Sunday Long Run

I didn't do much running in the last two weeks, so my expectations were low.  That coupled with a last minute decision to join my friends (thanks Priscilla and Alison) and 4 hours of sleep, well the result was actually pretty good.

Nice consistent splits within a 20 second window and I was pretty happy.

See the activity on RunSaturday

Type:	Run - Long Run
Duration:	1:08:22
Distance:	7.00 mi

Is There an Ideal Running Form?

I read an interesting article in the NY Times Well Blog this morning asking the question 'Is There an Ideal Running Form?'

In recent years, an emphasis on barefoot or more realistically, minimalist shoe running has been taking hold in the running community.  Much of this I think is due to the popularity of the book 'Born To Run' by Christopher McDougall.  I won't spend all day discussing the merits for or against barefoot running, but I think there are merits to focusing on running economy and focusing on better running form.

I've seen plenty of heel strikes run fine with little or no injuries for years, and I've seen forefoot strikers with stress fractures.  What does this mean?  Near as I can tell, run comfortably!

I made some adjustments to my running form, primarily because I was looking at increasing my speed and endurance.  So I adopted a fore/midfoot strike and I found that I was faster when I centered my body mass over my feet, and shortened up my stride.

I think the best practice is get out and run, stride and form will naturally follow.

Outta Gas

Today was an 8 mile Long Run with friends.  for multiple reasons, it wasn't the best of runs.  My guess is that I didn't fuel properly before or during the run.  I took off too fast and I thought my fitness is where it was a year ago.

Overall the time came out decent, but not pretty.

See the activity on RunSaturday

Type:	Run - Long Run
Duration:	1:21:11
Distance:	8.00 mi

Saturday

This week I was very pleased with my, ahem, training.  I actually did more than one run this week.  I managed to get a couple of 4 milers in at a decent pace, a little faster than the 9:40 I was planning, but not too horribly fast.

I completed all of my core workouts and feel good about completing the prep program of 7 Weeks to 300 sit ups.

One thing I also did this week was weigh myself at the beginning and end of the week.

Monday: 180.4
Friday:    177.5
Net loss of 2.9

Here's today's run:

See the activity on RunSaturday

Type:	Run - Easy
Duration:	0:37:19
Distance:	4.01 mi

Lunch time run

Today I needed to get out and dust off the cobwebs...  Nothing spectacular...

See the activity on RunSaturday

Type:	Run - Easy
Duration:	0:38:40
Distance:	4.11 mi

Weekly Workout

Week 4 (Warm Up)

Jan 7-13

Day	Workout	Notes
Jan 7	300 Situps	Set 1: :60 Plank; 14 Hip Raise; 16 Leg Lifts :30 Rest Set 2: 16 Wipers; 12 Bird Dog; 10 Sit-Up :30 Rest Set 3: 16 Reverse Crunch; 12 Cobra; 12 Stability Ball Extension
Jan 8	Tempo Run	5 Miles at 8:24
Jan 9	Easy Run	6 Miles at 9:40
	300 Situps	Set 1: 10 Band Twist; 16 Superman; 10 Mason Twist :30 Rest Set 2: :60 Plank; 12 Sit-Up; 14 Hip Raise :30 Rest Set 3: 14 Ball Crunch; 12 Ball Extension; 12 Bicycle Crunches
Jan 10	800 M Repeats	6 x 800 meters in 3:54(7:48)/800.  Recover with 400 meters easy
Jan 11	Easy Run	5 Miles at 9:40
	300 Situps	Set 1: 16 Situps; 16 Hip Raises; 14 Mason Twist; :30 Rest Set 2: :65 Plank; 22 Crunch; 12 Superman; :30 Rest Set 3: 18 Wipers; 16 Mtn. Climbers; 12 In & Out
Jan 12	Easy Run	5 Miles at 9:40
Jan 13	Long Run	8 Miles at 10:20

Sunday Long Run

Yesterday, I went for a 7 mile long run with a couple of friends.  They were doing 6 miles in a run/walk combination.  I'm not training that way, so I kept running when they started their walk.  I started thinking about my form,each time I did focus on it, my pace picked up.  This resulted in my splits a bit faster than I wanted.  The end result was that I fatigued a bit during the last 1.5 miles.  I need to focus on pace and form at the same time.

See the activity on RunSaturday

Type:	Run - Long Run
Duration:	1:09:17
Distance:	7.00 mi

Weekly Plan

Week 3 (Warm Up)

Dec 31 – Jan 6, 2013

Day	Workout	Notes
Dec 31	REST
Jan 1	RACE	HAIR OF THE DOG 5K
Jan 2	Easy Run	6 Miles at 9:40
Jan 3	800 M Repeats	5 x 800 meters in 3:54(7:48)/800.  Recover with 400 meters easy
Jan 4	Easy Run	5 Miles at 9:40
Jan 5	Easy Run	4 Miles at 9:40
Jan 6	Long Run	7 Miles at 10:20

Goodbye 2012; Hello 2013!

I didn't really anticipate writing an entry today other than posting my scheduled 4 mile run, but I started reading my usual list of running blogs and noticed they were recapping their numbers and setting goals for the year.  It occurred to me that I should probably do something similar.

I log my mileage on runningfreeonline.com and pulled my stats from 2012 and got really pissed off about my efforts.  I could make excuses, but my waistline and the scale is already yelling at me...

Miles: 244.4 from a high of 64.5 miles in January to a measly 2.9 in September.
Time: 38.2 from a high of 9.6 Hours in January to 0.5 in September
Number of Runs: 60

So what does this mean?  It means I need to get off my ass and workout...so here are the targets:

Scheduled Races:
Dismal Swamp Stomp Half Marathon
Waterway 5K
Marine Corps Marathon
California International Marathon or Outer Banks Marathon

I am going to get back to my target racing weight of 165, build muscle tone and feel good about myself...