Another chance at sub 3:10 (Htfd: Oct 15, 2011)

Hey everyone, I'm here & I'm training for another attempt at a sub 3:10. Life/ work has been very busy, but I hope to get a break soon, so I can get involved more with you all. BTW, I'm trying to get a free tkt into the Hartford Marathon. If I have helped any of you to be "inspired," check out this link...
http://www.hartfordmarathon.com/Events/ING_Hartford_Marathon/Elite_Inspiration_Team.htm
Deadline for nominations is the end of June.

Anyway, don't feel obligated- I won't think any less of you.

So,... speedwork is going good, legs feel great, and I'm even going to get above 40 miles this week (God willing.) I'm looking foward to a 14 miler on Saturday. Things are really starting to pick up.

The only negative is that my boys are really loosing their motivation. I signed up all 3 of us to run the Disney half (I'm doing Goofy.) It would be their first half (they're 14 & 16.) I had planned to pace them for a sub 2 hr finish. I know they're capable with their 5K/ 10K times. Now, both boys have said that they were only going to do it for me, & it looks like my oldest has given up on running completely. There's still hope for my youngest, but he's almost down to just doing some speedwork with me once a week. On top of all that, there's the normal teenager issues that make life overall difficult. Ugh! I sure hope I can salvage something out of my Disney dream.

Get the goal time done... even with the pressures life brings...

Kids seem to morph weekly at those ages. My twins just turned 8, so I'm just starting to experience the hormonal-based attitude shift. By 14-16... I don't want to think about it!!!

Don't short-change the family, but make time to get your goals, too. It will matter to your kids later. I promise you!

Dave glad to see you blogging over here! And I know with how hard you work you can get yourself to that sub 3:10. Just remember to be able to do that and to achieve your goals you have to train smart! If there is one thing that I have learned over the years is to not train harder but to train smart. As for your boys don't give up on them but at the same time they are teenagers and I'm sure you remember what it was like to be a teenager. Anyway best of luck with this training cycle and I hope that you have the chance to reach and experience your running goals like I have in the past. It is one hell of a feeling and I look forward to following along!

Ill see you at Hartford. As far as the kids lead by example. If they don't follow today they will remeber for tomorrow.

I don't think I could keep my mind straight for more than 5 minutes when I was 14 or 16! Pushing 40 miles a week and there is no turning back! Keep it up.

So Dave how is it going? Look forward to hearing about what is going on in your life and getting a training report!

Thanks everyone!
Training Wk 6/12 - 6/18

17 wks till Htfd Marathon

(MPW= 42)
Sun: Rest
Mon: 8 miler on Rd; w/ 11x40 sec fast strides, hills up & down/ no break in repeats this time, ave 6:31
Tue: 4 miles very easy on TM
Wed: 10 miler on TM; Progression run, 2mi @ 6mph (10:00), 3mi @ 7mph (8:34), 4mi @ 7.8mph (7:42), 1mi @ 8.6mph (6:58); plus 70min of explosive/ quick exercises w/ fitness instructor at work
Thu: Rest
Fri: 6 miles easy on TM
Sat: 14 miler on Rd; LSD (5.5mi w/ Josiah), 1st 6mi ave 9:51 (135hr), next 5mi ave 8:33 (153hr), last 3mi "mod" ave 8:08 (168hr), cadence ave 166

Wed was an intense day, with a great progression run, & a kick-butt 70 min. workout class at the fitness center at work. It was nice to have Josiah running with me on Sat, but I had hoped he would have been able to do 6 miles with the last 2 at goal 10K pace. The July 4th race is looking very iffy for him (Jacob just wants to walk it.) In other news, I finally have replaced my broken HR monitor & I purchased a footpod for cadence. It will be interesting to see what my cadence is during speedwork compared with Sat's long run.

Dave

Why 310 instead of 300? Because of the damage of the last event?

Great week of training and wednesday seemed intense for sure.

Jerry wrote:Why 310 instead of 300? Because of the damage of the last event?

Ah, Jerry,... I was wondering if anyone would bring that up. After 3 disappointing marathons, I'm ready to just get a PR & guaranteed entry into NYC. The sub 3hr can wait.

Dave P wrote:

Jerry wrote:Why 310 instead of 300? Because of the damage of the last event?

Ah, Jerry,... I was wondering if anyone would bring that up. After 3 disappointing marathons, I'm ready to just get a PR & guaranteed entry into NYC. The sub 3hr can wait.

Seems like a smart move. Where is the rush? I figure I am on the 7 year plan for Boston. 2 more years to go. Reminds me of college!

Dave P wrote:

Jerry wrote:Why 310 instead of 300? Because of the damage of the last event?

Ah, Jerry,... I was wondering if anyone would bring that up. After 3 disappointing marathons, I'm ready to just get a PR & guaranteed entry into NYC. The sub 3hr can wait.

Dave, I'm really happy to hear that and I think that you will find that the by easing up on the original goal you will get to it faster. The pressure is off and you'll find that with the right training and mindset that you'll go beyond what you originally hoped for! I'm really excited for you, I have a feeling it's going to be a great ride!

First nice week of training last week Dave, hope this week is going well also.

Dave P wrote:

Jerry wrote:Why 310 instead of 300? Because of the damage of the last event?

Ah, Jerry,... I was wondering if anyone would bring that up. After 3 disappointing marathons, I'm ready to just get a PR & guaranteed entry into NYC. The sub 3hr can wait.

I was very happy to see the above blog post by you! I mean that in a very good way. I feel there is nothing wrong with setting high goals and then trying to reach them. I really think that you can run that 3:00 marathon but I have always felt that it was going to take a little time to get there. I think it was great that you went for it and I think that you learned a lot about yourself, training and racing.

Why I'm happy is that I think that shooting for the 3:10 goal is something that is very doable by you and it would be a nice PR. Outside of that I think that by running 3:10 or even going under a little will do wonders of building up your confidence. Sometimes we allow our bigger goals to blind us from the fact that sometimes it is better to take smaller steps to get to that bigger goal and to build confidence and momentum.

I will be the first to admit that I was guilty of that at one time also. Once I stop worrying about how fast I wanted to get to my bigger goal and started taking smaller steps towards it the next thing I knew I was at the bigger goal!

Good luck on your quest of not only reaching your bigger goal but also hitting this near term goal at Hartford!

Dave P wrote:Thanks everyone!
Training Wk 6/12 - 6/18

17 wks till Htfd Marathon

(MPW= 42)
Sun: Rest
Mon: 8 miler on Rd; w/ 11x40 sec fast strides, hills up & down/ no break in repeats this time, ave 6:31
Tue: 4 miles very easy on TM
Wed: 10 miler on TM; Progression run, 2mi @ 6mph (10:00), 3mi @ 7mph (8:34), 4mi @ 7.8mph (7:42), 1mi @ 8.6mph (6:58); plus 70min of explosive/ quick exercises w/ fitness instructor at work
Thu: Rest
Fri: 6 miles easy on TM
Sat: 14 miler on Rd; LSD (5.5mi w/ Josiah), 1st 6mi ave 9:51 (135hr), next 5mi ave 8:33 (153hr), last 3mi "mod" ave 8:08 (168hr), cadence ave 166

Wed was an intense day, with a great progression run, & a kick-butt 70 min. workout class at the fitness center at work. It was nice to have Josiah running with me on Sat, but I had hoped he would have been able to do 6 miles with the last 2 at goal 10K pace. The July 4th race is looking very iffy for him (Jacob just wants to walk it.) In other news, I finally have replaced my broken HR monitor & I purchased a footpod for cadence. It will be interesting to see what my cadence is during speedwork compared with Sat's long run.

Dave

Looks like a great week of work outs!!Keep up the hard work!! 3:10 will be yours this fall

Thanks everyone!

Training Wk 6/19 - 6/25

16 wks till Htfd Marathon

(MPW= 47)
Sun: Rest
Mon: 10 miler on Rd; w/ 8x1 min fast strides, hills up & down/ no break in repeats, ave 6:39, 160hr, 172 steps/ min
Tue: 5.25; 4 very easy on the TM in a.m. & 1.25 miles w/ CAP cadets (1mi at 6:00)
Wed: 8 miler on Rd; 4 mi "test" (more like hilly "tempo") ave 7:20, 165hr, 171 steps/ min
Thu: Rest
Fri: 8 miles easy on TM
Sat: 16 miler on Rd; LSD w/ last 3mi quick (w/ friend Nicholas - flat Farmington RailsToTrails), ave 8:16 for 13mi, last 3 ave 7:16

Tue was fun going toe to toe with the cadets for their PT testing. We did a lot more together than just run. My cadence is definitely higher during speedwork - the max hit 180. Nicholas, who I ran with on Sat, is a guy from church that I just recently found out was a runner & training for the Htfd Marathon too. He's ten yrs younger & just got back into running a year ago after taking about an 8 yr break. He is going for 3 hrs. His PR (11 or so yrs ago) is 2:43. I'm hoping that the two of us can make it to a Wed night track workout together soon.

Very solid work Dave - nice to see!

Good that you hooked up with the younger guy, but don't try to outdo him!

Great Sat run! Really nailed it!

Thanks guys.

So,... I'm feeling a bit patriotic for my 10K on the fourth. I started to think about combat boots & holding the American flag. I gave it a try for 4 miles & managed about a 9:00 pace (after a tough 9 miler a few hrs earlier.) I'm convinced that I can do it now for 6.2 without too much trouble, but it's a workout for the old leg muscles!)

Training Wk 7/10 - 7/16

13 wks till Htfd Marathon

(MPW= 50)
Sun: Rest
Mon: 10 miler; Rd, 4x1 repeats (3min active rec), 7:03 ave (162hr-172max) 169 ave steps/min (174 max)
Tue: 4 miles on the TM (very easy/ recovery)
Wed: 10 miler; Rd w/ 9x30 sec strides (.1mi), ave 6:04 (142hr-156 max), ave 179 steps/ min.
Thu: Rest
Fri: 8 miles easy on TM
Sat: 18 miler; Rd, very hilly & hot LSD, last 6 mod - hard, 12mi ave 8:53 (140hr-160max), 6mi ave 8:43 (159hr-174max), 164 steps/ min (180 max)

Even though I managed some speedwork this week, I took a break from strength exercises & from doing anything "extra" in order to really cover from the previous tough week. This got me to today's long run feeling refreshed, but the hot temps & big hills prevented a "decent" drop in pace when I wanted to do the last 6 near MP. However, I think I did well considering the conditions & I'm ready to put in a big/ tough week coming up.

http://www.nesa.cap.gov/



I've been away at an army base (Camp Atterbury in Edinburgh, Indiana.) 2 weeks of 16 hour days learning Search & Rescue for the Civil Air Patrol (USAF Aux.) It was exhausting, but I did manage to get in 40 miles each week, but on less than 6 hrs of sleep - sometimes 4 hrs or less. I still feel like I'm catching up on sleep. I should be back to 60 miles this week. BTW, I manged to loose a couple pounds eating MRE's & other less than desirable foods.

Mmmmmm, the "MRE and less desirable food" diet - sounds awesome!



Great to have you back Dave - sorry I missed your birthday! Happy Happy!

Speedwork has been disappointing - not hitting my paces, but I did get closer this week. Maybe the heat & lack of sleep had a bigger impact than I realized. Next week is going to be peak mileage in the 75 to 80 miles range.

Dave P wrote:Speedwork has been disappointing - not hitting my paces, but I did get closer this week. Maybe the heat & lack of sleep had a bigger impact than I realized. Next week is going to be peak mileage in the 75 to 80 miles range.

Lack of sleep and the heat can definitely slow you down.

Just not getting on here enough, but my training is going well. I'm hitting the speedwork a whole lot better lately & I'm reaching the peak weeks - should hit 70 miles this week.

Dave P wrote:Just not getting on here enough, but my training is going well. I'm hitting the speedwork a whole lot better lately & I'm reaching the peak weeks - should hit 70 miles this week.

Very nice, Dave!