Shoes, races, the rest

Sooo, i signed up for 2 of my planned half marathons! First the Hervis Prague, and along with the registration i applied for the PIM WOmens Challenge Phase 2 sponsorship program as well. I am SO keeping my fingers crossed, it would just be awsome to get it! Decision shall fall in a few days. There is plenty of great stuff coming to those who will be chosen, such as an adidas outfit, a mycoach unit and plenty more.
Then i signed up for the Lufthansa Frankfurt HM! I am secretly hoping to win that thing, the Lufthansa staff rating that is, and the thing is it is very possible but one can never be certain who shows up in which shape this year so i am trying to focus on training and keep my hopes low. At the very least i will score another nike shirt and hopefully run a new personal best time and that shall suffice for starters.

There is bad news too: registration for the Bocholt citylauf started on the 24th and by 11 am it was sold out. I wasnt fast enough. I will have to watch it a lot closer next year. But on a positive note, i found a cool series here in the CZ, the Mizuno Running CUP and i will certainly go to a few of its events. There are like 10 throughout the year. Its more or less serious as i figured from last years results so no winning hopes for me but fun it certainly shall be:)

And as for shoes... I meant to write a short review on the Mizuno Wave Creation 11-s i wear now. I think they just healed my knee injury! It must have been a strain from overtraining once but my old Nikes kept making it worse. SInce ive been wearing this pair from Mizuno the pain had gradually decreased and i was really scared it never would it was pretty persistent. Some reviews said that this modell was for somewhat heavier runners which i am not, but i think i might have needed the extra cushioning for my right knee so they prove to be perfect for that!
Otherwise it is an awsome shoe for winter runs on any surface: in spite of the fact that its of a specially breathable mesh material, i had not once managed to get my feet wet inside it. Its secret is the fact that the toebox "curls" up (huge toebox btw, my toenails are all still intact) AND that tha sole is built rather high. While this might make it heavier, it really is the perfect feat for the season as it keeps my feet warm and dry. Also, it really is extremely well cushioned, it kicks you right back into move upon landing.

But now for the race season i need to buy a pair of lightweight shoes as these weigh quite a bit (370g). I am lusting after the new Kinvara from Saucony, colour is still under consideration. They are just SO pretty!!

week 4 / JAN

Weekly total: 46.3km

23 jan 14 PM
11.3 km in 58 min
From home around the village to Olympia, bus to town, change money, run back from Uzka to IKEA, a round around Dolni Herspice, back to IKEA. It was cold, slippery what with the remains of the snow now frozen to ice but it wasnt unpleasant all in all. In spite of the cold i could have squeezed the water out of my tshirt afterwards.

24 jan 12:00 PM
12 km in 61:00
INTERVALS in the gym:
10 min warmup at 12km/h
5 X 3 min 14.1-2-3-4-5 - 1 min at 10km/h
10 min cooldown at 12 km/h
another 4 km at a good speed, ranging from 12.2 to 13km/h.
Then normal workout followed.

26 jan 11:15 AM
23 km in 2:00
I was browsing thru some marathon training plans and this one said you should do your long run at a very casual speed so i figured id give that a shot to see. I ran at 11.5km/h, any slower and i would have really not ran any more but jogged. This way the 23 didnt feel tiring at all, the only thing was my feet started aching slightly at around 18 km but it didnt get worse after that. Sometimes i felt like speeding up but contained myself. I think i might have experienced a slight runners high along the way :) I deliberately didnt do any muscle workout afterwards as 2 hours of running should be enough for a day.

week 3 / JAN

Weekly total: 27.6 km

15 jan 16:00 PM
4.6km in 24min. Must have been a convenience run but i made no notes and now cant remember any more.

17 jan 14:00 PM
Went to the small Pruvan gym for a fast workout after an early shift. Didnt run as their treadmills suck. Instead I did 36 min of cardio: 12 steps, 12 intervals on the bike and 12 on the crosstrainer. Then i worked my butt of on the weights. I finished in a little over an hour. Funny thing was, i was used to the new machines in Velky P and the weights i use there felt too little on these older tools. So i raised them on all of them and in consequence had to deal with a bit of muscle-fatigue afterwards :) Its all fine as long as it hurts.

18 jan 14:00 PM
TTL 16km in 77min
10 min warmup 12km/h
intervals: 3min 14km/h 1 min 10km/h
four times
10 min cooldown at 12km/h
that made about 8km, then i ran another 8 at 12.5-8-7-6-5.
I felt energized and it was easy even though i significantly raised my speed on the intervals.

19 jan 16:00 PM
7km in 36 min. Ran to Lidl. It was cold and i felt rather sluggish. Was just glad when it was over.

week 2 / JAN

09 jan 2:45 PM
Run to Olympia after work. The icy cold is gone for the moment, you hardly need a jacket for running. My injury is hardly bothering me any more.
7,1 km in 37min. Av. speed 5´13" per km

11 jan 10:30 AM
The long run on the treadmill. Of course the treadmill was cheating again, cut me about a km. But the run was easy, nice and i could have gone on.
18 km in 85:25min. Av. speed around 4´45" per km

13 jan
Among the coke shopping, preparing for L´s bday party and my interview in FRA i completely stressed out. So this morning, before it all went off, i knew i had to run otherwise i would never make it trhu the next 2days. Got up at 6 and went out for a round around the village. It did good too.
6,18 km in 32 min. Ave. speed 5´18" per km

Weekly total: 31,25 km

week 1 / JAN

01 jan 6 AM
Run to work in hard minuses and snow, plagued by a very sore right ankle (came out of the blue, i dont understand, but it hurt like hell)
8.85 km in 45:46. Average speed 5'10'' per km.

02 jan 4 PM
Run home from work, still very cold and snowy, still very sore on the ankle.
9.15km in 47:45. Average speed 5'13'' per km.

04 jan 5 AM
Run to work. Still cold, snowy, windy and im in pain but i prevail.
8.53 km in 44:55.

05 jan 12 PM
INTERVALS IN THE GYM: ttl about 8.2 km, 40min
10 min mostly at 12km/h
4 X 3 min sprint (13.7-13.8-13.9-14km/h) and 1 min jogging (10 km/h)
5 min at 12km/h
3 min sprint at 15km/h and 1 min jogging at 10km/h
5 min at 12/12.5km/h
Intervals on the bike 10 min
usual workouts

07 jan 2 PM
a big useless round of cake-scouting
The injury seems to have disappeared just like it came...
10.53 km in 54 min

WEEKLY TOTAL:
45.25 km

Plans for 2011

I decided it was time for my first marathon in 2011 and will soon start a 12 week preparation camp in anticipation of this ultimate challenge. I look at this past quarter year and the following 1/1.5 months as the base-laying camp that, tho at a raised mileage, only serves to deliver me in good shape to the start of the program. Weight training as well as various home exercises and biking have already made their effects as my whole body has become obviously harder, leaner, more durable and stable than - i think - it ever was. My bodyfat percentage is, according to a household scale, 16 to 17% which is pretty satisfactory for the moment. My upper body has technically zero fat left on it, my legs and hips still store some but its decreasing too. My periods (probably partly in consequence) are scattered and ever less frequent which is something i will have to attend to once i am over the marathon but for now it is an advantage as my training intensity doesnt have to be compromised for a week each month.

I chose a very small local event, the Wink Marathon for my first, taking place in Siofok on the 14th of May. My target time is under 3:40. The preparation period will include 3 half marathons to test my performance:
Lufthansa FRA Halbmarathon 13 March
Prague Halfmarathon 02 April
Brno Half Marathon 30 April.
and two shorter runs:
Bocholt citylauf (10k)8 May
MUC Airportlauf(12k) no date yet.

Afterwards i will mix it up a bit: biking and swimming come to my training regime and there are 2 triathlons for me in August:

Cross Triathlon Hungarian Cup 20 August (Notincs)
Firmen Ultra Datterich 28 August

Then we travel to the US, Texas for the World Airline Roadrace (11 September) where D starts on 5k too, and make a nice big roadtrip of it. After that its only the occasional local run and perhaps the Duenenlauf in AMS in December, not sure yet.

So it shall be a good year :) But all i really want is to remain without an injury, the rest is all flexible :)

DECEMBER 2010

As the year was growing older, i have progressively raised my mileage and workout frequency so that posting became very tiring and i have been always behind on it in the past months. As it would be important to keep my training records for future use, i decided to stop posting the individual workouts. Instead i will post a weekly update with all the important infos which will be a lot more accurate than in the past thanks to my Nike Plus system which now records my distances and speeds more or less reliably.

I will sum up the entire December in one post tho, now. I did a total of 91.25km from the 4th to the 26th after which i took the last 5 days of the year off due to severe foot pain. I was only 3 times in the gym but ran 4 units in Piliscsaba with T and they were very hilly. Did the occasional home exercised like Norbi and Pasternak and one of my gym visits wasnt recorded at all.

2010 was a very successful year from the running point of view and i look forward to an even more active new year!

30NOV 12:30

Since i had to shop in IKEA anyway i figured id take the feet :) Its 5.24km to IKEA, ran it at a leasurely pace of 25:49 (thats over 12km/h).
While i try to seize any opportunity to run without loosing family time, i took to doing such "convenience runs" which obviously arent comparable to normal training runs cause they are either shorter and or with a full backpack, and or slower or against other obstacles. But they make a lot of mileage at the end of the day.

29 NOV 11:19AM

Went to the gym and did a very very easy 10km on the treadmill, 47:sth (the ipod cheats on the treadmill). Could have gone on for a lot longer, or so it felt anyway, but i had little time so i had to cut it at ten. Did 10 min intervals on the bike and the usual workout fast.

27 NOV 14:45PM

The first snow fell and unlike the previous 25 years, i actually felt like going out and having a round on the soft white surface :) Someone tell me that functional clothing doesnt do miracles. I mean, when you know you arent gonna be cold you just dont dread your winter runs any more. SO i ran home from work and i actually loved it! Made a pretty fine time too, to my utter surprise, 8.5 km in 42:30.

23 NOV 14:18 PM

Did the Pasternak workout day 1 and then i went out for a fast round in Chrlice.
3.38 km in 16:21.
Then i picked up L from the Kindergarten and we went for a 1.5 km round :)