Training :: Jim's Run

Chickamauga Battlefield Run

Posted by Jim on March 19, 2012

I can’t believe how many beautiful places there are to run in the Chattanooga/Chickamauga area. I thought that the Tennessee Riverwalk was my favorite place to run, but now the Chickamauga Battlefield is competing for that top rank. The park was the site of one of the biggest battles of the Civil War, just ten miles south of Chattanooga. The park management has worked to keep the landscaping as close as possible to how it appeared in September 1863. This means most of the park is wooded with a scattering of open fields. Various roads crisscross the park allowing a variety of routes for runners and bike riders. Vehicle traffic is allowed on all of the paved roads, but traffic is limited to 25-35 miles per hour.

Running in the park usually means running in the shade of trees along the road. The terrain is often flat or with some gently rolling hills. And I have yet to run in the park and not see a deer or two, or on one occasion a couple dozen. This weekend I headed over to the park for my weekend long run.

Since I ran 19 miles last weekend, I planned for 10 – 12 miles this weekend. I decided that a run of about 2 1/2 to 3 hours would be about right. I parked near the battlefield museum and started running on the west side of the park. Since I knew about how long I should be running, I didn’t worry about the distance and just took any path that seemed interesting. I figured I could measure the distance on Google Maps when I got home. I crossed the park, ran north on the east side of the park and cut back to the west after about two hours of running. At one point I missed a turn I wanted to make and headed out of the park. I turned around and found the path heading up a hill into the woods. I had no realized from the map I was carrying that the path was really a dirt road.

I was not exactly sure where I was as the path entered the woods, and I soon found myself on the wrong path heading north. After nearly three hours of running, I came out of the woods onto McFarland Avenue which borders the park on the north. I ended my run and walked the mile back to my truck. Total run time was 2:56 and I calculated the run at 12.2 miles.

[PhotoCredit: Rob Shenk]

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Marathon Training By the Numbers

Posted by Jim on March 17, 2012

For anyone who has read more than a couple of my blog posts here, you know that I am interested in numbers. I enjoy playing with statistics and numerical data. It keeps me motivated.

There is a challenge to not become obsessed with the numbers and letting it drive my training. I don’t try to beat my best time on every training run, nor do I feel bad if I miss a training goal. But plugging the numbers into my spreadsheet after every run helps drive me to keep running. As the miles accumulate and the weight drops, I know that I’m getting closer to my goals. So numbers are important to my training. (The above spreadsheet is a screenshot of my training log, in case my love for numbers needs verification.)

I’ve run three times since my last blog post, so let me give you a quick rundown on what I’ve been doing.

I’ve been trying to increase the average distance of my daily runs during the past couple of weeks. Most of my weekly runs (not including my once a week LSDs*) had been about 4 miles. This week I was shooting to average about 4.5 miles for each run. I did 4.3.

On Wednesday I ran 4.3 miles at the Walker County Community Center. This is the crushed gravel path laid out in a 1 kilometer loop. The run was slow at just over an hour. I took a break from running on Thursday to give my calf a rest and went back to the Community Center yesterday. I had hoped to run six miles yesterday, but a thunderstorm burst in the afternoon cut my run short at 3.7 miles. This run was on of my slowest in months. I ran a 14:37 pace.

Today I decided to change the oil in the riding mower and get started on mowing our 5 acres property. I got the main yard done, finishing a little after dark. So my run ended up taking place on the treadmill in the garage. I ran at a 12:30 pace for 4 miles with 1.5 minute walking breaks every 10 minutes. It was a faster pace than my normal run, but I felt great. Tomorrow I will do 10-12 miles at a slow pace.

At the bottom of this blog you can see the cumulative numbers for my marathon training. But for fun I’m going to post them here for you:

Total Training Miles: 317.7
Total Training Time: 69 hr. 35 min.
Total Weight Loss: 14.75 pounds

Avg. Weekly Miles: 16.2
Avg. Run: 4.9 miles
Avg. Pace: 13:09 mile
Longest Run: 19 miles
Longest Race: 6.2 miles

…since October 1, 2011
* LSD = Long Slow Distances

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Five on the Treadmill

Posted by Jim on March 13, 2012

I ran five miles on the treadmill this evening at a moderately slow pace. I was still feeling a little worn out from Sunday’s long run and had to push myself to even get out the door. The run went okay except for one concern. I’m feeling a slight pull on my left muscle (for lack of better wording). It’s not pain and it doesn’t yet hinder my running. But I feel as if it I could end up with a pulled calf muscle at any moment.

I tried to compensate a little with my stride. I found that running off my toes a little more seems to lessen the feeling. Even sitting here now I can feel that tingling in my left calf muscle.

I think I’ll have a chat with my wife (a nurse) and see what she suggest as preventative measures. Then I will look into making a doctor’s appointment to get an even more informed opinion. I really want to avoid anything happening that would keep me from running the marathon. I’ll keep you up to date as soon as I learn more. In the meantime, all else seems right on track for being ready and conditioned for the marathon run.

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300 Training Miles!

Posted by Jim on March 12, 2012

That’s right, yesterday I completed my 300th training mile. Unfortunately I was a little too exhausted to blog about yesterday’s run when I got home. So instead, I checked my email and went straight to bed.

Yesterday’s run was a 19 miler along the Tennessee Riverwalk. It was four miles longer than my longest training run to date, but I felt the extra miles would help me prepare for the marathon on April 28th. I will probably run only two more LSDs (long slow distances) before the Nashville Marathon, running one every other weekend. I also need to plan a 2-3 week taper with decreasing mileage just before the race.

Yesterday’s run started out as usual with me running a slightly faster pace than planned. But after a couple miles under 12 minutes I settled into a comfortable 14 minute mile pace for most of the remaining miles. Instead taking my typical walking breaks every 10 minutes I decided to walk for two minutes after every mile. This seemed to work out okay, although it was difficult to start running again after the last few walking breaks.

My knees started feeling pain around the 8 mile mark, but never became unbearable. The pain even seemed to lessen during the last 4-5 miles of the run. I also had a cramp threatening to develop in my left leg several times during the run, but I was always able to continue jogging until the threat passed.

After 15 miles I started to slow down significantly to a pace between 16 and 17 minutes per mile. It felt like more of a fast walk. That was okay with me. My goal for the marathon is to finish. I will leave the speed records to the real athletes.

As I neared the last mile I saw that I was going to finish a couple minutes slower than my targeted average pace of 14 minutes per mile. So at the 18 mile mark I decided to pick up the pace some and surprised myself with the renewed energy I found. I finished the last mile in just under 12 minutes. This gave me a total time of 4 hours, 21 minutes for the 19 mile run.

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Speed Training Workout

Posted by Jim on March 7, 2012

I decided to do some speed training today with a fast (for me) 3 mile run and no walking breaks. I set my heart rate monitor for zone 4, which is between 150 and 169 beats per minute. It took me a couple minutes to get my heart rate up to the zone level, but the rest of the run pretty much stayed in the higher zone. I finished the 3 mile run in just under 28 minutes.

I really like training with a heart rate monitor. It really helps me to know just how hard I’m training. And it has the extra advantage of slowing me down when I’ve over-trained or am sick. During those times the heart rate is naturally a bit higher, meaning I will exceed my heart rate zone much easier.

So, this is my fastest run to date; even faster than the 5K race I ran back in December. Just one problem. I’m starting to suspect that the loop track at the church is a bit shorter than advertised. The sign at the course says “1 lap = 3/8 mile”, but I consistently run faster on this track than I do anywhere else. I don’t think it’s significantly short, but I do want to find a way to measure it at some point. Maybe I should get my bike out, put some air in the tires, calibrate the tachometer and do a lap to measure. But then, is it really worth that much trouble?

Nonetheless, I had a lot of fun with today’s run. I feel great right now. Looking forward to finally crossing that finish line next month!

[PhotoCredit: Frank Kovalchek]

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Running with Lance

Posted by Jim on March 5, 2012

I felt really good today, so I ran six miles for my training. That’s a couple miles more than planned. I’m starting to get excited about the marathon and finally achieving the goal of finishing.

When I was in high school, I ran track all four years. I only won one race, but I enjoyed running and winning wasn’t really my goal. That’s not to say that I didn’t want to win, but I felt running was more of a personal challenge…pushing yourself a little further or faster than you have run before. I regularly trained with Lance Darland, a close friend and an amazing athlete. Lance regularly ran the mile under 4:30, so there was little chance of my beating him. We typically ran the same events: 2-mile, mile and 1/2 mile.

Running with Lance was a lot of fun for me. Lance and I ran our first 10K race together, and often talked about someday finishing a marathon. But contrary to what some may have thought, Lance didn’t really enjoy running just for the fun of it. He liked to race. He would train hard, but only when someone was there to push him. He had natural talent, something I lacked.

I like to run. I usually have to push myself to get my shoes on and out the door, but once I’m running I really enjoy it. Sometimes I run with my iPod and listen to an audiobook. Other times I just run. Either way, I enjoy getting away and seeing what my body can endure. Now that I’m getting older, my body doesn’t want to endure as much. But I’m thrilled to find that the past few months of training have started to turn that around.

Lance is no longer around. He died years ago, I’m told in a car accident. So there’s no running partner now. But I still remember our runs on the country roads outside of Harrodsburg, Kentucky. I’m sure I’ll think about Lance when I finally cross the finish line in Nashville next month.

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Archive for: Training – Page 2

Chickamauga Battlefield Run

Marathon Training By the Numbers

Five on the Treadmill

300 Training Miles!

Speed Training Workout

Running with Lance