Journey to Leadville - Byrne - March 13, 2012

158 days until the 2012 Leadville Trail 100 Mile Run...

Mt Ranier - Washington

This is the view looking east from the hotel I am staying at - sadly it was too cloudy this week that I haven't been able to see it yet. Maybe by the end of the week but with the rain and snow in the forecast I don't think it will happen.

Yesterday I did a treadmill workout consisting of...

0 – 5 minutes  level  5.0               12:00 mile pace
5 – 10 minutes  level  5.5             10:55 mile pace
10 – 15 minutes  level  6.0           10:00 mile pace
15 – 20 minutes  level  6.5           9:14 mile pace
20 – 25 minutes  level  7.0           8:30 mile pace
25 – 30 minutes  level  7.5           8:00 mile pace
30 – 35 minutes  level  8.0           7:30 mile pace
35 – 40 minutes  level  8.5           7:03 mile pace
40 – 45 minutes  level  9.0           6:40 mile pace
45 - 50 minutes  level  9.0            6:40 mile pace
50 - 55 minutes  level  9.0            6:40 mile pace
55 – 57 minutes  level  9.5           6:19 mile pace
57 – 60 minutes  level  10.0         6:00 mile pace

Bench press 3 sets of 10 at 185 lbs on a smith bench machine – easier than free bar – there must be something in the pulley system that makes it a little easier to bench.

I have mixed feelings about this workout.  My original plan was to continue increasing the speed level by .5, ending by running for 5 minutes at 10.5 (approximately 5:43 mile pace). Before starting, I thought  I shouldn’t be tired at all until 40 minutes since at that point I will have only run 5 minutes at the level 8.5 pace – which was  a far cry from last Thursday’s workout when I ran 45 minutes at level 8.5.  So I thought I could gut out four more 5 minute segments of 9.0, 9.5, 10.0, and 10.5. I was doing fine during my 5 minutes with level 9.0 but as I started thinking about the next 15 minutes I did not feel confident that I could continue to increase my pace. I also did not want to step backwards so I made a decision to stay at level 9.0 for at least 10 minutes at which time I wanted to move up to 9.5 for 5 minutes and 10.0 for the last 5 minutes. As I was approaching the 50 minute mark I felt like I could continue the pace I had set but did not have the confidence that I could finish the final 10 minutes at a higher level than 9.0. Therefore I stayed at this level for 5 more minutes. I had contemplated trying to jump straight to 10.0 for my final 5 minutes but I doubted if I could keep that pace. I did want to finish strong though so I convinced myself that I could do a combination of 9.5 and 10.0 for the last segment. I toyed with the idea of 3 minutes at 9.5 and 2 minutes at 10.0 and considered a 2:30/2:30 split. But in the back of my mind I also thought I could pull of 2 minutes at 9.5 and 3 minutes at 10.0. About 30 seconds before the 57 minute mark I made the decision I was going to try for my final 3 minutes at 10.0 – and I did it! I finished running about 8.5 miles in an hour which is something to be proud of. I didn’t achieve the crazy goal I had set at the beginning of the workout which is good for my humility. On the other hand, running the final 30 minutes at progressively faster paces from 7:30 down to 6:00 minute mile paces after getting in a good 30 minute warm up is a testament to the endurance we are starting to build with this training. I worked hard, it felt good, and I will keep training for the beast that I will encounter in August!

Today I ran 6.2 miles through the city of DuPont. It was a little cold and drizzling but the sun came out and it was good to get out for a run after being inside all day teaching a class for the US Army. I was attempting to make it to Puget Sound and thought I had it figured out on the map but I must have miscalculated. I ran up against a fence surrounding a corporate building that blocked my path to the water - so I went back and ran more through the city. Came across a young woman who turned onto the path and she was moving at a pretty good pace. I visited with her for about 5 minutes as we ran together and learned she was training for the Seattle marathon. Her goal was to break 4 hrs - her previous run was 4:17. At the pace she was moving I told her she would blow 4 hrs out of the water. I never asked her what her name was - just enjoyed visiting with another runner. She seemed to be a very happy person and was thoroughly enjoying her time outside. The route I ran is listed below...

http://www.mapmyfitness.com/routes/view/74926298 

Until my next post, have a great day! DIG DEEP!