Friday, September 25, 2009

Accountable for Accountability

As I hold myself accountable for holding myself accountable I think it's beneficial to make public what I need to work on most in following through with this 5 months of specific training.
1) Build a strong base. I have not had a good base since 2004 when I'd run the Whiskey Row Marathon in early May. I loved putting in alot of miles thru the winter in Flagstaff, AZ.
2) Diet. I'm 10 pounds over weight at the moment. In the past I'm usually about 5 over and it quickly comes off with increase in milage. In an attempt to have some really good nutrition and save some time with shopping and cooking I've decided to use a local place for my meals. I've done the math and compared to what I would spend on myself at the grocery each week the difference is very small. So I don't see this as a $70/week expense since subtracting what I already spend on food needs to be considered. Veg-In-Out http://www.veginout.net/home.html
I'll be eating the basic breakfast, cereal and friuts/breads, and eating fish once a day with the prepared meals.
3) I love running hard, but never seem to practice running fast. For example, in the past I've done alot of 15% grade at a 15 minute pace followed by a 9.5% Double IPA; I really enjoy this stuff. However, I will need to add some flat fast stuff to my training to be able to run comfortable at a faster pace.
I believe these 3 components will be a big help for the 40 miler in Feb.

8 comments:

  1. The third topic is one of some debate in my world. There are those who would state you have all the speed you currently need for a 40 miler - because you can run at paces that are faster than what you will require in that race.

    Typically, this takes on the Lydiard assumption that development of the aerobic system is compromised with development of the anaerobic system.

    I am not so sure that is true. While I do think that development of a strong aerobic system is key for these sorts of events, I question if the throwing in of the 20 minute tempo run (or even say 40 or 60 minute one) or 10 x 1 minute on or off once or twice a week is going to screw one's aerobic development up.

    Of course, that does assume that you are doing that aerobic development is happening in other sessions (which if you are doing 30 mile runs like you stated yesterday - you are accomplishing).

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yea, I contemplated moderate speedwork, and thought if it can't hurt why not? But, as you've indicated I may already be getting some sppedwork in these longer runs. It will take me a while to build up to 30 miles so I don't see me doing anymore than 2 of these before the the race. So now the question is can some moderate speedwork hurt me if I'm already getting some speedwork in disguise?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey, 12 oz. curls will help build up your base!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey Pete. I save that type of training for visits with you. How's the stache coming along? You outdid yourself with "your thoughts on the toilet" post. You had the perfect amount of strain on your face. Did you have someone there coaching you?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rick, I will probably be in Asheville on business in late October. I'll ping you closer to then to see if we have a way to connect up and go for a run.

    Have a good run!

    ReplyDelete
  6. GZ - Just realised that I mis understood what you wrote. I thought you were saying that I could be getting some sort of speedwork training done at the end of my long runs. After a 2nd read I don't think you were alluding to that at all.
    Brett - look forward to it. Let me kow if it's going to be a weekday so I can be sure to have the morning off. Loved reading your race report. That's what got me thinking about starting this training blog. You got a lot of great feedback from people.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yup (feedback). I don't know half a crap about running...must of what I do know comes from others.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I think there is a lot of value in running hard at the end of long runs. It teaches / trains the body a lot. But I don't think this is speedwork.

    ReplyDelete