Blizzard #2

Boulder got 14 inches of snow in the latest storm and I missed an easy run on Friday because I was shoveling it. But I ran all three of my hard runs this last week of 2006. I ran a 2 m threshold on Tuesday, 6xhills on Thursday and 2 hours on Saturday. I will switch threshold and hill repeats in 2007. Hills will be on Tuesday since the trash is collected on Thursday and I have to dodge the truck. Besides that, the 5K races at Coot Lake that start in April are held on Tuesday so I might as well start now in doing anaerobic on Tuesday. My plan for next week, the first week of 2007 is: 3.5 m easy, 6xhills on Tue, 2 m threshold on Thu and 2 hour long on Sat. I will follow this plan for six weeks until the USATF cross country championship February 10, 2007. In October I really did not think I would be running thresholds, hill repeats and 2 hour long runs ever again. I tried to run with shoes that were not right for me. Since I got new stability shoes I have been able to increase my training to the point I can run the cross country races in 2007. I love my Nike Equalons for their stability. I don't care about the ipod acceleration sensor because it's way inaccurate but I do like the music.

Cross Country Training Plan

The last week in 2006 is the first week of training for the Best Cross Country Race on the Planet 4 m on Jan 27. Easy - 3.5 m, repeats - 6 x 75 sec hills, threshold - 2 m at hr140, and long - 2 hours. I've done the threshold and the hills but another blizzard may complicate my long run on Sat. The storm is predicted to end Sat morning so Sat afternoon may be possible, although I prefer morning runs.

Base Training Complete

I was able to finish 12 weeks of base training despite all the snow. Now the National Weather Service forecasts "more than a foot of snow" for Boulder starting Thursday noon. That's just great. I've been slipping and sliding when I run outside and bored when I run on the treadmill. My heart rate got up to 159 b/m on the last two hill repeats. That is definitely anaerobic. But it was four days from the end of base training so I don't think that will hurt me. I did not run on Christmas breaking my streak at 50 consecutive days running. I'm not expecting a great deal for this week because of the snow, alcohol, and holiday food. I got in a 2 m tempo in on Tuesday, and plan on doing my hill repeats outside on Thursday morning. Then Saturday I will do my first 2 hour long run. I did my 1:50 long run last Sat on the Boulder Creek trail because it has "freeze proof" drinking fountains. They were frozen shut. I'll take my water bottle this Sat.

Thirty Inches of Snow in Boulder

The big holiday blizzard forced me to do my hill repeats on the treadmill. I did 6 hills of 6% incline for 90 seconds at 6 mph. My heart rate reached 159 for the last two. So much for staying aerobic on week 12. I anticipate tomorrows easy 3.5 m will also be done on the treadmill. But by Saturday they should have plowed the Boulder Creek Trail and I can run my 12 mile long run on it.

Week 12 Base Training Plan

Week 12 is my final week of base training, defined as aerobic running a minimum of 30 minutes every day for 12 weeks. It's supposed to prepare me for race training. I started in Week 1 running 3 m easy. I increased my mileage every third or fourth day by .5 m until I reached a long run of 6 m. This took the first 6 weeks. I started running tempos on Tuesdays, repeats on Thursday while increasing the long run by 10% every Saturday. I want my minimum long run to be 2 hours or 13 m at 9:00-9:15 minute miles. Week 12 plan is Mon - 3.5 m, Tue - 2 m tempo, Wed - 3 m, Thu - 6 x 90 second hills, Fri - 3 m, Sat - 12 m, Sun - 3 m.

Goals for 2007

I have abandoned running a marathon in Spring 2007. Instead, I will run two cross country races at the end of January. That leaves me with 6 weeks to train starting in week 11 of my base training. I start hill repeats and tempo 's this week. I will do both while staying aerobic. This means I keep my heart rate below 145 bpm. I'll start anaerobic hill repeats the last week in 2006. I can't wait.

Week 11 Base Training Plan

I must begin hill repeats this week so that I will have 6 sessions completed before the Best Cross Country Race on the Planet Jan 27. Week 11 looks like this: Mon - 3 m easy, Tue - 1.5 m tempo, Wed - 3 m easy, Thu - 6 hill repeats, Fri - 3 m easy, Sat - 11 m long, Sun - 3 m easy.

Reflections on Week 10

I ran the two-a-day Thursday with a .5 m tempo hr142 and have decided two tempos a base week is overdoing it. Next Week 11 I'm going to run 3 m twice at an easy pace on Thursday. I am going to increase the long from 8.8 m to 9.7 m. My 2007 racing plan has changed dramatically. I was going to start training for the Moab marathon to be held April 15, 2007 the last week in December 2006. But the Fast Forward Sports training group deal I was anticipating joining turned out to be for the Canyonlands Half marathon March 17, 2007. Besides, the MoabMarathon.com talks about a 20 m race April 15. Then I calculated I could get in 5 weeks of training for the Best Cross Country Race on the Planet in Boulder CO on January 27, 2007. The USATF National Cross Country Championship is two weeks later in Boulder on February 10. I've contemplated running the Ft Collins marathon May 7 but I'm 59 and it's a logistical nightmare to run. The same goes for the Colfax marathon May 20 with the added negative of ugly Colfax Ave. I've decided to race the Bolder Boulder. I will only be racing against other 59 year olds. I get 3 weeks off after the USATF and then start a 12 week training plan that incorporates the six 5K races at Coot Lake every Tuesday. This is a very exciting way to start 2007.

Base Week 10 Plan

I finally got it through my thick head that I should not do any anerobic training during base training. Hill and 800 repeats are definitely anerobic but so is anything higher than a heart rate of 145. Instead of doing hill repeats on Thursday at noon I'm going to do a short tempo run. Week 10 looks like this: Mon - 3 m easy at HR 128-133; Tue - 1.5 m tempo at HR 140-145 (3.5 m with warm up and cool down); Wed - 3 m easy; Thr morning - 3 m easy, noon - .5 m tempo at (2.5 + 3 = 5.5 m); Fri - 3 m easy; Sat - 9 m easy; Sun - 3 m easy. Week 10 total miles are 30, up 2 m from week 9. Tue tempo + .5 m, Thu tempo + .5 m, Sat long +1 m. I plan on increasing my tempo run by .5 m and my long run by 1 m per week for the rest of 2006. I will decide after week 12 if I can do hill repeats on the last Thu noon of December.

Which Marathon Should I Run?

I have been planning on running the Moab marathon on April 15 but the Colfax marathon on May 20 may be a better option. Colfax is five weeks later and a lot more convenient. Negatives are I won't be able to run the Bolder Boulder, Colfax Ave is not pretty, May 20 could be hot and I will be 59 years old. I've just decided I will only run Colfax if I can't get in Moab. I'll do the Colfax next year when I'm 60.

Week 9 Base Training Actual

I followed my plan every day except Thursday noon. I ran a 2 m hill workout on my treadmill instead of jogging 4 m to the base of the hill I use for repeats. I switched to the treadmill because the snow was pretty deep and the temperature was in the low twenties. To warm up I ran 1 m at 6 mph 0 incline. Then I ran .1 m at incline 6 followed by recovery of .1 m at 0 incline, five times. I may continue run treadmill hills rather than doing them outside. The treadmill took 20 min while outside would have taken 20 min just to get to the hill. To increase the stress of treadmill hills I can either add hills or increase the incline. My back hurt after the hill workout on the treadmill and I'll watch for that next week. If my back hurts again I will reconsider doing hill workouts outside.

Week 9 Base Training Plan

The plan for the week of Nov 27 is Mon - Easy 3 m with Kiki; Tue - 4 m, 1 m tempo, hr 140; Wed - Easy 3 m with Cocoa, hr 125; Thu - 7 m, easy 3 m in the morning with Kiki, easy 4 m at lunch to the base of the hill I'll use for repeats; Fri - Easy 3 m with Cocoa; Sat - 8 m long run; Sun - Easy 3 m with Kiki. This will give me a total of 31 m for the week, 2 m more than Week 8.

Starting with a 2.5 m Tempo is a bad idea

As I looked at my plan to run a 2.5 m tempo every Tuesday I realized that did not make sense. Instead I'm going to start with a 1 m tempo and build up to a 2 m by the end of base training. After the Thanksgiving CU 5K Turkey Trot I'll begin running Thursday at lunch time. I'm going to build up to 4 m by January 1 because this will take me to the base of my 90 second hill. I plan on starting with 3 hill repeats on week 1 building up to 8 hill repeats on week 6 for Thursday lunchtime runs. I will not do any hill repeats during base training ie 2006.

Base Training Plan

I'm halfway through building up my running base to the point I can start marathon training Jan 1, 2007. I injured my leg in August 2005 and have been unable to run a marathon since then. Oct 1, 2006 I started a 13 week base training plan that called for running 3 m every day. I increase my long run in 10% steps so that by the end of base training I will be running 12 m. I divided base training into two halves. The first 6 weeks I ran 3 m on 3 successive days and the long run on day 4. I have 3 bearded collies, also known as Beardies, so it worked out I would take a different one for each of the 3 m runs. I started with Mindy on day 1 because she is sloooow and makes for a good recovery run. Day 2 was Brodie, Mindy's puppy. Brody is fast and running with him is a good tempo run. Third, was Kailey who will run at any pace I choose but she's going to pull on the leash no matter how fast I go. It should be apparent why I do not run with all three. I tried it once and a squirrel ran across the trail. Brodie tried to get it, Kailey ignored it, and Mindy tried to run away. I run by myself on the long days. This schedule worked well until last week when I reached the 6 m long run. I run in the morning and anything longer than 6 m is going to make me late for work. So for the last 7 weeks of base training I am running long on Saturdays, 2.5 m tempo (6 m with warm-up and cool-down) on Tuesdays, and 3 m with a Beardie the other 5 days. Brodie runs on Thursday for a mini tempo and Mindy goes on Sunday for recovery from the long run. I am really thankful I can run 30 minutes every day. It's a short distance but after not being able to run consistently for a year, it is great. Hopefully I will be fit enough at the new year to begin serious marathon training.