Wednesday, November 21, 2012

The Road to my next PR..

After my lessons learned at the SA Marathon, I am back to the drawing board, and will continue my previous training.  Yesterday, kicked things off with a stellar Hill workout.  Started the day with a nice 2 mile run, a little faster than marathon pace as my warm-up.  Ran to Abottsbury Hill which is about a 6% incline and a mountain of a hill. 
The workout was to run up the hill as fast as possible within a minute, and when the minute was done, turn back around and jog down.  At the bottom of the hill, I would return (walking) back to the start and go again.  Each round was about 3:15 including my 45 second walk to bring my HR back down.
This drill was performed 10X, yes 10 times.  Not fun, but an amazing workout and my calves were on fired.
After the last hill, I ran up for one minute and 15 seconds, and then walked one light pole (about 50 Meters) to the next and ran the next pole, etc for 3-4 poles.  At the top of the hill (about 1/2 mile) I began to jog again, and the road was pretty flat.  Took me a few minutes to get my legs from under me, but once I did, i felt great. 
Normally I run a 8:45-:9:30 pace, but on my way back I was keeping a stead 8-8:25 pace.   Feeling good and confident I finished off my last run. 
Total workout was 1:15 minutes and covered 7 miles.  Burnt 1164 calories and my average HR was 156, with a Hight of 194. 
Today is a 3000 yard swim and some CrossFit.. Lets see what happens before the Turkey Day.

Onward.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

San Antonio Rock N Roll, Live and Learn

As an athlete you are taught not to do anything race day you have not done in training.  lesson Learned and a perfect example.  for weeks I had trained for my SA Rock N Roll half marathon, and was hoping to PR.  Everything was set and ready to complete my third PR in as many events.
Race day came, and unlike most practices I decided to take an energy drink (All natural) that i had never taken before a race.  In addition, in all my runs, I had eliminated my need for GU as I had not been drinking coffee but Green Tea instead.
Yep, first mistake...
As we took off for the first mile, I felt a stitch, right away.. Fought through the stitch and just dealt with it.  Was feeling really good, and times were a little better than the plan.  Mile 2, 3, 4.... came and went and was feeling strong.  Hills were fine, and was cruising.  Began to pick up speed every mile-just like the plan.
Then, boom....... Mile 10 came and began to have an upset stomach, but never like anything I had experienced.  my tummy felt as if I had to vomit, and every step I took got harder and harder.  Eventually at about 10 1/2 i could not take it anymore and I decided to walk.  This is when the wheels came off.  I felt as if i had hit a wall altough my legs and mind were fine.  The pain was bad, but I fought through it due to proper training.
I ended up finishing the race, but sure did add time to my finish.  Went from a pace to a killing of my last PR to still a PR, but not what I wanted.
Lessons we learn, and at the 3M, I plan on following the plan 100%.... Here is to my next PR.

Onward.