…and set a new P.R.? That’s what I’m about to find out. I’m sure this training program will (justifiably) have it’s share of skeptics. I’m not entirely sold that it will work. But I really breezed through my 11 miler today, which was positively re-enforcing. As I keep adding a mile to my weekly long runs, I wonder at what point “the wheels will fall off”?

So far, I’ve basically been doing 2 runs a week. A long run on the weekend, and a pretty aggressive tempo run that’s 50% of my long run distance in the middle of the week. I’ve been biking pretty hard on the off days for anywhere between 60-80 minutes. As I keep upping the running milage, I’ll up the biking as well. I also strength train about three times a week.

One of the benefits of doing what I’m doing is that I’ve been able to keep certain “nagging” injuries at bay. But I know I’m losing some street cred as a “runner” at the same time. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there that would question if in fact I am a “runner” and not just some weird obsessive fitness guru. I guess we’ll find out which one I am after I shave 15 minutes off my time and run a 3:25 marathon in February!

If I actually pull it off, maybe I’ll write a book espousing the values of the THIRD training program (an obvious nod to the FIRST program that it’s derived from). The theory is simple. Don’t beat yourself up… run once every third day and do some serious non-running cardio on the days in between.

One of the things I’m worried about is what I will dub “Lance Armstrong Syndrome.” Apparently, after completing his first marathon, Lance had stress fractures in his shins. Even though he was cardiovascularly fit enough to run a marathon, his legs had not adapted to the pounding of distance running. But his longest run was only a 13 or 16 miler from what I remember. I believe what I’m doing is quite different, especially since I have been running for years and have probably trained my legs to withstand the stress of long distances.

Anyway, this will be interesting.

J

I had another awesome long run on Saturday. After waking up early to volunteer at a soup kitchen for a few hours, I decided to do my long run in central park. I figured the trees would help protect against the wind and rain, and there was plenty of both. Definitely a better choice than running along the west side highway. 2 laps around cenral park, minus the very top of the loop, and I managed to put in just over 10 miles.

After 2 consecutive weekends of cold, rain and wind, I actually decided that I don’t mind training in shitty weather. If I can maintain a solid pace and keep a clear head under crappy training conditions, then its just that much easier to get out there on a good day. That thought kind of helped me make it through the run.

I hate getting passed when I’m out on a training run. Does that mean I’m too competitive about my running? If I’m jogging along and someone comes up from behind me and passes me, I speed up, try to stay close and then eventually pass them. It’s s just an instinct and I know it’s not the best habit to get into, but that’s another thing that helped me through my long run this weekend. I got passed.

The guy who passed me was running just a few seconds faster than me, so it made sense to try to keep up. Every time I caught up to him, he would take off and really pick up the pace. So I have to figure that other people feel the same way, that they don’t like getting passed. Anyway, it helped me to keep my pace up for the final miles of the run. I finished with about a 7:25 mile average, which is pretty good… especially if my marathon goal pace is only 7:49.

J

8 mile long run this morning, 7:30ish pace. Beautiful day for a run.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/ny/new-york/617125528362867810

Looking forward to tomorrow morning’s Chicago Marathon! Here’s an interesting article from the New York Times, a clip of Sammy from Runner’s World, and info on how to watch the race which starts tomorrow morning at 7:30am. Set your DVR’s or log onto Universal Sports!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/10/sports/10marathon.html

Broadcast Information
NBC 5 Chicago
NBC 5 coverage begins at 6:30am with a special Chicago Marathon themed edition of “The Talk” followed by live on-air and on-line coverage of the 2009 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, 7 to 11 a.m.

The Score Sportsradio 670 AM
On race day, The Score Sportsradio 670 AM will bring you all the race action live. Tune into 670 AM to catch the live broadcast from 7 to 11 a.m.

The Score Sportsradio 670 AM will also feature two Marathon Preview Shows in advance of race day.

Marathon Preview Shows:
Saturday, Sept. 26 – 7 to 8 a.m. | Click here to listen (mp3)
Saturday, Oct. 3 – 7 to 8 a.m.

Universal Sports
Watch the Bank of America Chicago Marathon LIVE on the Universal Sports Network. Fans can watch all the coverage on Universal Sports TV and Universalsports.com. The race webcast will be available to the entire world. The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is a member of the World Marathon Majors; a series of the top five marathons in the world: Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London and New York City. Each race will be available on UniversalSports.com.

I started off my lunch-time treadmill run not really feeling like I had the energy for an interval workout. But I also didn’t have the patience for a tempo run. As I warmed up, I kept upping the MPH. By the time I was about 7 minutes into my “warm-up” run, I was in full gear… 12MPH or 5-minute mile pace.

So I decided to see how long I could hold it for and actually did better than I expected. I didn’t make it for the full mile, but I suspect that if I really had to, I could. Or at least come really close. I decided to cut myself off at 0.8 miles, which means I only needed to hold that pace for one more minute to reach my goal. Now, to do the equivalent on a track is a different story… but at least its a start.

The problem is, I was entirely exhausted after 4 minutes at 12MPH. So the prospect of continuing to run intervals sounded awful to me. I got the bright idea to add in some hill work. I figured I could get my heart rate just about as high as with intervals, but work a set of muscles that are definitely underdeveloped. And I normally avoid hills like the plague.

I ramped the treadmill up to a pretty steep grade (I don’t know exactly how high because the monitor was broken). The first hill session was about 7 minutes and was exhausting. I walked in between, but continued with the incline. Then I broke into another 5 minutes of hill. By the end of it, I was spent, but I still felt like putting in a little more work. I finished up with a flat 6-minute mile and called it a day.

Ended up being a very challenging workout. And I don’t think I overdid it too much either since there was some good variety. Has anyone else ever combined a hill day with a speed day? Never heard it mentioned in a training plan, but I liked it…
J