Friday, July 01, 2011

Easy Run

Today was Easy Run day. The plan calls for a pace of (18:08)min./mi. Frankly, that's just walking.


DC Bike Path: Walking, Dist. (5.52)mi. Pace-avg: (17:01)min./mi. Speed-avg: (3.5)mph. Speed-max: (4.8)mph. Burned: (610) Calories.

I walked faster than the plan called for, but it felt good, even if my Garmin kept telling me to slow down. I set the pace for (3.0)mph to (3.5) mph, which was really just right when I actually slowed down to a more casual walking pace. Good job.

Now time for dinner, then maybe drinks downtown.

-Lancer!!

P.S. I wonder, should I be surprised at how many people I pass in the park smoking reefer? I suppose I shouldn't be.

Goals

I have not yet met any of my goals this year, except for running in the Centennial Bay to Breakers. I am still working in the others:

Goal: Weight: (199) lbs. by 30.June.2011. Actual Weight: (202.4) lbs.  Not achieved.
I was closest to this on Sunday, 26.June.2011 at (200.8) lbs. after my Long run of (8)+ miles. Naturally, most of the weight loss in this heat was due to water loss, i.e. sweat. But at least I got really close. I will keep working towards this one for numerous reasons: getting slimmer, remission of acid-reflux (I hope).

Goal: Muscle Tone: Still working on it. I haven't increased weight or resistance during my trips to the gym, but just working out is helping. Actually, increasing the weight used would be increasing strength (and tone, I presume).

Goal: Improve Jogging Performance: OK, this might be working a little bit, but my goal of running (30) continuous minutes by 30.June.2011 has not been reached. Maybe by 31.July.2011, fingers-crossed.

Those are my three (3) short-term goals. (Okay, finding a job and getting hired are also on my list, but those are coming.) The half-marathon goal is still set for 4.December.2011, and the marathon goal is still set for March.2012.

That's all for now. Oh, and Happy July!

-Lancer!!

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Speed Work

Today was a Speed Work day, per my half-marathon training plan. This is the first time I have done anything like this. I need to improve on today's results.

DC Bike Path: Running, Speed Work: Warm-up (1) mi.; Jog (0.99)mi., Recovery walk: (0.49)mi.; repeat; walk home. Distance: (5.42)mi. Pace-avg: (15:47)min./mi. Speed-avg: (3.8)mph. Speed-max: (6.1)mph. Burned: (618) Calories. Kinda' sloppy. Need to lower the speeds on the Jog intervals, possibly the Recovery intervals, too.

So the plan called for this (from: http://smartcoach.runnersworld.com, personalized for me with 4x running days per work):

Today's Workout

Run a total distance of 4 Mi. Your run should include:
- a warm up of about 1 mile at an easy pace
- 2 repeats of 1600 meters each; your time for each repeat should be 15:18
- a 800-meter recovery jog after each repeat
- a cool down of about 1 mile at an easy pace

My splits for this were: [Jog-1] 13:51 min./mi.; [Recovery-1] 14:22 min./mi.; [Jog-2] 15:10 min./mi.;  [Recovery-2] 14:52 min./mi. This seems to be pretty good for my first effort at Speed Work. I need to adjust the Speed ranges in my Garmin for this workout.

Skipping m y two (2) mile run on Tuesday, and ditching out on gym time for my Rest/XT days was clearly a mistake...again. My excuse: the weather shift, including rain, had me a bit discombooberated.

Time for chow.

-Lancer!!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Half-Marathon Man: The Prelude

Early this week I signed up for SmartCoach on Runner's World, the free version, so I can get started on training for a half-marathon in December. Yes, the Vegas night run. I still have not officially signed up yet, but want to get training anyway. I think I will run with Team Challenge, but their organization meeting in my area (SF East Bay is the closest) isn't till August.

Today's plan was an eight (8) mile long run at a pace of (18:02)min./mi. For me, that's walking at a semi-brisk pace:

DC Bike Path: Walk/Jog, (8x). Dist: (8.41)mi. Pace-avg: (16:32)min./mi. Speed-avg: (3.6)mph. Speed-max: (6.2)mph. Burned: (950) Calories. Half-Marathon training: Long Run.

Very hot, but at least I lathered up with sunscreen before-hand. It was about (82)F when I left the house, with about (35)% humidity. Weather data says only (27)% humidity now and (89)F outside. Running in the DC park is usually a bit cooler than elsewhere because of the synergistic cooling effects from the river and the trees along that river. And when I'm passing the golf course, it even cooler. Unless, of course, I am silly enough to run in the middle of the day like I just did. It actually was a bit cooler, and definitely more humid near the river. I had to refill my water bottle at the water fountain on my return leg, where I usually turn around during my other, shorter runs. Cool breeze was the mantra I tried to use to get myself to jog as much as possible after my first three (3) Jog iterations. It helped a wee bit. I only hit "Slow Jog" on the first two (2) Jog iterations, the rest were all in the "Fast Walk" and slower range.

I fully intended to go out earlier this morning around 0700 hrs., or so, but I was waiting too long for my colon, and just put it off too long. C'est la vie. I will of course have to make a better effort at this. Late last year, when I would go out riding in the morning I didn't usually what for the morning sit-down. I would just get up, chug some Gatorade, then hit the trail. Then again, riding my bike is faster than walking, so I try to avoid the possibility of any accidents on the running trail, no matter how frustrating the wait. Too much info? Maybe.

Less than one (1) hour to check in to see if I have Jury Duty in the morning. No jinx! *knock-on-wood*

Today's Weight: (200.8) lbs., post run. Getting closer to my goal. :-)

-Lancer!!

UPDATE: Called in and was told by the machine that I do not have to report for Jury Duty. Well, if you insist.