• Home
  • About

A Runner's Story

A Runner's Story

Tag Archives: speed training

Defying Age

30 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

aging runners, Cross Country, LoBo Trail, speed training

world_masters

I’m comfortable aging.  Mostly.  I know women think it’s funny to say guys don’t mature much after college but I’m not sure that I have.  I feel young.  To feel young running though requires a little speed.  Racing in Colorado requires age-defying momentum.  My races planned for the rest of the year will be shorter distances and I’m going to need to quicken my cadence to be competitive.

aging runner 2

I’m not a nostalgic person – rarely do I ever reminisce here in my storytelling.  I get nostalgic during runs though.  The final two miles in long races, or simply workouts, triggers my memory like an autonomous muscle and I think back to high school cross country.  Our races were still two miles long in Texas.  I think they moved to the 5K distance a year or two after I graduated in 1980.  I relive these high school races during the remaining two miles of a 10K or marathon.  I often recall the state cross country course at Southwestern University in Georgetown Texas – it’s held in Round Rock now.  It’s an extremely hilly golf course and one year’s event finished at the top of a huge hill.  I finished second, by maybe only two seconds.  When I relive the event, I find a way to win racing up that final hill.

aging runner

I’ve gotten fast enough that I oftentimes find myself racing against youth in my weekend events.  I get a kick out of it.  I’ve learned not to leave anything for the final kick.  Not that I don’t have the speed but I’ll strain my hamstring sprinting at the end.  I learned this in last year’s Colder Bolder 5K.  I should probably avoid 5Ks.  I have to warm up with a 3 mile jog if I expect to run 3.1 miles with any speed.  Sort of ridiculous but I figure it’s a 6 mile workout.

Colorado-2-1024x575

I’m thinking about this because my buddy Torin caught me from behind with two miles to go on my training run yesterday on the LoBo Trail.  I ran 8 and I think he only ran about 5, but I was a little bit ticked.  Partly because I had been running fast.  Torin caught me when I was starting to cool down.  Naturally I had to speed back up so we could could chat for a mile.  It also irritated me because he’s my age.  Boulder County must have the fastest fifty year olds in the freakin’ country.  I don’t mind get passed by the shirtless CU Cross Country Team when I run the East Boulder Trail, but I feel like I sort of own this section of the LoBo Trail.  I don’t like being passed on it, especially by fifty year olds.  Time to begin some speed work.

Like this:

Like Loading...

Speed Trials

07 Thursday May 2015

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Bolder Boulder Training, Shoes and Brews, speed training

148Shoes & Brews knew I’d be back.  Their 800 meter speed trials are addictive.  And competitive.  The board no longer contains any men’s times over 3 minutes.  I returned tonight to find my name slip down a couple of notches.  It’s clear now I’ll have to not only run fast, but run often.  At least bi-weekly.  This works for me as I’ve adapted this for my Bolder Boulder speed training.

A young guy named Brad ran with me tonight which helped pace me to 2:48.  Brad ran a 2:45.  I feel good dropping 3 seconds off my previous time.  It advances me ahead of two others on the board and places me in the 2:40s.  I believe I’ll set my goal for this summer at 2:30 flat.  Should be doable.  It’s less about getting in shape and more about learning to breathe and improving form.

248dot99Shoes & Brews was full again tonight.  They get a nice crowd for their Thursday night social runs.  I commented to Keith how surprised I am on what a running community Longmont is.  He responded the runners probably move to Boulder and soon realize they can’t afford it, so they move here.  We ran 4 miles along the river trail, which I used as a warmup for my speed trial.  There was a light rain which made for quite nice running weather.

Ashlee just sent me this new photo of the board, after my initial post.  My position dropped from 13 to 14, even after shaving 3 seconds.  This is such a competitive town.  Or cheap and these bar flies will do anything to avoid paying $5 for a pint.  I hope Rob (no last name) is irritated with me beating him by 1/100th of a second.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • More
  • Tumblr
  • Email
  • Print

Like this:

Like Loading...

Fall Plan

26 Saturday Oct 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Denver Marathon, Eagle Trail, speed training

York StI think this photo is in City Park.  It meets my primary criteria of showing both feet airborne.  Not sure why I find these pictures so cool when both feet are completely off the ground during about 50% of any running stride, but I do.  I’m less happy with the poor form this photo illustrates.  Note how my forward foot is heel-down.  That’s not unusual for distance running, but it’s poor form nonetheless.  I’ve been working hard to run toe-down and I do much of the time.  At only 5 miles into the Denver Marathon, I am clearly over-striding here.  Something for me to continue to work on this fall.  Might need to work on my double chin too, another thing this pic illustrates.  Why do race photographers think kneeling down is a good angle for pictures?  You’ll see what I’m talking about if you click on the pic to enlarge it.

The best method I know to practice running with downward pointing toes is to run fast.  Wearing minimalist shoes also helps.  I decided on a 9 mile run today on Eagle Trail with Keith.  Nine miles is too far for me to wear minimalist shoes so I wore my training flats.  I’ll work those more into my routine though on shorter runs.  After DST ends and I start running more 3 and 4 milers.

aurora Keith and I worked speed into our trail run today by leveraging a downhill mile on the Eagle Trail loop.  The loop is around 2.7 miles.  We circled it 3 times.  On miles 3, 6 and 9, we picked up our pace.  Our regular pace was about 8.5 minutes per mile.  For our fast miles, we dropped our pace under 7 minutes per mile.  Actually about 6.5 minutes per mile.  At some points I ran under a 6 minute pace.  The weather was 54° and sunny.  There are no additional health benefits to running fast, but it feels good.

My late fall to early winter running plan looks to include some shorter events – like 5Ks.  History suggests I don’t necessarily run a 5K any faster than a 10K.  In fact, my recent PRs have me with a 7:09 pace for a 10K but only 7:12 for a 5K.  I know I can break a 7 minute pace for a 5K.  Some speed training will teach my legs to run that fast.  This final pic is before the Denver Marathon.  Before the dawn.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • More
  • Tumblr
  • Email
  • Print

Like this:

Like Loading...

Search this blog

  • Boulder Marathon
  • Britt&Eric
  • Colorado Trail
  • Covid-19
  • covid-noir
  • cyber war
  • Ellie Rose
  • Geek Horror
  • Marathons
  • Margot
  • Medical Files
  • Novel
  • Other Stories
  • Politics
  • ReBlog
  • Running
  • Snowboard
  • Snowshoe
  • Storytelling
  • training plan
  • Victoria BC

Buy Full Spectrum Cyberwar at Amazon

Buy Cyber War I at Amazon

Buy on Amazon India for ₹99

Buy on Amazon U.K. for £2.27

English Edition on Amazon Germany

Buy on Amazon Brazil for R$11.29

Archives

Blog Stats

  • 135,436 hits

Girlfriend Cult

Recent Comments

Ed Mahoney on ATX Half 2023
georgeschools on ATX Half 2023
Terry Collier on ATX Half 2023
Ed Mahoney on ATX Half 2023
Susan on ATX Half 2023

Recent Posts

  • Happy Memories March 25, 2023
  • ATX Half 2023 February 22, 2023
  • Adelsverein January 28, 2023
  • A Runner’s Day January 7, 2023
  • Last Run of the Year December 31, 2022
  • Christmas, for me… December 26, 2022
  • Craft Shopping for Christmas December 10, 2022
  • A Slow, Late Fall Run November 25, 2022
  • November Runs November 20, 2022
  • Tech Debt November 19, 2022
  • The Runner’s Field of Battle November 13, 2022
  • Stealin’ from God October 24, 2022
  • A New Start October 23, 2022
  • Baby Margot Birthday October 9, 2022
  • The City of Flowers September 24, 2022
  • Dog Park by the Sea September 19, 2022
  • The Lane of Pain September 17, 2022
  • Run Rabbit Run August 28, 2022
  • Wild Horses August 21, 2022
  • The Day Running Died August 17, 2022
  • Boulder Marathon Training – Week One August 7, 2022
  • Mount Sanitas July 30, 2022
  • The Trail and Me July 23, 2022
  • Mount Zirkel Wilderness July 13, 2022
  • Full Team Hike July 4, 2022
  • Village to Village July 3, 2022
  • Beaver Creek July 2, 2022
  • Summer is Here June 12, 2022
  • Birthdays May 22, 2022
  • Fall River Road March 25, 2022
  • A Tale of Two Gerasimov’s March 11, 2022
  • The Hero February 26, 2022
  • Full Spectrum Cyberwar February 24, 2022
  • Run Nan, Run February 20, 2022
  • Running Sunrise to Sunset February 13, 2022
  • Cyberpunk Runner February 5, 2022
  • A Winter’s Run January 15, 2022
  • Turkmenistan January 2, 2022
  • Counting Families at Christmas December 26, 2021
  • Austin Boardwalk December 23, 2021
  • Like Christmas for the First Time December 19, 2021
  • Restoration November 27, 2021
  • India Kinks November 15, 2021
  • Run a Little, Write a Little November 6, 2021
  • Horizons October 30, 2021
  • The Vitality Kick and other Abnormal Obsessive Behaviors October 19, 2021
  • The Ten Week Plan October 11, 2021
  • Pearl Street Marathon October 10, 2021
  • Confidence Builder October 2, 2021
  • Margot Faye September 25, 2021

Colorado=Security

Blogroll

  • Alohawk's Blog
  • Barbie's Blog
  • Boggy Creek Lumpster
  • George Schools Blog
  • I, Cringely
  • Prostate Chronicles
  • Shut Up + Run
  • Sustainable Sunrise
  • The Rogue Botanist

Web Sites

  • Amazon Author Page
  • Austin Marathon
  • Bolder Boulder
  • Brit's YouTube Songs
  • Colorado Marathon
  • Colorado Runner Magazine
  • Colorado Trail
  • Girlfriend Cult
  • Lobo Media Ltd
  • My YouTube Site
  • Race Pace Calculator
  • Shoes & Brews
  • Trail Runner Magazine
  • Zaremba Graphic & Web Solutions

Goodreads

Top Posts & Pages

  • Performance Enhancers
  • Foot Fetish
  • Muscari Neglectum
  • Runner Porn
  • Happy Memories

Top Clicks

  • edmahoney.files.wordpress…
  • edmahoney.files.wordpress…

RSS Feed

  • RSS - Posts
  • RSS - Comments

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • A Runner's Story
    • Join 248 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • A Runner's Story
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: