Running & Training Update

running trainingWhen I was younger, I could do a hard workout on a Saturday morning and still tackle a DIY project or make a good appearance at a family event. Heck, we went folk dancing the night I ran my Boston Marathon qualifying race.

Not so ten years later, so I’ve decided that my running will be done mostly on weekdays, when my workday is mostly sedentary. So that gives me five consecutive days to ply the roads and trails each week.

And it’s been working.

My weekly mileage volume is climbing, first 25, then 30, and recently averaging about 35 miles per week. I’m still a long way from my optimal marathon training mileage, at least 50 per week, but at 35 to 40 I’ll be in good enough shape to start thinking about adding a race to my calendar.

The quality of my running is improving as well. On a recent trip to Ridgecrest, I did an eight miler in under 8:00 pace at about 2,300’ elevation. It’s a point of progress, but there’s still a lot of work ahead.

For my birthday, Beth got me the new Garmin 920 XT training watch, which measures almost every conceivable running statistic, including cadence, vertical oscillation and ground contact time. It even estimates an important efficiency metric, called VO2 Max, which is basically a current fitness score.

Knowing my VO2 Max gives me information I can use to plan safe interval and tempo training paces as well as ensuring that my recovery runs give my old body enough rest.

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