March 11 - March 17

The theme of this week's training was forced rest, due to illness. Like most people, I have my ups and downs, not always performing at 100%, but its rare that I get ill to the point of being forced to lie down and little else. However, after not being at 100% prior to and after the Railrunner 10 miler last week, but remaining on my feet, I was finally brought to a halt this week, missing multiple workouts. Fortunately, after a few days of rest, I seem to be back on the upswing and easing back into training for the Run the Bluegrass half marathon, which is only a couple weeks away.

Running Distance: 15.87 miles
Total Time Training: 2:16

3/12/13
Tues AM: Hilly Mile Repeats
6miles/50min/8:22pace
1 mile warm up, 4 x mile w/1/4 easy running between
7:29, 7:51, 7:20, 7:33

3/16/13
Sat AM: Easy Return Run
After being sidelined for a few days, due to illness I was finally itching to get back outside. By Saturday afternoon, spring like weather finally convinced me that stretching my legs for a few miles would be a good thing.

3/17/13
Sun AM: Easing Back Run
I was scheduled to run for 2 hours, at near half marathon pace for the last 30 minutes. However, the weather did a 180 degree turn from yesterday's 70 degrees and clear skies to today's near freezing temperatures and rainy conditions. Additionally, I did not want to push myself too hard after a forced break due to illness. The end result was 45 minutes easy and 15 minutes at 7:50 pace for a total of an hour run. Not a perfect run, but not bad considering the circumstances.

Railrunner 10 miler

The 2013 inaugural Railrunner 10 miler and 5k was held at RJ Corman's (railroad business) headquarters in Nicholasville, KY. Both races were held on Corman's private paved roads, and the 10 miler also included a run across Lucas Field (Corman's private airport). The course was relatively flat, but being located in Central Kentucky, it included some rolling terrain, and the airport added a bit of a challenge as well. 

Personally, I was not sure exactly what to expect. The weather was relatively ideal, in the upper 30s/lower 40s, but a bit breezy. I had been battling a bit of a cold or allergies, but once my adrenaline started pumping, I do not think it was too great of a factor. Also, I had never officially raced a 10 miler before. Based on my previous 10k and half marathon times, I decided that if I ran a sub-7:20 pace, I would be content. This would be a good warm up race for the Run the Bluegrass Half at the end of the month.

At the end, 360 participants completed the 10 miler, and 224 completed the 5k. My finishing time was 1:11: 10 (according to my Garmin), or 1:11:20 (according to the official chip time). It equaled a 7:08 pace, well within my targeted time, and was good enough for 26th overall, and 4th in my age group, while just seconds away from 3rd and 2nd, and a couple minutes short of 1st. I was satisfied, but also left to ponder what if..

Finsihing @ 51:50 mark

March 4 - March 10

3/4/13
Mon AM: Easy Run
3.01miles/26min/8:34 Pace

Mon PM: Core Strength
1) Bicyles
2) Hyperextensions w/hands under chin
3) Hello Darlings
4) Swimmers

3/5/13
Tue AM: Treadmill Intervals
4.75miles/40min/8:25 Pace
5x800@6:49Pace w/1 mile warmup & 400jog between
Dark+Cold+Rain=Treadmill

3/6/13
Wed AM: Strength
Strappers (multiple rounds for a total of 20min)
1) 6 Let Me Ups w/knees bent
2) 12 Alternating Side Lunges
3) 8 Pushups (including some w/a 3.5 year old on my back)

Wed AM: Easy Run
3 miles/27min/9:00Pace
Easy run in the snow, ice, and wind. Felt like going faster, probably because I was able to get out later in the morning, due to a snow day, and had already warmed up with a strength workout, but pulled in the reigns.

3/7/13
Thu AM: Wii Fit Yoga
30 minutes

3/8/13
Fri: Rest Day

3/9/13
Sat AM: Railrunner 10 miler
Warm Up: 1.01miles/8:48
10 miles/1:11/7:07 Pace
Will post a race report soon...

3/10/13
Sun AM: Reovery Run
4 miles/37min/9:20Pace
The weather was nice, mid 50s in the AM, and I wanted to take advantage of it by stretching out my legs. It definately felt like a recovery run, and my body is giving me signs that I need to take it easy.

Running Distance: 26 miles
Total Time Training: 4:50

February 25 - March 3

2/25/13

Mon AM: Easy Run

3 miles/28min/9:22 Pace

Mon PM: Strength

Intervals: 3 sets of 12 for each/36 min total

1) Bulgarian Split Squats w/3sec pause @ bottom

2) Side Lunges w/3 sec pause @ bottom

3) Toyotas w/4 sec pause @ bottom

4) 1 Leg Russian Dead Lifts on Pillow

2/26/13

Tue AM: Mile Repeats

5.5 miles/48min/8:43 Pace

1600m x 3 @ HM pace, with 1 mile warm up and 800m jog between miles.

Didn't quite nail the splits: 7:41, 7:43, 7:58, which I think was in part due to the weather (wind & rain), early morning cobwebs, and recovering from previous evening's leg strength workout. However, it still felt quality.

2/27/13

Wed AM: Easy Run

3 miles/29min/9:40 Pace

Wed PM: Strength

Tabats/ 12 min.

1) Let Me Ups

2) Let Me Ins

3) Squats

2/28/13

Thurs AM: Temp Run

6.03 miles/50 minutes/8:17 pace

Easy warm up, gradual increase to a brief 10k pace, cool down. Nearly busted my ass when I was running at a about a 7 minute pace and stepped onto a wooden bridge that had frozed overnight.

3/1/13

Fri AM: Rest/Wii Fit Yoga

17 minutes of easy yoga on rest day.

3/2/13

Sat AM: HM Pace Run

6.51 miles/50 min/7:39 pace

1 mile warm up, 5 miles @ 7:20 pace, 1/2 mile cool down.

3/3/13

Sun AM: Long Run

11:34 miles/1:45 min/9:15 pace

Easy pace in below freezing, smowy weather. Had on 2 pairs of gloves and still had trouble keeping my hands warm, but overall it was a fun and solid run.              

Wintry Long Run

Distance: 35.38 miles

Total Time Training: 06:15

Half marathon training is progressing positively. My weekly mileage is gradually increasing and my body seems to be responding well. 35 miles in a week might not seem like a lot, but it is the most I have run since taking a break to recover from the Columbus Marathon back in October and it includes quality training runs as well as strength training . Next weekend I have the Railrunner 10 miler on my schedule.

Book Review: My Life On The Run by Bart Yasso

The free time I have that is not devoted to running is often spent reading. As a runner, I am attracted to literature about running, particularly when it involves adventure. I am easily entertained by books in the genre, such as Christoper's McDougall's Born to Run, and Dean Karnazes' Ultramarathon Man. My Life On The Run is the story of Bart Yasso, Runner's World Chief Running Officer. 

In his book, Yasso tells tells how he came to running and the great impact that it has had on his life. As the Chief Running Officer of Runners World, Yasso has a job that 99% of runners would love to have. He makes a living traveling across the globe to running related events. My Life On The Run guides the reader along to some of his more memorable running adventures, such as races in Anartica, Africa, Europe, and Nepal, as well as a nudist colony is Washington. 

As a vegan I was especially interested in Yasso's discussion about being a longtime vegetarian, and how he handled it while traveling, such as sharing meals with the carnivorous Inuit in Quebec and Russians in Antarctica. Yasso also includes practical running advice, such as his info about his well known Yasso 800s, which can be used to calculate one's marathon race time, and he concludes the book with a set of running plans for distances of 5k up to the marathon. Yasso's sense of humor and love for running make this both an entertaining and inspirational book to be included in a runner's library. Now, how do I apply for his job?

My Daily Multi-Vitamin: Smoothies!

The photo above shows my breakfast following an 11+ mile run this past Sunday. I almost always have a LARGE (40-70oz) smoothie at some point during the day, typically for breakfast. Smoothies are great in many ways, including being convenient. Simply place your desired ingredients in the container and blend. Pour it in a bottle, and you can take it with you to work, the gym, or wherever you need to go. Smoothies are also a great way to pack in raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, AKA nutrition. Blending breaks down the cell walls of plants, enabling easier digestion and unlike juicing, the fiber is retained.

This particular smoothie has approximately 2 bananas, 4 dates, 2 tbs of chia seeds, a several leaves of rainbow chard, 2 red beets, 1 cup of berries, as well as a couple cups of water. In terms of nutrition, it is packed with over 18g of protein, a large % of my RDI of 5 B vitamins, 70% of Folate, 70% vitamin A, 100% vitamin C, 30% vitamin E 1300% vitamin K, and large percentages of minerals, including 40% calcium, and 100% of iron.

If you are serious about smoothies, it is worthwhile to invest in a high speed blender, such as a Vitamix or Blendtec. These high quality blenders are not cheap and I consider myself relatively frugal. However, after struggling with and breaking numerous inexpensive blenders that did not work well, we invested in a Vitamix, which comes with a muti-year warranty, and quality customer service.

Heart Sole & Glove 5k Race Report

After a few weeks of casual running, cautiously returning from injury, I longed for a test. The Heart Sole & Glove Run, a 5k, a local 5k at Coldstream Park in Lexington, was a perfect opportunity. I was unsure of what to expect, not only because of limited training, but also because I had not raced a 5k since 2011. I would have loved to break 20 minutes, but considering the circumstances, I was not sure that was realistic.

On a sunny, but chilly February Saturday morning in Central Kentucky, 263 participants lined up and completed this 5k. Much of the course was on paved trail. However, parts were on also on roads, open to traffic. I am not a fan of open courses, but as far as I know, there were no issues with traffic.

During this race, I was reminded of how short and intense 5ks are, if you truly race them. I went out a little faster than I probably should have, running the first mile in less than 6 minutes, and my pace faded toward the finish. In addition to fast start, and a mild elevation increase in the 2nd half of the course, my lungs held me back. Partially due to the cold air, they felt on fire as I finished the race. I'm sure they also had not completely redeveloped after having to take a couple months off.

I crossed the finish line with a time of 20:30, which I deemed acceptable. Most importantly, I finished healthy, having no issues after returning from injury. My overall result was a top 20 finish (19th) and 2nd place in age group.