2012 Begins

Its safe to say that we have now reached the middle of winter.  After a couple of cold 5 degree weeks our very mild temperatures have returned and its time to start training for the Riverbank Run.  I took off 3 weeks from running in January partly because of the dangerously cold weather, and partly for a little pang of  pain in my right knee.  I was able to keep most of my post 2010 fitness level this winter running 25 -30 miles a week for the past 9 weeks.  Historically I have never been able to get very fit in the wintertime.  The idea of racing in May has always been more about seeing where I am at fitness wise than training hard and racing on race day.  I am hoping that this year will prove to be a new chapter in my running life.
2012 is the year of the marathon. 26.2 miles of ready or not here I come mileage.  Having a sub 3 hour marathon goal by 40 is a lofty goal but within reach if I steadily progress over the next 3 years.  I plan on running a sub 3 hour marathon on or before the 2014 Chicago Marathon.  There, I said it.  So, what do I do today?
This year is all about building the base.  Base is not all about high mileage and raw effort, base equals a more holistic approach to training that focuses my training around focusing on giving my body and mind exactly what it needs to reach my final goal.  Running 80 miles a week is not something a normal person does to their body.  But, there is nothing that says that it can't be done with a good strong diet of raw and whole foods, a ton of extra rest, yoga, and spiritual well being.  I believe that building a strong base can guide anyone into a training phase and transform them into a living breathing super human.

A Couple days of Rest

Felt a pang of knee pain last week and took off 6 days in a row. Longest I have taken off all year. Went on a nice 7 miler tonight to test things out.  I feel okay.  Iced, and will do some good stretching in the a.m.  Feeling okay is fine and dandy, but i will not run with any pain in the ole knees.  My one rule that I abide by always.  Still hanging in there this winter.  Not quite in training mode for the Riverbank run, just trying to stay semi fit and ready for the months to come.  Its going to be a long one. I plan on taking a week off before I start my next training cycle and just focus on core, stretching, and nutrition while letting my bones rest for a few days. I will have a good clean 12 weeks of base training complete going into February.  I earn these little breaks, but will not see another one until the middle of May.. So... Bring it!  

A New Year

I love the beginning of things.  I love the anticipation of penning a new goal and then slowly over a long period of time work towards achieving that goal.  In 2012 I plan on pushing myself past my comfort zone and resurrect my inner competitor by training longer, harder and faster than 99 percent of the country's other age group runners.  I am stuck on the idea that an average runner who trains like an elite athlete will realize amazing results.  This year I am going to put this theory to the test.  I am limiting my racing goals to two major races this year.  In May I am running the 53rd Riverbank 25k, and in October, the Chicago Marathon.  In between, I might jump into a few other races of varying distances as tune ups, but I am looking forward to focusing my training on peaking in May and in October.  I hope to use the Riverbank run as a qualifying race for a better starting coral in Chicago.  I would have to run a 1:53 25k in order to be able to line up behind the big boys in Chicago.  This might be a lofty goal for me this early in the season, but I like the challenge of trying to train outdoors all winter long and hit a PR in the spring.  So far, I am 9 weeks into my slow post marathon season endurance build up phase.  I am slowly and carefully building up my mileage as we move into winter.  I have a month or so left to this phase before I start to focus on more 25k specific training.  I love the gentile mileage build up with its focus on technique and form.  Slowly, my middle miles will be run at a faster pace, my shorter runs will be run at a pace that pushes my threshold ceiling, and my long, steady runs will be, well longer.  I plan on rewarding myself with new routes, no doubles until summer, and my secret weapon of taking 3 days off at a time after I hit a mileage goal.  I plan on coming out of spring a monster endurance machine and building a nasty beast from my winter base.  If all goes well, I would like to see myself creep up into the 75 mile per week zone sometime around the beginning of September.  I plan on coming out of winter with my 40 mile per week base firmly in place.  Yoga, nutrition, cycling, and rest will play a huge roll in being able to maintain this level of work.  I have it in me, I know this.  I want to take this to another level and see what happens.  All you have to do is try.

Winter

I have  been able to get an extra seven weeks of training in before winter's stranglehold sucks me dry of any motivation.  Historically I never have been able to run during the months of November - January, so I am really enjoying being outside, and being able to train.  I did have a 17 degree long run 2 weeks ago and a really scary fall where I hit my head last week.  These are the things you contend with in the winter I guess.  If I was running inside, I would be running too fast and too hard and would have definitely injured myself by now.
Riverbank training starts at the end of January, so I have a whole month to just focus on my endurance and flexibility.  Been hitting the hills and focusing on building my long run up to 3 hours by Fall.  Yoga has really been helping keep me fresh and loose.  My mileage has returned to above 30 miles per week, and i plan to hit 35-40  miles per week by the end of January.  I am doing a tempo / threshold run once a week and a long run once a week.  Other than those two runs, the only other quality  that I am getting are from the hills that I include on my daily 6 mile easy runs.  The hard part of all of this is the time restraints of having shorter days.  I can not run in the a.m. its just too miserable that early in the winter.  At night I have been running at 6:30 and it feels like its midnight.  My wife and kids are in bed by the time I get home every night.  Its pretty ridiculous, and I miss my summer runs that end at 7:30 am. I miss seeing the sunrise while I am running, and .. well.. you know..
I am slowly increasing my mileage leading up to Riverbank and plan running some high mileage in the summer with the build up to an October marathon.  The idea of running over 75 miles per week in the summer seems like a lofty goal, but I think that a slow steady build up over the next 10 months will make this goal less insane. 75 miles per week? Eeeek!
This is a big year for me.  If my body can survive a full year without a significant break, I feel that I will be able to reach my long term goals.  If I am not able to take the high mileage that is needed to training properly for a marathon than I will reconsider my long term goals and maybe get into Xterra type racing.  I have 3 years left on my 5 year plan.  We will see.  We will see.

Week 5

I just recovered from a pretty bad head cold so I will it take it easy this week if necessary.  Last night I ran a nice 4 mile progressive run starting at 8 minutes per mile down to 7:12 minute per mile pace.  I felt pretty strong at mile 3 and finished the 4 miles feeling pretty good.  The night before I mapped out a new 5 mile course with about 1 mile of steady hill climbing.  I need to keep myself  from getting  bored with my winter running so I have the feeling that I will be doing more course creation as the months move on.  I have a few weeks left before I start really training for the River Bank Run and am enjoying this halfway serious training plan.  My goal for the next few weeks is to hover around 30 miles a week with maybe half of the miles being run at a faster than marathon pace. Speaking of marathon pace, I think that this year might be my Chicago year.  I'm going to wait to see how I feel in February, but I am thinking that I want to focus 100% of my efforts on running The Chicago Marathon in October.  If I can keep myself healthy and get stronger I might be able to do this thing.  Honestly, I can not imagine running 7 minute miles for 3 plus hours, but we will see.  We will see.

Week 4

Non eventful week of running.  Removed my speed work session and exchanged it for some mile repeats.  Working my way back up into the 30 mile range on 4 days of running.  Finishing up my week tomorrow morning with a nice long run.  Feeling pretty good but definitely having a hard time warming up in the morning.  Yada yada.  2 more weeks to go before the real training begins.

Week 3

I am starting to feel like my ole self again this week.  I am running 30 quality miles a week right now, and loving it.  I am going to build my mileage up slowly this winter going from 30 - 50 over the course of 30 weeks instead of putting so much pressure on the build up in the last 16 weeks before Riverbank.  I plan to increase my mileage every 3rd week and layoff of my mileage every 2nd week.  I made a mistake building up too fast last year and will not make that mistake again.   I'm not looking to work too hard this winter, just smarter.  I want to come out of the winter feeling like I built a strong base, and took care of myself in the process.  I do not want to burn out in May and lose valuable time  in the early summer to injury or fatigue.  My core / flexibility / nutrition and speed work has definitely had a positive impact on my training.  I feel like my 2012 are within reach if I stick to the plan and not do anything too stupid along the way.