Sunday, July 18, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
June 17 - This Long Run Was Fast? The 60/30/10 Rule
AM KEY WORKOUT: 20 Mile Run
Course: Greenbelt White Trail
Time: 3 hours, 36 minutes
Weather: 75F, P. Cloudy, Humid
OK, now for the details of this run. I talked with another ultramarathoner who has done several of these 100 mile races. He has a system that he uses that makes a lot of sense. He basically goes by something called the 60/30/10 rule for 100 mile races. The first 60 miles is supposed to be as easy and as comfortable as possible. In the first 60 miles, I make sure I'm adequately hydrated and sated, make sure that my running is as balanced as possible, never force any sort of pace, and keep moving as much as possible.
At 60 miles, if everything is right, this is where the race begins. A great deal of this section is night time running. I will be exhausted, lacking energy, maybe hallucinating, etc. I need to make sure I keep moving and try to get to the 90 mile mark. It's a psychological advantage to make 90 miles the goal instead of the finish at 100 so that I can limit this section to 30 miles.
At 90, no matter what condition I'm in, whether I'm on my feet or no my knees, I can thank the fact that I only have 10 miles left in my trip and could walk it in if it all comes down to that.
And that is the 60/30/10 rule.
But first, I need to practice the "60" part. That is, how to run very, very easy.
I left my watch at home this morning. Without that influence, I can then allow my body to dictate the pace. I started off on a real easy road mile to the beginning of the white trail. Once on the white trail, I shuffled up the various hills, and glided through the downhill sections. The Parks Department did clear away some of the deadfall from this spring's wind storm, but there were still sections where I had to climb over some serious obstacles. Nevertheless, when I got to the halfway point at Crookes Point at Great Kills Park, I felt great.
Coming back I still felt great. I got back after running 20 miles and saw the clock.
It read 3 hours 36 minutes.
That would mean an 18 hour prediction for the 100 miler. This is way too fast a pace; a goal of 24 hours. To put this pace into perspective, a true 24 hour pace for 100 miles would have me cover 20 miles at 4 hours, 48 minute.
That's over an hour slower than my pace!
Now granted, I haven't factored in aid stops and the more extreme hills that the Vermont 100 course contains, but a 72 minute difference is very significant. It means I can still go slower and still have a lot of time left to walk, eat and drink at aid stations, etc. If I can make this 20 mile run slower by 30 minutes, I'm pretty sure I can really extend my strength through the first 60 miles of the ultra.
The trick is, can I slow it down that much?
I might do this same run tomorrow. If so, I'll really try to slow it down and see how I feel at the end of the 20 miler. It should be an interesting outcome.
Course: Greenbelt White Trail
Time: 3 hours, 36 minutes
Weather: 75F, P. Cloudy, Humid
OK, now for the details of this run. I talked with another ultramarathoner who has done several of these 100 mile races. He has a system that he uses that makes a lot of sense. He basically goes by something called the 60/30/10 rule for 100 mile races. The first 60 miles is supposed to be as easy and as comfortable as possible. In the first 60 miles, I make sure I'm adequately hydrated and sated, make sure that my running is as balanced as possible, never force any sort of pace, and keep moving as much as possible.
At 60 miles, if everything is right, this is where the race begins. A great deal of this section is night time running. I will be exhausted, lacking energy, maybe hallucinating, etc. I need to make sure I keep moving and try to get to the 90 mile mark. It's a psychological advantage to make 90 miles the goal instead of the finish at 100 so that I can limit this section to 30 miles.
At 90, no matter what condition I'm in, whether I'm on my feet or no my knees, I can thank the fact that I only have 10 miles left in my trip and could walk it in if it all comes down to that.
And that is the 60/30/10 rule.
But first, I need to practice the "60" part. That is, how to run very, very easy.
I left my watch at home this morning. Without that influence, I can then allow my body to dictate the pace. I started off on a real easy road mile to the beginning of the white trail. Once on the white trail, I shuffled up the various hills, and glided through the downhill sections. The Parks Department did clear away some of the deadfall from this spring's wind storm, but there were still sections where I had to climb over some serious obstacles. Nevertheless, when I got to the halfway point at Crookes Point at Great Kills Park, I felt great.
Coming back I still felt great. I got back after running 20 miles and saw the clock.
It read 3 hours 36 minutes.
That would mean an 18 hour prediction for the 100 miler. This is way too fast a pace; a goal of 24 hours. To put this pace into perspective, a true 24 hour pace for 100 miles would have me cover 20 miles at 4 hours, 48 minute.
That's over an hour slower than my pace!
Now granted, I haven't factored in aid stops and the more extreme hills that the Vermont 100 course contains, but a 72 minute difference is very significant. It means I can still go slower and still have a lot of time left to walk, eat and drink at aid stations, etc. If I can make this 20 mile run slower by 30 minutes, I'm pretty sure I can really extend my strength through the first 60 miles of the ultra.
The trick is, can I slow it down that much?
I might do this same run tomorrow. If so, I'll really try to slow it down and see how I feel at the end of the 20 miler. It should be an interesting outcome.
June 16 - Light Bike Today, Long Run Tomorrow
PM Workout: 15 Mile Bike
Course: Great Kills Park
Time: 47:45
Weather 76F, Light Winds
The last of the light days, the real week starts tomorrow with a long run of about 20 miles. I adjusted my cleats on the bike shoes to maximize the power translation to the pedals.
Tomorrow starts one of the long runs. The goal is to run as easy as possible, getting through 20 miles with as little stiffness and soreness as possible. I will elaborate how it went tomorrow.
Course: Great Kills Park
Time: 47:45
Weather 76F, Light Winds
The last of the light days, the real week starts tomorrow with a long run of about 20 miles. I adjusted my cleats on the bike shoes to maximize the power translation to the pedals.
Tomorrow starts one of the long runs. The goal is to run as easy as possible, getting through 20 miles with as little stiffness and soreness as possible. I will elaborate how it went tomorrow.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
June 15 - Another small run at Great Kills...
and putting off a long run today due to business today. Stay tuned...
AM Workout: 5 Mile Run
Course: Great Kills Park
Time: 43:10 (8:38 min/mile pace)
Weather: 73F, Less Humid, Light Winds
Not a bad run. Wanted to do more today, a LOT more, but I'm pretty much "on call" with an athlete today and need to make myself available in the morning. A long run tomorrow would be equally as tough but I'm hoping on fitting one in by Thursday at the latest. I have another long run scheduled for the weekend as well.
So I continue to bide my time with shorter workouts. If the afternoon is free I will do a small bike ride today.
AM Workout: 5 Mile Run
Course: Great Kills Park
Time: 43:10 (8:38 min/mile pace)
Weather: 73F, Less Humid, Light Winds
Not a bad run. Wanted to do more today, a LOT more, but I'm pretty much "on call" with an athlete today and need to make myself available in the morning. A long run tomorrow would be equally as tough but I'm hoping on fitting one in by Thursday at the latest. I have another long run scheduled for the weekend as well.
So I continue to bide my time with shorter workouts. If the afternoon is free I will do a small bike ride today.
June 14, Late Night Summer Swimming...
...at the YMCA can be a bit crowded.
PM Workout: 2000 Meters of Swimming
1x500 WU,
4x200 fly, back, breast, free kicks with swims, untimed
2x200 kickboard with fins, untimed
6x50 freestyle drills with paddles, untimed
------
2000 meters total
Nothing hard here, but was a nice time to loosen up the legs a little. I still wish to do a couple of small triathlons after my 100 mile run next month, so I might as well swim a bit to keep some sort of competitive level of swimming.
One thing that summer attracts to the pool is the fair weather crowd. There were a couple of rowdy teens at the pool today throwing a ball around. I told myself that if I got hit with the ball, I would probably have had one of those yoyos in a headlock within 5 seconds. Luckily nothing happened.
PM Workout: 2000 Meters of Swimming
1x500 WU,
4x200 fly, back, breast, free kicks with swims, untimed
2x200 kickboard with fins, untimed
6x50 freestyle drills with paddles, untimed
------
2000 meters total
Nothing hard here, but was a nice time to loosen up the legs a little. I still wish to do a couple of small triathlons after my 100 mile run next month, so I might as well swim a bit to keep some sort of competitive level of swimming.
One thing that summer attracts to the pool is the fair weather crowd. There were a couple of rowdy teens at the pool today throwing a ball around. I told myself that if I got hit with the ball, I would probably have had one of those yoyos in a headlock within 5 seconds. Luckily nothing happened.
Monday, June 14, 2010
June 14 - (8 Mile Run) The Hills are Alive...
...with the sound of quick running footsteps.
AM Workout: 8 Mile Run
Course: East Victory Blvd. (moderately hilly)
Time: 1:10:59 (8:53 min/mile pace)
Weather: 66F, Humid, Light Winds
With all the trail running that I've been doing, I figured it was time to tackle the road hills of Victory Blvd. a little. What is funny about ultramarathon training is that "tackling the hills" is different than in training for shorter races. Unlike trying to power up hills, the ultramarathoner "manages" himself up the mountain with as little effort as possible. That means cutting down on the stride and maintaining cadence up the hill. If the hill is steep enough, well, there is something called the Duck Walk, or, my favorite, the Crab Walk, where one runs sideways up a steep hill. Both involve moving the front of the foot to a sideways position to keep pressure off the toes as one climbs the hill.
Yeah, these are not the fastest ways up, but if I am not breathing hard at the top of the hill, then I've climbed the hill right.
I've yet to decide on a light swim or light bike this PM. I guess it all depends on if I can take care of other things today. I am quite busy today to try to get things done and I hope to finish them all by early this afternoon to get a ride in. Otherwise, I'll swim at 9AM tonight.
AM Workout: 8 Mile Run
Course: East Victory Blvd. (moderately hilly)
Time: 1:10:59 (8:53 min/mile pace)
Weather: 66F, Humid, Light Winds
With all the trail running that I've been doing, I figured it was time to tackle the road hills of Victory Blvd. a little. What is funny about ultramarathon training is that "tackling the hills" is different than in training for shorter races. Unlike trying to power up hills, the ultramarathoner "manages" himself up the mountain with as little effort as possible. That means cutting down on the stride and maintaining cadence up the hill. If the hill is steep enough, well, there is something called the Duck Walk, or, my favorite, the Crab Walk, where one runs sideways up a steep hill. Both involve moving the front of the foot to a sideways position to keep pressure off the toes as one climbs the hill.
Yeah, these are not the fastest ways up, but if I am not breathing hard at the top of the hill, then I've climbed the hill right.
I've yet to decide on a light swim or light bike this PM. I guess it all depends on if I can take care of other things today. I am quite busy today to try to get things done and I hope to finish them all by early this afternoon to get a ride in. Otherwise, I'll swim at 9AM tonight.
Last Week Review (June 7-June 13)
Last week wasn't posted here. Sorry about that, but it seems like life tends to intrude into the blogs a lot of the time. I did manage to ride 110 miles last week and swim 10,000 meters. I was forced, although, to cut the running down to 40 miles last week, due to a longer than expected recovery from the Train Run as well as making sure a tightness behind my right knee (a small strain in the popliteal muscle) didn't turn serious. One of the wonders of Triathlon training is that one of the other disciplines can pick up the slack if there are hiccups in the running program. That was the case last week.
This week, I'll be back to running. There seems to be no more tightness behind the knee and I'm pretty much recovered from the Train Run. I have a couple of long runs planned, but will develop a flexible schedule since I will be pretty busy with other things this week. On any given day I'll pop in a long run. And I'll try to do my best in posting here.
This week, I'll be back to running. There seems to be no more tightness behind the knee and I'm pretty much recovered from the Train Run. I have a couple of long runs planned, but will develop a flexible schedule since I will be pretty busy with other things this week. On any given day I'll pop in a long run. And I'll try to do my best in posting here.
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