10.27.09 - Inside Day (probably one of many to come)

Today's Training (10.27.09)


PM Rowing 10K (39:27.0), 31 spm, AHR120/MHR124...
PM Running 6M treadmill (41:21), i=1, AHR117/MHR121
PM Running 6M treadmill (41:06), i=1, AHR116/MHR121

Running Totals: 12M day / 27M week (115M/L7) / 415M
Rowing Totals: 10K day / 25K week / 191K month

I've recently received some light peer pressure from my circle of running friends re: jumping back into racing, specifically the Club XC Champ's in December.  I'm very comfortable telling folks "thanks, but no thanks - I'm doing my thing through the end of the year."  It's nice to be "back" enough that people want me to race.  I certainly haven't done the type of training that would make me feel comfortable to race.  In the past, if I'd done this amount of training, I certainly would be lining up races, but I would also be doing LT runs, intervals, hills, etc.  I have done nothing of the kind at this point.  Through this past Sunday, I've done 10 weeks & 1025 miles.  Every mile I've run has been purely aerobic, which my guesstimate pegs @ sub HR130.  I've been working in strides so that it's not a shock when I start asking my legs to start turning over quicker on a regular basis (January and beyond). 

The training I'm currently doing is certainly an experiment, as I've never trained like this before.  But I see it as an investment; as money in the bank.  And it's odd to me that people can "get" the discipline of training (running every day, putting in the miles, getting up every morning, "living the life," whatever), but not necessarily want to commit to the discipline of sticking with a certain type of training over a long period of time.  Don't get me wrong.  I was the first one to jump back into racing shortly after a break in running.  I've often done things in training on a whim (a 40M treadmill run comes to mind).  But I've really come to appreciate using some of the science and/or training methods that are out there.  When I trained to race 5000m on the track, I learned that one of the key areas I needed to focus on were V02Max based workouts, and that usually meant 5 x 1000m with 2:00 rest.  The reasons behind this workout were: a) anything longer was tough to hold "V02Max" pace & tougher to recover from, and b) anything shorter and I wasn't maximizing the time during each repeat spent at a "V02Max" improving intensity.  When I trained for my last couple of marathons, I was operating under the theory that in addition to improving general endurance, the big key was improving my lactate threshold.  So I had a lactate threshold test, and got the pertinent training HRs and paces to work from, and proceeded to do tempo runs dictated by those numbers.  Now I'm not a pro, not a scientist, and I'm very aware that I know only a small amount of the training science that's out there.  But if the information's out there, and I plan on spending 2 hours a day preparing to race my best, why not go about it with some science and reason behind it?

I realize that the way I've chosen to train may not be the best way to go about it, and is certainly one of countless ways of getting it done.  But I'm embracing this training system and trying to maximize what I can get out of it.  That's my whole idea, I guess - pick a system and embrace it.

All that said, I am looking forward to tempo runs, intervals, running long runs with higher rates, and...racing!  I love running.  But I'm still at a point in my life where I run to race.  And I haven't raced since July 27, 2006.  I turned 40 on April 17, 2009, and have yet to race as a masters runner.  There's nothing I'd rather be doing.