Update on Last Post

I ended up running six hills on Tuesday because the experiment in Denver ended early when the rat died. Then I ran a threshold run on Thursday just like normal. I'm going to run 2 hours on Saturday, hopefully before the latest snow storm starts. I only have four weeks of training in, actually only three because the week between Christmas and New Year I missed two runs. So I really have three weeks of training but everyone else in Boulder is in the same situation. I probably won't embarrass myself and I should have fun over the next three weeks. Then I will have 13 weeks to train for the Bolder Boulder. I really like my training plan, one anaerobic, one threshold and one long run per week seems to be just about right. I also like the hill repeats for my anaerobic runs. I hate the run along Baseline Rd to get to the hill but the anandamide rush afterwards lasts for a couple of hours.

One More Week of XC Training

I finished week 5 of my training for the upcoming XC races despite temperatures of 0-10 deg F. I only missed one easy run but even that was OK because it ended my 2007 streak at 10 days. According to Mike Sandrock, the running columnist for the Boulder Camera newspaper, I should deliberately miss a day early in the year. Presumably, I will not run when I should not just to keep a streak alive. My last week of training is going to only two hard days because I cannot run my hill repeats on Tuesday due to clinical testing at 9 am in Denver. I will do my hill repeats on Wednesday morning and run 2 hours on Saturday. The week after next is my taper week and I'll run threshold runs on Tuesday and Thursday. It's been tough doing the hard workouts in the snow and cold temperatures, but everyone in Colorado is having the same problem. Maybe the XC races will be cold and snowy, just like my training.

Blizzard #3 Complicates Running

Jan 5 Boulder got 11.5 inches of snow. I did manage to stick to my cross country training plan though. My Thu tempo run was a little scary when I encountered ice on the trail. Then my 2 hour long run on Sat was OK when I could run on the plowed Boulder Ck trail. My problem was getting to the trail over hard packed residential streets. When I came back I found one of these streets, Old Tale, had been gone over by a grader. The entire road was a perfectly flat slick ice skating rink. Plus there are no sidewalks. I had to run at the very edge to get any traction. But I did complete week 4 of my 6 week cross country training plan. My plan is not very ambitious nor will it get me to a high level of fitness. But I want to take it easy after a year of being injured. I will be able to run respectable times in the upcoming cross country races and be in great shape to begin training for the Bolder Boulder.

Cross Country Training Plan

I survived 12 weeks of base training and the holidays so it's finally time to get down to serious training for the Best Cross Country (XC) Race on the Planet on Jan 27 and the USATF XC championship Feb 10. Both are in Boulder Colorado. The hard days are Hill repeats, Tempo and long runs. All weeks look like this: 3.5 m Easy MWFSun, 6x90 sec hills Tue, 2 m tempo Thu and 2 hour long runs Sat. This works out to 38.5 miles per week. I will increase my heart rate on the hard runs as the races get closer. I want to start with a heart rate of 150 beats per minute (b/m) and end with 160 b/m for the hills. For the Tempo I'll start with 145 b/m and finish with 155 b/m. For the Long run I will start with 120 b/m and finish with 130. This is an ambitious plan for me coming off injuries for the last 13 months. I have been running the hard workouts for the last 3 weeks but at aerobic heart rate of less than 140 b/m. If I can achieve this plan I will be in excellent shape to begin training for the Bolder Boulder on May 28. All the coaches say to run hills before 400 and 800 repeats on a track and that is exactly my plan.

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.