would get good results with something like 10 at 30 seconds slower that marathon pace , then a 20 miler about a minute slower than marathon pace and a 15 miler the day after at a minute slower than marathon pace. So don't forget to experiment so that you can keep building and enjoy the Marathon Training Phase.

MC

15 Weeks Out

2009-08-24T14:22:00.002-07:00

Mo: 12 miles at 6:56 +1 hill sprint and 8xstrides
Mo: 5 miles easy
Tu: 15 w/3200, 3200, 1600 tempo (400 recovery) averaging 5:45 down to 5:39
We: 13 easy at 7:13 pace
We: 6 easy around 43m
Th: 12.5 w/3x.7 mile steep hill repeats
Fr: 14 miles at 7:25 pace
Sa: 4.5 easy
Su: 18 w/last four around 6 minute pace
Total: 100 miles in 9 runs

Scheduling conflicts made crashed a planned faster run on Saturday, but beyond that it was a pretty good week of singles. The legs are feeling good, but I really need to catch up on sleep this week.

16 Weeks Out

2009-08-16T11:31:00.003-07:00

Our daughter started 1st grade this week and she's proudly riding her own bike to school, which has added two miles to my runs until she's comfortable enough for me to ride beside her. Cool stuff. (photo by Kiera)

16 weeks until the C.I.M. marathon:

107 miles in 11 runs
Mo: 10 miles at 7:22 pace
Mo: 5 miles at 7:32 pace
Tu: 12.5 miles w/3 x .7 mile hill repeats at strong effort
Tu: 6 miles at 7:44 pace
We: 8.5 miles at 7:08 pace, 8xstrides
We: 6 miles at 6:55-ish pace
Th: 11 miles w/8x1000 on 5 minutes in 3:23, 3:19, 3:20, 3:22, 3:21, 3:20, 3:21, 3:20
Th: 5 miles at 7:20 pace
Fr: 12 miles at 7:14 pace
Sa: 12 miles w/6x1600 redline run at 6:06, 6:08, 6:07, 6:07, 6:03, 6:02
Su: 19 very hilly miles (Saguaro loop) at 6:53 pace w/second half around 6:15-6:20 pace

I think I'm at close to my limit for miles for this build if I'm hoping to maintain or add to this level of intensity (my hope is to add to it). While I'd like to get back over 120 for a few weeks, it remains to be seen whether or not I can do that without just adding junk miles.

As far as how the week went, I feel good about getting in a hill workout Tuesday and 1000's on Thursday, but failed at squeezing a medium-long run between on Wednesday due to fatigue and a little malaise (still managed some strides though). I also felt good about the redline run on Saturday followed by a tough but strong long run Sunday, and for getting in a total of four doubles without the family throwing me out.

21 (Make that 17) Weeks Out

2009-08-09T11:17:00.003-07:00

94 miles in 8 runs this week. A day with eight miles and a zero day while camping Monday and Tuesday really set me on another mileage hunt this week (like last week), and a bonk on Thursday plus feeling tired at the end of both Saturday and Sunday's runs show I'm a little behind on recovery. I felt good about fitting in a hill sprint Thursday, strides on Friday and an evaluation on Sunday. Hopefully I'll stay more consistent with the miles from day to day in the coming weeks, which should allow me to work in more quality instead of chasing missed miles.

Missed out on 100 by eating half a pizza and drinking two beers Friday night instead of running a double, but I'm over it.

Mo: 8 around 7:20 pace at 8000 feet, half uphill and half down
Tu: 0
We: 14 at 7:00 pace in the morning
We: 6 around 6:50 pace in the evening (too fast)
Th: 13 at 7:22 pace and a bonk, plus 1x25 second uphill sprint
Th: 5 miles at 7:40
Fr: 16 miles at 7:11, plus 8x300 jog, 100 accelerate-sprint
Sa: 12.5 miles w/4x1600m evaluation at 150HR in 6:03(149HR), 6:07(150), 6:04(150), 6:07(150) :42 seconds to 120HR recovery
Su: 20 miles at 7:15 pace

Groundwork

2009-08-06T13:12:00.002-07:00

Next week I'll start a 20 week build for the California International Marathon on December 6. In preparation for the work ahead I've spent the past ten weeks building up a tolerance for mileage again with four weeks at 100 miles, one easy week at 58, three more weeks at 100, one week at 57, and the current week. I've managed long runs of 16-18 as well as at least one 14 miler each week, and I've also tried to implement strides, strong uphill running, moderate-paced runs and even a few 4 mile evaluations and the occasional workout of repeats around 5K pace.

As for the body, turning 38 last month has resulted in more gray hair in the beard but not many other changes. I'm starting some runs slower than I used to, and I'm running my doubles (3-4 a week) at pretty slow paces (usually 7:30 pace at the fastest except for when the Wednesday night gang lights things up). I seem to be adapting to the miles about the same as usual, and aside from an achilles scare last week and a few of the old familiar iliopsoas complaints I'm doing well.

As for specifics on the build, I'll be sticking fairly close to what worked well for NYC last year, but I'm hoping to work in a bit more time at paces faster than my current marathon pace earlier on. The training will still follow the usual Lydiard model of base conditioning, hills/transition, speedwork, specific pacework and sharpening and taper, as this has worked well for me in the past.

I'll try to start writing a weekly wrap-up of how the training is progressing, though as usual I won't make any promises. Races leading up to the marathon in December include the Saguaro 8-Miler on September 7, the 8K Run and Roll on October 4, the Get Moving 10-Miler on October 11, the Oracle 10K on October 31, and possibly the 5K Cross-Country Turkey Trot on November 26. I'll have to make most of these races into hard workouts without a taper, and I'll be focusing much more on recovering fully from them rather than tapering down for them.

All in all, the motivation is high and I'm really looking forward to marathon day. Like NYC last year I'm going to be joined by several of my friends for this race. James, Jason, Justin, Lucas and Sean will all be training hard for this marathon, so I'll have some good company for many of the long runs and possibly even some workouts.

As for the family, life is good. Our daughter starts first grade next week and turns seven next month, and our son (who just turned 4) is heading back to preschool for a few days each week at about the same time. My wife is still baking up a storm, and in fact just this morning revived me after the bonk on my run with waffles from scratch, eggs and fake sausage. I live a charmed life and I'm grateful for it. I am trying to keep most of the family details out of the blog, but if you are interested you can always find me on Facebook for that stuff. Thanks for sticking around.

Overdue Response

2009-07-09T12:00:00.002-07:00

Here's a long overdue response to an email and comment from Lawrence:

Hope everything is going well for you. I'm the 38 year old runner from Uganda who has now done about 1.5 years of Lydiard training.

Do you have any pearls of wisdom for those of us who are doing another Lydiard build-up? I'm particularly interested about what you have learned about the "base phase".
1. With several iterations of experience, are you approaching your long run differently than during your first Lydiard build-up?

I still believe that "miles make champions", and I think the more time you can spend running during your base phase, the more injury resistant and better conditioned you will be for the more intense training that follows. For my long runs during my base phase, I'm trying to deal more effectively with the weather during the summer in Tucson, Arizona. I'm finding that in most cases I'm really worked over at about two hours when it's 80+ degrees Fahrenheit and over 50% humidity. My core temperature seems to rise enough that my central nervous system starts working to shut the runs down, which manifests in a strong desire to just stop running once I reach a patch of shade. I also find that if I can keep the long runs at or around 2 hours I can feel fairly well recovered on Tuesday's run (after a long run on Sunday). If I press on much longer than two hours, the body generally feels really sluggish through Tuesday and sometimes on into Wednesday. I think this is my way of finding and dialing in to the stress level that I can adapt and improve from rather than the maximum that I can tolerate. I think perhaps I did too many slow 22 milers during my first build during the summer, which made me good at running long and slow but not much else.

2. Have you found an optimal length for your 3/4 effort each week?

I go by Mystery Coach's advise when it comes to the 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 efforts: 1/4 is easy enough that you could repeat the run as soon as you finish it, 1/2 is an effort you could comfortably repeat the day after, and 3/4 is an effort you could repeat not the next day but the day after that (two days later). As far as length, I'm sticking to anything from a four miles on the faster end to seven miles at the slower end once a week.

3. What % of your MHR-Resting HR do you run your 1/4 efforts at?

I just run easy. I start slower than I used to (7:30-7:40 pace), and generally work down to around 7 min pace, although if I'm tired I'll sometimes only get down to 7:20 pace or so. I don't use a heart rate monitor except for evaluations or specific marathon pace runs where I'm looking for data to see where I'm at fitness-wise.

Any advice would be appreciated.

As I get older, I see myself simplifying my training a bit. During base, I like the idea of doing one run of 90 minutes and one of 2 hours for endurance, one session of faster paces (anything between marathon pace and 5K pace, longer if it's on the slower side and shorter if it's on the faster side), and one day of either a hill workout (bound, skip, do short sprints or longer threshold efforts, walk on your hands or just find some hills and grunt it out) or a short, turnover workout on the road or track (200 fast, 200 slow or 100 accelerate/sprint, 300 jog). I like fitting in three evening runs if I can to up the mileage, though since the temperatures are often around 100 degrees I keep these to 4-6 miles at no faster than 7:30 pace. These are parameters I shoot for, though I don't necessarily fit them all in each week.

Also, I've never really been a fan of recovery weeks, but after taking an easy week of running while on vacation in Carlsbad I find my legs to be feeling much better than they did after four consecutive weeks of 9 to 10 runs for 100 miles. I'm also noticing that the paces are faster this week than they were two weeks ago for the same effort, so if I notice the paces slipping again or if I feel run-down I don't think I'd hesitate to take another easy week. Hope this helps.

Thanks,
Mike

12/6/09

2009-06-24T11:47:00.003-07:00

I have a 7am appointment in Sacramento on December 6, and with luck and some work it will last a little under 2 hours and 35 minutes. You'll find me here. I'm in week four of base conditioning, getting in good miles sprinkled with some turnover work and a little intensity, and the will is good for another long build up. I'll be running a handful of races in the fall, but all will be secondary to the main goal of running my best at the California International Marathon.

For those of you still holding a place for me in their blog feeds, I apologize for the lack of updates. I just haven't really felt like updating, but I have kept running and competing. The spring race season found me faltering a bit, which might have had something to do with trying to rely too long on the base I built for NYC. It feels good to be getting back into shape, and while training in Tucson during the summer is always trying, I'm finding myself more motivated than ever.

I doubt I'll post as often as I used to, but I will put the word out occasionally to mark how the training is going. Thanks again for reading.

Looking back, thinking ahead

2009-05-05T03:49:00.001-07:00

It was three years ago when I came across Mike's blog when searching for information on Arthur Lydiard for an ebook that I had been putting together. I enjoyed checking in on how Mike interpreted and applied the Lydiard system. Looking at his workouts I could tell he was using some of more recently published schedules which at times caused confusion with how they should be carried out. This promoted me to send him a transcription of an original Lydiard talk. A number of emails went back and forth discussing theory and methods which lead to collaborating on training for his next marathon.

First I want to thank Mike for letting me post on his blog and listening to me every few months proclaim that the ebook was almost done. This time though I'll tell everyone that it is almost done, most likely before this fall "The Artistry of Arthur Lydiard, a visual guide to his system" will be available as a free download.

Since it is still almost done I would appreciate any input or questions you might want answered in the book (they can be sent to me: mysterycoach [at] gmail [dot] com). The book is intended to help you see the steps, feel the steps of Lydiard's methods. It is based on much of his original thinking and observations before he had to justify everything to the scientific world.

I'll have a few more announcements over the next few months regarding the ebook and the best one will be: It's done ready for download.

4/22/09

2009-04-22T09:47:00.001-07:00

The recovery paces seem to indicate I didn't throw enough of myself into the last 5K, which is somewhat disappointing. Still, it's always good to feel good.

4/22/09
am., 7 miles, 45m, 6:37 pace
Sleep: 6h 5/10 (see Finn for details)
Legs: 8/10 weightless
Weather: 66 degrees
Notes: Felt very easy the whole way.

4/21/09
10 miles, 1h09m, 6:53 pace
Sleep: 7.5h 7/10
Legs: 7/10
Weather: 63 degrees (warming up quickly)
Notes: Felt fresh at the get-go, felt it a little at 8 miles until the end.

Slow Motion

2009-04-21T05:06:00.002-07:00

Just not my day at the races. I think being consumed by a goal time instead of just focusing on running my best race worked against me, as once I hit the one mile mark at 5:21 I couldn't help mulling over the math in my head. Two miles at 5:02 pace were not going to happen, and the small lead pack in front of me seemed both out of my reach and out of my league, even though they hit the first mile in 5 minutes flat.

I haven't looked at a race split while racing since the New York marathon in November, and I shouldn't have made an exception on Sunday. Instead of making the most of the race and possibly turning a day when I didn't feel spectacular into a good performance, I seemed to settle in and accept my fate with a second and third mile around 5:30 pace for a finishing time of 16:50 or so.

I'm going to just put this race behind me and look forward to a 10K two weeks down the road and another 5K four weeks out.

Congratulations to Mike, Thomas and Micheal on their Boston Marathon performances. I know from experience that things don't always go exactly to plan, but I applaud all three of them for their efforts yesterday.

4/20/09
8 miles, 55m, 6:53 pace
Sleep: 7h 7/10
Legs: 7/10
Weather: very nice
Notes: Felt too good for having a race yesterday. Somehow I didn't leave enough out there.

Closing in on it

2009-04-18T10:44:00.002-07:00

It's all about 76's and 77's, and 5:08's instead of 5:11's.

Yes, I'm still trying to limbo under 16 minutes for 5K, and tomorrow's Race for the Cure is my next shot. It's an arbitrary goal based on a near-by even number (16:06 is my P.R.), and with each passing year my two standard attempts (this race and the Tucson 5000 a month later) seem more and more daunting.

Still, this year seems to hold more promise, as I'm doing a better job of trying to nail the coach's paces instead of trying to surpass them. We've also spent more time going back and forth about recovery, and how as I,(ahem), mature, it seems that recovery seems to be of more importance.

Mystery Coach seems to following a Lydiard model of speed-work and sharpening, which started after spending some time on lower-end tempo runs to both build and measure my maximum steady state. This week has included lower-volume repeats of 200-400 meters within a few seconds either way of goal pace, which seems to be doing the job of getting the legs and brain used to the turnover, pace-monitoring and recognition, and the mental work involved in holding faster paces. Today was 6x200 at 36-37 seconds (400 recoveries), while earlier in the week it was 1x400, 2x200, 1x400, 2x200 (all with 400 recoveries) at faster than race pace.

Last week the volume was higher with a 6x800 workout at 2:35, again with 400 recoveries. We followed that a few days later with a 2400M time trial, which unfortunately found me at 5:11-5:12 pace and gasping. This would put me right at my current P.R., butthere was no way I could have held on for double the volume.

As usual, this put me in a bit of a funk for a few days, but after looking over both my sleep schedule and the volume of the workouts it doesn't seem as bad as the results indicate on their own. It's funny how a good week of running (like this week) can make the results of a single workout seem less important.

The plan for tomorrow will be a conservative start and a strong second half. While sub-16 might not be in the cards this time, I'd really like to run the third mile at 5:10 or better. My best on this course is 16:23, and I don't see any reason I shouldn't be able to equal or better that number.

Finally, best of luck to the Boston crowd on Monday.

?

2009-04-14T16:34:00.002-07:00

Still running.
I've taken a leave of absence from the blogging world, though I plod on. Mystery Coach keeps coaching and putting up with my constant badgering, though now we're doing it through the calendar feature on Gmail to keep the comments tied to the specific dates where they apply.

I ran a disappointing 5K in late March, then I had a good race earlier this month at the Sabino Canyon Sunset Run, where I placed fourth on a course that pretty much leads you 3.7 miles uphill before turning around and running the reverse.

I'm continuing to struggle a bit with finding my 5-10K speed, though I am making some progress. The mileage has dropped to between 60 and 75 a week as the workouts ramp up, and I'm usually taking two easy days between hard sessions.

All in all, things are about the same, with the only difference being my reluctance to chronicle each day. It started with me spending less time following other blogs, but eventually I realized I didn't really feel like spending as much time on my own blog. If I'm not contributing and commenting to others' writings, I feel a bit strange expecting others to keep commenting on my own running saga.

Also, it seems I've come to the point where I don't find anything remotely remarkable about my running. Yes, I still enjoy it immensely (some days more immensely than others, haha), but to go on posting "was tired, kids woke me up, had to X,Y,Z in order to get the run in" just seems repetitive and boring given everything else going on in the world.

I'll still try to post from time to time, but for now I'm taking a bit of a break from the day to day chronicling of my runs. Thanks to all for reading, and for all the comments and emails. For correspondence, you can always track me down easily on Facebook, and the brevity of that medium seems to be something I have more luck with these days.

Thanks also to Mystery Coach for all the wisdom he's doled out here. If I hadn't started this blog I never would have been fortunate enough for him to take up my training as a cause.

Evaluating the eval

2009-03-16T09:40:00.003-07:00

Last week Mike had a disappointing time trail over 3 miles and there was a fair amount of speculation on what was wrong. Any one of the suggestions could have been correct (they were all good opinions) but we didn't have any facts to back them up. This is where the weekend's eval run (4 miles at heart rate 150) gives some facts. When the time trial didn't turn out well I wrote to Mike to have him do the eval this weekend. I suspected 3 possibilities for the TT results;

1) Drop in steady state (not sure this is it)
2) Fatigue (most likely)
3) Need for some additional sharp stuff

Here are the results with one eval from the end of his base phase before New York and the last column adjusting the pace to standardize it on 150 beats per minute.

Mike Salkowski 150 150 150

Date 19-Aug 14-Mar 14-Mar
Adjusted

Mile 1 6:09 6:11 6:13.7

Mile 2 6:18 6:13 6:15.7
Mile 3 6:20 6:13 6:13.0
Mile 4 6:17 6:16 6:18.7

Average 6:16.0 6:13.3 6:15.3

Average last 3 6:18.3 6:14.0 6:15.8

hr<120 47.0

Diff 1 and Ave 9.3 3.0 2.1

Mike's base numbers look as good or better than at the end of his last build. It would indicate that he is in 16:20-16:25 5K shape now but still short of the 15:50-15:55 5K shape he was in last fall during his peak before the New York Marathon.

So most likely possibility number two; "fatigue" was the cause of the time trial results. This was also indicated by Mike's feelings as he started the trial ("I felt a bit sluggish from the get-go").

Since last spring Mike has been working on staying on the safe side of the recovery curve with good success. From a training perspective it makes the timing of the harder sharper work (needed to get to that sub 16 5K) more critical. Over that next 4-5 weeks that will be the goal with a careful watch on recovery.

3/11/09

2009-03-11T14:41:00.002-07:00

3/11/09
8 miles, w/2 miles at about 5:23 pace, 60 seconds rest, then 1 mile in 5:23
Sleep: 7h 7/10
Legs: 6/10
Weather: Perfect

Mental notes: Pfffft!
Rough one today for some reason. The workout called for a steady 3 mile run with the first two miles at 5:22 pace and the third mile at 5:21. I took the same three mile warm up with a few aggressive strides which served me well last week, but I felt a bit sluggish from the get-go once I started around the track. After 6 very even laps at 80 seconds (on pace) I started to really fatigue in the legs while the breathing increased. I rode it out to 8 laps, but fell two seconds behind during those two laps. I just didn't seem to have the last mile in me, but I decided to give it a go after 60 seconds of rest (not the plan, but needed). The first 800 after the rest found me on pace again, but then the last 800 found the legs starting to unravel a bit (losing their strength and drive), and I ended up at 5:22 (5:24 adjusted).

I thought it would go a bit better today, so I'm a little surprised. It feels like once I get loaded up with lactate it comes on fairly strong in the lungs, then migrates down to the legs. It's true I felt a bit better Saturday at a second or two faster per 400, but if I'd stretched it out to two miles then I'm wondering if I would have found myself in the same state.

I know I'm still under-sharpened for this spring, but I still sometimes get the nagging feeling that perhaps a decline in my maximum steady state is partly to blame for my struggles at 5K and 10K pace. I'm not suggesting I'm ready to head back into base training, but I have been thinking about whether bumping the mileage back up would help a bit with the steady state without sacrificing the quality I'm putting into the faster workouts.

3/10/09

2009-03-10T14:26:00.003-07:00

3/10/09
6 miles, 40m, 6:52 pace
Sleep: 7h 7/10
Legs: 7/10
Weather: 50 degrees
Notes: In a rush today so I ended up cutting it short. One quick 600 towards the end.

3/9/09
8 miles, 55m, 6:53 pace
Notes: Easy run, a bit short on time

3/8/09
15 miles, 1h48m, 7:19 pace
Notes: Slow, very hilly run up into the canyon with Scott and Catlow. A bit dehydrated for the day.

3/7/09
8 miles, 53m, w/6 laps of 78's and 1x600 downhill stride
Sleep: 7h 7/10
Legs: 7/10
Weather: 55 degrees and perfect
Notes: Much easier than what was supposed to be the same workout on Tuesday (last post).

3/6/09
9 miles, 1h03m, 7:00 pace
Notes: Legs a bit too dead for downhill strides

3/5/09
6 miles, 43m, 7:12 pace

3/4/09 pm., 6.2 miles easy and slow

Pretty much the same schedule as last week:
Mo: 8 slow
Tu: 10 easy w/strides and downhill strides
We: 8 miles w/2 mile workout (too fast), then 6 easy in the evening
Th: 6 easy
Fr: 9 easy (tired)
Sa: 8 w/1.5 mile workout and strides
Su: 15 hilly and slow
Total: 70 miles in 8 sessions

Turns out the workout on Wednesday was supposed to be 6 laps at 79 seconds and not 76. I had the same workout slated for Saturday, and this time it went off without a hitch. I took a bit longer warm up this time, and added a few more (and longer) strides beforehand in an effort to get the lungs ready. Turns out six laps at 78 is much easier than six laps at 75 or 76, which bears remembering when I'm running the first mile of my next 5K on March 23.

3/4/09

2009-03-04T09:51:00.002-07:00

3/4/09
8 miles, 55m, w/1x1600 in 5:04 (2 min), 800 in 2:31 (1 min), 800 in 2:32
Sleep: 7h 6/10 (kids, sheesh)
Legs: 6/10
Weather: 62 degrees (yes, really)
Notes: Botched workout. Mystery Coach prescribed 6 laps of 76's, or the equivalent of 5:06 pace. The goal was to run fast and relaxed at 5K race pace, but unfortunately that became impossible after about 1000 meters. I started to get a bit hypoxic and crossed jumped right past the "comfortable" line. Rather than be forced to slow down dramatically for the last 800, I called an audible and finished 1600 on pace then took two minutes before running an 800 in 2:31. After a minute of rest I ran a final 800 in 2:32. Each 800 felt the same: Cool and relaxed for 400, then the breathing would increase dramatically for 200 followed by the legs stinging a bit and the lungs feeling it for the last 200.

I think we're starting to test the boundaries a bit after some good fitness gains during the past six weeks, and while I'm disappointed with how today went I think a few more sessions like this will help. I also think doing a very hilly 15 miler on Sunday following 8 miles around 6:03 pace on Saturday left me with some residual fatigue, which didn't help me today.

3/3/09
10 miles, 1h09m, 6:52 pace
Sleep: 8h 8/10
Legs: 7/10
Weather: Nice
Notes: Threw in 6x300 jog, 100 accelerate-sprints, plus 1x650m downhill stride

3/2/09
8 miles, 58m, 7:18 pace

3/1/09
15 miles, 1h44m, 6:59 pace
Notes: Hot, windy and hilly. Running up to the top of the road in Sabino Canyon seemed like a good idea when I started.

2/28/09

2009-02-28T09:28:00.003-07:00

2/28/09
11 miles, 1h09m, w/8 miles at 6:03 pace
Sleep: 5h, 4/10
Legs: 7/10
Weather: 48 degrees
Notes: A planned 7-10 miles at 6:05-6:15 pace ended up with me running 8 miles at 6:03 with Scott and Catlow. Felt a little tougher than last week, but a late night of band practice and some insomnia worked against me today.

2/27/09
7 miles, 49m, 6:53 pace w/1x650 downhill stride
Sleep: 8h 9/10
Legs: 8/10
Notes: Felt good. Slept in so I had to cut the run short.

2/26/09
6 miles, 42m, 6:59 pace
Notes: Slept in a little (kids are on break for a few days). Legs really felt good considering the workout the day before.

Thanks for the recent comments. Runnermint, I'll get to your questions in the next post.

Has it been a week already?

2009-02-25T19:33:00.002-07:00

2/25/09
8 miles w/3 mile effort in 5:27, 5:27, 5:26
Sleep: 8h 8/10
Legs: 9/10
Weather: 55 degrees
Notes: A step up from a similar workout last week. The lungs felt the faster paces at only 800 in but seemed to relax over the last mile. The legs spun along without issue until about the last 1000, where I felt some fatigue.

It will take doubling this to get solidly under 34m for a 10K, but with a bit more sharpening and some recovery I think I could do it. As for 5K, which is the more immediate goal, it's not quite as clear cut.

I seem to be in a good pattern now, and I'm starting to feel like I'm keeping all three balls in the air (intensity, recovery, mileage). Keeping the long runs to 15 seems to help me feel more fresh on workout days, and I'm noticing that the paces are lagging more and more on the recovery days as the intensity moves up.

Mystery Coach has been the mastermind of balancing stamina, speed and sharpening, and he waves the "caution" flag at my car from time to time in an effort to keep me focused on recovery as we dial things up. Overall I'm feeling great.

2/24/09
9 miles, 1h01m, 6:45 pace
Sleep: 6h 6/10
Legs: 7/10
Weather: 60 degrees
Notes: 1x650 downhill stride brought the pace down. Felt pretty good

2/23/09
10 miles, 1h10m, 7:00 pace

2/22/09
14.5 miles, 1h45m, 7:19 pace
Notes: Easy run w/Lucas and Scott. A bit worn by the end, probably due to the slow pace and high temperature

2/21/09
10 miles w/7 mile marathon-ish pace, right around 6min miles
Notes: Apprehensive about this but I felt really good

2/20/09
8 miles, 55m, 6:54 pace
Notes: 1x800m stride downhill brought the pace down

2/19/09

2009-02-19T07:57:00.003-07:00

Humming along again. The legs felt great for a three mile effort yesterday, and overall I feel like I'm starting to round into form. The big races aren't until April/May, so it will take some restraint to keep moving up through the spring.

2/19/09
10 miles, 1h14m, 7:24 pace
Sleep: 7h 7/10
Legs: 6/10
Weather: 36 degrees
Notes: Nice slow run with Lucas. Legs were a bit tired

2/18/09 pm., 6 miles in 42 minutes, a little fatigued (probably too fast

2/18/09
8 miles w/3 miles at 5:35, 5:34, 5:36
Sleep: 7h 7/10 (a pattern here?)
Legs: 9/10
Notes: Good, good, good. Legs felt great for the effort, breathing crept up over the last section.

2/17/09
8 miles easy, no watch

2/16/09

2009-02-16T21:43:00.002-07:00

Work is grinding me down a bit. My planned long run on Saturday turned into 11, and I ended up taking a zero on Sunday after working the art show at the gallery.

2/16/09
8 miles, 52 minutes, 6:38 pace
Sleep: 7h 7/10
Legs: 8/10
Weather: 39 degrees
Notes: Not much time, but the legs felt good so I ran a bit faster. The day off probably helped

2/15/09 Zero

2/14/09
11 miles, 1h17m, 7:04 pace
Sleep: 6h 6/10
Legs: 6/10
Notes: Late start and felt a bit tired throughout

2/13/09
8 miles, 58m, 7:13 pace
Notes: Really dragging so I took it easy. Perhaps it's a delayed reaction to the workout two days ago

2/12/09
8 miles, 56m, 7:11 pace
Notes: Felt surprisingly good for the day after a workout, but took it slow
Notes: Felt