Running in circles, Part 2
Run log
- Tues: 7mi total, with 3mi at T-pace (6:25 per mile) Workout was 4x1200m; with 1 min rests. Warm-up and cool-down at Easy pace (8:00-8:30 per mile.) The legs felt a bit heavy, but okay. This workout has become my normal week-of-race workout.
- Wed: 6mi easy trails. I did the golf courses run. Started up the hill at Little Met GC and over to the bridal trail above Big Met GC and also borders Mastick Woods GC. Continued on the bridal trail south of Puritas Road and turned-around at the top of the hill near the I-480 overpass. By the end of this run my legs felt fresh, so I feel in good shape for this weekend's race.
~~
Running in circles, Part 2.
So I got that thing sitting over there in the upper right corner...
"Dreaming of running further than ever before..."
Yep. That's me. But the Presque Isle 12 Hour is only one of three "goal" races this fall. I've plodded away at this blog for 5 weeks now and it appears that I want to keep going with it. Since I'm sticking around, today I wish to introduce my Fall running goals. It's ambitious. Here are my "goal" races:
* Sep 9 - Groundhog 50km (goal is to improve my 50km PR of 4:53)
* Oct 21 - Presque Isle 12 hour (goal to run further than ever before, currently 70.5mi)
* Nov 18 - JFK 50 Mile (goal sub-8 hours)
Yes, the rest of the year's goals are ultramarathons. Relatively flat and fast ultras, at that. Although I enjoy the tough trails, I'm going for speed this fall. But that does not preclude marathons in the plan. Like last year, I'll do a couple marathons as long training runs. For the third year, I'll lead the 3:40 pace group at the Akron Marathon. I enjoy that race very much.
Back to running in circles. Of the three goal races, the one that worries me the most is the 12 hour run. Its unknown territory. I'm not worried about this weekend's 50km race. Nor am I worried about JFK; been there, done that. Two marathons in two weeks does not worry me either. I've done 2-in-2 twice now: Akron-Towpath last fall and Kentucky Derby-Flying Pig earlier this year.
So how to prepare for a 12 hour run on a 1 mile loop? As a student of running, I fall back to the principle of Specificity of training. The principle suggests that in order to be successful at activity x, then one must do activity x in training. Applied to my 12 hour goal, I think of two points to help me.
1) Back-to-backs. I want to have one or more big weekends comprised of back-to-back long runs. It would be ideal to cover about two-thirds of my goal race, or about 8 hours of running per weekend. This weekend I'm going for just that. Conveniently, there's a Sunday marathon in Erie, Pennsylvania. Yes, I'm going for two marathons in two days. This weekend falls 6 weeks out before Presque Isle and I think it’s a good spot to try.
2) Run loops. If I'm going to run in circles for 12 hours, I ought to consider running some loop training runs. Earlier this spring, my city paved a 1 mile loop around Lakewood Park. Living only 3/4 mile from the park, I've run this loop many times. Is this a light bulb moment, or what? Can you imagine what I have in store for future editions of Running in circles?
There it is. I just wanted to get this out there in the open. These goal races have been on my schedule ever since the New Year. The good news is that there's still time to prepare for my Running in circles.
- Tues: 7mi total, with 3mi at T-pace (6:25 per mile) Workout was 4x1200m; with 1 min rests. Warm-up and cool-down at Easy pace (8:00-8:30 per mile.) The legs felt a bit heavy, but okay. This workout has become my normal week-of-race workout.
- Wed: 6mi easy trails. I did the golf courses run. Started up the hill at Little Met GC and over to the bridal trail above Big Met GC and also borders Mastick Woods GC. Continued on the bridal trail south of Puritas Road and turned-around at the top of the hill near the I-480 overpass. By the end of this run my legs felt fresh, so I feel in good shape for this weekend's race.
~~
Running in circles, Part 2.
So I got that thing sitting over there in the upper right corner...
"Dreaming of running further than ever before..."
Yep. That's me. But the Presque Isle 12 Hour is only one of three "goal" races this fall. I've plodded away at this blog for 5 weeks now and it appears that I want to keep going with it. Since I'm sticking around, today I wish to introduce my Fall running goals. It's ambitious. Here are my "goal" races:
* Sep 9 - Groundhog 50km (goal is to improve my 50km PR of 4:53)
* Oct 21 - Presque Isle 12 hour (goal to run further than ever before, currently 70.5mi)
* Nov 18 - JFK 50 Mile (goal sub-8 hours)
Yes, the rest of the year's goals are ultramarathons. Relatively flat and fast ultras, at that. Although I enjoy the tough trails, I'm going for speed this fall. But that does not preclude marathons in the plan. Like last year, I'll do a couple marathons as long training runs. For the third year, I'll lead the 3:40 pace group at the Akron Marathon. I enjoy that race very much.
Back to running in circles. Of the three goal races, the one that worries me the most is the 12 hour run. Its unknown territory. I'm not worried about this weekend's 50km race. Nor am I worried about JFK; been there, done that. Two marathons in two weeks does not worry me either. I've done 2-in-2 twice now: Akron-Towpath last fall and Kentucky Derby-Flying Pig earlier this year.
So how to prepare for a 12 hour run on a 1 mile loop? As a student of running, I fall back to the principle of Specificity of training. The principle suggests that in order to be successful at activity x, then one must do activity x in training. Applied to my 12 hour goal, I think of two points to help me.
1) Back-to-backs. I want to have one or more big weekends comprised of back-to-back long runs. It would be ideal to cover about two-thirds of my goal race, or about 8 hours of running per weekend. This weekend I'm going for just that. Conveniently, there's a Sunday marathon in Erie, Pennsylvania. Yes, I'm going for two marathons in two days. This weekend falls 6 weeks out before Presque Isle and I think it’s a good spot to try.
2) Run loops. If I'm going to run in circles for 12 hours, I ought to consider running some loop training runs. Earlier this spring, my city paved a 1 mile loop around Lakewood Park. Living only 3/4 mile from the park, I've run this loop many times. Is this a light bulb moment, or what? Can you imagine what I have in store for future editions of Running in circles?
There it is. I just wanted to get this out there in the open. These goal races have been on my schedule ever since the New Year. The good news is that there's still time to prepare for my Running in circles.
1 Comments:
My friend Fred recommends the polo field loop for his 12-24 hour training runs. He uses them for pacing and it is nicer than a track because it is just shy of a mile, he claims it's about .9, and if you get terribly bored you can always hop on the Buckeye trail for a bit of a breather before going back to the loops!
I ran at N. Chagrin the other night. One of the bridle trail signs must have got knocked down because I have run that loop a million times and somehow I ended up all over the place the other night, it was just what I needed though, funny how that happens!
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