While I have been hitting the road (not that) often, I did so for just staying fit. Another reason is that there was no race that motivated me. The cancellation of the 2014 edition of the Condura Skyway Marathon kinda left me in the doldrums. I really trained for it, expecting to do well. But Typhoon Haiyan kinda killed it. And I understood. Well, here I am again. With the 2015 Condura Marathon in the horizon, I have awakened from my slumber. _ I am back in training. And with work finally slowing down, I am giving training my fullest attention now. So far, I will be in the second week of a 5-day-running per week. I see I have slowed down. That's added 10 lbs for me :-( Did well this morning as I try to pick up on the speed in time for Pinoy Fitness 21K Challenge But no worries. I know I will be in that starting line come race day. No jitters, full of confidence that I will finish. How good or bad, that we have to see. I will also be back training new hires in the office. So, I am doing the two things I love the most: running and training engineers. What more can I ask for? |
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I am not a Catholic but benefitted well, training wise, last Lent. I took the opportunity to stay true to my training plan. Monday was Hills training, Tuesday was a 60 min easy run, Wednesday was rest day, Thursday was devoted to a 2 hour LSD, Friday on a 60 min easy run, Saturday on 1:45 drills and Sunday on a 100 min moderate run; to complete my first 85 km week. I also got to meet some other runners composed of folks from my village and an adjacent other village. They are a merry mix of seasoned runners who have been racing for quite some time now. We have been kinda crossing each other’s path as we do our runs in the main road of our subdivision. After my Friday run, Ian approached me as I was doing my stretching and invited me to their 16k Cardiac Hill run this Sunday. Looking for some change in scenery and feeling friendly (I am anti-social, by the way, hahaha), I graciously accepted. Boy, am I thankful I accepted. It was a weekend to remember and something I will look forward to in the future. I met Mona, Ian’s wife and two young strong runners: June Mosrales (3:31 Milo Marathoner) and his protégé’, Orly Maestre. The run brought us to a stretch of the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay road, Laguna Boulevard and to the scenic roads to Westgrove that included Cardiac Hill. I think, I should really say Cardiac HillS! I took the liberty of lifting photos off Ian’s FB account to show you the “features” of the hill. Photo at left shows the start of the climb. Other photo is the downhill rear of Cardiac Hill going towards Gulod. Orly and June coming back up to Cardiac Hill from Gulod. Check out June's freakish smile. Dang, he enjoys the kick of conquering Cardiac Hill twice a week! On the way back, sunrise was a sight to behold and the juxtaposed Meralco post eerily reminds me of the Crucifixion that Easter Sunday.
The exhilaration of finding new running buddies and a new, challenging route made my Sunday truly worthwhile. Running has truly opened doors for me. I just might not be the lone(ly) runner I thought I am. How much can you run in an hour?
If you were asked this question, you’d probably recall in your mind the last race you have been in on, note the ratio of the distance and minutes you used to cover it, multiply that by 60. And that is your answer. It is a correct answer. But how much really can you cover in an hour?? The answer should be readily answered with if you are training based on time and not on distance. Look at this training program based on HR max: Monday Hills, 60 min total. Tuesday Easy run of 60 min (65-79% HR max) Wed Long run of 2-2:30 hours (65-70% HR max) Thu Easy run of 60 min (65-79% of HR max) Friday Medium (LT of 82-88% HR Max)/Fartleks/Light Hills/Progression or easy run of 60-70-75 min Saturday Track/Drills Sunday Easy or Medium (see Tuesday or Friday) I can not see any here that says 5k, 10k or 20-25k. Where before I count my mileage in terms of the distance I covered, I now relate the distance to what I can run in a fix period of time. The benefit of it is that the body will recognize that you are doing a one hour work-out or a 90 minute work-out, regardless of how much distance you have covered. As the workout is put into action, the body’s chemistry will respond correspondingly. Thus, if you do a 5min work-out that is equivalent to a 10k pace (which you cover in an hour, for example, in your races), the body sees the one-hour workout in that 5 minute window. My basic conditioning training, for the last 3 weeks, has brought my 60 minute run from 10k to 12k. That means that I have run faster. But the response of my body does not see the 2k difference. It only sees my one-hour workout. If you feel the same in the 10k as in the 12k and can repeat that multiple times, say 4 times, what do you get? A probable sub-four marathon. How to make the repeat possible is another story though. So, again, how much can you run in an hour? I was browsing through the internet and came across an article from the January 2011 Runner’s World New Year New You: Way of the Renegades by Adam Buckley Cohen which talks about the Hanson Plan. It seems to parrot what coach says about running shorter distances per session but doing more runs during the week. Each weekly session could be 60-85 km combined with speed work, tempo runs, marathon pace runs and an LSD on the weekend. The overall gist of the training is preparing yourself not for the first 16 miles (33 km), after which you could “wall”, but for the last 16 miles if ever you get to the wall. The high volume and “near” daily runs keeps you in fatigue mode all the time that you get yourself used to the feeling, and yet one continues to still keep a marathon pace. I have started adapting that beginning this week. And yes, I am tired most of the time. Imagine me before in a 40k (11-16-22/25) per week mode with a one day break in between runs. As of Friday, I have racked up 44k, with today and Sunday potentially accounting for another 32k. I seem to spot a slight improvement of my pace and endurance even when I feel tired. While one of my runs appear to be “slower” than most of my runs, that run had a hill at 4% gradient (ran it 4x), and another at 11% (ran it twice). I have yet to run more than 11.2 km this week where it used to be my least distance. So, even if I am running more, I am running on shorter time which allows me to do other stuff. I can afford to start as late as 7 PM. I have to be on the lookout, though, for injuries due to the increased volume.
One thing I notice as I experiment with my gait in this Hanson Plan is that I seem to have more speed with lofting strides compared with short but more steps. This goes against the common thread that more steps translate to better speed. But I take that my lofting stride covers more distance and compensates for the “fewer” steps taken. I have translated the Hanson plan to kilometers against which I will track my progress. But while the Plan is geared to an 18 week preparation to a Marathon, my goal is still to get my first at the QCIM in December, nearly 36 weeks away. But that should give me opportunities to work on my speed, endurance and stamina some more. It will also allow some allowance for injuries. I hate to have one, but I know that it could occur. I will also be busy with work and I just have to put that into the equation. But I have a better plan now than 2 weeks ago. Let’s see how true I can be with this plan. Here’s to the Hanson Brothers and Coach! Cheers!!! “Your plan is flawed.”
What do you do when someone tells you that? After all, everything you have been doing so far is correct by your standards and has caused you no grief. I am a real proud person. I am also a teacher and a person of authority. I am used to bossing people around and even my peers and bosses respect my opinions. I am also a self-taught person. You give me the basics and I can take off from there. I am a keen observer of lessons and experts. I am also very competitive. Would you believe that I compete even with 10-year olds on stuff I am interested in? How childish can that be? So, when someone comes by and throws me that statement, it should really tick me off, right? Wrong. I am competitive and I want to improve. I am also impatient yet practical. If there’s a way to fast track things with some sacrifices, then I am all ears to what anyone can suggest so that I become a better teacher, student, person or in this case……. a better runner. I have been running for close to 7 months now, running about 40K a week. I have had 8 races under my belt, each time better (or close) to my training time. My race results had all been good, considering that I am a newbie, keeping myself in the upper 15% most, if not all, of the time. I had a couple of injuries, all manageable and tolerable. I felt I was getting somewhere with my goal to run my first marathon. I even had the temerity to ask the running community to critique my “program”. It is through my opening of my training program to the community that I have found a learned runner to tell me that I have flaws in my program. And I thought I was doing great! Dang!!! To cut the story short, I have to do quite a paradigm shift and undo some of the tricks I thought worked for me. And to top that, I have to bring up my mileage to tire myself out. Heck, I take a day break in-between runs to save myself from fatigue, and now this? Well, that’s all part of the deal and I have to adhere to it to be better. So, hang on to your seats as we journey together and discover if my mentor’s plan will work. I am a willing disciple. My plan is flawed? Okay, give me better :-) I have taken a more serious step in getting to that dream marathon.
Last Saturday, I went to the Marikina Sports Center to meet up with fellow trainees under the wings of a well-meaning coach. It is such a joy to be in a group with the same purpose. The loner that I am, I have always run and "trained" alone. Thus, taking this step is a major leap forward for me. So far, I know two of the four by name. Joyce is a doctor, while I could only know Nick by name, who is a runner in language and form. The other two are triathlete siblings - the elder had run seven marathons already. I have met THE coach while asking folks in the running community to critique my "training" program. I have never been much of a reader of running books and had relied on fellow runners for their "words of wisdom" to put up my training program. Coach has shot holes on that program. It's time that I listen now to the scientific and personalized training approach. Well, the past weekend establishes my commitment to achieving my goal of running a marathon this year. I aim to succeed, and I truly believe that I CAN even aim for something loftier. But one baby steps at a time. Things will fall in the right places, at the right time. QCIM, here I come. |