Zane Safrit

#2 Marathon Training: Week 10

Some good wins this week.

Tuesday

• 4-mile run was a bit of a slog. The 20+ MPH winds didn’t help.

• Weights in the afternoon were a pleasure. We increased weights on Squat Machine, Leg Press, extensions, hamstring curls.

Wednesday

• 8-mile run was okay. The legs felt the result of the previous day. The temps were 40 degrees warmer than Tuesday. Gotta love global warming and its rapid sudden temperature changes.

Thursday

• 4-Mile run was a personal best by at least 4 minutes, maybe as many as 7. I ran a different route than I normally do so a chemical engineer might wiffle at my estimate but even allowing for normal ebullience it was a personal best of at least 4 minutes.

• Weights were good. We increased weights for dead lifts, free squats, lat pull downs, rowing and calf raises.

Saturday

• The half-marathon route was a hilly route. But the pace ended up being 1 minute per mile faster than last week’s.

This week the schedule remains the same except for the weight sessions on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Those are to shift from heavy weight and low reps to exercises for slow-twitch muscles.

Tuesday:

• AM - 4-mile run
• PM - Weights/Gym

Wednesday

• 8-Mile Run

Thursday

• AM - 4-mile run
• PM - Weights/Gym

Saturday

• 18-Mile Run

Here's a couple of pics from today's storm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It sorta looks like a tornado, but it wasn't.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photography reminds me of that Woody Allen saying: 80 percent of life is showing up.

In these pictures then, that leaves 18% for having a camera-phone and 2% for ignoring the tornado warnings screeching at me on the camera-phone and blaring out over the fields.

Happy Mother's Day.

#2 Marathon Training - Week 9

This was a much better week than last week.

As I mentioned last week, I rested on Tuesday and Thursday. Those are the days I normally run 4 miles in the morning and lift weights in the afternoon. I still lifted in the afternoon with better results lifting heavier weights.

Lesson? A little rest, on a timely basis, helps.

Wednesday’s 8 mile run was stellar. The total time was a personal best by about 5-6 minutes for this mid-week tempo run. The negative split was by 6 minutes.

I also tried NeoGenesis Beet Elite NeoShot. Good stuff. It is not a stimulant. There’s no caffeine. There is a lot of nitric oxides and potassium. They work together to deliver more oxygen to the muscles and tissue, increase the efficiency of oxygen utilization, yadda yadda. I’m an art major. I noticed I recovered faster during my warm up, I ran faster and longer. And at the end ... I felt good.

I tried it on Saturday’s 16-mile run. 1 shot to start and 1 shot at 2 hour mark. The result? I ran these16 miles faster than I ran those 15 miles the previous week. I ran half of those 16 miles into the wind.

This week the schedule remains mostly the same:

Tuesday:

• AM - 4 Mile Run
• PM - Weights, Legs. My trainer starts me on a new regime of leg workouts this week. We're done with heavy weights. We're going to move towards exercises that strengthen the slow-twitch muscles. I'm twitching with excitement.

Wednesday:

• AM - 8 Mile Run

Thursday:

• AM - 4 Mile Run
• PM - Weights

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: 13 miles

Have a good week. Run your race.

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#2 Marathon Training - Week 8

Okay.

The wall has been met and it is a firm but not impregnable wall. I mentioned last week I was feeling the effects of adding miles and weights. Well, this past week the body said You will listen.  And here’s what it said:

You are tired. You’re not sleeping well. You’re a little irritable. Your pace is plummeting. That inner voice, the one you ignored when it whispered ‘I REALLY don’t want to do this.’ yeah, well you’re gonna listen now because now you have a sore throat and feel a little fluish. I'm turning off your brain so you’re not so productive and you can't rationalize; you can only listen. Because determination is now stubbornness.

Tuesday -

• 4 mile run. The route’s a series of hills, one after the other. The day was windy. But the pace was good. 3 minutes faster than last week where last week’s was on a mostly flat route. That’s good, right?

• Weights - A good workout. Another boost in weight amounts across the board in squats, hacks, leg raises, hamstring curls. On the squat machine I’m doing 225 lbs, 8 reps three sets. Not epic but more than I’ve ever done and now I’m also running 30+ miles a week.

Wednesday -

• 7 mile run. Here’s when reality began to set in and I heard that first inner whisper said Man, I really don’t want to do this run. The pace was a minute per mile slower. Granted it was a hilly route; I had grown bored of the other route. But still ... And at the end I was exhausted.

Thursday -

• 4 Mile run. I ran it on a treadmill. For a mile I felt good - legs loosened, adrenals kicked in, endorphins ... not so much. The other three I felt awful. Pace was slow. I was glad when it ended. Never a good sign.

• Weights. I was late to the gym, forgot to wear workout shorts, had to run back home for them (30 minutes), asked that we not increase the weights this week. The workout was okay, not much fun; I was too tired to tell jokes. Went home and crashed.

Saturday

• Long run. I postponed it. The thought of running didn't even sound good.

Sunday

• 16 miles. Hilly course. With no earbuds I had time to count the miles where I wasn’t running a hill. There were 4 miles. Winds were in the 20 mph range. Running into the wind, uphill, was amusing. Got it done, a little bit faster than I expected.

 I drank a cup of this beet extract. Beet Elite Neo Shot. I think it helped. I’ll try it again on Wednesday’s 7-mile run.

Upcoming Week:

• Tuesday: Weights only. I’m skipping the morning 4-mile run

• Wednesday: 7 Mile Run.

• Thursday: Weights only. I’m skipping the morning 4-mile run

• Saturday: 16 Miles.

Have a great week. Run your race.

# 2 Marathon Training: Week Number 7

Time flies when you’re having fun. It still flies though not as fast when you’re slogging an extra 8 miles in addition to pumping an extra 20% in weights. But hey the option is watching TV and letting my butt and belly sag and my attitude sag along with them. So ...

The deal this week was more. More miles, more weights.

Tuesday: Run and Weights.

• The 3 mile run stretched to 4 this week. I hope these four miles were the last four miles where I have to dress for winter. Enough already. The  route is a county two-lane blacktop with no shoulders. It runs uphill for the first eight tenths of a mile before leveling off. Since it’s an out-and-back that means what goes up, me, must come down that same eight tenths. I did. And I did in a negative split by 3 minutes.

I’ll do better this week, shorter times, bigger negative split.

• Weights. Tuesday afternoons I lift weights. We did machines - hack and squat, leg raises and hamstring curls, in sets of 8 for three sets. I need to track the weights; she, my trainer does. And I see every week we’re upping them and she tells me we are are upping them. My legs tell me the same ... usually the next day.

Wednesday: 7 Mile Run

The run is 7 miles now, up from six last week. Slow and determined are the best descriptors. We got ‘er done and it counts. And we got her done in a negative split by about 45 seconds on a flat course and ending running into 25 mile per hour winds.

It’s a building run, building towards two weeks from now when I’ll set a personal best for the distance. That’s how it’s played so far. I up my miles and on the third week of the new distance, I hit my stride and set a new personal best for that distance on this schedule.

Thursday: Run and Weights.

4 miles in the morning. Not pretty. Another cold, windy morning. But the miles count towards that personal best ... two weeks from now.

Weights. We did dead lifts and squats, abs and lats with pulldowns and rows. Did some lunges too.

Saturday: Long Run

14 miles. Again, I got ‘er done. Nothing pretty. The pace was slow but steady. The route had a few hills in it. I ended it in a negative split by about 2:30.

Next week’s schedule is the same except for Saturday’s long run of 15 miles. And it’ll be warm and sunny.

Keep running your own marathon.

#2 Marathon Training: Week 6

Seeing results now. And thank goodness for that.

LAST WEEK

Tuesday -  I run hills, ending with a half-mile uphill.

• 3 mile run. This was .25 mile longer and 3 minutes faster than last week. It was also a negative split by 1+ minute.

• Weights. As promised we went heavy this week. Heavy weights, fewer reps. Fewer means 8 instead of 12. Heavier means almost double the weights. Disclaimer: we’d been working with very light weights to emphasize form and correct execution. But I moved through the exercises well, not needing an extra break within a set. That bodes bad for this week. I’m sure she’ll bump up the weights again.

Wednesday - 6 mile run.

I ran it 5 minutes faster than last week and ran it in a negative split.

Thursday - I run a more level course, stilling ending with a half-mile up a gradual incline.

• 3 mile run was .25 mile longer but only 1 minute faster than last week. It was also a negative split by 90 seconds.

• Weights stayed heavy. All in all, I felt good. I moved through each set in each exercise well, taking no breaks within a set EXCEPT for the abs. Jeez.

Saturday - 9 mile run.

All good things come to an end. And so it, the great improvements, ended. It was a slog. It might have to do with not sleeping well on Thursday night. Note to Self: Never drink espresso at 3 p.m. unless you’re working late, really late.

Sunday - Scheduled for cross-training. Napped and read instead.

All in all, the week and its results ranked a 7.5 to 8 on a scale of 1 - 10.

THIS WEEK:

Tuesday  - 4 mile run in the AM; weights in the afternoon.

Wednesday - 7 mile run.

Thursday - 4 mile run in the AM; weights in the afternoon.

Saturday - 14 miles

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#2 Marathon Training - Week 5

Ha! I skipped posting week 4. Why? I was tired. The whole week was less than a blue collar run. Slow pace, tired legs, no fire. None of it was much fun and I have low threshold for fun. Anything with endorphins, adrenals and as an added bonus being outdoors in any weather works for me.

That was last week. This week is different.

Tuesday - 3 mile run, hills and a negative split. A negative split! Weights in the afternoon were good. We (she, my trainer) added weights.

Wednesday - 6 mile run. I was 20 seconds from a negative split with the back being run uphill into 20+ mph winds. Promising.

Thursday - 3 mile run. 10 seconds from a negative split also running back into the wind and uphill. Weights in the afternoon were stellar. Faster reps, fewer and shorter breaks between and weights were also added.

Saturday - 12 miles. Beautiful day. Clear, warm - 40’s to start, 50 at the end and first day without a jacket - and ... wait for it ... no wind. A negative split by 1:30 and that was run uphill, too.

All in all a good week.

Marathon #2 Training: Week 3

A good week.

Highlights include:

Faster Workouts in the Gym: I need shorter and fewer breaks between exercises and sets.

More Weights. We added 30 pounds for my squat reps. All good.

Faster Pace. Saturday’s long run was only six miles. I ran the last 1.5 miles at a 9:30 pace. I was pleased.

Stronger Pace. Wednesday I ran 5 miles on hills, pavements and in 30-mile gusts. I felt good.

Feel good and productive after the workouts.

This revised training routine - twice a week short runs in the morning and weights at the end of the day, the pace run mid-week and long runs on Saturday - is working out.

Here is the schedule for this week:

Tuesday: 3 miles in the morning, weights in the afternoon ( dead lifts, 1-legged hacks, squats, 1 legged dead lifts, abs)

Wednesday: 6 miles, tempo run under 10 minute per mile

Thursday: 3 miles in the morning, weights in the afternoon ( dead lifts, 1-legged hacks, squats, 1 legged dead lifts, abs, stepups)

Saturday: 11 miles. I’ll shoot for 11-minute pace.

That’s it. Remember: run your own race.

#2 Marathon Training: Week 2

And what a week it was.

This was the first week where I worked with a personal trainer twice, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Tuesday: I ran 3 miles early in the morning, 10 minute pace, felt pretty good. Then I went to the gym at the end of the day. She put me through squats, hacks, deadlifts and reverse lunges. 3 sets of ten each with each, light weight. That’s all I can do is light weight.

At the end I was delirious, almost. I’ve never bonked that hard even on a long run. Hungry, hungry, hungry. I ate 8 times a day Wednesday and Thursday. These weren’t snacks, either; they were full meals. I drank a lot of water, too - my weight in ounces nearly every day.

I was tired. T.I.R.E.D.

Wednesday: I ran six five miles on a treadmill. My last treadmill run until ... November. Slow. But given how tired my legs were I consider it a victory that I finished.

Thursday: Same routine as Tuesday. I ran three miles early in the morning and lifted at the end of the day. The run felt good; I felt better having finished it. I ate more that day than on Tuesday and drank more. Big difference in the results. I wasn’t bonked afterwards. I had energy throughout the workout. We focused on core, some one-legged deadlifts and squats and switched from reverse lunges to forward lunges. My legs were tired but not achy. I was hungry, but not delirious.

Progress.

Saturday: I ran nine miles. Lazy Zane kept whispering Let’s do it tomorrow. C’mon. But I stuck to the schedule and I’m glad I did.

The first miles were slow, but I knew they would be. But then after four miles ... I felt pretty good. I was not going to do sprints, mind you. But, after those sessions on Tuesday and Thursday to be able to run and not ache and not feel the need to slow down ... I felt stronger as the miles wore on. Nothing heroic mind you. But in the context of this first long run after this first week ... I came away pretty happy with the results so far as well as the vision for the coming weeks.

And, last night, my legs did not ache. I stretched a few times through the day but ... not like I did earlier in the week.

Who knows?

Upcoming week:

It is the same schedule as above but more. Wednesday I will run 5 miles again. Saturday I will run 10 miles, not 9. I expect my trainer will add some weights, too.

Marathon #2 Training: Week 1

After ten days of recuperation doing nothing more than a few situps and miles of walking, I eased into some weights and cycling last week, then a few minutes of easy running.

Here comes the first week of training for my second marathon in 2014. It looks like it will be the Run4Troops Marathon in Dyersville, IA on June 28.

The route sounds appealing.

One commenter wrote: The trail is awesome - other than the first 5-6 miles, it's a steady downhill.

The Race Info page describes it like this: The trail surface is mostly crushed limestone, but has a bit of everything from dirt to grass to black top. About 70% of the trail is shaded with trees but there are a few stretches of direct sun exposure (mostly the first leg, which is early in the morning).

So ... a steady downhill course after the first 5 miles and its 120 foot elevation rise and a mostly crushed limestone trail, with a little dirt, grass and black top mixed in. Yes.

Here is the schedule for this coming week:

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 3 mile run in the morning, legs and weights in the afternoon. More on that later.
Wednesday - 4 mile run in the morning.
Thursday - 3 mile run in the morning, legs and weights in the afternoon.
Weekend - 90 minute easy run, 12-minute pace.

After reviewing my unacceptable results at the Last Chance for Boston Marathon on February 23, I decided to enlist the help of a personal trainer.

Living in a small town the options are limited, not in skill but focus. Who has experience combing endurance and leg strength? How to fit the former into the latter while leaving me able to walk ...

However, life smiles at us if we just look. A competitive body-builder trains in our rec center. She won a recent competition. Impressive, I thought when I saw the sign for her recent victory. Good for her.

Then I noticed she squats twice as much as I ever did at any time in my life. Then I heard someone say she does leg workouts twice a week. Huh, I thought. That is very impressive.

Then I noticed she knew her way around the weights and the iso-machines and was very focused on her routine. And she uses her own personal trainer. Cool.

Finally I saw her coaching. She was attentive and focused but patient. She was very organized and crisp in ushering her client through their paces.

I approached her, telling her my challenge and admitting that what I did on my own failed to get the results and explaining my goal for the year: 3 marathons and 1 ultra-marathon. Can you help?

BAM! Turns out she was a competitive runner in high school then moved to half marathons then to competitive body-building. Her sister and brother-in-law run marathons and iron man triathlons. And, she loves a challenge (BAM!) and setting goals and mapping plans to reach them.

She came up with the above routine. We ran through it last Thursday. Yes, my legs were tired and tight but not achy. By Saturday I was ready to run five which I did on the treadmill. My last treadmill for 2014.

I’m psyched to A. go through it; B. See the results.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Remember: run your own race!