Tam's training for 3:45:00" in Feb. 2008

IBM 10K race. T=73-76 degrees. Humid 75%.

Slept 7 hrs. Woke up 2.5 hrs before race time. Well hyderated. Good relax warm up for 2 miles. Drills.

Ran 6.2 miles at 7:36" AVG

Warm down 1 mile.

To qualify for Boston I would need to run a 3:30:00” marathon or for a 10K I would need to run at 7:12” pace.

My last 2 miles time trial at 6:50” pace suggests that I potentially could run a marathon at 3:36:18” or a 10K at 7:24” pace. And that was my goal for this 10K.

I did not have a watch on me so the first 2 miles I was running at about 90-91% effort which seems pretty comfortable to me. Everything works as planned. I felt like I could keep going at this pace for 6.2 miles. The official clock said 8:30” for the first mile but I had a late start so it doesn’t tell me much about my pace. I felt like I was running at about 7:20”-7:30” pace. I learned later I ran the 1st mile at 7:39" pace. Going into the 3rd mile, with a little bit of incline, my body started feeling the heat. My legs and my heart (rate) started working harder and harder to maintain the pace and keep up with the group that I had been running with. At about 3 mile mark, I was sweating a lots and my breathing became uncontrollably hard (95-98% effort). I was forced to slow down and take a 30 meters walk break during the water stops. I slowed down even more during mile 4th & 5th, forced to take some additional walking breaks beside the usual water stops and it was so painful that I was seriously thinking of quitting. However, running slower allowed me to recover a little bit. I also felt a little bit better mentally and start picking up the pace on the last mile (second wind?). The downhill plus the thought of finishing the race really helped to carry me on the last mile. I probably ran the last mile at about 7:10”-7:20”, thanks to the strong finish on the last 400 meters. I was totally spent at the end.

I am very disappointed that I ran my 10K at 7:36” pace, not at 7:24” pace as planned, or 7:12” as required for BQ.

The only little consolation is I usually ran at about 8:00” pace for a 10K in October then ran a February marathon at 3:45:00”.

Should I focus more on endurance/MGP/tempo runs and less on speed? Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Drills, then 2 800M @ 7:12" pace with 200M jog, then 4 400M @ 7:00" pace with 100M jog, then 1 mile cool down. Ran with Karen & Paul. Legs felt great. Best recovery after a race. 80-85% effort.

Morning work out at YMCA:

3x[(15x65 lbs)+(12x85 lbs)+(10x105 lbs)]. Plus 6x20 sit ups. Plus 6x20 plunges. Strech 15 min. Good recovery from 10K race. Felt great. No soreness.

PM: Strech 15 min. Did power bench press 1 time at 135 lbs, and 145 lbs (my body weigh!) Very happy that I can finally do that.

No running today.

PM: T=90 degrees. Warm up 2 mile with Paul. Drills.

5x[400m@ about 7:00" pace --> jog100m -->600m @ 6:30" pace --> jog100m].

Ran with Joe. About 90-92% controlled hard effort. Good pace. Great work out.

Warm down 1 mile.

AM at YMCA: 45 minutes.

Slept 3hrs. Coudn't sleep but relaxing / resting.

3x[(15x65 lbs)+(12x85 lbs)+(10x105 lbs)]. Plus 6x20 sit ups. Plus 6x20 plunges. Took less time to recover between sets. Heart rate felt like running at 9:00" pace. Stretched 10 min. Felt great. No soreness.

PM: T=95 degrees.

Felt very tired. Right knee is very tender, especially running downhill. Had to walk going downhill. Decided to take it real easy today. Jogged 4 mile very slowly.

Morning work out at YMCA: Slept 7 hrs.

3x[(15x65 lbs)+(12x85 lbs)+(10x105 lbs)]. Plus 6x20 sit ups. No plunges today! Right knee is still tender. Hope it will recover in time for tomorrow 14.4 miles "run from hell" hilly long run.

No running today.

Right knee is still sore. Not feeling well. Will do the long run on Sunday.

Allergy suffering: Sneezing, eye iching, sinus headache, body tired. Slept 8 hrs last night. Took another 3 hours nap at noon! Wake up and still feeling tired! Hopefully will feel better after the Sunday long run.

Slept 7 hrs.

T=68-73 degrees. So nice!

Survived the 14.5 miles "run from hell" (countless hills for a good 10 miles).

Warmed up 1 mile very slowly on flat road before the run. Right knee was still very tender even after the warm up. Body however felt much better compared to the last 2 days. Ran at conversational / medium effort pace 80-85% the entire run. Knee was OK going up the hills, very painful on the downhills. Had to really slow down or walked down the hills.

Felt better and better as the run progressed (less painful on right knee). Took 2 GU at mile 7th. Picked up the pace for the last 2 miles. Felt like I could run the last 3-4 miles at MGP today but decided to stay with Stacy (3:41:00) and Becky (3:45:00) who had been so supportive to me through out the run.

Great training run! Felt much stronger than last year when running this hills. Still under the weather (allergy) but it's getting much better now. Will need to take it really easy on Monday run.

Ran 4 miles easy with Paul and Andy. About 8:30" pace with a quick water breaks after each mile. Right knee felt much less painful than before Sunday run! It's still a little bit tender but OK after warming up. Good recovery from Sunday 15.5 miles run. Muscles feel great (no tighness or sore). Very encouraging!

S3H.

AM:4 miles easy at 9:00" on treadmil. Felt great. Right knee tenderness is almost gone.

S7H.

PM: T=92 degrees.

Warm up, drill, cooldown 3 miles.

1600m @7:17" --> jog 400m.

4x400m @44" AVG. --> jog 200m in between.

1600m @7:10" ---> jog 400m.

Ran with Paul, Joe, and Andy.

Right knee felt OK. All allergy symptons are gone. Felt strong. Controlled comfortly hard training run. Mostly at 90% effort except when picking up the pace on the last lap.

S7H

PM: T=76 Cool!

Running hills with Joe, Angle, and Kerry. Steady up the hills at medium 80-82% effort. Ran up some hills with Angel. Had to walk on downhill. Right knee is tender even when jogging down the hill slowly.

May need new shoes.

AM at YMCA: 45 minutes.

3x[(15x65)+(12x85)+(10x105)]lbs bench press.

9x20 sit ups.

9x20 plunges.

Right knee is tender when walking! Applied sport cream on it.

No running today.

S5H.

T=68-72 degrees. So nice!

Ran 10 miles. Started first 1.5 mile real slowly to warm up, about 10-11:00" pace. Right knee seems uneasy but not hurting. Ran at medium/decent effort while carrying short conversations, 83%-85%. Stop 2x1 minutes for water at mile 4th & 6th. Total time was 1:26:00". Average pace the last 8.75 miles is about 8:05"-8:10" pace. Thanks to the cooler temperature. Great training run. Felt strong the whole way. Catched Angel and Andy at the end. It looks like all the 100 degrees plus summer training runs start paying off. 8:00" pace now seems much easier compares to last year. Very encouraging.

Mistakenly took and ran in wife's new shoes, 1/2 sizes maller. Toes got jammed and hurt the whole 10 miles run. Removed insole at mile 6th. Still got blister afterward. Took 1 hour nap at noon. Felt great.

S10H.

Day off. No running today. Good recovery from Saturday run. Knee OK.

S6H.

AM @ YMCA: Warm up & down 2 miles.

Ran 3 miles @7:16" pace (PR).

Legs=90-91%; Heart=93-95%; Mind=95-98%.

Tough but great work out. First 1/2 mile was pretty hard mentally. Next 1 1/2 mile was controlled hard effort. Last 1/2 mile heart rate went up higher 94-95%?). Breathing was not out of control yet but it was pretty hard. Still had some energy left at the end. Could have run the last lap at 6:00" pace if want to.

PM: T=81 degrees. Easy run.

Warm up & down 3 miles easy.

Ran 3x1 miles with Paul @ AVG 8:00" pace.

Felt great. Knee OK.

AM at YMCA: 35 minutes.

3x[(15x65)+(12x85)+(10x105)]lbs

bench press.

9x20 sit ups.

9x20 lunges.

Knee is OK.

PM: Easy 6 miles on treadmil. Walked then started at 12:00" pace to warm up. Right knee seems uneasy but not painful. Averaged about 10:00"/mile. Felt very relaxing running at this pace for an hour.

AM at YMCA: 45 minutes.

3x[(15x65)+(12x85)]lbs bench press.

6x20 sit ups.

6x20 lunges.

Felt awefully tired today! Reduced workout. Stretched for 20 minutes. Felt a little bit better afterward.

PM: Run 6 miles.

Felt very very tired during 2 miles warm up. Was breathing hard at 10:00" pace!

Ran 3 miles at medium-hard pace 90-92% effort (24x100m with 100m jogs in between to recover. Fast 100m at about 6:00" pace then jogged 100m at 10:00" pace to recover). Averaged 8:00" for 3 miles. Felt stronger and stronger as the run progress. Stayed with the front group all the way until the last 2 laps. Great work out.

Feel so much better afterward.

AM at YMCA: 40 minutes.

3x[(15x65)+(12x85)+ (10x105)]lbs bench press.

8x20 sit ups.

8x20 lunges.

Felt somewhat tired. No running today.

T=48-52 degrees. 10 miles race. 5 miles out and back. Need to run at 7:30" pace to run a 3:30:00 Marathon.

Warm up 2 miles. Warm down 2 miles.

Gutsy head wind in the first 5 miles!

Ran 10 miles at 7:51" AVG at medium to medium hard effort 90%. Heart and legs felt great but couldn't go faster due to painful side stitches in the last 9 miles! Need to hydrate well and eat better the day before the race.

Felt like I could have run at 7:40" pace today if not for the side stitches. Right knee was not perfect but felt fine during the entire run.

This year 8:00" pace definitely feels much easier than last year. And that's very encouraging.

S7H.

T= 70 degrees. So nice.

WU easy 3 miles. Drills. 4 mile at MGP. Warm down 1/2 mile.

Ran with Paul & Andy 4 miles @ 8:00" pace at medium 85-87% effort. Could easily ran a couple more miles at this pace. Body recovers real well from 14 milers Sunday. Probably because I didn't race hard yesterday. Heart and legs feel great. Right knee a little bit sore during warm down.

Recover run. Ran 4 easy miles at 10:00" pace on treadmil. Wonder if this is considered to be "junk miles" since it's real slow.

Right knee felt great, no pain.

S7H.

T=72 degrees. Hills work.

WU & WD 3 miles.

Ran 4.5 miles which covers 6 steep 100m hills with Joe and Peggy.

Easy to medium 70-80% effort. Saving energy for this Saturday MGP run. Right knee is tender when jogging down the steep hills. Otherwise it's OK. Felt somewhat tired the last 2 days.

S7H.

T=90 degrees.

Ran 5 miles real easy with Joe and Angel on mostly flat road. Right knee is tender if going downhill. Not 100% yet but feeling much better than yesterday.

S7H.

Hydrate well.

No running today. Knee feel OK.

T=50-53 degrees. Sunny. Humility=60%. Wind=5 MPH. Great weather to run!

WU 3 miles. WD 2 miles. Ran 12 miles @8:00" pace in training for the first time! Could have run 3-4 miles more at this pace today.

Ran mostly at conversational medium effort on the flat and downhills; medium-hard effort on the slightly low grade inclines; and as fast as I could on the last mile.

Andy was helping to pace the first 8.5 miles at about 8:00" pace. Felt great. There was only a mild side stitch starting at mile 5 but it only last a couple minutes. Run with Mat the last 3.5 miles at about 7:43" pace (27 minutes). Still feeling great after 11 miles so I decided to run all out on the last mile and it hurt. I wonder if it is better for me just to maintain the same speed and comfortable effort level to finish this run rather than running all out on the last mile to chop 45-50 seconds off but feeling terible afterward. After all, it's only a training run. Left calf wanted to cramp but went away after 2 miles easy warm down.

Since I couldn't run this training run at 8:00" pace in the last 2 years so I prepared for this as I would with a race: Taper, hydrate, and eat well days before the run. Woke up early to have plenty of time to warm up. I even placed my own energy drinks on the course. The weather is so nice to run and I have no excuses. Everything finally worked beautifully as planned! What a great training run. I am so happy. They said third time is a charm and finally the BIG monkey is off my back!

NOTE:

8:00" pace for first 7.5 miles.

7:50" pace from mile 7.5 to 8.5.

Last 3.5 miles in 27 min or 7:43" pace.

Total 1:34:50 for 12 miles.

S6H.

WU&WD 2 miles.

Ran 5 MGP miles with Paul. First 4 miles @ 7:45"-8:00" pace then the last mile at 7:07". Mostly at 85-88% effort. Legs are not fully recovered from Saturday run. They felt tired and heavy. Heart rate is great. Knee is OK.