Long time, no see - I bin bizzy.... :D
So, where did we last leave off?
Healthy Eating
I haven't lost any weight but I haven't gained any weight either - so that's a good thing. I've been eating vegetarian at least 4 days a week and other than the glut of halloween candy, I'm doing fairly well with eating in general. Always room for improvement though.
Core Strength Training
I still pretty much suck at being consistent at this so far. I've done a solid session at the gym for the last two Saturdays, including some cardio in the pool, rowing, or the bike at the gym. However, as I continue to struggle with getting a decent sleep, I find it difficult to do any kind of workout after school. My plan is (was) to go to the gym after work on the days I don't run but every week, something has blocked me - either a 3-4 hour sleep the night before, a late meeting, or too many errands. I will continue to work on this.
Running
Over the past three weeks, I've had some real success with running.
* I've run 3 times a week, for 3 weeks
* I've been able to do some hilly routes on my week day routes without feeling injured the next day.
* I've built up to running 9-12km every Sunday and I'm now at the point where I don't feel like my legs are lead for the half the run.
Here's what I ran for the past 3 weeks
Oct. 17-23 > Tues 30 min, Fri 30 min, Sun 60 min (17.7 km)
Oct. 24-30 > Wed 35 min, Fri 45 min, Sun 75 min (22.2 km)
Nov 1-6 > Tues 45 min, Fri 58 min, Sun 75 min (26.8 km)
Marathon Plans
I've been looking around at a lot of marathon training plans, primarily at the long runs. There are many options out there. I don't want to be coached for this - I find I have to keep asking coaches to change things - it's easier for me to tweak a plan myself. I generally don't have any trouble with having the self-discipline to do the runs (not true for other training tho).
Things I'm looking for:
* Running only 3 days a week, with cross training on alternate days
* Slow build of the long run with plenty of recovery weeks
* A possibility of some hill work because Vancouver marathon has some hills
* Adjustable to my life, snow/ice, work, and my breakable body
I have found a few plans out there that fit the bill but the other day I was chatting with Stuart from the Quadrathon Podcast (which I happen to be co-hosting for the next little while - check it out!) and he was telling me a little about the Furman FIRST program which he has successfully followed a few times.
I remember looking at it in the past and being concerned that the three fairly challenging runs per week might be too much for me. However, given that I can now successfully run hills without having to walk, and I've managed to recover from my last two races without injury, I think perhaps I might be ready to try a modified version of the Furman program.
My Current Plan
Right now, my plan is to run 45 min twice a week, at least once with hills, and then run 1:15 every Sunday until mid December. I want to get my legs used to running that distance (about 25-30 km per week) and feel good doing it.
I am going to run a fun 10k race at the end of November, and treat it like a mid-long tempo run. Then I plan to start my marathon training on this base.
The Furman plan calls for 3 key runs per week.
Tues - Track workout with 400m - 1600m repeats
Thurs - Tempo run of some sort with warm up and cool down
Sun - Long run (usually marathon pace plus 5-40 sec per km - it varies)
I am basing my paces on a conservative 27:30 5km time.
It gives me a marathon pace of 6:21/km (10:13 mile)
Don't get my wrong, I'm not expecting to be able to run a full marathon at that pace, but that's the training numbers I will use, so long as I am feeling ok. Most of the long runs are based on this pace plus a number of seconds per km.
Short Tempo - 5:21/km (8:36 mile)
Mid Tempo - 5:41/km (9:08 mile)
Long Tempo - 5:59/km (9:37 mile)
I know I can do the long run at those paces, and I tried the tempo run on Friday and felt ok. I think I'll probably skip the track workout until I've got lots of endurance, assuming I'm not teetering on injury.
I also plan to stretch out the 16 week plan over 20 weeks with a few repeat weeks and recovery weeks thrown in for good measure. I want to build up a bit slower than they suggest.
Should be interesting....
Concerns
* I'm not sure how to do specific paces when I'm running hills.
* I'm not sure how to keep to specific paces when I'm running on snow or ice in the winter.
When in doubt, I'll go by my Heart Rate. :)
I guess I'll figure it out as I go. :)
Kelownagurl: Off and Running in all Directions
2 comments:
Hi Barb,
your blog is always an interesting read!
Re. your plans for the marathon training, hills etc. here are some thoughts:
- three runs a week is really cutting it close for your marathon (my rule of thumb: you have to cover the marathon distance within the week to get enough endurance)
- the FIRST program gives you three (relatively) hard sessions and thus manages to give you a large enough load .. it won't work unless you follow the sessions pretty closely
- maybe it'll be more manageable for you to add a fourth run, skip the track sessions and instead add in some strides or accelerations on the downhill parts during the easier runs to increase leg speed, turnover etc.
- if you're running a lot of hills .. normally just forget about them and run on effort/HR, but this makes running at a certain pace pretty tricky (not a problem for long runs)
- in your situation, I'd suggest to try to find a relatively level route for "tempo" session, but run the hillier routes in your long run
Just some stuff to think about! Enjoy your training
Thorsten
I think the plan is good, even with modifications, as long as your marathon goal is just a ball-park (and to set training paces). Note that "long tempo" pace is not the same as "long run" pace, which will usually be slower than MP.
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