Today's run was going to be difficult. I knew that in advance. We had scheduled a 14km trail run for Erev Yom Kippur - the traditional Yishi Trail run. Being that on Wednesday I ran 28km, I knew today would be tough no matter what distance was scheduled. Add to that a trail which is more difficult. I decided to not run with the group because of that - my normal slow speed, and then today's slowness added, would leave me basically running the trail all alone. Plus, the group was starting their run later than I wanted to start.
So, I ran a local 14km on the rads of RBS. I actually ran 15km because I adjusted my route in the middle and miscalculated a bit. I basically ran 3 cycles across Kishon and then up Hayaqon and Hayarden and back.
It was slow and painful, but enjoyable. Good fresh air and a great way to start the morning.
I finished the week with 67km, which is the most I have run in a week in a very long time...
Gmar Chasima Tova.
Friday, September 29, 2017
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
mid-week 28km
Because Friday is erev yom kippur we scheduled the week's long run for Wednesday, with Friday being a medium length run (I think), so today was meant to be a 28km run out to Tzomet HaEla and back.
Being that I would be starting in RBS, I ran 7km locally before heading out to the highway, and I knew I would still need about another 1.5km of extensions along the way. I went to sleep early and woke up earlier than planned, so at about 3:30am I headed out for my run.
Across Kishon twice had me at 7 already while heading up Hayarqon to leave the neighborhood. I ran out and all the way to Tzomet Haela. Parts of it are very dark and I stopped here and there to hug the shoulders when big trucks were heading my way. I also made a pit stop, and after that my run got better.
I dont know what happened but it seemed to me my Runkeeper app tracking the run did not do such a good job. A few times I checked my progress and things looked wrong - pace, timing, and even at some point it looked like it was not advancing my distance properly. I kept going and things seemed to work itself out, though I am not convinced my time and pace are correct, and I think I ran more than 28km, but I made sure to get the 28 on the clock.
At Tzomet Haela I decided to extend it a bit so I ran a few hundred meters on the 38 and back, and then headed back on the 375. After a few extensions on the 375 and in RBS, I finished my run at 28km. I think the pace it shows me is faster than I actually ran and I think it clocked less time than it actually took, and less distance, but I cannot be sure of it. I might map it out on google maps to check the distance, but I wont be able to confirm the time and pace. I care less about that though.
Being that I would be starting in RBS, I ran 7km locally before heading out to the highway, and I knew I would still need about another 1.5km of extensions along the way. I went to sleep early and woke up earlier than planned, so at about 3:30am I headed out for my run.
Across Kishon twice had me at 7 already while heading up Hayarqon to leave the neighborhood. I ran out and all the way to Tzomet Haela. Parts of it are very dark and I stopped here and there to hug the shoulders when big trucks were heading my way. I also made a pit stop, and after that my run got better.
I dont know what happened but it seemed to me my Runkeeper app tracking the run did not do such a good job. A few times I checked my progress and things looked wrong - pace, timing, and even at some point it looked like it was not advancing my distance properly. I kept going and things seemed to work itself out, though I am not convinced my time and pace are correct, and I think I ran more than 28km, but I made sure to get the 28 on the clock.
At Tzomet Haela I decided to extend it a bit so I ran a few hundred meters on the 38 and back, and then headed back on the 375. After a few extensions on the 375 and in RBS, I finished my run at 28km. I think the pace it shows me is faster than I actually ran and I think it clocked less time than it actually took, and less distance, but I cannot be sure of it. I might map it out on google maps to check the distance, but I wont be able to confirm the time and pace. I care less about that though.
Monday, September 25, 2017
Yasso 800s
Tonight's speed workout was scheduled for Yasso 800s. This means after a warmup run we would be running 7x800m at marathon pace with 400m of slow running in between each set.
I think I did pretty good, even though I don't have an accurate way of tracking this. I don't know what my marathon pace is so I basically just ran as fast as I could. I also could not accurately track my 800s and 400s, so I estimated and made calculations and checked my phone (RunKeeper) every now and then and kept more or less to the right distances. In the end it was a good run and I ran it at a good pace, though I have no way of knowing what each individual 800m was clocked at, with the 10km a whisker fast than the hour mark.
I think I did pretty good, even though I don't have an accurate way of tracking this. I don't know what my marathon pace is so I basically just ran as fast as I could. I also could not accurately track my 800s and 400s, so I estimated and made calculations and checked my phone (RunKeeper) every now and then and kept more or less to the right distances. In the end it was a good run and I ran it at a good pace, though I have no way of knowing what each individual 800m was clocked at, with the 10km a whisker fast than the hour mark.
Saturday, September 23, 2017
post rosh hashana recovery
The post Rosh Hashana week started with a 14km recovery run.
It felt great to get out there after 3 days of no exercise, but it was difficult after 3 days of no exercise along with 3 days of overeating.
The first few km were tough, but I got into a rhythm and then just felt great. I took it slow, and the 14km was mostly a breeze.
The weather was great. Really pleasant, for probably the first time at night that I can remember in a long time. Not humid at all and the temperature was good. Lots of runners and walkers out. Really nice night to be out running...
It felt great to get out there after 3 days of no exercise, but it was difficult after 3 days of no exercise along with 3 days of overeating.
The first few km were tough, but I got into a rhythm and then just felt great. I took it slow, and the 14km was mostly a breeze.
The weather was great. Really pleasant, for probably the first time at night that I can remember in a long time. Not humid at all and the temperature was good. Lots of runners and walkers out. Really nice night to be out running...
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Medium Long Run
Today's long run was really a medium run at 18km. The scheduled route was the Lamed Hey Loop. Being that I was not feeling up to running either the Zechariya or Tzeelim hills, I decided I would run 9km out, to nearly Tzomet HaEla, and then 9km back.
And I did. It was not a great run. I did not enjoy it and I was not a fluid run. I did not feel in sync. But I got it in and finished a short and lower mileage running week to close training week 3..
And I did. It was not a great run. I did not enjoy it and I was not a fluid run. I did not feel in sync. But I got it in and finished a short and lower mileage running week to close training week 3..
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
short recovery
I went out this morning for my recovery run, but had no legs. Everything down there felt like rubber after last night's speed workout. It just was not working. I gave up after about 3.5km. Maybe I'll try again tonight, maybe not.
Monday, September 18, 2017
Intervals speed workout
In tonight's speed workout we ran intervals around Hanarkis St. Basically we ran 1.6km fast, at 10km race speed, and then 4 minutes of light jogging. We did 5 cycles of this.
I ran the 5 cycles of 1.6km much faster than I thought I could. The fourth cycle was hard, and the fifth cycle was really hard ans a bit slower, but overall I ran a pretty good speed.
This is a short week so tomorrow will be a recovery run at some point and Wednesday will be a "long run" that si really medium run distance of 18km...
I ran the 5 cycles of 1.6km much faster than I thought I could. The fourth cycle was hard, and the fifth cycle was really hard ans a bit slower, but overall I ran a pretty good speed.
This is a short week so tomorrow will be a recovery run at some point and Wednesday will be a "long run" that si really medium run distance of 18km...
Saturday, September 16, 2017
recovery
14km recovery run is in the books.
I wanted it to end already at so many different points during this unbearably slow run, but I kept going. perseverance.
Holidays will shorten this weeks running schedule. I am not yet sure how it will all work out.
I wanted it to end already at so many different points during this unbearably slow run, but I kept going. perseverance.
Holidays will shorten this weeks running schedule. I am not yet sure how it will all work out.
Friday, September 15, 2017
25km
Today's run was a 25km run along the winding and hilly Highway 353, and then back to Tzomet Srigim via the 38 from Bet Guvrin.
I set out the water at the water stops for the run, so I knew exactly where it was. I started about 15 minutes earlier than the group and had a great run. I ran the first half at a good speed, but the hills and the humidity got to me.
At the 12km mark, we had to cross a barrier of construction dirt to get to the path leading down to the gas station on Highway 35 near Bet Guvrin to get back to the 38. It turned out most of the group decided to not go that way but instead turnedit into an "out and back" instead of a loop and just turned around at that point, unsure of whether the path was also affected by road works or if it was just blocked off.
Being that I was ahead of the group, I ran the path, and only one other guy had caught up with me at that point and he did as well.
When I got back the rest of the group had just finished their run and I discovered they had gone out and back instead of loop.
The humidity was really tough. I was thoroughly drenched. The runner who had caught up with me is a far better runner than I and he was really struggling. I just took it slow and steady and finished my run, but it was tough. I ended up finishing at my normal slow pace.
This concludes Week 2 of training with 66km. That is a big jump for me.
I set out the water at the water stops for the run, so I knew exactly where it was. I started about 15 minutes earlier than the group and had a great run. I ran the first half at a good speed, but the hills and the humidity got to me.
At the 12km mark, we had to cross a barrier of construction dirt to get to the path leading down to the gas station on Highway 35 near Bet Guvrin to get back to the 38. It turned out most of the group decided to not go that way but instead turnedit into an "out and back" instead of a loop and just turned around at that point, unsure of whether the path was also affected by road works or if it was just blocked off.
Being that I was ahead of the group, I ran the path, and only one other guy had caught up with me at that point and he did as well.
When I got back the rest of the group had just finished their run and I discovered they had gone out and back instead of loop.
The humidity was really tough. I was thoroughly drenched. The runner who had caught up with me is a far better runner than I and he was really struggling. I just took it slow and steady and finished my run, but it was tough. I ended up finishing at my normal slow pace.
This concludes Week 2 of training with 66km. That is a big jump for me.
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
medium 17km
today's medium distance run was scheduled for 17km. I planned to wake up nice and early at about 4:30am to get ready and go out before starting my day. I fell asleep really early last night and my eyes opened at 2am. After using the washroom, checking my email and whatsapp messages and whatnot, I tried to go back to sleep, but by then it was futile.
Around 3:45am I went out for my 17km run. I ran across Kishon, up Hayarqon and Hayarden, 3 loops around Dolev, back out to the end of Road 10 and back home for 17km. Felt good. Air was decent enough.
It was nice being out so early. No cars on the road allowed me to run in the street more than usual. Especially with so many of them having been recently repaved, it is much smoother in the streets than on the sidewalks.
Around 3:45am I went out for my 17km run. I ran across Kishon, up Hayarqon and Hayarden, 3 loops around Dolev, back out to the end of Road 10 and back home for 17km. Felt good. Air was decent enough.
It was nice being out so early. No cars on the road allowed me to run in the street more than usual. Especially with so many of them having been recently repaved, it is much smoother in the streets than on the sidewalks.
Monday, September 11, 2017
fast tempo
tonight's speed workout was a tempo run. Meaning a 1.5km warmup slow pace to start, a 1.5km slow cooldown to finish, and a tempo run in the middle.
A tempo run is a run the for 8km you run slightly faster than expected marathon pace.
Being that I don't know my marathon pace, I don't really know what to run, or what I can run. I do, however, know that if my marathon pace is going to be 6:30 I wont be running the marathon,so I figured I would try to run the tempo at slightly faster than 6.
Thankfully the entire run was downhill. Starting around Dolev in RBS, and then for the tempo out to the 10 and then on the 10 out to the Industrial Zone and then a cooldown for 1.5km back to where cars were parked to get us back to RBS.
I ran the tempo part at an average of 5:25mpkm which is amazing, but taken with a grain of salt because it is all downhill. I basically skipped most of the cooldown as I turned a bit early to finish the tempo by the cars to make sure I would not miss the rides home. I got in a small amount of cooldown. I ended up finishing 10km at a 5:33 pace
A tempo run is a run the for 8km you run slightly faster than expected marathon pace.
Being that I don't know my marathon pace, I don't really know what to run, or what I can run. I do, however, know that if my marathon pace is going to be 6:30 I wont be running the marathon,so I figured I would try to run the tempo at slightly faster than 6.
Thankfully the entire run was downhill. Starting around Dolev in RBS, and then for the tempo out to the 10 and then on the 10 out to the Industrial Zone and then a cooldown for 1.5km back to where cars were parked to get us back to RBS.
I ran the tempo part at an average of 5:25mpkm which is amazing, but taken with a grain of salt because it is all downhill. I basically skipped most of the cooldown as I turned a bit early to finish the tempo by the cars to make sure I would not miss the rides home. I got in a small amount of cooldown. I ended up finishing 10km at a 5:33 pace
Saturday, September 9, 2017
recovery
The trainign scheduled called for a 14km recovery run tonight, and I ran it religiously.
14.5km at a very slow pace. Funnily enough, it did not feel slow and every time Runkeeper gave me the audio alert with my distance and pace I was surprised how slow I was actually running...
Anyways, after a lot of distance last week, including Friday, this was supposed to be naturally slow and it was. Looking forward to Monday night's workout...
14.5km at a very slow pace. Funnily enough, it did not feel slow and every time Runkeeper gave me the audio alert with my distance and pace I was surprised how slow I was actually running...
Anyways, after a lot of distance last week, including Friday, this was supposed to be naturally slow and it was. Looking forward to Monday night's workout...
Friday, September 8, 2017
22km long run
This morning's run was scheduled by the group to be a 22km run. And I ran 22km. Tghe weather was nice and cool. Overall pace was decent, a touch faster than my long runs have been recently. I ran the middle 10km of it at a pace slightly faster than 6mpkm.
I ran the Lamed Hey loop, starting in RBS with 3.5km. I actually never saw the group. I started my run 15 minutes earlier than they did and I expected them to pass me after Tzomet HaElah, but I never saw them.
The best part of this run was that I had done this route and distance a few times recently, but today was the first time it was not a struggle but a nice run. Even the Zechariya and Tzeelim long hills, though tough, were not a struggle.
That puts me at about 55km or so on 4 runs for the first training week...
I ran the Lamed Hey loop, starting in RBS with 3.5km. I actually never saw the group. I started my run 15 minutes earlier than they did and I expected them to pass me after Tzomet HaElah, but I never saw them.
The best part of this run was that I had done this route and distance a few times recently, but today was the first time it was not a struggle but a nice run. Even the Zechariya and Tzeelim long hills, though tough, were not a struggle.
That puts me at about 55km or so on 4 runs for the first training week...
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
midweek 16km
Today's run was scheduled as a 16km run at an easy pace with 4km strides at marathon pace. Being that I don't know what my "marathon pace" is I figured I would just run 4km as fast as I could.
I decided not to go to Bet Shemesh to run with the club. The start time was a bit late for my much slower pace, so I figured I would just do the run out of RBS at an earlier time.
I ran 16km at an easy pace that was really not so easy. Even the easy pace was a struggle at the beginning.I did get a good fast 4km in at about the 8km mark until 12km, in which I ran around 6mpkm. Overall my average pace was 6:35mpkm.
16km would have normally been a Friday long run for me at this stage in my running, so running with the club is really forcing me to up my game a bit.
I decided not to go to Bet Shemesh to run with the club. The start time was a bit late for my much slower pace, so I figured I would just do the run out of RBS at an earlier time.
I ran 16km at an easy pace that was really not so easy. Even the easy pace was a struggle at the beginning.I did get a good fast 4km in at about the 8km mark until 12km, in which I ran around 6mpkm. Overall my average pace was 6:35mpkm.
16km would have normally been a Friday long run for me at this stage in my running, so running with the club is really forcing me to up my game a bit.
Monday, September 4, 2017
back to the group
running with other people is far different than running alone.
The Bet Shemesh Running Club began marathon training season this week. While at this point I have not committed to running a marathon, I have decided I would train to the best of my ability, marathon or not. Training with the group is a big help in improving my fitness and my running - especially for the speed workouts and probably for the long runs.
When I run myself, I have to push myself. I often do, but not too hard. I am also listening to podcasts or whatnot, and I am not focusing on my running all that much. Running with other people is far different. We are chatting a bit, when possible, but mostly keeping each other going and reminding each other of the pace and the timing, offering words of encouragement and praise. And, especially, there is a bit of a competitive nature in all of us, and when running with other people there is a natural boost in your step.
Tonight I ran the speed workout with the group. The first speed workout of the season was a fartlek. Fartlek is basically running 4 cycles of twelve minutes each, with each 12 minutes broken into 3 segments of 4 minutes. Each segment of 4 minutes is run at a different speed - slow, medium and fast, and then all over again for a total of 4 cycles - plus a 2km warmup and a 2km cooldown (which was shortened tonight).
Not really knowing my marathon pace, which is how to determine the different speeds for the fartlek, I ran with two other guys at paces of 6:30, 6 and 5:30. While it was difficult to keep to the porogram accurately, overall we were pretty close.
I ended up running just under 10km at an average pace of 6:01mpkm.
A big problem I had was I could not get the fartlek program into any of the apps I tried for tracking, and to alert me of the time to change pace. I ended up using two apps which were not synced so it got confusing, and neither had the correct info for the fartlek, but at least the timing was pretty close so I knew when I was approaching the 4 minute mark , even if I did not know the exact pace I was running at. For that I had to rely on my running partner's occasional updates when they were with me.
Maybe I'll eventually figure something out, or maybe I'll get a new GPS watch that makes the tracking easier and more accurate, or maybe I'll just continue to rely on other people. Whatever happens, the run tonight was great. It is really good to be running with other people again
.
The Bet Shemesh Running Club began marathon training season this week. While at this point I have not committed to running a marathon, I have decided I would train to the best of my ability, marathon or not. Training with the group is a big help in improving my fitness and my running - especially for the speed workouts and probably for the long runs.
When I run myself, I have to push myself. I often do, but not too hard. I am also listening to podcasts or whatnot, and I am not focusing on my running all that much. Running with other people is far different. We are chatting a bit, when possible, but mostly keeping each other going and reminding each other of the pace and the timing, offering words of encouragement and praise. And, especially, there is a bit of a competitive nature in all of us, and when running with other people there is a natural boost in your step.
Tonight I ran the speed workout with the group. The first speed workout of the season was a fartlek. Fartlek is basically running 4 cycles of twelve minutes each, with each 12 minutes broken into 3 segments of 4 minutes. Each segment of 4 minutes is run at a different speed - slow, medium and fast, and then all over again for a total of 4 cycles - plus a 2km warmup and a 2km cooldown (which was shortened tonight).
Not really knowing my marathon pace, which is how to determine the different speeds for the fartlek, I ran with two other guys at paces of 6:30, 6 and 5:30. While it was difficult to keep to the porogram accurately, overall we were pretty close.
I ended up running just under 10km at an average pace of 6:01mpkm.
A big problem I had was I could not get the fartlek program into any of the apps I tried for tracking, and to alert me of the time to change pace. I ended up using two apps which were not synced so it got confusing, and neither had the correct info for the fartlek, but at least the timing was pretty close so I knew when I was approaching the 4 minute mark , even if I did not know the exact pace I was running at. For that I had to rely on my running partner's occasional updates when they were with me.
Maybe I'll eventually figure something out, or maybe I'll get a new GPS watch that makes the tracking easier and more accurate, or maybe I'll just continue to rely on other people. Whatever happens, the run tonight was great. It is really good to be running with other people again
.
Saturday, September 2, 2017
I was so slow that...
catching up here...
Thursday I ran 8km in the morning. It was a good run. But I know I really need to work on running on Wednesdays instead of Thursdays, as good Thursday runs usually means the Friday long run will be a bit more difficult than it should be. This past week I could not run on Wednesday as I went early to Tel Aviv for work, but normally I should be able to.
Friday I ran 23km, as I had hoped to. It was a very difficult run, and if I would have been able to I would have bailed on the run at a few different points. I couldnt really bail, so I forced myself to keep going, and I am happy I did.
Saturday night was a very slow recovery run. I rab 7km, and it was a bit muggier than I expected. I knew it would be slow because my legs had felt sluggish all day long.
How slow was I running?
I was so slow that my phone announced the 30 minute mark far earlier than ever before.
I was so slow that walkers were passing me.
Thursday I ran 8km in the morning. It was a good run. But I know I really need to work on running on Wednesdays instead of Thursdays, as good Thursday runs usually means the Friday long run will be a bit more difficult than it should be. This past week I could not run on Wednesday as I went early to Tel Aviv for work, but normally I should be able to.
Friday I ran 23km, as I had hoped to. It was a very difficult run, and if I would have been able to I would have bailed on the run at a few different points. I couldnt really bail, so I forced myself to keep going, and I am happy I did.
Saturday night was a very slow recovery run. I rab 7km, and it was a bit muggier than I expected. I knew it would be slow because my legs had felt sluggish all day long.
How slow was I running?
I was so slow that my phone announced the 30 minute mark far earlier than ever before.
I was so slow that walkers were passing me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)