Motion Based
I am using my Garmin Forerunner 305 to time training runs. Right now I have a subscription to Motion Based that allows me to log the runs. They provide a nice RSS feed also.
Archive for February 2009
Training – Marine Corps Historic Half – Week 14 – Key Run 1
Today was my first training run. After warming up I ran 5, 1K intervals with a 400 meter rest interval between each. The goal was to run them at a 1K’s at 4:07 pace. I misremembered the goal pace time at the track and ended up running them at a 4:02 pace.
My iTunes playlist needs some work. I have lots of worship songs on it, but not all of them are good for speed work if you get my drift.
During my runs I planned to have some focused prayer time for the children who will be benefited by your contributions. That is not likely to happen during the speed work runs. They are short, concentrated, and require a lot of effort from me. My mind was focused on maintaining the pace and finishing. During the rest interval I was able to pray. The long runs will be a good time to pray also.
Half Marathon Training Plan
Over the weekend I settled on a training plan for running the marathon. Initially I was going to use the standard plan at the marathon training site. After searching the web, I have reconsidered. I am going use a training plan I found at Runner’s World. Given the alernatives, it seemed to fit my personality the best. I like to compete, I like data, I am goal oriented, and I did not want to run 5 days a week.
On Saturday I ordered Run Less Run Faster from Amazon and it arrived today. I already had most of the plan mapped out from the information on FIRST’s web site.
Having never run in a race of any kind, I am starting at ground zero. With the Chicago Marathon over 10 months away, I entered the Marine Corps Historic Half on May 17, 2009, to get some experience in training and running a race. The typical training plans are 16-18 weeks. I only have 14 weeks before the half marathon.
The first thing I needed to accomplish was to set a goal time for the race so I could determine the paces I would use for the various training activities. With Run Less Run Faster, there are 3 key runs every week. The first is a speed work run, the second is a tempo run, and the third is a long run. Days between runs involve cross training. Without any race experience I ran and timed my own 5k to determine my half marathon pace. I ran a 21:55, 5k which puts me at a goal pace for just under 1:42:00 for the half marathon and just over 3:30:00 for the marathon. I’ll determine my goal and pacing for the marathon after running the half.
Update 2/27: The training schedule ended up begin a little aggressive. I pushed hard to meet the times on the 3 key runs but was then spent and was not able to do decent cross training or weight training on off days. I found a similar program on Runners World and adjusted my goal times slightly.