I'm still grinding away training for new marathon transcendence on October 7 in Minneapolis and also in St. Paul. Here are some workouts so far:
-12 mile tempo at 5:08/mile
-7xmile at 4:45 with 2 mins rest. A 25 min 2 on 3 off Fartlek is sandwiched in the middle for extra fun
-3x8k at 5:05-5:10/mile
I have heard that my biggest workouts will just be longer versions of these - i.e. 15 mile tempo and 3x10k. I am not looking forward to those. I am, however, looking forward to using the garnered fitness to run 2:16 or so.
I have often explained distance running training as very similar to banging one's head against a wall. As there are many ways one can train, there are other similes to compare types of training against different techniques of banging your head into a wall.
?
Do this-
Stand and approach a wall. I'd recommend sheetrock, and try to avoid the 2x4 studs. You can tap lightly on the wall to find them.
1. Step back about 5 paces and run toward the wall, leading with your head. Try not to hit too hard the first time, or you may become too tired to finish.
- next, return to your starting position and wait for 50% or so of the time it took you to run to the wall, hit the wall and get back up from the floor
- repeat, trying to maintain the same speed of approach and intensity as the original bout, despite accumulated fatigue. I'd recommend starting with 4-5 head-missile intervals.
-----Congrats, you have completed a VO2 Max style repetition workout (Wall-Head specific)
Next, we will compare this to a longer distance type of training, focusing more on reaching past aerobic threshold.
2. Approach the wall in a similar manner. Make sure you've had a few days to recover from your previous head-banging-against a wall workout. Your head may still be bleeding and you may have some delayed soreness from the blunt force trauma, but that is ok for today.
- next, step back a foot or so from the wall. While standing, throw your shoulders back and your head forward into the wall. As soon as you have contacted the wall, swing your head back only so far as you can quickly return it to the wall with the same speed. Repeat constantly for an hour.
That probably could have been better....anyway, here's some more stuff that's going on -
Also, I've joined up with Mike Reneau to run for the resurrected Twin Cities Track Club Mike has a great vision for the club as a way to support running and healthiness/activity in the cities. The club was the area's main hardcore crew in the 60s and 70s and hopefully we can get it back to being that awesome.
As far as racing goes, I'm heading to New Haven, CT for the US 20k Championship on Labor Day.
In my next post, I'll explain what this thing is:
