Training Progression Comparison

This is the breakdown comparing this year's Boston training programs to last year's.  I logged 158.52 miles in March 2010 and my goal is to exceed 200 miles for March 2011 with quality workouts and adding a fourth or even a fifth day.  The additional days are set for easy, recovery days and to add mileage.  Then I'll begin my taper at the beginning of April.  I have the New York City Half Marathon on March 20th as my tune-up run.  I plan on breaking 1:25!

November 2009 - 51.15 miles (longest run: 26.2 miles - NYC Marathon on 11/01)
November 2010 - 76.56 miles (longest run is 13.10 miles on 11/22)

December 2009 - 13.26 miles (longest run is 5.0 miles on 12/03 and 12/07)
December 2010 - 123.74 miles (longest run is 17.11 miles on 12/24)

January 2010 - 81.91 miles (longest run is 15.0 miles on 1/27)
January 2011 - 124.93 miles (longest run is 18.06 miles on 1/26)
February 2010 - 105.14 miles (longest run is 18.00 miles on 2/24)
February 2011 - 113.17 miles (longest run is 18.33 miles on 2/15)

Week 17 - Week of February 21

100% of goal!  Thank you to my family, friends and even strangers who have donated and joined the fight against cancer!  The DetermiNation Endurance Team for the Boston Marathon has raised almost $13,000 to date to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays!  We can do more!

Increased mileage this week by adding a 4th running day.  Remember, I only train three days a week, but will do four a week more often as I build up towards Boston.  The intensity of each training day is high with rest days in-between.  The fourth day this past week was an easy run to add miles to the week.  I ran over 110 miles this month, which is what most serious marathons put in a week!  Yes!  A week!  I wish I had the time to run more, but I've been successful with my 3-4 days a week averaging about 30 miles.  I adapted this training for the past two marathon I completed last year with great success (Boston in 3:13 and Chicago in 3:11).  I loosely adapted this method from a book titled, "Run Less, Run Faster".  I should but it!  Anyway, I'm confident that I can set a personal best in Boston!  That means I need to break 3:13:15 set in 2008, my first Boston!

February 21 - Intense Progression Run.  I usually have medium or hard progression runs, but this one was intense!  I wore the Saucony Kinvara for this short, but intense run!  Ran a 4-miler with the following splits: 6:14, 6:07, 6:02; 5:46!  A 5:46!  I can't remember the last time I ran a 5:46 mile!  Probably in high school!  Felt great throughout the run!  Completed the run in 24:10 (6:02 p/mi).
Weather - 34/25/66%; NNE12.
Weight After Run = 142.
Shoes - Saucony Kinvara (red).

February 22 - Long Run with Newton Hills Simulator.  Ran 7.80 miles in the 1st hour, followed with 8.74 miles in the 2nd hour with Newton Simulator Hills. 1st two miles of 2nd hour were at MP (7:13p/mi), then 3% at 7:03p/mi, 0% at 6:44p/mi, 6% at 7:03, 0% at 6:44, 4% at 7:03, 0% at 6:44, 6% at 7:03.  Cool down with 1.5 miles barefoot.  Felt very strong! Total Miles = 18.03 in 2:13:35 (7:23 p/mi).
Weather - Indoors.
Weight After Run = 140.
Shoes - Nike Air Zoom Skylon (orange).

February 24 - Easy Run.  5-miler in 37:55 (7:35 p/mi)

Weather - 26/21/45%; S4; Sun.

Weight After Run = 142.

Shoes - Nike LunarGlide+2 (orange).

February 25 - 6's and 7's.  It's been a long time since I did this tought hill workout.  It's 6% at marathon pace (MP) for 90 seconds, followed with 0% at recovery speed for 60 seconds, then 7% at MP, followed with 0% at recovery speed for 120 seconds.  After a 2-mile warm-up (20 minutes), completed six sets.  First five sets were 6% at 7:30 pace, 0% at 10:54 pace, 7% at 7:30 pace, 0% at 10:54 pace.  Last set was 6% at 7:13 pace, 0% at 10:54 pace, 7% at 7:13 pace, 0% at 10:54 pace.  Felt great throughout.  Followed that workout with a progression 4-miler.  Started at 8.0 mph, increased 0.1 mph for every 0.20 mile until reaching 10 mph for the beginning of the 4th mile.  Progressed to top off at 13 mph finishing the last mile in 5:41!  Felt strong!

Weather - Indoors

Weight After Run = 142.

Shoes - Nike Air Zoom Skylon (orange).

TOTAL MILES WEEK 17 = 37.51.

Week 16 - Week of February 14th

I'm at 88% of goal for my fundraising campaign!  Thank you for donating and joining in the fight against cancer!  There are just too many types of cancers as the picture above represents less than 10% of all cancers.  Together, we're creating a world with less cancer and more birthdays!

February 14 - Marlboro Retro Fitness.  Ran 8.0 miles in the first hour, followed by 8.83 miles in the second hour incorporating Newton Simulator Hills.  Speed during the flats was sub-7:00 pace with speed on the inclines was from 7:30 to sub-7:00.  Felt great throughout!  Recovery run was 1.5 miles barefoot in 14:13.

Total Mileage = 18.33
Weather - Indoors
Weight After Run = 140
Shoes - Nike Zoom Skylon (orange).

February 17 - John A. Phillips Park. Hard Progression Run of 6.2 miles.  First run using the Saucony Kinvara and they're awesome!  It's a very lightweight shoe with surprisingly more than enough spring in the forefoot and ball/toes of the shoe.  I even had to slow down during the 4th and 5th mile of the run!  I better buy more of these shoes!
Splits = 7:08, 6:46, 6:29, 6:27, 6:22, 6:05, 6:05.

Weather - 41/37/42%; WSW6; MCl.
Weight After Run = 142
Shoes - Saucony Kinvara (red).

February 19 - John A. Phillips Park.  Easy Run of 6.2 miles in 45:18 with the last mile in 6:36 and speeding up the last 0.2 miles in a 5:42 pace.  Very windy with strong gusts!  I felt that the wind was going to blow me clear across into the next state!  It's a good thing that today was scheduled as an easy day!  Calves felt tight and the shoes unresponsive.  Could it be I'm more comfortable with a more minimal running shoe?

Weather - 45/35/28%; WNW27; Sun/Windy.
Weight After Run = 142.
Shoes - Nike LunarGlide+2 (orange).

TOTAL MILES WEEK 16 = 30.73

New Boston Marathon Qualifying Times

Just when I was getting close to qualifying for Boston at the youngest age group's (18-34) standard of 3 hours, 10 minutes, 59 seconds, they raise the standard to 3 hours, 5 minutes, 00 seconds effective 9/24/11! Can I break 3:10:59 this April? We'll see!

My current age group's (40-44) standard is 3:20:59 with a new standard of 3:15:00.  That's okay since I ran Chicago last year in 3:11:58.  Here's the kicker.  I celebrate my birthday before the new effective date and I enter into a new age group (45-49) with a standard of 3:25:00!  Age has priviledges!  Not so fast, old man!  In addition to the new standards, the Boston Athletic Association will institute the "rolling admission" process that they'll institute for 2012.  Runners who beat their qualifying time by 20 minutes or more are allowed to register on the first day of registration.  Runners who beat their qualifying time by 10 minutes or more are allowed to register on the third day.  Runners who beat their qualifying time by 5 minutes or more are allowed to register on the fifth day.  Registration is then open to all other qualified runners on the eighth day.  This is important as the registration for the 2010 Boston Marathon reached its limit in about eight hours shutting many other qualified runners out (loaded servers also contributed to shutting them out).

It's a great process to get the faster runners to compete in the oldest and most prestigious marathon in the United States.  The downside is that I might not be able to run future Boston Marathons if the field is filled up before I can register!  In order for me to register on the first day (9/10/12) for the 2013 Boston Marathon and beyond, I have to run at least a 3:05:00!  Now that's a challenge!

Always a Runner...

New Running Shoes!

Top: Saucony Kinvara

Bottom: Adidas Marathon 10 and Nike LunarElite+2

I did quite a bit of research on the Saucony Kinvara and Nike LunarElite+2.  My wife and I went to the new Foot Locker running store simply called, "Run by Foot Locker".  My mind was set on the LunarElite+2 because it's the next generation shoe from the Zoom Elite+4 that I loved so much.  The LunarElite+2 felt great, but just for good measure I wanted to try the Kinvara one more time.  I tried them on at Road Runner's Sports, but at that time, it felt really flat as it's a "minimalist" shoe.  I settled for the Nike LunarGlide+2.  Trying the Kinvara this time around gave me a totally different feel.  They felt great, even better than the LunarElite+2! Then I saw the Marathon 10 and decided to try them on and they felt great as well!  Now I was so confused!  What was supposed to be a cut-and-dry purchase ended up being a lengthy process of trying them on several times and running on the treadmill!  In the end, I chose the Kinvara because they felt the best; very comfortable, provided more than enough cushioning for a minimalist shoe and also had the "cool" factor.  They happen to be the lightest at 7.9 ounces.  The Marathon 10 came in a close 2nd (weighs 10.8 ounces) and believe it or not, the LunarElite+2 came in 3rd (weighs 8.2 ounces)!  I'm very happy with my decision with the Kinvara and will use them to run the New York City Half Marathon on March 20th!  I might wear them during the Boston Marathon!

This was an awesome gift from my wife for Valentine's Day!

All choices were in RED!

Always a Runner...

Week 15 - Week of February 7th

Lower back pain was still evident at the beginning of the week, but was virtually gone by my last run on 2/12.  Did some awesome progression runs concentrating on my speed rather than distance this week.  On my run on 2/7, I tweaked my lower back at the start.  I almost stopped, I decided to run through it!  The pain slowly went away during the first mile of my hard progression run.

February 7 - John A. Phillips Park. Hard 4-mile Progression Run. Total time = 25:10 (6:17 p/mi). Splits = 6:33, 6:23, 6:10, 6:01.
Weather - 42/38/48%; SSE6; PCl.
Weight After Run = 140
Shoes - Nike LunarGlide2 (orange)

February 9 - Marlboro Retro Fitness. Progression Run/Negative Split. Total Mileage = 8.6 in 60:00 (6:58 p/mi).  Ran 4.0 miles in the first 30:20 (7:35 p/mi), then ran 4.6 miles in 29:40 (6:26 p/mi).  Lower back was a little tight, but went away after first two miles.  Felt great since then!
Weather - Indoors
Weight After Run = 142
Shoes - Nike Zir Zoom Skylon (orange)

February 12 - John A, Phillips Park.  Medium 6.2-mile Progression Run.  Total time = 42:14 (6:48 p/mi).  Splits = 7:07, 7:02, 6:55, 6:52, 6:40, 6:20, 6:12.
Weather - 26/17/49%; SSW9; MCl.
Weight After Run = 141
Shoes - Nike LunarGlide2 (orange)

TOTAL MILES WEEK 15 = 18.80

Training Progression Comparison

I started training for the Boston Marathon on October 31, 2010, which is two months earlier than I did last year.  A big factor was that I ran the New York City Marathon in November 2009 and I didn't do too much running until January 2010.  This time around, I ran the Chicago Marathon in October 2010 followed with a vacation to Germany and Austria with my wife.  When we got back, I started running, I felt really good and decided that to start training for Boston much earlier by building back with base miles and increase my overall fitness.  Here's a Training Progression Comparison between last year and this year:

December 2009 - 13.26 miles (longest run is 5.0 miles on 12/03 and 12/07)
December 2010 - 123.74 miles (longest run is 17.11 miles on 12/24)

January 2010 - 81.91 miles (longest run is 15.0 miles on 1/27)
January 2011 - 124.93 miles (longest run is 18.06 miles on 1/26)

My goal is to have my long run be 20 - 23 miles by the end of February and into March, then taper in April leading to the Boston Marathon!