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Turtle Training

13 Posts tagged with the marathon_fitness tag

So, last night I finally had a good LSD -- 16 miles mind you - not the long LSD I needed to get before Harrisburg (which is 9 days away). But, being only 9 days away, I'm supposed to be tapering, not running distances, so this was a compromise. But I needed the psychological lift. Way down in my mind about how porrly prepared I am for this 'thon. So this week, I've put in about 30 miles and will get some more before the weekend is over. Hydration and fuel seem to be working again. But I'll definately be relying on the large base of miles and marathons I've build over the past 30 months for this one.

 

After this, a couple weeks recovery and then start training for spring.

41 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: training, marathon, marathon_training, marathon_fitness

I'm hurting today

Posted by Steve Carton Sep 11, 2008

Yesterday evening my RB and I completed our first 22+ in preparation for Baltimore. We'll be doing one more next week and then start our taper towards the 10/11marathon. http://www.mapmyrun.com/route/us/dc/washington/457409879

 

The run last evening was fantastic. Temps in the mid-70s and resonable humidity. We ran slowly, though pushing a little throughout. I hurt today, but not from anything be the effort. So I'm pleased with where we are.

 

 

 

Hills Monday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

380 Views 2 Comments Permalink Tags: training, marathon_training, marathon_fitness, baltimore_marathon

 

Actually, a little less. And reducing that by 3 weeks for the taper means we have 4 heavy training weeks to go. At this point we're up to 18 miles on the long runs and 6x800s for intervals. I'm still hoping to get as far as 10x800s before the marathon, but it doesn't seem likely. I am comfortable that we'll get a couple of 22-milers in. This week is 18, then 20, then 22. One thing I have to add in is more hill work -- Baltimore is hilly in the latter half. I'm planning to do some strong hills in place of some of the intervals runs in the next few weeks so as to prep for them. 

 

 

I'm getting comfortable with my hydration and fuel plan too, though the jury is still out on protein in the fuel. I think it's a good thing and will probably keep it in -- I've been doing my long runs with the Hammer "Sustained Energy" for a while now and it doesn't bother me much, except it means wearing a belt for the marathon and I would prefer not to. So I should look for a prepackaged gel that has some protein in it. Or suck it up and wear the belt (I'm such a whiner). But, I'm feeling good -- like I should at this point. 

 

 

 

 

 

326 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: training, marathon_training, marathon_fitness, baltimore_marathon

 

How could I have forgotten this! I started my long run yesterday and totally forgot to apply body-glide to my inner legs. We were heading out for an 18 mile run with some good hill work. I got to around mile 10 and had such bad chafing that I was starting to run bow-legged. In another couple of miles, my hips started to hurt, and my knees!  Ended up walking the last mile. It was awful!

 

 

 

 

 

375 Views 2 Comments Permalink Tags: pain, marathon_fitness, chafing

The Forced Taper

Posted by Steve Carton Feb 19, 2008

 

Less than two weeks to the B&A marathon. Definately in taper mode. I took the past week off to let my knee heal a bit and then ran a short 5 miles last Saturday. It was an okay run, though I felt a bit leaden. Too much time off? Not sure. But my knee felt fine while I was running. I had planned to run 12 or so, but I got to about 5 and mother nature intervened. So I plodded on home to use the facilities and never made it back out the door again

 

 

But later that evening, my knee (outside, over the top of the cap) was very tender. I was quite worried, but by today (Tuesday) it feels fine again. So, I'm trying to decide if I should run at all during the rest of my taper, or if I should just let the knee rest, or if I should skip this marathon altogether! It's a hard decision. I'm signed up for Frederick in a couple of months, so the time off may be a good thing. But I really love the B&A marathon and want to run it. I'm sure I can get through it -- the issue is one of doing more permanent damage.

 

 

Ah well, decisions, decisions, decisions...

 

 

 

 

 

386 Views 2 Comments Permalink Tags: marathon_training, pain, b&a_marathon, marathon_fitness

 

Well, only 4 weeks to the Baltimore and Annapolis marathon, 2008. I'm not ready. I thought I wasn't ready for the Marine Corp Marathon last fall, but I'm really not ready for this one. I think all the training I did for the MCM is gone and has been replaced by Christmas and New Years training, which is mostly doing beverage lifts!

 

 

I've done some 18 mile runs and did a 14.4 last night, but my knees are protesting and I generally felt tired and weak. Tomorrow I'm gonna drag my sorry arse out of bed at 5:30 to hook up again with the striders for a 22 mile trainer. If that goes well, then I might think there's hope. I'll do one more 20+ and then taper. It's a short taper, but I'm not focused on this marathon anything like I was for the MCM. I'm using it more as a long-distance training run for the Frederick, which isn't until May.

 

 

But I can't have a slower time either (some ego, huh?).

 

 

398 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: marathon_training, b&a_marathon, marathon_fitness

I'm training for my third marathon, the B&A on March 2, 2008 (still trying to type that the first time!). The first was the B&A a year ago. I ran it in a long time -- almost 5:30. Had to walk a bit. The second was the Marine Corp in 2007, basically 7 months later. Ran that in just over 4:39. I was thrilled. It definately helps that the weather is cooler. My goal for the B&A this year is under 4:30. But a great thing is happening -- I'm actually getting faster. I think the tempo and interval runs are beginning to pay off.

 

I ran a 10 mile tempo run last night. Temps were in the low 50s. Great running weather. And I ran fast (for a turtle, that is). Completed the run in 1:28:20 -- averaging 8:50 per mile. Now, mind you, there is no way I could keep that up for a full marathon. Not yet anyway. But not too long ago I could not have run a 10k that fast. In fact, I was running 10ks in about that total time.

 

 

 

So, I'm beginning to think the unthinkable -- maybe a turtle can break 4 hours in a marathon. Probably not this Spring. But, maybe in the fall.

 

 

 

Strutting onward, chest out!

 

 

463 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: marathon_training, b&a_marathon, marathon_fitness

Ouch -- Starting Over

Posted by Steve Carton Nov 29, 2007

 

Well last evening was our first real distance run since the Marine Corp Marathon. Until now, we had done several 10 milers and a bunch of lesser stuff. But the MCM was one month ago yesterday. Until now, I had been blindly thinking, "I'm in great shape now. I could do another marathon". Not.

 

 

Mind you, it was a fine, fun run. A bit chilly and windy at times, but very nice conditions. We managed 13.5 miles in 2:16. Which is faster than we ran the first half of the MCM, so a new PR. And I felt fine afterwards. I could have gone farther. But not another 13 miles. So, I figure I'm at about the 16- or 18-mile point in my training. Surprising because I would have thought I was still in the same shape I was in at the time of the MCM. But I'm not.

 

 

Today I ache a bunch -- my bod is reminding me that this is hard stuff. I am fortunate that I'm in a club -- the Annapolis Striders. And we've started the Spring marathon training program. So I'll be ready.

 

 

Slogging onwards...

 

 

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So I'm pretty sure, though not 100% certain that I'm gonna sign up for the National Marathon   in late March, 2008. I also like the B&A marathon  (which I ran last year as my first ever, and loved) and my RB wants to consider the Frederick Marathon , though that's quite a hike for me. Anyway, I signed up for the Annapolis Striders  training program again. We run 10 miles this Saturday morning.

 

10 miles. Hardly worth getting up for -- we ran that last night after work as a first run after the MCM. I can't help but feel like we should do at least 16. But the experienced ones on the Striders coaching team know best. And anything will help keep the turkey gravy from adding to my waistline.

 

March is a long ways off --  5 months. Oh, wait, that was how far back we were when starting the MCM training.

 

 

 

By the way (except it isn't), anyone else in the DC area notice that we went from summer to winter overnight?

 

 

 

Slogging onward...

 

 

417 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: marathon_training, marathon_fitness, national_marathon

My Running Log

Posted by Steve Carton Nov 5, 2007

Back in May when I started training for the MCM, I found an Excel spreadsheet running log by David Hays. (dhays@davidhays.net). I downloaded it and started tracking my runs. Boy is that nice -- I can see how much weight I've lost, how my speed and distance have improved and generally how I'm doing. I recommend this to anyone with Excel (and, I guess, a computer).

 

A copy of the file is attached...

 

 

627 Views 2 Comments Permalink Tags: marathon_fitness

Withdrawl :-(

Posted by Steve Carton Nov 2, 2007

It's has now been 6 days since the MCM and I haven't been running at all. Some walking. No running. I think I'm going through withdrawl. I'm getting nasty and bitchy and mean. I feel fine and could probably run, at least slowly (I'm a turtle, afterall!). No lingering inguries or pain. But I haven't. Main reason is, I gotta pay back favors to family for all the time off for training. So no time for running this week.

 

I'm gonna try and head out Saturday morning. Maybe some other Striders will join me. Maybe not. But I feel the need ...

 

 

 

Slogging Onward...

 

 

423 Views 2 Comments Permalink Tags: marathon_training, marathon_fitness

 

I don't get this. Through the summer, as my RB and I have been training for the MCM, the heat and humidity have been oppressive. Our times were correspondingly slow (even for turtles). Our water intake was correspondingly high (I think I drank well over a gallon of water during one long run). So now it's cooler and dryer and our paces are picking up and our water consumption is down to a mere fire-hose. And I felt great about that as we headed toward the taper.

 

 

But now, in the taper, we're trying to run a little slower than our target race pac (tortoise + 15). But, we can't seem to run that slowly, especially for these shorter distances. We both feel soooo much better in the cooler weather that we're just running faster than we ever ran in the summer. So last Wednesday we did a 12-mile taper long-run and we ran it in a PR.But we were trying to go slow!

 

 

I guess that bodes well for the actual marathon.

 

 

465 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: marathon_training, taper, marathon_fitness

It's kind of a joke, really. I run so slowly that any "normal" runner would have to look carefully to note forward progress. Boston Qualifier? I'm getting faster, but I think by the time I reach an age where I could qualify, I'll be dead! So why am I doing this? Simple, fitness. I'm slogging proof that a person can be heavy (circumferentially challenged) and still run distances.

 

Here's the thing: When I ran the B&A Marathon (my first), I weighed 230 pounds. I had been running no more than 10-15 miles per week. I was on blood pressure medication and had recently had the dose increased. Now (2-weeks prior to the MCM), I'm down to 208. And my BP is normal without medication. That was a significant thing - I was running with my RB (running buddy) when I started feeling faint. This happened in a couple of mid-distance training runs (<15 miles). So I went to the doctor, fully expecting him to tell me I had some heart condition and I needed to stop running, blah, blah, blah. But, to my shock and delight, he told me that the running had corrected my blood pressure and that the medication was pushing it too low! I'm thrilled. My wife is thrilled. My kids are thrilled. Even the dog is thrilled. So I'm committed to this program.

 

 

This month, the MCM. My RB and I are looking to find something to run during or just after the holidays. And then another in the Spring. And who knows; maybe I'll move faster than a turtle someday!

 

 

 

 

Poking along...

 

 

463 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: marathon_training, marathon_fitness