Magic mile

OK, so Jeff Galloway is a genius!

I was surfing the web yesterday, all running sites, and went back to the marathon training plans at his site. He has perfected a formula which calculates your projected marathon pace depending on your mile speed at the hardest effort. So one runs a mile at the fastest speed, without puking(his words), and multiply that time by 1.3 to get the marathon pace.

So this morning I ran a mile at my hardest pace- still came out to be 14minmile and so what do u think my marathon pace is?? a very slow 18.2minmile. Which means I will be finishing my marathon in 8 hours. Which means there is no need for me to go to San francisco this October or else they will hand me a broom and ask to sweep after the back of the pack!

So how is J.G a genius? because 18.2 was my pace at the last long distance of 18.6 miles I did. If I had known the formula before I could have just predicted my time for that session as more than 5 hours instead of thinking naively that I could cover 20 miles in 5 hours.

Of course when I did this mile, it was the first mile of the day, and what he is recommending is doing a mile warmup , followed by the magic mile, followed by easy run, so to include this in the shorter LSD. On top of this I had bad shin splints today, dont know why as I have been stretching off and on . Also GB was not there to push me to run a tad bit faster, or to try and walk at 4mph instead of 3.5mph. Not that the absence of any of those factors would have helped me run faster.

So this is where we stand, 50 days before the M-day.
Is there any way we can increase our pace at this point-- I dont know. But hope sustains life, and I am hopeful, or have my head stuck in sand - in denial.

And just for some information- to complete a marathon in 6.5 hours, my magic mile should be run in 11 min. Ha Ha ... ha ha!!

LSD 8miles, strategies, when GB runs!!!

So we did our LSD today, 8.2miles in 117 min, 14.2minmile, I cant go over this enough!

Started at 4.35 AM from my house, nce starry sky, breezy,felt good. Met with GB at the junction and GB was in the mood today to just rock it! She started off with running and walking alternating between the red lights. And she ran faster than normal and walked faster than normal, so that I was lagging behind, huffing and puffing.After 2 miles she wanted to try the r3min/w2min routine so we started that- it was better for me.

Then at 4 miles we reached our first bad hill- 200 ft ascent over half a mile. We walked up this hill and remembered a day approx 6 mnths ago when GB had literally died at the sight of this hill. Today we just walked till the top- it wasnt easy, but we didnt take any breaks and our pace was smooth thru out. Then came aabout a mile of gradual descent which we ran at a good pace. Went down the 2nd hill and after 5 min I turned back because today the DH is on call and I had to be home by 6.30 AM to pack his lunch.

Going back faced the 2nd hill and I again walked at a consistent speed. Finished with running till the house. I honestly thought I had done less than 8 miles today but I was satisfied because I had done 2 hills in these 8 miles . Kept trying to push myself during the last stretch just to get a lesser time.

Came home and after doing the breakfast/lunch stuff, sat with mapmyrun. And was so pleasantly surprised to see I had done 8.2 miles! I mapped it out 3 times and called GB to confirm, which she did. And in a good time. I think she covered more in the last bit to her house, she will log it in.

So I am satisfied today- now in the next 50 days to get the short runs down to a speed of 13.5minmile and the LSD to 14 minmile with hills. Can u believe it - only 50 days left?

Walk tomorrow, 4 miles, will try and include a hill.

Panic Mode!!!

No, it wasn't the meeting at 6 am, it was the constant state of panic I am in nowadays. There is a marathon in 59 days and I still cannot walk 15 miles without wanting to fall over and die!!! The long run last Saturday pushed the panic button. Before that the long runs had been easier (yes, because they were smaller!) and I was getting curious why people thought marathons were tough - last Saturday gave me the answer :(
I wasn't really giving the marathon much thought since it was farrr away, but now, since it's closer, completing it doesnt seem feasible. I have been talking about this continously with NB (not during the runs, I have stopped talking during the runs - we are not strolling in a park, we have a marathon to run :() and then hoping later that she doesnt get scared.
I am in a habit of working on things at the last moment, Yes - not a good habit, but I am really hoping it is not too late this time :(
I went for a run from monday to thursday this week (rest day tomorrow, though I think we shouldnt take it, but guess need to to prevent injuries), tried to control food intake and tried to do Wii Fit for atleast 45 mins everyday. Have to, have to, have to continue with this and slowly increase walking speed to be able to complete the mararthon in 6.5 hours which is slightly less than 15 min mile. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

R/W, Effort!

Did 4.1m in 57-58 min, a 14minmile. WOW! It all boils down to effort and mind over matter and a very motivated GB who made me run all the way and kept pushing even if I lagged behind and made me run even if she trailed behind.
It could also be due to the fact that she had a 6AM meeting to attend.

I simply couldnt believe my time, so I recalculated the distance and asked my husband twice that 4.58 AM to 5.55 AM is 57 min.

I know that 4 miles in 57 min is not great, and we should actually be able to repeat it 6 times now to complete a marathon, but atleast we came out of our comfort zone and did some huffing and puffing.

So, good job GB and NB , keep it up.

On a side note, came home and did some yoga stretches for 15 min and now feel as good as new.All set to start my day as mom,wife,worker bee, friend etc etc etc.

Walking for XT

Today walked 4.22m in 67 min , 15.8minmile, 2 hills.

GB is the major motivational force nowadays. Made me wake up at 4.30 AM for a 5AM start. Nice weather again, 59 degrees, walked the whole way and she insisted on wlking at a 4.0mph. Which we did thruout tho I could barely keep up. The hills slowed us down a bit.

Tomorrow planning a R/W 4 miles again, hoping 14-14.5minmile pace. Having a niggling low back pain on the left side and also the left knee seems loose, as if would give away. Hope its ok by the morning.

Love the AM workouts. Love the fact that am done for the day with regards to exercise by 6.30 AM. But my love is fickle- I forget it by the morning and change over my feelings- to the warm cozy bed. Then I cant seem to leave it till better sense prevails or GB calls.

Better today

R/W at 5 AM, 4.13m in 60 min.

GB went with me, she is the one who pushed us today, not even ready to take the walking breaks. I was still tired from the LSD this saturday, had spent half the day yesterday setting up a pingpong table- why cant the instructions be more clear- all that sitting and bending on the floor and lifting the heavy table.

GB ran almost the whole way, no complaints of tiredness at all, so I am proud of her.Even tho I am sure she too must be having the residual effects of that LSD.
Overall satisfied today with the whole workout- 14.5minmile. The goal is to be able to do atleast 13.5minmile on the short workout sessions and 14.5 min mile on the LSD. Next 2 weekends the LSD is only 8 and 9 miles, so I am looking forward to those.

The major help today was the weather- breezy and temp of 60 degrees, that really helped. On saturday it had been 72 degrees when we started and climbed upto 85 in 3-4 hours. Of course we cant change anything about the weather temps on marathon day, so grin and bear it.

Just how much conditions on marathon day matter- Deena Kastor had to pull out of the Olympic Womens Marathon with a foot problem- all those years of preparation -poof! I cant even imagine how she must be feeling.

Continue with the morning workouts, school starts tomorrow so it might be a tad bit difficult but life will be easier if I am able to do that.

LSD 18.5m Doubts

Did 18.5m in 5h45min on Sat.

Not a good experience, not even average. Started at 4.45 Am, had to take a restroom break because had started so early, it was very hot and I think we got tired sooner even tho we kept drinking the water. Took a 15 min break at GBs apt to drink water and get a snack. Then she did another 5 miles for a total of 15 and I did 18.64m

Not atall satisfied. Took too long-18minmile, and so tired at the end of it, hurting everywhere.
Very angry with myself. Nobody forced me to start this, and I dont even have to finish it- just put it down as that experience I wanted to have but gave up because it was too hard. Noone has a gun down my throat telling me to do a marathon. But if I want to do it, it has to be a full fledged effort.

Why miss workouts, why eat bad- anyone pushing that 2nd serving of rice down my gullet? Why not wake up at 5 AM to finish the workout because I know I wont be able to do it later. Why miss the XT workouts of yoga nad weights when I know I need a strong core to be able to run better?
Basically why act like an idiot? Who am I doing it for?? Just me. Its only me. So why not put in 100%, heck, even 90% will have me see the finish line.

Really angry today, would kick myself if I could. Lets see how long this frustration lasts. Made worse this morning when read some posts on the prevention site- walkers preparing for a november marathon and can do 10 miles at 13-14min mile. I cant even do a 5K at that pace.Hopping mad.Craazy mad. At me. Have to push myself now. Only 9 weeks left.