Running Towards Fitness

Personal Awareness
The ancient Greeks used to believe that a healthy mind and a healthy body not only went together, but were both critical for happiness and a successful life. They were also intertwined, meaning that a weakness in either area would affect the other. When I started this transformation I was overweight and full of excuses. And by overweight I don't mean just a few pounds - I weighed over 70 pounds more than I do now. I finally took my life into my own hands and started exercising. At the time, I had no idea where it would lead - to a stronger body, a happier, more nimble mind, and a chest full of race medals. Healthy mind, healthy body, indeed! It hasn't been easy, or without issues, but I wouldn't trade the experience for the world.

Pacing

The McMillan chart is nice, but more than I need for a quick reference - and its missing some speed information that makes treadmill setting easier. So here’s my version:

Goal race paces:

Distance   Speed   Mile Pace   Km Pace   Time
Mile 9.4 6:24 3:58 6:24
5K 8.4 7:08 4:26 22:09
5 Mile 8.2 7:20 4:34 36:43
10K 8.1 7:24 4:36 46:02
10 Mile 7.8 7:43 4:47 1:17:07
20K 7.7 7:49 4:52 1:37:09
13.1 7.7 7:49 4:52 1:42:25
30K 7.5 8:03 5:00 2:29:57
26.2 7.3 8:15 5:08   3:36:00

Interval paces:

Distance   Speed   Mile Pace   Km Pace   Time
400m 9.4 6:23 3:58 1:35
800m 9.0 6:40 4:09 3:18
1000m 8.6 7:00 4:20 4:20
1200m 8.5 7:05 4:23   5:15
1 mile 8.4 7:10 4:26   7:10

Training paces:

Type   Speed   Mile Pace   Km Pace
Long run 6.3 9:30 5:55
Easy run 6.7 9:00 5:35
Stamina run 7.5 8:00   5:00

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About

I'm Richard Stanford, a fit, happy runner. Of course, that wasn't always the case. Dip into the archives to follow my progress from couch potato to sub-four hour marathoner.

I also like to cook, write, code, and play with power tools...

Personal Records

DistanceRaceTimePace
Marathon2006 Freescale3:54:078:56
20 Miles2006 RunTex3:00:089:00
30K2005 RunTex2:42:448:45
Half M2006 3M1:42:577:51
20K2005 Decker1:40:428:06
10 Miles2005 Pervasive1:20:138:01
10K2005 Dublin Dr Pepper48:437:51
5 Miles2005 Turkey Trot37:017:24
5K2005 Margarita Run22:327:15
4K2006 Fila Relays17:247:15
1 Mile2006 Congress Ave6:236:23

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Activity

5 total comments, leave your comment.
  1. Mark
    Sep 14th 2004
    10:44 AM

    ahh…now I see why you’re asking!

  2. For those confused by Mark’s comment, let me explain. I’d asked him what distance intervals he would recommend for 10K training. And yes, my mind is on speedwork today.

    Many websites seem to push 400m for the 5K, 800m for 10-20K, 1000m-1600m for 20K and above. Obviously, a mix is good for overall performance, but I have a 10K race coming up in a few weeks here. Higdon’s 10K training program focuses on 400m exclusively, running at the 1mi pace (which is the same pace that I settled on for my 400m intervals, ironically enough).

  3. John
    Sep 14th 2004
    11:03 AM

    Richard
    Very cool log.
    How did you choose the goal pace times?
    I have similar running times as you (CAM-6:28, Chuys-24:42, 10K~55) and my goal is a sub 4 marathon.
    From the McMillan charts it looks pretty tough to meet the 10K times using CAM time.

    Good luck
    jmc

  4. Welcome to a fellow Austinite! I was injured and had to take about two months off to deal with a bad MCL sprain this summer (starting mid-June) - bad luck on the Urban Assault race. I chose my goal pace based on my predictions - pre-injury - about my end of year speed. So I’m trying to ramp up my running while “pretending” that I was faster. Weird, but somewhat effective.

    My CAM splits were on for a 6:00 mile, but I ran out of speed in the 2nd half due to poor cardio conditioning. That’s my biggest weakness right now. Believe me, I don’t expect to be able to do my “predicted” 46:00 at IBM; I do expect to be able to break 50:00 though. And I feel that by EOY I should be able to hit that 46:00 number. Also, after that race, I’m going to resume my speedwork with Gilbert’s group - which helps a ton.

    This is definately an agressive schedule, don’t get me wrong. I may not hit my targets. 3:36 is a stretch for the marathon, and I could fall short. I’m still aiming for it though. My internal “quota” that I will be disappointed if I fall below is a solid sub-4 - meaning something in the 3:40s, not a 3:59:42 or whatever.

    And I wouldn’t recommend using CAM as a race predictor - its a pretty fast course. Of course, we can all hope that IBM won’t have the truly crappy weather that CAM did as well…

    What are your goals/schedules? Running with any groups at the moment? You’re currently 43 spots ahead of me in the DC btw… I’m sure that we’ll be seeing each other at some point…

  5. john
    Sep 14th 2004
    2:21 PM

    Thanks for the follow up. I understand your pacing targets. If you get your pacing improved and even, I will line up behine you at IBM and let you lead the way under 50.
    I took about 7 weeks off the summer with birth of first child and finding it tough to leave the house.
    Goals are to stay injury free, complete the DC, and transition to tris next season (including a 1/2IM).
    No running groups at the moment due to my inconsistent schedule. I swim with Austin Aquatics and sometimes make it out for the Austin Tricyclist Saturday ride.
    See you at the races
    jmc


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People I Train With

Alex - Addicted to Exercise
Carrie - Tri to be Funny
Erine - Thousand Miles
Frank - Running Blog
Gilbert - Gilbert's Gazelles
Jay - Leotian Blog
Mike - BROTH