6 X 800 intervals

Rode my bike to Cretzmeyer track and found the usual Running-Wild crowd. After warming up with a few laps, I ran some speedy 800's.  As always, I ran the first lap kind of conservative, and then I speed up in the second lap and finish pretty strong the last 100 m. I compared these times with the ones I had a few weeks ago. Nice surprise!  

1. 3:11 min, 6:09 min/mile

2. 3:12 min, 6:51 min/mile

3. 3:10 min, 6:13 min/mile

4. 3:14 min, 6:24 min/mile

5. 3:20 min, 6:30 min/mile

6. 3:09 min, 6:14 min/mile

Now, today was a very hot day.  I believe my iPod showed 95F.  It felt hot when there were no clouds. I didn't want to pass out, so I did take some time to recover between laps. I ran with Dan, Jennifer, and this time new young guy Andrew and his girlfriend. I believe the mind is very powerful and can make all the difference. It's whats in your head and what you believe you can do.  Of course it wasn't easy, but it was doable. Now, I wish I could do 8 or 10 intervals at that pace!  There is always room for improvement.

Sophia running

We went for a bicycle/walk in the neighborhood last night. Sophia asked if we could go to the track. She said she wanted to run barefoot.  Stupid me, told her she couldn't do it. Running barefoot on that track hurt my feet last time I tried. I couldn't even walk because of the pebbles. Surprisingly to me, she took off her sandals and started running barefoot. I told her I would run next to her very slowly, so she could run a whole 400 m lap. She did not listen to me again and she took off. Again, I was surprised she was able to run the whole 400 m without stopping. My Garmin recorded 3 min for my slow lap, and Sophia came way ahead of me! I hope we continue coming back to the track and Sophia continues to run a lap, barefoot or no barefoot. By the way, her foot ended almost black dirty, but not hurt.

Bill Iffrig

There is an article in the current issue of Runner's World magazine about Bill Iffrig. This is a special issue on the Boston Marathon's double bomb tragedy. Bill Iffrig is the man who falls down while he is almost by the finish line when the first bombing occurred. It turns out, he is no ordinary man. He is 78 years old, and a very experienced marathoner with more than 40 under his belt!  More amazingly, he can run most races at a sub 8 min/mile pace!  what an inspiration he is!

I looked up his chronos in athlinks. I was very surprised about the chronos this man has.This  man should be famous because of his accomplishments, not because of falling down because of the bombing in Boston. Here's another picture of him, resting after running Spokane after the Boston marathon.

400m intervals

I was feeling pretty tired this morning and had a few doubts about getting out of bed and go for a run.  Karen takes off running on Fridays, so it is more tempting for me to stay in bed. But I just did it.  Got up and went outside.  Started jogging very slowly. The Achilles were hurting, but after a mile, the muscles warmed up and the pain went away. I ran to Cretzmeyer Track and saw the Friday morning run group (Kim and Duane). They told me they decided to run some 400m intervals. I decided to join them for one or two intervals.  These turned out to be five intervals!  As always, I cannot stop being competitive and tried to finish ahead of the group almost every time.

1. 1:31 min, 5:52 min/mile

2. 1:29 min, 5:41 min/mile

3. 1:31 min, 5:59 min/mile

4. 1:29 min, 5:41 min/mile

5. 1:36 min, 6:09 min/mile

They were planing to do one more interval, but I told them I wanted to leave. I still had to run back home for two miles. I like to see my chronos. If I could only run like this for 5K...  I just can't imagine the elite runners who run even faster <than me this morning> in marathons! what can I say?  They are amazing!

Swim Meet

There has been a swimming meet at CRWC this weekend. Assen competed in two events only. There were like six other swimming teams competing in the meet. It looked very well organized, because of the ample space at the CRWC. Assen's first event was the 100 m breast stroke. I personally think this is the hardest stroke for swimming. Kids his age were doing the 100 m in around 2:00. He was the last one finishing and he did it in about 2:45 min. 

The second and last event he did was free style 50 m. I think his time was about 1:24 min. This time he beat one other kid. The best kid finished in about 1:00. It looks like kids start to show some swimming skills in Jr-High, but it is not until High School when they really shine. I believe consistency and perseverance are key to achieve success. Parents are the ones that can help their children to develop those talents.

Yasso's 800's

According to coach Bart Yasso, a runner should train running 800 m intervals at a speed such that the he can complete each of them in the time he expects to finish his marathon. I have been running 800's in about 3:30 min (marathon goal: 3 hr 30 min).  These are yesterday's chronos for the 6X800 intervals:

1. 3:41 min, 7:06 min/mile

2. 3:31 min, 6:50 min/mile

3. 3:29 min, 6:43 min/mile

4. 3:33 min, 6:48 min/mile

5. 3:30 min, 6:49 min/mile

6. 3:30 min, 6:49 min/mile

We walked a lap after each interval and my heart rate had a complete recovery. I usually run the first lap with the 3:45 min group, then take the lead after the first lap and finish strong the last 100 m. Not sure if this is the best strategy.  Probably not very energy efficient, but definitely a good workout.

It is recommended to do these intervals once a week. However, I have been doing them twice a week, Wed PM and Fri AM.  I am taking Thursdays off to have a good rest day.

A few words on my running philosophy

Is there any benefit by running very slow? let's say, slower than 11 min/mile?
This pace might be considered pretty slow for a lot of runners. However, running at 11 MM should be alright for recovering runs.
I can speed up to 5:30 to 6:30 MM pace during track days. My 5K pace has been sub 7. My goal marathon pace is 8 MM. So, I believe there is no problem if I run 1 to 1.5 min slower in my Sunday-long-distance runs (9 to 9.5 MM).

I believe 'pace-change' is important. It is important to run at different paces and different terrains during the week and do not let the legs get used to running at the same pace. Low intensity runs are perfectly OK.  The body needs some rest and just get used to moving the leg muscles.  But, it also needs to learn that there will be times when speed is important.
Wednesdays are interval training days. There is a warm-up run first for about a mile and then some dynamic warm-up. Intervals of 800 m are my favorites with a two minute rest in between.
Sundays are the days when we like to do our long runs. These are normally something between 10 and 20 miles. Pace is not important here.