Weekly Training Plan (Revised)

I've revised my weekly training plan. The last 3-4 weeks have gone well with me doing three quality workouts, plus one regular easy run. Tuesday and Thursday are speed type workouts--tempo, intervals, progression, hills, fartlek, etc. Saturday is the long run and Sunday is a moderate length easy run. M-W-F are all "off" days for full recovery. I enjoy this schedule. It seems to be making me faster. Not sure it has enough miles to completely develop my endurance and aerobic capacity for ultramarathons, but it may work. 

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
OFF	45-60 minutes Intervals, Fartlek, or Hills	OFF	45-60 minutes Tempo or Progression	OFF	3 hours long and easy	Long and easy (~90 minutes)
Rest	Speed	Rest	Stamina	Rest	Endurance	Endurance

I have a 5-hour club "fun run" this Saturday (June 22) on a tough trail. If that goes well, I am confident this schedule will have me ready for the 8-hour Howl at the Moon race on August 10. 

Daniel Lieberman Barefoot Running Lecture

Daniel Lieberman, from Harvard University, giving a 50-minute lecture on what we can learn from barefoot running. Very good and well thought out. Lieberman is a primary researcher in the Harvard Skeletal Biology Lab.



Thanks to Tuck and his "Yelling Stop" blog for posting this video first.

If I Could Only Have One Running Shoe

I have lots of shoes. Let's not make me divulge just how many, but it's more than 10 in my current rotation! I have trail shoes, road shoes, racing shoes, ultra shoes, minimalist shoes...I even have "Invisible shoes" (now called Xero shoes). Let's just say I like shoes. I go in phases regarding which 2-3 pairs of shoes I like the best and tend to wear the most. When I have a long ultramarathon (can you say 100 miler?) I tend to train in more cushioned shoes (like my Hoka Stinson Evos), when I have a shorter race, I might lean toward my Mizuno Wave Universe 3. Middle distance trail run? Then maybe my New Balance 110s. A shoe for each purpose! I firmly believe shoes are tools to accomplish a task. And at times that task is strengthening my feet and improving my running form...that means NO SHOES AT ALL...completely barefoot teaches lessons no coach can!

So, what if I had to select just ONE PAIR of shoes for all of my running? If I could only have one pair of running shoes, which pair would it be?

INSERT DISCLAIMER...the shoe I am about to announce as the best overall shoe for all of my running needs from 5K on roads to 100 miles on trails has not been provided by any sponsor or shoe manufacturer. I paid retail for these shoes! No evaluation bias here. Also, these shoes are probably not the best at any ONE task, but they are better than average at almost everything. Great all-around shoe...at a reasonable price.

My one running shoe would be the Skechers GoRun Ride. Retail price of $80. Sale price often around $60 The new version, GoRun Ride 2, just came out so the original is easily found on sale right now!  I have no idea what has changed in the version 2, but the regular GoRun Ride is an awesome shoe. Lightweight. Flexible. Wide forefoot. Stretchy upper. Cushioned. Low drop (4mm). Reasonable traction. Breathable mesh. Comfy.

So, go get a pair of the Skechers GoRun Ride and "run like Meb." The shoe let's my feet do what they want to...but it still protects and provides enough cushioning to hit the trails or do long runs on roads. Speed work on a track? Sure. Trail marathon? Sure. 10K on roads? Sure. Hanging out at work? Why not! Relaxing on a weekend? Yep. This shoe just works.

I also have the Skechers GoBionic and GoRun 2. Both great shoes too. The GoRun Ride has the most cushioning of the three. GoBionic is most minimal.

Training for Howl at the Moon

On June 1st, I begin my training for Howl at the Moon 8-Hour race. I'll basically have 10 weeks until race day on August 10. That's a long enough period to establish a training effect, but not so long that I'll lose focus. So, what kind of training do I have planned? What will prepare me for an 8 hour race? What are my priorities?

The main focus needs to be endurance. I need to have the ability to run for 8 hours without stopping. I may insert walking breaks, but I won't stop! To develop endurance, I need to have plenty of long runs in my training. My plan (thanks to my buddy Jeff) is to simulate the race day event by doing a long run Saturday morning at 7-9am, taking a break for 4 hours, then doing another long run from 1-3pm. The real race goes from 7am to 3pm. In training, I'll run 4 of those 8 hours. This should get me physically and mentally prepared for the 8-hour race. Plus, on Sunday, I'll toss in another 2 hour long run. To acclimate to the heat expected at Howl, I'll do many long runs in the heat of he day.

Endurance is the key to keep me moving forward for 8 hours, but endurance alone won't get me the pace I need to rack up lots of miles. To accumulate more miles, I need a faster pace. A faster race pace means I need more speed and stamina in my training. Tuesdays and Thursdays will be my "faster running days." For now, I think Tuesday will be speed-focused with track workouts, hills repeats, or fartlek runs. Thursday will be more stamina-based with either a tempo or progression run.

Of course, with hard workouts, you need rest too. Rest translates to recovery and rebuilding. Stress plus rest equals strength! Monday and Friday will be complete "off" days. Wednesday will be an easy recovery run.

Here's a quick example weekly summary...

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
OFF	60 minutes Track, Fartlek, or Hills	45 minutes Easy	60 minutes Tempo or Progression	OFF	2 hours at 7am, 2 hours at 1pm	2 hours
Rest	Speed	Recovery	Stamina	Rest	Endurance	Endurance

Any thoughts on this plan? What would you add or subtract? I intentionally list runs by type and MINUTES rather than miles. This will keep me focused on the purpose of the run.

NOTE: Only 71 days until the Howl at the Moon race! It's going to be epic.

Review of Garmin 310xt GPS Watch

I've had a Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS/HR watch for about 2 years. It's been a good training companion. But a few weeks ago, I upgraded to a Garmin 310XT GPS/HR watch. When I first bought the 310XT, I mentioned a few positive things in my May 9, 2013 blog post. Now that I've logged over 100 miles with the new watch, it's time for a review.

Short summary: I love the watch, but hate the heart rate strap.

Longer list of positives and negatives...

PROs:

• Long battery life (approximately 20 hours). This is important for longer ultramarathons (anything around 50 miles or more) and extremely long training runs. The old watch would barely made it 8 hours. Now I have a great cushion of 20 hours--should be good enough for every race except 100 milers...unless I run my next 100 in under 20 hours! 
• Waterproof to 50 meters. Not a big deal for me since I'm not a swimmer or triathlete. It does give me greater confidence when running in the rain or crossing deep creeks where my hands are under water. Yes, I've had river crossings were the water was well above my waist! 
• Slightly smaller size than 305 (but still rather large). Not a big deal since this isn't meant as an everyday general watch. Still, it's nice to have a slightly smaller watch for running. I do like the large face for seeing all the data during and after runs. 
• Wireless ANT+ data downloads (thanks to that little USB stick in the above picture). This is a great feature! Love that it automatically downloads when close to the computer (and automatically uploads to Garmin Connect). Yes, I am lazy.
• Auto upload to Garmin Connect. Related to the ANT+ downloads. Pretty cool that it then uploads to my Gamin Connect account. I'm going to be getting really lazy soon. 
• Both vibration and tone alerts (HR, pace, distance, etc). You can pick alerts for pace, heart rate or distance and have audible alert (tone), vibration alert (watch shakes), or both. I use the vibration alert--it works great and I don't bother my running companions with the "excessive HR" beeping. 
• Auto pause feature (pauses timer when you stop, auto start again). If I stop to tie my shoes or get some water or talk to a friend on the trail, it pauses automatically. And starts again when I begin moving. I am definitely getting lazy!
• Quick lock onto satellites. Faster than the 305. Never was a big issue, but it's nice that it works a little quicker.
• More data screens on watch (4 screens, 4 pieces of data each). 16 pieces of data at my finger tips--and there's an option to automatically scroll through all screens as you run. Nice.
• More data choices to display (love the current and average % heart rate reserve). I use the current heart rate, average HR, current heart rate reserve, and average HRR as my main screen.

CONs:

• Premium "soft" heart rate strap that digs into my chest on every run, with serious chafing, often drawing blood! The older plastic strap was not the most comfortable, but it never really chafed. This new one is ridiculous. Searching the web, I found this to be a common complaint...with a fix. (Full description of problem and solution can be found on DC Rainmakers' blog post.) Basically, you tape the plastic transmitter and lower section of the soft strap so it can't dig into your chest. I've now used the tape fix on several runs with success. Why should I have to "fix" a brand new premium soft strap? What's wrong with Garmin? 

Overall Summary: I highly recommend this Garmin 310XT GPS/HR watch. I bought mine as a factory refurbished watch (with HR strap and warranty) for $185. It sells new for about $225-250.