The RunRunLive 3.0 Podcast Episode 3-262 – Dave Griffin – After the Last PR
Introductory Comments:
Hello and welcome to episode 3-262 of the RunRunLive podcast. Let me first apologize for anyone I talked into hurting themselves with my 1600 workouts! Seriously folks, you have to eases into speedwork. It takes a good 3-4 weeks before your body figures out the pace and form and gets comfortable with the effort.
This is your amiable host Chris and today we’ve got a worthy show for you. I talk to Dave Griffin about his book “The Last PR” and we delve into some of the things we’ve learned from running.
In Section One I’ll talk about avoiding hubris and the difference between ‘good’ and ‘great’. In Section Two I’ll take a different look at the 1600 meter workouts and my current training program to see if we can tease out some of the reasons behind why it’s so successful for me and how to extend the method.
I was down in Phoenix last week at a conference and it was a good rest week after racing the VT Shires marathon on Sunday. With the 3 hour time change jet lag I would have been hard pressed to run any quality workouts anyhow. I felt very good after the marathon. No pain and just typical soreness. That’s a great sign. Probably also a sign that I could have pushed harder!
I did my core workout on Monday and replaced the Tuesday speedwork with an easy run jog, but then eased back into it with a set of 1600’s on the treadmill Thursday with no ill effects. I’m at a high risk point for injury right now. I’m doing a fair amount of quality work and volume plus I feel good. Feeling good is always an early indicator for injury, because you make stupid decisions!
I got some of my garden planted this weekend. I turned it and sowed it with winter rye early last fall and that combined with the late start gave me a nice tall crop pf rye to deal with. Instead of turning it in I weeded it out and I’m using it as a straw mulch around the veggie plants. Waste not want not. I suppose I could have waited a little longer and made bread or whiskey from it, but that did not seem prudent.
The rock star of my garden this year is my hops. I’ve been dragging this hop plant around with me for years, transplanting it to different locations. I originally bought it out of a catalogue and had it delivered as a root through the mail back in the early 90’s when I used to make my own beer. I moved it from the shade into my vegetable garden last year. This year it is growing like an alien mutant. I had to build a trestle for it and rig up some lines to train it on. It’s already 10 – 12 feet tall.
I got my old motorcycle running and registered. I bought this motorcycle in 1985, the same year I got married. It’s a champ. Coming up on 30 years.
My training is going great. I had an excellent outinig in Vermont, I just couldn’t close it at the end. You may have gotten the race report last weekend. All I need is that last 10k and I have a 5-6 week cycle now before the Bay of Fundy marathon to get some a couple longer runs in. Those plus the 26 of the last cycle should put me on track to qualify if we get a decent day.
It turns out that the Bay of Fundy is in the middle of nowhere. It’s probably an 8 hour drive for me. I was starting to worry about finding a hotel, but instead I found a camp ground right on the course for $28 Canadian! Piece of cake. From my mountain bike adventures I keep a tent in my car at all times. I don’t need no stinkin bed and breakfast.
Overall I feel like the speedwork is getting easier and my legs are catching up with my fitness. I need to do some long-slow-distance and stay healthy and I’ll be good to go! I’m alos staying at less than 185 pounds, even though I’m not dieting per se and that another good sign.
What is my current training schedule, you may ask?
Let’s start with my long run on Saturday. I’m going to push this up past 20 miles on this cycle and pull back to 13-14 on the rest weeks. I have to slow this down a little because it’s about time on my legs and buffering not speed.
Sunday I do an easy 6-8 miles with Buddy and the club. I keep this conversational and stay away from the young studs who would push too hard. This is a fun run on tired legs, cleans out the crap and gets some miles in.
Monday I do a core workout of arms, shoulders, back and abs. I do a bunch of pushups and crunches.
Tuesday I do my speed work – 1600’s at the track or a similar alternative.
Wednesday I do a bike ride – 1:20ish on Fuji-san if I’m home or 40-60 min on the stationary bike if I’m traveling. I try to throw in a set or two of pushups and crunches.
Thursday I do tempo 1600’s. this is an important workout so I try to get it done either at the track or on the treadmill.
Friday I do bike and some core if I can, but it’s an easy day to get ready for the long run on Saturday.
That’s it. It’s simple and predictable but very effective and time efficient for my schedule and life.
Hopefully that will give you some idea of the balance I’ve struck and the work I’m doing. It comes down to around 10 hours a week, which I don’t think is that taxing.
Not as taxing as listening to me talk about it. On with the Show.
Section one:
The important Question – http://www.runrunlive.com/hubris-and-good-versus-great
Featured Interview:
Dave Griffin – After the Last PR
The links you asked for are –
website – www.flyingfeetrunning.com
– Facebook page –https://www.facebook.com/dave.griffin.35?ref=tn_tnmn#!/AfterTheLastPrTheVirtuesOfLivingARunnersLife
– Book on Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/After-the-Last-PR-ebook/dp/B00C7DQ3MC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369419738&sr=8-1&keywords=after+the+last+pr
Section two:
The Flexibility of 1600’s – http://www.runrunlive.com/expanding-the-1600-meter-method
Outro:
Alrighty Then. It Looks like we have arrived unscathed at the end of Episode 3-262 of the RunRunLive Podcast. Thank you my friends for listening.
If you haven’t downloaded the most recent episode of Phedippidations, you should. Steve did a magnifico job of covering the Poco Loco in Boston and made it really special given some of the challenges we’ve all had this spring.
Also if you have a chance, check out and support Ann who was a member of our RunRunLive 2.0 staff. She is doing a walk for a organization that combats depression and teen suicide and is looking for support. I put the link to her video in the show notes – http://youtu.be/iz1fRkMjTA4
In the Next Episode I’ll be interviewing Brad Warner who wrote that book I was talking about a fewmonths back – “Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies and the Truth About Reality”. It was an interesting conversation. I little bit different, but definitely all about transformation.
I’m still loving my Hokas. I raced the Vt. Shires Marathon in them. I also bought a new pair of socks on a recommendation – Balega Enduro Low 2 Cut socks. I paid $11.99 for them and wore than in the marathon and they are super comfy and come in a ‘big foot’ size that actually fits my size 12.
I got a letter from the BAA saying that they were going to give all of us who didn’t finish a waver bib for next year’s Boston. I’m not sure how I feel about that. The reason I was back there was because I wasn’t fit enough to race. That doesn’t seem like something we should be rewarding when there are so many people out their willing to do the work to get fit.
If things work out the way they are headed I won’t need their charity. Actually, my 3:34 at Vermont would put me in the front of the second wave. Based on the tempo and speed work I’m doing I think I can run a sub-3:25 if I can get some distance in.
I think if I can get through this next hard training cycle over the next couple weeks, without hurting myself, I will have no issues at the Bay of Fundy Marathon next month. The Plantar Fasciitis has basically gone away. If we get a bad weather day or something else out of my control happens I can still run a marathon at the end of the summer to qualify.
If I do qualify, then I’m feeling a 50K PR is in my future for July or August, if I can find a nice trail run somewhere. I’d also love to get back to the Wapack trail race in Spetember and some friends want to have a social meetup at a Florida Marathon in October or November. Making up for lost time? Nah, just enjoying myself!
If there is anything I have learned it’s that you can’t count on your plans. Live for today because you might not be able to run tomorrow. These are the good old days. Make the most of them.
And I hope to see you all out there.
Outro Bumper
Thanks for listening folks I appreciate your support. RunRunLive is a free service for you because I like writing and telling stories.
I also love to meet folks so feel free to reach out to me at Gmail or any of the other social networking sites. I’m CYKTRussell. And as you know that’s Chris-Yellow-King-Tom-Russell with two Esses and two Ell’s.
My Website is http://www.runrunlive.com and most if not all of this content is posted out there. If you want the show notes to magically show up in your inbox when I publish a show in a beautiful HTML wrapper you can subscribe to the mailing list at my site. It’s a useful thing if you are moved by something I say and would like to see if what I wrote is the same thing! It also has all the links to everything and everyone I talk to and about.
Other than that, thank you for your attention, do epic stuff and let me know if I can help.
Ciao
Happy Song – Super Hero
Links for this show
http://www.runrunlive.com/messing-around-with-a-kickstarter-project
Other products from Chris Russell you may be interested in
The Mid-Packer’s Lament
On Audio (Read by the author)
The Mid-Packer’s Guide to the Galaxy
Standard Links:
Contact:
Cyktrussell At gmail and twitter and facebook and youtube
Dial in number for RunRunLive is – 206-339-7804 (to leave an audio message for the show)
Bio
Chris Russell lives and trains in suburban Massachusetts with his family and Border collie Buddy. Chris is the author of “The Mid-Packer’s Lament”, and “The Mid-Packer’s Guide to the Galaxy”, short stories on running, racing, and the human comedy of the mid-pack. Chris writes the Runnerati Blog at www.runnerati.com. Chris’ Podcast, RunRunLive is available on iTunes and at www.runrunlive.com. Chris also writes for CoolRunning.com (Active.com) and is a member of the Squannacook River Runners and the Goon Squad.
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