Blah...and that's a medical term

Here's how my training has gone since the last entry.

Friday - 1 X Huge puking mess, 20 X trips to the toilet, w/8 liters of watered down Gatorade without the benefit of solid food

Saturday - woke up at 5am to watch Sarry race a 10k. I did a 1 mile walking warm down...and that was it.

Sunday - 4.2 @ 8:05s

Monday - 5k @ 8:40s

Lazy

Wednesday - 5K at 8:05s

This morning - 3X10 minute alarm snooze and 2 immunization shots.

easy and fun

4 miles with the double jogger with no watch.

Welcome back Coach

I wasn't going to post today because I had nothing to say, but with the previous post I no longer feel like I'm talking to myself.

Sunday - 4:25 @ 8:30's

Today - 2 @ 8:30's

I have a soccer game tonight and hope, for the first time this season, that I can follow up a game with a morning run (I'm usually too sore). Updates will be forthcoming.

The Coach - Checking In

Since school is out, I don't have regular access to the internet (at least not at times when I'm not doing on-line classes), but i I sit in my living room, close to the opened front door, and angle my computer just right, I can pick up some neighbor's wireless signal.

Since I last checked in: three runs while I was at the USATF Level 1 Coaching school in Hutchinson Kansas (3.3 miles on Friday in 8:30's, 6.0 miles on Saturday in 7:45's, 4.0 miles on Sunday in 7:45, two 7:15's, and a 6:45 last mile). Altitude helps.

Since I've been back, I ran 3 on Monday (10's average through the hills of Fox Run with the single jogger and 25-pound kid), 4.4 in 8:40's on Tuesday on sidewalks with the double jogger and 40+ pounds of kids, 4.1 on Wednesday with the single jogger on roads near Fox Run (downhill for 2 miles, uphill for 2), and then Thursday off. Friday I ran 3 with the double jogger in high winds on sidewalks, and then came the Saturday long run.

I met kids from my high school team for an 70-minute long run. The plan is that everyone runs 35 minutes north and turns around so that, regardless of pace, everyone will finish at the same time and the same place. This theoretical finishing together only works if everyone actually runs their proper pace. This never happens, but what did happen saturday was even worse.

Three kids plus me started at 8:10 at the North Gate trailhead of the Santa Fe Trail. It's about .2 to the actual trail up a little winding side trail and already by that time, we had already separated. Sophomore "Fast McQuick" was well ahead followed by Big C, then me, then Big' C's brother - a dedicated but not fast yet freshman we'll call Little C.

I ran the first three miles (net uphill) in about 8:30's each, and caught Big C there. He was having blister and dead-leg issues. So we ran the next mile in 9-something and turned around at 4 miles (around 36 minutes). When we turned around, there was Little C still heading north instead of turning around like he should have. So we passed him and kept going south. At about 1.75 to go, Big C dropped off and told me to continue (I had slowed to 9:30's to keep my heart rate under 75%) and even though I was faster than him, I was still slow. I had to actually walk 3 times to get my heart rate down.

Anyway, McQuick passes me with a mile to go and finishes in about 72' for 10 miles. I finish in about 74' for the 8, and Big C comes in around 78'. I'm dissapointed, hot, and tired, but we drink some water, and eat some fake newtons (same energy content as a powerbar and much tastier and cheaper). We wait for Little C, and then I head up the side trail to meet him and encourage him (he looked beat when I saw him last at 3 miles to go), but instead of him, I meet an old lady walking south whom I had passed ages ago as she was walking north. I asked if she had seen a boy in a blue shirt, and she says she saw him on her way north but hasn't seen him since. This means that he missed the turn to get off the trail and headed south through the AFA!

I run down to the parking lot, send Big C in his car to a cutoff trail 2 miles down the road, send McQuick north a mile and back to make sure he wasn't dead on the trail up there, and I head south on the trail to find Little C and take him to the cutoff.

So, I ran the next 2 miles in 8:20's (already dead) and caught Little C 200 yards before the cutoff trail at Oracle/Anthem/Blue Shield. It sucked. My hip hurts today, and I hope I'll get in a little run.

I'll also try to post more often so the posts are shorter.

Ol' Standard

5K @ 8:30s

Nothing to add....Enough said.

My Forerunner has redeemed itself

I am 2 days after a particularly gruelling soccer game and as usual this means serious sorenes in those funny small stabelizing muscles that I have yet to figure out how to get into shape. Regardless, I ran the 5K this morning and it was seriously slow. 'How slow?' you ask. Well my trusty GPS watch tells me....absolutly nothing. It never started. In the same way that in putt-putt golf you default to a max of 6 strokes, I am giving myself 10min/miles. Bad day but I am hoping that soccer cross training will benefit me in the long run.

I really meant to include Monday

Sorry that I missed the promised update on my run this morning.

5k @ 8min/miles

Weekend update

This weekend - in which I generally add my Monday morning run - was passable but not heavy on the mileage. This is important because my sister and I are getting pretty close to deciding on which marathon we're running and thus i need some serious increases in my training. That aside, I felt really good on Sunday after skipping Saturday to watch my boy and then watch some European Championship (soccer) qualifying matches. I am once again in serious doubt to the accuracy of my Forerunner. I ran a loop that I know to be roughly 4.25 miles and the ol' chrono gave me nearly 4.5. While this doesn't seem like a big deal, it is the difference between a 6:50 pace and a 7:15. I am seriously pleased even with the worst case scenario.

Further, I am now completely convinced that if I want decent paces on my runs, I need to do it after my legs wake up. Even a 9am start time has given me much better paces for longer distances.

Faster but still slow

I am glad that I didn't have repeat of Wednesday's runs this morning but it still wasn't stellar. 5K @ 8:25s. Better but still crap.

Easy does it

In an attempt to ignore all pre-competition common sense, I decided to plan a long run the same day as my indoor soccer game on Memorial Day Monday. Did I also mention that the game was at 11:20PM? The run was fine but my legs had no quickness at all. This issue was compounded by the fact that the team we played was entirely comprised of super-speedy 5'4" Hispanic gentlemen who proceeded to run around me at every opportunity. Oh, forgetful me...due to the late start time, we only had 1 sub, of which I only availed myself once for 1:30 after being kicked in the knee. Following the game I decided that since technically I was still doing a speed workout (very) early Tuesday morning, I was covered and therefore would not wake up for my morning run. That leads me to this morning. I figured I'd be rested and ready to jump back in the saddle. No such luck. I set my own personal slowness mark for a 3 miler, returning to my house in about 30:20. I think tomorrow will be better.

Save my Habit!

Since returning from SoCal I have had a horrible time getting motivated. I ran the 5K yesterday at a ridiculously slow pace and purposely skipped this morning. Please, help me salvage the good habit that I have developed.

Sea level laziness

Despite my assertions that I would put in some mileage while in LA this past weekend, I was unable/willing to do so. My son took exactly 0% of the naps that he normally does and the combination of no time and less energy meant that I missed 3 straight days. I tried to get back into it this morning, but I work up too late to put in a solid run. I managed 2.35 (it was a new route) in 8:05s, but felt good enough to lift my spirits and expectations for tomorrow morning.

Big miles

True to my word, I increased my morning milage this morning. I ran nearly...4 miles (gasp). I'm moving into ultra-marathon range here.

It was an ok run, but my soreness is hanging around for a frustratingly long time. To be descreet, my "upper legs"-front and back-are still underperforming due to pain. I felt like the effort I put in was greater than the 8:25 pace should have required. I leave for California tomorrow morning and hope to put in some sea-level milage over the weekend.

Bring the Pain (today and in September)

I've survived the soreness of my first soccer game of the season and am very proud that the immobility of my legs and torso didn't keep me from running. As I mentioned earlier, I struggled through a crap 2-miler yesterday morning, but was much better this morning. I did my standard 5K route and held my own. The pace was about 8:15s but full body pain and a really slow pace yesterday made it feel harder.

I have decided that I cannot continue with the short runs if I intend to run my marathon this year...oh wait, I may not have ever mentioned that this was my goal. Yes, my plan is to run a marathon with my baby sister this fall and thus I need longer than 3.1 miles a morning and 5 mile weekend runs. In the short-term I am going to try to gradually move toward 4-5 mile weekly runs (though if it is a choice between doing 3 miles and not running, I'll still do the 5K) and 6-8 miles on the weekends.

Same Days, Different Person

Saturday and Sunday (and Monday since I took it off) were crap on paper, but fitness-wise it wasn't too bad.
Saturday I ran exactly zero miles and in fact stood around while me wife ran a 5k. In my defense I was responsible for caring for my son and followed that up with transporting the same 8 tons of rock for the second weekend in a row (my Grandpa would have been mortified by the inefficiency).
Sunday I put in a solid 5er at 8:18/miles. It was pushed but not hard. I returned to my slow start method but turned it up at the end to get a decent overall pace.
Monday I walked several miles during our family day and ended the day with an indoor soccer game - which promptly destroyed my legs for this morning's horrible but necessary 2 miler (10:00/miles).

Saturday and Sunday

Between Saturday and Sunday, I ran about 4 miles. Saturday morning, I did a pretty fast mile on the track and then a slow one. Then Sunday afternoon, I got new tires on the double jog stroller and took the boys out for a leisurely 2.4 in 19 minutes.

Lazy Friday

I was feeling lethargic this morning so I casually coasted my way to a 8 min/mile 5k despite my desire to skip the day completely. I need to get myself up to more weekly mileage and 3.1/day isn't going to do it. I think it will come...maybe. Yesterday - before I became a poster on this blog - I made the following statement in a comment:

I am suspicious of the chronometer this morning. I pulled a full 5k in 21:34 which equates to just under 7s/mile.

Having done the same out and back 5k route most days for over a week, I can now say that I have even less confidence in the ol' Forerunner's accuracy. In the last 3 days, I have made the turnaround at 3 different points with about 60-80 yards of variance. I don't think this disqualifies the speedy effort mentioned above, but it certainly makes me want to get a solid turnaround position for consistency.

4:30 in the morning

It's not uncommon for me to be restless as night, and I just couldn't go back to sleep after a 1:30-ish wakeup by the younger boy. I'm going crazy over the potential job opportunity I'm looking into, and the "snoring" standby light of my laptop seemed incredibly bright in the wee hours. So I got up and read a book for a while, and then at 4:30, pulled on some running shorts and a long sleeve shirt, strapped on my Garmin forerunner and my mp3 player, and headed out the door.

I did the same 6 mile route I did a few Wednesdays ago in 8:25's. From home, north on Academy to the light pole at Dublin and back. Saw a few cyclists and watched the sunlight fill the dark morning sky. It was pretty nice, though my hands were cold from running through the sprinklers watering the sidewalks.

The Regional Track and Field meet starts today, and I'm excited (and a little nervous) about the 1600m.

I feel like a new man...or the new man.

Mike, you may want to verify this, but I have no illusions that anyone else reads this blog. That's ok, it serves its purpose as a motivational training aid.

Slicky and I will start playing soccer on Monday so I may post occationally on the fitness aspects of this muy bueno speed workout.

2 in the morning

This morning, I came to work with my running shorts under my work clothes so I could get out of the carpool, drop my stuff in the gym, and run a little. I got in two miles (a simple out-and-back affair). The first mile was mostly uphill (8:08) and the turnaround was a bit faster (7:24) which was, admittedly, a little quick. But when the buses are all approaching the school, you don't want to look like you're loafing. My last quarter was 1:33 (which was actually on the flat-ish sidewalk by the parking lot), but it sure felt good.

I'll try and run again a little this afternoon - nice and easy.

3 in 23:30

I managed to sneak in a run during my planning period and got in a good 3, not too hard, but not my easy pace. 7:50's in the hot sun on a hilly course. Felt good.

Wasting Work Time

In response to Matt's comment on my most recent post (practically my most recent run), I must admit I haven't been posting simply because I haven't been running. It's so hard to fit into the schedule. If I don't do it now, it won't get done, and "now" usually means before work.

That being said, last night at 9:30 (after the boys were in bed) I managed to fit in 3 miles on the boring treadmill at 7.0 (which I think is roughly 8:35's).

I'm going to try and get in another 3 miles during my lunch break today, but who knows if that'll actually happen. If I'm not wasting work time posting my workouts, can I really waste work time running?

36 laps in 79 minutes

The word you're looking for is tedium.

We arrived at our meet in Canon City earlier than I suspected, so my pre-meet run went for 9 miles.

I averaged 8:50's, and I felt pretty darn good. I figured I might as well get my week's long run in since I can't count on the weather or an opening in my schedule at home.

If I hadn't done the 50 laps in the gym the other day, I'm not sure I would have survived, but I got the fabled "second wind" at mile seven (though it didn't last as long as I was hoping).

50 laps in 39 minutes

Sounds more impressive than it is. The high school gym is 11 or 12 laps to the mile, so I ran at least four miles and probably 4.5.

Monotonous, yes, but safer than running on foggy streets.

Getting there

Yesterday, I ran 3 miles in the afternoon. Some of it was really fast (crossing Academy at Austin Bluffs), but most of it was easy.

Today, though, I feel like I've confirmed that I've made it back to a habit. I ran to our couples Bible Study with Curtis in the jogging stroller. It's about 5.25 miles, and it felt fine, though the last half mile was uphill and pretty steep. I feel like I'm going to be able to keep it up.

5k in the morning

Yesterday, I fit in a 5k run on the roads near my school. It was pretty good, and it was about 26 minutes +. I took it easy, and it wasn't too bad. I was late for class by 2 minutes, but it was worth it.

The Long Run

Probably the single most important run of the week is the long run.

Thanks to a snowy day that socked in a different part of town, I had the day off with perfect weather. I took advantage of the weather (and the spare time) and ran 6 miles for the first time in a long time. I have a Garmin Forerunner 301 which is super-handy, and--including a pair of stoplight rests--I ran those six miles at an average pace of 9:28 according to its calculations.

This was one of those runs where you just feel great the whole time. I was going easy, but for a long time. I listened to a motivating speech by UT-Austin's distance coach Jason Vigilante for most of the run, and it kept me pumped up but not so much that I blew my workout by speeding up.

While I'm a little disappointed that nearly an hour was only 6 miles, I still ran for nearly an hour and could easily have done more. Soon enough, I'll be back to a long run of 11 or 12 miles in 90 minutes.

Weekend Update

We had a big track meet this weekend, and I ran 4 miles on Friday before the meet started plus 3 miles Saturday, all around 9:00 - 9:20's). Even though those miles are slow, I know I've got to be patient. I'll get there.

Taking today off.

Consistency is the key

Once again, I could only fit in one mile, but that's still one mile. I'm trying to reestablish that old habit of running every morning before school. If I can get that going again, then I'm sure I'll be able to run 30-40 miles a week again.

3 days in a row!

Better late than never

I got up late again, which means I needed to get in my run faster than I'd like. I ran two miles and not too fast, but once again, in the gym.

That's several days of running in a row. Better than it's been.

1 fast mile

Yesterday, I got to school late, but I'm committed to rnning, so I did just one mile fast (6:45). Not bad for inside the gym. I know it's not as good as doing 30 minutes, but right now, the habit is more important than anything else.

Night running

Last night, I ran to the one-mile mark of my usual loop (8:30) and then back (7:45). It's mostly uphill, so the way back was easier (and faster). It felt good, but I've got to be patient.

2-a-days...

Saturday morning was a big track meet, and I managed to squeeze in 2 miles on the AFA track before the meet started. It felt okay; 2 in 17:40. Then after the 1600, I ran about 2 in 17:-- with my miler (who won his heat but lost to someone in a previous heat who was clearly misplaced).

I felt good for both runs, but later that night, my calves felt pretty tight. I'll survive.

Starting to train again is hard

This morning, I ran 24 mind-numbing laps around a high school gym.

I had knee surgery in December, and getting back in shape has been slow going. I've still got good foot speed, but my endurance is shot. The hardest part about it is being patient. I'm not fit like I was in November - running 7:30's for my easy miles. I probably ran 10:00 miles today (assuming the gym is 12 laps to the mile).

Part of me is embarrassed to be running so slow, but I'm glad just to start up again.