run blog — Page 2

Fitness and Training

September 2, 2010 by greg Leave a Comment

It’s only a month until the Twin Cities marathon. I completed my 4th 20 mile run last Sunday. Training has been going really really well. You can see from my 8 mile run this morning (details below) that my pace is improving. Most importantly my heart rate is remaining lower. It used to jump up to about 175 or so when I was pushing this hard but now I can barely break 160. I think the chances of me blowing away my PR next month are very good. I have the Dick Beardsley half marathon on September 11 and I’m looking forward to a fast time.

Type	Distance	Time	Total Time	Pace	Avg HR	Max HR
Intervals (GPS Interval)
Interval				8:54	133	145
Interval	1 Mi	7:54.21	16:47.34	7:55	146	153
Interval	1 Mi	7:57.28	24:44.62	7:58	147	156
Interval	1 Mi	7:55.03	32:39.65	7:56	144	157
Interval	1 Mi	7:54.82	40:34.47	7:55	153	160
Interval	1 Mi	7:55.45	48:29.92	7:56	155	158
Interval	1 Mi	7:36.06	56:05.98	7:37	155	161
Interval	1 Mi	8:03.14	1:04:09.12	8:04	153	158
Interval	0.02 Mi	0:09.59	1:04:18.71	8:00	157	158

On the fitness front I have been working out a lot and really building my core. I feel a lot stronger and tighter though my weight loss has slowed significantly in the last month. I’m now down to about 215 pounds and I don’t know if I’ll hit 200 before the marathon. But that’s ok. My body is still shrinking and I’m building muscle.

Filed Under: fitness Tagged With: marathon training, training, Weight Loss

Effortless Running

August 5, 2010 by greg Leave a Comment

What a difference a month makes. My training has been improving so much and in the last week or so my body has just exploded with energy. A couple weeks ago I did my first 20 mile run of the year. It went great. I was able to complete the 20 miles and still had some gas in the tank. Last weekend I took time off of running and focussed more on strength and core training. This has done wonders for me this week. My times have improved and my energy levels are through the roof.

This morning I had a great run. The weather was perfect – 65 degrees, low humidity and a nice easy breeze. I planned to do a relatively easy 10 miles at a 9:00 min pace but I just couldn’t slow my body down. I tried but I just settled into an 8:30 min/mile groove that carried me through all ten miles and change. It felt great. I am planning to do another 10 mile run on Saturday and 20 miles on Sunday. If I feel good I’ll go even further. This will be my highest mileage week for the year.

Type	Distance	Time	Total Time	Pace	Avg HR	Max HR
Intervals (GPS Interval)
Interval	1 Mi	8:43.58	8:43.58	8:44	133	145
Interval	1 Mi	8:46.42	17:30.00	8:47	141	146
Interval	1 Mi	8:40.06	26:10.06	8:41	145	151
Interval	1 Mi	8:27.81	34:37.87	8:28	150	154
Interval	1 Mi	8:25.64	43:03.51	8:26	151	157
Interval	1 Mi	8:23.14	51:26.65	8:24	154	160
Interval	1 Mi	8:30.2	59:56.85	8:31	157	160
Interval	1 Mi	8:23.13	1:08:19.98	8:24	158	161
Interval	1 Mi	8:29.36	1:16:49.34	8:30	151	159
Interval	1 Mi	8:29.78	1:25:19.12	8:30	158	162
Interval	0.25 Mi	2:06.23	1:27:25.35	8:25	163	165

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: marathon training, training

MSUM 4th of July 10K

July 4, 2010 by greg Leave a Comment

I got it done. It wasn’t a perfect race by any means but I am overall pretty happy with my performance.

I finished in 51:33. I had a goal to beat my PR of 48:48 but it wasn’t to be. The first half was right on target at an 8:00 pace but I had a bit of stomach distress in the second half and I was fatigued. It could have been the fact that I ate a banana and a gu gel before the race or it could have been all of the wine I drank last night. I also had a bit of a cough which didn’t help the breathing at all. Anyway, here is how it shook out. Here is the breakdown according to my garmin 405. I’ll update with the official stats once they publish the results.

Filed Under: races Tagged With: 10K, race

An easy 5?

July 3, 2010 by greg 1 Comment

I am really looking forward to the 4th of July 10K race tomorrow at MSUM. I thought I would get out for a nice easy 5 miles today. But as you can see, the oppressive heat and humidity has reared it’s ugly head. I did get 5.4 miles done but it was a very very sweaty 5. My pace slowed throughout but I finished with a 9:44 average.

I snapped a photo when I got back. I ran shirtless today. I am happy that I finally feel comfortable enough to run without a shirt. I know I ain’t pretty, but I’m working on my body. The slobs passing me in their pickups, chewing on their big macs, yapping on their cell phones and laughing at ME can just go to hell. I don’t care any more. If you don’t like what you see, don’t look.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: hot, training

it’s a HIIT

June 26, 2010 by greg 1 Comment

Yes, I’m talking about high intensity interval training. I tried to do a little bit of HIIT on the treadmill a couple months ago. I have never really incorporated HIIT into my training routines but I know there are lots of benefits to it including greater fat burning and increased performance. I want to increase my speed for the Twin Cities marathon in October.

Well, since the last time I did any HIIT I’ve dropped a lot of weight and I’ve worked on increasing my core strength and upper body strength. A thunderstorm rolled in this morning thwarting my plans to go for a run outside so I headed to the gym. I spent about a half hour working my shoulders and back. I decided to give HIIT another try so I jumped onto the treadmill. To say I was shocked at how readily able I was to do HIIT without dying is an understatement. After a few minutes warmup I set my intervals to run at a 9.5 mph pace for the high intensity and 4 mph walk for the recovery interval. Before I could barely do this for 1 minute at high intensity (or less) followed by 3-4 minutes recovery walking. When I hit my first high intensity interval, it seemed too easy! I managed to run fast for the full minute I planned. When I dropped down to the recovery speed it was too slow so I upped it to a 6.0 mph jog. I managed to keep this up for 30 minutes alternating 1 minute high intensity followed by 2 minutes of recovery jogging. At the end I was sweaty and tired but I felt I could actually do more. Next time I’ll go longer.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: HIIT, training

Weight Loss Progress

June 15, 2010 by greg 1 Comment

It is about time I updated you on my progress. I have been increasing my miles, increasing my speed and working out at the gym a lot. I have moved up from 20 pound weights for my bicep curls to 35 pounds and from 30 pound dumbells for chest presses to 55 pounds. I generally work my upper body and back 3 times a week. I have dropped from about 265 pounds to below 227 pounds as of this morning. The progress definitely shows! Take a look.

Filed Under: fitness Tagged With: Weight Loss

Weight Loss Update

May 25, 2010 by greg Leave a Comment

It’s been about nine weeks since I refocused my eating and exercise and it is paying off with big time results! I have dutifully tracked every calorie, good and bad, on fitday.com. I have resisted temptation and have eaten cleanly for the last two months. And I am happy with the results! over 30 pounds have melted away. My clothes fit better and I feel much stronger. My running has been improving and I am on top of the world. I have a ways to go but it is so encouraging to finally be back on track.

Filed Under: fitness Tagged With: Weight Loss

Ten point Two

May 8, 2010 by greg Leave a Comment

Whew! Nice run today. It was a gorgeous sunny day but still a cool 45 degrees. Perfect running weather. I was thinking I might feel good to go 10 miles today and I was right. Feels great.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: long run, marathon training

Turkey Trot

May 4, 2010 by greg Leave a Comment

I had an AWESOME 4.1 mile run this morning in the cool 40 degree weather with the sun just rising on the horizon. I ran into some wild turkeys in the cemetery by the river strutting their stuff with full plumage. A great way to start the day. My weight continues to drop and I am so proud of myself for not pigging out on pizza at my meeting last night. I had only one piece and managed to keep yesterday’s calories below 1500. Today I can eat more as I ran this morning and I’m heading to the gym this afternoon.

I am stoked for the marathon in October! My official 18 week training schedule starts May 31. I’m ahead of the game. I will be 4o pounds lighter before the marathon! Looking forward to an awesome PR.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: marathon training, Weight Loss

Back in the marathon training saddle

May 1, 2010 by greg Leave a Comment

I signed up for the Twin Cities marathon, October 3. I know now that my commitment to my diet and activity will let me do well by October. I plan for a PR – a sub 4 marathon. I know I can do it.

Speaking of training, I input all my training runs for my 18 week Hal Higdon Intermediate II training plan into my calendar. This starts in a few short weeks. Today I did get out for a wonderful 8.6 miles in the cool drizzle.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: marathon training

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