Track Workout - 9-30-09

The last day of September! I can not believe how fast summer went by this year...

My son was having trouble sleeping last night (he has a sinus infection) and jumped in my bed at 4:00am. He had just fallen asleep when my alarm went off. I decided to sleep in and do my track workout in the afternoon. I was really bummed about missing the workout this morning, it was in the mid fifties this morning and I love the track!

I made it to the track at lunch time and started with a warm up and then did Yasso 800's.

1 x 800 warm up

8x 800 (3:53) active rest (same amount of time)

1 x 800 cool down

My times were fast, but I could not help it. I was feeling great. The weather was nice and I get pumped when I am running on a track (should have ran track in high school - no I hated running in high school...).

I am not sure what happened on the first 800, but I was thinking the pace was much faster and I did it in (3:15). The rest of my splits were much better (3:35, 3:41, 3:39, 3:40, 3:35, 3:41, 3:41). I could have done more, but I ran out of time and had to get back to work.

Only 24 more days until the Marine Corps Marathon! Click here to donate to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.

Tempo Run - 9-29-09

What a difference temperature can make on a run. It was beautiful this morning. The temperature was around sixty degrees and just felt awesome!

I met up with three other runners in Downtown Charleston for a five mile tempo run. Cutting the mileage back also made a huge difference. We did an out and back from the MUSC Wellness Center to the Charleston Battery.

We started with a group warm up mile (11:56). After that we picked it up and ran the next three miles at a pretty fast pace (7:41, 7:45, 8:05). We slowed down for a cool down mile at the end (11:32).

This was a nice tempo run and it felt great running this morning. If the weather is like this (or cooler) for the marathon, I will have no problem hitting my time.

Only 25 days until the Marine Corps Marathon - Please click here to donate to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.

Recovery Run - 9-27-09

I felt like running tonight so I did my four mile recovery run. It was after 8:30pm so the weather was nice, but it was pretty dark outside. My wife insisted that I wear a reflector vest.

The biggest difference in running at night and in the morning is dealing with everything you ate and drank all day. This is why I don't like running night time races.

Anyway, I was only running a slow recovery pace so it was not bad at all (10:18, 10:35, 10:35, 10:40). I got back home took a shower and felt really good. I am planning on getting up in the morning for Boot Camp so I am going to make this entry short.

Please check out my fund raiser page at: Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund

Race - 8k - 9-26-09

The group I train with, Charleston Runs, ran an 8K (5 mile) race today. After the week I had, I was a little nervous heading into this race. I rested on Friday and I was hoping that it would help my legs feel a little stronger.

The race was the Carolina Children's Charity 8K held in Hanahan, South Carolina. The temperature was nice, but humid, and there was a nice turnout for the race. We ran a warm up mile as a group and then made our way to the starting line.

The course was actually hilly (very strange for our area). It mostly wound around neighborhoods and was close to the railroad tracks.

I started a little too fast (7:20), but got into a rhythm pretty fast (7:47). I slowed a little on the way back (8:20), but got it back together and finished strong (8:10, 8:03). My final time was 39:40 and it was good enough for second place in my age group!

I had to leave to go coach my son's football team, so after the game I checked my voicemail and found out I had placed. I was totally stoked!

What a great confidence booster for my last few weeks of training before the Marine Corps Marathon.

http://mooreonrunning.blogspot.com/

Mid Week Run - 9-24-09

I got up this morning and ran six miles.

I ran down Coleman, over Shem Creek, and back to my house. The weather was nice, but already getting hot. My legs were still feeling like rubber. I think it may take another few days to get back to full speed.

My pace was pretty good. I started and ended slow and just tried to relax and enjoy the run over Shem Creek (10:42, 842, 8:40, 9:08, 8:55, 9:57).

It was a better run than I had on Tuesday afternoon. I felt better afterwards and will just rest on Friday and see how the 8k goes on Saturday.

http://mooreonrunning.blogspot.com/

Tempo Run - 9-22-09

What a disaster!

I had planned on waking up at 4:00am and running near my house (my wife is on call, so I wanted to be close to the house and back early enough in case she got called in to work).

Well, 4:00am came and went, 5:00am went by as well. I ended up waking up at 6:00am and I decided I could run at lunch.

My morning was crazy at work and I finally broke away for my run after 12:00pm. When I checked the temperature at noon it was under eighty degrees so I figured it would be warm, but bearable. What I did not know was that the remnants of Hurricane Fred were causing all kinds of crazy weather in our area and by the time I was done with my run it would be near ninety degrees.

I was planning on doing a ten mile tempo run (Downtown to the Citadel and back). I started with a warm up mile from my office down Broad Street and up East Bay Street (10:00). Right away, I could tell it was hotter than I thought it was going to be. Even the tourist were sweating.

My next three miles were OK, but I was slowing down pretty fast (8:46, 8:52, 9:00). After my fourth mile I got really hot and my legs just died on me (10:34, 10:38, 9:54). I don't know if it was the heat or my legs were just tired from my long run on Saturday, but I could not get it together to move any faster. I ran one more mile (10:40) and cut my run short at eight miles.

I got back to my office, took a shower and felt like crap. I took in a lot of fluids and started feeling better, but this had to be one of my worst runs.

I waited a day to write this blog entry because I did not even want to think about it. I am just going to rest today. One thing is for sure, until it really cools down around here I am going to make sure I run in the mornings.

I figure this is just part of running. Sometimes you have great days and sometimes your plans just don't pan out. It's still one hundred percent better than the way I felt before I started running...

Boot Camp 9-21-09

I was happy to get back to Boot Camp this morning. It was a hard workout, but not as crazy as the last two weeks. I was glad that it was back to normal Boot Camp. OK, OK, it was somewhat normal (civilian adults getting yelled at by Marines at 6:00am is not so normal to begin with, but at least I could understand what we were supposed to do)...

We did group stretches and then warm up exercises (someone came in late so we had to do extra push ups). We were split into two large groups. My group was split into three ability groups and sent to the roof to run Indian Sprints around the track. I went in the middle group so I would not over do it after my long run on Saturday.

I love doing Indian runs. I get to sprint and do some of my recovery run at the same time. We ended up covering about two miles. After our run we went back to the gym and did a body bar workout, another one of my favorites. My arms were burning after this workout.

Both groups formed up in the gym for an abdominal workout at the end. It was a nice workout.

http://mooreonrunning.blogspot.com/

Long Run - 22 Miles - 9-19-09

I had two goals for my long run this weekend: finish the twenty two miles and not cramp up during or after the run.

Every time I have run over eighteen miles I have cramped up in my calves (sometimes it was just slightly, but it still hurts). This week I spent a lot of time preparing for the run. Other than the runs I did during the week, I treated it as if I was about to a marathon. I stayed hydrated all week, especially Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I ate three bananas a day all week. I also started drinking coconut water (water not milk).

I can not say enough about coconut water. I had to get the flavored kind, but it really has worked well for me. It has a ton of potassium and very few calories. I drank it all week and then loaded up on it on Friday and then Saturday morning.

We started with four runners (Andrew, Cathy, Elizabeth and myself). Our coach (Greg) had us run around the Old Village for about four slow miles before we headed towards the Cooper River Bridge (11:47, 11:35, 11:12, 10:41). We got out on Coleman Blvd and ran down to the bridge where we stopped at the water fountain and refilled our water (10:31, 10:26, 11:36). After our quick stop, we ran under the bridge past the new park and then ran by ION and to Bowman where we stopped for water again (10:47, 10:39, 10:55, 10:31). We ran up to Hwy 17 and around the back side of the Towne Center and over the Isle of Palms Connector Bridge(10:29, 10:56, 10:27, 10:20, 10:39). Once again, our pace over the bridge was faster than while we were on a flat area (not sure what is up with that). We stopped again to refill our water (I filled up my bottle with water and a little Power Aid) I also drank some coconut water. This was a quick stop and we headed off towards Sullivan's Island. We crossed Breach Inlet and then went over the Ben Sawyer Bridge and ended the run back in the Old Village (10:20, 10:24, 10:31, 10:26, 10:28, 10:30).

I could have run another mile to St. Andrews, but I was really happy about not cramping and how good I felt. I am a little superstitious and did not want anything bad to happen on this run (its my last really long run before the marathon) so I jumped in the back of Coach Greg's truck and headed back to my car.

I really felt good about the run. I could have been really hardcore and gone on with Andrew and Cathy for the extra mile at the end, but I am really happy with reaching the two goals I had set. The pace was right on the mark and my hydration plan worked I can't ask for more than that...

Mid Week Run - 9-17-09

Thirty Seven days left until the Marine Corps Marathon. It seems so close! Oh and only two more days until my twenty two mile run...

Today I did a quick seven miles out to the Citadel and back to my office. I was trying to keep it easy and just work on my marathon pace. It was a little hot out this afternoon, so I slowed down a little in the middle (9:11, 8:56, 9:12, 9:15, 9:29, 8:56, 8:54). I also slowed way down for my cool down mile (11:05).

It was hotter than I thought it was going to be. I really wanted to keep it easy so I would not over do it before I ran my long run this weekend.

So now that I only have a few weeks left until the marathon I am going to start adding the link to my fund raising page. I am trying to raise money for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.

Track Workout - 9-16-09

This morning I was back at the track for a really cool workout (Yasso 800's). It's supposed to get you ready for a predicted marathon time (click here for a link to an article from Runners World).

This is kind of crazy, but the creator of this workout (Bart Yasso) has tried it out on a lot of runners with varying ability (near two hours to over four hours marathon times).

Basically, this is an eight hundred meeter repeat workout. You get your splits by converting your predicted marathon time from hours and minutes to minutes and seconds (three hours and fifty three minutes becomes three minutes and fifty three seconds). The rest period between the repeats should be about the same time as your 800 splits.

This is the workout I did this morning:

1 x 1200 warm up

6 x 800 (3:53) (rest - still moving around - same time as split)

1 x 1200 cool down

The goal is to work up to doing 10 x 800 hitting all of your splits.

After my warm up I did my first 800 right on pace, but I found that I was getting faster on each of the remaining 800's (3:53, 3:44, 3:41, 3:42, 3:39, 3:32). I'm guessing that if I tried to finish this workout with four more 800's my splits would have been slower.

I really liked this workout. Knowing that I can hit those splits was a good confidence booster for me (I need all the positive reinforcement I can get). With my twenty two mile run just days away, I am trying to ensure that I am ready both physically and mentally.

http://mooreonrunning.blogspot.com/

Boot Camp - 9-15-09

My wife's recap of Boot Camp was so good last night that I had to go this morning to get my own torture...

I am still getting used to the new Marines and their way of doing things. We started with group stretches and then a quick warm up. We broke up into two groups. My group went to the track on the roof and started running. We ran at a fast tempo until the Marines yelled stop and gave us an exercise to do. We repeated this for a while. I was able to run about one and a half miles before we headed back downstairs.

Once our group made it downstairs we did max effort sets of exercises (short rests in between). I like this workout because you can really push yourself. I made a point to help a new person with squats (it kills me to see someone doing squats when their back in going forward).

We ended the workout as a full group. Out of nowhere comes this new Marine. I can't remember the last time I dropped to the floor and jumped back up that many times. I really don't know what he was saying, buy I kept yelling YES SIR!

http://mooreonrunning.blogspot.com/

Recovery Run - 9-13-09

I ran a four mile recovery run today at the track. We only ran ten miles yesterday so I decided to get my recovery run in today instead of Monday so I could go to Boot Camp in the morning.

My, now six year old, son Peyton came with me. I love when he come to the track with me! He brought his football and soccer ball and played on the field while I ran on the track.

I did four slow miles for my recovery (10:14, 10:18, 10:06, 9:34). The only reason the last mile was faster was because I did some strides in the middle and my son wanted to run with me on the last two laps (he has not figured out pacing yet).

I finished up with a walk around the track with my son. He made a few stops to do chin ups when we passed the bars and then he dribbled the soccer ball down the field twice. He said he is now ready for the Marine Corps One Mile Kids Run!

http://mooreonrunning.blogspot.com/

Long Run - 10 Miles - 9-12-09

I was able to sleep in until 4:30am this morning. We pushed our long run back to 5:30am. Wow, I am so refreshed...

We had another great morning for a run. There were about eight runners in our group, including a guy from Texas who was visiting the Charleston area.

We started with a slow warm up mile (12:45) and then three of us broke off for a faster pace (9:46). One of the runners dropped off at mile two and that left Andrew and I for the rest of the eight miles. We picked up the pace and tried to keep it near marathon pace for the rest of the run (8:58, 8:51, 8:40). We stopped to refill our water at the turn around point (9:10). We picked up the pace again as we were heading back (8:58, 8:52, 8:45). We ended with a cool down mile (10:00). The nice thing about today was that on our way back the pace seemed slow, but we were right on pace.

As we ran across the Ben Sayer Bridge to Sullivan's Island all I could think of was that it was another beautiful day to run in the Lowcountry...

Track Workout - 9-9-09

Track workouts and cool weather rock! For someone that loves to run long distance, its funny how much I love to hit the track.

Here is the workout we did this morning:

1 x 800 warm up
6 x 200 (:54) - 100 recovery
6 x 300 (1:21) - 200 recovery
5x 400 (1:49) - 300 recovery
1 x 800 cool down

This was about five miles total. The recovery distance was to be done in the same time as the running distance.

I was hitting all my splits and all of the stiffness I had felt the day before was gone:

200 (:54, :54, :55, :54, :52, :52)
300 (1:18, 1:19, 1:21, 1:21, 1:21, 1:20)
400 (1:46, 1:50, 1:49, 1:48, 1:38)

That last 400 was a little fast because I was running with another person. I finished up with an 800 cool down and was really happy with the workout. I felt tired, but good tired...

http://mooreonrunning.blogspot.com/

Recovery Run - 9-8-09

My schedule this week has been way off. I did not get a chance to do my recovery run on Monday (too busy on the Holiday) and I went to Boot Camp on Tuesday morning so no tempo run. I decided to go for an afternoon run and just do six miles.

It was mostly a recovery run, but I threw in some strides to work in a little speed. In a book I am reading "Run Faster" there is a section about sprints and strides. The simple version is that Sprints are all out speed and Strides are fast but not all out (very simplified).

I ran a slow mile (10:01) and then did strides in the middle of the next mile (8:52). I slowed down for a recovery mile (10:20) and then ran strides on the grass for part of the next mile (9:08). On the way back I did a recovery mile (9:53) and then ran strides in the middle of the last mile (9:08). Most of the miles ended up being pretty slow, but doing the strides in the middle felt good and helped get rid of the stiffness I was feeling from the long run and Boot Camp.

Boot Camp - 9-8-09

Boot Camp started again this morning. We have new Marines running it this time around and they brought friends for the first day...

The first day of Boot Camp is always full of yelling. It takes a few days before you figure out exactly what the Marines want you to do. Today I got screamed at for looking over at the instructor during push ups. Last year I would have been screamed at for not looking at the instructor during push ups...

We did a combination of stretching and warm up exercises to get started. Then the new people were separated for Beginner Boot Camp and the rest of us headed to the roof. There are about 140 people in this session so you never want to be last.

We ran some laps for a while and then formed up on the tennis courts for push ups and other upper and lower body exercises. We did this for a while and then ran more laps. We did this until the end of Boot Camp. I had to leave about five minutes early to get home so I am not sure if there was more torture after I left.

Am I glad that I skipped my tempo run to make it to Boot Camp? Sure. I love being around everyone at the gym. The Marines are very motivating and knowing that you can make it through one of their workouts makes it easier to push through walls when you are running for hours and hours.

http://mooreonrunning.blogspot.com/

Long Run - 20 Miles - 9-5-09

On Saturday I ran my long run. It was a twenty mile run from Mount Pleasant to Downtown Charleston and back. The route took me through some of the most historic areas of both towns and over the Cooper River Bridge.

Overall, I did OK on the this run. I realized at the end of the run that I had not fueled my body well enough prior to the run and I had not taken in enough fuel during the run. I am glad I learned this lesson on a long run and not during the Marine Corps Marathon.

We started with a slow warm up mile through the Old Village with the whole group (13:33). Did I mention that before we started running I helped some drunk girl move her car out of the road? Well, I guess that can be counted in my warm up.

From the Old Village we headed down Coleman Boulevard (10:43, 10:44). There were four of us running together at this point. We started up the Cooper River Bridge and for some crazy reason we picked up the pace as we went up (10:22, 10:20). At the bottom of the bridge we filled up our water and headed down East Bay Street (10:45, 10:59, 10:51). We ran past the SC Aquarium and the US Customs House. We made our way around the Battery and past the US Coast Guard Station and then made an out and back to the Ashley River Bridge (10:24, 10:34, 10:40). After filling up our water again, Andrew and I headed back around the Battery towards the bridge (10:12, 10:16, 10:23, 10:24). We had picked up the pace for the past four miles and were too fast going over the Cooper River Bridge (10:25, 10:38, 9:45).

I was getting pretty tired as we were going up the bridge when out of know where this seventy two year old man started running with me. He was from Tennessee and had run eight marathons. He said he started running when he was fifty! He was a really nice guy and made that last mile seem easier.

I finally got off the bridge and headed back towards the Old Village. My last two miles were a little slower (10:41, 10:50). On my last mile I felt a slight cramp in both of my calves. After what happened during my first marathon, even the slightest cramp freaks me out.

I was really spent after this run. I know it was twenty miles, but it was at a much slower pace than what I am planning on running in October. I am going to rethink my fuel for the next few weeks. I have a twenty two mile run coming up in two weeks and this may be my last chance to get it right.

Mid Week Run - 9-3-09

Its late and I am too excited about college football starting tonight and the USC Gamecocks beating NC State, so I am going to make this a quick blog entry.

I ran my six mile mid week run this afternoon. It was my usual route from my office to the Citadel. The weather was amazing.

I was going for splits right around marathon pace with a warm up and cool down. My splits were pretty consistent (9:27, 8:50, 8:49, 8:52, 8:54, 8:51, 10:11).

Great weather, great city and great run (and football tonight)...

http://mooreonrunning.blogspot.com/

Track Workout - 9-2-09

I am loving this weather! It was actually cold this morning. I got up really early (well, my son woke me up really early this morning - 4:20am). I was at the track before 5:30am.

The workout was a little different than what we have been doing:

1 x 800 warm up
4 x 1200 (3 minute passive rest in between)
1 x 800 cool down

When I saw this workout I was thinking it was going to be pretty easy. Wrong!

The pace was fast (around 7:00 mile) and each 1200 I was supposed to be faster by 5-10 seconds. Not as easy as it sounds. I did get faster on each 1200, but not by 5-10 seconds.

1200 (5:13)
1200 (5:08)
1200 (5:05)
1200 (5:02)

When I finished that last 1200 I could not believe I had done it faster than the other ones. I was sure I had slowed down (I thought I was going to puke). I think the cool weather and the long runs played a big part in me finishing this workout.

http://mooreonrunning.blogspot.com/

Tempo Run - 9-1-09

What a great morning to run! The weather was so nice. I can't even complain about having to get up at 4:30am...

I ran my eight mile tempo run from MUSC this morning. There were four of us at the start, but I ran most of the way with Andrew. We ran around the Battery and up East Bay. We pasted the Market and the US Customs House and turned around after Calhoun Street (the US Customs House looks cool even in the dark).

We did our normal slow warm up mile at the start (12:50). I was really feeling good from yesterday's recovery run. We went hard for the next three miles (8:07, 8:01, 8:17). I slowed down at the turn around and almost got hit by a car coming back (only draw back to running in the morning is that people are driving half awake). Andrew pulled ahead of me so I had to dig in for the last few miles to keep up the pace (8:38, 8:28, 8:19). At least I was getting faster on the last two miles.

I met back up with Andrew and we ran a cool down mile (10:32).

I did notice that on the way out there is a slight incline and I tend to slow down. Its not much, so I think it is more mental the physical. I also noticed that the wind dies down when you hit East Bay so the temperature goes up about 5-10 degrees.

Looks like this weather is going to hang around for the whole week. I am really looking forward to our twenty mile run on Saturday (sick, can't believe I just wrote that)...