Saturday, December 22, 2007

Training Update



I'm training for the Los Angeles Marathon, my first marathon in six and a half years. Even though I'm a few years older, I'm going to finish faster by training smarter. My goal is to run the marathon in 4:30-4:45. If I can maintain the 10:30 per mile pace from the City of Angels Half Marathon, then I can do it.

Part of my training is running with others, which is something I've never really done before. I've joined the Los Feliz Flyers, a group that does weekly track workouts. The group has all sorts. There are some rather hardcore members, and then there are the "TOG's" -- The Other Group. The TOGs are a little slower than the hardcore group, and we run a total of three miles for a workout. Last week, we did 800 m at 5k pace, then 1200 m at 10k pace, 800, 1200, and 800. It's a good group, not competitive, and I find myself somewhere in the middle of the TOGs pack.

Next, I'm joining a group for my longer runs, the LA Leggers. They have several pace groups and meet early on Saturday mornings. This morning I tried them out for the first time, joining the twenty or so members of the 10:30/mile pace group -- I wasn't sure whether to run with the 11 minute/mile group or the 10:30's, but I think I chose well.

The group's training is modeled after the Galloway program -- they run for 8 minutes, then walk for one minute. We run in a line, two by two, with two group "mentors". It was a nice run, starting near the Santa Monica Pier and heading north to San Vincente Boulevard through Brentwood. I enjoyed it-- it breaks up the monotony of a long run, and it's helpful to be in a group keeping a consistent pace.

Photo from www.kidprintables.com
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4 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:38 PM

    Good luck with the training. It sounds like you have a great plan set up.

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  2. Rachel8:52 PM

    Great blog! I love your goals for your upcoming marathon (couldn't find a place to comment on that post for some reason). You will surely PR. I love the information you post. I'm a postdoc studying atherosclerosis so I love teaching people how to beat obesity and its related diseases. Nice work.

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  3. LizNoVeggieGirl5:53 AM

    wishing you the best of luck with training for the marathon!

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  4. Anonymous6:22 AM

    Good luck training. That's smart that you're joining a couple of running clubs. I've never really run with a group or joined a club, but I've heard from an out of state marathon runner friend of mine that that is really the way to improve and train. I like how the slower group is called 'the other group'- I think I would be in that group too!

    Are you going to be training with GU or some other energy gel type thing? If I ever do run another full marathon I think it would be smart to train with them. My first marathon I totally ran out of gas around mile 20 and I think some GU would've really helped!

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