A Perfect 17

I ran on a Friday for the first time in recent memory. This is usually a day of rest for me. However, since I will be in Champaign this weekend I decided to run earlier today. I completed the week with a 5 mile treadmill run, so I ran a total of 17 miles this week which is just above my average!

Coming Down-Hill with A Plan

I did hill training for 4 miles in 37 minutes last night. I am now tweaking my routing a little to incorporate some of Jack Daniels' methods from his book Daniels' Running Formula. Specifically, I want to clearly define the percentage of time I spend running fartleks, intervals, hills, sprinting, etc. I have used training plans in the past. Now I want to tailor my plan specifically to my goals. I am comfortable running 5k and 10k races. I may seek to run half marathons by the end of 2009. If I do take this approach, a new training plan will be imperative.

Interval Run Revisited

Last night I did a 5-mile interval run and had a 8:56 minute/mile pace on the treadmill. Interval runs are important for building stamina for long runs. I have gotten out of the habit of doing intervals for the past month and have decided to re-incorporate this type of run in my schedule.

I found a really good article on running tips that will help runners at all levels.. Check out Your Best Training Plan on RunnersWorld.com.

Fartlek Workout

I ran a 27 minute fartlek (speed) workout last night and it was a blast. I was exhausted when I finished the run although I can see how fartlek training can help improve one's speed. The pace was pretty good too (I had an 8:18 minute/mile pace). Tonight I will do an easy, flat run.

The Goal: Getting Faster

Last night I ran for 3.77 miles (6K) using a hill training program I created on my treadmill. I finished in about 34 minutes which is pretty good considering the terrain was hilly. The goal tonight is a 30 minute interval run. To improve my speed, I will do a fartlek workout (fartlek is Swedish for "speed play" simply means to run fast and jog slower in intervals). Here's another sample fartlek workout from Runners-Resource.com.

Here's the fartlek workout I dreamed up:

Interval	Level	Speed (mph)	Time (min)
1	Easy	6.8	01:00.0
2	Hard	7.4	01:00.0
3	Easy	6.8	02:00.0
4	Hard	7.4	03:00.0
5	Easy	6.8	02:00.0
6	Hard	7.4	03:00.0
7	Easy	6.8	02:00.0
8	Hard	7.4	03:00.0
9	Easy	6.8	02:00.0
10	Hard	7.4	01:00.0
11	Easy	6.8	01:00.0
TOTAL			21:00.0

Speed Is Important

Last night's run: 3.16 miles with an 8:12 minute/mile pace. After Saturday's race, I was able to run over 3 miles quite easily. I felt a lot better after I completed the run. It made me think that I should have also run on Sunday. Well, tonight I will do a hill climb to help me get a little faster. My goal is to get in the 7-7.5 minute per mile pace by Spring 2009.

Hundred Push Up Challenge

I DID IT! In the presence of my daughter and son I completed the Hundred Push Up Challenge last night. On further review, my daughter revealed I actually did 102 push ups which provided more inspiration (my son miscounted along the way because he said I was going too fast.) After I completed my last push up, I feel flat on the floor and asked, "Did I do it?" Both of them said, "Yes, daddy." Man, that was the best news of the day. Then I told them, "Now I can not get up!" (My arms were too tired!) As I crawled off the ground, I looked at my daughter and said, "Next goal: 200 consecutive push ups." My daughter replied, "No way!" When I asked her why, she said, "You struggled too hard to do 100 push ups!" Okay, maybe 200 consecutive push ups is a little too optimistic. I think I'll go back to my regular routine of 200 push ups in 20 minutes.