Monday, April 26, 2010

LiveSTRONG Seattle Marathon training weeks 20/21 - consistency?

Did I really say consistency on my last post?  Training week #20 threw that out the window - a business trip coupled with a 15 hour workday and two more 11+ hour workdays left me not only with little time to exercise, but the dreaded "traveler's cold" that I seem to get every time extremely long hours and travel converge.  Needless to say, week #20 was not the paragon of consistency: 4.29 miles run over two measly runs, in a grand total of 36:55.  On the bright side, I did lose some weight... but found it again this week. :-\


The last week was much better, and honestly, was back on the consistency theme.  If you exclude the "lost week" the week before, it actually wasn't too bad.  The totals for this week, in 2 runs and 2 rides was:

  • Running: 20.88 miles in 3:11:37, including a great 17 mile long run at a 9:14 pace!
  • Cycling: 26.85 miles in 1:30:07
  • Weight: 196.2, up 0.6 pounds over two weeks

The long run truly did feel great.  After some Nike+ related technical difficulties starting out, and some heavy legs for the first 2-3 miles, I got into a groove that had me ticking off miles at a pretty steady 9:05-9:25 pace until around 15.5 miles - at which point I was ready to be done.  But it was a great feeling to know that the training is exactly on track, and Nike+ even gave me an extra kudo - since I had to re-install the software, it showed this as my "first run" even though it shows all the previous runs I've done:


Now's it just a matter of staying on track through 3 more long runs (20, 22 and 24 milers planned 2, 4 and 6 weeks from now) and being ready for Seattle a scant 61 days from today!

Speaking of being ready, we're almost to our fundraising goal of $1000 for Team LiveSTRONG.  $750 down, $250 to go.  So if you haven't gotten a chance yet, go to my fundraising page and donate - $1, $10, $20, $50, $100... whatever you can, because it's for a great cause in the fight against cancer.

Until next time, onward!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

LiveSTRONG Seattle Marathon training week 19 - consistency

This week turned out to be a decent week of training.  At the beginning of the week, my goal was to get in two runs and two rides - and that's precisely what I accomplished, even if the rides were on the short side (33 and 40 min).  Training consistently is helping me to get back my speed, which I lost in the training lull after my hip dysplasia diagnosis.  My two runs clocked in at an 8:40 and an 8:47 pace, respectively... it's great to get down into the 8:40s again after a long time of wandering around the 9:00-9:20 range for short runs.


Totals for this week were on the low side, but once again, consistency is the key:

  • Running: 7.12 miles in 1:02:09
  • Cycling: 22.29 miles in 1:13:08
  • Weight: 195.6 pounds, up 2.2

Ok, so the consistency hasn't be reflected in what the scale is telling me.  And some of that was due to a lack of consistency: my goal of eating one giant salad per day was only accomplished on 4 or 5 days this week.  But on the up side, there are some body changes going on, as I've lost a half inch off the waist.  And no less than 4 people told me this week that it looks like I've lost weight. :)  That's a great feeling.

Speaking of great feelings, a bit thank you to all of you who have donated to my Team LiveSTRONG participation in the Seattle Rock N Roll marathon!  We're three-quarters of the way there, as donations have reached $750.  Just a few more donors and we should be able to crack that $1,000 goal!  So if you haven't donated, drop by my fundraising page and donate - whether it's $1 or $1,000, it's all going to a great cause!


Until next time... onward!

Saturday, April 3, 2010

LiveSTRONG Seattle Marathon training week 18 - crushing it

A quick hello everyone!  If you're like us, you have a busy week with Easter-related activities.  I do hope that you all have a great time attending church, spending time with family and the likes.  We're gearing up for a pretty full but enjoyable day tomorrow.  But in the meantime, I managed to sneak in my long run this morning... and it went amazing!


I started out a bit too fast... blasting through the first couple of miles in a 8:50-9:10ish pace.  When I tried to slow down for mile 3 in 9:15, I decided it might be fun to see how long I could sustain the goal pace of 9:09 that would allow me to break 4 hours in the marathon.  Well, at the 14 mile mark, I stopped the Nike+/iPod combination at 2:07:06, which for 14.01 miles put me at a hair over a 9:04 pace.  Wow!


Now there's a BIG difference between running 9:04 for 14 miles and keeping up sub-9:09 for 26.2, but we'll see how it goes as the training evolves.  Hopefully the dietary changes are helping out with that as well, not only dropping a few pounds here and there, but giving me more energy.


In brief, week 18 (out of 30 - only 12 more to go!) turned out to be a pretty good week:

  • 22.35 miles on the trainer in 1:15:06
  • 17.12 miles running in 2:34:49
  • Weight down a hair to 193.4

That's all for now... time to go shower up and enjoy an afternoon of light errands with my amazing wife!  I do hope that you all have a blessed Easter tomorrow.

Until next time, onward...