Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Half Marathon Training recap

The race is this Sunday morning at 7:15 (way too early). I've been running pretty regularly for a few months now. Other than yesterday, it usually doesn't hurt. I did a workout of 10 miles once on a treadmill. I did 8 2/3 miles outside once, that was hard, and a bunch of workouts of 5 to 7 miles, usually once or twice a week. Yes I under-trained but my knees, etc. can't take a regular schedule and my goal is to run the whole way. I've been training at a pace under 8 minutes, but don't plan on doing that for 13 miles. 9 or so is the plan and then just like my workouts I'll play it by ear. After the race I plan to stay in shape and run a few 5 K's and then take that training into the winter for Master the Met next year.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

updates

I've put in a few 6 and 7 mile days. I ran 7 on Friday at a gym in Columbia and then 4 yesterday here. My leg leg hurts just above my ankle but I can't tell it it's a pain of injury. It's just sore. I'll run a few more miles today outside while it's still cool.

Monday, June 15, 2009

OK seriously...

Today I started started my half marathon training with 4 miles on the treadmill at just under 9:00 per mile (8:40ish?). Tomorrow, more miles, maybe 3 or so outside if it's dry. Felt good.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Running a half marathon

I'm going to run the St. Charles Half Marathon in September. I've been running for a week and some highlites include doing the mounds (just 5 times yesterday), running a 5K on the treadmill in 22:00. Running a sub 6:00 mile and not breathing that hard. I feel like I've broken through on a few things and will get my 5K time closer to 20:00. There's a race in about a month near our home that we did last year. Another race in July to improve further on. Tomorrow I'm going to run 6 miles in the park (provided tonight's party doesn't get too crazy).

Also, I get married in 6 days.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

2nd place team!

Kenny and I got a 2nd place award for our "team." Wow, I guess you only needed 2 people to make a team. I got my first place men 30-39 award yesterday...they didn't mail it, they left it at my door (weird!).

I've been training as usual though I just got over a foot injury so I haven't been running as much. I started running again today though and felt rested. I was in Wichita all last week and only got 1 trip to the gym (there was a blizzard). I ended up losing 2 pounds as a result.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

loooong jog

I jogged with Beth today in Forest Park. We were both hurting from bad knees so we walked a little. It was between 5 and 6 miles.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

A day off


I didn't exercise yesterday. Tonight is lifting and pilates but I needed a rest yesterday. Here's the picture from Saturday...that girl was in my way.


Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Still working hard

I forgot to add the steps from t race. 3751 + 42 = 3793.

Good news, I GOT MY IPOD BACK! The people who put the race on had it for me.

I took Beth's last Tuesday circuit training class last night. It hurt, my legs still aren't 100%
I think for next year I'll focus less on leg strength and more on breathing and stamina from being able to breathe better. I really didn't feel like I was in better shape this year compared to last, I just ran harder and pushed myself beyond. So next year I'll just run more distance, perhaps up hills. I may never come close to winning if cyborg guy is still competing, but I can at least defend my 30-39 Men's title and improve my time. I'll get my picture up from the race soon too.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

another race today

I did a 5K today in 22:07. There were a ton of people there so I didn't place but it felt okay. I didn't push myself as hard as I normally do for a 5K. I could feel that my legs weren't there in the first mile but I finished strong. I was pleased with the time so I must be in decent 5K shape. We got a packet with a bunch of other upcoming races this spring and a few in the summer. Perhaps this is the year I break 20 minutes

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Results

I got 4th place overall. I'm pretty happy with it. I ran a 6:20 so I dropped 28 seconds from last year. Sadly, I somehow lost my iPod on the way up. I new it came unplugged but I didn't know it came out of my holder on my hip until I got home.

This was easily the most pain I have ever put my body through in any athletic event. Worse than any high school cross-country or track race. I tried to puke afterward but nothing was coming up. My head hurt, I could barely sit up, it was worse than being super drunk at the end of the night when it's all about to fall apart. Add that feeling with the sensation of drowning and that's about where I was.

Going into the race I knew I wasn't going to win...someone had already post a 4:42. 2nd place was 5:05 but 3rd was only 9 seconds ahead of me at 6:11. Since the top 3 overall don't count toward their age group results I "won" the men's division age 30-39. I'll get a small award for that.

I'm coughing pretty bad so I don't know about running that 5K tomorrow. I have 2 more shows to perform in tonight. For now I'm just going to let myself recover.

Full results here... http://www.fleetfeetstl.com/racetiming/results/MASTER_THE_MET_2009_42_OA.HTM

Friday, March 6, 2009

It's go time

Tomorrow is the day. I feel ready and confident. I did a light elliptical machine yesterday for 10 minutes and did a short jog today. My bck and neck feel fine, I have no cold symptoms for the first time in weeks and the weather shot up to about 70 degrees today. All is ready. I think I'll use Radiohead's Iron Lung and/or Modest Mouse's Spitting Venom for my iPod. Pace is important. Mental toughness is even more important. I've trained too long to let myself wuss out halfway up. I logged over 3700 floors and ran a lot of miles for this. I can only wonder who if any are taking it as seriously.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

a few days left

I did 20 floors in 5 minutes yesterday just to move my legs. I ran a mile also at a slow pace. Then pilates class. Today I'll exercise bike it for 10 minutes and jog for a few as well. I feel confident. I still haven't picked a song yet.

Total floors = 3751

Monday, March 2, 2009

Scouting

I found the webpage with last year's results and scanned through. Like I said, the winner last year is hurt. There seems to be 1 guy who had a faster time than me competing this year, David Klein. He's only 25 or something. But at that age your life changes a lot from year to year. His time was only 20 seconds or so faster than me. I really think I have a shot at winning this thing.

final few days

Today I ran a mile and change, about a half of that on an incline on level 5. I'm getting ready for a possible 5K on Sunday (there's open beer tap after that race) if my legs feel okay.
After the run I did 40 floors in 5 minutes on the stairmaster. I'm now being mocked by the staff at the gym but I probably deserve it for being so serious about all of this. I suppose I will do light steps tomorrow and a few Wednesday, then jog Thursday and then walk Friday leading up to the race on Saturday morning. My lungs still get a little bit of yuck in them after tough workouts but not as much each time. I feel pretty good overall other than my neck hurting.



total floors = 3731

Saturday, February 28, 2009

1 week away!

I did 2 workouts today as I finish up my harder training before tailing off. I did 90 floors in 20 minutes while carrying 20 lbs today. I realize that makes me look like a jackass in the gym but I've stopped caring about that. All drinking will stop by Monday Wednesday and I'll pick up my packet to find out when my starting time is. Good news, they're letting us wear iPods this year. I'm torn on which song to use for my 6 minute climb. I may go with Lazy Eye by Silversun Pickups, or the last 6+ minutes of Modest Mouse's Spitting Venom. Whatever I choose will be permanently associated with pain from then on though. I'm taking this extremely serious but all in good fun. I miss competing; I miss winning. I honestly think I have a shot at it. Only 1 person broke 6 minutes last year and he's out this year. I need to drop 48 seconds for 42 floors. So pretty much what, 1.023 seconds per floor or something like that?

Here's what happened last year. I knew to pace myself early but I still flew up the first 9 floors. That's about where most people "in shape" start to become aerobic and their muscles run out of excess Oxygen. My goal this year is to not hit that wall until around 15 floors. Having an extra 6 floors of speed would really help my time. Last year I grounded out floors 10-mid 30's and then I don't remember how hard I ran those last few. There's a landing on floor 19 and 40 so my legs had to adjust to just running on flat ground for a hallway. (2 women got in my way on floor 40 last year) They're starting people on 12 second increments this year instead of 15. There could be a little more traffic.

My goal this year is to, like I said, get through the first 15 anaerobically, then push through to about the 35th floor, and then just all mental for the last 7. I was able to sprint up the last of 5 trips to the top of the mounds on Wednesday so I know my legs have more boost in them. I'm just convincing myself I'm in much better shape this year (I am). All I can aim for is to be under 6 minutes. If someone runs another 5:30 and wins, so be it, I'll just train harder next year, but if I can get under 6 minutes I'll be in really good position for placing high.

3691 total floors

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Last night I took Beth's classes and worked my legs a lot more. They hurt pretty bad but were fine today so I went out and ran the mounds 5 times without stopping. My lungs burnt really bad once I got back to my car and I've been coughing a little but it isn't too bad. There really is something wrong with me that every time I have to push myself to breathe that much it ends up giving me a cough for at least a week. Hopefully it'll clear up soon. I don't have many more super tough workouts left before I tone it down for the week going into the race.


3551 + 50 = 3601 total floors

Sunday, February 22, 2009

80 tough floors through different exercises.

3551 total floors

Friday, February 20, 2009

yesterday's workout

I did 71 floors yesterday in 15 minutes. That's a pretty fast pace actually. I've also been running on the treadmill a lot lately for some 5K's in the future. I think the first is the day after the Met Race. I'm going to hold off on registering to see how my lungs feel. Hopefully I won't get sick like last year with that plagued cough. I did some steps in the aerobic room today as well as some jumproping. That's good for lower leg exercise.


Anyway I'm up to 3471 floors.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Juts 40 floors tonight. I ran a half mile and did some squats on the BOSU ball with a 30 lb. weight. I'm still kicking this cold with Mucisan. (that's not how you spell it)
Somehow I put a few pounds on this week. I was up to 181 for the first time in months. I'm back at 180 today. I took some creatine so that may have done it.

3360 + 40 = 3400 floors

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

I did 68 floors of intervals in 15 mintues tonight. It was a pretty tough workout but didn't last that long. Very effecient I guess. My legs are still tired from Sunday's madness. I don't know what I did that much more of but I'll recover. I need to get all of this sickness out of me. Being 100% would be nice.

total floors = 3360

Sunday, February 15, 2009

This weekend I did a few more workouts suing weights and even running a 5K on the treadmill. I'm fighting a possible Strep Throat but so far I'm still okay. Beth just got over it with antibiotics...I don't have health insurance so I'm hoping just to push through it like a champ.



3236 + 56 = 3292 total floors.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

leg workout

I lefted legs yesterday, not as hard as usual. I did 10 minutes of stairs for 58 floors.


3178
+ 58
____
3236 floors

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Back at the Mounds!

I ran (very hard) 10 laps up and down the Cahokia Indians Mounds today. Each trip up is 156 steps, plus a small incline in the middle (4 steps up?) so I round it to 160 steps per lap which is 10 floors per lap. So 10 trips for 100 floors today. It took me about 31 minutes (because of resting and the trips down) but it was by far the toughest workout I've put in so far. In other areas, I hurt my neck/back benching today. I do this every few months or so it seems, I was due. Time for some mild meds...and some beer.


total floors = 3178

Friday, February 6, 2009

This week

This week has been light. I took Monday off as I will be doing every week. Tuesday was a tough circuit class with Beth. Wednesday was upper body only, yesterday just pilates. Tonight will be tougher and then tomorrow we're hoping to run the mounds. A restful week can help.



3078 floors

Sunday, February 1, 2009

70 floors

I somehow put on 5 pounds this weekend. I did 70 floors yesterday and plan on doing more today before I break out my deep fryer for The Super Bowl. I did my squat workout yesterday too. It's just a set of 25 with 135, then 25 on that half-ball balance thingy, then a set of 20 on each, then 15, then 10. Lots of reps. Today I'm taking the Reebok steppers and doing a hard 6 minutes up and down, up and down.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

over 3,000 floors!

Two big deals today. I reached $100 of donations and also topped my 3,000th floor. I did a 25 minute workout averaging level 10.8 and got to 148 floors.

total floors = 3,008

We almost went home

Because of the snow no one came to pilates last night. So Beth talked me into a spin class. The instructor was there by himself and did a half hour with us. Great workout that I think will help with step training. I had never "spun" before. Then 2 ladies showed up for Beth's Cicuit training class. Ouch, of course. Before spin class I lifted and ran 2 miles. So I won't add to the floors total but today will be a longer step workout...if I can get my car out of the snow. If I had boots I'd do some Rocky IV training.

Monday, January 26, 2009

level 14

2 days to write about. One the first day I doubled up the Reebok steppers again and did 12 minutes for around 50 floors. On the next day I wanted to see what doing 42 floors on the stairmaster felt like (in under 6 minutes). I had done it in 7 which is level 11. But now I needed to increase it to level 14 for 6 straight minutes. I got the 42 floors in in 5:32 however realistic that is compared to climbing real stairs up a building. I did 3 more floors in the last 28 seconds for a total of 45. 87 floors for the weekend


2773
+ 87
------

2860 total floors

Friday, January 23, 2009

Off yesterday

Yesterday I rested my legs and worked upper body and went to Beth's Pilates class. This afternoon I'm going to do a tougher legs workout with weights and steps. I did a little research and the guy who won Master the Met last year is out with a hamstring injury for this year. So now it looks like anything under 6:00 will have a chance at first place. I'll need to drop 48 seconds off of my time from last year. I think the step aerobic workout I did in Chattanooga for 15 minutes did wonders, and gave me this cold. I don't know if it was my old asmtha coming back or just the cold air but it's just starting to clear up as the week ends.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

45 minutes

I did 45 minutes on levels 5, 6, 7-9 with ankle weights today. I high stepped them to work on my upper leg fatigue problems. I was told ankle weights are bad for the knees. I suppose I should just hold weights.


2601 + 172 = 2773 floors

2 more sessions

I did a workout on Sunday with 2 of the Reebok steppers stacked on top of each other. I just went up and down them for 15 minutes at a really fast pace (about 90 floors). It made my lungs burn and now I'm sick just like after the race last year. I don't know what induces it. Asthma? It's just a minor cold so I'm still training and carrying on with things. Last night before Beth's 2 classes I did 7 minutes for 45 floors.


2466 + 90 + 45 = 2601 floors

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Training on the road

Today in Chattanooga Dan Swartwout and I went to the YMCA. I did a lot of lifting and then got on their stairmaster for 15 minutes totaling 62 floors. I guess I need to sign up for the Met race now. It's getting near race time, less than 2 months away!

Total Floors = 2466

Monday, January 12, 2009

80 more

I did another 18 minutes yesterday for 80 floors with the ankle weights on. Tonight is a fitness class by the new guy and there could be running in it. My legs are getting stronger but I need to be in better cardio shape (breathing). Perhaps I could do some more running. I wish it would warm up but that's not happening anytime soon.


Total Floors = 2404

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Hardest Workout Ever

Yesterday was a Saturday and I felt really motivated. I did 4 super-sets of squats then squats on the (that little half ball thing you have to balance on). 25 squats with weights, and then 25 on the ball, 4 times, then calf presses, leg curls and extensions 3*10. Then I got crazy and strapped on the ankle weights and carried a 10 lb. dumbbell in each hand to the Step master and did 80 floors in 20 minutes. About half way through I realized "I've made a terrible mistake!" but I got through.



2244 + 80 = 2324 floors.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

I started my ankle weight training yesterday. They total 5 lbs. between the 2 of them and it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be so maybe I'll carry dumbbells next time and look like a complete psycho. Not sure what I'll do today. Beth has another pilates class I could go to tonight. That would be 4 classes in a week, 2 pilates, 1 circuit, 1 "bootcamp."


2158 + 86 = 2244 floors

Monday, January 5, 2009

I did the curl workout yesterday and then only 7 minutes of steps to get a race pace started. I'm going to start ankle weights tomorrow I think. Tonight some military guy is starting a boot camp class. Beth is very excited. I'm hopeful it won't be as tough as hers. It'll be weird having her next to me during class instead of teaching it.

2116 + 42 = 2158

Sunday, January 4, 2009

lost 3 lbs.

Yesterday's workout was very tough and I lost 3 pounds from the start to the finish. I did a lot of squats and all of my leg lifts and then 30 minutes on the stepmaster for 140 floors. I should have cooled down some but I was too tired. Today I'll just do arms.

1976+140 = 2116 floors.