Running, Week #3

[seventhe]

It's time for your weekly edition of How To Train For A Half Marathon With Only Three Runs Per Week.

Week #3 of Sev's Half-Marathon Training Plan:

Tempo Run	Long Run	Easy Recovery Run	total
4 mi	6.6 mi	3.3 mi	13.9 mi
warmup, 4x (5 min tempo, 1.5 min easy), cooldown	~70 min running, slow pace (~11min/mi)	medium pace (~10min/mi)
Crosstraining: yoga (1 day) and weight training (1 day)

My weekly mileage is over the half marathon distance. Hooray! (It's actually 14.63 miles if I count all my warm-ups and cooldowns, but I don't really want to do that.)

This week's runs went really well. When I did my recovery run, my heart rate didn't go over 166 bpm and actually averaged around 156, which is my goal with the easy recovery runs. It's nice to see my heart rate finally start to stay down on easy runs, since that's the point of an easy run (gaining max fitness at lower HR levels). I managed to stick to an 11-min mile for my long run and it felt really good.

One thing I need to work on is my cadence. I've read that it's more efficient to take shorter strides, because you waste less of your energy bringing your foot in front of your center of balance (which breaks momentum). When I did my easy recovery run this week, I worked on keeping my cadence at around 85 (~170 spm). I'm not sure if that was what helped the run feel so easy or not, but it's probably a good thing to work on. My average cadence for long runs is only 79 (~160 spm).

I wish my lungs didn't hate the cold so much.

Comments

[novel_machinist]

Wow, this is really detailed. It's so interesting to know about this. One day I want to learn how to run. XD

[seventhe]

You realize it's eventually going to become a chart-and-graph orgy, right.

[novel_machinist]

and? This is a problem?

[katmillia.livejournal.com]

How do you check your cadence? ♥

Also, why are you awesome at this? :(((( <-- sucks

[first-seventhe.livejournal.com]

My Garmin footpod records it, actually, as how many steps I take per minute. I don't know whether it's an option on your Nike+, but if you were really bored during a run (lol) you could count steps per 30 seconds and then multiply it out. Or you can come over and borrow the footpod for a trial mile, no problem. ONCE IT GETS WARM OUT, JFC. XD

And fffffft. Everybody has good and bad weeks. Last week I tried to run outside and completely botched the entire run, it sucked and I cried XD. You are getting so much better on your runs!

[katmillia.livejournal.com]

Ahhh, I don't think my Nike does that. Maybe it does? I guess I've never played around with specifics, but I've never seen the option. Hrm, I'll have to check.

I think my tracker is just lying to me and telling me that I'm getting better. Though I'm not sure why. Maybe it's looking to get lucky. Better let it down gently before this gets out of hand.

[first-seventhe.livejournal.com]

I don't know much about the Nike+, I am new to this tracker thing, but I know that the literature for mine says once it's calibrated it really keeps that calibration for a long time. If your footpod is different (mine's an accelerometer (~FANCY WORDS!~) ) it may be different.

And I've also found that a lot of the treadmills at my particular gym are fast -- like I can set it at 5.5 (an 11-minute mile) and the Garmin says I am running at 6.0 (10-minute mile), plus or minus for each treadmill of course. And I recorded this literally the DAY that I calibrated it ON AN ACTUAL TRACK so I actually believe it.

[katmillia.livejournal.com]

Ugh, yeah, I had my treadmill set at 5.6 and fuck that, I was definitely running faster than 5.6 miles an hour. There was no way that treadmill was right. I'm more apt to trust my tracker, except I think maybe I never calibrated this one? I had one for a year, calibrated, and the battery died, and then I had to go and buy a new one for my shoe and I'm not remembering ever calibrating that one, so it's probably really off or some shit. Sigh sigh sigh lol

[first-seventhe.livejournal.com]

LOLLLL, when I went to calibrate mine the first place I thought of was a high school track, and I seriously called the gym office to ask if it was okay because I didn't want them to think I was a creepershark~ HIDE YO KIDS, IT'S A SWEATY 30 YEAR OLD

[jennyclarinet.livejournal.com]

Nice! We are definitely going to get through this race.

What do you mean by tempo run?

Also, I find it strange that research shows shorter steps to be more efficient. It is the opposite for me-I can go faster for longer periods with long, slow strides. If I take short, fast strides, I get tired really quickly. Then again, I'm not exactly built like a runner, so that might have something to do with it.

Go Jessy and Jenny!!

[first-seventhe.livejournal.com]

I wonder if we can get personalized printouts for Pittsburgh? We could be J-Girls! :p

Tempo runs are when you do portions of the run at a close to all-out pace. Since I'm trying to do my long runs slow right now so that I don't get sick/injured too much, it's a chance to help my actual running pace develop. Like, right now my "tempo" pace is about a 9-minute mile, according to my Garmin. So I'll do anywhere from 0.5-1 mi at tempo with a really slow recovery of like 2 min inbetween. Eventually you work your way up to run 3,4,5 miles at tempo pace. It's just part of the way I'm training! XD

And yeah, I am sure stride rate is different for everybody! But I think I was striding forward too far, which is a big waste of energy. I'm not really sure whether changing my cadence will do anything (I don't think I'm fit enough to make a difference, haha!) But I'm trying to watch it.

[jennyclarinet.livejournal.com]

Ah, I see about tempo runs. I'm doing something similar, but I call it my short fast run (obviously you did more research than me!). I go faster than I would for a long run, and sometimes, like today, I do sprints.

I forget if you were the one who gave me the idea about doing a weekly recovery run. It's a great idea! They encourage that in the Spinning program as well.

Do you mean personalized T-shirts? Hell yeah! We could be the women of the j-squad or something. What I really want shirts for though is the Akron relay. And maybe something silly to put on top of our heads! (but not something hot and uncomfortable)