4/6/10

Tuesday’s Training – Am: 24*200m with 200m rec. Pm: 66 mins easy

Mileage – 22 Miles

Martin and I drove down to Sedona for the workout this morning. Martin was just running easily s he has his workout but with the wind being lower in Sedona and the temperature higher, he wanted to run down there instead of suffering through a run in Flagstaff. We got to the track around 9am and got our usual warm up run in. As I went through my warm up drills and strides while Martin ran around the track. For some reason I felt fine on the drills but just not really up for a speed workout as I knew it was something I hadn’t done for a while and I knew I wasn’t going to be that good at it as this stage of my training. I took the first 3 reps pretty easy and then averaged around 31 secs for the rest of the workout. This was a strange feeling as I have been doing this workout since I was 16 and have always been able to run 30 secs for all the reps. I guess that’s marathon training for you! The wind couldn’t decide which way it was going to blow today so I kept having to change the direction of my reps. There was also another athlete at the track going through some hurdle drills very nicely and it was only once I was going for my warm down that I realised it was Dominique Arnold who has the USA 110m hurdle record of 12.90. I think he retired a few years ago so I guess he was just going through the paces again.

When I got back to the house I fell asleep for 2 hours. It felt so good to get a nice long nap and get some good recovery for my second run. I had some coffee and popped down to the post office before heading out the door and up to Buffalo Park for the run. Needless to say that it was windy again but I am really getting used to it now on the route that I take. It pushes me up the hill at the start and then knocks me back from the 0.4 to 1.5 mile mark of the 2 mile loop and then I am against it for the 2 miles back to the apartment. I was doing 10 miles for the evening run and so I started off very easy and then after 4 miles picked the pace up every 2 miles until I was running at a really good pace. This was the best way to do it as I was still feeling a little sluggish after my nap. It meant that I felt great striding down the trail to finish off the run although I couldn’t really take my mind off how sore my hands were as I had forgot to put gloves on and the wind froze them up. Julie got home just after me and we quickly had some left overs before heading out to a meeting we had.

We got to bed nice and early which felt great as I was already getting tired when we got back from our meeting.

4/5/10

Monday's Training - Am: 71 mins easy

Mileage - 10 Miles

I had a nice recovery day today and ended up doing hardly anything all day. Martin and I drove over to Campbell Mesa (easily the most complicated trail system i've ever been on) and ran there as it was really windy outside and we wanted to be as shaded as possible. My legs felt fine this morning with no stiffness or aches from yesterday so that was another great sign that my legs will be ready for the marathon distance in just a few weeks. Both Martin and I didn't want to get out of the car because the wind was so strong that it was almost singing outside! We got on our way and even in the trees it was pretty blustery. It was a strange run as the time didn't really pass by that quickly. I thought it must have been an hour of running when I looked at my watch but it was only 45 mins. I have still never run on these trails on my own as I think I would get lost. My mum visited last year and I told her to go out and back on the dirt road rather than get on the trails as she would probably get lost. Well...3 hours later we found her coming over the top of the hill after she had run round in circles trying to find her way back to the car! I spent much of the rest of the day napping and lazing about the house. I always feel guilty when I do this as I know Julie is at working hard all day and i'm doing nothing at home.

I decided to take the evening off as I had done a lot of miles yesterday and I have a speed workout tomorrow so I wanted to rest my legs a bit. I was feeling pretty tired anyway so a nights rest would be good for me. For dinner I grilled up eggplant, zuchinni, peppers and mushrooms and threw them in with some linguine and some left over ham from the weekend. It was just what I was needing as I had been craving pasta for a few days. We spent the rest of the night relaxing in front of the TV and heading to bed pretty early.

4/4/10

Sunday's Training - Am: 18 Mile Tempo Pm: 45 mins very easy

Mileage - 28 Miles

Weekly Mileage - 152 Miles

Today began at 5am as I was trying to replicate what I would do on marathon morning by getting up early, having a decent breakfast and be ready to start warming up at 8am. On my actual race day I will get up probably 4 hours before the race start (5.45am for the 9.45am start in London) and have a full size breakfast to get my energy stores full before I start the race. I didn't get to bed until midnight last night so I only got 5 hours of sleep but that is fine as that often happens before races with the early starts. I felt bad getting up that early because Julie's brother, Mike, was sleeping in the living room and I had to get the coffee ready, make some toast and oatmeal. I was making a little bit of a noise and he woke up and talked to me for a little bit before drifting back off to sleep. I left the house just before 7am and headed to Starbucks to read a little bit and get a double espresso before heading over to Lake Mary Rd for the workout. I met Greg, Ian and Paige there and with the wind being as strong as it was we decided to drive to the 15 mile mark and run the course backwards. I was going to run to the 3 mile mark and then turn around and run another 6 miles back. It actually didn't matter what we did because the wind was so strong and swirly that I was getting hit from every side for almost the whole run. The only mile I didn't run against was the very first one and it was slightly downhill so that was nice and quick (5.02) to get the workout started.

Getting ready to start

The next mile was against the wind and mostly up the steepest hill on the whole route so the 5.21 next mile wasn't unexpected. Greg drove behind me for the workout so that he could hand me my drinks every 3 miles so he pulled up alongside and said just to roll with the punches. If it is windy, don't fight too hard, if its hilly, don't worry about that mile being slow. This was good advise as I could have got very frustrated with how I was being pushed about by the wind. I hit a little bad patch at 8 miles but it was only because my lower back tightened up a little so my hamstrings got a little sore but after I got past the 10 mile mark I felt fine again.

Catching up to Paige

Greg wanted me to run steadily for the first 12 miles and then run hard for the last 6 miles. He said the point was to try and empty the tank and then try to continue to push on at that point. Its like getting to the 20 mile point in the mile and then run hard for the last 6 miles. As Steve Jones says "a marathon is just a Sunday long run with a 6 mile race at the end". Doing this was mentally good for me because it broke the workout up and I could concentrate on just cruising and then running hard for 30 mins at the end. I turned around at the 12 miles and got straight into a good rhythm. Greg handed me an energy gel which was a new one I was trying with caffeine in it and unfortunately it was really really thick and I couldn't really swallow it easily. It also got all over my hands and face and it just made a mess soI decided never to use that one again. I couldn't get my gloves back on as my hands were like glue at this point. After getting up the hill and heading back down and then up again onto the plateau that runs parallel to the Lake I started to feel really good and was moving well. I really wanted to push it hard but there was a strong cross wind and it was tough to really drive my legs quickly enough to run really fast. My 17th mile was good as it was downhill and shaded from the wind but then I turned into the wind on the one mile where I really wanted to run fast (the last one). Greg started shouting a lot to just really pick it up and that there was only a few minutes of running left. This helped a lot but then all of a sudden as I cleared the area with the trees and I got blown straight into the middle of the road! That was 5 meters sideways and I had no power to stop it. Greg started shouting more and I just picked the pace up as much as I could. I finished the 18 miles in 1.34.21 which ended up being an average of 5.14s which was good as it was so windy and I was at 7,000ft. I can't wait until I get to run in still conditions! My legs felt fine and aerobically I felt good so that told me that my strength is there. Greg was pleased because my form never broke and even on the last mile when I was pushing hard, my legs were still picking up and in full sprint mode.

I drove back to the apartment and quickly showered as we were all heading out for a lunch buffet at Josephine's. The food was so good and I quickly put the 6 pounds back on that I had lost during the run. Julie's family left soon after lunch so Julie and I tried to nap on the couch but we weren't very successful. We just lazed about for a while and then I headed out for a very slow 6 miles on the trail. I got back and logged the training for the day and was happy that I got through my highest mileage week ever unscathed and feeling good. A dinner of leftovers from yesterday and watching a film got me very tired and prepared for a very good night's sleep.

4/3/10

Saturday's Training - Am: 69 mins easy Pm: 41 mins easy

Mileage - 16 Miles

Today was a very easy day as my big workout for the week would be tomorrow. Originally I was supposed to do the 18 mile tempo today but with the wind really picking up this week, we pushed it back a day (so everything next week go back a day also and that fits perfectly with my travel plans back to the UK as now I don't have to do a hard workout the day I step off the plane). It was very windy today and I did both runs at Buffalo Park as this would force me to go nice and slow. I did drill and strides after both runs to keep my legs awake for tomorrow. I usually find that if I have 3 days easy in a row that my legs aren't as responsive when it comes to a workout because they haven't done anything hard for a few days.

The day itself was relaxing as I ran a few errands in the morning/afternoon and then Julie's family arrived for the easter celebrations. Julie cooked a big ham, an apple compote, green beans and Lorie brought up some great potato salad for us. THis was all ready for when I got back from my second run so I quickly showered and we all sat down and ate together. My eating plans were thrown off a little (I wanted to replicate what I would do the day before the marathon) as I had breakfast/lunch at 11am and lunch/dinner at 4.30pm. I would have preferred to move everything back a couple of hours and get another meal in but with everything that was going on today it just wasn't possible. Julie and I left at 6pm to go to the church and get ready for my baptism. The rest of the family met us there at 7pm when the service started. It was a great evening and it was really nice to have Julie's family there for the baptism. It would have been nice if my family to be there but its a bit of a long journey from Scotland to Flagstaff! When we got back, we dug straight into the cake that Julie had made (we all gave up sweets as part of lent and i'm continuing this until after London but I had to celebrate with a big slice tonight). We didn't end up getting to bed until 12am (the service didn't end until after 10pm) so I wasn't going to get much sleep as I was getting up at 5am to prepare for the morning's workout.

4/2/10

Friday's Training - Am: 92 mins easy Pm: 65 mins easy (3 miles of 100 strides hard/100 strides easy)

Mileage - 24 Miles

Today was a little crammed to say the least. I got up at the usual time and headed out the door just after 8am to get my 90 minute run in. I took a new route on the roads, out to the very south of town and did a nice loop around a very picturesque lake. It had some huge homes dotted around its edge so I figured this is where all the wealthy people like to live. I headed back through Country Club and the run had been fairly easy until I hit the 10 mile point. The rest of the run was a long slow climb while I battled against the wind. I was going to do a bunch of strides during the run but there would have been no point against the wind. I settled for doing them during my second run. I got home and did some drills and stretches and chowed down on some granola with a batch of fresh strawberries that I bought yesterday. This put me right to sleep and I woke up 90 minutes later feeling very refreshed. I made some coffee and relaxed for another hour before I headed out for my second run at 1.30pm. I had to get out early as I had a massage at 3pm.

I felt pretty good on the run and broke it up by doing 3 miles in the middle alternating between 100 strides hard and 100 strides easy. This made my legs perk up a bit and feel a little more snappy on the very soft dirt trail I was on. Yesterday's snow didn't really mess too much with Buffalo Park or the trail leading up to it from the house so thats where I did the run.

I quickly got changed, grabbed a bagel and my protein drink and headed downtown to get a massage from Dana. It turned out that I really needed it as my legs felt fine but I mentioned to her that my glutes were feeling a little nervy and so she got right to work. My back was locked up and that was making my glutes tight also so she got right in there with her elbows and forearms and got some really good work done. It was a very tough session for me. Lots of wincing and gritting of teeth but as usual Dana got me to relax so she could ease things out. i left there feeling great and went straight to the store to buy a 20 pound bag of ice so I could take an ice bath. Because our shower runs out of hot water very quickly, I fumbled into some clothes (I could really bend my legs after being in the bath) and drove over to the gym to have a long hot shower. I came out tingling and this felt so good. I got some more groceries on the way back and quickly made some pasta and again we finished off a whole loaf of fresh bread in one go. I managed to finish dinner this time without having to take it in the car with me. Julie and I headed over to church for the Veneration of the Cross (which was a very relaxing and peaceful service) and then drove home to relax for the rest of the night.

4/1/10

Thursday’s Training – Am: 73 mins slow Pm: 63 mins easy

Mileage – 20 Miles

I was pretty tired when I woke up this morning after getting to bed late last night. I waited longer than usual to get the run done as I just wasn’t ready at 8.30am. Another factor was that it snowed a couple of inches last night so I wouldn’t be able to get on any of the trails that I wanted to. I headed to the gym with all intentions of doing a workout there after the run but after I started the run that plan went out the window as I was feeling pretty tired. I headed out from the gym and did my usual 10 mile loop and just used the run as a recovery run. This meant relaxing and just letting my legs turnover rather than pushing the pace. These runs always make me feel better the next day and it was a good idea after the workout I did yesterday. I got back to the car and drove to Safeway to pick up some groceries, Hastings to see if I could rent a dvd, Nau’s Cline library, Sam’s Club to get some bulk groceries and then finally home for some breakfast and a sleep. I made a big breakfast of scrambled egg with mushrooms, red peppers and avocado with a chicken and apple sausage and some bread. I made a little too much and I was stuffed full before I could finish it all. This helped me to pass out pretty quickly and get a good two part nap in (I woke up in the middle but luckily fell back asleep).

This morning's breakfast

When I woke up I noticed that a lot of the snow on the road had melted so that would be good for my second run. I made a big cup of coffee and then practised some piano for a bit. I still wasn’t full of energy before I got ready for my run so I swallowed an energy gel and waited for that to kick in. I headed out the door to be met by not only a strong wind but a cold one. I tuned into Ben in the Mix on my Ipod as that always gets me running a little quicker and I wanted the run to be done so I could get out of the cold. After a couple of slow miles I started to feel good and got into a good rhythm. 10 miles and 63 mins later I was done and getting my drills done. I felt really good and fast on my strides so I was glad that I took it really easy in the morning when I wasn’t feeling good. I headed back into the house and started the dinner of Pork tenderloin, cauliflower and cous cous and then got my stretching done. Julie arrived home as I was doing this and she kept an eye on the food while I took a shower. We had to gobble the food down as we had to get to church for the start of the 3 days leading up to Easter. It was a very interesting service with the priest washing some peoples feet. It was quite emotional as one of the guys I have been going through the RCIA with was overcome with emotion and crying the whole time he was up by the alter. It was a long service so we got back close to 9pm so just relaxed the rest of the evening.

3/31/10

Wednesday’s Training – Am: 8*1 mile with 3 mins recovery @ Lake Mary Rd. 4.53, 4.42, 4.37, 4.47, 4.50, 4.46, 4.49, 4.48. Pm: 57 mins easy

Mileage – 24 Miles

I slept well last night which was great because I needed that if I was going to put a good effort in on the workout. I wanted to feel a lot better than I did and I guess I must be getting pretty fit as I am recovery well, day to day. I checked what the wind was going to be like and sat down on the computer with some coffee and toast. We were meeting at 8am so I left the apartment at 7.30am so I could get a little jog and stretch in before we warmed up for the workout. The wind was definitely blowing from the South West but as I ran out one way it was in my face and then turning around it was in my face again. Once Greg arrived we debated for a while which way we should do the workout or whether we should just do it on one stretch of road and have him drive us back to the start each time. We decided to drive out to the 11 mile mark and just head back to the 3 mile mark (it gets really hilly after that and we wanted to be finishing at a good pace). I would be doing the workout on my own although Paige was doing the same thing for 6 miles and only 2 mins recovery as her workout was more marathon pace orientated and mine was to get the legs moving quickly. I guess you could say it was more of a speed session.

Lake Mary Rd is very undulating and curves around in all sorts of directions. We would be predominantly heading in a North West direction with the hope of taking a little sting out of the wind. We arrived at the start only to find that the first rep was going to be straight into the wind and I was running it I thought I was going to be way over 5 minutes but I was pleasantly surprised to finish in 4.53. I felt very easy and the rep went by quickly so I knew the session wasn’t going to be a grinder today. We managed to catch the wind a little bit on the next rep although as I was approaching the finish it suddenly felt like I had run into a wall as the wind turned around and pushed me back. I knew the next rep was going to be fast as the road curved around and it was slightly downhill. This would be good as it would make my legs a little more tired for the rest of the workout so I would have to concentrate and work hard. Right enough I ran 4.37 and it felt pretty easy. Greg was laughing and saying that I should have no problem 2.04 in London if I keep that pace up. The rest of the reps were much the same apart from the last 2 where my left calf started to tighten a little and they were going to be the hilliest reps. Luckily on the 7^th rep I got a nice push up the hill from the wind and it didn’t seem to take much out of me for the rest of the rep (in recent years I have started to really lose my hill strength so having the feeling back was great). I thought the last rep was all downhill and I could go really fast but once I crested the top of the hill after 400m I noticed that half a mile down the road it started to go up and continue to where Greg had parked. I luckily didn’t know about this as it would have been pretty dejecting before I got on with the rep. I cruised the first 800m and then worked really hard for the remainder of the rep and manage to continue the pace I had been going so I was happy that I finished the workout with all the reps being a solid pace and without hammering my body too much. Greg dropped me off at the 1 mile mark and I ran back to the car and then added on a couple of more mile once I had gotten my bag in the car. I took a trail that I only just noticed for the first time but it meant I was heading straight into the wind and it was nigh on impossible to get any faster than 10 minute miling. Luckily it turned off in the forest and I got a bit of respite and then of course I got to head back out there and run with the wind on the way back. I headed back to the house and finished off my protein drink as I prepared my breakfast. I couldn’t eat a whole lot as I had to get out the door again by 2.20pm for an hour run as I had work at 4pm. I managed to get a good nap in and just relax for an hour before heading out into the gale force winds again.

A little bit of stretching before the start

Long road ahead

In full stride

Mile 4

Mile 5

Finishing up the last rep

Trying to suck some air

All done!

My second run was really, really slow! I had no choice unless I wanted to go inside and onto the treadmill to run as the wind was going to be strong where ever I went. I decided to head up the trail to Buffalo Park and do a couple of loop and head back to the apartment. At one point I came to a total stand still as the wind was like a brick wall. It was probably the best thing for me anyway after the hard running I had done this morning. I got back just in time to have a shower, grab a little food and then head off to work for the evening (starting at 4pm). It turned out to be a long night when my last customer decided that she would just sit and sip her beer for 30 minutes after we closed. I was trying my best not to stared her down and give her a hint that we were closed but my eyes kept glaring over at the bill that I had already presented her. Finally, just as I called Julie to not wait up for me, John (my manager) went over and asked her if we could close her check as we were waiting to close and we could get our paper work done if she did so. Finally she paid and I could do my report. It was a pretty good night for a Wednesday but I was pretty tired as it was later than I would usually stay up. I was going to pop over to the Green Room (Local bar) to say hi to some of my friends but I knew I would be useless as I was getting sleepier and sleepier the longer I stayed up. I finally got back and to the house and fell right asleep once I had gotten ready for bed.