Hard to believe 3 months in already to this build up phase. While I haven't exactly got up to the miles that I had hoped, I do feel much more comfortable on all my runs now. This week is the first week of my actual marathon training and so far it has been going pretty good. I'll update that next week since this blog is dedicated to the last two weeks.
Week 11 -
I won't go to in depth on these weeks but just highlight a few of my runs. I did a 5 x800 meter workout or what in the running lexicon is called Yasso's. Did a 400 jog in between and hit what I was hoping. Ran 3:04, 3:07, 3:04, 3:08, 3:01. So if the adage holds true that 800's are a predictor of your marathon time then I should be set up for a good marathon in San Diego (I dont believe that by the way, I was running 2:50's last marathon training and wasn't close to that on race day). But this was a good workout for me to build some turnover at a faster clip and get some good hard VO2 max training in.
Other highlight run of this week was 13 miles on Saturday. Was pretty consistent the first 9 miles sitting around 8:20-8:30 and last 4 went down each mile including the last one at 7:43. This was by far my best long run yet. Hopefully the all can go this well.
Week 12 -
Not much to talk about this week. Since I was going to start my actual training next week I decided to take this as a rest week and only ran two days. Had two good runs but it was nothing really to talk about.
So now i'm all rested and ready to attack the next 16 weeks. I've found out i'm going to be traveling a bunch the next couple of weeks so that will throw some wrenches into my training and cause me to do some mid week long runs but gotta survive and adapt.
Fundraising: Nothing new on the fundraising really. I'm up to $3,325. I went to the kick off meeting for our Team in Training group and was excited to meet some of them. A bunch of great people doing something extraordinary for a good cause. Many of who are not big runners, bikers, triathletes, etc. Being that I had already hit my goal I was recognized at the meeting and presented with a team in training hat (which will come in handy at San Diego) and a bag so that was nice.
Anyway that is it for this week. Again if you haven't donated yet please use the link below and donate and if you have it would be great if you shared the link with others.
http://pages.teamintraining.org/nc/rnr12/brandonhillisformybro
Friday, February 10, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Week 9 and 10
Okay so much for updating every week again. Missed the week before but thankfully there wasn't much to share as I ended up only running 2 days. I was unfortunately sidelined due to some pain in my hip that as of now has thankfully subsided.
Week 9 -
Blah, Blah, Blah, hip hurt. Ran two days this week. One good and one not so good. Didn't do my first run until Thursday which was a great 6 mile run. Did it in 8:04 pace but was able to drop the last mile in 7:14 without much effort but I guess thats to be expected after 5 days off. I tried to do another run on Saturday and struggled from the get go and ended up doing 6.6 miles at 8:09 pace but it just plain sucked.
While this week of training won't go into my hall of fame I feel that it was important one as it made me really start to analyze my training and reset my mind for what it takes to get through marathon training. Also how I need to structure my runs and get more focused on going into my runs everyday.
Cue week 10.
Monday - 6 miles - 8:13 pace - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/142830756
Felt good. Kept it pretty easy. Noticed i've been getting tired a mile or two in so i'm making a conscience effort to go out my first two miles a little slower. Trying to stay more focused
Tuesday - 8 miles - 8:04 pace - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/142830752
This run I went in super focused since this was pretty much my longest run since the 10 mile long run disaster of a few weeks ago. I think this might be a pivotal run in my training as I ran really well and consistent the whole way and felt strong. Was a little nervous for this run since I haven't ran this far in about a week and a half but kept my goal of starting off the first 2 miles a little slower and felt good. Was a little tired towards the end but was still able to finish strong
Wed - 6 miles - 8:09 pace - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/142830747
Nice easy 6 miler. With the workout coming up the next day I tried to hold back and keep it b/w 8:15-8:30 pace.
Thursday - 6 total miles - 3 miles at 6:53 pace - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/143239208
Did 3 miles on the track so was flat and laps were pretty consistent. Allowed some negative thoughts to creep in the 2nd mile which ended up being my slowest mile but went 6:51, 7:03, 6:44 so pretty happy with it. 7:05 is my hope for race pace so was ahead of that.
Friday - 4 total miles - 8:31 pace
Very easy run with the 12 mile long run coming up the next day. Had to force myself to hold back on the pace which is a good thing.
Saturday - 12 total miles - 8:26 pace - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/143426786
Was pretty nervous for this one especially being that it was 40 degrees, raining and I ran at Salem Lake so it was a bit muddy. Had to fight some negative thoughts during the run which is something i'm really going to focus on in these long runs as i'm out there by myself for almost 2 hours it can be boring and I need to stay positive. That is something I struggled with in my first two marathons in the later miles so really want to do well. Miles were consistent. Right around the 8:30 mark which is what I wanted to hit. Was able to pick it up the last mile and finish in 7:41. Legs were pretty tired and was a bit sore on Sunday but a good sore.
Total - 42 miles - 5 hour 48 minutes and 15 seconds of running for the week. Got my first 6 day week and now it's pretty much non-stop until June 3rd. Hopefully I can transition some of this confidence and momentum into the next couple of weeks as I continue to build my base up for the specific training beginning in March. 47 miles on the docket for this week.
Fundraising update: Up to $3,325 now and well past my Team in Training goal. Would like to thank Martha Wright, Darcy Kuykendall for your generous donations. Still hoping to get to $4,000 as the momentum is starting to slow a bit. I think i've reached out to everyone I know so far but need to keep at it. Thank you all again for your support and please continue to share my page and help me reach my goal of $4,000.
Donation page is here: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nc/rnr12/brandonhillisformybro
Have a great week.
Week 9 -
Blah, Blah, Blah, hip hurt. Ran two days this week. One good and one not so good. Didn't do my first run until Thursday which was a great 6 mile run. Did it in 8:04 pace but was able to drop the last mile in 7:14 without much effort but I guess thats to be expected after 5 days off. I tried to do another run on Saturday and struggled from the get go and ended up doing 6.6 miles at 8:09 pace but it just plain sucked.
While this week of training won't go into my hall of fame I feel that it was important one as it made me really start to analyze my training and reset my mind for what it takes to get through marathon training. Also how I need to structure my runs and get more focused on going into my runs everyday.
Cue week 10.
Monday - 6 miles - 8:13 pace - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/142830756
Felt good. Kept it pretty easy. Noticed i've been getting tired a mile or two in so i'm making a conscience effort to go out my first two miles a little slower. Trying to stay more focused
Tuesday - 8 miles - 8:04 pace - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/142830752
This run I went in super focused since this was pretty much my longest run since the 10 mile long run disaster of a few weeks ago. I think this might be a pivotal run in my training as I ran really well and consistent the whole way and felt strong. Was a little nervous for this run since I haven't ran this far in about a week and a half but kept my goal of starting off the first 2 miles a little slower and felt good. Was a little tired towards the end but was still able to finish strong
Wed - 6 miles - 8:09 pace - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/142830747
Nice easy 6 miler. With the workout coming up the next day I tried to hold back and keep it b/w 8:15-8:30 pace.
Thursday - 6 total miles - 3 miles at 6:53 pace - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/143239208
Did 3 miles on the track so was flat and laps were pretty consistent. Allowed some negative thoughts to creep in the 2nd mile which ended up being my slowest mile but went 6:51, 7:03, 6:44 so pretty happy with it. 7:05 is my hope for race pace so was ahead of that.
Friday - 4 total miles - 8:31 pace
Very easy run with the 12 mile long run coming up the next day. Had to force myself to hold back on the pace which is a good thing.
Saturday - 12 total miles - 8:26 pace - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/143426786
Was pretty nervous for this one especially being that it was 40 degrees, raining and I ran at Salem Lake so it was a bit muddy. Had to fight some negative thoughts during the run which is something i'm really going to focus on in these long runs as i'm out there by myself for almost 2 hours it can be boring and I need to stay positive. That is something I struggled with in my first two marathons in the later miles so really want to do well. Miles were consistent. Right around the 8:30 mark which is what I wanted to hit. Was able to pick it up the last mile and finish in 7:41. Legs were pretty tired and was a bit sore on Sunday but a good sore.
Total - 42 miles - 5 hour 48 minutes and 15 seconds of running for the week. Got my first 6 day week and now it's pretty much non-stop until June 3rd. Hopefully I can transition some of this confidence and momentum into the next couple of weeks as I continue to build my base up for the specific training beginning in March. 47 miles on the docket for this week.
Fundraising update: Up to $3,325 now and well past my Team in Training goal. Would like to thank Martha Wright, Darcy Kuykendall for your generous donations. Still hoping to get to $4,000 as the momentum is starting to slow a bit. I think i've reached out to everyone I know so far but need to keep at it. Thank you all again for your support and please continue to share my page and help me reach my goal of $4,000.
Donation page is here: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nc/rnr12/brandonhillisformybro
Have a great week.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Week 6, 7 and 8
Well got a little lazy over the holidays and with the first week getting back to work. So I haven't updated the blog in a good while. I will spare you the details of every run over the last three weeks but will try and just do an update of how the week went and starting next week i'll try and get a little better about updating weekly.
Week 6
This was the week of Christmas. I was able to get 5 good runs in and totaled 26 miles for the week. Had planned on getting a 6th run done on Christmas day but ended up eating blueberry muffins instead. I had a good long run of 8 miles around Salem Lake, ran consistent miles in the 8:20 and finished with a 7:40 final mile. Never really felt to labored which was great.
Week 7
It was nice this week because we were off of work but I was also heading to Boston on Friday so wanted to make sure I got some good runs in up there so that I wasn't having to cram in miles while I traveled. Since I was going to be in Boston I went ahead and did my long run on that Wed and got in my best long run yet. 9 miles at 8:04 pace including a 7:14 last mile. Ended up getting 29 miles for the week after a nice 4 miler in Boston with Ian so doing good increasing the weekly mileage.
Week 8
Back to the grind. This was my first week back to work and having to get back in to a routine again. I ended up with 30 miles for the week, some good some bad. I did my first kind of faster run which consisted of a 2 mile fitness test more then a tempo run. I wasn't sure what to expect since most of my runs have been just regular runs and my original goal was to be around 7 min pace. Well ended up running it in 13:13, 6:38 first mile, 6:35 2nd mile. Was a bit labored towards the end but overall happy with that time. Plan is now to incorporate at least one workout a week for the next 7 weeks or so before I start getting into the actual marathon training plan portion of schedule. Also did my first double digit long run which just plain sucked all around. I got leg cramps about 5 miles in so had to keep stopping and stretching plus got lost. There was a race at Salem Lake, which is my usual long run spot, so I tried to run the roads and quickly learned I don't know Winston very well. Pace wasn't to bad at 8:22 and I got done which is all that matters. Unfortunately woke up with some pain in my hip that caused me to take Sunday off (as well as Mon-Wed of this week but more about that in next weeks episode).
Fundraising update:
Thanks to everyone who donated so far I have reached my Team in Training Goal of $2,900. I'm sitting right now at exactly $2,900 raised. It's amazing that it only took two months to hit that goal and can't thank everybody enough who has donated, shared my link and blog on facebook and twitter or e-mailed out my link. The power of social media is amazing and pretty much all the money that has been donated has been bc of it so thank you Mark Zuckerburg for inventing Facebook. HA. But I don't want to stop trying to raise money now that i've hit my TIT goal so i've set a new personal goal of $4,000. Between now and June I would love to be able to raise another $1,100 to get to $4,000 so please pass along the link to my page to anyone that you might know. If you want me to craft and e-mail or letter just let me know and I would be happy to do that.
Link to my page: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nc/rnr12/brandonhillisformybro
Well that is the update. I'm looking forward to watching the US Olympic Marathon Trials on Saturday and hopefully it will be a motivator for me as I start to get into the meat and potatoes of my training. Also signed up for the NYC Marathon lottery. This will be my 3rd try at getting in, so hopefully this is the magical time. While that would be an expensive weekend, it is def on my bucket list and from what everybody tells me it's an amazing experience so keep your fingers crossed for me.
Week 6
This was the week of Christmas. I was able to get 5 good runs in and totaled 26 miles for the week. Had planned on getting a 6th run done on Christmas day but ended up eating blueberry muffins instead. I had a good long run of 8 miles around Salem Lake, ran consistent miles in the 8:20 and finished with a 7:40 final mile. Never really felt to labored which was great.
Week 7
It was nice this week because we were off of work but I was also heading to Boston on Friday so wanted to make sure I got some good runs in up there so that I wasn't having to cram in miles while I traveled. Since I was going to be in Boston I went ahead and did my long run on that Wed and got in my best long run yet. 9 miles at 8:04 pace including a 7:14 last mile. Ended up getting 29 miles for the week after a nice 4 miler in Boston with Ian so doing good increasing the weekly mileage.
Week 8
Back to the grind. This was my first week back to work and having to get back in to a routine again. I ended up with 30 miles for the week, some good some bad. I did my first kind of faster run which consisted of a 2 mile fitness test more then a tempo run. I wasn't sure what to expect since most of my runs have been just regular runs and my original goal was to be around 7 min pace. Well ended up running it in 13:13, 6:38 first mile, 6:35 2nd mile. Was a bit labored towards the end but overall happy with that time. Plan is now to incorporate at least one workout a week for the next 7 weeks or so before I start getting into the actual marathon training plan portion of schedule. Also did my first double digit long run which just plain sucked all around. I got leg cramps about 5 miles in so had to keep stopping and stretching plus got lost. There was a race at Salem Lake, which is my usual long run spot, so I tried to run the roads and quickly learned I don't know Winston very well. Pace wasn't to bad at 8:22 and I got done which is all that matters. Unfortunately woke up with some pain in my hip that caused me to take Sunday off (as well as Mon-Wed of this week but more about that in next weeks episode).
Fundraising update:
Thanks to everyone who donated so far I have reached my Team in Training Goal of $2,900. I'm sitting right now at exactly $2,900 raised. It's amazing that it only took two months to hit that goal and can't thank everybody enough who has donated, shared my link and blog on facebook and twitter or e-mailed out my link. The power of social media is amazing and pretty much all the money that has been donated has been bc of it so thank you Mark Zuckerburg for inventing Facebook. HA. But I don't want to stop trying to raise money now that i've hit my TIT goal so i've set a new personal goal of $4,000. Between now and June I would love to be able to raise another $1,100 to get to $4,000 so please pass along the link to my page to anyone that you might know. If you want me to craft and e-mail or letter just let me know and I would be happy to do that.
Link to my page: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nc/rnr12/brandonhillisformybro
Well that is the update. I'm looking forward to watching the US Olympic Marathon Trials on Saturday and hopefully it will be a motivator for me as I start to get into the meat and potatoes of my training. Also signed up for the NYC Marathon lottery. This will be my 3rd try at getting in, so hopefully this is the magical time. While that would be an expensive weekend, it is def on my bucket list and from what everybody tells me it's an amazing experience so keep your fingers crossed for me.
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