7:18 paceAbout 1,000 ft of climbing. Mohican is real hilly so I am going to be doing this a lot.

Thursday – 7 miles
7:05 pace
Easy light progression run. Started around 8:00 and worked my way down to 6:00 at the end. Most of the “harder” running came in the last 2 miles. Easing back into the structured running routine with stress workouts very slowly. Not trying to rush anything in this cycle.

Friday – 8 Miles
7:10 pace
Easy running. I need to slow down my easy days…but this felt comfortable.

Saturday – 12 Miles
6:48 pace
Steady state to progression to fast finish. Continue to sprinkle in some stress work. Just cause I’m going long this year doesn’t mean I don’t get to run hard. 6:50 down to 6:00 over the last four miles. I have a lot of work to do. Felt good though to ran hard.

Sunday – 10 Miles
7:28 Pace
Recovery/Easy miles by myself and with the dog. Getting used to running “long” back to back days on the weekend.

Overall, I’m happy with how the week went. It feels good to be really training again…granted I’m easing back into it but it feels good. My current plan is to peak my mileage somewhere around 80-90 miles a week. This should be a manageable increase from the fall where I peaked at about 78 for a couple weeks. I think I am going to focus on slowing down some of my easy runs this cycle so I can really nail some of the harder long runs and stress workouts that I have. I need to get used to being on my feet more anyway.

The post Week 1 – Mohican 50 appeared first on Lindsey Hein.

I have been running again now for going seven weeks now and today marked the first time since my return that I hit double digits on a run. 10 miles. It was a muggy and humid 10 miles on the Monon with Marshall and the stroller. Lindsey had a long brick to do for Muncie this morning so I loaded up Marshall and hit the path.

Lindsey ready to hit the road for 50 with Jake. Muncie 70.3 is coming quickly.

Marshall at the end of the muggy 10 mile run. Don’t be fooled. He was ready to be done and so was I.

It has been a slow progressing build back to 10 miles but it is coming back.

Week 1:

• 4 runs
• 14 miles
• 1:51 of run time

Week 2

• 4 runs
• 18 miles
• 2:15 of run time

Week 3

• 4 runs
• 20 miles
• 2:28 of run time

Week 4

• 4 runs
• 21 miles
• 2:37 of run time

Week 5

• 5 runs
• 31 miles
• 3:41 of run time

Week 6

• 5 runs
• 30 miles
• 3:36 of run time

Week 7 (In progress so thus far)

• 4 runs
• 30 miles
• 3:31 of run time

The first couple weeks back all I focused on was getting used to running again. Nothing strenuous. Easy miles. To be honest, it was kind of touch and go for a while with my mind. I had some scar tissue that was flaring up on my hamstring but the more I ran and the more I foam rolled the better it felt.

Beginning in week 5, I started to add some small stress workouts into my running. It has been the Wednesday run. It began with a one mile fast finish near tempo and has grown each week by 1 mile.

So this week was a 3 mile warm up, 3 miles @ descending tempo (6:10, 6:02, 5:45), and a one mile cool down. Good lord…that one hurt on Wednesday. The 3 miles was long enough that it really began to tax me but still short enough that I could handle it. I have yet to decide for next week if I am going to take it up to 4 or  maintain for another week and then add…my guess is that I will add but we will see.

As it stands today, I am starting to feel really good about my running again. I have 3 or 4 more weeks of base building before Chicago training officially kicks off. I should be up to about 44 miles or so by the time Chicago kicks off and that will provide a nice starting point to ramp up the marathon training. I have yet to attempt a repeat of any sort…but I think that will come in a week or two. That is the last mental and physical check box for my return. I injured myself during a repeat workout so I need to do a repeat workout.

It has been a long road back from my hamstring injury in January but following that 10 miles today I feel good and I am ready to chase down that 2:45 marathon come October.

The post Returning to Training appeared first on Lindsey Hein.

The week was fairly uneventful. It felt good to finally “officially” start training again for a race. I had been running for the last month but my plan did not officially start until New Year’s Eve.

Weekly Stats:
Runs: 6
Miles: 54
Total Time: 06:13:00
Avg Pace: 00:06:54
Longest Run: 14 miles
Key Workouts: 8 mile run with 6 @ 6:00 tempo pace & 14 mile run with 7 @ MRP (6:17)

The tempo run was the first such run I had done in probably 6-8 weeks. After the IMM Half Marathon in early November I took some time away from “structured” workouts and just did what I felt like doing and used the month of December to build my mileage back up for the marathon training so when this workout rolled around it had been a while. The workout went pretty well and I think this is probably due to me taking the month of December and committing to running again six days a week. I have been able to get my body somewhat ready for the training I have in front of me.

I made sure to get outside for the long run of week, as I had 50% of the run to do at MRP and I wanted to get the feel for that. It is hard to get the feel of a certain pace on  a treadmill for me. I actually had a hard time  hitting my pace for the long run. I ended up running slightly faster than I had wanted but kept all the splits within small range of the race pace so it was a good workout.

My foot has felt slightly “off” recently. I can’t tell what it is. It does not bother me when I run and I have full range of motion. It does not hurt to touch but I have been having some residual discomfort in the hours after I run. It kind of feels like a sprained ankle. I don’t even notice it most of the time so hopefully it will work itself out. If it creeps into my running…a couple days off might be in order to head it off before it becomes a bigger issue.

On Deck this Week
Runs: 6
Miles: 57
Long Run: 16
Key Workouts:  Wed: Speedwork 9 miles total with 5 x 1mile @5:30 & Fri: 8 miles with 6 @ 6:00 tempo

This week features two “speed sessions” during the week with no race pace work for the weekend as I didn’t want to overload the week so early into the cycle. The repeats should be a good challenge. I don’t know about everyone else but I was struggle with that second to last one. It is like the “no-man’s land” repeat. Past half way but not the last one. I will probably run them on the Monon or the treadmill depending on how the week goes with everything.

I’d like to get up to the course this weekend for my long run. I plan on doing a lot of my long runs on the course. Being a local race, I want to take full advantage of being able to train on the course. I didn’t make it up to Carmel this past Saturday so hopefully this Saturday I can. Once again, we’ll see how everything goes. A baby and Lindsey training for her race usually make a juggling act most days for our running.

Looking at the long range weather forecast we could be in store for some thawing out here in Indy…so hopefully the tights can be put away again…at least for a week.

Anyone start training recently? What do your key workouts look like?

Glenn

The post Week 1 – Carmel Marathon and the week ahead appeared first on Lindsey Hein.

Following the IMM Half Marathon in early November I had decided to take some time off following a very active year. I was going to use the month of November to relax, take it easy, drink a bunch of beer, gain some weight, and just rest.

It was quite a successful month. I still exercised through out the time-off but nothing serious and just really to keep my mind free of clutter. I successfully got called “soft” by Lindsey…so the food and beer did its job as well.

But now that the calendar has turned the page to December, it is time to get serious about Carmel and that is where my “pre-season” comes in.

Given that I am a little rusty on the old running legs I need to take some time and build up a little for the real training. I mean I know it sound kind of crazy to train to train but you wouldn’t want to jump into full blown marathon training with no base. That would be recipe for disaster.

I am currently planning on running about 40 to 55  miles a week for the next four weeks….with the focus on slowly building from 40 to 55 in that time. No speed training, no tempo runs, just steady state running. I need to feel what it is like to run six days a week again. I have not trained for a marathon proper in about a year, given that my last marathon I raced was Mercedes in Feb. 2011. I want to hit Dec. 31st ready to roll and a little build up seems like the way to do it as I plan on putting in my highest mileage weeks to date with this training cycle and this ‘Micro Build’ session will help me do that.

Here is a list of easy to follow tips when increasing your weekly mileage that I will be applying to my Pre-Season. I’d like to thank Pete Pfitzinger and his book Advanced Marathoning for the ideas.

Ways to Effectively Increase your Mileage

1. Bite off small chunks: Start slow and build over time. Adding too much too soon is a recipe for disaster.

2. Avoid any Speed or Tempo work during your mileage build

3. Throttle down the intensity of running. This will help increase your miles while not adding too much stress on your body.

4. Have a goal. More miles should have a purpose…don’t just log them to log them. Keeping focus on the bigger picture will help keep you in check and under control while building.

For a true mileage build one would need a longer time horizon but the same principles hold true even in my “Micro Build” Session.  The key like anything running related is to be patient and consistent and over time you will see the result you desire.

One thing is for sure though Dec. 31st can’t get here soon enough. I am itching to tackle that 2:45 marathon head on.

Happy Training!

Glenn

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James & I finishing 26.2 – at 6 weeks pregnant

The post Running gets me through appeared first on Lindsey Hein.

If you are a seasoned marathon runner, I highly recommend running a marathon with someone who has never gone the distance. It is truly a rewarding, fun and real experience. You know what it meant to finish your first marathon. You know the feelings you had when you crossed the finish line. What better a feeling than to experience that with someone else.

James and I running with our friend Dave, who we met at mile 8 and ran with until mile 20. We never found Dave after the race but hope he had a great last 6.2 miles!

James has overcome so much in life and today he uses running as a means to move forward in life. The week before the marathon Mary Milz, reporter for WTHR came out and interviewed James – she did an amazing job portraying his story and you can read about it here!

After the finish- time 4:46, which destroyed the goal of breaking 5 hours!

Needless to say the news coverage about James and his journey to the Monumental Marathon was very helpful in our journey to finish 26.2 miles. The whole race, random strangers would run by and say “your the guy!” “way to go- you are an inspiration to me” “keep it up man, I saw you on the news”. There was even a random lady in a car waiting in traffic that yelled out and called him by name to cheer him on. We were overwhelmed by the support of the community and can’t thank Mary Milz enough for sharing the story with Indianapolis.

I am amazed at how great James felt the whole race, it is a true testament to the importance of solid training. Our Program Director, Brian Meyer did a great job putting together the training plan for the team and the hard work paid off on race day.

James, with his hard earned medal. Photograph – Green Sky Media

Now for my favorite part of a marathon race report! I either do a section break down of the ups and the downs or my favorite moments. This time around, I think I’ll touch on my favorite moments:

Full marathoners with Chris Thronberry- one of our amazing volunteers with sick photography skills. photograph – Green Sky Media

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