Sheesh.
Anyway, my next run is the Seaford Hot Chocolate 5k on Saturday.
Over and out. Really.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Not Unexpected..
My first venture into the dreaded 'yellow zone' today with miCoach from Adidas. Well, I should say, first ATTEMPTED venture into the yellow zone. I never quite made it. After running 15 minutes trying to keep pace with what that UK woman was repeating to me over and over, I was SHOT! Let me tell you something, it's hard work trying to keep a certain pace over x amount of time! I felt as if I was participating in a race! Basically, what this is all telling me is that I really need to calm the f*$% down. Sure, I need to train, but stop taking it all so seriously. It's not as if I'm earning a paycheck from it.
Sheesh.
Anyway, my next run is the Seaford Hot Chocolate 5k on Saturday.
Over and out. Really.
Sheesh.
Anyway, my next run is the Seaford Hot Chocolate 5k on Saturday.
Over and out. Really.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Stick-to-it-ness.
I was able to convince myself to step out the door at 7:00 am this morning, before the threat of rain/snow started. It was 41 degrees, and I think I'm getting the hang of this dressing-for-the-cold thing. I was comfortable. I had a sinus headache, so I cheated a little, and took an Advil Cold and Sinus about 30 minutes before I ran. I can swear that stuff is like high octane to me. So, with drugs in my system, including a cup of coffee, and my headache waning - out I went. I was doing my 24 minute miCoach run. 5 minutes in zone 'blue' , 14 minutes in zone 'green', followed by 5 minutes of zone 'blue' again.
Here is a description:
Whereas the 40 minute run I did on Sunday totally did me in, to the point where I couldn't finish and only achieved 44% effort- I rallied today and achieved an 82% - I managed to really stay in the green zone for a longer period of time, with less straying back into the blue zone. I also did not walk today. Love that pseudoephedrine.
Training this way is supposed to build my recognition and subjective feel of my pace, and condition me to stay steady on that pace at any given time. I'm supposed to be able to have more control - (less apt to starting out too fast) and to anticipate managing my comfort level better. I sure hope it pans out.
I don't know how to link to my account publicly, so here is the graph for today.
You can see that I tend to periodically drift into zones I shouldn't be in. I'm hoping using this program will change that. The verbal coaching is exactly what I've been looking for. That dip at 2 minutes I think was the GPS dropping out, because I did not stop once. I also slowed down a few times to cross the street and turn, so those could be some of the dips in the green zone. (edit - yes, those were the points where I slowed to cross the street and head the opposite way, 3 times.)
I'm wondering if I should ask for the proprietary heart monitor and cadence pod from Santa, but I really should be saving for a treadmill.
My next 5k is coming up this Saturday already, so my last run until then will be Thursday, which will be 30 minutes. This run takes me into the 'yellow' zone for 5 minutes. Good lord.
Today's Run
TPP
Here is a description:
These were determined by the assessment run I took the day after I ran the OB Turkey Trot, and also after imbibing on alcohol and sugar instead of real, live food. The blue is my 'easy' effort, where I build my aerobic base and recovery, green is 'medium' which extends my endurance and where I burn the most calories, yellow 'hard' for cardiac strength, and red 'maximum' for power and speed, or, 'arrhythmia leading to cardiac death', as far as I'm concerned.
Whereas the 40 minute run I did on Sunday totally did me in, to the point where I couldn't finish and only achieved 44% effort- I rallied today and achieved an 82% - I managed to really stay in the green zone for a longer period of time, with less straying back into the blue zone. I also did not walk today. Love that pseudoephedrine.
Training this way is supposed to build my recognition and subjective feel of my pace, and condition me to stay steady on that pace at any given time. I'm supposed to be able to have more control - (less apt to starting out too fast) and to anticipate managing my comfort level better. I sure hope it pans out.
I don't know how to link to my account publicly, so here is the graph for today.
You can see that I tend to periodically drift into zones I shouldn't be in. I'm hoping using this program will change that. The verbal coaching is exactly what I've been looking for. That dip at 2 minutes I think was the GPS dropping out, because I did not stop once. I also slowed down a few times to cross the street and turn, so those could be some of the dips in the green zone. (edit - yes, those were the points where I slowed to cross the street and head the opposite way, 3 times.)
I'm wondering if I should ask for the proprietary heart monitor and cadence pod from Santa, but I really should be saving for a treadmill.
My next 5k is coming up this Saturday already, so my last run until then will be Thursday, which will be 30 minutes. This run takes me into the 'yellow' zone for 5 minutes. Good lord.
Today's Run
TPP
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Try something new.
Because of the holiday, I admit it, I've been eating rather poorly. Too much carbs, too many sweets, to much alcohol, and too much sitting on my ass. Friday I downloaded a mobile app call miCoach from Adidas. It uses the GPS in your phone to coach you based on your pace. If you pay for their proprietary heartrate monitor and cadence foot pod, you can get coaching based on those values. Adidas says that is a more reliable method, but I'd rather wait and see how the 'free' coaching works.
I told the app I wanted to train for a half marathon. It sent me out on a 12 minute run, to calculate what my upper and lower pace limits are for 4 zones. This program trains me to subjectively cue myself into how fast I'm running and how I'm feeling during the run. The 12 minute assessment run started me out running at a level '4' from 1-10. Then, it progressed me from 5-9 over the remaining time. It was not easy. I ended up not being able to finish, because I was running my 9 out of 10 pace like a 10. Or an 11. I was exhausted. The program told me that my high end red zone pace (the highest zone) was a 6:30! WTF? I can't ever imagine running that fast for any length of time. But, I'm trusting that experienced people have written this app and know what they are doing. I told the program I would run 4 times a week.
I missed the first 20 minute run on Saturday, as my parents and daughter left, and I spent the day cleaning and doing laundry. Oh, and eating leftovers. That includes pie.
Today, Sunday, I was ready to try the 40 minute run. It had me run in my blue zone for 5 minutes, my green zone for 30 minutes, and my blue zone again for 5 minutes. I did not finish this workout either. I dressed warm enough for 40 degree temperature with a brisk northeast wind - but I fatigued too easily. During my first blue zone trial, it told me I was going too fast, into the green zone. During the green zone, I had to be reminded to speed up, several times. I had to stop and walk at least 4 times. The coach told me I had slowed, and needed to pick up my pace. It was very helpful, and I was starting to get the feeling at least for the 'zones'. Ultimately, I had to stop at 23 minutes. I barely made it halfway through. I'm chalking it up to eating very poorly all week. That's what I'm hoping, anyway.
I ran 44% of my training run, 2.54 miles. It tells me I will get better over time. I'm keeping an open mind.
My next run is a 20 minute run again in blue and green zones, on Tuesday. But I hear we will be getting our first significant snow fall on Tuesday. I wish I had the money to buy that treadmill.
TPP
I told the app I wanted to train for a half marathon. It sent me out on a 12 minute run, to calculate what my upper and lower pace limits are for 4 zones. This program trains me to subjectively cue myself into how fast I'm running and how I'm feeling during the run. The 12 minute assessment run started me out running at a level '4' from 1-10. Then, it progressed me from 5-9 over the remaining time. It was not easy. I ended up not being able to finish, because I was running my 9 out of 10 pace like a 10. Or an 11. I was exhausted. The program told me that my high end red zone pace (the highest zone) was a 6:30! WTF? I can't ever imagine running that fast for any length of time. But, I'm trusting that experienced people have written this app and know what they are doing. I told the program I would run 4 times a week.
I missed the first 20 minute run on Saturday, as my parents and daughter left, and I spent the day cleaning and doing laundry. Oh, and eating leftovers. That includes pie.
Today, Sunday, I was ready to try the 40 minute run. It had me run in my blue zone for 5 minutes, my green zone for 30 minutes, and my blue zone again for 5 minutes. I did not finish this workout either. I dressed warm enough for 40 degree temperature with a brisk northeast wind - but I fatigued too easily. During my first blue zone trial, it told me I was going too fast, into the green zone. During the green zone, I had to be reminded to speed up, several times. I had to stop and walk at least 4 times. The coach told me I had slowed, and needed to pick up my pace. It was very helpful, and I was starting to get the feeling at least for the 'zones'. Ultimately, I had to stop at 23 minutes. I barely made it halfway through. I'm chalking it up to eating very poorly all week. That's what I'm hoping, anyway.
I ran 44% of my training run, 2.54 miles. It tells me I will get better over time. I'm keeping an open mind.
My next run is a 20 minute run again in blue and green zones, on Tuesday. But I hear we will be getting our first significant snow fall on Tuesday. I wish I had the money to buy that treadmill.
TPP
Friday, November 23, 2012
Oyster Bay Turkey Trot
I took part in the first Oyster Bay Turkey Trot, sponsored by Citius Athletics on Thanksgiving morning. I had become a member of The Greater Long Island Runners Club sometime after Hurricane Sandy. The storm forced cancellations of the Bayville Turkey Trot, and the Long Beach 10k. Looking for another race to keep my motivation up in the ensuing colder weather, I ended up finally perusing GLIRC's website and found the OB Turkey Trot as a replacement. My friend Trish also signed up, even though her last race was in June - and she really had not been running much since then. But she is a true athlete, and also a certified athletic trainer.
The race seemed well organized, parking was limited for the amount of people there, the start was crazy slow, the course was fast and scenic. The first thing Trish noticed, as did I, was that there were a lot of younger people there. I'm 52, Trish is 31, but it looked like the majority of runners there were in their teens and 20's. I thought I'd have a better chance of placing in my age group, if that was the case! I have not been running very long, it's my first year, and this would be my fifth race. I'm assuming that a race called a 'turkey trot' would be a family oriented fun run, and that the presence of young children and teenagers would be greater than any other type of race. I also expected to see people running in turkey outfits, but that was not the case here. Indeed, with regard to turkeys, I saw nary.
According to the Start2FinishCorp's website, there were 510 applicants, 491 actually ran. The starting line was nestled on a narrow, tree and house lined undulating side road that was about a few thousand yards back from the main entrance to the OB High School. The parking lot was on the left, the school was on the right. I expected the road to lead to another parking lot and field behind the school. I was surprised to see it turn into a residential area. There were no corrals, but Trish, knowing how she ran, knew she needed to be at the front of the pack. I meandered through the throngs of people, trying to figure out where I belonged. When the gun finally went off, we were sardine-like, and I ended up within various groups of runners - children bounding around without structure, women deep in conversation, others walking, and I found no way to get out from within. This, however, afforded me the time to start my devices pretty much together, and I was FORCED to start out slow. I mean, it was SLOW.
After what seemed like the first quarter mile, I was out on the main road, which became fast because of a -2% grade. Unfortunately, there were still a lot of young kids even that far ahead, some criscrossing, and some just stopping and/or slowing randomly. I realized that I still have so much more to learn about the whole sport. What are my goals and expectations for each race I run? What will the climate of each race be, and does it support my plan?
I appreciated the clocks at mile 1 and 2. I can remember seeing only one water station. I dressed warmly, without gloves, but I wore a heavy, ear warmer head band. I had forgotten to leave my jacket in the car, and opted to take a chance and left it thrust through a chain link fence at the starting line. Hopefully, it would be there on my return. By the time I passed the water station, my hands, the coldest part of my body, were warm. Only at the beginning of mile 3 did I start to sweat a bit, but not uncomfortably so that it distracted me.
I was cardiovascularly challenged, and that was before the end of mile one. I was concerned. I was forced to start out very slowly. Why was I already exhausted? My legs felt fine, but my shoulders were tight. I had to force my arms at my sides to release the tension. I felt as if people (including the kids, - but don't get me wrong, kids are people too) were passing me left and right. As I came up on the first clock, I realized why. I had just run my fastest mile. I saw the clock read 8:30 when I was close enough to see it. It was 8:40 by the time I had passed it. I must have subconsciously picked up the pace trying to make up for lost time on the start. Indeed, my magellan clocked my 2nd quarter mile a whole minute faster than the first quarter, and then 30 seconds faster a quarter mile later. I did start out too fast again the first mile.
I would suffer for that the entire rest of the race. My legs were willing, but I needed to utilize mind games the rest of the way, having to talk myself out of walking on several occasions. I watched people stopping left and right, some walking to the right to get out of the way, and children stopping dead in their tracks, one directly in front of me. I ran into him, felt badly, but did not stop. I instinctively put my hand on his shoulder as I ran into him, and I realized he was still on his feet. I didn't need to look back.
I tried my best to slow my pace instead of walking. I did not feel successful. My chest was burning, my heart pounding - I was very uncomfortable. Some of the tight turns in the park diverted my attention for a small while. I was trying to take the straightest path through the turns, trying to shave some precious seconds off my time.
By the time I made the turn back onto the road that lead to the finish, I was flummoxed. How could I feel so shitty? I told myself it was okay to slow down to a crawl so I would not expire on the course! How embarrassing would that be to drop dead right before the finish line, and on Thanksgiving morning? But Trish had finished before me, and was waiting on the sidelines telling me to get my ass in gear, and I sprinted, as well as any 52 year old, cardiovascularly challenged person could, through the finish gate. That saved me an additional 5 seconds. Thank you, Trish.
My coat was still there, I walked/jogged straight on to the starting line to retrieve it. Trish and her husband were back at the finish line, and she had water and a banana for me. We chatted a bit, and she headed home. I stayed, needing to see if I placed. Out of 13 in my group I placed 2nd, out of 491, #155 overall. I was tired, dazed, yet very happy. I wanted to hang around for the awards ceremony, but I had my parents back at my house preparing for the big meal, and I felt compelled to get home.
Official time: 26:31 pace 8:33 A new PR!
Magellan Data
MMR Data
Finish Line Video
The race seemed well organized, parking was limited for the amount of people there, the start was crazy slow, the course was fast and scenic. The first thing Trish noticed, as did I, was that there were a lot of younger people there. I'm 52, Trish is 31, but it looked like the majority of runners there were in their teens and 20's. I thought I'd have a better chance of placing in my age group, if that was the case! I have not been running very long, it's my first year, and this would be my fifth race. I'm assuming that a race called a 'turkey trot' would be a family oriented fun run, and that the presence of young children and teenagers would be greater than any other type of race. I also expected to see people running in turkey outfits, but that was not the case here. Indeed, with regard to turkeys, I saw nary.
According to the Start2FinishCorp's website, there were 510 applicants, 491 actually ran. The starting line was nestled on a narrow, tree and house lined undulating side road that was about a few thousand yards back from the main entrance to the OB High School. The parking lot was on the left, the school was on the right. I expected the road to lead to another parking lot and field behind the school. I was surprised to see it turn into a residential area. There were no corrals, but Trish, knowing how she ran, knew she needed to be at the front of the pack. I meandered through the throngs of people, trying to figure out where I belonged. When the gun finally went off, we were sardine-like, and I ended up within various groups of runners - children bounding around without structure, women deep in conversation, others walking, and I found no way to get out from within. This, however, afforded me the time to start my devices pretty much together, and I was FORCED to start out slow. I mean, it was SLOW.
After what seemed like the first quarter mile, I was out on the main road, which became fast because of a -2% grade. Unfortunately, there were still a lot of young kids even that far ahead, some criscrossing, and some just stopping and/or slowing randomly. I realized that I still have so much more to learn about the whole sport. What are my goals and expectations for each race I run? What will the climate of each race be, and does it support my plan?
I appreciated the clocks at mile 1 and 2. I can remember seeing only one water station. I dressed warmly, without gloves, but I wore a heavy, ear warmer head band. I had forgotten to leave my jacket in the car, and opted to take a chance and left it thrust through a chain link fence at the starting line. Hopefully, it would be there on my return. By the time I passed the water station, my hands, the coldest part of my body, were warm. Only at the beginning of mile 3 did I start to sweat a bit, but not uncomfortably so that it distracted me.
I was cardiovascularly challenged, and that was before the end of mile one. I was concerned. I was forced to start out very slowly. Why was I already exhausted? My legs felt fine, but my shoulders were tight. I had to force my arms at my sides to release the tension. I felt as if people (including the kids, - but don't get me wrong, kids are people too) were passing me left and right. As I came up on the first clock, I realized why. I had just run my fastest mile. I saw the clock read 8:30 when I was close enough to see it. It was 8:40 by the time I had passed it. I must have subconsciously picked up the pace trying to make up for lost time on the start. Indeed, my magellan clocked my 2nd quarter mile a whole minute faster than the first quarter, and then 30 seconds faster a quarter mile later. I did start out too fast again the first mile.
I would suffer for that the entire rest of the race. My legs were willing, but I needed to utilize mind games the rest of the way, having to talk myself out of walking on several occasions. I watched people stopping left and right, some walking to the right to get out of the way, and children stopping dead in their tracks, one directly in front of me. I ran into him, felt badly, but did not stop. I instinctively put my hand on his shoulder as I ran into him, and I realized he was still on his feet. I didn't need to look back.
I tried my best to slow my pace instead of walking. I did not feel successful. My chest was burning, my heart pounding - I was very uncomfortable. Some of the tight turns in the park diverted my attention for a small while. I was trying to take the straightest path through the turns, trying to shave some precious seconds off my time.
By the time I made the turn back onto the road that lead to the finish, I was flummoxed. How could I feel so shitty? I told myself it was okay to slow down to a crawl so I would not expire on the course! How embarrassing would that be to drop dead right before the finish line, and on Thanksgiving morning? But Trish had finished before me, and was waiting on the sidelines telling me to get my ass in gear, and I sprinted, as well as any 52 year old, cardiovascularly challenged person could, through the finish gate. That saved me an additional 5 seconds. Thank you, Trish.
My coat was still there, I walked/jogged straight on to the starting line to retrieve it. Trish and her husband were back at the finish line, and she had water and a banana for me. We chatted a bit, and she headed home. I stayed, needing to see if I placed. Out of 13 in my group I placed 2nd, out of 491, #155 overall. I was tired, dazed, yet very happy. I wanted to hang around for the awards ceremony, but I had my parents back at my house preparing for the big meal, and I felt compelled to get home.
Official time: 26:31 pace 8:33 A new PR!
Magellan Data
MMR Data
Finish Line Video
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)