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My Fall 2010 Marathon lineup

Alright so this year, I decided to do 2 back-to-back marathons again, but not at 6 or 10 day interval like I've done before...can you say Glycogen depletion? I learned my lesson (although it sure was fun to challenge myself like that...) so this time I will be running Montreal as my last long run before my taper 3 weeks before the Toronto Scotiabank Waterfront marathon.

My Montreal run will actually be an initial 10k reeeeeeaaaaallly slow, followed by a 32 km at a decent clip. Last year, I ran Montreal a couple of months before running NYC marathon and I shouldn't have been running that distance that early in my training for NYC so I did a 10km slow, 20k at my target race pace and then the final 12 km slow again. It was ok but I had overtrained by the time NYC came around and was dealing with a nagging knee problem. Doc said I had been doing too much mileage - I've been averaging over 2000 km a year for the last few years, so maybe he's right. Anyway, long story short, I've revised my running training to run no more than 3 days a week and have been doing so since last fall. Knee problem solved. I also cross-train 2 days a week for a total of 5 workouts per week. This is the FURST training plan and you can find a sample of it that I put together for a friend of mine in the post called Training Jiha, If you're interested.

Ok, so back to my Fall marathons. Over the next few months I'll be posting my training stories below. Previously, I used to do weekly recaps, but they were just too much work to maintain and plus I felt guilty if I didn't write anything in a particular week.

And in case you didn't notice, I am running these in support of Blood cancer research, so if you'd like to support me in this, I would definitely be grateful for your encouragement. Here is the link to make a secure donation online or if you prefer to make a snailmail or fax donation, you can download the form here.

Thanks for your support and please and share with your friends!

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Week ending 6 Jun - still in pre-training but I have to build up to 15km Long Run distance for when my training plan starts so I ran 12 km LSD last week, did some threshold intervals on Wednesday (1 mi warmup, 4 x 400m intervals at 10mph 2% incline with 400m recovery jogs, 1 mi cooldown = 4 mi total) it was tough and I was sucking wind big time on the intervals but it's funny how good you feel afterward...On Saturday I did my 15 km long run without any difficulty but I averaged an 11 min/mi pace which is much slower than I will have to do during my training so I need to do more intervals and core training to get my speed up...

Week ending 13 Jun - First week of training. I was a bit sore on Monday so I walked for 45 min. On Tuesday I did T-intervals (1 mi warmup, 4 x 800m intervals at 8.5 mph 2% incline with 1 minute recoveries + cooldown = 4 mi total). I was supposed to do 3 x 1 mi intervals at 9.2 mph but there was no way I could keep that pace so I scaled it back. Taking time off from roadrunning all winter and running in snowshoes has caused me to lose a lot of speed. It's really disconcerting! Oh well, the health is good, no injuries, so it's all good. I'll just keep at it.  On Sunday I ran 8 miles cross-country.  It was a hoot but I was supposed to do 13 miles (I should have run Saturday morning when it was cooler, but instead I ran late afternoon the next day after a brunch and mowing the lawn.  I down almost a litre of Gatorade on that run, so it was hot - even in the woods! Lessons learned.

Week ending 20 Jun - Tuesday I did T-intervals (1 mi warmup, 4 x 800m intervals at 10 mph with 1 minute recoveries + cooldown = 4 mi total).  I didn't incline this time because I wanted to see if I could maintain the prescribed pace for the entire interval, which I could but I did hold the bars every once in a while.  My HR went as high as 163 bpm which is 92% of my max and I was in that zone for almost half of the entire workout, but it quickly dropped back down to below 120 bpm during the minute recoveries, which is a good thing and in keeping with Jack Daniels method as well.  Thursday was ladders;  I started out to warm-up for a mile at 5.5 mph and then 1 mi @ 6.5 mph, then 1 mi @ 7.5 mph, then 1 mi @ 8.1 mph, then 1 mi @ 6.5 mph, 1 mi @ 7.5 mph, and a short cool down to bring the total to 10k.  Overall a great run and a good change of pace for treadmill running.  12 mile long run on Saturday morning (2 min/mi slower than my target pace).

Week ending 27 Jun - Tuesday was a new level of intervals for me - I had to change treadmills, to use the older kind you often find in physiotherapy clinics, so that I could crank it past 10 mph.  I also had 2 machines going simultaneously - one at my interval pace and the other at my recovery pace - it's just easier that way rather than fiddling with the speed settings all the time...So here is my workout : 1 mi warmup, 1200m @9.9 mph (200m recovery), 1000m @10 mph (200m rec.), 800m @10.1 mph (200m rec.), 600m @10.3 mph, 1 mi cooldown.  This was intense and it took everything for me to keep those paces but I did it!  I also got a few strange looks hopping from treadmill to treadmill, but hey, my gym is pretty dead these days and I think I keep the staff amused so they don't complain that my workouts are longer than the posted limits of 20 minutes per machine.....he, he.  Wednesday was crosstraining day so I did 45 minutes of spinning and worked up quite a sweat.  I'm feeling tightness in my calves from Tuesday's intervals so Thursday is probably going to be interesting...Well it actually went really well!  I ran a 5 mile tempo run up and down then mountain with a 1 mile warmup/cooldown. Sunday I ran 16 miles and it was HOT! I ran out of water so I cut my run short. My pace was not fast (again) but I felt okay. I made sure not to overexert myself or get dehydrated - slow and steady was the order of the day...

Week ending 4 Jul - Tuesday I was still a bit sore from my weekend run so I decided to work through lunch on my fundraising campaign .  On Wednesday I did some killer intervals (5 x 1000m @ 10mph with 400m RI). It was brutal but I managed with 0% elevation - I should be running on the treadmill at 2% all the time...On Thursday I ran instead of cross-training because it was my last day of work for the week and I wanted to run the mountain.  It was a beautiful 1st of July so I did a 1 mile warmup and 5 mile tempo run followed by a 1 mile cooldown.  It was a gorgeous run! I will have to bring my camera one day to snap pics of the cityscapes I get from up there...Sunday was a 17 mile jaunt.  I was tired even before I left.  My legs probably didn't fully recover from 2 back to back days of running during the week. I was really tired when I got home and fell asleep while watching Toy Story with my kids...

Week ending 11 Jul - Monday and Thursday were cross-training days.  On Monday, I cycled for 45 mins and Thursday I mixed it up by embedding some core strength exercises between 2 twenty minute sessions of biking and rowing.  Tuesday, I ran some intervals (3 x 1600m in 6:12 with 1 min rest between. I couldn't maintain the pace for more than 400m without 5 second breather before continuing. Total 6miles) and Friday I managed to squeeze in some tempo intervals at the track in between thundershowers (5km).  Sunday was a clawback long run to build back some strength so I inserted 4 tempo bursts and some hill sprints just to keep it interesting.  The first was a 20 minute burst about a half hour into the run.  The second was a 10 min burst at 1.5 hours in and the third and fourth were 5 mins. each and 5 minutes apart.  At the end I did 10 x 10-second sprints up a hill to shock my fast twitch muscles a bit (I always love these because you pick up some great speed but for not long enough to produce lactic acid.  Total run distance on Sunday as 16 miles.  All told a great week!

Week ending 18 Jul  - I have to say it was a strange week for running given the odd weather and the upcoming summer vacation.  I started out by planning to do a Tempo run on the mountain on Tuesday. But the skies opened up yet again as I was making my way up University St. to the mountain trailhead. While an avid runner, I'm not hardcore enough to run in a torrential downpour in my road shoes on slopping wet mountain trails, so I ducked into the Royal Vic hospial and ran up 1000 stairs instead. (I did 12 x 84 stairs). I think that qualifies as hill training...then on Thursday, my Tempo run 1 mi warmup + 3 mi @ 7min/mi pace (with 30 second water break each mile) + cool down = 5 miles in 41 mins flat. Glad that's done!  No cross-training this week, I was too busy woking on my new blog launch.  Saturday was a write off and Sunday, I tried to get up at 5 am but I was just too tired, so I opted to do a water running session in the afternoon instead.  After an hour with the Aquajogger, my whole body was fatigued.  That was a great workout!


Week ending 25 Jul -

Please support this Crusade!

You know the old saying; "Time heals all wounds"? Well, that's not always true....When it comes to diseases like cancer, time is our worst enemy. The time you have the disease without it being diagnosed or the amount of time it takes before getting treatment can both be fatal. And the time it takes for us to find a cure, means more and more people are diagnosed and dying every day.

No my friends, time does not heal this wound....How many people do you know who have blood cancers? Several I'm sure, probably even somebody in your family.....

We have to act now so that we could beat this disease. I'm running marathons until we do!

Please support me in my crusade...my legs will thank you for it but not nearly as much as those who are currently suffering with the disease and the ones who are diagnosed every 35 minutes. Tic toc....

Time is of the essence, so please share this video with your friends, family, mailing lists, you name it. The more people who see this video the better. We want to create awareness and a call to action.

If you can donate, fine, but if not, you still can do your part. Pledge to pass this on, share your story below, blog about it, touch someone's heart to embark on their own crusade, hold a bake sale. It doesn't matter really....Anything you do will bring us one day closer to a cure and that's what matters!

So don't delay, share this video and take action to make a difference today! (if you can make a donation, it is greatly appreciated. http://bit.ly/PatrickTNT)

'Twas the season...

I am so a creature of habit, it's not even funny...After the NYC marathon, I resumed a regular workout routine but I didn't do any runs longer than 10km. It certainly felt refreshing to sleep in on weekends for a change! Then came the holidays...I tried not to eat too much but 10 straight days of parties, rich foods, alcohol...it is not my regular routine so I shouldn't be surprised that I put on a few pounds.

Now that I am back to work, the routine workouts at the gym have resumed. For example today I did an embedded circuit training workout and tried to pick up at the level I left off, but lo and behold...fitness levels reduce amazingly fast. I decided not to push it too much so I did a 1.5 mile warmup run followed by my exercise sets with no rest and then a cool down. I was supposed to do a 2 mile warmup and a 2 mile cooldown, but after the circuit, my legs were really tired so I ended it there.

This winter, I won't be doing my long runs outside as much but I will be snowshoe running - if you haven't tried this, I can assure you that I have never sucked wind so much as I do when I'm running with snowshoes. This is a really intense exercise so I definitely will not be out for 3+ hours on Sunday mornings to get a great workout in.

That said, these are more cardio than endurance workouts so I will have to do a few long runs every now and then and I will resume to more rugular long runs once I've decided what my next marathon will be.

A few years ago, I gave myself a head start on weight loss by doing the first two weeks of the South Beach diet. It really worked but the first week is really restrictive and difficult to prepare meals when there are three other people living in the house - not on the diet. Now that I have a belt notch to tighten, I will be applying some of the principles from the South Beach Diet such as good fats, bad fats, good carbs, bad carbs, and the use of the glycemic index of foods. I came across this eating habits adjustment strategy video and website that pretty much sums it up so I'm sharing it here. I'll report back in exactly 2 weeks with my results.

Training Jiha

While I was in New York enjoying the post-marathon celebrations with friends, Jiha asked me if I would help her train for her first marathon in the spring of 2010. I gladly accepted because this is what I plan to do more frequently.

Jiha has already built up a good mileage base and she is pretty fast from the times she has provided me. I used the FIRST training principles to inspire me to build her program which focuses on increasing her speed and also giving her time for her family, job, and other activities.

Here it is below:




I also asked Jiha if she would be so kind as to report her progress as comments on this post. Let's see how her training develops, and good luck Jiha!

Ultimate cross-training workout

A few years ago, my father-in-law lived in Chicago and we went for a visit. I had just started running and he saw how fit I had become. He was eager to show me a new machine he had bought. I had seen it before on infomercials during those late nights when I had to walk around the house for hours trying to get my daughter to burp after her late-night feeding. Anyway, I am always wary about those infomercials, but I figured if Chuck Norris endorses this product, it had to be good. So when he opened up the box and I helped him put it together (rather easily, I might add) I was anxious to take it for a test ride.

I followed the exercises on the pamphlet and quickly felt the burn in my arms, legs, and abs. This thing was really cool. And we easily folded it up to slide it under his bed afterward. During the 4 days we were there, I used it every day - it was just so simple to use and get a total body workout so quickly.

When we returned home, I thought about buying one, and have had it on my wish list ever since but we so don't have room in our house for a home gym - yet. I will be getting one as soon as we finish our renovations, however. So anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to cross paths with Total Gym recently and can't help but recommend this great product for the ultimate cross-training workout. Check out the video on the right sidebar and please let me know what your experience has been with Total Gym.

Keep on running ;-)

Training recap weeks #41 thru #44

Time to concentrate on the NYC marathon! Getting very excited. I have been somewhat delinquint on my postings so I'll try to sum up what I've been doing. The last weeks of my training plan had a reduction in distance for the long runs but not in the weekly interval sessions but I had to try to finangle my work week and weekends to resemble the plan as much as possible while making sure I got the leaves raked, and celebrated Thanksgiving and a few birthdays...

Anyway, the week starting 3 Oct, I ran 4 days in all (2 of which were 10km runs at race pace and I also did a Q2 training). The following week, I only did my 5 mile Q2 training. During week 43, I did my last long run of 14 miles and my 5 mile Q2 training and for the last days leading up to the marathon, I ran 5 miles at T-pace on the Wednesday and a 1.5 mile run at T-pace on Thursday.

My taper was complete and I was ready to drive down to New York. Next post will be a recap of my race experience in the Big Apple!