the trick is to keep breathing

So I ran the Pittsburgh Half Marathon on Sunday!

Before I went into the race, I had decided that my goal times were 2:20 (low end) and 2:10 (high end) - I would have been perfectly happy with the low-end time, about a 10:40 mile, and the high-end goal (a 10:00 mile) was for if I felt really good going into the race.

Well, I'm not really sure I felt all that good, but I pushed really, really hard, and I pretty much made my high-end goal time for myself. 13.1 miles in 2:10:56 was my official finishing time.

yes, I am still a little weird sharing my real name online (even though like 75% of you probably know it anyway)


[HM] Pittsburgh Half Marathon by seventhe on Garmin Connect

( All the nerdy facts, stories, reports, and graphs! )
I haven't taken a week off of running since January 1st.

I am really proud of jennyclarinet and I -- we talked about doing this while dressed in togas and drinking Four Loko!, and look what it turned into. Without Jenny I probably wouldn't have been able to stick with this, but knowing that Jenny was training hard and that we were going to do this together (even though we didn't run together) made me stick to my training plan during the hardest semester I've ever had, when it would have been really easy to quit. I had Denis training too, and I knew Jim would be playing, so there was a lot motivating me to keep up the work. It certainly wasn't easy, but hey, if I can work a full-time job that makes me endure 11-hour days and hold a full-time graduate semester workload and train for a half marathon...

And that's the story of how I ran 13.1 miles. My legs hate me now. The end!

Yes, I realize it was probably kind of silly to run a 5K the week before I run a half marathon. But it was a fun little charity event, some people from work were doing it, and I had a chance to run with Jeff and katmillia, which I was really looking forward to. Plus, $20 reg including a tech shirt? I'm down with that.

My goals for the race were pretty simple:
1. Don't injure self (half marathon is next week, dummy!)
2. Have fun!
3. Without injuring, time of 29:00 or below (~9:21 pace)

and in that order. I really was trying to not put an ideal time on it -- I've been training specifically for 5 months now, and I know what I *can* and *can't* run, so I knew what to expect, but I didn't want to push too hard in a silly little race and hurt myself for next week.

[5K] Just a Run in the Park by seventhe at Garmin Connect - Details

Final time:
    28:10 for 3.17 (watch)
    28:20 for 3.1 (chip)

Discrepancy explained: The chip started when the gun went off, but the actual start line for the 5K was a little ways away from where we lined up. I started my watch about 10 seconds after the gun, and only a bit before the start line. The difference in the two puts me between 8:53/mile and 9:08/mile. Based on my memories of the layout I think the most accurate measurement is 3.1 miles in 28:10, which is about a 9:05/mile pace.

The Just a Run in the Park 5K was very small and I kind of liked it that way. I heard only ~250 people were signed up, and I would honestly estimate that not all of them ran the 5K either (there was a 1mile run before the 5K). It was a little charity run for the local YMCA, and it was really cool: the start was laidback; we didn't have to get there too early or anything. We had time to walk our bags back to the car, and before the race started we all just hung our sweatshirts on a fence and trusted that they would be there when we got back (they were) (to be super safe, I did stick my car key in my sports bra, so if my nasty jacket did get stolen I was only out my inhaler, not my car). It was a very up-and-back-type course, lots of looping around things, with a bit of an incline in the middle and a pretty nice downhill at the end.

I had intended to start out at a 9:30 pace and then push at the end if I could, but the "pack" took off fairly fast and I really just kept up with it until I realized it felt ok. I'm pretty happy with my time; no, I'm not great, but it's pretty much in line with my training runs, and it's faster than I had in my head. I wasn't expecting to ~magically~ drop 3 minutes off of the times I saw in training or anything, so I feel pretty good about it. I was expecting to be slower mostly because I haven't been able to run very much in the last ~2 weeks due to these weird calf injuries -- I'm surprised (pleasantly) that I am this fast because I had expected to lose some fitness. But I guess that's what over 200 miles of training in 5 months does for my running ability! My speed has mostly stayed intact, I guess; let's hope my endurance has, too...

My legs were still sore going into the race, and I could feel all the places in my shins and calves (and left hamstring!) where the bad/injured spots are. But it was ok to run through, and hopefully tomorrow I won't be in too much pain. It does seem to be getting better with ice and rest, so I think I'll be okay for next week if not great.

I plugged my 5K time into some of the online "pace predicting" calculators, and they all seem to think I can do a half marathon in 2:10 -- that's just under a 10:00/mile for the whole half. That seems really optimistic to me; in my head I was hoping for about a 10:30/mile finish, which I think is around 2:20, and planning to be slower than that with water breaks etc. I will probably start out pacing myself for the latter, slower time, so that I don't kill myself early and have massive problems -- but it's interesting that all the predictors say I will be faster, and I am now kind of curious to see what kind of time I turn in. Of course the predictor calculators all point out that you need to be "appropriately trained" - obviously you can't just jump from a 5K to a halfmary without serious weekly mileage! - and I've had two weeks on my ass, so. Challenge noted, pace predictors, but not entirely accepted.

Another thing to note about this run, which is worth noting for next week: my asthma didn't show up. I was certainly breathing hard, but it's the hard breathing I associate with you just ran three miles you fucker, not the impossible shallow breathing that is my asthma. And I think this is because I took three pre-emptive doses of my inhaler: one at 6:30 with breakfast, one at 7:30, and one at about 8:10 right before we lined up for the race. I guess I don't really know if it was a mental thing or if it was effective dosing-of-self, but I'll definitely be doing the same thing for the half next week.

So yup, there it is. I'm glad I did it, and I'm really happy katmillia and I got to run a race together before she leaves for pretty much all summer XD. This mostly marks the end of my half marathon training plans... the only thing I would run this week, if my legs feel OK, would be a calibration run somewhere to just perfect my Garmin FR60 footpod before the half... We'll see!

tl;dr this week I ran 11 miles at a 10:30/mile pace

I am badass

	Tempo Run / Intervals	Long Run	Easy Recovery Run	total	target
Week #1	3.07 mi	5.4 mi	3.2 mi	11.67 mi	11 mi
Week #2	3.5 mi	4.85 mi	3.64 mi	12 mi	12 mi
Week #3	4 mi	6.6 mi	3.3 mi	13.9 mi	13.3 mi
Week #4	3.87 mi	7.5 mi	3.3 mi	14.67 mi	14.6 mi
Week #5	4.2 mi	8.9 mi	3.4 mi	16.5 mi	16 mi
Week #6	4.5 mi				REST
Week #7	5.5 mi	6 mi	4.8 mi	16.3 mi	16 mi
Week #8	4.1 mi	9.3 mi	4.5 mi	17.9 mi	18 mi
Week #9	3.1 mi	8.8 mi	3.4 mi	15.3 mi	15 mi
Week #10	6.5 mi	11 mi	4 mi	21.5 mi	20 mi

The Story of Week #10:

• 4 mile / 39 minutes. This was meant to be an easy stretch run but I just kind of found this pace (~9:45/mile) and went with it. It felt good.


• The 6.5 mile run was a set of tempo miles. Except that I ran the tempos way too fast - more like freaking sprinting interval miles. The goal was 4x(1 mi fast, 0.5mi slow). The 4 miles I ran were 8:38/mi, 9:11/mi, 9:19/mi, and 9:31/mi. Which looks awesome. But I started out with the fastest one, tripped my way right into an asthma attack, and then was too stubborn to give up; I ended up having to walk after every mile. I am sure in the end it was some kind of good training experience but fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck, it hurt a lot. Bad life choice.


• The 11 miler - it was actually supposed to be a 10-10.5 miler. But I really paced myself starting out - held to the 10:35-10:45/ mile pace - and I could tell I had the energy in me. When I was doing research for my training plan, I read that if a run felt really good, it was better to go farther than go faster, so I added the extra ~1 mile.

The last run really got my confidence up after such a terrible sprinting experience. I may not be as fast as jennyclarinet or Denis (my friends who are running with me), but I really felt like I could have done the entire 13.1 miles that Sunday... and I still have 4 weeks left. So I know I'll be able to do the race - barring travesty! - and at what is at least a decent pace even if it's not fast, and that feels good.

This week:

• Hills and intervals. Both lead to exercise-induced asthma attacks, very easily. So I need to be careful. But I need to do some, this week and next. Shorter "on" periods and better/longer rest periods should help me do this without dying. ~4 miles.


• 6-7 mile run experimenting with pace. Start slow (10:45), incrementally get faster by mile.


• Long run: over 2 hours, or 11-12 miles, as appropriate. Slow pace.


• Total: 23 miles is the goal

Week #8 of Sev's Half-Marathon Training Plan:

	Tempo Run / Intervals	Long Run	Easy Recovery Run	total	target
Week #1	3.07 mi	5.4 mi	3.2 mi	11.67 mi	11 mi
Week #2	3.5 mi	4.85 mi	3.64 mi	12 mi	12 mi
Week #3	4 mi	6.6 mi	3.3 mi	13.9 mi	13.3 mi
Week #4	3.87 mi	7.5 mi	3.3 mi	14.67 mi	14.6 mi
Week #5	4.2 mi	8.9 mi	3.4 mi	16.5 mi	16 mi
Week #6	4.5 mi				REST
Week #7	5.5 mi	6 mi	4.8 mi	16.3 mi	16 mi
Week #8	4.1 mi	9.3 mi	4.5 mi	17.9 mi	18 mi

Not much to say about this week's runs; the first was the awful one during which I realized my injury; the second was the longest AND the slowest I have run since I started training - longest because I needed miles; slowest because of said injury - and the last, today's, was alternately slow and fast in an attempt to stretch out my leg. I felt really good on the faster bits, but I didn't trust myself going that fast for very long with the injury, so I alternated with slowish jogging.

Now, the dilemma.

This was Week 8. In my original plan, I have myself training at 20 miles for Week 9 and then taking a rest week Week 10 (15 miles). (I just rested during Week 6, for reference.) From there I basically build hard through Weeks 11 and 12 and then begin to taper for the race at the beginning of May.

Now, with this injury, I am wondering whether I should take my rest week now (Week 9) and then build straight through to the race.

This has the benefit of working better with my schedule -- this week is the last lab CLASS (although I'll still have reports) which will magically add a few hours back into my weekly schedule. Long runs will be easier with that bitty chunk of time added in.

However, I just took a rest week two weeks ago, for Week 6. And I'm afraid if I do take a rest week now that it's too soon, and even with tapering I'll be burnt out for the race. Although tapering is like resting, so... I don't know. I'm also worried that if I use my rest week now and DON'T heal up, I am screwed, because I don't have any time in the schedule for MORE rest. I'm not a good enough runner to miss two weeks between now and the race!

I guess 15 miles isn't really that much of a "rest" week. I could back down to 15 miles this week and make sure most of them are slow, and HOPE that it heals me.

asdkka;lskd;laksd;laskd;lkass yeah so holding off on this week's goals until I figure out what I want to do. Crap on everything.

Week #5 of Sev's Half-Marathon Training Plan:

	Tempo Run / Intervals	Long Run	Easy Recovery Run	total	target
Week #1	3.07 mi	5.4 mi	3.2 mi	11.67 mi	11 mi
Week #2	3.5 mi	4.85 mi	3.64 mi	12 mi	12 mi
Week #3	4 mi	6.6 mi	3.3 mi	13.9 mi	13.3 mi
Week #4	3.87 mi	7.5 mi	3.3 mi	14.67 mi	14.6 mi
Week #5	4.2 mi	8.9 mi	3.4 mi	16.5 mi	16 mi

• For Week #5, I started adding interval training, to replace a tempo run. Interval training is alternating a very high intensity near-sprint with a low-intensity jog or even walk, on a much shorter time scale, like 100m fast / 200m slow, or 1min fast / 2min slow, or 1:1, or 2:3, depending on what your body can handle. The point is to get up to a near sprint on the fast parts but then let your heart rate recover on the slow parts. Tempo running involves holding a medium-high-intensity pace for longer periods, like 1-3 miles at a time, with jogging rests between only if necessary. So this run was an interval run.


• The 8.9-mile long run I ended up doing at a 10:00 mile pace. To keep things interesting (and because I was curious!) I did 1 mile on 7 different treadmills, 2mi on the last one - so I got a short break between miles as I moved treadmills. In each case, 1 mile on the treadmill was 1.03-1.1 miles on my Garmin. That is really only 10% error which doesn't seem unreasonable for a public gym treadmill used by all different kinds of bodies which can't be calibrated every day. It's just that the 10% adds up over, say, 8 miles! My 8 miles became 8.9 miles! It's treadmill magic! *BARFS*


• I did my easy recovery run outside. It was pretty nice, even though it was cooolllllllld. If you look at the run, the long break in the middle of it was me walking around the high school track, trying to find a place I could hope the fence and run a mile. The presence of police in the area convinced me to not break into a high school track, and I ran home instead.
  And this run also confirms that my Garmin really is calibrated. I ran a stretch of road that I can track on GMaps Pedometer online, and that I've driven in my car, so I know the distance. GMaps-Pedometer says the stretch of road is 1.285 miles. My Garmin recorded 1.3 miles on the way down and 1.26 on the way back. That's only 3% error in the Garmin and I can probably attribute that to me not necessarily being able to hit the lap button at THE EXACT SAME PLACE while crossing traffic. Also the average of the two numbers is pretty much exactly what GMaps tells me.
  So I believe the Garmin a lot more now. Still not sure what's up with the treadmills - I keep meaning to ask the owner if they've been calibrated, but I can't ever seem to find him on days I'm there. NEVER GIVE A NERD A WAY TO COLLECT DATA ON REPETITIVE ACTIONS, it doesn't end well for anyone except the nerd.
  

Week #6 is finally a rest week, oh my god thank fuckness. My only goal for Week 6 is 3 x 4mi runs. That's it. Giving my poor legs (and lungs!) a much-needed break.

Week #4 of Sev's Half-Marathon Training Plan:

	Tempo Run	Long Run	Easy Recovery Run	total	target
Week #1	3.07 mi	5.4 mi	3.2 mi	11.67 mi	11 mi
Week #2	3.5 mi	4.85 mi	3.64 mi	12 mi	12 mi
Week #3	4 mi	6.6 mi	3.3 mi	13.9 mi	13.3 mi
Week #4	3.87 mi	7.5 mi	3.3 mi	14.67 mi	14.6 mi

This was a pretty bad week for running. I had no energy anywhere; every single run felt like a giant slog rather than a workout of any kind. I was super lethargic and none of the runs felt good at all.

I kept my pace slow and thus my asthma under control, so I will count that as a win, or a partial win.

Part of the slow feeling was due to my needing new shoes (and then getting new shoes - I don't sprint in new shoes until I've run in them once or twice), which hopefully I've taken care of. I also plan to start doing the long run on Sundays. Doing it on Friday - after however many hours of lab - is starting to be a pretty bad idea.

Week #5 goals:

• 16 miles total


• 90 minute long run, >8 miles slow.

I am pretty sure my body's telling me that I need a rest week. I need to hang on until next weekend, the 18th, because that's when I'll be going to my parents' house to celebrate my dad's birthday (which was in February). I can take a rest week then.

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.

So today's lab was probably the worst thing I've ever experienced, and I'm missing two potentially awesome social events tonight to sit at home and write last week's lab report, and I look like a truly unfortunate hobo right now as I'm dressed in varying shades of brown and grey, none of which match (I am counting 3 different browns and 3 variations on dirt-grey, I am a winner) -- so why am I in such a good mood?

Let me show you.


or click here.

So the fabulous jennyclarinet and I are training to run a half-marathon in May. I wouldn't be Sev if I didn't research the hell out of running a half (WHAT DO I DO FOR A LIVING, LADEEZ AND GENTS? THIS IS WHY), and in my research, I've found some interesting things I wish I'd known last year when training for the relay (which was, mind you, "only" 8 miles, not 13.1).

I've constructed a training plan for myself, cobbled out of multiple plans I've found online and a lot of advice and comment threads from runners - which is a super useful community by the way - and because of that, about once a week I'm going to update the training plan here and talk about it for a while.

So here it comes: Sev Dragomire's Training Plan For A Fuckass Half Marathon.

( Here we go! )

I just did 5.4 miles today, in 60 minutes. Yes, that's slow; that's the point. My heart rate averaged around 158 bpm (max 168). This is all good. And at the end of it: my legs hurt, but my lungs were perfectly happy, my chest didn't feel like exploding, and I felt like I could've taken a walk break for some water and come back for more miles. It was that good. That didn't happen last year. Already, this is better.

So February's goal is going to be lots of long slow miles. March's goal is going to be to continue to increase mileage, while upping the tempo/interval intensity. April's goal will be more speed work - upping the speed of those long runs, and more tempos/intervals/hills. By May, I'll be tapering for the race. This is my overall plan!

So, my goals for the marathon are, by increasing difficulty (and I have multiple goals so that I'm not horribly disappointed if class eats all of my free time and I can't make the hard ones):

1. Finish, without having to walk.


2. Finish at an 11-minute mile pace.


3. Finish at a 10-minute mile pace.


4. Finish in 2 hours.

And my goals for the month of February are:

1. 4 tempo runs, building up to 20 min @ tempo (1/4 done)


2. Get long slow run time up to 90 minutes *or* 8 miles (60/90 min, 5.4/8 miles)


3. Get weekly mileage around 13-16 miles, depending on how the former two points go


4. Not get sick or injured, ha ha - I know I don't have exact and entire control over this, so "within reason"