Kazrak's In My Day We Had A Kessel Run Training Journal (Comments Welcome)

Week 20(?) update:

We left for WDW on the 2nd, and came back on the 10th. Lots (and lots and lots) of walking, but no running. We've been recuperating up until now, but training starts again tomorrow.

Younger son wants more recovery time (caught a cold at WDW), so he's taking tomorrow off. I intend to do intervals MWF this week, with him once he's ready to, and maybe do a mile on Tuesday. Saturday, probably a longer run - I'm thinking one lap around the community college.

4 weeks to the Bay Breeze Half, which will be my Star Wars Virtual Half. Goal is to get under 3 hours, but I suspect that's a stretch goal at this point.
 
Mid-week update, week 21:

Monday, did 8 on/5 off/8 on (C25K week 5 day 2) to shake things out. Went pretty well. Overall pace 13:39, running pace around 11:30.

Tuesday, intention was to do a mile. Instead, I got up to very cold and light rain. Given that I'm dealing with travel crud from the WDW trip, I decided that giving myself pneumonia was probably unwise. Walked 5 minutes, ran to the end of the greenbelt, turned around, and ran home. 0.6 miles, 11:39 pace.

Weather forecast is for a brief break in the rain around 7am tomorrow, so I'll try to get some running in then, and the rain should be gone by Friday.

I'm thinking I go for 5k (once around the community college) this Saturday, 5 mile (twice around) next Saturday, 7 mile (three times around) the Saturday after that, and then I have my half marathon on the fourth Saturday.
 
Week 21 update:

Wednesday, tried to run out to the barrier and back (1.5 miles) but my ankle started complaining around the trailhead (0.5 miles out). Walked back from there.
Friday, younger son was up to running again. We did C25K intervals (90 sec/90 sec/3 min/3min x2) slowly, as it was the first time he'd run in about three weeks.

Saturday, goal was to loop the college for about 5k. I decided to take it easy and go with 8min/2min intervals, running at about a 12:00 pace. This worked really well. I stopped at the end of the fourth interval instead of pushing another 0.15 miles to the 5k because my hip was complaining.

This week, run with son on MWF, a solo run on Tuesday (aiming for the 1.5 miles again), and twice around the college for 5 miles on Saturday.
 


New shoes time.

I decided the hip complaints were probably a sign that my shoes were wearing out, so a trip to Sports Basement was in order. My second pair of Saucony Omni 15s is now retired, replaced by a new pair of Omni ISOs. I tried on a few other pairs - some New Balance neutral shoes had too high an arch, and the Hoka and Brooks stability shoes I tried didn't quite feel right.

They get their first test run tomorrow.
 
Mid-week update, week 22:

New shoes are working fine.

Younger son is back in 'oh no can't do much' mode, we're cycling week 3 some more. (90 sec/90 sec/3 min/3 min x2). I'll try to bump up again next week.

Decided to push intervals a bit for the Tuesday run. 8 minutes wouldn't quite get enough running at 2 intervals, but I didn't quite have enough time for 3, so I did 2 10-minute intervals with 2 minutes walk in between. Target was a 12:00 running pace, ended up a bit faster (11:53 average including walking, 1.82 miles).

Wife has decided to get more serious about running, and did the 5k loop on Tuesday. She starts up with a weight trainer next Tuesday, and will be moving her runs to Thursday/Sunday. She's doing her first 10k two weeks from Saturday as I run a half marathon, and is eyeing her first half for late April. It's the one full marathon that Brazen runs, so she'll have plenty of time if she needs to take it slow.

I've been reading a book on marathon training. Not that I'm ready to do that yet, but it's interesting for perspective. Of course, after reading the 'common running ailments' I'm all in hypochondriac mode now.

Planning about 5 miles for Saturday - probably 8 minute run/2 minute walk intervals, times six. Might not hit a full five miles, but it'll be close enough.
 
Week 22 update:

Friday, still on 90s/90s/3m/3m x2 with younger son. I'll try to push that to the next step (3m/90s/5m/2m30s x2) next week.

Saturday, goal was about 5 miles, as 6x 8m/2m intervals, aiming at better than 12:00 running pace and 13:00 overall. Results were 4.6 miles, overall pace 12:38 - very pleased. I tried out intervals on my Garmin for the first time, and they worked well. Paces for the running intervals came in at 11:25 to 11:46, which was right in the ballpark I wanted. I felt like I could sustain that pace for quite a few more intervals.

Two discoveries during this run. I learned that I need to pre-water better, carry more water, or both. By the end of my first interval I was halfway through my 20-ounce bottle. I don't have an easy way to carry a second, so I'm pondering here.

Also decided to use this as a test run for whether I'd rather bring gel blocks instead of gel pouches for the half marathon. Answer: no. First, after being carried in my belt for 40 minutes, they were cold and hard to chew. Second, they take a lot longer to chew - I hadn't finished the 3 cubes I brought by the end of my 2-minute rest interval. Third, I bit my lip while trying to chew them. So, back to pouches.

Plan for next week:

MWF with younger son, hoping for C25K week 4.
Tuesday solo, aiming for 10m/2m x2 at 12:00 running pace.
Saturday, long run, aiming for around 7 miles. 8m/2m x9 at 12:00 running pace. Planning to test gels at rest intervals 4 and 7 - I picked up some GU, which is likely what they'll be providing during the half. (GU is a sponsor.)
 


Week 23 update:

Monday, bumped up to 3m/90s/5m/2m30s x2 with younger son. Kinda slow, he wasn't feeling it. 1.39 miles, 15:18 pace.
Tuesday, 10m/2m/10m, aiming for 12:00 running pace. Ended up at 11:11 and 10:48 average for the two intervals, overall pace 11:30. I just didn't want to slow down that much. I'd been worried that I'd get rained out, but other than a very light sprinkle at the beginning, it was clear.
Kingdom Hearts 3 came out on Tuesday and younger son was up far too late playing it. So, Wednesday we backed off to 90s/90s/3m/3m x2 again. 0.97 miles, 15:28 pace.
Friday, I ended up staying up to 4am to get fastpasses, so I wasn't up to pushing it very much. 90s/90s/3m/3m x2 again. 0.93 miles, 15:55 pace.
Saturday, I slept in to recover from not enough sleep the day before. Woke up around 7:30 and it was pouring out, so went back to sleep. Got up around 9:30, and the rain had paused for a bit. Forecast was no rain for a couple hours, so, okay, let's do this. 8m/2m x9, test the gels, as planned.

It went well. I had a That's It bar before starting, and drank about half of my water bottle, then refilled it and headed out. Took two gels with me, a mandarin orange and a salted caramel. Again, I didn't really want to stay at a 12:00 pace, but I tried to force the pace down because I knew I had a lot of running ahead of me.

I was having issues where my phones and water bottle were swinging too widely in my pockets - loosening the drawstring on my shorts and hiking them up helped a lot there. Noted for future use.

The gels were fine - I think I like the GU ones better than Clif, both for flavors and texture. I thought ahead and brought a small plastic bag to put the empty ones in, because trash cans are few and far between on the route. Had the second one while passing through the bus loop at the community college, and was able to ditch the bag and both empty gel packs at the bus stop's trash can.

I got some rain spatters on the third lap, but nothing more than that. Lots of wind, though, especially on the third lap, and it was warmer and more humid than most of my runs.

I felt myself lagging a bit in the later intervals, and had to push myself above 12:00 a few times. Even so, my intervals were more even than I expected. The interval paces:
1: 11:19
2: 11:19
3: 11:05
4: 11:34
5: 11:08
6: 11:43
7: 11:22
8: 11:05
9: 11:11

Overall stats, 1:28:02, 7.11 miles, overall pace 12:23/mi. Average heart rate 165.

I'm liking the 8m/2m cycle, although I notice I'm flagging in the later parts of each interval. I'm pondering switching to 4m/1m or 6m/90s, but will wait until after the half-marathon to try that. It's too close to the race to shift like that. I intend to use 8m/2m for the race, should be 16-17 intervals.

I'll probably repeat the MTWF training this week, and then I have my half marathon next Saturday. Weather forecast is for rain off and on all week again, hopefully I can dodge most of it again.

Goal for the half marathon is "something starting with a 2." Current PR for half marathon is 3:13:54 (2017 Light Side Half), so barring unforeseen circumstances, I expect to set a PR. Younger son is running a 5k, wife is running her first 10k.
 
Week 24 update not counting the race:

It's been a cold, wet, windy week here. I took Monday off due to rain.
Tuesday, back to 10m/2m/10m. Cold out (~40F) and a bit windy. A bit slow - paces for the two run segments were 11:49 and 12:18, overall pace 12:34. Total distance 1.7mi.
Wednesday, still at 90s/90s/3m/3m x2 with younger son. Overall pace 15:30, 0.95mi.
Friday, raining again, and I needed the sleep.

Saturday was the race, which went well. I'll do a separate post for that.
 
Bay Breeze Half Marathon race report:

This was my virtual half marathon for the Kessel Run. Goal was sub-3 hours; stretch goal was 2:45. Plan was to run 8m/walk 2m, aiming for a running pace faster than 12:00. Breakfast was a That's It bar, and I packed cubes for pre-race and gels for during the race. Plan was half a tube of gels about 15 minutes out, the other half about 5 minutes out, and a gel every three run intervals. I remembered my water bottle this time, too.

It's been rainy and wet here all week, so I was a bit concerned about muddy trails. As we approached the race parking, there was a bright rainbow - not a good sign for a dry race.

BayBreezeRainbow.jpg

Due to parking issues, I ended up walking up in the middle of the pre-race briefing, about 5 minutes before launch. It was chilly, windy, and lightly raining. The start/finish line was in a grassy area that was already starting to get muddy - not a good sign for the 10k and 5k launches, or for anyone returning.

BayBreezeStart.jpg

There was a local running club that had pace groups set up from about 1:30 to 2:30. I briefly pondered sticking with the 2:30 group, but decided that throwing out my plan 2 minutes before the race started would be unwise.

Fortunately, the rain stopped right after the race started, leaving us with just 45F and windy. This is an improvement, but perhaps not as much of one as you'd hope.

8m/2m worked well, although dropping to a walk that first time was hard - letting everybody pass me. I think I estimated there were maybe a dozen people behind me by the time I started running again. I had to work to keep my pace around 11:00 for the first interval or two.

The first few miles were on asphalt, and there were no puddle issues. The fastest 10k runners passed me between mile 2 and 3. I was able to refill my water bottle at the first couple water stops. Then we hit the 10k turnaround, and went to gravel trails. And then the puddles showed up. They were generally avoidable, they just narrowed the trail a bit...or a lot. The trail was a fairly solid gravel, so there weren't issues with it being slippery outside the puddles.

BayBreezePuddle.jpg

There was a long gap from the second water stop (just before the 10k turnaround) to the third (at the half-marathon turnaround). No problems getting my water bottle refilled, though. I hit the turnaround at 1:23 or so - right on track for a 2:45 time.

Around mile 10 was when problems started cropping up. I noticed I was having trouble keeping my pace above 12:00. Then, just after mile 10, my right calf muscle twitched. I hoped this was a one-off and kept going.

No such luck. By the last water stop, I was having to drop down to a walk before my leg folded underneath me. I grabbed a chunk of banana there, and was due for my final gel. I decided I wasn't worrying about 2:45 any more, and set my sights on 2:50. I was pretty sure I could walk the rest of the way and get under 3:00 at that point.

I ended up running about 90 seconds to two minutes, then walking for a minute, for the rest of the way. The start/finish line was even muddier than I expected. My wife and younger son were waiting there for me - wife had run her first 10k in 1:34:59, younger son had run a 5k in 50:36.

Final time, 2:48:32, a PR by over 25 minutes. I finished 267th of 285 finishers. Splits were mostly in the 12-13 range, except for the last two in the 14s. I set Strava PRs for every length above 10k - 15k, 10 mile, 20k, and half marathon.

BayBreezeMedal.jpg
 
Thanks, all! I'm still a bit jazzed from how I did. I'm not really worrying about a PR for Star Wars, but we'll see how it goes. I'd like to get under 2:45 at some point just for PoT purposes.

Taking this week off of training to recover. Walking to the shuttle today, the calf muscle that gave out on me was still being a bit tender. I might do a short run on Saturday - we'll see how I'm feeling.

I signed up for Bay to Breakers last night - 12k run across San Francisco, with at least one vicious hill. It's about a week after my daughter gets back from college, so she's going to run it too.

Also, my wife signed up for her first half marathon, about 3 weeks after Star Wars Weekend. I'm not up to doing a major run that soon after, but I'll do the 5k that I'd be doing as a training run anyway.
 
The goal:
My goal for the Rival Run Half Marathon is not to have to spend the whole race calculating how far in front of the sweepers I am. The 2017 races were spent thinking, "Okay, I started one corral before the last one, so I've got 5 minutes there, and I've run 6 miles at a 15 minute pace so I've got 6 minutes there, so I'm 11 minutes ahead..."

Stretch goal: get a 10k time low enough that it counts as a useful proof of time. (1:15, as I understand it.)

I looked back at the first post, with my goals.

I've hit the stretch goal. NYE 10k was 1:12:56.

I can't say I've hit the main goal yet because I haven't done the race yet, but I did play around with the numbers a bit while running this weekend. Around mile 8, I was 26 minutes ahead of Disney pace. Starting in Corral E, I should start half an hour or so ahead of the sweepers. So that's almost an hour of slack. But, really, I wasn't worrying about sweep time in the slightest. I was worrying about making 2:45. Even once my leg started acting up, I wasn't worried about being swept because I could walk the rest of the way in time.

Time to start thinking of new goals. One that was mentioned in the race recap email - people who ran the 10k in fewer minutes than their age. I'm a long, long way from a sub-50m 10k. But...I'm giving myself a long-term stretch goal. I want to set a new 10k PR. 57 minutes should do it.

To get there, I need to lose more weight. I've bounced back up a bit since November. (Quite a bit, really - 15 pounds or so.) Time to get serious again. Short term goal: get back under 230. Long term goal is still under 200.

I'm waiting for trainers at the gym at work to become available again after the New Year surge, but until then, I'm planning to start working on bodyweight exercises. Still a vague plan there, but I've got some reading to do.
 
New goals is what it’s all about! Congrats on your shiny new PR. I’m going to have to get preeeeeeety old before I run a 10k in few minutes than I have years. Neat to think about though.
Hey is Bay to Breakers the race with all the naked people?
 

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