week of 15 June

Stamina/Power Phase

Foam Roller Exercises 1-2 x this week

Weights –Power Core Circuit (PCC) 2 x week

Core 100 1-2 x week – 100 total reps of ab/back exercises

MPW 48

50.2

Monday, June 15

rest

Tuesday, June 16

4-5 mile easy to moderate including 5 x 10 sec high knees up a hill and 4 x 15 sec speed bounds up a hill

5.0 including knees and bounds.

PM: Core 100 and foam roller

Wednesday, June 17

8-10 mile easy run including Antelope Circuit 1x thru. Full recovery then 3 strides and sprint training:

Use the first few sprints as a warm up and always run in control with good form

6x 10 sec’s w/75 sec rests

4 x 15 sec's w/75 sec rests. Full recovery then 10 x 45 sec hills @ 5k effort w/1 min jog rests. Finish run w/3 strides

12.6 in ~1:50. Oops. Totally mis-estimated the distance I'd cover and did 5.0 @ 8:43 before reaching the track and doing the antelope circuit. Tried the stadium bounds but the bleacher were pretty flat and only about 8 rows, so skipped that. Circuit, strides, and sprints covered 2.6 miles. It was ~1 mile to my hill and then the hills covered about 2 miles, getting me to 10.6 and leaving me 2 miles from home.

It was a much better day weather-wise. On the verge of raining the whole time but didn't do more than sprinkle. There was a breeze and it was 63 deg, dew pt 57.

Forgot to put on my HRM. Also forgot to pack my running socks, so I sacrificed my black dress socks. I was stylin'.

Very good workout.

Thursday, June 18

5-6 mile jog

PCC

AM: 5.6 @ 9:37. Last Wed. mentioned I was sore around my left hip. Still am! It got a little better but was exacerbated after the 10k.

PM: Did the PCC. I took a little more rest in between and we ate dinner between the first and 2nd time through. It was kind of nice because I didn't sweat and have to take a shower. I guess I lost some aerobic benefit though.

Friday, June 19

5-7 mile easy run including 10 increasing effort strides. Run the first stride @ 10k effort and progress your effort every stride so that the last stride is at 3k effort. Full recovery between strides.

7.0 @ 9:16 including 10x strides. I ran just a little faster. Still very easy. Avg HR 134. I think my easy days have been indistinguishable from jog days lately. Lazy in the heat, I suppose. Still have the hip thing.

Saturday, June 20

6 mile easy run

6.1 @ 9:27

Sunday, June 21

12-14 mile total moderate run including 1,4,3,2,1,4,3,2,1,4,3,2 min @ efforts below w/half jog rests (ie 30 sec rest after the 1 min). Finish run w/8 strides.

1 min @ 3k effort

4 and 3 min @ 10k effort

2 min @ 5k effort

14.0 miles @ 8:44. Did this on the treadmill. The thermometer in the room read 69 and 50% humidity which beat the 75 and 70% outside at 7am. The treadmill wasn't too bad. I got The Wire for my birthday and watched the first two episodes. It makes in so much easier to watch something like movie that goes somewhere. Endless loops on headline news or espn is the worst. Crime shows are perfect because they suck you in enough to want to see what happens. It was a little hard to follow the show during the intervals though!

The intervals were pretty tough. I did 6:44, 6:31, and 6:18 pace for 3k, 5k, and 10k effort. I messed up the first 3 min rep and did 5k pace. After the first 4/3/2/1, I didn't know if I was going to be able to do it, but I got used to it and it wasn't terrible. The 30 sec rest between 1 and 4 is tough! Unfortunately, I lost track and accidentally skipped the last 3, so I did 1,4,3,2,1,4,3,2,1,4,2. Did the 8 strides on the mills which was just "go faster for a little bit" x 8.

PCC

Yep.

week of 8 June

Posting a week late. Been sitting in draft the whole time.

MPW 39

37.2

Monday, June 8

Rest

Had a physical. Something unusual on the EKG. I pegged the meter on one of the waves. Doc said probably "athlete's heart" but I have to get an echocardiogram. Never happened before (he gives me an EKG yearly). Maybe it's the increased intensity? Or more likely, he needs to calibrate his machine.

Tuesday, June 9

4-5 mile easy run

Thunder outside. I did a test run of sorts on the treadmill. 1 at 6mph (10:00), 1 at 6.3 mph (9:31), and 3 at 6.6 (9:05). We keep our house very cold. The thermostat read 67, but it's much colder downstairs. I bought a temp/humidity gauge for this purpose but couldn't find it. (It had been stuck to the treadmill, but my son broke the magnetic clip.)

PCC

Did right after the run, so I'd only have to take one shower today.

Wednesday, June 10

6-8 mile easy run including 3 strides then 4 x 10 sec high knees up a hill and 4 x 10 sec speed bounds up a hill. Full recovery then sprint training:

Use the first few sprints as a warm up and always run in control with good form:

4-6x 10 sec's w/75 sec rests. Full recovery then 7-10 x 60 sec hills @ 3k effort w/60 sec jog rests. Finish run w/3 strides

Very nice out this morning. I did 3+, 4x knees and bounds, 3 strides (out of order), 6x10'' sprints, and 7 x 60'' hill, jogging back down. Forgot the last three strides. Hard to memorize this thing!

Total was 7.8. Wicked t-storms rolled through and the skies cleared and the temps went down. 62 degrees. Felt pretty good except I was sore around my left hip from the beginning. Forecast hasn't changed for Sat 8am -- 70 degrees, 59 dew pt. I'm hoping the storm blowing through hasn't been factored in the forecast yet and things will improve. Doubtful though I guess. As nice as it was at 6am it warmed to 67/65(!) by 8am.

Got the echocardiogram. Video of your heart is kinda creepy. Preliminary results next mon or tuesday.

Thursday, June 11

4-5 mile jog

5.0. Unreal humidity. I was basically running in a cloud. I actually heard it raining (rain drops hitting leaves), but didn't feel them hitting my skin. Probably just the wind, but this was strange.

The forecast for Sat got considerably worse! 72 with a dew pt of 65. This is in the "why even bother showing up" territory for me.

Friday, June 12

3 mile easy run including 6 strides @ 5k effort

dew pt of 69. I needed gills. Considerably worse than yesterday even. I certainly didn't feel like running a 10k afterward! Tomorrow is going to be fun.

Got a call from the cardiology tech. Normal. Shocking.

Saturday, June 13

10-12 mile total run including 2 min @ LT effort, 6-8 strides @ 5k effort then 10k race

2 mile wup incl. 2' @ LT and 6 strides. 10k in 43:36. 1.9 @ 10:34 cdn. 10.1 miles total. Blech. 74 deg and 70% humidity. I wilt with anything over 60.

Sunday, June 14

4-6 mile jog

6.2 miles @ 9:35. Did core 100 and foam roller.

10k results - 43:36???

Well, I have to fess up to a real klunker. 43:36! Can you believe that? I split 41:15 at Cherry Blossom. I did manage to just hold off the F55-59 winner though :-) (I looked at CB and she finished 9 minutes behind me there.) I think I actually ran a good race (21:55/21:41), but I'm just not in shape (at least for these conditions).

In terms of heart rate at least, I've never run a 10k harder (the motivation of holding off F55-59 I suppose). My average HRs were 176, 185, 187, 187, 187, 190, 195 (last .2). By comparison my avg's in the 31:55 8k I ran mid-march were 177, 185, 186, 187, and 187. I hit 197 on the sprint. And I misjudged the sprint, too! I got away from Betty (it's OK to laugh) and thought I'd really sprint it in. Then I realized the finish was ~200m farther than I thought. I slowed a little and Betty almost caught me before I surged again. Oh the drama!

Anyway, this happens to me every summer. I run a marathon, the mileage goes down some, it gets hot, and I run one too many races. Last year I went from a 19:49 5k mid-May to a 35:57 5 miler in mid-June. Time to rebuild!

I wonder whether there is there any way I'm running sub-40 this fall? I haven't run this little mileage in a long time and it has me a little nervous. My usual reaction to a klunker like this is to do a lot of long slow distance and build the miles.

week of 1 June

Best week in a while. Finally up over 50 mpw again. This was 50 the hard way though.

Stamina/Power Phase

Foam Roller Exercises 1-2 x this week

Weights –Power Core Circuit (PCC) 2 x week

Core 100 1-2 x week – 100 total reps of ab/back exercises

MPW 51
51.2

Monday, June 1

Rest

No problem :-)

Tuesday, June 2

5-6 mile easy run including 4 x 15 sec high knees up a hill and 3 x 10 sec speed bounds up a hill

6.1 total. Found a very nice hill for high knees and bounds at the lake. Very steep and parallels some concrete steps that would be good for stadium bounds. Unfortunately it's only a 10 sec hill for speed bounds. 9:10-9:25 pace except bounds and first mile. 2nd and 3rd miles were 9:12 at 128 and 130 bpm? 3rd was downhill, but still pretty good.

Wednesday, June 3

8-10 mile total moderate run including 10 x90 sec's @ 5k effort w/2 min jog rests. Finish run w/6 strides and 3 x150m cutdowns

9.7 total. Out and around the lake. Swung by home after 8.3 to get my son who wanted to run with me. He (sorta) did the strides with me. (I forgot and did 5 instead of 6.) Then he jogged around the 10 laps per mile (161m/lap) elementary school crushed gravel track while I did the cutdowns. 36, 35, and 35 secs (6:00, 5:50, and 5:50 pace) with 1 laps jog in between.

PCC

Did it in my hotel room in St. Louis. (Yep, back again.)

Thursday, June 4

4-6 mile easy run

6.0 on the hotel treadmill @ 9:20. It was actually nice outside, but rather than run by the pawn shops and check cashers, I stayed indoors. My HR was quite good. I never saw above 130 and was at 9:13 pace after the first couple of miles. Am I breaking through? Or was the treadmill mis-calibrated?! HR avg was 129, but HRM was messed up for first 5', reading >160. Rest was in the 125-130 range with a max(!) of 132. Strange.

This made me think that maybe I should do one of my easy runs on the home treadmill at a fixed (low) heart rate to see how I'm progressing during the summer since it's so hard to tell outside in the heat.

Friday, June 5

6-8 mile easy moderate run including 4 x 15 sec high knees up a hill and 4 x 15 sec speed bounds up a hill. Full recovery then 3 strides then sprint training:

Use the first few sprints as a warm up and always run in control with good form

3 x 10 sec's w/75 sec rests

3 x 15 sec's w/75 sec rests

Full recovery then 10 min @ LT effort up a hill

7.9 total @ 8:57 (incl drills). Light rain and 60(!) degrees outside. Felt nice. 3+ miles to to the hill. My HR seemed pretty good on the warmup. Did dirlls on grass hills then strides and sprints on 1/4-mile crushed gravel loop at the middle school. My 10-minute hill was only ~6:30 and the rest was downhill (with a steep last 50m up). First LT mile 7:14, last 2:49 @ 6:29 pace. Jog home.

Saturday, June 6

5-7 mile easy run

7.0 @ 9:30. Out and back to the lake. Didn't get out until almost 11am, but it was overcast and only 69 (dew pt 59). I've worn the Frees every day except Wed. I really think they have an effect. My turnover is higher and I feel more over my feet.

Did the Core 100 in the afternoon.

Sunday, June 7

12-14 miles total including Antelope circuit 1 x thru. Full recovery then 10 min @ marathon effort and without rest run 10 min @ HM effort, 5 min recovery then 10 increasing effort strides. Run the first stride @ 10k effort and the last stride @3k effort . 5 min recovery then 5 x 2 min hills @ 3k effort w/2-3 min jog rests

I felt sick to my stomach overnight and didn't sleep well. (A whole bag of vinegar and salt potato chips will do that to you.) Then I slept in and got running at 10am when it was 72 and 77% humidity. By the time I finished a little after noon it was 77. I've got to reckon with the fact that it's summer and I need to get out early on the weekends and that an entire bag of potato chips isn't good for you.

I did this on my lake lollipop course. 2.25 to the lake, 2 x 3.8 per lap, 2.25 back, plus all the up and down of the hills on the quite-steep hill coming up from the lake made for a very hard 14.26 @ 9:33. That's one of the hardest runs I've ever done, especially for 9:33 pace! (That *did* include the antelope circuit where I'm not really running.)

Did ~2.5 mile warmup and then antelope circuit 1x thru. Ran 2.4 easy then 10 min @ 7:35/162 (about 168 at end). This was predominantly downhill, but it was hot. I think this was a good pace. Next 10 min was @ 7:23/176. Rolling uphill on the trail. Good HM effort I think based on the HR. I did some math and decided to do the 10 strides on 75'' intervals and that should leave me 5 min rest before the hill. Well, I was pretty gassed and the 10 not-so-great strides kept my HR in the mid-160s. I probably only had 3 min or so before the hill. I dutifully did the 5 x 2min up the steep hill w/ 2 min jog down each time. I was certainly giving it what I had, but this is definitely not how I envision hill repeats @ 3k effort. It was more like going up the last hill of my marathon last fall -- slow, but hard. Jogged home with a 9:49 @ 162 (mostly uphill) and 9:12 @ 159 bpm mile. Wow, was I gassed.

PCC

4 pm: Did the PCC.

week of 25 May

MPW 45

45.6

Monday, May 25

Rest

Yep.

Tuesday, May 26

4-6 mile easy run then Power Core Circuit (PCC)

5.3 @ 9:33 then PCC (2x thru). Skipping rows and squat thrusts like last week.

Wednesday, May 27

8-10 mile total moderate run including 10 min @ LT effort then 20 min fartlek @ 5k effort w/1-3 min recoveries (fartlek means you choose the time that =s 20 min..ie 1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4 = 20 min @ 5k)

Finish w/3 x 150m cutdowns

Ran on hotel treadmill in St. Louis. 2 miles wup. 10' at 7:03. 90'' at 10:00, then 31:20 fartlek w/ 5k segement (6:31 on treadmill) and 1:30-2:00 rests at 10:00. 21:37 cdn including 3x40' @ 6:00, 5:52, and 5:42. Total 10.0 miles. 1h23'.

Thursday, May 28

4-5 mile easy run

5.0 on the hotel treadmill in 47:30. 9:30 pace.

Friday, May 29

6-7 mile easy run including 5 x 15 sec high knees up a hill and 3 sets of 3 x 100m cutdowns and later PCC

Out and back on the shoulder of a road running by the airport. Not exactly scenic but relatively flat and it did the job. There was a very nice grass hill for the high knees and I got in the cutdowns. 6.0 miles @ 9:01.

Got home from St Louis and did the PCC at about 8pm. Skipped the rows (still haven't figured this out) and the squat thrusts (being cautious).

Saturday, May 30

5-6 mile easy run

6.1 miles @ 9:31. I must have been exhausted because I slept until 9am! By the time I got out is was pretty warm, but very dry and pretty decent in the shade.

Sunday, May 31

11-13 mile moderate run including Antelope Circuit 1 x thru. Full recovery then 25 min @ progression run. Start @ marathon effort and increase your effort every 5 min so that the last 5 min is at 10k feel. 15 min recovery then 4 x 75 sec hills @ mile to 3k effort w/very easy jog down rests. Finish run w/5 strides

Ended up staying up past midnight (That's what sleeping in does to you!) and woke up at 8am. Got out at 9am when it was 64 deg, but it warmed to 70 by 11am. The humidity wasn't bad at all, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

This run is pretty complicated logistically (stadium bounds?) and after plan A went by the wayside, I headed to the highschool track. 5+ miles to the track and my legs (especially quads) could still feel Friday's PCC.

Except for some funny looks, the Antelope circuit went fine. I even made it through the squat thrusts. I think I was bringing my feet to far forward before and my stomach sagged, straining up near my ribs. The bleachers weren't great for bounds though. The stairs aren't steep enough or long enough. I did the circuit on the turf which was nice because it was measured out (just did 25 yds instead of meters). It was HOT on the turf and just as hot on the track.

For the 25' progression, I thought I'd do 5 1200m increments since each would be about 5 minutes. The plan was to hit the first 200 in 55'' (7:20 per 1600) and then take a second or two off that in the next 1200 block. Unfortunately, I hit the first in 50''! I tried to slow down, but the first 1200 was 5:20/168 bpm (7:09 pace). The second was 5:15 (7:02) and the third was 5:05/182 (6:49). Well, that's as fast it got. I was breathing really hard and the next was 5:10/184 (6:56). I struggled through the last in 5:20/183 (7:09). I guess that was a (slow) 6k race? The heart rates weren't crazy high, but I didn't have anything else.

Anyway, I jogged home and dutifully did the 4x75'' hills. Turns out the hill next to my house is a perfect 75'' hill. Did a half-decent job at the 5 strides and headed home. 13.2 total. 8:33 avg.

PM: Did the core 100.

week of 18 May

Monday, May 18

rest

Tuesday, May 19

4-5 mile easy run including 4 x 15 sec high knees up a hill and 4 x 15 sec speed bounds up a hill

Wednesday, May 20

8-10 mile total moderate run including run up a hill for 25-30 min @ half marathon effort. Jog easy down Finish run w/6 strides and 3 x150m cutdowns. If you are not able to run up a hill try to run on rolling hills.

10.6 @ 8:02/mile. 5 miles easy-to-moderate. 4 miles mostly uphill -- 7:26/169 bpm avg, 7:16/174, 7:06/179, 7:19/177. 6 half-hearted strides, followed by a pretty good job at the cutdowns. By the way, the first part of this course is a pretty fair Boston simulator.

PCC

Did PCC in the evening. Skipped row again, since I can't do at home. I pulled something in my abs in the top center (around my "xiphoid process" -- that thingy that stick below your sternum) doing the squat thrusts.

I also starting coughing in the evening having finally succumbed to the virus spewing from the woman at work whose been hacking up a lung since Monday. The worst part is feeling my ab strain every time I cough.

Thursday, May 21

4-5 mile easy run

Emphasis on the easy. 4.0 @ 10:00 and that's all I really wanted. My heart rate was high, too. Think I'm sick. This is the 4th day of incredible weather. It was in the 40s. Mon-Th have been ~50 deg or less. Two bad I didn't have these conditions for the 5k.

Friday, May 22

5-6 mile easy run including 3 strides then sprint training:

Use the first few sprints as a warm up and always run in control with good form

4 x 15 sec’s w/75 sec rests

3 x 20 sec's w/75 sec rests

Humidty was back and I'm still sick. My HR was off the charts for my pace. Other than that it went fine. 2.25 wup, sprints w/75 sec rests, and 2.25 cdn. Nice to be back at the track.

I was planning to do the core 100 tonight, but I'm still feeling the ab strain when I cough.

Saturday, May 23

5-6 mile easy run

Terrible night. Sick and couldn't sleep more than 45 minutes at a time. Aborted after 2 miles. Had to sit outside from 9:30am to 7pm volunteering and watching my daughter's soccer tournament. Actually felt better from sitting in the heat all day. Maybe tomorrow will be OK. The ab strain is still there. Think I'll do PCC tomorrow but avoid the squat thrusts.

Sunday, May 24

12-13 mile moderate run including 15-18 x 1 min @ 5k effort w/1-2 min jog rests over rolling hills

Had to leave the house at 7:45am for another fun-filled day of soccer. Alarm went off at 4:45. I actually only woke up two or three times during the night. Anyway, I was off at 5:10. Can't say I'm not committed! Looks like yesterday was rock bottom. My Garmin was out of juice, so I went old school. 9 minutes past the rec center porta-johns should have put me at about 6 miles. Turned around and did 16 x 1' @5k w/90sec jog rests. The hills were definitely rolling. More fun on the way down than up! I think this was close to 5k effort. I might have slacked a little, but no worse than 10k. Hard to tell. I'm actually glad I got out before the games and didn't try to squeeze it in between as I beat the sun. We're going to call this one a win.

PCC

Finally got home from the soccer extravaganza at 7:45 (we did also get to be home between 11 and 1). Did the PCC 2x thru. I skipped the squat thrust b/c of my strain and the rows b/c I can't figure out how to do them at home. (No Smith machine at this house.)

Total: 40.3 miles (scheduled 45)

week of 11 May

Stamina/Power Phase/Race Week
Foam Roller Exercises 1-2 x this week
Weights –Power Core Circuit (PCC) 1 x week
Core 100 1-2 x week – 100 total reps of ab/back exercises

MPW 32
32.5

Monday, May 11
rest

Tuesday, May 12
5 mile easy run including 4 x 10 sec high knees up a hill and 4 x 10 sec speed bounds up a hill

In Atlanta for work. 5.10 @ 9:37 including drill. I did the drills on the sidewalk because I didn't have any other choice.

Wednesday, May 13
6-7 mile easy to moderate run including 15 min @ LT effort. 10 min recovery then 15 x 30 sec’s @ 5k effort w/1 min jog rests

Still in Atlanta.

This is really hard to squeeze into 6-7 miles. Did 1.64 mile warmup, 15 min tempo was 7:00, 6:50, 1:12 (6:38 pace). Turned around. 10 min jog. Fit in 13 x 30 sec @ 5k before I was back where I started. 7.40 miles total.

PM: Did the Core 100. I did 15 crunches, 15 rt oblique crunches, 15 lt oblique, 15 reverse, 10 prone double arm raise, 10 prone straight leg lift, 10 australian crawl, and 10 opposite arm/opposite leg.

Thursday, May 14

4 mile easy run w/4 strides

Still(!) in Atlanta. 4.00 @ 9:15 including 4 strides.

Friday, May 15
3 mile easy run w/6-8 strides @ 5k effort

3.24 @ 9:22/137 including 8 strides.

Resurrected my Nike Free 5.0v1s. After giving up on them, I found that with the 4.5 insoles they feel fine. (I put 1100 miles on a pair of 5.0v2s. Then I horded 4 pairs of v1s when they were on sale and found the arch didn't feel right. The "4.5" insole is lower than the "5.0" insole.)

Saturday, May 16
8-10 mile total run including 2 min @ LT effort, 5-8 strides @ 5k effort then 5k race

3 mile wup w/2' tempo and ~6 strides. 5k in 20:21. 2.6 mile cooldown. race report here

Sunday, May 17
4 mile easy run

PCC

4 miles @9:17. It rained overnight and was nice this morning. Did the PCC 2x thru afterwards. I skipped the reverse row b/c I don't have a bar or weight machine at home to use.

PM: Did foam roller.