Four weeks to go!

Exactly four weeks from today, I'll run my 6th Bolder Boulder 10k race. I started this blog to track my progress over the ten weeks leading up to the race.

How am I doing?

I think I'm doing pretty well, but I certainly don't feel assured of reaching my goal of sub-40. To feel confident, I would need some concrete evidence that indicated I could do it. For example, a 5k time of 19:17 would show that I'm on track for a sub-40 10k, according to the VDOT table. Unfortunately I still haven't run anything close to that. My most recent 5k result was 21:08, albeit under difficult conditions.

I'm signed up for tomorrow night's Dash & Dine 5k again. Last week's race was cancelled due to weather, and thunderstorms are again in the forecast tomorrow. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

If conditions are good, I hope to run 20:30 or faster tomorrow night. That would match my best time on this course, from 2004. According to the race calculators, 20:30 would predict around a 42:45 10k time. However, I've always beaten those projections based on my 5k times. I think the D&D course is significantly slow.

I plan to run the final two Dash & Dine races on May 8 and 15 as well. If I can get my time down below 20 minutes on that course, I think I have a real shot at a sub-40 Bolder Boulder.

Feeling poor today

I think yesterday's workout took a lot out of me. My legs have that dead feeling that every runner knows so well. I still needed to get out and do my Sunday long run, though.

I've been running 10 miles for my long runs the last four weeks (not counting the time I was in Costa Rica, when I completely skipped them). I want to increase that a little bit over the next couple of weeks, so today I ran a bit over 11 miles.

Again, I not-so-wisely chose the heat of the day, and again we had record high temperatures. I think it hit 84 degrees or more. I struggled through it, never trying to push the pace. Even so, my "easy" pace felt hard. Tomorrow I'll rest.

Today's run totals: 11.4 miles, 1:38:40 (average pace 8:39).

Getting faster

One good thing about interval workouts is that they can be easily compared. Sort of. If you do the exact same workout under exactly the same conditions, including weather, wind, and state of recovery, you can tell whether you're getting faster or not. Of course, you'll never repeat two workouts under the exact same conditions, but you can get close enough.

Today's interval workout was similar in some ways to workouts I've done before, but different enough that it's a little hard to compare. It had two phases: 1) a VO2 max interval phase, and 2) a Repetition phase. That's not counting my warmup and cooldown.

For the first phase, I decided to run 3 x 1000 meters with 3 minutes rest. This is a change from my previous 5 x 1000 with 1:30 rest. I switched to only 3 intervals because this was my 2nd interval session of the week, and Daniels recommends no more than 6% of total weekly mileage for this session. That would be 2.9 km, so I rounded up to 3000 meters. I also increased my recovery period based on Daniels recommendation that recoveries "should be equal to, or a little less than, the time spent performing the preceding workbout." I had a hard time running 3:55's on Tuesday with only 1:30 rest (in fact I couldn't do it), so I decided to see what I could do when following the recommendation.

How did it go?

Fantastic. I ran my 1000s in 3:52.9, 3:50.5, and 3:53.3. More importantly, I never felt stressed to my limits, as I did on Tuesday. I am sure I could have completed two more at that pace. I wasn't really trying to beat 3:55 by that much; I was just trying to maintain pace in a controlled way to the finish of each interval.

Following the VO2 max interval phase of the workout, Daniels recommended 4-6 x 200 at R-pace, which should be around 44 seconds for me (I'm still guessing that my VDOT is anywhere from 48-50 right now). These reps felt good as well, and I ran them a little fast at 41.4, 41.9, 42.0, and 41.3 seconds.

In spite of feeling great about today's workout, I got home and felt pretty trashed. In retrospect I think I accidentally allowed myself to get dehydrated in the record heat. It got to be around 80 degrees today, and I started my run in the heat of the day at 1:15 PM. Perhaps not too smart, but I told myself it would be good for heat acclimatization.

Tempo Session

After yesterday's tough interval session, I felt slightly concerned about tonight's workout, a 20-minute tempo run. I was looking for the elusive "comfortably hard" pace. I would warmup for 2.5 miles, run 3 miles at my tempo pace of about 6:55 per mile, and then cool down for another half mile. At least that was the idea. I thought about heading for the track again, but opted to just stick to the creek path. The miles are all marked on the path, and seem pretty accurate.

The weather had thankfully improved, and it was a near-perfect 52 degrees and sunny when I set out at 6:40 PM. The sun was sinking lower, but there were still plenty of people out enjoying the evening. Spring is in full gear here in Boulder. The creek is nearly overflowing its banks, the grass is green, and everywhere the trees are blooming in red, white, or pink blossums that smell wonderful.

I ran gradually uphill to the first bridge at Eben Fine Park (site of the 0.0 mile marker) and turned around. I picked up the pace steadily, trying to imagine the pace I could maintain for an hour and no longer. Pacing is a difficult art. I passed the first mile in 7:14, feeling fairly comfortable and breathing in a 3-3 pattern. I picked it up a bit more, shifting to a 2-2 breathing pattern and feeling the effort. Mile two passed in 6:44. I eased up slightly for the last mile, but this one was an out-and-back, with the last half uphill. I finished my last tempo mile in 7:02, for an average pace of exactly 7:00 per mile.

I was satisfied with the workout. It felt challenging, but not too bad.

Run summary: 6.1 miles in 47:21 (7:46 average pace).

Bonus! After the run, I got a free dinner (courtesy of work) at Laudisio, one of Boulder's top Italian restaurants. I had the scallops, and they were delicioso!

Race cancelled

I got an email today from the Dash & Dine race directors:

Due to the inclement weather currently occurring in Boulder (and predicted to continue throughout the day), we are considering canceling the Dash & Dine 5K scheduled for this evening...If you want to move your registration from today's race to one of the three final runs (5-1, 5-8 or 5-15) before we make a final determination, please email us before 3:00 pm.

That was enough for me. I sent them an email asking to switch my registration to next week's race. Am I getting soft? I don't think so. I went out and ran another track workout at lunch today. It was 39 degrees, windy, and raining steadily. Not the best conditions, but it's amazingly not that bad when you can come in from your run, take a shower, and have a nice lunch and a hot espresso.

After consulting DRF before my workout, I decided to drop down to 4x1000 meters instead of 5x1000. That's because Daniels recommends no more than 8% of weekly mileage for this interval session. 8% of 30 miles is 2.4 miles, which is about 4 kilometers, so I'm pretty close. I also adjusted my I-pace a bit. If I use a VDOT of 50 (which is hopefully where I am right now, perhaps optimistically), my I-pace should be 3:55 per 1000 meters.

So, my goal for the workout was 4x1000 on 3:55 with 1:30 rest. Did I make it? Nope. I ran 3:58.8 for the first one. That's ok, I thought. I'm trying to get used to this pace. Intervals 2 and 3 came in at 3:55.4 and 3:55.7. Close, but still struggling to make it. This was getting quite hard. By my third interval I was really hurting. So much so that I decided to take an extra 30 seconds rest. That helped a little, and I finished the final 1000 in 3:58.5. Without the extra rest I'm sure I would have been over 4:00 for that one.

This made me re-read the chapter on interval training in DRF. Oops, he recommends 3-4 minute recoveries, and I'm only taking 1:30. Maybe I should increase my recovery time in my next workout. I'm certain that would help a lot.

So much to learn!

Back in Boulder

Costa Rica

I was asked if I was sad to be back from Costa Rica. Honestly, no. That's the beauty of living in Boulder. No matter how great your vacation was (and my trip to Costa Rica was fantastic), it's just impossible to be sad about coming back to Boulder. That's why I live here.

I only ran four out of the eight days I was gone, but I don't feel bad about it. I hiked, swam, biked, paddled, and even surfed a bit. And I took a few well-deserved siestas as well. I found the running to be quite difficult in the heat and humidity. Early morning would have been the best time to run, but I just couldn't get myself out of bed before six everyday. By seven o'clock it was already hot in the sun. I did most of my running in the evening after sunset, but it was still quite humid then.

I spent five days in Samara, on the Pacific coast. It's a lovely little beach town with all the amenities, but it still seems relatively unknown to American tourists. The locals certainly know about it, and it's a popular vacation spot for Costa Ricans, aka Ticos. The beach was perfect for running -- fine, compact sand that's neither too soft nor too hard. And it was long...I'm guessing over two miles from end to end. I was happy just running to both ends of the beach and back each day, which took a little over 40 minutes.

A couple obligatory beach photos...

Friday's track workout

Back in Boulder, I jumped right back into training. On Friday I hit the track for my first VO2 max interval workout, 5 x 1000 meters on 4:00 with 1:30 rest. I keep measuring myself against my performances from two years ago. On May 3, 2005, I did the exact same workout. On that day, I completed the first three intervals in 3:59.4, 4:00.4, and 3:58.1. But I started to die on the 4th interval, which took me 4:04.8, and I had to rest over three minutes before the last one, which I ran in 3:57.8. So, basically, I couldn't complete the workout.

On Friday, I ran the 1000-meter intervals in 3:57.2, 3:58.7, 3:58.5, 3:58.2, and 3:57.7. Only the last one felt hard. It's encouraging because I now have a good indicator that I'm in better shape than I was in 2005, the year I ran a 40:39 Bolder Boulder.

Sunday's long run

I took Saturday off from running (although I did do a mountain bike ride), and Sunday I repeated my 10-mile trail run from four weeks ago. This time I did it in reverse -- up the Beech trail, down Left Hand, around Sage, and back on Eagle. It's a great run with a few decent hills, and it's almost entirely on trails. Last time I ran it in 1:43 in muddy and windy conditions. This time it only took 1:29, although I did have to push a bit at the end to break an hour and a half. I felt good the whole time, like the miles were just ticking by under my feet with very little effort on my part (until the end, of course). It was another good confidence builder.

5k, take 2

Tomorrow I will run the Dash & Dine 5k again. I'm hoping for better conditions this time! I missed last week's race, but I heard conditions were better than two weeks ago, when I ran 21:08. I checked results from last week, and noticed that most runners who competed in the first two races of the series dropped over a minute in the second race. That means I might be close to a 20-minute 5k right now, which would be great. Even if this is true, I still realize it's a long way from a 20-minute 5k to a 40-minute 10k, but I'm working on it!

Hold on...I just checked the weather forecast for tomorrow.

RAIN, SNOW, WIND. HIGH 41 DEGREES. WINDS FROM THE NORTH AT 25-35 MPH, WITH GUSTS OVER 40 MPH.

Are you kidding me? This looks worse than last time! I should have checked the forecast before signing up. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to suck it up. It is kind of disheartening when you're running a race to judge your fitness, not your ability to endure horrible weather.

We'll see how it goes...

5k Race Results

Yesterday´s 5k at the Boulder Reservoir can be summed up in one word: WINDY. When I left work at 5 PM the current weather reading said average winds at 28 miles per hour, gusting to 39. By the time I got to the Rez, it had picked up significantly. Nearly the entire course was exposed, since it ran right along the shore, and the lake was whipped into a frenzy of whitecaps.

Before I even got out of the car, I decided that I would try my best, but I wouldn´t be upset if I didn´t reach my goal of a sub-21 finish. The conditions were just too poor.

I wore a pair of running pants, a short sleeve shirt, a long-sleeve shirt, gloves, and a thin but warm hat. It was cold enough that I even wore my jacket during the warmup as well.

Just before the start, I heard someone call my name, and I turned to see my friend Dave, who had recently returned from some crazy-assed race in the frozen northlands of Canada. It was a 6-day running stage race over ice and snow, covering 50 km each day. He´d won, and returned with a $10,000 diamond as the grand prize, which he presented to his wife. Pretty cool.

I said, "Dave, I´ll give you ten bucks if you´ll run right in front of me the whole way and break the wind for me." He laughed.

The race organizer said go, and all 176 participants started running. For the first mile we mostly had a tailwind, but I tried to keep things under control and not go out too fast. I felt comfortable as we chugged along in a large scattered group.

At the first hill I consciously eased up a little bit, since we had also just turned smack into the wind for the first time. A guy in a red shirt passed me, and I tucked in behind him for the nice draft. We turned left along the first dam, and the wind was coming from my right shoulder. I stayed in red shirt guy´s draft as we passed mile 1 in 6:33. I secretly hoped to be able to keep up this pace.

Then we turned straight into the wind. It was so strong that it was even hard to breathe. My effort level increased, but my speed dropped like a shot. This would not be easy, I realized.

Turning onto the second dam, we had another crosswind. Looking down the line of runners, it was funny to see everyone leaning to their right to brace against the wind as they ran. The leaders passed the turn-around, and I saw that Dave was still right there with the lead group. That was great for such a short race, because his best distance is ten times the length of a 5k.

Red shirt guy and I had been trading the lead, but at the turn-around I forged ahead. I passed mile 2 in 7:04. Not the greatest, I thought, but these were tough conditions. I focused on a woman 30 meters in front of me, and tried to catch her. It wasn´t easy, but after another quarter mile I finally closed the gap and pulled ahead. To my surprise, she passed me back after only 30 seconds. I picked it up again and passed her back. This time it stuck.

Now on the long straightaway of the first dam again, I had another target, again 30 meters ahead. It took most of a mile to catch this guy, but I pulled ahead right as we turned away from the wind for the first time since the start. I was pushing pretty hard now and heard footsteps on my tail, so I told myself not to relax my pace a bit. I passed the mile 3 marker in 6:45, and pressed on to the finish. When the clock came into view, I saw that it said 20:56. My sub-21 would not happen tonight. I crossed the finish in 21:08, 24th of 176, and I was happy with that. It was still 7 seconds faster than my 5k from two years ago on the same course, so I think I´m on track with the training right now. I just need to do a race without that dreaded wind!

I´m typing this from a quirky little outdoor internet cafe in San Jose, Costa Rica. It should be a fun week, but there won´t be a lot of running in it for me. That´s fine, I can use the rest.

Tuneup Race Tomorrow

I dropped by the Boulder Running Company this morning to sign up for tomorrow evening's Dash & Dine 5k. I need a tuneup race to really judge my current fitness; plus, 5k races are great for developing VO2 max, a major component of 10k race performance.

The Dash & Dine races are a great local series at the Boulder Reservoir. They are held every Tuesday night, starting tomorrow, for six weeks, which makes them perfect preparation for the Bolder Boulder at the end of May. The course is an out-and-back on dirt, starting at Coot Lake and following the shore of the Boulder Reservoir. It's pretty flat, which should make it fast, but in my experience the dirt surface and the typical windy conditions usually slow the racers down quite a bit. For example, I did three of the Dash & Dine races in 2005 leading up to the Bolder Boulder. My best time was 20:44. That predicts a 10k of 42:50, but my actual BB finish was 40:39 that year. My 5k splits at the Bolder Boulder were 20:19 and 20:20, better than any of my Dash & Dine 5k results in the weeks leading up to the race.

Since I'm hoping to beat my 2005 Bolder Boulder time, naturally I looked at my 2005 Dash & Dine results to see where I should be at this time of year. Here are my three 5k times from 2005:

Date	Time
April 12, 2005	21:15
April 26, 2005	20:55
May 17, 2005	20:44

Looking at these dates and times, it becomes pretty clear that I need to beat 21:15 tomorrow night in order to have a reasonable chance of meeting my goal of a sub-40 10k at the Bolder Boulder. With that in mind, I'm going to try to run a sub-21 5k, which means 6:45 minutes per mile or better. I will, however, try to pace myself by perceived exertion, which will hopefully prevent me from going out too hard. I don't want to repeat my time trial experience from 8 days ago!

Today's run stats: 5 miles total, at an easy pace. 42:54 (8:34 average pace). I'm temporarily abandoning the training plan, because a) I need a rest week, b) I wanted to get in this tuneup race, and c) I'm leaving for Costa Rica in two days. Training will resume in earnest April 23, if not sooner.

Ryan Hall smashes American Half-Marathon Record

This isn't news to any bona fide running fans, but...

I happened to find a video of Ryan Hall winning the Houston Half-Marathon three months ago in an incredible 0:59:43. He took the American record at the distance, smashing the 21-year-old mark by over a minute. Hall is a young upstart and had never raced anything longer than 10 miles before. The video quality is horrible, but aside from that it's still cool to see him tick off mile after mile at an average pace of 4:33. At one point, he climbs a hill as if it isn't even there.

I'd be happy to run just one mile a full minute slower than the pace he maintained for 13 straight. This guy is a real talent. He is going for his marathon debut in London this month, racing against the world's best. I can't wait to see what happens!

The weather was not fit for man nor beast today, but I saw both on my run. It was 31 degrees, with a freezing drizzle. For some reason, I had no problem being motivated. After a day off, I feel nicely recovered, and decided to stick to my (shuffled) schedule for the week. Since I ran the 5k time trial on Sunday, I figured that could replace the "unstructured" interval workout I'd scheduled for today. I did my long run two days ago, so the only workout left for the week was a Ti (Threshold Interval) run.

Two weeks ago I did 3x1600 at 6:40 pace. However, that felt a bit hard. With my recent adjustments, my new T-pace is 6:55. I also decided to do only 2x1600 today, since I felt so tired this week, and 3x1600 does actually exceed Daniels' recommendation of no more than 8% of total mileage for threshold runs.

So, I simply went out and ran 3.5 miles at an easy pace, 2x1600 at my T-pace of 6:55, and 1.5 miles cool down. On the 1600s, I felt like I was working fairly hard, but still comfortable. I'd rate this as "high-end aerobic," which is about right. Despite the rain freezing on my glasses, I felt fine in my tights, long-sleeved shirt, fleece vest, and thin hat and gloves.

Today's run stats: 7 miles total, including 2 miles at threshold pace. 53:37 (7:40 average pace).

A look back in time...previous Bolder Boulders

Since this blog is all about training for the Bolder Boulder, I thought today I'd reminisce about my previous experiences at the race.

Back in 2002, I was dating a girl who used to run. She suggested that I run the Bolder Boulder with her that spring. Actually, it was more like, "We're doing the Bolder Boulder in May. I signed us up for a 5k to qualify."

Um, ok. Why not? I wasn't a runner then. I was still mostly into climbing (something that doesn't help your running in the least), but I had recently started dabbling in adventure racing, so I figured a little run training couldn't hurt.

We took a day trip down to Colorado Springs and ran a 5k race in the Garden of the Gods. I crossed the finish line in 22:41, a 7:18 pace. It was the first running race I'd ever done, and it was pretty cool. [edit: oops, I almost forgot that I ran the Pearl Street Mile in 1998, so this 5k was actually my second road race!]

Three weeks later I found myself in the C-wave at the starting line of the Bolder Boulder. I couldn't believe all the people! There were well over 40,000 participants, which makes the BB the second largest 10k in the nation, behind Atlanta's Peachtree.

More amazing than the crowds, however, was how well-organized everything was. There were volunteers everywhere, offering help if you needed it. A shuttle was there to take your warm clothes to the finish line for you. There was half a block full of nothing but porta-potties. There were water and gatorade tables. As each wave started, the next wave shuffled forward to the starting line. The faster runners (and anyone who wanted) had no problem starting right on the line.

Before I knew it, my wave had started. It seemed like a band was playing on every street corner. There were belly dancers and octogenarian cheerleaders. It was almost enough to distract me from the pain in my legs and lungs. Almost, but not quite! Every mile and every kilometer were marked, and there were huge water and gatorade stations spaced regularly. I followed the crowds all the way to the finish in the CU football stadium, where I was surprised to see I'd beat my 5k PR...twice! My finish time was 44:31.

After meeting up with my girlfriend, we both took advantage of one of my favorite BB perks: the free massage! We then explored the huge expo, where samples of all sorts of things, from ice cream to beef jerky, were available from vendors. Next, it was time to watch the traditional Bolder Boulder Memorial Day Tribute, complete with a short speech by a Purple Heart recipient, a 21-gun salute, a flyover by four fighter jets in formation, and a display of skill as one member of each branch of the military parachuted into the stadium. The final skydiver came in carrying a massive American flag as "I'm Proud to Be an American" played on the loudspeakers. It all sounds kind of hokey, but it honestly got to me, and it has every year since.

Following the Memorial Day Tribute, it was a real treat to watch the pro race. Each country is allowed to send three male and three female runners to the Bolder Boulder International Team Challenge. The country with the highest-placing athletes wins. With the largest non-marathon road racing prize purse in the world at stake, countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, and of course, the USA, send some of their top guns. Along with thousands of spectators, we cheered as local hero Alan Culpepper made a bold move in a last minute charge from behind, coming within 3 seconds of Kenya's Tom Nyariki for first place. But it was the USA women who stole the show. Deena Drossin (now Kastor) led the women to a near-perfect 1, 2, 4 team victory.

It was a few days after the race that I first got the idea to try for a sub-40 10k time. A local trail running legend posted the following on a message board about my friend Bill, a fellow climber and enthusiast of all things outdoors:

The bad news is that we won't have Bill to kick around anymore. He successfully broke 40 minutes at the Bolder Boulder, annihilating the barrier with a 39:48. Way to go Bill! And I bet the guys who beat you aren't also training to climb El Cap in a single day.

There it was in print...you would be respected as a runner if you could break 40 minutes in a 10k. At least that's how I interpreted it. The other thing was that 40 minutes is a nice round number, and the splits are easy to calculate, at an even four minutes per kilometer. I thought I wasn't that far away from the goal, only four and a half minutes. Little did I know, that's a tough 4.5 minutes to find!

In the ensuing years, I mostly focused on mountain biking and adventure racing, but every year as the Bolder Boulder would come within view, I'd try to do at least something to train for it. Usually that involved running a few 5k races and adding another day or two to my typical one or two days of running per week. Surprisingly, considering my haphazard approach, my times did go down each year. In 2003 I ran 42:13. In 2004, 41:25. And in 2005, after adding a total of three track workouts to the mix for the first time, I ran my current PR of 40:39.

Last year was the year I decided I'd start to take running a bit more seriously. I planned to run four days a week, something I'd never done two weeks in a row, much less for a whole year. To help my motivation, I signed up for the May 7 Colorado Marathon, and grabbed a novice marathon training program from Hal Higdon's website. I followed it semi-religiously. My plan was to dramatically increase my mileage through marathon training. I would then be in great running shape for the Bolder Boulder that year, I reasoned.

My plan failed miserably. The marathon worked pretty well, though. My training peaked at 40 miles per week, with a longest run of 20 miles. It was tough to keep the injuries at bay, but I made it to the starting line and finished just 29 seconds shy of my goal of beating 3:30. But the marathon destroyed my legs, at least temporarily. I went for a couple of walks (not runs) that week, and gradually got back into running again over the next several weeks. But the Bolder Boulder was only three weeks after the marathon. Too soon! My legs just didn't have it on race day, and I ran a disappointing 43:46.

So there you have it, my personal Bolder Boulder history in a rather large nutshell. This year, in case you can't tell, I'm more motivated than ever to break that elusive 40-minute barrier!

Coffee...It makes you poo

Sorry to be so crass, but it's the truth.

I stopped in at Vic's Coffee this morning to discuss next week's trip to Costa Rica with a couple of friends (yes, that's right -- I'm going for 8 days and I'm psyched about it!). We came up with a basic game plan that includes volcanoes, jungles, beaches, and surf. I had a nice big cup of Vic's trademark joe, and I must say it did wonders for my digestive system throughout the morning. As someone who started regularly drinking coffee just recently, this well-known effect is somewhat new to me.

Since I did a 5k time trial on Sunday instead of my long run, I decided to swap the week around and do my 10-mile long run today. I felt light and ready as I hit the path, and the first few miles felt easy and went by quickly. I was determined to just enjoy the run today. It was beautiful, sunny, and 55 degrees out. The birds were chirping, the trees were blooming, and half of Boulder was on the creek path enjoying it all.

Somewhere around mile 4 or 5, my legs started feeling more and more fatigued. My paced slowed, until I felt like I was creeping along. I made a game-day decision to skip my usual striders. My legs just didn't feel up to it. After my turn-around point at the top of Eben Fine Park, I slowly started to feel better. By the end of the run, I was back to my usual pace.

But, my legs are tired, there's no doubt about it. When I finished my run, I had a very strange sensation. Have you ever played that game where you stand in a doorway and push your arms up against the sides of the door frame for one minute, then step away? Your arms feel like they are holding themselves up, like they are floating. Well, when I stopped running and walked for a little, my legs felt like they were moving forward on their own. Weird!

Today's stats: 10 miles, 1:25:09, 8:30 pace.

By the way, looking at the elevation profile of today's run, I think I know why I felt good at the start, progressively worse in the middle, and better at the finish. See if you can guess...

Things spotted on the run:

• A clothesline full of clothes hanging to dry, complete with bike shorts and bike jerseys (that's Boulder for you)
• A mean-looking rottweiler back from a recent trip to the vet; it had a green full-leg cast decorated with delicate pink flowers
• A cat-sized wooden raft on the banks of Boulder Creek (I have no idea if it was built for cats, but it did remind me of the time my brothers and I put our cat on a raft and sent it down the creek, much to its dismay)

The training program

I'm going to be tweaking the program over the next few weeks. I'm taking a couple suggestions to heart, and thus I plan to a) gradually increase the length of my long runs, and b) take some rest weeks. The Costa Rica trip is going to be a rest week for me. I'll run some, but maybe only 15-20 miles. I think I can use the rest.

Back at it

No use worrying about Sunday's time trial. After a nice day off yesterday (well, I did swim), it was time for another Rep workout today.

After my usual 2.5 mile warmup on the Creek Path, I showed up at the BHS track. This place is becoming a regular hangout for me. I think I've doubled my overall lifetime number of track workouts in the last three weeks, or nearly so.

This was a repeat of my rep workout two weeks ago. I did 3x (2x200 + 1x400).

I did adjust my R-pace, based on a new VDOT of 48-49. That means 200s should be run at 44 seconds and 400s at 89-90 seconds. Here are my splits:

	1	2	3
200m	44.4	44.1	43.4
200m	44.4	43.5	39.8
400m	1:28.1	1:29.2	1:28.0

I guess I was pretty close to my target paces for each rep, although overall I did come in just a little fast on several. Actually the last 200 was a lot faster because I got carried away chasing down another guy at the track. Ha!

At just a couple seconds slower than my earlier rep pace, this still didn't feel that easy. On my last 400, I was slow at the 300m mark and had to really hoof it in to the finish. I'm feeling pretty good, though.

It always feels good after a workout.

Time Trial Meltdown!

Today I ran a 5k time trial at the track. I've been bothered by the nagging feeling that I'm training at the wrong paces. That's because I've been using a VDOT (and associated training paces) based on my best 10k performance from two years ago. Thus, I could really use a current, up-to-date measure of my fitness.

I warmed up with around 2 miles of easy running, plus a few 100-meter strides. The day was cool and sunny, but there were also some gusty winds to make conditions less than perfect. After lots of procrastination, I finally started my 12.5 laps of pain.

The plan was to break the run into twenty-five 200-meter segments. If I could average slightly under 48 seconds per 200, I'd break 20 minutes in the 5k. This would be a new personal record for me (my best was 20:00 from four years ago). Ideally, I would finish in 19:45 or slightly faster. This would justify my current VDOT estimate of 51, from which all my recent training paces have been based.

In order to get to 19:45, I planned to run the first 10 segments in 48 seconds each, and the final 15 in 47 seconds each. I figured that would prevent me from going out too fast, while also preventing me from losing too much time in the first half. It was also a plan based on one big assumption -- that I actually could run that fast right now.

The first laps started off well enough. The pace felt hard, and I admit it wasn't long before I began to wonder if I could hold it for 12.5 laps around the track. Still, I was hitting my splits right on the money. The first warning came at 1800 meters, when I was a full second off my 200m split target. I chalked that up to a lack of concentration, and ran the next kilometer in 3:59, just under pace. By this point, I could tell that just breaking 20 minutes would be enough of a challenge, not to mention 19:45.

Nearing the 3-kilometer mark, the effort to maintain pace suddenly shot up. My breathing went from a 2-2 pattern (breathe in for two steps, breathe out for two steps) to a 1-1 pattern, practically hyperventilating. I knew I was way over my lactate threshold, and I still had 2 km to go. I held out to the 3-km mark, but it was too fast. Seconds after that, I got the worst side stitch I've ever had. I was reduced to a painful walk for the next half lap, and then could only manage to jog it in to the finish. My total time was a disappointing 22:26.

Here are my splits:

Meters	Split	Goal Pace	200m Lap	1000m Lap
200	0:47.0	0:48	47.0
400	1:35.2	1:36	48.2
600	2:23.5	2:24	48.3
800	3:11.3	3:12	47.8
1000	3:59.6	4:00	48.3	3:59.6
1200	4:47.6	4:48	48.0
1400	5:36.1	5:36	48.5
1600	6:23.6	6:24	47.5
1800	7:12.7	7:12	49.1
2000	8:00.3	8:00	47.6	4:00.7
2200	8:48.2	8:48	47.9
2400	9:35.8	9:36	47.6
2600	10:23.6	10:24	47.8
2800	11:11.9	11:12	48.3
3000	12:02.2	12:00	50.3	4:01.9
3200	14:15.7	12:48	2:13.5
3400	15:17.5	13:36	1:01.8
3600	16:12.2	14:24	54.7
3800	17:06.6	15:12	54.4
4000	17:58.7	16:00	52.1	5:56.5
4200	18:51.5	16:48	52.8
4400	19:46.3	17:36	54.8
4600	20:38.0	18:24	51.7
4800	21:32.1	19:12	54.1
5000	22:26.1	20:00	54.0	4:27.5

As you can see, things started to break down at 3000 meters, and disintegrated immediately after.

What did I learn from this painful experience? The whole point of running this time trial was to assess my fitness, but I'm not even sure I did a good job of that. Trying to hit an arbitrary goal of sub-20 definitely hurt my chances of running my best 5k on this particular day. I was more worried about hitting every 200 on 48 seconds, and paying less attention to my perceived effort. The signs were all there (that this pace wasn't sustainable), but I ignored them. So, this wasn't a good test of my current best 5k ability.

I think the effort was a better test of my 3k ability, since I don't imagine I could have run a 3k much faster than today's time of 12:02. Plugging this into the VDOT calculator, I get a new VDOT of 48. That's quite a difference from the VDOT of 51 on which I've been basing all my recent training paces!

Should I use this VDOT from now on (at least until my next real race)? I've gotten some feedback on the CoolRunning boards saying if I can run 3-4 kilometers at 4-minutes per km on the track, solo, then I should be able to run sub-20 in a 5k race. I don't know. Perhaps they are right, but it sure didn't feel like I could have done it today, race or not.

For now, I think I'll just take my medicine and use the slower training paces designated by a 48 VDOT. That means my Easy/Long pace is now 8:31 mpm (it was 8:07 using a 51 VDOT). Threshold runs are now at 7:02 (instead of 6:44). 1000-meter intervals are at 4:03 (formerly 3:51), and 400-meter reps should now be run in 90 seconds instead of 86. I feel like I've been demoted, but in reality I have to admit that I'm just not in as good of shape as I thought.

The other, and perhaps most important, thing I learned was what it feels like to "blow up." I've never done that before, in a race or otherwise. Always when I'm approaching that feeling in a race, I've eased off a bit. That leaves me wondering if I could have pushed "just a little bit harder" and finished a little bit faster. Today I didn't back off the pace, because I was trying to hit my splits. I am going to try to remember exactly what this felt like, because I think it's a useful thing to know. After all, how will I know how hard I can push unless I've experienced pushing too hard in the past?

Well, now I have.