Hills for breakfast, hold the gnats

Week starting Jul 25, 2010

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200820092010
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Location:

Snoqualmie,WA,

Member Since:

Jan 31, 2008

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

Marathon PR: 4:17 at Portland Marathon, Oct. 2007

5K PR 24:37 2009

10K PR 52:58 2010

Have run 22 marathons to date.

No injuries, ever.   :)

Short-Term Running Goals:

Qualify for Boston (4:05 for my age/gender) - or, perhaps, to use my desire for a BQ as a way to get in the hated speed work so I don't just get slower and slower over the years.  This goal is "under (re)construction" right now, until I figure out whether it is truly what I want. :) 


Long-Term Running Goals:

To continue learning about myself and about running, and to enjoy being a fit, happy runner for life.   To always know why I am running and the best way to get the most (both mentally and physically) out of my runs.  To keep a sense of humor and remain optimistic about myself as a runner.  To enjoy running more and more with every passing year. 

Personal:

Baby boomer generation.  Jogged a little in my 20's and 30's.  Started running seriously in 2002.  Low-carb runner since January 2010. 

I love long runs and cold, cloudy weather.  I don't believe in "junk miles."  I am an optimist.  I adore dark chocolate, fog, my family, and knitting -- not necessarily in that order.  

"As every runner knows, running is about more than just putting one foot in front of the other; it is about our lifestyle and who we are."  -- Joan Benoit Samuelson 


Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Brooks ST3 Lifetime Miles: 891.35
Vibram Five Fingers KSO Lifetime Miles: 23.77
Brooks ST3 II Lifetime Miles: 965.17
Lunaracers II Lifetime Miles: 198.23
Mizuno Wave Universe 3 Lifetime Miles: 104.14
Asics Piranha Lifetime Miles: 536.83
RunAmocs (Softstar) Lifetime Miles: 16.23
Piranha II Lifetime Miles: 219.53
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
42.953.500.002.9749.42
Lunaracers II Miles: 7.26Asics Piranha Miles: 14.30Brooks ST3 II Miles: 5.81ST3-M Miles: 22.05
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.260.000.000.007.26

High 50s, easy run followed by hill sprints: 10 x 8 seconds on ~15% grade. 


Lunaracers II Miles: 7.26
Comments(7)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.730.000.000.006.73

59F, mostly clear. Easy run. 

AuntieEm is off to Paris, so I decided to "see Scotland."  (Trying not to be completely boring these days. :)  ) 

Asics Piranha Miles: 6.73
Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.600.000.002.977.57

54F, clear. VO2 max workout: 5 x 5 min. hard effort (target 8:30) on rolling hills w/ 3 min. recovery between.  8:28, 8:33, 8:28, 8:21, 8:16

This is a workout I took from this Greg McMillan article.   For a number of reasons, I am not big on periodization, but it really made sense to me to put in some extra focus on speed for 3 or 4 weeks before finishing up with stamina, so that "slow legs" would not interfere with the stamina workouts.  

Through a combination of obsessive strategizing and sheer luck, I managed to pick my route in such a way as to mix the ups and downs in my favor and get pretty even splits. The worst uphills seemed to fall perfectly into the "recovery" interval.  My last rep, which I had intended on pushing the hardest, ended up being almost completely downhill.  So I'm not sure it "counts" that this rep was faster.  The one just before that, however, had plenty of Up - so I shall take full credit for that nice split.  ;) 

The fog that has been sitting down in the valley all morning just rolled up here to my neighborhood and I am temporarily surrounded by beautiful, cool, gray, luscious fog. Ah....  Perhaps my reward for a good workout.  

Asics Piranha Miles: 7.57
Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.810.000.000.005.81

55F, with lovely, cool, refreshing fog.  :)   Easy run. 

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It is almost completely dark now at 5 AM, and I will soon need to start out with my headlamp again.  It will be worth it if I can have cooler days.   Legs are a bit dead today, complete with monkeys - 3 on a scale of 1-5 I'd say.  But the weather was inspiring. 

Brooks ST3 II Miles: 5.81
Comments(6)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
18.553.500.000.0022.05

Mid 50s, sunny for 5 miles, lows clouds thereafter and fog last mile (returning to higher elevation).  Endurance run w/ progression. Easy for 10 mi, moderate for 5 mi,  3.5 mi of MP in miles 15-19,  Leg Builder Hill  b/t 19.4 & 21.3. 

Nice run, though the last miles were extremely tough. I had to walk a couple of times on the LB Hill.  The reason I have 3.5 miles of MP in miles 15-19 instead of 4 is that I stopped to use a bathroom and "touch up" my chafe danger spots at 17.5, then found I had grown extremely stiff and sluggish during the rest.  It took me a half mile to loosen up again before I could push the pace back up.  Scary.  

ST3-M Miles: 22.05
Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
42.953.500.002.9749.42
Lunaracers II Miles: 7.26Asics Piranha Miles: 14.30Brooks ST3 II Miles: 5.81ST3-M Miles: 22.05
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