Fun On The Track

Monday, June 5, 2017:

School is out, but the track is busy anyway.  When I got there the girls' (women's?) basketball team was doing wind sprints and other exercises on the track, and then as they were leaving, the boys' football team was arriving to do the same.  Two other youngsters were training to compete in the pole vault event at a meet later in the week.

The track I use.  Very nice.

Happily, the students were only using half of the 400m track, so I was able to do a little sprint training on the other half.  I read an article yesterday about training for sprints:

1. Jog for a lap or two.  I actually ran TO the track, running most of a mile without walking, mostly uphill, for plenty of warmup.
2. Do dynamic stretches.  I still have to figure out what these are and how to do them.  There are several kinds.  I did some things that I thought might help me loosen up, including very long strides.
3. Run the first sprint at 70% intensity.  I wonder how to know where 70% is?
4. Rest 2 - 5 minutes between sprints.  Easy - just walk or jog a lap, taking care not to interfere with the football team.
5. Keep the first session short.  Technically this was my second session, but I only ran three 200m sprints and one 100m sprint.

I ran the first 200m sprint at 70% (or 60 or 80 who knows) and didn't bother to time it.  I don't recall if I used a crouching start.  For the second 200m I did use a crouching start and ran at maybe 90%, pushing pretty hard.  For the final 200m I used a crouching start and hammered as hard as I could for the whole distance.

The times are pretty good news I think.  Last week I ran the 200m in 52.90 (seconds), and today in 47.02 and then 42.75.  If those numbers are real, it's ten seconds improvement in one week!  Wow: (1) Maybe it pays to train a little for the sprint?  I never did that before; (2) My 10-year-old PR, on an indoor track, was 34.6 seconds - can I eventually take off another 8 seconds to match that old PR?  I'd love that; and (3) I'm not sure how my time in an actual race will compare with these fun little trials.  I'll soon find out though.

I did pull something today, left inner hamstrings, high near the adductors, caused by the crouching starts.  It hurts just a little.  This has happened before, including a couple of weeks ago at the YMCA.  I'm sure that it will heal in a few days if I stay away from crouching starts for that time.

200m times: (1) Unknown; (2) 47:02, (3) 42:75; 100m time: 20:92

Saturday, June 3, 2017:

Too Hot to Trot!   By the time I got going this morning the temperature was 77, and by the time I got home an hour and a quarter later it was 82.  Too hot for me to see how far I could run - I'm not acclimated to summer running yet.

So I had some fun instead, exploring a trail that I hadn't seen in a year or more.  I ran when I felt like it and walked when I felt plenty hot, finally ending up once again at the high school track.

That's a great place to do sprint training. Unfortunately for me, though, the football field within the track was about to be used for a women's lacrosse tournament, so I only got one lap around the outer (9th) lane, but I did put the pedal down on the second straight side and enjoyed just that short sprint, less than 100 meters.

I love that.  What a joy, to just let it fly.  I have to do more of that, training sessions specifically aimed at just sprinting faster but still safely.  I'm starting to read up on it now.  There is a "Masters Championship" coming up soon, where I'm sure that I will find out just how slow I am.  Regardless, it will be fun.

Wednesday, May 31:

Very Good Day at the Track   I ran to the new High School track, getting in 7 minutes of continuous running as well as some walking.  Then, after a little rest (slow walking) I ran 7 laps (1.75 miles) on the 400m outdoor track, the farthest I have run without walking in years.

After more easy walking I ran 200m as fast as I could, crossing the finish in 52.90 seconds.  I'm sure that I can improve on that time.  Fun - I love that distance.

Lap times: (26:31), 2:29, 2:34, 2:33, 2:26, 2:29, 2:28, 2:23, (43:52) (17:21) pace 9:55, 200m 52:90

Brian Kraft 5k

Monday, May 29, 2017:

I feel so good!  It can happen after a race like this - the endorphins kick in and I feel wonderful, even before I have a beer.

The Brian Kraft 5k is a longstanding, popular 5k that is part of Minnesota's Grand Prix of races and attracts the best of the best.  For me, that cuts two ways.  The negative: I finished 13th of 14 in my 70+ age group, ahead of just one 88-year-old guy.

The positives: (1) I accomplished my training objective;  (2) I've never done very well in this race, because of the stiff competition; (3) I ran this 5k in 31:54, a minute and 20 seconds faster than my next most recent 5k two weeks ago; (4) I did slow down a few times to chat with people, and once to take off my hearing aids (oops) before they got too sweaty; (5) Before and after the race I enjoyed chatting with people that I miss but haven't seen in years; and (6) During a couple of those conversations I learned quite a bit about outdoor track, in which I have a growing interest.

Most of my running has been distance running, which is not the same as track.  Starting at 1 mile, distances go up to the marathon and beyond.  Running mostly happens on roads or trails.  In contrast, outdoor track events start at 50 meters, then 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500, 3000,  5000, and 10,000 meters, These are Olympic events, all metric.  They happen on oval tracks, usually around a football field at a college or high school, and the meet usually includes field events such as the hurdles, relays, long jump, high jump, discus, hammer throw, and the like. I'm interested in the running events.

I don't know much about track running though, outdoor or indoor.  In 2008 I ran the 200m on an indoor track a few times - that's one lap on the inside lane.  I absolutely loved that run - almost a full sprint, with my best time at 34.6 seconds.  Back then.  I'd like to see how long it takes me now, and check out some other distances too.  I still like marathons, and every other distance, but this would be an interesting change and something of a challenge..

One Mile On a Hot Track

Saturday, May 27, 2017:

I had planned to run 2 miles, but the weather was too warm and I was overheated after the one mile, so I stopped.  After cooling a bit, I ran a 100-meter dash as fast as I could a couple of times, then went home.

2:27, 2:29, 2:29, 2:26, total for 1600m: 9:51, adjusted for a mile: 9:54.

Thursday, May 25:

1.41 miles on the Jr Hi track, about 4.5 more miles getting there and back.  I ran in Lane 8, the outermost lane, to avoid messing up the track team, who were training on the inner lanes.  This is the farthest I've run without walking in several years.  I tried a few crouching starts before going home.

Track times: 5:34 (2 laps), 2:46, 2:35, 2:33, total for 5 laps 13:28, distance 1.40 mi, pace 9:36.

Wednesday, May 17:

 

1.5 Miles running with no walking.  Wet weather today, thunder and lightning. We three don't run in lightning, so we drove to the YMCA and ran on their indoor track.

 

Last week (or was it the week before) I ran a mile and a quarter without walking, so today it was time to bump up the distance.  The track is 13 laps per mile, so I decided to warm up for 15 minutes and then run 20 laps without walking, about a mile and a half.  Toward the end I was tired and definitely counting down the remaining laps, but I think I could have done a few more, maybe even another six to make it 2 miles.  Probably not 3 miles yet though.  Maybe in a week or two.

 

When the "long" run was finished I did a half dozen or so crouching starts, as I might do for a 100-meter or 200-meter race.  There is a USATF outdoor track competition in a few weeks - maybe I'll have some fun.

 

Next week 2 miles I hope.

Watch readings: 13:21 (first 13 laps?), 3:44 (walking), 10:55 (13 laps), 5:43 (7 laps).  Either the track is less than 13 laps per mile, or I was running slower than I have been running recently.  Could be - I'm on steroids today.  No matter - it's still good training.

Mothers Day 5k Review

Our friend Gary Westlund runs several races over the summer, and we like them.  Always low key, always allowing everyone to finish regardless how much time they need.  One of these was today's Mothers Day 5k in Maple Grove, MN.  This race was well organized, as always.

I haven't run a 5k race in a long time.  My plan was to run 7 minutes, then walk 3, until the finish, according to my usual training method.  However I quickly switched to 70 seconds and 30 seconds.  Same ratio, but much easier for me somehow.  I'll get back to the longer runs in training, but this works pretty well for races.

By my watch my finish time was 33:07.  This was not a chip-timed race, so official results are not up yet.  I imagine, though, that I will be first of one or second of two in my m75-79 age group.  Doesn't matter - I'm happy enough with the time.  If my watch was correct (it might be better than their clock) then my pace was 10:37.  I can do better, and I will.  Faster every week.

Weather was perfect.  The loop around the little lake is very nearly 1 mile, so we ran it three times.  In addition I ran one before the race, as a warmup, and another after my race with my girls, for a total of five miles.

There's another 5k in two weeks, flatter than this one in fact, and I'll try to get that pace below 10.

Watch: 10:47, 10:38, 10:31 (31:56), 1:11, total 33:07

Medtronic TC 1 Mile Race

Thursday, May 11, 2017:

The race went very well.  I ran the whole mile without walking and finished in 9:04, better than any of the mile runs that I've done in training recently.  I'm more than happy with that.  I was third of four in my 75-79 age group, and finished before 791 of 1969 other runners, including 165 of 1009 other men.

After traveling to 100 marathons, this race became an exploration of our own Twin Cities.  We drove from our town to Union Station in downtown St Paul, where Amtrak, light rail, and buses all connect.  We took the METRO Green Line train to the new US Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis, 37 minutes in a clean, comfortable commuter train which we had never had occasion to ride before.  Thanks to the race committee, we had free passes. Then a short walk to the race itself, where my race number and shirt were waiting.

I enjoyed meeting up with long-time running friends that I had neglected during our drive to finish 100 marathons.  The race itself circled the Guthrie Theater of Minneapolis and lovely new parks. 

A 1-mile race is very intense, and I did try to go as fast as I could, but it was over in 9 minutes and I'm uninjured.  All is well.

We three had a very nice evening of it.

Another Mile

I set out to run 1.5 miles (6 laps) without walking today, having run 1.25  miles (5 laps) last week.  But two things happened: (1) I remembered that I have an actual 1-mile race later this week, and (2) I just didn't feel like running the extra two laps.  So I stopped at four laps - what the heck, I have no one to please but myself.  I did manage to shave a few seconds off my recent times for the mile.

Perhaps I'll do a little better still during the actual race.  We'll see - I'll try.  I'd like to do an 8-minute mile again someday, but not this week.  First a 9-minute mile.

Watch readings: 2:32, 2:28, 2:25, 2:13 (400 M laps), total for the run 1:06:00. Time for 1600 meters: 9:38.  Adjusted for a mile: 9:41 (a mile is 1609 meters.)  Total distance 5.5 mi, average pace for the run 12:00.

Valley Runners

This run/walk included another one-mile run with no walking.  Total of about 4 miles, with plenty of walking in the other three.  The one mile took just 9:35, very nice, but with two qualifications: (1) It's a little bit downhill, and (2) the mile markers are on a trail, and those markers are notoriously inaccurate.  I'll try the same mile uphill someday.

I had a little hitch in the right foot at first, had to walk it off, but it cleared and bothered no more.  After the run nothing hurts, all is well.  I feel great.  A very successful run.  A little shorter than usual, but very nice.  We'll compensate with a nice long walk among the flowering crab trees later today.
 
My friend Doug accompanied me on this trek - he's probably a better runner than I but was hurting a little today.  Hope he gets past that - he has a pretty good doctor.

Watch readings: 10:37, 9:35, 1:07, turnaround, ... total about 45:00.  The 9:35 is the one mile between mile markers 2 & 1.

Thursday, May 4, 2017:

2K Meters w/o Walking.  That's five laps of the 400 M outdoor track.  A beautiful day and a nice run.  I was actually able to pick up the pace a little in the last lap.

Splits: 28:34, 2:28, 2:30, 2:27, 2:26, 2:20. ...total for 5 laps = 12:11, pace 9:50/mile.for the five laps.

Tuesday, May 2:

On Tuesdays we sometimes (often?) walk from our home to the downtown organic grocery & back, about 3 miles each way and at least a 300-foot elevation change.  I don't usually include those walks in this blog, but last Tuesday I got hurt - "ITB syndrome" in the right thigh, thought to be overuse, after a tough enough run the day before.  The ITB problem healed within three or four days.

No problem today, despite yesterday's fairly hard run.  But I think that I should take a day off now, not run tomorrow.

Monday, May 1:

One Mile at the YMCA.  11:00,, 11:01, 9:01, 3:04, 5:33, 9:24, 11:23, 49:27 tot, only the 9:01 makes any sense - supposedly 1 mile, 13 laps.  I think it's probably short of a mile by at least a lap.