Thursday, October 30, 2008

Fartlek Workout

I ran a 27 minute fartlek (speed) workout last night and it was a blast. I was exhausted when I finished the run although I can see how fartlek training can help improve one's speed. The pace was pretty good too (I had an 8:18 minute/mile pace). Tonight I will do an easy, flat run.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

The Goal: Getting Faster

Last night I ran for 3.77 miles (6K) using a hill training program I created on my treadmill. I finished in about 34 minutes which is pretty good considering the terrain was hilly. The goal tonight is a 30 minute interval run. To improve my speed, I will do a fartlek workout (fartlek is Swedish for "speed play" simply means to run fast and jog slower in intervals). Here's another sample fartlek workout from Runners-Resource.com.
Here's the fartlek workout I dreamed up:
Interval
Level
Speed (mph)
Time (min)
1
Easy
6.8
01:00.0
2
Hard
7.4
01:00.0
3
Easy
6.8
02:00.0
4
Hard
7.4
03:00.0
5
Easy
6.8
02:00.0
6
Hard
7.4
03:00.0
7
Easy
6.8
02:00.0
8
Hard
7.4
03:00.0
9
Easy
6.8
02:00.0
10
Hard
7.4
01:00.0
11
Easy
6.8
01:00.0
TOTAL
21:00.0

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Speed Is Important

Last night's run: 3.16 miles with an 8:12 minute/mile pace. After Saturday's race, I was able to run over 3 miles quite easily. I felt a lot better after I completed the run. It made me think that I should have also run on Sunday. Well, tonight I will do a hill climb to help me get a little faster. My goal is to get in the 7-7.5 minute per mile pace by Spring 2009.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Hundred Push Up Challenge

I DID IT! In the presence of my daughter and son I completed the Hundred Push Up Challenge last night. On further review, my daughter revealed I actually did 102 push ups which provided more inspiration (my son miscounted along the way because he said I was going too fast.)

After I completed my last push up, I feel flat on the floor and asked, "Did I do it?" Both of them said, "Yes, daddy." Man, that was the best news of the day. Then I told them, "Now I can not get up!" (My arms were too tired!) As I crawled off the ground, I looked at my daughter and said, "Next goal: 200 consecutive push ups." My daughter replied, "No way!" When I asked her why, she said, "You struggled too hard to do 100 push ups!"

Okay, maybe 200 consecutive push ups is a little too optimistic. I think I'll go back to my regular routine of 200 push ups in 20 minutes.

My First Race

On Saturday, October 25, 2008 I completed my first run, Run Forest Run, which was held at Izaak Walton Nature Preserve in Homewood, IL. I finished the 4 mile race with a 7:57 minute/mile pace - something I did expect at all. This was probably the toughest run I ever experienced because it was a trail run, i.e., we ran on rocks, grass, dirt, mud, etc. I kind of expected a difficult run because of the terrain. However I did not want to back out of the race, so I just ignored the conditions and kept my legs moving. About half-way through, I had to pray for strength - I was about to run out of gas. I had mad the terrible mistake of starting the run way too face - hence a brief struggle to finish.

I will definitely run this race again and I am already entered in next year's race. Now that I have race experience, I know what to expect the next time I run. I will try not to start too fast!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

A 20 Minute Sprint

I gave myself about 20 minutes to run on the treadmill last night.  I basically sprinted the for 2.5 miles without getting too tired.  I will do a longer hill climb tonight.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Run Forest Run

I plan to participate in the Run Forest Run event which is a 4 mile race that will be held this Saturday not far from my house. I think I have trained well enough to run 4 miles without collapsing. This will be my first official race.

Last night I did 3.1 miles on the treadmill. Since we had softball practice that evening, it looked like a run was out of the question until I told my body "you gotta do this". I was able to check my son's Algebra homework, eat a small meal and do some chin-ups too.

Monday, October 20, 2008

4 Miles and 97 Push Ups

Yesterday evening I did a little over 6K (about 4 miles) running through the neighborhood while I listened to ESPN 1000 radio. The run was quicker than I expected though I am not sure why. Maybe the cool weather was a big distraction. Next up: a 30 minute Hill Climb this evening.

To add more pressure, I asked my daughter to witness my attempt to do 100 push ups as part of the Hundred Push Up Challenge. Man, I got up to 97 and just collapsed again! I thought I had it this time. Well, now I have to work a little harder this week and test again on Sunday night. I'm almost there!

Friday, October 17, 2008

Almost There

Last night I did 3.14 miles on the treadmill which is about what I wanted to run. I am also looking at two end-of-the-year races, the first of which is next Saturday. The last race I would even consider is the day after Thanksgiving. I'm waiting to get details on both races.

I made my third attempt to do 100 push ups and got very close. When I reached 80 or so push ups, I just knew I would make it to 100. I should have asked the Lord for strength because after I hit 85 push ups, I began to feel extreme fatigue in my triceps. I made it to 91 push ups before my arms completely collapsed. I will get up to 100 soon!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Top of The Hill

I did 35+ minutes (3.83 miles) of hill training last night. It was a tough run considering I had not trained like this for almost two weeks. I could feel that I was not lifting my legs as well as I should. About half way through the run, my HRM watch stop tracking my heart rate. I need to remind myself to replace the battery in the heart rate strap soon or else the HRM may stop working completely.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Fall Is Here

And with the season change, I am finding it a little difficult to stick to a schedule. The good news is I ran a combined 14 miles on Saturday, Sunday and Monday; two of the three days were outdoors. I will need to do more hill training as I can feel my legs getting tired sooner than they should. My lungs are holding out extremely well. Sometimes I think I can run forever.

Template by - Abdul Munir | Daya Earth Blogger Template