Marathon Training: Week One Two
Kickoff for the Fall Run season was about two weeks ago. Kickoff is always fun to feel the nervous energy in the room... Little did I know that so much of it would be coming from the run-team staff. We signed up at least 7 of the Peninsula staff to join the Ironteam in 2007!
The day after Kickoff, we (the Ironteam coaches) made an early-morning trip up to Santa Rosa to support the Team at the Half-Vineman. Dan showed up at 4:15 (15 minutes later than scheduled)... See what I mean about early?? Few hours of sleep, and sitting around in the sun all day don't lend itself to a great workout day... Guess I'll start tomorrow.
Tomorrow came and went. Tuesday I got in a quick spin with the Ironteam. Wednesday passed without much training. Thursday was the first track workout. I woke up that morning having not slept much, and feeling kinda "blah." I stayed home from work, but felt OK enough to catch the workout. Nice workout, we ran about 1/2 mile and did some core strength. Friday morning came like a ton of bricks. Sick. Sniffly, sore throat, slight fever. I went to the workout on Saturday morning because I thought it would make me feel better. Nope. Ran 2 miles and slept most of the next two days.
Just like that - week 1 of my Marathon training was gone. I ran about 2.5 miles.
Week two was much better.
Monday afternoon I went to the gym, got in a 30 min spin, and my "short" weight workout. I felt pretty strong, and kept my heartrate in a good zone.
Tuesday morning I hit Rancho. I didn't make it in time for the buddy run, but went for my own- The schedule called for 60-90 mins. I ran up Upper Wildcat, reaching the top in 45 mins - which is a little slow for me, but not too bad. I shortened the run a bit, coming down the front. I got a bit tired and walked most of the last mile - guess I'm not "totally" recovered from the cold. When I got to work, I looked at the schedule and it said 30-60 minutes! Oh well, I guess I'm an overachiever.
Wednesday was an "off" day for me - we had our last Ironteam track workout of the year, followed by our Sendoff/Logistics meeting. A late night with not much to eat. I'd pay for it the next day.
Thursday at lunch I had my weekly training session with Jimmy. He could tell I was feeling tired - so we did a fairly slow workout - but it still included five sets each of squats and deadlifts. Track was going to be interesting. As it turned out, I felt pretty good - legs not too tired, except during Mark's squat and lunge workout. Fatiguing muscles is a good thing!
No time to run on Friday morning, so at lunch I hit the gym. I decided to try the "video game" style stationary bike. It was actually really good. As you ride along, it shows you the scenery and other riders. Even the silly computer-generated terrain was enough to keep me interested. I even found myself wanting to stand up when I went up the hills!
Saturday's team run at Sawyer Camp felt great. Warmup, stretch, then a 6-miler. I trudged along at my LSD pace. I ran the last mile with Coach Mark and discussed pacing strategies. I'm hoping to break out of the pattern I've built with five years of Ironman training. He gave me some ideas, but first I need to come up with a goal pace for my marathon.
Hmmm... My best Marathon time was just under 6 hours, at Ironman Canada in 2003. I should be able to beat that... but by how much??
The day after Kickoff, we (the Ironteam coaches) made an early-morning trip up to Santa Rosa to support the Team at the Half-Vineman. Dan showed up at 4:15 (15 minutes later than scheduled)... See what I mean about early?? Few hours of sleep, and sitting around in the sun all day don't lend itself to a great workout day... Guess I'll start tomorrow.
Tomorrow came and went. Tuesday I got in a quick spin with the Ironteam. Wednesday passed without much training. Thursday was the first track workout. I woke up that morning having not slept much, and feeling kinda "blah." I stayed home from work, but felt OK enough to catch the workout. Nice workout, we ran about 1/2 mile and did some core strength. Friday morning came like a ton of bricks. Sick. Sniffly, sore throat, slight fever. I went to the workout on Saturday morning because I thought it would make me feel better. Nope. Ran 2 miles and slept most of the next two days.
Just like that - week 1 of my Marathon training was gone. I ran about 2.5 miles.
Week two was much better.
Monday afternoon I went to the gym, got in a 30 min spin, and my "short" weight workout. I felt pretty strong, and kept my heartrate in a good zone.
Tuesday morning I hit Rancho. I didn't make it in time for the buddy run, but went for my own- The schedule called for 60-90 mins. I ran up Upper Wildcat, reaching the top in 45 mins - which is a little slow for me, but not too bad. I shortened the run a bit, coming down the front. I got a bit tired and walked most of the last mile - guess I'm not "totally" recovered from the cold. When I got to work, I looked at the schedule and it said 30-60 minutes! Oh well, I guess I'm an overachiever.
Wednesday was an "off" day for me - we had our last Ironteam track workout of the year, followed by our Sendoff/Logistics meeting. A late night with not much to eat. I'd pay for it the next day.
Thursday at lunch I had my weekly training session with Jimmy. He could tell I was feeling tired - so we did a fairly slow workout - but it still included five sets each of squats and deadlifts. Track was going to be interesting. As it turned out, I felt pretty good - legs not too tired, except during Mark's squat and lunge workout. Fatiguing muscles is a good thing!
No time to run on Friday morning, so at lunch I hit the gym. I decided to try the "video game" style stationary bike. It was actually really good. As you ride along, it shows you the scenery and other riders. Even the silly computer-generated terrain was enough to keep me interested. I even found myself wanting to stand up when I went up the hills!
Saturday's team run at Sawyer Camp felt great. Warmup, stretch, then a 6-miler. I trudged along at my LSD pace. I ran the last mile with Coach Mark and discussed pacing strategies. I'm hoping to break out of the pattern I've built with five years of Ironman training. He gave me some ideas, but first I need to come up with a goal pace for my marathon.
Hmmm... My best Marathon time was just under 6 hours, at Ironman Canada in 2003. I should be able to beat that... but by how much??
