Monday, March 31, 2014

Weekly Training Report - March 24th-30th

Monday: 6.0 miles (7:02)

Tuesday: 8.3 miles (7:14)


Wednesday: 7.4 miles (6:39)

Workout - 1km, 1km, 2km, 1km, 1km, 2km, 1km, 1km

Made it farther than ever, about a quarter through the second to last interval:

1km (6:00)
1km (6:00)
2km (6:00)
1km (6:00)
1km (6:03)
2km (6:07)
1km (6:03) - 25%
1km - DNF

Thursday: 5.0 miles (6:49)

Friday: 6.0 miles (7:15)

Saturday: 5.0 miles (7:08)

Sunday: 3.3 miles (7:48); 10.0 (6:07); 2.0 (7:52)
Ran the Storm the Campus 10 miler around the UCF campus.  It was a pretty small run, and I came in 3rd overall with a time of 1:01:09.  It was the first time I've run a 10 mile race, so it was a PR.  I was in 2nd place most of the race, but got outkicked at the end.

Weekly total: 52.9 miles
It was a good week, getting better at that interval workout.  Someday, I'll nail it.  And, I enjoyed the 10 mile race on Sunday.  I'm going to shoot for 60+ miles next week.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Weekly Training Report - March 17th-23rd

Monday: 8.5 miles (7:27)

Tuesday: 6.1 miles (7:13)


Wednesday: 6.7 miles (6:43)

Tempo run... 10 minute warm up, 22 minutes at 6:15 pace, 10 minute cool down.

Thursday: 7.0 miles (7:20)

Friday: 5.2 miles (7:29)

Saturday: 8.0 miles (6:58)
Workout - 5 x 1km with 1:30 rests between.  The goal was 5k race pace, or about 5:40 pace.  I failed miserably at keeping that pace.  But, it was pretty windy and my stomach was giving me some major issues.  These are my times and paces for the intervals:

3:40 (5:55) 
3:54 (6:17) 
3:40 (5:55) 
3:52 (6:14) 
3:50 (6:12) 

Sunday: 12.2 miles (7:36)

Slept in so I didn't run this long run with the Winter Park group.  I didn't go out until about 11am and it was hot and humid.  The only consolation is that it was cloudy out, otherwise that would have been the trifecta of a crappy run.  It was still a pretty crappy run anyways.  I wanted to do 15 but my legs and mind just weren't into it.

Weekly total: 53.7 miles
Really the only good thing I can say about this week is that I made it to 50+ again.  And my legs feel good, no injuries or anything to complain about.  I think I'm recovered from the marathon.  The week wasn't too bad, I guess.  The tempo in the middle of the week went well.  My runs over the weekend were pretty tough and I guess that's what's sticking in my mind.  Plan to do about the same mileage next week and Sunday I have a 10 mile race around UCF.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Weekly Training Report - March 10th-16th

Monday: 7.1 miles (7:36)

Tuesday: 7.2 miles (7:33)

Wednesday: 6.2 miles (6:50)
Workout was 1km, 1km, 2km, 1km, 1km, 2km, 1km, 1km. with 1 min rests following 1km intervals and 1:30 min rests following 2km intervals. I only made it through 3 intervals last week, this week I did 5.  That last 2km interval looked like a mountain, I feel like if I could have made it through that one, the last 2 1km intervals would've been easy to finish... oh well.

1km (6:00) 
1km (6:04) 
2km (6:07) 
1km (6:07)
1km (6:11)

Thursday: 8.1 miles (7:28)

Friday: 3.6 miles (7:27)

Saturday: 2.2 miles (8:17); 6.2 miles (6:00)
Winter Park 10k - finished 2nd in my age group, but I won first place overall in the race series for my age group!  And, it was a 3 second PR.

Sunday: 14.5 miles (8:40)
Ran about 4 miles before running 10 miles with the Winter Park running group.  Took it pretty slow today, 4 miles by myself was about 7:30 pace.  Then ran 9 minute miles with the group.  A little slower than I wanted to go, but I needed an easy run.

Weekly total: 54.9 miles
Back to 50 mile weeks, my legs feel good.  I'll hold my mileage at about this level for the next 2-3 weeks before bumping up to 60+.

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Winter Park 10k Race Report

This morning was the Track Shack Winter Park 10k in Park Avenue.  It was the final race in their race series that started back in August.


I got there about an hour early and grabbed my packet and hit the portapotty.  Then the 2 mile race went off at 7:00am and I jogged a couple miles to warm up myself.  Then, I headed to the start line.  I was tied in the race series and I looked around for Estevan, the guy I was tied with.  But, I didn't see him.  If he didn't show up, then all I had to do was run the race to win it!

The horn went off right at 7:30 and we were off.  This course was pretty familiar to me, I do long runs most Sundays with a running group in Winter Park and we run most of these streets.  I tried to run a little smarter for the first mile then when I ran the Best Damn Race 10k two weeks ago.  My pace during that first mile was 5:30 and I think it made the whole race a lot harder.  This time, I was around 6:10 pace for my first half mile.  And I went through the first mile marker in a little over 6 minutes.

It was easier to pace myself during this race, because there are a lot of runners faster than me, and I can find someone around my pace to hang with.  I also like Track Shack races because a lot of people start off too fast trying to keep up with the really fast guys.  So, throughout the race I was slowly reeling in one person after another.  That always feels good, and it makes the miles go by a little bit easier because I can focus on the guy in front of me.

There was a pretty big hill around the 3.5 mile mark.  That was a tough one, it's a street I'm real familiar with, but normally we're going the other direction and running down the hill... and I had forgotten all about it until I saw it.  I knew after the hill would be a pretty long downhill stretch, so I pushed up the hill as best I could knowing that I could coast for a little ways after that.

The last couple of miles were pretty uneventful.  I caught a couple more guys and then I was turning onto the final stretch at 6 miles onto Park Avenue.  A guy caught me and was pushing pretty hard, so I picked it up and kept up with his surge for the last bit.  I pulled ahead of him at the very end, but we pretty much crossed the line together at 37:19.  And, I found out afterward he was 49!  What an animal!  Anyways, it was a 3 second PR for me, and I was pretty sure I had won the race series.

This 10k felt a lot better than my 10k 2 weeks before.  I attribute that to my better pacing early on.  I ran a negative split, my first 5k was 18:42 and my second 5k was 18:37.  And, my last mile was my fastest at 5:55.  My mile splits were:

Splits: 6:02, 6:02, 6:02, 6:01, 6:02, 5:58, 5:30 (0.2 miles)

And when the results were posted, I was second in my age group.



But, Estevan didn't show up, so I won the race series also!  I won the race series without ever winning a race outright in any of the six races.  But, I was consistently second place, so I guess that counts for something.  I got a cool plaque, a race series cooler, and a $50 gift certificate to Track Shack (my first ever winnings from running!).  Here's the final standings for the race series in my age group:
















Afterwards, while waiting for the results to be posted I ran into Paula and Michelle.  Paula had an amazing 6 minute PR, and I've seen a bunch of pictures of Michelle on Paula's blog before but this was the first time I've actually met her.  I also ran into a couple of the runners from the Sunday Winter Park running group: Atif and Jen.

And here's a pic of all the swag I got from this race and winning the race series:


Next up is a 10 mile race at UCF next Sunday.  I've never run a 10 mile race before, so that should be interesting.  And running on the UCF campus is always good fun.  I think this may be my last Track Shack race until the race series starts again at the end of summer.  I guess my goal next time around will be to actually come in first place in my age group in a Track Shack race.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Weekly Training Report - March 3rd-9th

Monday: 4.5 miles (7:08)

Tuesday: 5.4 miles (7:34)

Wednesday: 5.0 miles (6:57)
Workout was 1km, 1km, 2km, 1km, 1km, 2km, 1km, 1km. with 1 min rests following 1km intervals and 1:30 min rests following 2km intervals. I only made it through 3 intervals.

1km (6:00) 
1km (6:04) 
2km (6:07) 

I started the next 1km interval, but didn't get very far. I'm not used to running intervals with short rests in between. At least now I know where I stand with this workout, I like it, it's challenging and hopefully I'll get better at it.

Thursday: 6.4 miles (7:52)

Friday: 5.0 miles (7:01)
Workout was 3 x 1 mile with 3 min rests.  I bombed this workout too.  I did 2 1/3 of the repeats and they were slower than I wanted.  Two workouts this week and two failures.  Workouts are hard, and it sucks that I'm giving up because they're hard.  I should have just embraced the suck and finished my last repeat.

I'm lacking the mental fortitude to push myself during training when the going gets tough.  The only bright spot is that, going forward, I can only get better with these workouts.  Hopefully.

Saturday: 2.4 miles (7:18)

Sunday: 13.6 miles (7:45)

Weekly total: 42.4 miles

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Jiu Jitsu Training Log - March 3rd-9th

Monday: Advanced Class
Steven is on the west coast and Todd didn't make it in, so Sammy and Geico ran the class.  I enjoyed the class and the techniques they showed.  We did the fireman carry takedown.  I'm really clumsy and awkward at this takedown.  Oh well.

On the ground, we worked some half guard sweeps.  The basic one where you get a deep underhook and come out to the side and either tap the posted knee and drive to finish the sweep, or throw their arm over your head and take their back.  Geico showed half guard starting with a knee shield and using the knee as the space to get your underhook, that was a nice detail.  The next half guard sweep was getting to the same point as before, but if you can't reach their knee to tap it, then roll under them and push/hold on their knee and roll them over you to finish the sweep.

Did some live rolling afterwards, we did some 5 minute rounds and I kept getting in bad positions and then saved by the timer going off!  But, I didn't get submitted.

Tuesday: Randori

Friday: No gi
Anthony taught the class.  It was cool to see him again.  He showed us a cool foot lock, trapping the foot against our abdomen and getting a kind a rear-naked grip on the calf.  And then he showed us an attack from turtle, a way to grip to move and force your partner onto their back and then finishing with a kind of reverse arm triangle choke.  Did some live rolling to try to get myself ready for the tournament tomorrow.

Saturday: Copa America Tournament
I competed in the Copa America tournament in Lakeland.  I might write up a report about it, but I did horrible.  Went 0-3 in my matches, losing 1 in the gi and 2 in no gi.  The tournament itself was slightly chaotic but I liked the fact for one entry fee I could compete in a lot of different divisions.  But, I didn't stick around for the Masters division.  Disappointed in my performance.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Weekly Training Report - February 24th-March 2nd

Monday: 2.1 miles (7:30)

Tuesday: 3.1 miles (7:27)

Wednesday: 4.2 miles (7:29)

Thursday: 5.1 miles (7:00)

Friday: 6.3 miles (7:37)

Saturday: 3.9 miles (7:50); 6.2 miles (6:02)
Ran the Best Damn 10k and was the first overall male!  Read my race report here.

Sunday: 10.0 miles (7:10)
Ran with the Winter Park running group today and ran with the faster group.  I ran a little faster than I wanted to after a race the day before.  But, I felt good and kept up with the leaders OK.  I guess I'll try to run with them from now on.

Weekly total: 40.8 miles
This was a pretty easy recovery week after the marathon.  I was surprised how good my legs felt on the 10k.  Good enough for a 3 minute PR.  I'll spend a couple more weeks in the 40s before I start adding more miles.  I'm going to try to get a real good base going into some fall half marathons and maybe the Space coast marathon.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Best Damn Race 10k Race Report

This morning was the Best Damn Race 10k in downtown Orlando.  The start line was the southeast corner of Lake Eola and ran around the neighborhoods east of there.  The race also featured a 5k and a half marathon, but the 10k was the first race, starting at 6:45 am.  I enjoyed running around those neighborhoods but I also think it would be nice to run west to Orange and run through downtown.  There must be some problem getting those streets for running though because the OUC half marathon also starts at Lake Eola and also runs east instead of west.

Weather was perfect, 54 degrees in the morning and my race would be starting just before sunrise.  And, I picked the 10k instead of the half marathon because I knew I'd still be recovering from the Breast Cancer Marathon from last Sunday.  My legs were pretty sore Monday-Wednesday, but the last couple of days they finally started feeling better.  I didn't know if I would actually race this run, or just use it as a fast tempo.  Either way, I wanted to set a new PR.  My previous 10k PR was 40:16 from last year.  But, that race was in pouring rain, and I'm in better shape this year.

As we started lining up, the starter kept urging the elites to move up and toe the starting line.  I didn't see anyone I knew from the local running scene, and I know I'm not elite.  But, I figured if no one else wanted the front spot, I'd take it.  So, I got right up front in the middle of the starting mat.  An a cappella group from UCF, the Gemini Blvds, sang the national anthem and then the crowd counted down from 10 to send us off.

I got out front right away, this was new, I've never led a race before.  I think the adrenaline got to me, because about a quarter mile in, I looked at my Garmin and it said I was running 5:30 pace.  Woops!  My plan was to run anywhere from 6 - 6:15 miles depending on how I felt.  So, I backed off a bit, and was kinda hoping that someone would pass me.  I'm used to chasing people.  Eventually, someone caught up to me, it was a woman and she was running smooth and fast.  We ran beside each other and got through the first mile in just under 6 minutes.

At that point, I had to let her go.  The pace was a little fast for me and I didn't want to die too badly over the last couple of miles.  Around mile 2, another person caught and passed me, it was another woman!  She was wearing the same color singlet as the first woman.  These women were fast and it quickly became obvious that I was going to get chicked in this race.  I don't mind losing to women, I'm not elite or super fast, so it happens quite a lot.  But, bystanders kept letting me know that 2 women were leading and that I needed to catch them, like I didn't know!  But, it wasn't going to happen.  Afterwards, I found out they were wearing Hanson singlets and were from Michigan, no wonder they were so fast.


The second woman soon caught up to her teammate around the halfway point.  And, from then on, as each mile ticked by, their gap over me got larger.  I just focused on maintaining my pace over the last half of the race.  My first 2 miles were under 6, and then I started slowing down.  My last mile was my slowest, at 6:11, but it was still in the range I was shooting for.

Finally, I turned right onto Central and I could see the finish line, and somehow I was able to pick it up at the end even though my legs felt dead.  I'm always amazed when the last mile of the race feels like I'm going to die or pass out, and yet I always have some energy left to pick up the pace at the very end.

I crossed the finish line at 37:22, almost a 3 minute PR!  The top two women finishers both broke 36 minutes, serious speed!  I finished in 3rd place, but I was the first overall male winner so they had a banner for me to run through at the finish line.  I thought that was really cool!  If I can find the pictures for this event, and I don't look too retarded, I may have to purchase some pictures for the first time ever.



Overall, I'm very happy with this race, I did better than I expected to do after only have 6 days of recovering from a marathon.  My next race is in 2 weeks at the Winter Park 10k by TrackShack.  And, now I know what I'm capable of, so I'm looking forward to that race.



The BDR finisher's medal also doubles as a bottle opener, that's pretty cool.  I also got a first place trophy and a huge gold BDR medal!  This was BDR's first race in Orlando, and I hope they come back!  I'll definitely sign up for the next one they do!

Splits: 5:56, 5:58, 6:02, 6:06, 6:06, 6:11, 5:46 (0.2 miles)