Training Update 7/10/11

            Only 8 weeks left until the big race in Daegu, and I feel this was my best week of training so far. I got 120 miles (98 on single runs) with 2 solid workouts and a 22 mile long run. I spent the whole week in Southern California, staying with my parents and spending the days with Carolyn and her family. Carolyn had surgery yesterday (Monday) on her ankle. She is in a huge cast now and we’re hoping for a speedy recovery.

Last Monday’s workout was a fartlek run, 20 x 1 minute fast, 1 minute easy, before heading to Huntington Beach to watch my family race the 4^th of July 5k. My brothers ran 18:51 and 19:05, and my Mom nearly ran a personal best with a 34:41.

Thursday’s workout was also a good one; I ran it on a half-mile loop around the football practice fields at my high school. Half of the loop was grass, and I estimated the 1k mark, so the times may have been off by a second or two. Either way, I averaged 3:02 for the K’s with only a minute jog in between each repeat.

Saturday was a pretty solid long run; I did 2 loops from Carolyn’s house up to Whiting Ranch and back. Carolyn drove around handing me my fluid bottles every 5 miles, making it a whole lot easier to feel good. I got a whole 60 ounces down too, not too bad for only 22 miles.

Monday:            AM: Workout – 20 x 1 min. on, 1 min off at Mile Square Park. 3 Mile w/u, 3 mile c/d. 12 miles total in 1:14:50.

                        PM: Easy run from Carolyn’s house. 5 miles in 35:24.

Tuesday:           AM: Distance run from Parents’ house on Riverbed, 11 miles in 1:10:27.

                        PM: Easy run from Carolyn’s. 7 miles in 44:24.

Wednesday:       AM: Distance run on Riverbed, 14 miles in 1:28:44.

                        PM: Easy run from Carolyn’s. 4.5 miles in 31:03.

Thursday:          AM: Workout, 10 x 1k around Football Fields at FVHS,  3:03, 2:59, 3:03, 3:05, 3:03, 3:03, 3:01, 3:03, 3:01, 2:58. 3 mile w/u, 3 mile c/d, 1 minute between each repeat. 13 miles total

Friday:              AM: Distance run with Luis at Cameo Shores. 11.5 miles in 1:20:02

Saturday:          AM: Long run from Carolyn’s, 2 long loops to Whiting Ranch. 22 miles in 2:21:40.

Sunday:             AM: Distance run on Riverbed, 14 miles in 1:28:45.

                        PM: Easy run from Carolyn’s. 6 miles in 40:00.

Week Total: 120 miles, with 4 doubles.

Questions answered:

In my last blog Anonymous asked, “Snick. Seeing that eh LA Dodgers are bankrupt and up for sale, have you ever thought about buying them?”

Well, that would be a spectacular purchase, but seeing as I have just enough money to afford my mortgage payments, I don’t think I would be able to afford anything that McCourt would offer them for. That would be a fantastic purchase though. I’ll work on getting enough money to buy them in another 20 years.

Also in my last blog Running Bums asked, “What types of stretching and ancillary activities do you find most helpful? Do you spend a lot of time on it?”

I do very little stretching to be honest. I stretch occasionally after runs, mostly workouts, and even then its just quick stretches to loosen up a tight muscle. Part of this is laziness, part of it is taking for granted that I’ve rarely been injured, and the last part would be that I know when a muscle or muscle group is tight or sore and have been able to loosen it up or take care of with a small amount of stretching and/or getting a massage to get the muscles loosened up.

Other activities that can be included as prehab and rehab type of activities that I do are core work and plyometrics/drills. I do these much more than stretching. Core work is generally done twice a week and plyometrics/drills are done 4-6 times a week. I feel that both of these are much more helpful for me than stretching. I generally feel more loosened up for a workout when I have a more dynamic routine like skips, arm swings, leg swings, high knees, etc. And for long distance training, core work is almost as important and your workouts. With out a strong midsection, your body will break down before you are halfway through a race or workout.

Some would consider plyometrics and drills to be stretches, and I agree with that. I do these before every workout and race, and after most afternoon runs. It’s a great way to not only loosen up the muscles, but to loosen up joints like the hips.

Thanks for your questions!

Nick

PS. For those of you who voted in my latest poll, I lost 6 pounds on my 14 mile run last wednesday, and it hurt so bad.