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.