May 15-21 Recap

A full training week...overall not too bad despite the unseasonal hot weather and an onset of allergy/cold-like symptoms later in the week...still hacking quite a bit with some sinus congestion.
Mon- AM-8.3 easy w/strides (7:05), PM- weights
Tues- PM: 6 incl track workout w/ Phoenix- 5x800 (2:40, 2:47, 2:56, 2:53, 2:50)...very hot today..struggled badly with the last 2-3 repeats...a great thing that I had my gatorade with me during the workout.
Weds- AM- 11.3 steady (7:08)
Thurs- AM- 10.3 w/ 6.4 tempo (6:14)- good workout
Fri- AM- 8.5 easy (7:11), PM- weights
Sat- AM- 16.7 steady (7:15)
Sun- 0
Total- 61.2

May 8-14 Recap

A short week due to some time taken off this weekend for a camping trip in Chilliwack. I didn't do any running all weekend (Friday to Sunday). Altogether a total of 34 miles and a session of weights.
Mon: 8 miles easy (7:13)
Tues: 9.6 w/ 5x1200s (600 recv.)- 4:18, 4:23, 4:22, 4:23, 4:16...good workout, never, or barely touched these paces before 2 months ago
Weds: AM- 6.85 miles easy w/4x100 strides (7:06)
PM- weights
Thurs: 9.8 w/ 3x10 min @ LT (~8-12k effort) w/ 3 min recv. (paces-5:53, 5:56, 6:00)
Fri: off/camping
Sat: off/camping
Sun: off/camping
Total- 34.2

Week Recap-May 1-7

First week of the second program. Before I carry on, I'll like to wish good luck to everyone running the Vancouver marathon/1/2 marathon this Sunday (May 7).
This week, and the next 3 weeks or so will be somewhat like a transitioning phase way back in January, though mileage is lower (I don't have much time to rebuild back too much base). Intervals and tempo running are still maintained and the steady midweek longish runs are brought back into the schedule again. The weekend long runs are slightly more emphasized.
Mon: 7.1 easy w/ 4x100 strides (7:23)
Tues: 4.8 (ridiculously low I know...) w/ intervals on the track w/ Phoenix Run Club
1.7 w/u, followed by drills, then 1000-800-600-400-200 at a progressively faster pace (5k >)- 3:32, 2:46, 2:02, 1:21, 36.6s...a good workout...it was quite windy so I guessed my splits could have been faster.

Weds: 9.7 steady (7:18-7:20)
Thurs: AM: 8.9 w/~5 tempo (6:15-6:20ish), PM: weights/core stuff
Fri: 8.3 easy w/4x100 strides (6:53-6:58 pace!!) in the PM...never gone this fast in an easy run before...pace was surprisingly manageable (despite having ran a tempo run the previous day at only 30-35 seconds faster?).
Sat: AM: 13.3 (7:28)..felt some soreness on the hammies from Thursday's weights
Sun: 0
Total: 52.1

Week Recap- April 24-30

Didn't do much this week..dropped back the intensity and relaxed a bit. This is somewhat of a recovery week before proceeding to the next short program leading up to my summer races.
Mostly easy, base-type running:
Mon: 6.3 miles (7:18)
Tues: 8.7 (7:21)
Weds: 5.8 (7:17)
Thurs: 6.8 w/ 4x100 strides (7:25)
Fri: 5.2 (7:15)
Sat: 11 (7:21)
Total: 43.8 miles

This is a rough outline of what I will be planning to do this summer: (it might change)
June 16: Longest Day 5k (UBC)
July 1: Hbc 10k in Vancouver or July 2: Golden Spike 10k in PoMo (I'm not sure whether or not to spend 40 bucks on the Hbc run...why does it have to be so costly??)
July 4 or July 11: An allcomers track meet- I'll do either the 3000 or 5000 depending on what's available...it will be the first track meet in a long time since high school
July 23: Summerfast 10k (Van.)
Early August: possibly another track meet (10,000?)
August 13th: Delta Team Coastal 1/2 marathon-undecided...I'll probably need a ride to this one- a good race to finish off the summer season

After this I will be taking break from mid to end of August, most likely going on a road trip with family down to LA/San Diego, California.

Vancouver Sun Run (10k) Race Report

I've been a bit lazy lately in posting race reports.
Managed to squeak in under 38 mins (37:58 chip).It's not too shabby of a time (a 1:19 PR) although I didn't get my 36:XX as I thought I would. Perhaps this summer when I will be peaking for a bunch of road races. The first time I did this race was 2 years ago (41:43) Overall the weather was really nice- sunny, a little chilly at the start but it got up to 60 degrees or so near the end of the race. Got there about over an hour early though. It was nice to be in the seeded corral...being near the front, there was not much of a crowd (there were close to 50,000 participants in the race). There was also not much need to weave around slower runners in the beginning. The first mile or so was mostly downhill. The cheering crowds and the music also boosted the excitement even further. 1st km went by in 3:35, 1st mile in 5:58. Felt good so far. The next 3-4k or so became more undulating with a few uphills and downhills. 5k split was 19:17. Overall the first 1/2 of the race went by quickly. The 5k point marked the first of the 2 bridges we had to cross...there was a long gradual uphill in the first 1/2 of the bridge and a downhill in the 2nd 1/2. The 2nd 5k was when I began to really push it and pick off alot of people. Splits ranged from 3:41-3:47 per km (5:55-6:05 per mile). The beginning of the last bridge (@ around 9k or so), which was a gradual uphill, was the toughest part of the race. After that point, it was all downhill again to the finish line. 2nd 5k split: 18:41.
Splits: 1: 3:35 (downhill)
mile 1: 5:58
2k: 3:54 (slight uphill)
3k: 3:27 (??)
4k: 4:21 (??)
5k: 4:00 (uphill)- 1st 5k: 19:17
6k: 3:42
7k: 3:45
8k: 3:41 (8k: 30:26)
9k: 3:47 1
0k: 3:45- 2nd 5k: 18:41
Total: 37:58 (6:07 avg.)
OA: 174/45246, 151/17023 males, 18/1470 in M1924

Now onward to a week of mostly easy running then it's time to gear up for the summer season in June and July. Sub 37 will come soon...it's just a matter of time.

A Major Catch Up Post

I've been slacking off on my posting lately. It wasn't until yesterday when I met a fellow runner Ernest Hawker at the Sun Run fair who had found out (and commented about) about my blog, that I decided to get back into blogging my workouts again. I somehow forgot to realize that people are reading my posts!
For a real treat, I'm going to post all the training I've done from the 1/2 marathon to the week of the Vancouver Sun Run, which happens tomorrow. All this has been documented in my CoolRunning online training log. I'll post a race report tomorrow or Monday as well.

Feb 20-26
A recovery week from the 1/2 marathon. My injury on the left medial shin was reaggravated. In total I did 12 miles of easy running on Wednesday and Thursday, a session of swimming on Tuesday, and weights on Wednesday with my PT. Nothing else noteworthy.

Feb 27-March 5
Slightly better than last week. My injury's recovering quite nicely. I was able to put in more miles without aggravating the injury too much. However no high intensity workouts for the time being.
Mon: 3.4 miles very easy-a test run
Tues: AM- 4.9 miles (7:35 pace) easy
PM- Strength training at CCAC
Weds: 5 miles easy
Thurs: 6.7 miles easy
PM- weights @ CCAC
Fri: 5.5 miles easy (7:22)
Sat: 8.5 miles (7:28)
Sun: 0

March 6-12
My 1st week of quality training in a while (well, in only 3 weeks or so). Was quite happy that I was able to get back into it. Still felt twinges at the injury site but otherwise it didn't worsen.
Mon: 6.7 miles (7:30ish)
Tues: 8.9 miles w/ 6x~870 m VO2 max (3:10, 3:14, 3:12, 3:12, 3:16, 3:15)- had to run in the outer lanes due to obstructions from a truck! Very wet and cold...
Weds: AM- 5.1 miles easy
PM- weights
Thurs: 9.3 miles w/ threshold workout- 3x10 mins LT w/ 3 min jog
Fri: AM- 6.6 miles easy
PM- weights
Sat: 12.6 miles (1:35, 7:32 pace)
Sun: 0
Total: 49.3 miles

March 13-19
I'm still at it...Not too bad this week.
Mon: 7.4 miles easy
Tues: ~10 miles w/ 5x1200 VO2 ((4:37, 4:36, 4:45, 4:43, 4:44)..rainy and windy this morning
Weds: 6 miles easy (7:32 pace)
Thurs: 9.7 w/ 14x200 Anaerobic capacity; splits around 38-40 seconds...very windy on the track
Fri: 6.9 miles (7:28)
Sat: 15.4 miles (1:54, 7:27)
Sun: 0
Total: 55 miles

March 20-26
3rd consecutive week of quality training since the injury. A little discouraged that my workouts however are reflecting a training plateau. Just have to tell myself to keep plugging away at it...improvements will come soon enough.
Mon: 7.3 miles easy (7:29)
Tues: 10 miles w/ 4x1600 VO2 (5:55, 6:10, 6:10, 6:16)..workout didn't go too well
Weds: AM: 6.3 miles
PM: weights
Thursday: ~10 miles w/ 5.1 mile tempo (6:27)
Fri: 7.6 miles
Sat: 16.2 miles (2 hrs)
Sun: 0
Total: 57.5

March 27-April 2
Mon: 5.8 miles easy
Tues: Off the track for intervals today 8.6 w/ pyramid- 2 min-4 min- 6 min- 6 min- 4 min- 2 min w/ 2 min jogs
Weds: AM-6.8 miles easy (7:16)
PM- weights
Thurs: 6.3 w/ 10 laps Ins and Outs (200 sprint, 200 jog)
Fri: 6.6 easy
Sat: 11.2 miles
Sun: 0
Total: 46.3

April 3-9
Week of my 5k tuneup. Obviously I didn't really taper for it.
Mon: 7 miles or so w/ 3.4 tempo
Tues: AM- Weights w/ PT- he nearly killed me with the new power exercises today
PM- 6.6 miles easy with a new training pace- 7:05/ mile
Weds: 6.5 miles w/ 3-4 hill repeats (w/ the Running Room)- didn't expect it...I was going easy up the hill, thinking it was an easy continuous run until the guy behind called me to come back down..then I figured they were doing hill intervals..for the sake of not feeling left out, I did 3 repeats at a medium to hard effort
Thurs: 6.7 miles (7:16)
Fri: 4.4 miles (7:20) w/ 6x100 strides
Sat: ~ 6 miles including NSCU 5k...Results: http://www.raceday.ca/spforward2006.php A competitive race. Time- 18:22 (5:54), 18:28 gun, 39th overall, 18th in age group. Close to what I expect at this point. Splits: 3:44, 3:39, 3:38, 3:42 , 3:37
This was also my first race in racing flats. It took me 3 days or so to fully recover from the soreness.
Sun: 0
Total- 37.6 miles

April 10-16
I would call this a breakthrough week. I'm finally seeing gains from the past 2 months or so of training.
Mon- 4.9 miles easy
Tues- ~11 miles w/VO2+AC combo- 2x1200 w/ 600 recv. (4:23, 4:29)- 8-5k effort
3x800 w/ 400 recv. (2:58, 2:59, 2:59)- 5k effort
4x400 w/ 200 recv. (1:24, 1:23, 1:23, 1:23)- 3-5k effort
4x200 w/ 200 recv.-ins and outs format (38.3, 39, 39.2, 39.9)- 2-3k effort
Weds- AM: 7.4 miles easy, PM: weights
Thurs-8.6 miles w/ 10k specific workout- 2x2.33 miles on road @ 10k effort w/ 4-5 mins recovery; Splits: 13:31 (5:48), 13:45 (5:52-5:53) (!!)- this was my breakthrough workout given that I ran at close to this pace for my 5k the previous Saturday. Looks like a big PR will be coming up for the 1ok.
Fri- 6.8 miles easy
Sat: 12.1 miles steady
Sun: 0
Total- 50.7

April 17-22
Mon- 6.5 miles easy
Tue- 4.5 miles w/ drills, calisthenics, strides, and a VO2 interval workout w/ Phoenix Running Club- 6x600 w/ 2 min recv: (1:58, 2:03, 2:03, 2:02, 2:03, 2:04); good workout..this more or less confirms the improvements I saw last Thursday
Weds- 6.8 miles easy; hamstring sore
Thurs-8 miles easy
Fri- 5.8 miles easy
Sat- 5.3 miles easy w/ 4 strides (7:10)- hamstring recovered
Sun- Vancouver Sun Run (10k)- Results and race report coming soon

Feb 19th: "First Half" 1/2 marathon

I ran my 1st positive split in a 1/2 marathon today...which is odd because the last 5 that I did were all negative splitted.
Man, the last 4 miles were ugly. I actually felt good until mile 8..after that, things went downhill. I've always negative splitted my longer races (I do from time to time positive split 5ks and 10ks) but for some reason today, things weren't going as usual. Combined with the recent layoff due to injury, it was definitely not a day for a PR. Conditions were great for racing today...sunny, abit on the chilly side (30-35 degrees or so) but calm. I made the first mistake of starting just a few rows from the front...given that this race was abit on the competitive side (lots of fast runners). My first mile came in at 6:28...a wee bit too fast for my liking but I thought that it was close enough to my goal pace and I didn't make the effort to slow down a bit. 3 miles in 19:31...by the time I hit 6 miles, 39 mins...I kept surging with a group of guys I was running with (mistake #2)I thought I was on a roll (I never ran this fast in the beginning of a 1/2 marathon)...thinking that a PR may be waiting at the finish line....a 1:24, 1:23 perhaps if I negative splitted it? I decided to take off after mile 6...mile 7 turned out to be the fastest-6:16...however I started noticing that things were taking turn for the worst...my breathing has gone more ragged and my legs were tightening up....I felt that my ability to hold the pace up is starting to diminish..true enough, mile 8 turned out to be 6:25...the bad feeling worsened as my pace fell off...I was at 6:50 or so by the time I reached mile 11. The people whom I was surging with at the beginning and left behind after I decided to take off came back and left me in the dust in the last 5k. Finish time was 1:26:05 (chip), 1:26:09 (net)...6/14 in my AG and 86th overall out of 1900+ runners. Splits: 1- 6:28 2+3-13:03 4-6:36 5-6:25 (32:33) 6-6:27 7-6:16 8-6:25 9-6:33 10-6:43 11-6:50 12-6:42 13.1-7:33

Hopefully, this will motivate me to train and run well for the races > coming up in April. I missed 2 weeks of training time so > far...hopefully March will be a good month.

Week Recap-Feb 12-19

30.8 miles total for the week including a 1/2 marathon on the 19th (report coming up)...slightly better than the previous week. Went for a run on Monday, but injury flared up a bit after the run. The rest of the week included 2 easy runs, 2 swims, and a weight training session. I ended up taking 2 days off after Thursday to rest up for the 1/2 marathon.

Weekly Recap-Feb 6-12

A horrible week- did only 6 miles or so on Monday but still plagued with injuries on the shins....those were from the racing flats. I decided to take the rest of the week off to recover. Nevertheless I still kept up with my weight training and swam twice this week (Tuesday and Thursday).

The good news is that my injury is pretty much recovered. I'll be resuming running on Monday, just in time for the 1/2 marathon on the 19th (yikes!)