Half-Assed Runner

Archive for the ‘Training Runs’ Category

Today I traveled to Saint Bonifacius to pound out my long run on the Dakota Rail Trail.  My last long run was only 10 days ago and it was an 11 miler which did a number on my knees.  I was not looking forward to extending that suffering for another 1.5 miles.

I’ve been following a "modified" version of the Galloway run/walk/run program for my long runs.  I’ve been trying to run .5 miles, then walk…plus I’ve only been starting the run/walk/run bit after the first mile or two.  So, I’ve broken two of the rules of the Galloway method in that I have not been taking my walk breaks "early and often" and I’ve not been sticking to a specific run/walk ratio (I don’t time my walk breaks, so the early ones are very short and they get longer further into the run).  I decided to follow the plan more closely on this run.  Runmeter updated to version 6 recently and now you can create intervals (I’ll write a post on how to do this later), so I created a 3:1 run/walk ratio and hit the trail.

I headed southwest on the trail rather than my usual route of northeast.  I’m glad I did.  The change of scenery was nice and the path ends up running along the shore of Lake Waconia, so there are some very nice views.  The weather was nice (50 degrees and sunny with a steady NNW wind), but just chilly enough that I ran in running pants rather than shorts.

Taking the walk breaks early was difficult.  I generally run about 2 miles before even considering mixing in walk breaks.  Running for 3 minutes, then walking for 1 minute was tough.  The run time seemed too brief and the walk time too long.  The further I ran, the less this felt uncomfortable.

Runmeter surprised me in that it tracks your statistics for each interval.  That is awesome.  So I can look back on my run and see that I ran the first 3 minutes at a 10:13/mile pace, then walked for 1 minute at a 13:26/mile pace.  Each run and walk interval is individually tracked (separate from my splits(set to 1 mile).  Unfortunately, I didn’t strictly follow my intervals.  Early on I ran through one of the walk breaks because it came right when I was about 10 feet behind some Boy Scouts.  I didn’t want to run up behind them, stop, then breath heavy for a minute before running by them.  If I had known at the time that Runmeter was keeping such detailed stats, I might have opted for creeping them out.  Instead, my intervals looked like this:

Run – Average 9:47 /mile 
Walk – Average 8:29 /mile 
 

I will try to be more strict on my intervals on my next long run as I am a nerd and I love analyzing data.

I wasn’t drinking nearly as much water as my last long run (due to the -25 degree temperature difference) so I went out just over 3 miles before turning around.  I felt good after returning to my car at the 6 mile point and refilling my water bottle.  I then headed northwest for just under 3 miles.  I ran off the trail onto the Gale Woods park trail.  It intersects with the Dakota Rail Trail and meanders uphill for a 1/4 mile or so.  At the end of that short paved section there is a water fountain.  Unfortunately it is closed for the season.  At least I found a potential water refilling point for next summer.

Right around the 7 mile mark my left calf started to twinge a bit.  Nothing too horrible, but enough to be a nuisance.  The pain was at its worst coming out of the walk breaks.  It cleared to a manageable level after a few seconds of running.  Much, much easier to deal with than my knee pains on my last long run.

After the 9 mile mark, I started fading.  My pace was much slower and I started feeling my calf hurt a little more.  By 10.5 I was seriously dragging ass.  Even with the 3:1 ratio I was running out of juice.  I made it back to my car after the second loop and refilled my water.  I had logged about 11.75 miles at that point.  It took a LOT of effort to get jogging again after that stop.  I got about halfway up the bridge and started walking.  I ran down the other side, then suffered through another .5 miles or so.  I hit 12.5 miles.  At that point I decided to try to log another .6 miles so I could say that I knew what it was like to run a half marathon.  I couldn’t do it.  I was simply out of energy and could not maintain running for 1 minute, let alone 3.  I called it a day.

My legs were tired, but not sore (with the exception of my left calf being tight).  I started driving home and then the pain hit me.  A dull ache set in on both legs from top to bottom.  I tried to massage my legs, stretch my legs, withhold my screams, and drive at the same time.  Twenty minutes later, I was much better.  I took a bath once I got home and was completely fine.

My last race this year is a 10 mile run at the end of October.  I may try to get in a 14 mile run between that race and the first snowfall.  I have no idea how I’m going to train during the winter as I hate cold temps and snow.  I’ll probably be relegated to treadmill training.