I slowed down

I did 5K at 9:34 and my Achilles feels good. I noticed the throbbing was present when I ran uphill. So I plan on running 9:30 uphill and 9:15 downhill on my 5K course until I feel well enough to run more than 5K. I also did some research on my interval and tempo paces. My plan of running intervals at 5K pace looks feasible but I am going to lower the distance from 5K to 2 mi, my repeat distance. I also am going to increase my tempo pace from half marathon pace to 1.08 x 5K pace. That is going to increase my pace for Vdot42 from 8:08 to 8:03. This is supposed to be for 4 mi but I will continue to run 5K tempos.

Thoughts about pace oriented training

I have switched over to pace training instead of heart rate training in July. I have never achieved my marathon time predicted by my 5K and 10K times. I think this is because I did not run fast enough on my easy and long runs. I have started training at the Daniels's Vdot of 42. The critical numbers are a 5K time of 23:09, a pace of 9:27 for easy/long, and a time of 1:42 for 400m repeats. I am also running 5K worth of .2-.25 mi intervals at 5K pace (7:27) and 5K tempos at half marathon pace (8:08). I have achieved all these goals and plan on staying at this Vdot until the Indian Summer half marathon on Sept 13. This should result in a 1:46:27. I feel more fit now that I have increased my E/L pace with the Garmin 205 GPS. I suspect I was running E/L at 10-11 min/mi while training for the Steamboat marathon. I am having difficulty running at 9:27. Today I ran an easy 5K at 9:01. I wanted to slow down to 9:27 because I have a slightly strained right Achilles, but I just could not slow down, even when the Achilles began to throb at about 4K. So now my plan is to run 5K's at 9:27 until my Achilles heals.

Summer Plans

I have the possibility of following the Daniel's formula or Run Workouts For Runners and Triathletes by Bobby McGee . My number one priority in July and August is backpacking. I will use the Daniels formula to prepare for the Indian Summer 13.1 mi race at the Rez when I am not backpacking. My marathon training was done at too slow a pace so for the summer my emphasis will be on track Repeats, Intervals, Tempos and fartlek's starting at Vdot 42.

Vdot 5K pace 10K pace 13.1 pace 26.2 pace E/L Intervals Tempo Repeats Pace

40 24:08 7:46 50:03 8:03 1:50:59 8:28 3:49:45 8:46 9:50 7:46 8:28 1:46 7:03

42 23:09 7:27 48:01 7:43 1:46:27 8:08 3:40:43 8:25 9:27 7:27 8:08 1:42 6:48

44 22:15 7:09 46:09 7:25 1:42:17 7:48 3:32:23 8:06 9:07 7:09 7:48 1:32 6:08

Ramp Up for Marathon Training

My plan for February and the first two weeks in March is here.
I aim to start training at 44 mi/wk.

January Running: Westview Dr Hill Repeats

My goal is to run at least 6 sets of hill repeats on Westview Dr in January. The hill on Westview starting at Baseline Rd is .17 mi long according to my Garmin 305. I figure 3 repeats equal a mile. It's 2.25 mi to Westview and Baseline from home. This is the Merritt way. I count 7 repeats as a 7 mi run.
Actual January Running

Running Goals for 2009

My running goals for this year are to do well in the Bolder Boulder 10K and Steamboat Springs Marathon. I will start hills in January, ramp up my long run up to 16 mi and start running at Potts Field twice a week on Tuesday and Friday morning in February. I will run 45 mi/wk March through May. After the marathon on June 7, I will run 4 mi easy, 6 mi medium and 10 mi on the weekend. I will assess my fitness level in September.

What I learned in 2008

I learned a lot of things about running that I should not have. I say this because as I review these things I learned they are all common sense.
1. I cannot run a marathon comfortably without running 45 mi/wk for the prior 12 weeks.
2. Running with my glutes is more efficient.
3. When I run hard then easy, the easy has to be easy. That is less than 4 mi.
4. Backpacking in the summer counts as major adventures not as training for a marathon.

My weekly mileage for 2008.
I initially built up to 45 mi/wk but then tried only running 3-4 times a week. Plus the Colfax marathon was 76 degrees and I died. I started running base mileage of 35-38 mi/wk in September and carried this through to December rather than run another marathon or train for a marathon. This was wise and I finished 2008 in very good shape with no injuries.