Running Chicago, for me

You do look like a great pacer. I hope you hang in there with the heat. This has been a pretty brutal few weeks.

Thanks Julie and Alex. With a TM run, the pacing gets even more even, ha ha. Speaking of TM runs, today was one of them. First, this was a hard workout, second, it's still pretty warm, third, there was a strong storm in the evening that was hanging around a bit in the morning. So that meant a health club visit. I have to admit, I thought this workout would be harder than it was. Knowing it was coming up probably psyched me up and got me ready mentally for it.

Anyway, the plan was warm up, 4 miles at MP, recovery 5 minutes, then 4 miles at HMP. From the very beginning, it just felt easier than expected - I think because I've been runnign in the heat so much that it has improved my conditioning. Total workout, 11.5 miles.

Split	Time	Distance	Incline	Type
1	0:08:41	1	1.0%	Warm up
2	0:08:41	1	1.0%	Warm up
3	0:08:00	1	1.0%	MP
4	0:08:00	1	1.0%	MP
5	0:08:00	1	1.0%	MP
6	0:08:00	1	1.0%	MP
7	0:05:00	0.5	0.0%	Recovery
8	0:07:30	1	1.0%	HMP
9	0:07:30	1	1.0%	HMP
10	0:07:24	1	0.5%	HMP-6
11	0:07:19	1	0.0%	HMP-11
12	0:09:20	1	0.0%	Warm down
Total	1:33:25	11.5

Really solid week of workouts John! The combination outside/treadmill workouts look like they're definitely giving you some extra fitness along with all the miles you're putting in.

That was a solid work out on the TM. I agree the hot running then going indoors has to make it easier on us. Did same today and it was very easy run considering.

mul21 wrote:Really solid week of workouts John! The combination outside/treadmill workouts look like they're definitely giving you some extra fitness along with all the miles you're putting in.

Kenny B. wrote:That was a solid work out on the TM. I agree the hot running then going indoors has to make it easier on us. Did same today and it was very easy run considering.

THanks Jim and Kenny - I agree, it is providing a good compromise to hard training and the heat. Looks like the 90s is here to stay for another week too.

Saturday was a rest day though I did more physical labor than I have in a long time. I woke up at 3:00 AM to find water coming up through the sump pump because of the huge storm. It got all through the basement so the day was spent throwing out a huge amount of stuff, figuring what to keep, tearing out the floor and trying to dry out. I was pretty tired from all this plus I didn't eat or drink much. As a result, I did not expect to rock the Sunday long run, which was 16 miles. Complicating things was the large amount of thunder from 6:30 AM so I didn't want to run outside. Finally at 8:00 AM, I decided to go to the health club which turned out to be a good idea.

Anyway, it wasn't an easy run but I got it done. I had to take two Gus plus I added a half mile because my mid-week longer run had to be cut short. Roughly, I did 8 miles at 8:57 pace (various inclines), 4 miles at 8:41 and 4.5 miles at 8:34, total 16.5 miles. Tough runs like this remind me how important it is to eat/drink/sleep well beforehand. At least it got done. I think that is 59 miles for the week.

sorry about the sump pump mess from the storm! What a pain.

I agree sleeping and eating do affect running, especially long or hard runs. Good for you for getting out there and getting your long run done. It looks really solid, too. Good steady pace but then were you doing fast finish? I wasn't sure the order of the miles you ran at which pace.

JohnP wrote:Thanks Julie and Alex. With a TM run, the pacing gets even more even, ha ha. Speaking of TM runs, today was one of them. First, this was a hard workout, second, it's still pretty warm, third, there was a strong storm in the evening that was hanging around a bit in the morning. So that meant a health club visit. I have to admit, I thought this workout would be harder than it was. Knowing it was coming up probably psyched me up and got me ready mentally for it.

Anyway, the plan was warm up, 4 miles at MP, recovery 5 minutes, then 4 miles at HMP. From the very beginning, it just felt easier than expected - I think because I've been runnign in the heat so much that it has improved my conditioning. Total workout, 11.5 miles.

Split	Time	Distance	Incline	Type
1	0:08:41	1	1.0%	Warm up
2	0:08:41	1	1.0%	Warm up
3	0:08:00	1	1.0%	MP
4	0:08:00	1	1.0%	MP
5	0:08:00	1	1.0%	MP
6	0:08:00	1	1.0%	MP
7	0:05:00	0.5	0.0%	Recovery
8	0:07:30	1	1.0%	HMP
9	0:07:30	1	1.0%	HMP
10	0:07:24	1	0.5%	HMP-6
11	0:07:19	1	0.0%	HMP-11
12	0:09:20	1	0.0%	Warm down
Total	1:33:25	11.5

Great runs John - 11.5 run was a strong effort! Good to hear the heat has a beneficial effect and does something more than just run us down!

John I'm loving it! You just keep rolling along, I really love reading about your training and the approach you are taking at it. I said in my last post but I really think you are going to see a huge difference at Chicago this year with doing the Hudson plan. It really looks like you are taking a huge liking to his approach. Keep rolling buddy!

Hope all is going well with the family. Maybe one of these days we can get together for a run, would be nice to see you again before Chicago. I would say play golf but you would kick my butt.

I love the part where you threw in the extra half mile because you were short during the week - that's the crazy kind of thing I would do, compulsively trying to keep the total to what I had on the paper.



Nice job getting the long run in under adverse circumstances.

Michael Enright wrote:I love the part where you threw in the extra half mile because you were short during the week - that's the crazy kind of thing I would do, compulsively trying to keep the total to what I had on the paper.

And something I never do! Nice week, John.

Julie wrote:sorry about the sump pump mess from the storm! What a pain.

I agree sleeping and eating do affect running, especially long or hard runs. Good for you for getting out there and getting your long run done. It looks really solid, too. Good steady pace but then were you doing fast finish? I wasn't sure the order of the miles you ran at which pace.

Yes, it is a pain, a huge amount of stuff on the front lawn waiting for the garbage pickup. In my run this morning, I saw a number of homes with carpet and other stuff waiting for pickup.



I was not doing fast finish on this long run. The plan said to do regular long run speed the first half and then "mild moderate" the last half. For my target pace, I interpret that as about 8:35-8:40 so I ran that. I think these kinds of runs are excellent conditioning in that the normal response is to go a little slower as runs progress, plus it doesn't take much out of me.

Michael Enright wrote:I love the part where you threw in the extra half mile because you were short during the week - that's the crazy kind of thing I would do, compulsively trying to keep the total to what I had on the paper.

Nice job getting the long run in under adverse circumstances.

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:

Michael Enright wrote:I love the part where you threw in the extra half mile because you were short during the week - that's the crazy kind of thing I would do, compulsively trying to keep the total to what I had on the paper.

And something I never do! Nice week, John.

The funny thing is even if I run extra on one run, I still usually try to make up any later runs that are short. But I don't let this go past one training week. If it's not made up by then, the deficit goes back to zero.

John Kilpatrick wrote:

Great runs John - 11.5 run was a strong effort! Good to hear the heat has a beneficial effect and does something more than just run us down!

Thanks John, I am handling the heat OK, with the help early runs, or visits to the health club if needed.

Schuey wrote:John I'm loving it! You just keep rolling along, I really love reading about your training and the approach you are taking at it. I said in my last post but I really think you are going to see a huge difference at Chicago this year with doing the Hudson plan. It really looks like you are taking a huge liking to his approach. Keep rolling buddy!

Hope all is going well with the family. Maybe one of these days we can get together for a run, would be nice to see you again before Chicago. I would say play golf but you would kick my butt.

Thanks Martin, so far this has been a pretty good training cycle. Need to keep injury and sickness at bay, and I feel I can make a run at my goal. Man, I would love to go down there and run sometime with you. But it would have to be a recovery run for you and probably a tempo for me. I'll post in your blog sometime to see if you are free in a few weeks. I'm heading on a week's vacation next week.

Today was a good workout, fairly consistent. The plan was another pyramid of short intervals, 1-2-3-2-1-2-3-2-1 with like recovery intervals. The difference this time was that each interval was to be at 10K pace (which I interpret as 7:12) and the recovery portion was to be at normal training pace (which I interpret as 9:00). I think the faster recovery pace made this a little tougher as usually I go slower in recovery. I ran to the college track and did the intervals there, then ran back.

Split	Miles	Time	Pace	HR	HR %	Type
1	3	0:27:32	0:09:10	118	69%	Warm up
2	2.42	0:17:00	0:07:01	148	87%	Speed work
3	1.88	0:17:00	0:09:03	140	82%	Recovery
4	2	0:18:31	0:09:15	133	78%	Warm down
Total	9.3	1:20:03

Very nice work out. I find the recovery/repeat portion imperative to use to get my HR down just watch that in the future so you can gain the most out of the run.

Looks like a great workout! Nice and speedy on your speed portion!

Thanks Kenny and Julie, I did notice my recovery HR did not go as low as usual. Although it makes a tougher run, I like increasing the effort on recovery as it sort of simulates a race feeling.



Today was the mid-week long run, 11 miles on tap, and the plan said easy to mild-medium. That translates to 9;00 pace down to 8:35 or so. Big difference with the weather today, it was 70 degrees and very cloudy so the run was fairly easy compared to the past few weeks. I did the first half (5.5 miles) a little faster than plan but the second 5.5 miles was pretty much on target. I'm ready for a marathon! I need to find a half marathon to run in August.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg HR	HR %
1	0:09:05	1	111	65%
2	0:08:55	1	122	72%
3	0:08:49	1	124	73%
4	0:08:48	1	127	75%
5	0:08:44	1	128	75%
6	0:08:29	1	129	76%
7	0:08:30	1	130	76%
8	0:08:36	1	128	75%
9	0:08:33	1	131	77%
10	0:08:34	1	131	77%
11	0:08:39	1	132	78%
12	0:00:42	0.08	129	76%
Summary	1:36:29	11.08	127	75%

How early are you morning people getting up? It was a struggle for me the one day I did it last week and that was an hour long run. I can't imagine trying to fit an hour and a half or two in before work!

At any rate, nicely done!

mul21 wrote:How early are you morning people getting up? It was a struggle for me the one day I did it last week and that was an hour long run. I can't imagine trying to fit an hour and a half or two in before work!

At any rate, nicely done!

Today wasn't too bad - schedule:



5:25 - wake up

6:10 - leave for run

7:50 - return - eat and drink like crazy

8:00 - 8:45 - do a meeting/conference call from home

8:45 - shower and leave for work



If I have a 7:00 or 7:30 AM meeting, it is much harder to run in the morning. I'm fortunate to work three miles from home plus I can do early meetings/calls from home if I want.

JohnP wrote:

mul21 wrote:How early are you morning people getting up? It was a struggle for me the one day I did it last week and that was an hour long run. I can't imagine trying to fit an hour and a half or two in before work!

At any rate, nicely done!

Today wasn't too bad - schedule:



5:25 - wake up

6:10 - leave for run

7:50 - return - eat and drink like crazy

8:00 - 8:45 - do a meeting/conference call from home

8:45 - shower and leave for work



If I have a 7:00 or 7:30 AM meeting, it is much harder to run in the morning. I'm fortunate to work three miles from home plus I can do early meetings/calls from home if I want.

See, that makes a huge difference. I have to be at work at 7:30-8:00 most days and I have a half hour commute. I'd have to be on the road at 5:00 to have a chance most days.

Looking really good. Didn't there used to be some mid August half in Chicago?

Nice run, it's always nice to get a little break in the heat.

The mornings I get up at 4:15 are tough but you gotta do what you gotta do some days.

Great MW LONG RUN. HR was steady as she blows. true sign of greater fitness.

JohnP wrote:

5:25 - wake up

6:10 - leave for run

7:50 - return - eat and drink like crazy

8:00 - 8:45 - do a meeting/conference call from home

8:45 - shower and leave for work

I don't know....that looks early to me. But its a nice efficient schedule. Well done.