Hansons Marathon Method - Review in Progress - Day 23 of 123

And it's time for "do as I say, not as I do."

So, if you recall, I was floundering a bit, oh say two months ago. I was adrift. Lost. Wandering. I was a man without a plan.

So I signed up for the Run for the Hills. A 30k. Trail Run. With this elevation profile.

Seemed like a good idea at the time. I needed something to do.

Of course, just after I signed up for the Run for the Hills, I finally pulled the trigger and decided on my Fall marathon: the Skagit Flats Marathon, on September 8th. That meant I had to get cracking on my 18-week training plan from the Hansons pretty darn quick.

And now you're caught up.

I'm supposed to be doing an easy 6 miles today, an easy 8 miles tomorrow and another easy 8 miles on Sunday.

Well, I've got a decidedly non-easy 18.5 mile trail run on Sunday, so...

I've decided to taper just a bit today and tomorrow as I head into that long run on Sunday. Instead of 6 miles today, I did 4 easy. I'm also going to short my 8 miler tomorrow. I'll still end up over on the week because of the 10 extra miles I'm doing on Sunday. I'm hoping to take it easy at the race so it doesn't also scramble my Monday workout. We'll see...



So the lesson for the day, boys and girls, is to follow your training plan, no matter what. Do NOT do what the R's does! They are not role models!

Go buy the book:

Hansons Marathon Method - Review in Progress - Day 22 of 123

Hey, it's our second Tempo day of the Hansons Advanced Marathon program!

Pretty simple workout plan today: half-mile warmup, six miles at 7:50 pace, and a half-mile cooldown. Easy, right?

Well...

I did cheat a little this week and ran the whole thing on a treadmill. I just set that baby at 7:47 and went to town. I know there are plenty of purists out there that refuse to get on a treadmill, but this is how I see it: the treadmill was made for tempo and speed work. I was having trouble last week trying to keep pace when I hit hills, plus the joy that is stop lights. So, why not treadmill?

Anyway, I was a little stiff to start (and always am the day after an "off" day) but once I got into my rhythm, I felt pretty good and didn't have too much trouble keeping my pace.

Go buy the book:

Best Running Song for May - The Mowgli's - San Francisco

I know what you're thinking. Pretty light. Pretty fluffy. Probably a one-hit wonder kind of deal...

Maybe. Maybe so. But you can't deny the feel-good vibe coming from this song! It's damn catchy!

Here they are live on Conan:



They definitely have a Of Monsters and Men and/or Edward Sharpe feel about them - big bands with lots of instruments and shared vocals. Sounds a bit like a big, albeit talented, singalong around the campfire. You either like that kind of stuff or you don't.

I like it!

Here's one more live take, at the San Fran Rock 'n' Roll Marathon!...on my birthday!




Rock that Run!

Past Best Running Songs: April: Spacehog / "In the Meantime" March: Youngblood Hawke / "We Come Running" February: Yolanda Be Cool / "We No Speak Americano" January: The Naked and Famous / "Young Blood" December: Of Monsters and Men / "Little Talks" November: The Black Keys / "Little Black Submarines" October: Cold War Kids / "Hospital Beds" September: Bloc Party / "Octopus" August: Matt and Kim / "Let's Go" July: Gemini / "Blue" June: Joe Jackson / "Got the Time" May: Tiesto vs. Diplo / "C'mon!" April: Grouplove / "Tongue Tied" March: Foxy Shazam / "I Like It" February: Foster the People / "Don't Stop" January: Hot Hot Heat / "Bandages" December: Camp Lo / "Luchini aka This Is It" November: Wolfmother / "Joker and the Thief" October: Phoenix / "1901" September: Matt and Kim / "Daylight" August: Collie Buddz / "Holiday" July: Pretenders / "Tattooed Love Boys" June: The Wombats / "Moving to New York" May: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros / "40 Day Dream" April: Foxy Shazam / "Unstoppable" March: Pharrell / "Fun Fun Fun" February: Puff Daddy / "Come With Me" January: We Are Scientists / "The Great Escape" December: Cee Lo Green / "F**k You" November: Tokyo Police Club / "Breakneck Speed" October: Two Door Cinema Club / "Something Good Can Work" September: Stone Temple Pilots / "Cinnamon" August: Louis XIV / "Guilt by Association" July: Devo / "Fresh" June: Saliva / "Your Disease" May: Metric / "Gold Guns Girls" April: OK Go / "This Too Shall Pass" March: The Hours / "Ali In The Jungle" February: Los Fabulosos Cadillacs / "El Matador" January: White Rabbits / "Percussion Gun" December: Deftones / "Knife Prty" November: The Kooks / "Always Where I Need To Be" October: At the Drive In / "One Armed Scissor" September: Silversun Pickups / "Lazy Eye" August: Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros / "Johnny Appleseed" July: Deathray / "I Wanna Lose Control (Uh Oh)" June: Raconteurs / "Salute Your Solution" May: Tea Party / "Save Me" April: Bloc Party / "Like Eating Glass" Ever: The English Beat / "I Confess"

Hansons Marathon Method - Review in Progress - Day 20 of 123

SPEED WORK DAY!!

OK, maybe it isn't all that exciting, but it's a change of pace, for sure.

The Hansons step up the distance on the speed work every week, while keeping the total distance run the same.

The first week had no speed work.

The second week, we did 12 400's, with 400 recovery in between.

The third week, we did 8 600's, with 400 recovery in between.

And this week, week four, we did 6 800's, with 400 recovery in between. For my goal pace, I'm supposed to be running these at 7:00-7:10. I'm doing pretty good with the pace - 7:00 is actually chugging quite along for me, but I keep it in the general area and don't go over 7:20 at any time.

I'm feeling good physically, which is a great boost mentally. A little soreness and tired legs, but nothing serious and I've been able to hit my workouts strong every day so far. Trust the program.

Day off tomorrow. Back at it hard on Thursday with a tempo workout.

Go buy the book:

Northwest Running and Triathlon Calendar - June 2013

Lots of trail runs, lots of open water triathlons, lots of halves and fulls...

And strangely, quite a few weekday night runs! Apparently, the Solstice, i.e. longest day of the year, is a thing to run about these days. Who knew?

And if you're lucky enough to run the Kona Marathon...well, you're my role model.

Let's race!

-Green Text for Trail Runs
-Red Text for Marathons and Half Marathons
-Blue Text for Triathlons and Duathlons
-Orange Text for everything else, the normal 5k, 10k, etc

RACES FOR WEEK OF JUNE 17th TO JUNE 23rd

June 22nd / Trail Rail Run 50m, 50k, 30k and 10k / Mullan, ID

June 22nd / Wulfman's Continental Divide Trail 14k / Butte, MT

June 22nd / Bridle Trails Party in the Park 10k and 5k / Kirkland, WA

June 22nd / Angry Trout Trail Run 11m and 5.2m / York, MT

June 22nd / Silver City Endurance Runs 100k, 50k and 30k / Silver City, ID

June 22nd / To Bone and Back 40m and 5m / Idaho Falls, ID

June 22nd / Old Gabe Trail Run 50k and 25k / Bozeman, MT

June 23rd / Rattlesnake Ridge Run 50k, Half Marathon and 5m / North Bend, WA

June 23rd / Jug Mountain Ranch Trail Run 10m / Lake Fork, ID

June 22nd / See Jane Run Half Marathon and 5k / Boise, ID

June 22nd / Running for Risa Half Marathon, 10.4m, 10k and 5k / Gaston, OR

June 22nd / Bald Peak Half Marathon / Hillsboro, OR

June 22nd / Run Like the Wind Marathon, Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Ellensburg, WA

June 22nd / Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and Half Marathon / Seattle, WA

June 22nd / Grapes of Half Half Marathon / Eugene, OR

June 23rd / Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon and 5k / Vancouver, BC

June 23rd / Bellevue Ghost Marathon / Bellevue, WA

June 23rd / Kona Big Island Marathon, Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Kona, HI (Hey, why not?)

June 22nd / Three Lakes Triathlon Olympic and Sprint / Friday Harbor, WA

June 22nd / Padden Triathlon Sprint+ and Sprint / Bellingham, WA

June 22nd / TriMonroe Triathlon Sprint+ and Sprint / Monroe, WA

June 22nd / Deception Pass Challenge Triathlon Sprint / Oak Harbor, WA

June 23rd / Clackamas Cove Triathlon Olympic and Sprint / Oregon City, OR

June 23rd / TRI for Fun Triathlon Sprint / Black Butte Ranch, OR

June 23rd / Bozeman Tritons Triathlon Half-Iron and Sprint / Bozeman, MT

June 23rd / Ironman USA Coeur d'Alene Triathlon Iron / Coeur d'Alene, ID

June 18th / Longest Day Run 5k / Medford, OR (Tuesday Night Race!)

June 19th / IRC Father's Day 5k / Auburn, WA (Wednesday Night Race!)

June 21st / ORRC Summer Solstice Sundowner 5k / Oregon City, OR (Friday Night Race!)

June 21st / Dash and Bash Summer Solstice Run 5k / Springfield, OR (Friday Night Race!)

June 21st / WVRR Salem Summer Solstice Run 10k and 5k / Salem, OR (Friday Night Race!)

June 22nd / Bavarian Battle 5k / Leavenworth, WA

June 22nd / Kootenai River Run 10k and 5k / Bonners Ferry, ID

June 22nd / Ponderosa Park Run 7m and 4m / McCall, ID

June 22nd / Running of the Trolls 5.75m and 3m / Astoria, OR

June 22nd / Elkton Butterfly Run 10k and 5k / Elkton, OR

June 22nd / St. Andrews Legal Clinic's Race for Justice 5k / Portland, OR

June 22nd / Twilight Run 5k / Tigard, OR

June 22nd / TRCI Wellness Run 5k / Umatilla, OR

June 22nd / Pioneer Dam Run 10k and 5k / Brownsville, OR

June 22nd / Pink Buffalo Stampede 10k and 5k / Junction City, OR

June 22nd / Sternwheeler Days 10k and 5k / Cascade Locks, OR

June 22nd / Color Me Rad 5k / Boise, ID

June 22nd / Beach to Chowder 10k and 5k / Long Beach, WA

June 22nd / Camano Crab Dash 10k and 5k / Camano Island, WA

June 22nd / Libby Logger Days Fun Run 10k and 5k / Libby, MT

June 22nd / Deputy Saul Gallegos Memorial 10k and 5k / Manson, WA

June 22nd / Kingspoint Kolor Run 5k / Richland, WA

June 22nd / Meeker Days 5k / Puyallup, WA

June 22nd / Poulsbo Beer Run 4m / Poulsbo, WA

June 22nd / Tesoro March Point Run 10k and 5k / Anacortes, WA

June 22nd / Celebrate Family Fun Run 5k / Priest River, ID

June 23rd / Willow Creek 5k / Heppner, OR

June 23rd / Great Northern 5k / Kalispell, MT

June 23rd / Run with Pride 10k and 4k / Seattle, WA

June 23rd / Team Sparks Run to Fight Breast Cancer 5k / Portland, OR

June 23rd / Emotions in Motion 5k / Eugene, OR

Hansons Marathon Method - Review in Progress - Day 19 of 123

Happy Memorial Day to you all. Just another Monday on the Hansons plan - an easy 6 miler as we rest up for the speed work day tomorrow.

Didn't feel, too much, the effects of my 10 mile jaunt up and down and up and down Bald Hill yesterday. My pace today was OK and very steady - remember I'm just trying to keep the easy days between 8:50 and 9:50 - so I was happy enough.



So we're already into the fourth week of the plan. September 8th seems so far away, but the plan seems to be flying by, so I'm sure it will be here before I know it.

Trust the plan.

Go buy the book:

Hansons Marathon Method - Review in Progress - Day 18 of 123

All right, that's week three in the books.

For our long run today, we had a 10 miler. That's up from the 8 milers of the first two weeks, so the Hansons definitely kicked it up a notch this week. The total mileage for this week was 44 miles, so we're starting to move up there.

Even though my goal marathon, the Skagit Flats Marathon, is, yep, flat, I ran my 10 miler today up some steep hills at Bald Hill. Why? Well, I've already signed up for this guy right here. Sort of wish I hadn't at this point, but hey, I'll run it easy and make the best of it.



So today's was tougher than it really should have been, and my pace showed it.



Well, it will be nice to have a day off from work tomorrow, but no day off from the Hansons plan! We're back tomorrow with another run! See you then.

Go buy the book:

Hansons Marathon Method - Review in Progress - Days 16 and 17 of 123

After the torture that was my first Tempo workout on Thursday, I've had two pretty basic workouts on the Hansons Advanced Marathon Method plan. Friday was an easy 7 miler, up one mile from last Friday. And today, Saturday, was an easy 6 miler. Both runs were pretty uneventful, although the cumulative fatigue theory is definitely alive and present.

My legs are not fresh.

Anyhoo, here is my pace from Friday - again, a 7 miler. A little fast actually, but fine.



And here is today's route.



And here is my pace, quick early, but slowed down a bit later as I realized how tired my legs were.



And note here, on the pace graph, the one spot where I had to stop for a moment.



Yeah, I had to stop to pet a cat.

See you tomorrow after the week's long run.

Go buy the book:

Hansons Marathon Method - Review in Progress - Day 15 of 123

Wow, that was harsh.

So this Thursday was our first stab at a tempo day on the Hansons Advanced Marathon Method. Also, the next 14 Thursdays will be tempo days. God, that hurts me just to type it.

On the Hansons plan, tempo days are pretty simple: run at your goal marathon pace. Period. For me, to hit the 3:25 I need for Boston, that's a 7:50 pace.

So today I had a 6 mile tempo run, with a mile warmup and a mile cooldown. Eight miles total.

Here's what it looked like:



So, let's take it mile by mile:

Mile one: just warming up. I was a little creaky after not running at all yesterday (yes, the rest days are actually sort of hard on my body - who knew?) Hit a 9:17 pace. Whatever. That's fine.

Mile two: flipped the switch and came in at a 7:51. Perfect.

Mile three: I was actually looking pretty good here until the end of the mile when I hit a fairly short, but steep, hill. I am not in good enough shape to keep at 7:50 going uphill. It just isn't going to happen.

Mile four: I don't even know what to say here. This mile was pretty much uphill, with a steep section in the middle. Still...9:20!?! I don't know. I can't explain it. I should be able to get under 9:00 pace no matter what.

Mile five: got over the hill, clearly. And had some downhill on this section, clearly. I even tried to hold back a bit on this mile, but downhill is downhill.

Mile six: basically a flat section. I'm OK with a 7:58 pace. Really, anything under 8:00 would be close enough for me at this point. It's the third week - there will be plenty of time for splitting hairs later.

Mile seven: last mile of the tempo section and I hit it perfectly at 7:49. Nice way to wrap it up.

Mile eight: I cut it a little short just because I was at my house, and hey, I was tired.

So I'm fairly happy with this. Except for mile four, it went about as expected. I'll have to hunt a little harder next Thursday for a flat six-mile section...with no stop lights. It's harder than you'd think, since I really don't want to run six miles around a track. What is that, 24 laps? No thanks.

My legs are pretty tired and sore right now. Tomorrow's run will be a real test of the Hansons cumulative fatigue theory.

See you tomorrow.

Go buy the book:

Is the Barefoot Running Fad Over?

If you're at all like me, you have a lot of strongly held beliefs, but don't broadcast them too loudly...until you see the science!

So, even though I've already told you that the whole barefoot running and minimalist running thing is pretty much done, when I read the The Science of Sport guys saying the exact same thing, I knew I had to bring it up again.

Because...SCIENCE!



So check your head here, as the Science of Sport guys explain "Minimalism as a fad and inconsequential footstrikes?"

Sounds sciency, right?

Damn right.

Hansons Marathon Method - Review in Progress - Day 13 of 123

Oof...that was a tough one.

So it was speed work day on the Hansons Advanced Marathon Program. Since we had a strangely cold and wet day after a long stretch of nice weather, I hit the treadmill. Here's what it looked like:

-1.0m warmup
-8 x 600m at 7:00-7:15 pace
-8 x 400m at 9:50 pace, as recovery between the 600's
-1.0m cooldown

For a total of 7 miles. Seven hard, hard miles. I hit the pace on every one though. I even felt pretty good all the way through. But man, I am beat now. My legs are tired and my dogs are barking!

So it's an off day tomorrow and then the first Tempo day comes up on Thursday.

Oof...it's gonna be another tough one.

Go buy the book:

Hansons Marathon Method - Review in Progress - Day 12 of 123

And just like that, we're 10% through the program. Wow.

So today was, that's right, an easy 6 miler. As you can see from the map above, I took a very orderly path home after watching Payton run the 100m hurdles at his track meet at Cheldelin Middle School.

Pace was good, although I had to fight through that bane of the city runner: the stoplight.



Yes, those three huge valleys would be the three stoplights where I cooled my heels. Other than that, decent pace.

The air quality today was a different story. I can't remember a worse day for my hay fever since we moved to Corvallis. The pine trees seem to be the main culprits. I could actually feel my throat closing up when I ran under big ones. It was just brutal.



So now that we're in week three, the Hansons program starts to get serious. More variation in the workouts now and the long runs start to creep longer.

Up tomorrow: speed work!

Go buy the book:

Hansons Marathon Method - Review in Progress - Day 11 of 123

It was Long Run Sunday on the 2nd week of the Hansons Advanced Marathon Method. And although the run itself wasn't very long, 8 miles easy, the whole concept of "cumulative fatigue" is definitely starting to hit me. My legs were tired going out and they were tired coming home.

Still, I was able to hold my pace fairly steady throughout the run.



So tomorrow starts the third week of the 18 week plan. Wow. We're just getting right into it, aren't we? And this week is the first week to include the two "special" days on Tuesday and Thursday.

Stay tuned.

Go buy the book:

Hansons Marathon Method - Review in Progress - Day 9 and 10 of 123

Better known as Friday and Saturday of the 2nd week of the Hansons Advanced Program. If you didn't know better, you'd think I was training for a 10k, with an easy 6 miler yesterday and another easy 6 miler today. Don't worry, starting next week, things get much more interesting and variable. Right now, we're still working on the "cumulative fatigue" theory. And indeed, my legs were tired going out today, although once I got into the run, I didn't feel too bad.

So yesterday, I ran home from work for my 6 miles.



Well, clearly not straight home, as that would barely get me 3 miles. But eventually, I made it home. Again, my pace was supposed to be between 8:50 and 9:50. I'm having a little trouble going slowly enough, but I'm trying. That will become more important next week, once I start having a "speed" day, a "tempo" day, and a "long run" day all in the same week. You don't want to waste your legs on the easy runs when you're looking at that line up.



Today, I went out into the morning rain and headed out to the Midge Cramer Path.



Again, had some trouble keeping my pace slow enough, especially on the way home, when I was heading downhill and smelling the barn. Overall, though, I'm pretty happy with the way my body is responding to the increased workload: not too sore, not too tired, not too overwhelmed.



So far, so good. Long run tomorrow.

Oh, and if you have bad hayfever and pollen allergies like I do...I feel your pain.



Just so you know, that's not from poison oak or nettles or any other scary plant. That's just from running into plain old weeds and having the pollen hit my skin. Yeah, I love Spring.



And this was on a rainy day! And yes, I'm fully dosed on Allegra - it doesn't stop this kind of thing at all. I realize I could run on the cement and totally avoid the weeds, but I sort of like running on the dirt once in a while. It makes me happy. Doesn't do much for my legs though.


Go buy the book:

Northwest Running and Triathlon Calendar - June 2013

Since I've got a trail race coming up, and since there are plenty of good trail races on this list right here for you to choose from, we should all take a minute and read up on how to run the trails.

You know, especially since I hurt my ankle during a trail run in October last year and it pretty much ruined the rest of the year for me.

And who better to tell you how to run the trails than Ian Torrence himself?

So without further ado, here's Ian in Running Times, dropping some trail running knowledge upside your head.

Let's race!

-Green Text for Trail Runs
-Red Text for Marathons and Half Marathons
-Blue Text for Triathlons and Duathlons
-Orange Text for everything else, the normal 5k, 10k, etc

RACES FOR WEEK OF JUNE 10th TO JUNE 16th

June 15th / Echo Valley Trail Run 50m, 50k, Half Marathon and 10k / Chelan, WA

June 15th / White Salmon Backyard Half Trail Run Half Marathon / White Salmon, WA

June 15th / Mountain Fun Run 5k / Seabeck, WA

June 16th / Mt. Hood Scramble Trail Run 8k / Mt. Hood, OR

June 16th / Forest 5k / Port Gamble, WA

June 15th / Butte Burner Challenge 3:33hr, 10k and 5k / Bend, OR

June 15th / Berry Dairy Days Runs Half Marathon and 10k / Burlington, WA

June 15th / Jennifer's Catching Slough Classic Half Marathon, 12k and 5k / Coos Bay, OR

June 15th / Scenic River Classic Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Idaho Falls, ID

June 16th / San Juan Island Marathon, Half Marathon and 10k / Friday Harbor, WA

June 16th / Vancouver USA Marathon and Half Marathon / Vancouver, WA

June 14th / Raise the Bar's Friday Night Swim Race / Kent, WA (Friday Night Race!)

June 15th / Tri for Life Triathlon Sprint / Albany, OR

June 15th / Lake Wilderness Triathlon Olympic and Sprint / Maple Valley, WA

June 15th / Cottage Lake Triathlon Sprint / Woodinville, WA

June 15th / Dilettante Women's Triathlon Olympic and Sprint / Auburn, WA

June 15th / BMC/WC Triathlon Sprint / Plummer, ID

June 15th / Freedom 5k / Vancouver, WA

June 15th / East Oregonian River Run 15k and 5k / Pendleton, OR

June 15th / White River 5k / Buckley, WA

June 15th / Fall City Days Fun Run 10k and 5k / Fall City, WA

June 15th / Muddy Mama Run 5k / Boise, ID

June 15th / PenLight Summer Fun Run 5k / Gig Harbor, WA

June 15th / Magnuson Series Father's Day Weekend 15k, 10k and 5k / Seattle, WA

June 15th / Stampede Over Stigma 5k / Seattle, WA

June 15th / Heart and Sole Run 10k and 5k / Billings, MT

June 15th / Run Into Summer 12k and 5k / Soap Lake, WA

June 15th / Beat the Raven 5k / Auburn, WA

June 15th / Berry Run 5k / Marysville, WA

June 15th / Rocky Mountain Bank Summit Classic 10k and 5k / Kalispell, MT

June 15th / Overlake 5k / Redmond, WA

June 15th / Jeff Allen and Shane Heath Memorial Run 10k and 5k / Salmon, ID

June 15th / Race for Casen 5k / Edgewood, WA

June 15th / Reality 5k / Lakewood, WA

June 15th / Northwest Run for Epilepsy 5k / Seattle, WA, Tacoma, WA, Spokane, WA, Tri-Cities, WA, Bellingham, WA, Portland, OR and Hermiston, OR

June 15th / Run for Rett 5k / Tumwater, WA

June 15th / Thrive's Girls on the Run 5k / Belgrade, MT

June 15th / Run for Youth 5k / Snohomish, WA

June 15th / USA Freedom Run 5k / Boise, ID

June 15th / Spangle Days 5k / Spangle, WA

June 15th / Subplot Trot 5m / Richland, WA

June 15th / Yellowstone Gardiner Stampede 10k and 5k / Gardiner, MT

June 15th / Strollin' to Fight SIDS 5k / Bellevue, WA

June 15th / Midsummer Nights Run 10k and 5k / Corvallis, OR

June 15th / Conquer the P Run 4m / Preston, ID

June 16th / Prost8k Run 8k and 5k / Springfield, OR

June 16th / ZERO Prostate Cancer Run 5k / Bend, OR

Hansons Marathon Method - Review in Progress - Day 8 of 123

Well, yesterday on the Hansons Advanced Plan, I finally got my first off day. Much appreciated.

Today, we were back on the horse. Another 6 miles easy, which for me means paced between 8:50 and 9:50.



Pace was pretty good, even with the many lights during miles 2 and 3. Need to enjoy this one while I can. Starting next week, every Thursday becomes a "strength" day. For the Hansons, that usually means between six and ten miles at race pace. Yowza. That sounds tough.


Go buy the book:

Boston Marathon 2014 to Allow 2013 Runners Back In

Basically, if you were stopped from crossing the finish line by the bombings, then you'll be free to sign back up for Boston 2014 before everyone else.

Here's the word from the BAA.

And here's a short article from ESPN.

I think it's a great move and really the only appropriate way for the BAA to handle it.

That said, they're making this offer to 5633 runners. As someone trying to qualify for Boston 2014, I hope the BAA doesn't lower the number of total qualifying spots by 5633 to make the room. I hope they expand the entire field by 5633 to embrace those runners. As of now, the BAA has not made a decision one way or the other.

I'll keep you updated when I hear more.

Hansons Marathon Method - Review in Progress - Days 5 and 6 of 123

Yeah, I'm a day late, but yesterday's workout was more of the same: an easy 6 miler. I can see what they mean by "cumulative fatigue" as yesterday was my fifth straight day with 6 miles or more.

And today? Today, my friends, we had our first speedwork day on the Hansons Advanced Plan.

It went a little something like this:

What I was supposed to do:
-1 mile easy warmup
-12 x .25m at 7:00 pace, with
-12 x .25m recovery between each one at 10:00 pace
-1 mile easy cooldown

What I actually did:
-.5 mile easy warmup (I was afraid of leaving it at the starting line)
-12 x .25m at 7:15 pace, with
-12 x .25m recovery between each one at 9:50 pace
-.5 mile easy cooldown

I really tried to get to the 7:00 pace on the 400's, but I just couldn't do it. I was afraid I'd run out of gas after about 7 or 8 of them if I did them any faster than 7:15. Ah well, hopefully the speed will come as I get into better shape.

And tomorrow? Yes! My first off day!

See you on Thursday.

Go buy the book:

Big Swim Changes at Ironman Triathlon Races

Interesting news coming from Ironman in regards to the swim leg in their races:

Check it out here at Triathlete. Also, the Ironman site has a comprehensive list of plans here.

In a nutshell, they're testing out some new swim start ideas at various race locations to get rid of the odious mass swim start. Some of the ideas include: a "rolling" start across a timing mat (they'll try this one at Coeur d'Alene), wave starts by age group and self-seeded starts. Finally, some races will continue to use mass starts. I guess they'll get feedback from the different groups and figure out which way to go.

And one brave new idea is "rest" buoys where swimmers could actually stop and hold on until they're ready to continue their swim!

Of course, these changes will have two nice features. One, it will make the swim safer. That's good. And two, it will bring in new athletes that have been afraid of the mass swim starts to the point where they've just said "no thanks" to triathlon altogether.

Hey, even to a guy that loves the swim leg like me, there's nothing fun about a mass swim start. It's about time they figured out a new way forward.

Nice job, Ironman.

Hansons Marathon Method - Review in Progress - Day 4 of 123

OK, I'm a little slow, but I've figured out why the Hansons start you on a Thursday for their Advanced Marathon Program. Today I was supposed to run my first "long" Sunday run: an easy 8 miler. The Hansons Marathon Method theory is that the long run should not be more than 25% of your total weekly mileage. So far this week, we've done a 6m on Thursday, a 6m on Friday, a 6m on Saturday...and an 8m today.

You see where I'm going with this right? If the Hansons wanted to start the first long run at 8 miles, they had to cap the weekly mileage pretty low, so that 8m would only be 25% of your total.

Yeah, it's sort of cheating, but whatever.

I went up and down Bald Hill...twice...for my 8 miles today. You know, because I've already signed up for this: Run for the Hills 30k. I wish I hadn't signed up, since a hilly 18 miler isn't really on the Hansons' schedule for that day, but what's done is done.

Here's the elevation of today's run:



And here's my all-over-the-board pace because of the hills:



Back to a more normal day tomorrow.


Go buy the book: