Mid Week Run 7-30-09

I had to wait until after work to get in a run today. I did a six mile run in the Old Village. I was trying to take advantage of the shade from the large trees, but it was still really hot.

I was going for a slow pace to just get some more miles on my legs this week. I started a little faster than I wanted, but was able to slow it down (9:55, 10:01, 10:07, 10:13, 10:24, 10:30).

I am absolutely going to rest up tomorrow for the long run on Saturday.

Boot Camp - 7-30-09

We finished up the week with another hard day at Boot Camp.

We started off with a group stretch and warm up and then broke into two large groups and went to the track on the roof to do a cadence run. We ran about two miles yelling out cadence the whole way.

After the run, we went to the center of the roof and ran several suicide sprints. Then we got in a box formation and did an upper body and abdominal workout.

We did a sprint around the track and then came back for more. Good workout...

Tempo Run - 7-29-09

Just four runners for the group run this morning. We ran a loop from MUSC around the lower Charleston peninsula.

We all ran the first mile at a slow group pace (12:59) for a nice warm up. I was going to do six miles this morning, but I was not feeling all that well so I decided to just run five. I also wanted to slow down today and just run around marathon pace so I paired up with another runner (Tammy). Her normal pace is (9:30+), but I pushed a little and we stayed under 9:00 for most of the middle three miles (8:55, 8:50, 9:01). We slowed down for a cool down mile at the end (10:54).

This run really felt good. My legs felt great and I could tell that it is getting easier to maintain marathon pace.

It was really fun helping Tammy push her middle three miles. I did not tell her what pace we were running, I just said it was a good pace. At the end of the last fast mile I could tell she was slowing down, so I got next to her and told her we only had a few tenths of a mile left. She was able to dig down and finish strong.

Recovery Run - 7-28-09

I did a six mile recovery run from my office to the Citadel and back. This is my usual route. It was after 12:00pm and near 90 degrees. I was hydrated enough, but it was still a hard run in that heat.

I went out a little fast and tried to slow down each mile to get closer to a recovery pace. It almost looked like I was doing the reverse of a progression run (9:50, 9:39, 9:49, 10:12, 10:17, 10:32). I should have ran the whole six miles a lot slower...

I was still in the sprint mode from this morning's Boot Camp and I actually had to make a concentrated effort to slow down.

http://mooreonrunning.blogspot.com/

Boot Camp - 7-28-09

I keep hearing the Marines yell that this is phase two of Boot Camp. Not sure what that really means other than more pain...

I still look around at everyone wondering what motivates them to keep doing this workout. My wife is doing the evening Boot Camp and I hear her complaining about it every night, but every other morning I see her carefully packing up her workout clothes so she can go to the gym straight from work. Everyone that does this workout knows that they are somewhat crazy. Not everyone can get up in the morning or go out after work and be yelled at by a bunch of Marines (its just not normal).

This mornings workout was not normal. We started on the roof with body bars. We went straight into a warm up and then did stretches. We were then split into two groups.

My group started with a body bar workout. Lots of push ups mixed in, for variety I assume. My arms were killing me at the end.

We moved to the track for what I will now call the "cave of pain" workout. You start on the roof and jog the curves and go down the stairwell to the inside track and sprint the straight section. Then you run up the next stairwell and jog the next curve. This is done over and over until the Marines say stop. I did about two miles of this before we moved back to the center of the roof for more upper body and abdominal exercises.

Once again I was a complete sweaty mess, but this was a fun workout. The "cave of pain" was hard, but doing something different was exactly what I needed to get me motivated again.

It was interesting to hear one of the new Marines explaining why he yells at everyone to get louder when we are counting or sounding off. He was explaining that this is a team effort and that the louder we are the more it motivates others that are having a hard time.

We pay to be yelled at in the early morning or after work in the blazing heat; we yell at each other to motivate the group; we complain about how hard the Marines work us; and we clap at the end if the workout really makes us hurt. Yep, we are all crazy...

http://mooreonrunning.blogspot.com/

Boot Camp - 7-27-09

Another hard day at Boot Camp...

After group stretches and exercises we broke into six groups and ran to the roof.

We did an Indian Run for about two miles. Before we finished the run we did some suicide sprints on the tennis court. After the sprints we finished our run.

After running as a group we lined up for more suicide sprints and lunges. We ended the workout with an upper body workout (mostly from our knees).

http://mooreonrunning.blogspot.com/

Long Run - 14 Miles - 7-10-09

As I was walking out the door at 4:30am, I saw lightning and heard thunder in the distance. I was sure that our run would be canceled... I guess that doesn't happen unless there is a hurricane and only if it is a category four.

I met the running group at St. Andrews in the Old Village. There were six of us (counting Greg - who road his bike). I was all set to run twelve miles when Greg advised Cathy and I that we needed to run fourteen miles today (that was just mean!)...

Our route was over the Cooper River Bridge to Downtown Charleston. This is a great route. It has two steep inclines and a lot of beautiful scenery. After going over the Bridge we went down by the Aquarium, past the Custom's House and then by the Market. On our way back, the sun was rising over the Cooper River.

We ran our first mile as a group at a slow pace (12:41). When we first started we had a visiting runner from Charlotte drop her key and we all tried to help her find it in the dark. Luckily she found it after just a few minutes.

I know I say it all the time, but doing that first mile together and having that time to warm up and socialize really does get you ready physically and mentally for long runs.

After the first mile, three of us stayed together and increased our pace (10:50, 10:49, 10:27, 10:23, 10:31, 10:20, 10:32, 10:25).

My knees always seem to hurt when I run over the bridge, but it was not too bad today. I think I may be getting used to the inclines.

The temperature was already rising by the time we were coming back over the bridge and the rain I was hoping for never fell.

As we came back over the bridge we picked up the pace again (closer to our individual marathon pace). This felt fine, but I slowed down when I got to the Old Village (9:06, 9:10, 9:12, 9:40). I had to go by our start and end point to get in my last two miles (this really sucked). I slowed down on my last mile to cool down (10:37).

After hanging out for a few minutes to talk with the other runners, I went home and took an ice bath. I recommend ice baths for anyone running long distance. It may not feel great while you are freezing in the bathtub, but the payoff is the way your legs feel for the rest of the day.

Boot Camp - 7-23-09

Boot Camp has been over for hours now and I am still sweating! We had an incredible workout this morning.

We started with the normal group stretches and group exercises (with squad push ups thrown in as well).

We broke into ten groups (not by ability). We ran to the roof and there were ten stations. We had to do all the exercises as a group at each station and then run one lap. We ran one lap as a group in cadence and sprinted the next time we did a lap.

Here are three examples of the stations:

10 flutter kicks
10 hello dollies
10 leg lifts

10 push ups
10 wide grip push ups
10 diamond push ups

20 bends and trusts
25 side straddle hops (jumping jacks).

After completing all the stations, we broke into two lines facing each other. Everyone did an exercise and then sprinted to the wall and back.

I was completely worn out after this workout.

http://mooreonrunning.blogspot.com/

Tempo Run - 7-22-09

I waited until late this afternoon to go out for my tempo run. Usually I go out with the group in the morning, but I wanted to sleep in a little.

My pace was slow, it was really hot and humid today. I started with a warm up mile (10:07). Then I ran three miles at a faster pace (9:37, 9:28, 9:29) and slowed down for a cool down mile (10:33).

I went over the Ashley River Bridge and there was a nice breeze coming off the water.

Not a bad run for a sunny afternoon...

http://mooreonrunning.blogspot.com/

Recovery Run - 7-21-09

I tried something a little different for my recovery run today. I was pressed for time and it was late in the afternoon after work so I did five miles around a new neighborhood. Although it has ponds and roads, there are no houses (or many cars).

This was a lot like running on a large track (3/4 mile each time around). I changed directions each mile to make it more interesting.

I started with a warm up mile (10:03) and increased my pace each mile for a progression run (9:42, 9:26, 9:14). I finished with a cool down mile (10:06).

This was a nice run and it was fun to change it up a little from my usual route and pace.

Boot Camp - 7-21-09

Not a lot I can say about Boot Camp today except "Pain and Sweat"!

We started with a quick stretch and then right in to high knees and sprinting in place (with a ton of push ups and other grueling exercises thrown in).

We were split into two groups and my group stayed in the gym for a body bar workout.

After this workout we were told that this was the easy part and we were sent upstairs to the roof.

We lined up in two long lines facing each other. One group would do exercises and the other group would sprint to the wall and back. Sometimes we would have to sprint again if everyone was not moving fast enough.

After what seemed like forever, we went back to the gym and started all over. We ended up going over a few minutes just so we could get in ten more diamond push ups.

This was by far one of the hardest workouts we have done this summer...

Boot Camp - 7-20-09

Besides almost being robbed this morning, Boot Camp was great.

I usually try to keep this blog about my workouts, but this happened right before Boot Camp so it counts.

I decided to fill up my car this morning before getting to the gym. My mistake was picking a gas station that is near the area where half the murders in Charleston have occurred. Well, also deciding to get gas at 5:45am when the lights in the station were not even on.

I pulled up and got out to start pumping gas (there I am holding my wallet for everyone to see).

From out of nowhere, this guy comes up next to me and my car. He asked me to buy him a coke. My first reaction was to say "Damn! You can't just walk up on people like that!". He then asked if I was mad at him and kept reaching for his pockets and grabbing his shirt. The only thing I could think of was to hit the cancel button on the credit card reader. It beeped a couple of times and I said "Well, my card just got declined. I can't even buy gas!". At this point I started walking towards him and he backed up a few steps and I got into my car. The whole time this was going on he was talking about his aunt and mother and how he needed money. I could tell he was working himself up. Anyway, after i got in my car I locked the doors, started it up and took off. The guy was so close to my window I almost hit him.

So why is this part of my workout blog? Because my heart rate was up about 300% right before I started Boot Camp!

At least I was not dragging the first part of the workout. We started with stretches and then did group exercises. We had a new Marine leading us today and I thought he was really good (motivating). We broke into two groups. My group went to the roof and started running. Each time the whistle would blow we had to stop and do exercises (squats, electric chair and bends and thrusts). At one point we were all on one wall doing the electric chair while doing arm circles.

We then went down to the gym and paired up. We had to do sets of squats, push ups and flutter kicks. This was done for seven minutes. The other person counted the sets and ran in place and then we would switch. This is all about putting out as much effort as possible for seven minutes (harder than you might think). Finally, we ended with a bunch of group exercises.

Although my morning events helped me get going, I really do not recommend it for everyone...

http://mooreonrunning.blogspot.com/

Long Run - 7-18-09

Less than 100 days until the Marine Corps Marathon and the training is really starting to get serious.

I woke up this morning at 4:00am and quietly made my way around my dark house. Trying not to wake up my wife and five year old son takes a lot of work. I used my cell phone as a light and tried to be as quiet as possible as I got dressed, drank my water and ate a little food. My cat and dog are not as quite and are pretty anxious for me to feed them each morning. I managed not to trip over my pets or anything else and made it out the door at 4:45am.

The group I run with on Saturdays has really thinned out. Seems that not as many people are interested in waking up this early or running twelve miles. There were only five of us today.

We had decided to run the first couple of miles together and then brake into two groups (six miles at either 10:30+ or 12:30+ pace). For the last four miles everyone would run at their own marathon pace (or close to it).

The first two miles were pretty slow (13:06, 12:43), but being with the group is nice and this was a nice area to run together (we passed two drunk guys in a golf cart coming back from a party and a few people fishing from the pier).

We picked it up for the next six miles (10:40, 10:22, 10:30, 10:35, 10:42, 10:45) and went over to Sullivan's Island. I ran on my own for the last four miles and just wanted to stay near my marathon pace, but not over do it (9:05, 9:09, 9:06, 9:20).

This was a great run through the Old Village and over to Sullivan's Island. The weather was really nice and there was a breeze for most of the run.

Track Workout - 7-17-09

No coach on site, but we still did our track workout.

Today we worked on our marathon pace. This was not a ridiculously hard workout, but it totaled over six miles on the track.

I did the following workout for a marathon pace of 8:50 mile / sub 4:00 hour total:

Recovery was 200 for all distances

1x400 warm up

6x200 (1:06)

4x400 (2:12)

6x800 (4:23)

4x1200 (6:35)

I was able to complete most of the workout, but ran out of time at the end:

1x400 warm up

6x200 (:56, 1:01, 1:01:, 1:03, 1:02, 1:01) - fast, but comfortable.

4x400 (2:01, 2:05, 2:09, 2:09) - still fast, but I was playing with the pace to get it right.

4x800 (4:15, 4:13, 4:13, 4:12) - fast, but constant.

1x1200 (6:17) - too fast, but I was trying to fit it in at the end of the hour.

4x100 (strides) - I added this to wait for the other runners to finish and I wanted to get some speed work in at the end of the workout.

Tempo Run - 7-15-09

I did a five mile Tempo Run in Downtown Charleston this morning. It was a small group of only five runners.

We started with a really slow warm up mile (12:25). My right lower leg has been hurting a little so it was great to have a nice long warm up before we picked it up.

My goal was to just stay under 9:00 pace for the next three miles. I was right under (8:55, 8:56, 8:58). I ran with one other runner for most of the tempo section, but her leg started hurting and she dropped back. I never feel conformable leaving people on a group run. I would rather slow down, but we were close to the end and she said to go ahead - so I did.

I finished with a cool down mile (9:19) and then slowly circled the gym to finish the run. I thought it was a little cooler today, but I think I am just getting used to the high heat.

Boot Camp - 7-14-09

Day two of the return of the Marines...

If yesterday's mission was to make my arms fall off, today's was to make my legs collapse.

We started with group stretches on the roof and apparently we were not loud enough nor could we count very well, so we ended up doing a lot of push ups during the stretches. We finished with some group exercises and then split up into four ability groups.

My group was led by a new Marine instructor. I did not get his name, but I am sure it was something mean sounding.
Our group started with an Indian run on the roof. This was at a fast pace and we did about two miles. At one point we stopped the Indian run and just ran at a fast pace. "New Marine Instructor" was very motivating and was not letting up.

We finished the run and went to the middle of the roof for an arms and abdominal workout. The instructor was using different terms for our exercises and we were messing them up. This made him even more "motivating". We also did group lunges -my group completely screwed up the count and the pace. I think the group wanted to see just how mad we could make the new guy...

Next, we went to the stairwell and started running up and down the stairs. Every time we thought we were finished we would hear "New Marine Instructor" yell at us to start again!

After what felt like a life time we went back to the middle of the roof and finished with more abdominal exercises. I was a complete mess at the end of the workout.

As I walked to my car I found myself thinking "that was a great workout" - sick!

Recovery Run - 7-13-09

I ran a four mile recovery run this afternoon in the Old Village.

I was trying to run slow(10:53), but it was so hot I wanted to finish the run. I ended up running a little faster than I planned (10:12, 10:19, 10:16).

Not sure what happened on the last mile, but I sped up (9:42). I did about half a mile more at a really slow pace.

I like the shorter distance for the recovery run, but it makes me want to go faster.

Boot Camp - 7-13-09

They're back... The Marines were back in force at Boot Camp today. Their mission was apparently to make my arms fall off!

It really does not matter how hard you workout during the Boot Camp breaks because the Marines are going to make you feel like its your first day anyway...

We started with group exercises and then went to the roof and ran on the track. After about half a mile we moved to the middle of the roof and did sprints. After sprints we went back inside to the gym and did a crazy upper body and abdominal workout.

It is amazing what the weight of your own body can feel like when you have your arms elevated doing circles for fifteen minutes.

Long Run - 7-10-09

I over slept this morning and missed the group run... The worst part is that it was the pancake run so I missed pancakes too!

I got up and decided to run from my house to the Isle of Palms and back. This is a real easy route and there are two gas stations that I can stop at if I need more water (which I did).

When I begin a run from my house it is always hard to get started. The nice thing is that when I get back I don't have to drive home.

The pace for today was between 10:00 and 10:30. This is a nice slow pace to help get your body used to sustained effort. I read an article recently that said that every mile you run after five miles improves speed as well as endurance.

I started with a slightly slower first mile to warm up (10:33) and then stayed right on pace for the rest of the run (9:59, 10:09, 10:09, 10:11, 10:06, 10:02, 10:10, 10:13, 10:11).

It started to get pretty hot on the last three miles and I was really drinking a lot of water. I had to stop at a gas station on my last mile to refill my water bottle. I think I am going to use my camel pack for now on.

Track Workout - 7-10-09

There are easy days and there are hard days - this workout definitely falls under hard!

We did the following workout:

1 x 800 warm up

6 x 1000 (under 5k pace - 4:40) - 400 recovery (at marathon pace - 2:13)

1 x 400 cool down (could have been 800, but I was too tired to do another lap)

Running under 5k pace is hard enough, but doing it with little recovery taxed the hell out of me. I had stayed pretty close to my splits (4:41, 4:40, 4:46, 4:47, 4:45) until the last 1000 (5:02).

Trying to get the pace right on the recovery 400's was a little harder. I was trying for 2:13, but was slower on all of them (2:20, 2:30, 2:33, 2:19, 2:18).

I finished with a 400 cool down lap (I think I was supposed to do 800, but there was no way).

I ended up running a total of over five and a half miles around the track. Again, this one goes down as a hard day...

Mid Week Run 7-9-09

The wind was blowing and the rain clouds were hovering, but no storm this afternoon.

This was a great day for a run. I was working on year end numbers and not liking my job that I usually love... I finally made it out the door for my run at about 1:30pm.

I ran out to the Citadel from my office for a six mile run; the weather was great. I had planned on running at a pace of around (9:30). I stayed pretty close (9:20, 9:18, 9:28, 9:31, 9:22, 9:36). I slowed down on the last mile to cool down. The third and forth miles were off a little because of the construction going on in front of the Citadel.

You might think that I would get tired of this route, but it is really nice. There are only a few times I have to cross traffic and the wind is usually blowing in from the ocean. The other thing I like about this route is that it curves. I hate running a route that is so straight that it feels like you are not making any progress.

Mid Week Run 7-8-09

I met up with the Wednesday running group this morning for a five mile run. I had been doing my tempo runs on Wednesdays, but wanted to change it up to be able to run with the group.

We started with a really slow first mile (13:13). Normally I hate running this slow, but when you are with a group it makes it nice to be able to talk with everyone for a while.

I was with three other runners after the first mile and we picked up the pace (8:52). For some reason I thought the group was running a different route and I lost them after two miles (so much for the group run)...

I ended up turning back at the Downtown Market. I was not planning on running fast, but kept the pace up for the next two miles (8:45, 8:47). I finished with a cool down mile (9:40). My mileage was actually about five and a half miles when I got back to MUSC because I screwed up the route so bad. Oh well, it was fun anyway...

Tempo Run - 7-7-09

I ran my Tempo Run in the afternoon for the first time. It was about 1:00pm and around eighty-five degrees.

This was a five mile run and I did my usual route from my office, but this time I went across the Ashley River Bridge on the left side (bad decision)...

I did a slow first mile to warm up (10:10). I picked it up for the middle three miles (8:31, 8:40, 8:32). Mile three was a little off because I ran out of sidewalk on the other side of the bridge and had to run in the grass next to speeding cars (that was fun). I finished the run with a slow cool down mile (10:56).

I was shooting for 8:32 pace, so I was pretty happy considering the heat.

Boot Camp - 7-7-09

It is so easy to come up with excuses not to workout. As I tried to drag myself out of bed this morning I must have come up with at least a hundred.

I'm too tired, I can do it later, I don't really need to workout today, I love this bed, Its Tuesday, Its too cold, Its too hot...

Well, I got up anyway and went to Boot Camp. I made it there a little late and was completely harassed by the group as I walked in (loved it). I looked around and saw how many other people were there and wondered how many of them had thought of the same excuses, but had come anyway...

We kept our heart rates up today. We started with a group stretch and then a warm up run around the track (little over one mile). We went back to the gym and did group exercises. After each exercise we ran in place. The workout was non stop and my heart rate stayed elevated the whole sixty minutes.

After the workout I felt great (tired, but great). I thought about the excuses I came up with this morning. They were the same excuses I used for years to stay in bed or sit on the couch. The difference is that now I have a mental list of why I get up each day.

When I remind myself of the reasons I do this crazy stuff, it makes it easy to get out of bed.

http://mooreonrunning.blogspot.com/

Recovery Run - 7-6-09

After the Boot Camp session this morning I needed a recovery run...

I ran four miles out and back to the Ashley River Bridge from my office this afternoon. My legs felt like rubber. I think the run this weekend and Boot Camp really beat me up.

I was trying to run a slow recovery pace today (10:53), but I ran a little too fast (9:56, 10:19, 10:05, 10:13). It is really hard to get your body adjusted to running slow after you have been building up to run under 8:00 mile pace.

My running schedule for July has changed slightly.

Monday - four mile recovery run

Tuesday - five mile tempo run

Wednesdays - five mile group run

Thursday - six mile run

Friday - track workout

Saturday - long run (ten to twelve miles)

Sunday - rest

With Boot Camp that should keep me near forty miles per week. Seems like a lot until you start reading Runner World and see how many miles those crazy people are doing...

Boot Camp - 7-6-09

Even with the Marines taking a break, Boot Camp is still going strong. We had a great workout this morning with about thirty people.

We started with a half mile warm up. After that we did a sprint/body bar exercise workout:

1 lap - 30 bench press

1 lap - 30 overhead press

1 lap - 30 curls

This was done at our own pace. The laps were done at sprint speed. I was able to do ten laps/exercises in the first twenty minutes.

We did a five minute cool down jog and then started a sprint/ab workout:

3/4 lap - 15 crunches

3/4 lap - 15 flutter kicks

3/4 lap - hello dolly's

This was also done at our own pace. The 3/4 laps were done at sprint speed. I did eleven laps/exercises in the last fifteen minutes.

I did a total of about three miles at fast pace and worked my upper body and abs. Can't ask for more than that!

Long Run / Race - 7-4-09

I ran the Kernersville, NC, July 4th - 5k today. I did a mile warm up (10:45) and three miles after the race (10:30+) to work in a total of seven miles for my long run.

The race was great! There were four hundred and seventy runners and it was very well organized. They had timing chips, but I hate the ones that only time your finish. This really does nothing for you if you are not at the front when the race starts.

I have never run a race with so many hills. Even the bridge runs that I have done haven't had this many inclines.

The race started at 8:30am. It was about eighty degrees. The first mile started out flat for about one hundred yards and then shot up a hill. The rest of the course was about the same. The fun part was that hundreds of people from the town were lining up on Main Street to see the parade after the race was over. It was so awesome to have all those people cheering us on as we ran up and down hills through their beautiful downtown main street.

The route was almost an out and back. The turn around was a really steep incline. The finish was a big up hill and then a down hill sprint to the finish line. That was fun!

I finished the race in 23:55. That was close to a personal best and when you figure in the hills it probably was one of my best races.

Tempo Run - 7-1-09

I ran my Tempo Run at noon today. It was pretty hot to be trying to run fast, but I slept in this morning and needed to get it in.

I ran from my office to the Citadel stadium and back. I started with a relatively slow pace and worked my way up (9:36, 8:40, 9:11). I slowed in the middle and then increased the pace again (9:41, 8:46). I finished with a slow cool down mile (10:12).

I am traveling to North Carolina tomorrow and will be running a 5k this weekend near Winston-Salem, so I am not planning on running much for the next few days.

Only 115 more days until the Marathon. I guess I can handle a small break.