2009 rambings

1/25 - Carlsbad HM - 1:29:48
3/15 - St. Patrick's day 8k - 31:55
4/6 - Cherry Blossom 10M - 66:43
4/20 - Boston Marathon - 3:19:01
5/16 - Atoms 5k - 20:23
6/13 - Lawyers Have Heart 10k - 43:36
7/18 - Twilighter 8k - 33:47
9/27 - Dash for Dad 10k - 42:13
10/18 - Home Run 10k - 41:47

Things started out great with a sub-1:30 HM in January, then a 31:55 8k, and finally a 66:43 10 miler in April. The wheels were starting to come off then and I had a somewhat disappointing 3:19 at Boston (note that the 10-miler was my goal race, so I wasn't that disappointed). I took a very luxurious recovery time after Boston and then set my sights on a sub-40 10k for the fall, which I thought was doable based on my 10-mile time.

I picked up an injury at the beginning of July that I never quite shook. I ran my scheduled mileage up until November when I finally cried uncle and tried to heal. (Note that the November bar would be about twice as big if this were time instead of miles because of XT.)

What would I do differently? Well, instead of resting a lot I think I'd substitute a lot of jogging after Boston in my recovery. When I encounter my injury in July, I should have just taken a solid week off and done a lot more foam rollering than I did. Mainly I should listen to my body better. I also have to say that I'd have run more "junk" miles. I just think I thrive on mileage. Part of that is just weight management. I was probably ~4 lbs heavier in the fall, but I think it's more than that. There's also the fact that I just like to run.

Yearly mileage totals and races since I started running for good on 2 Jan 2005. Months are in parentheses.

2005 - 1224
10M - 1:24:49 (4), 20M - 3:06:27 (9), M - 4:49:21 (10), 10k - 50:17 (11), 5M - 38:56 (11)
2006 - 2589
M - 4:17:03 (3), 10M - 1:19:25 (4), M - 4:00:03 (5), HM - 1:40:08 (10), M - 3:56:14 (10), M - 3:43:16 (11), 5k - 21:23 (12)
2007 - 2640
5M - 34:20 (1), 1:09:49 (4), M - 3:24:15 (5), 5k - 20:32 (5), HM - 1:33:29 (9), M - 3:27:34 (10), 5k - 20:35 (12)
2008 - 3180
8k - 32:45 (3), 10M - 1:08:49 (4), M - 3:21:50 (5), 5k - 19:49 (5), M - 3:15:22 (11), 5k - 20:15 (12)
2009 - 2303 + 41h59' XT * HM - 1:29:48 (1), 8k - 31:55 (3), 10M - 1:06:43 (4), M - 3:19:01 (4), 10k - 41:47 (10)

I've also added a chart for my weight above. I gained weight all year. Lost a good bit in November (aided by stress and lunch time workouts) and then gained a lot of it back in December (aided by holiday candy). I'm hoping that recent point (first since getting back form Christmas) is just an outlier.

Goals for 2010? Who knows. I want to run more because I like running so that means listening to my body and not getting injured. I hope to set more PRs. I crossed a lot off what I thought were reasonable lifetime goals (sub-20 5k, BQ, sub-1:30 HM), but I still want to break 40 by 40, so that gives me 18 months. I don't have any 10ks picked out though and it will probably stay that way. I think this could be the year an ultra. I also think I should be doubling more -- gets in the mileage and doesn't tear you up.

Here are some concrete goals: 2800 miles, 365 runs, run a new distance, and PR at a distance I've run before.

week of 21 December

Mo - "Rest" (drove to Atlanta for xmas)
Tu - 9.64, 1:34:41, 9:49
We - 10.00, 1:43:07, 10:19
Th am - 9.81, 1:33:48, 9:33
Th pm - 3.11, 32:20, 10:23
Fr - 3.22, 30:35, 9:30; Snuck in between unwrapping and lunch. Victory!
Sa - 8.75 1:21:50 9:21; hilly road. Felt faster today.
Su - 8.10, 1:20:00, 9:53; Time (and pace) a guess. Garmin out of juice and no watch.

Total - 52.65, 8:36:21, 9:48

Short, slow strides and picking it up -- At the end of all the runs I ran 3 or 4 strides. These were barely strides though. I just picked it up over 30 meters or so (sometimes longer). By mid-week that turned into running the last half-mile or so faster. I think this was good to get me out of the shuffling funk and I think had something to do with running faster on Saturday. I did notice that my shins were getting tight by the end of the week and I believe that was because of the strides. On Monday I didn't do any.

I'm curious to see how far I can get on slow running combined with strides and a sprinkling of fartlek. My guess is "pretty far."

My injury still lingers. My piriformis was considerably better but creeped back up when I stopped rolling my butt on the ball. I'm back on that and it's under control. The groin is the big trouble now. The knee is its usual self. I'm wondering if that has some structural problem that can only be overcome by a surgeon. I hope not.

I think I've made progress, but I realize that if I went back to the volumne and intensity that I had been doing I wouldn't be any better off, so am I better or just avoiding what hurts? In any case, I'm running now, which is good. The pain can linger if it wants as long as I'm not doing further damage.

Cherry Blossom 2010

I was very happy to get in the Cherry Blossom 10 miler, which had a lottery for the first time this year. I've run an April ten miler every year since I started running in 2005 (GW parkway 10 miler in '05 and CB since), so it's been my annual fitness test. The results? 1:24:49, 1:19:25, 1:09:49, 1:08:49, and 1:06:43. Even getting below 70 minuts isn't going to be easy for me this year. The basic plan is to rebuild mileage and stay healthy.

week of 14 December

Mo - 79' running (7.5 miles); 40' out and 39' back
Tu - 78' run 8-mile work loop
We - 76' run 8-mile work loop
Th - 76' run 8-mile work loop; just a little fatigued last mile
Fr - 51' run 5.3-mile work loop mid-day; tired. very easy. 3 x ~30m a little faster w/equal rest
Sa - 41' treadmill 4.0
Su - 26' treadmill 2.5

Total 7h08' with 43.3 miles

ART on Mon and Wed.

Discovered that if I swing my leg from 1:00 to 7:00 (on a clock face) at stop lights I can stretch my groin and piriformis and stop the painful, knee-tweaking transition from walking to running after I stop.

I sped up over Tu through Th over the same course without trying. I really didn't even look at my watch until I was done.

Interesting to see how fatigue accumulated over 4 days at the same distance. I cut back on the Friday to recover. Maybe I should have taken even more rest? I'm enjoying this feeling my way through things. On my run Friday, I thought about what the base of the training pyramid should be. Obviously there's easy mileage, but (now this sounds cliche) recovery and injury prevention (stretching, core strength) is below that -- can't run if you're hurt. On top of easy mileage I'd put drills and strides (and maybe hills -- could be considered core strength also). For a creaky old guy like me, it's important to get those legs used to turning over. Only after all of that I would just start to consider tempo pace and then faster stuff (e.g., 5k intervals).

I spent hours and hours (seriously) shoveling snow on Saturday and Sunday. My back hurt, my head hurt, and I didn't much feel like running plus I was afraid I'd mess myself up running with my sore back.

week of 7 December

Mo - 40' run/walk am (125 AHR), 40' elliptical mid-day; 4' @ 5.5, 1' @ 3.0. The old knee problem is coming back. One hoped-for fringe benefit of this injury isn't coming to pass.

Tu - 40' run/walk am (129 AHR), 40' elliptical mid-day; 5.5 mph like monday but only ~5 x 1' walking.

We - 40' elliptical + 40' run/walk (129 AHR) am; 5.5 mph with ~4 x 1' walk breaks. Walks were faster. 3.9 mph

Th - 42' run (10:20) am, 39' elliptical mid-day

Fr -51' run (9:40 pace, 5.3-mile work loop) + 30' elliptical; ran outside and felt pretty good. elliptical'd immediately after running

Sa - 84' run; good old lake route for 8.5 miles. Minimal damage.

Su - 60' elliptical + 20' treadmill; 5.7 mph was ~137bpm

Total: 5h18' running (30.3 miles, 10:28 avg pace, 136 bpm AHR) + 4h09' elliptical (133 bpm AHR)

Notes

Since the 5k on Saturday, I've had a hamstring/adductor strain (kinda in between). It's more of a muscle strain and not the dull, deep ache along my inner thigh that I associate with the osteitis pubis. Starting Monday and definitely on Tuesday I had less of the tightness/pain between my abs and quad to the left of the pubic bone. Butt/hip pain is more confined. The pain seems to be retreating along the path it came in.

ART on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

I haven't mentioned it, but all the ellipticals have include 4-5 x 1' in reverse. This was pretty hard at first, but has become quite easy. Hopefully I've strengthened something that needed strengthening.

I've been doing lat pulls and pushups as well as brief static stretching after ellipticalling. I'm working my way up to 1 pullup! I started at 3-4 x 130# and did 9 x 130# on Monday. I upped the weight to 145 on Tuesday and did 5 x 145.

I'm pretty bummed by knee problem has come back. I think my knee might just be defective. My other thought is that maybe I need to work on massaging/stretching my quads. My trigger point stuff came on Tuesday. Not sure whether it's helpful or quackery. I'm leaning towards helpful, but the DVD tries its best to make it look like quackery.

stop sending me race pictures, please

All the race photo holiday spam didn't bother me as much when I was running.

I kinda like this picture because I'm ahead of the guy in the Boston shirt. I actually ran this as a workout. No, I seriously did. (5 @ MP + alternate miles at 10M and MP.) Finished in 1:32 something. Ah, the old days.

week of 30 Nov

361' elliptical + 75' stationary bike + 69' running = 8h25' total

Mo - 65' elliptical + 15' stationary bike; Had to get up to 77 rpm on elliptical to hit 140bpm. ART at lunchtime.

Tu - 55' elliptical + 10' run on tm @ 6mph + 15' bike; butt hurt badly on run, between ab and leg (left of pubic bone) hurt but didn't run down inner thigh (improvement?); Hit 156bpm at end of run. Ugh I'm out of shape (~30 bpm too high!); elliptical rpms back post-run routine from Pete MacGill's blog -- static stretching, Clif bar, and ice. Because of logistics, my clif bar and ice comes after a shower, so not within 15 minutes. I've did the lunge matrix probably 5 times and the myrtle girdle probably 3. I also had 3 ART sessions.

Saturday's business (5k, new dog, pick up basketball equipment, take daughter to music lessons, ...) sunk my plans for 10 hours.

I noticed a pattern over the week. My elliptical hr was better on Monday. I think the poolrunning was easy over the weekend and I was rested. My hr then degraded until Friday after I cut back on Th and improved again on Sunday after the light day on Saturday.

It's a serious bummer that my run/walk program is what I told my 11 year old boy to do when he wanted to practice for the 5k. One foot in front of the other...

one mile, slow

55' elliptical
10' running at 6mph on treadmill
15' stationary bike

Butt still hurts like hell, but it isn't radiating down my inner thigh anymore, so improvement I guess. Saw the chiro yesterday. Her theory is that tight adductors are puling on my pelvis (pubic bone area) and causing the problem. Not having the adductors involved today might be a good sign. It's amazing how hard 10min/mi was. I've been XTing pretty seriously, but my heart rate was 156 bpm! I should be about 30 beats less at that pace. It's amazing how quickly you lose it. The good news is that I've kept my weight in check.

last three weeks

week of 9 November - 4h20' (no running)

Mo - 30' stationary bike
Tu - 30' stationary bike
We - 30' stationary bike + general strength circuit; left my groin sore -- mistake
Th - 15' elliptical + 5' stationary bike (recovering from We)
Fr - rest (still recovering)
Sa - 2h'00' poolrunning; poolrunning is strange; wicked calf cramps off and on in last 30'
Su - 30' elliptical (limited time)

week of 16 November - 3h06' (ran 5 miles, 49')

Mo - 30' elliptical
Tu - 49' run (9:37); stressed out and needed run. Painful. Bad idea.
We - 45' elliptical; included 6 x 2' @80rpm, 2' @70rpm
Th - 60' elliptical; included 8 x 2' @80rpm, 2' @70rpm
Fr - 0; no time
Sa - 0; same as Fr
Su - 0; same as Fr

week of 23 November - 8h51' (no running)

Mo - 60'
Mo - 60' elliptical + 15' bike; steady ~75rpm
Tu - 36'47'' 3 mile run on grass with daughter at GotR; butt painful from start, groin joined in at 0.5 miles
We - 60' elliptical including 4x1' in reverse (10' in between); sore from run
Th - same on We; not sore
Fr - same as We
Sa 3pm - 81' poolrunning; life in way, late start and pool close before 2 hours
Su 10am - 81' poolrunning; planning 90, but right hip and legs got weak after 75' and I cut short

I've settled into a good rut. My goal is to get in 10 hours a week with poolrunning on the weekend when possible. I'm doing a 5k with my daughter on Saturday, so that's my first test. It's probably not wise to jump into 3 miles, but I have to run with my little girl. After that the plan is to sub running on a treadmill (maybe 15') for part of the elliptical time and see how that goes.

In addition to above I probably did the myrtle girdle and lunge matrix routines 5 times this week after work. I've also been doing static stretches after I exercise and 4-6 x 130# lat pull and 25 pushups immediately following exercise. I've also been icing frequently. You know that stuff your supposed to do.

please not Plantar Fasciitis, too

Well, I've run 8 miles total since the MRI. I ran 5 miles out of frustration two week ago and then 3 miles @12:15 with my daughter for Girls on the Run. Even 3 miles in 36:47 on grass was painful. Ugh. I accepted that it's going to be a long run back.

It was somewhat liberating and I formed the seeds of a plan in my head. After a week of non-weight-bearing activity (bike and pool), I've been able to use the elliptical. The last three days, I fell into 60' elliptical + 15' bike followed by some static stretching. At night I do the Myrtle girtle and lunge matrix routines. I figured a long run of 2 hrs in the pool on the weekend and another 75' pool run and I could start to work up to the 10-11 hrs/week I think is magic for me.

Well, today on day 3 of the elliptical/bike program, I felt a sharp twinge in my left arch. Please, please don't let this be PF. I suffered 18 months of that before. I'm icing it as I write and am about to pop some Vitamin I. I'll poolrun for the next two days. I'm also going to start wearing my Nike Frees on the elliptical. Even my Wave Precisions which are light for a trainer are stiff enough to create a long lever arm and create stress across the bottom of my foot. I think the flexible Frees should help.

On the good news front, I've dropped a couple of pounds in the last few weeks.

week of 2 November -- osteitis pubis

MPW 62 -- did 44 miles + 45' stationary bike

Monday, Nov 2

XT 45 min moderate including GS Circuit

45' elliptical + GS circuit. I assume the 45' means actual time on the elliptical, because this takes about 70' total.

Tuesday, Nov 3

7-8 mile easy run w/7-10x run up bleachers and 2 min @ 3k effort

Butt/hip/groin still hurts. Appt with orthopedist in the afternoon. Did 8.0 @ 9:09. Skipped the bleachers and 3k.

PM: Ortho write me a prescription for Relafen (NSAID) and an MRI to make sure it isn't a femoral stress fracture.

Wednesday, Nov 4

AM: 10-11 mile total moderate run including 30 min progression run. Start out @ marathon effort and finish the last 5 min slightly harder than 10k effort. Full recovery then 10 x 400m @ 3k effort w/1 min jog recoveries

Still have pain, but not quite as bad.

Progression went OK: 7:08/159 max, 6:57/169 max, 6:46/174 max, 3:18/ 175 max (800m), 4:52/181 max (1200m - 6:32 pace). I'm ~7:00 at below MP HR, but running faster is awkward. I don't seem to have another gear.

10x400 The first two 400s were 94 sec and I strained my right hamstring digging on the second. I just tried to run "fast" and relaxed after that. They were 96-97 each, but my butt grabbed me on number 7 and I stopped.

PM: 4 mile moderate including GS Circuit – run 30 sec strides @ 5k effort for all segments on circuit that state run xx

This was a real grit-your-teeth run. My left knee is now the most painful thing! It's very hard to start after stopping. It's quite painful if I try to support my weight on my left knee when it's at a certain angle (~160 deg). I can feel groin each footfall. I managed a speedy 11:03 per mile

I did the GS circuit at the playground and of course the cop rolls through the parking lot with his flash light while I'm doing squat thrusts. It's never when I'm doing pushups!

Thursday, Nov 5

5 mile jog

I tried to run with as little impact as possible. Knee stinks. Kills me after I have to stop at stop lights. 5.1 @ 10:05 pace.

Friday, Nov 6

8 mile moderate run including 7-10 x 45 sec hills @ 3k effort w/easy jog down rests

8.0. Forgot my garmin but same route as Tuesday. I'm guessing around 9:30 pace. Wasn't horrific, but the knee is bad and the hip/groin is still definitely bothering me.

Saturday, Nov 7

8-10 mile easy run w/8 strides

Got an MRI at 8:15. Ran on the treadmill b/c I was waiting for someone to drop my son off.

Things were going OK and then I thought the doorbell rang. Starting back up was brutal on the knee. My HR was way, way high for the pace. 8.0 @ 9:40. I slowed as my HR rose above 145. I was at 10:30 by the end. Usually I'm at 130 bpm at 9:30-9:45 pace. Not sure what's wrong.

Sunday, Nov 8 -time trial/HR max

14-16 mile total moderate run including 5 strides then 2400m time trial and HR max test. Please report your time for the 2400m. Start out relaxed and increase your pace 1-2 sec’s every other lap. Full recovery then 4 x 2 min @ 5k effort w/1 min jog rests. Full recovery then 3 x 100m cutdowns

Guess I'm hurt. Did 45' w/ 40' on the bike and maybe 5' on the elliptical (not a good idea)

week of 26 October

MPW 61 -- did 60.8 + 90' elliptcal

Monday, Oct 26

rest

Flew to St Louis for 5 days of meetings. Ugh.

Tuesday, Oct 27

8-10 mile total moderate run including 10 strides

10.0 @ 8:41 on hotel treadmill.

Wednesday, Oct 28

10-12 mile total moderate run including 10 min @ LT effort. Full recovery then jello maker hills: 8 x 70 sec hills @ mile effort w/easy jog down rests

10.8 @ 8:52. 5 minutes into the LT, the circuit breaker tripped and 3 treadmills lost power (I didn't think it liked mine on 9 mph!). I got another one after ~5 minutes when somebody was finished, but did the next 5 minutes at 5 deg and a lower speed to avoid disabling the other 3 treadmills. Did the hills as 70' at 8.0 deg with equal rest.

PM: 30 min XT moderate

30' + gen strength circuit. I was able to do a pullup! I've been doing 4 x 150 lb on the lat pull and have worked my way up to a single pullup.

Thursday, Oct 29

5-6 mile easy run

6 @ 9:13 on treadmill.

Friday, Oct 30

10 mile easy run w/5-10x run up bleachers

10 @ 9:19 on treadmill. Did 5 "bleachers" of sort. ~15-20 secs on 10.0 deg incline

PM: 30 min XT moderate

Stopped at work gym on way home from airport (aren't I dedicated?). Did the GS circuit again w/ 26' on elliptical and 4' on stationary (elliptical occupied).

Saturday, Oct 31

7-9 mile easy run

8.6 @ 9:01 on my lake route. This was on the harder side of easy maybe (slow pace, but pretty tough route).

Sunday, Nov 1

15-16 miles total moderate including 2 x 15 min @ LT effort w/3 min jog rests. 5 min jog rest then 5-8 x 45 sec hills @ 3k effort w/1 min jog rests

My hip/butt/groin thing bothered me. Ran on muddy trails in a steady rain, so the pace was slow but the effort was reasonably LTish. My "hip" really grabbed me on the 1st of the hills and I decide to forego the rest. I'm thinking of seeing an orthopedist. This thing hasn't gotten better and looking at my log I've had this since the end of June -- 4 months!

PM: 30 min XT moderate

Drove to work gym on a Sunday (again, aren't I dedicated?) and did 30' on elliptical (no GS since did twice already)

week of 19 October

MPW 58 -- did 57.7 + 60' elliptical

Monday, Oct 19

rest

Tuesday, Oct 20

6 mile easy run

6.0 @ 9:36. Caught my kids' cold. Didn't sleep much. I think the immunity hit from the 10k did me in.

Wednesday, Oct 21

8-10 mile easy run w/5-10x run up bleacher strairs

9.3 @ 9:22. Hardly slept at all. Amazing I got through this. No stairs really around work. Bounded up a couple of steep hills, but I was just lucky to make it through this.

PM: 30 min XT moderate

Being sick, I deferred this.

Thursday, Oct 22

8-10 mile easy run w/5 strides and 2 x 7 min @ HM effort w/1 min jog rests then 10 x 30 sec’s @ 3k effort w/30 sec jog rests then 2 x 7 min @ HM effort w/1 min jog rests

10.2 @ 7:59. Finally slept well. Felt much better.

2.0 to the track. 5 strides on the turf (50 yds each). I did these as 2x1600 w/200m rest since that was very close to the prescription. I did the 10x30 just by time. 1600s were 6:46/169bpm max, 6:39/171 max, 6:41/175, 6:41/176. This is consistent with HM heart rate (or even lower) and these felt pretty easy. Not sure why it's not consistent with my 10ks except maybe I'm hill-challenged (might come with my extra baggage around my waist).

PM, I did the deferred XT from yesterday. I mixed in the general strength circuit with ellptical. 10' elliptical, weights, 5' elliptical, weights, ...., 5' elliptical for 30' elliptical and 55' total time. Quite a workout.

Friday, Oct 23

6 mile easy run

6 @ 9:28

Saturday, Oct 24

8-10 mile moderate run including 5-8 strides

10.0 @ 8:35 over a hilly course. This was a pretty stout moderate run with avg HR splits of 139, 141, 151, 150, 153, 154, 156, 150, and 152

Sunday, Oct 25

14-16 mile total moderate run including 5 strides. Full recovery then 1,2,3,4,5,4,3,2,1 min hills @ 10k effort w/1-3 min jog rests.

Did as above except my hill is only 3 minutes long, so I tried to match the total with 1, 2, 6x3, 2, 1. Rest were roughly equal as I jogged to the bottom.

PM: 30 min XT moderate

Did 30' elliptical. I did at the rec center while my son was at swim team. I thought of squeezing in the GS circuit, but 1) not enough time 2) rec center is populated enough that jumping on and off machines isn't easy and 3) it was probably too much for today with 16 in the morning.

I was much about about doing the foam roller this week. My left quad is as hard as a rock compared to my right one for some reason. I think that might have something to do with my recurrent knee trouble.

Home Run 10k elevation profile

Since GPS elevation stinks I used gmap-pedometer to get an elevation profile. Elevation is in meters (because the scale comes out goofy otherwise). This isn't perfect, but it's pretty close to right if you smooth out the noise. The stretch before the turnaround is the toughest, climbing 27 meters in about 800 meters (3.4% grade). That's sounds about right.

week of 12 October

Here's the week. Disappointing race. Perfect weather for me, but I ran a 41:47.

training - week of 2009.10.12

MPW 42 -- did 43.1

Monday, Oct 12

rest

Tuesday, Oct 13

6-7 mile easy to moderate run including 10 strides @ 5k effort

7.2 @ 8:39

Wednesday, Oct 14

8-10 mile total moderate run including 10 x 1 min @ 5k effort w/1 min jog rests

10.0 @ 8:05.

Thursday, Oct 15

4 mile easy run

4 @ 8:50

Friday, Oct 16

4-5 mile easy run including 8 x 20 sec's @5k effort w/1 min jog rests

5.2 @ 8:42. Did GS circuit also.

Saturday, Oct 17

2-3 mile easy run including 8 x 20 sec's @5k effort w/1 min jog rests

3 @ 8:59

Sunday, Oct 18

AM: 10 miles total including 2 min @ LT effort, SNW and Home Run 10k or Rediscovery 10k.

2.5 warmup. 10k in 41:47. 1.9 cooldown.

The course is on some main roads and the footing is good. There are also very few turns -- pretty much just an out and back. The course has some significant climbs. If you believe my garmin, we gained 150ft from 1.75 miles to the 3.1 turnaround.

I felt like I gave it a good effort. 6:23/174 avg bpm, 6:29/184, 6:47/185 (big uphill), 6:29/185 (back down), 6:29/185, 6:39/185, 2:28/186 (0.36). Splits were Garmin. Garmin was 6:34 pace overall. Actual was 6:43, so add 9 secs to each. I'd expect the heart rates to be a little higher, but I ran an even effort and really felt like I had nothing left.

PM 3 mile easy run

3.0 @ 9:51.

my weight -- trending in the wrong direction

I think it is no coincidence that my weight is up as my mileage is down.

week of 6 October

MPW 59 -- 54 miles. Went to my 20th HS reunion this week. I hit the low end of the scheduled mileage on a couple of easy days because of time contraints.

Monday, Oct 5

rest

I had a work conflict on Tues AM, so I did 6.1 @ 9:06 on Mon PM. No bleacher, but used a steep hill.

Tuesday, Oct 6

6-8 mile moderate run on rolling hills including 5 x bound up bleacher stairs, jog down easy

Rest

Wednesday, Oct 7

10-12 mile total moderate run including 8 strides and 7-8x 3 min hills @ 10k effort (not harder)w/ 2 min jog rests. Finish run w/ 3 x 100m cutdowns

11.6 @ 8:40. Did 8x3' hills. Maybe easier than 10k effort? It's hard to tell. Hill was only 3 minutes, so I had to jog 3 minutes back down each time.

I did 30' XT in the PM because I didn't notice it wasn't on the schedule! A healthy effort.

Kept in the 150-155bpm range from 10' on. Did lat pulls because I knew I'm trying to work up to one chip up!

Thursday, Oct 8

5-6 mile easy run

6.1 @ 9:18. I did the GS routine in the PM (w/o the chin ups, of course).

Friday, Oct 9

8-10 mile moderate run on rolling hills including 5-8 x bound up bleacher stairs, jog down easy and run 1 min @ 3k effort

9.9 @ 8:35. Nice moderate run. Bleacher bounds were up a steep grass hill. 8:35 pace includes bounds. Pace was 8:18 for the middle 6 miles.

Saturday, Oct 10

7-9 mile easy run

7.1 @ 8:46. Wanted to do 9, but cut short due to time.

Sunday, Oct 11

13-14 mile moderate run including 5 mile progression run beginning at moderate hard effort for the first mile and increase your effort every mile so the last 1 mile is @ 10k effort. Finish w/5 strides

5-mile progression was on a one-mile gravel loop. The loop has a pretty steep climb (~40 feet on my garmin) in the first 0.25-mile before a nice downhill. Times were 7:56, 7:23, 7:07, 7:02, and 6:51. I felt like I couldn't go any faster on the last one, but my maxHR was only 182.

week of 28 Sept

General Strength 1

Foam Roller Exercises 1-2 x this week

Weights – 1 x this week

-- I need to figure out what to do with this. The weights are too much to do before XT on my big days, but I can't get myself to go to the gym an extra day just for weights.

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

-- I did the lunge matrix and myrtle routine several times this week, but I didn't get the core 100 done.

22 weeks to Goal Marathon

MPW 56 -- 55.4

Monday, Sept 28

Rest

Tuesday, Sept 29

6 mile easy run

7.0 @ 8:43

Wednesday. Sept 30

8-10 mile moderate run including 10 strides

10.00 in 1:25:01. Like the symmetry. This hilly 10-mile loop in 75' should be my gold standard of moderate runs I think.

PM: 30 min XT moderate

30' elliptical. I tried not to take it as easy as usual and stayed in 135-140 bpm instead on ~130.

Thursday, Oct 1

4-6 mile moderate run on rolling hills including 5 x bound up bleacher stairs, jog down easy

6.3 @ 10:03. Guess I missed the moderate! Seriously I was a little sore and did this pretty easy. The 10:03 includes the time doing the bleacher bounds though. I did the bounds on some very steep steps that are perfect for this.

Friday, Oct 2

8-10 mile moderate run including 5 strides and 3 x 2 min @ 3k effort w/2 min jog rests

Same loop as Wed in 54 more seconds. My butt was sore and I felt like I pulled it some on the second 3k effort.

PM: 30 min XT moderate

30' elliptical. More wimpy than Wednesday. low 130s. Felt a little fried.

Saturday, Oct 3

6-8 mile easy run

Kinda sore and tired, so very easy 6.1 @ 9:29.

Sunday, Oct 4

14-16 mile total moderate run including 10 x (1 min @ 3k effort w/15 sec jog rest then ½ mile @ HM effort then without rest run 30 sec's @ 3k effort w/30-60 sec jog rests between all reps). Finish run w/8 strides.

15.95 @ 7:56. Started off very tired and a little sore, thinking this wasn't going to turn out well, but hey, it was 49 degrees when I went out the door!

5.4 to the track, then did exactly as above. I did the 3k by time and feel and then noted a marker and did 2 laps for each 1/2 mile @ HM. The first was slow but the rest were pretty quick and even. My HRs were pretty low too. I'm surprised this was as easy as it was. 800m segments were 3:36/159 MHR, 3:23/168, 3:23/170, 3:21/174, 3:19/173, 3:23/172, 3:21/176, 3:21/178, 3:20/180, 3:20/180, 3:20/180. Oops, I did 11! I did the strides on the way back, but it was the same as usual. I get stiff/tight when jogging after a hard effort and then tweak my knee on the first stride. I loosened up and half-assed the rest.

I cover 8.98 in 60:09 miles in the workout portion (including HM, 3k, and rest portions) according to the Garmin, which is 6:42 pace. Not bad. It's also 3 sec/mile faster than my Garmin read for 10k last Sunday. This was a track and the race had hills, but still.

PM: 30 min XT moderate

I thought of several excuse for skipping this, but the truth is "DNS due to chafing."

week of 21 Sept

MPW 32 -- 33.2

Monday, Sept 21

rest

Tuesday, Sept 22

7-8 mile moderate run including 10 min @ LT effort, 3 min recovery then 3x 400m @ 5k effort w/1min jog rests then 3x 1200m @ 10k goal pace, 2 min recovery between reps. Finish w/3 x 150m cutdowns

A little sticky and warmish, 67 and 90% humidity, so I wasn't expecting much, but it went well.

2.0 wup to track. 2400 in 9:57 (6:40 pace). 400m jog. 3x400 in 94 (6:18), 97(6:30 -- oops), 94 (6:18) w/ 200m jog. 3x1200 in 4:46 (6:24), 4:48 (6:26), 4:48 (6:26). I was already up to 7.9 miles (and this was supposed to be 7-8 miles?), so I did the 3x150 cutdowns on the way back as 3 x 30sec. Did 1.7 total back (walked the last 0.3) for 9.6 total.

Wednesday. Sept 23

5 mile easy run including 10 x 20 sec's @5k effort w/1 min jog rests

5.0 @ 8:49 as above

Thursday, Sept 24

4 mile easy run including 3 x 100m @ 10k goal pace w/1 min jog rests and 10 x 20 sec's @5k effort w/1 min jog rests

4 @ 9:06 as above

Friday, Sept 25

3 mile easy run including 3 x 100m @ 10k goal pace w/1 min jog rests and 7 x 20 sec's @5k effort w/1 min jog rests

3 @ 8:41 as above

Saturday, Sept 26

2 mile easy run including 5 x 100m @ 10k goal pace w/1 min jog rests and 4 x 20 sec's @5k effort w/1 min jog rests

2.15 @ 8:27. Very hard to squeeze that in 2 miles. Had 3 minute wup and 1 minute cdn and still over 2 miles.

Sunday, Sept 27

8-10 mile total run including 2 min @ LT effort, SNW and 10k race!

2.0 wup.

10k in 42:13. Ugh. Mile markers were screwed up as last year, so I went by Garmin.

6:28/179. Over the overpass and a little downhill (not as much as we went up). My heart rate is fine and I'm thinking "hell, I can do this." There aren't a lot of people in front of me.

6:34/184. This is a straight stretch of road with a constant gradual incline. I thought I was still in it. We turn offroad onto a bike path just before mile 3.

6:57/185. What the hell? The bike path gains a good bit of elevation via some rolling hills and is a bit twisty. When I see my split I think I just gave up.

6:43/184. I thought I picked it up, but I just must have settled in the effort. At the 5k split (I remember the marker on the map) I was ~20:50.

6:54/183. We rejoin the straight stretch of road and retrace our steps going down instead of up. I I've averaged higher hrs for half marathons, but I certainly didn't feel like I was jogging.

6:57/183, 1:36(6:17)/188. Just get home. I finished 17th out of like 600 (lots of walkers). A really slow race up front. I hang out long enough to find out they don't have 5 year age groups (I'd have been 2nd)

1.2 mile cdn.

I'm swearing off the Dash for Dad. Weather was much better than last year, but it was still 65 and 93% humidty (dew pt 63.0) at 8am. Any dew pt over 60 really hurts me. The course is also pretty tough for a 10k. I really wish I'd have switched to yesterday's race. It was about 10 degrees cooler (and drier) and the race is net downhill. The net downhill kept me from signing up as I couldn't in good conscious count it. You lose 100+ feet in the first 1.5 miles. Then you do an out and back on a rolling-but-not-terrible stretch.

week of 14 September

Scheduled MPW 50

Did 49.5 + 30' elliptical

Monday, Sept 14

Rest

Tuesday, Sept 15

6-7 mile easy to moderate run including Antelope Circuit 1 x thru

7.02 @ 9:16 + antelope circuit. I did drill, jog and stride back

Wednesday. Sept 16

8-10 mile total moderate run 10 x 30 sec @ 3k effort w/30 sec jog rests. 5 min jog rest then 2 miles @ 10k goal pace. 5 min jog rest then 10 x 30 sec @ 3k effort w/30 sec jog rests.

9.6 @ 8:19. I was bummed by the return of heat and humidity for my workout day. It was 67 deg and 100% humidity, but this went great. The 2 "miles" @ 10k (3200m) were 6:30/171 and

6:31/181 max 184 bpm.

PM: 30 min XT moderate

In St Louis. 30' on elliptical + weights. I didn't like the precor elliptical. I maxed the resistance and still couldn't get above about 115 bpm at 180 strides/sec.

Thursday, Sept 17

4-5 mile easy run

5 @ 9:26 on the old hotel treadmill.

Friday, Sept 18

7-9 mile easy run w/10 strides @ 5k effort

8.7@9:14 around the lake with strides on the way back.

PM: 30 min XT moderate

I didn't get this done -- forgot to pack any clothes for work.

Saturday, Sept 19

6-7 mile easy run

7.1 @ 9:18 out and back on the road.

Sunday, Sept 20

10-12 mile moderate run including 10 min @ LT effort, 5 min recovery then 4 x 800m @ 5k effort w/2 min jog rests then 1 mile @ 10k goal pace w/2 min jog rest then 3 x 200m @ mile effort w/1 min jog rests. Finish w/5 strides

12.0 @ 8:10. I didn't get much sleep and slept in. Too bad because it was 51 degrees overnight! It still wasn't bad as the humidity was very low -- 54% -- but it was 68 degrees in the middle of my intervals and I was in full sun.

I jogged to the track and there was a soccer game going on and they put their bench on the brand new $400K track! I was really looking forward to my new flats on the new track. Too bad. I headed to the elementary school that has a crushed gravel loop in the field that's about 0.25 miles The surface is bumpy and loose in some places.

I used the laps as a guide for the workout and they ended up agreeing very well with the garmin. Still I think the garmin is probably 5 sec/mile generous, but then again the surface sucked. Anyway, here's how it went (garmin paces)

LT -- 9:54 @ 6:35/168 avg/175 max -- Not bad!

4x800 in 6:15, 6:17, 6:12, 6:16 -- last 800 was 178 bpm avg, 185 max

1 @ 10k in 6:28, 181 bpm avg, 187 max

3x200 @ mile -- just did 3x45s hard. garmin pace unreliable for this

I was very pleasantly surprised with this. My avg hr splits from the 10k in June were 176, 185, 185, 187, 187, 190, 194.

PM: 30 min XT moderate

didn't do

week of 7 Sept

54.5 miles + 30' XT

Mo - rest

Tu - 6.98 @ 8:58 including Antelope Circuit 1 x thru

We - 10-12 mile total moderate run including SNW and 5 x 2k @ efforts below: 400m @ 5k effort then 400m @ 10k effort then 1200m @ LT effort. No rest between pace changes and 2 min jog rests between reps. Finish run w/3 x 200m cutdowns. I only did 4 x 2000m. First three in 95/96/5:04, 96/97/5:05, and 96/99/5:13. Then just did 2000 @LT (8:55) and bailed on the 5th. Basically I went out too fast.

Th - 6.16 @ 9:28

Fr - 9-10 mile moderate run including 10 x 30 sec hills @ 5k effort w/45 sec jog rests
9.84 @ 8:24. Great wx and great run, but I tweaked my left hamstring on the 2nd hill and just did 5. PM: weights and 30' elliptical.

Sa - 8.61 @ 9:20. Tired. Very, very easy run around lake. Knee crummy.

Su - 13-15 mile total moderate run including SNW and 10 x 2 min @ 5k effort w/2min jog rests. Finish w/ 3 x 200m cutdowns. Run over rolling hills (if prefer to run on a track run 10 x 500m @ 5k effort w/2 min jog rests). 13.04 @ 9:17. Very tired. Wanted to quit after two miles from just being tired. My knee was worse too. I did 5x2min @ 5k and didn't feel like more.

week of 31 August

training - week of 2009.08.31

Hills 9

Foam Roller Exercises 1-2 x this week

Weights – 2 x week

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

3 weeks to goal 10k

MPW 60

Week total: 59.1 miles + 90 min XT

Monday, Aug 31

rest

Tuesday, Sept 1

6-8 mile easy run including 10 x 100m increasing effort strides w/1 min jog rests. Run the first stride @ 5k effort and the last stride @ mile effort.

8.0 @ 8:48. 61 degrees and dry! Wore my new racing flats (Mizuno Ronins). Loved them. Checked out the high school track. Still being resurfaced and under plastic netting so I did my 10x100m strides in the parking lot. Wondering if it will be open to the public when it's done. My HR/pace wasn't as good as I expected with the good weather

PM: went to chiro again

Wednesday. Sept 2

10-12 mile total moderate run including SNW and 12-15x 300m @ 3k effort w/1 min jog rests. Full recovery then 3 x 150m cutdowns.

Glorious weather again. 58 degrees!

Did 16 x 300m in 68, 71, 70, 69, 69, 68, 70, 68, 68, 69, 69, 69, 67, 69, 70, 68 w/ 200m rests in 66-71 secs. I was shooting for ~70 (6:15 pace), but ended up with most at 68 (6:05) or 69 (6:10). This wasn't hard at all. Max HR on the last interval was 185. I never felt stressed.

I did the 150m cutdowns and checked the time at 100m - 20, 19, 19. I thought that was pretty fast, but this (M90 100m in 17.8) makes me feel pretty pitiful.

Body feeling pretty good.

PM: 30 min XT moderate

did the weights and 30' on elliptical

Thursday, Sept 3

5-6 mile jog

Still great weather. 62 degrees. Ran to the lake and back. 6.2 @ 9:32

Friday, Sept 4

8-10 mile moderate run including Antelope Circuit 1 x thru and run 2 min @ 3k effort up a hill if possible

AM: Nice again. I did my usual 9.3 mile work route @ 8:26 (although accidentally pause Mr. Garmin for 0.4 miles). I did 2' up a nice steep hill. Did the Antelope circuit but used a not-too-steep hill instead of bleacher.

Lunch: chiro yet again. Prescibed Myrtle Hip Girdle Routine (progress by adding reps) and Lunge Matrix, to help with my hip extension. She ran out of time and couldn't get to my knees.

PM: 30 min XT moderate

Did core 100 and 30' on the elliptical.

Saturday, Sept 5

7-9 mile easy run

AM: My right leg was suddenly unshackled after the appt on Friday. It was crazy. I felt like I could swing my leg straight forward and back for the first time in forever. I'm still duck-footed though.

PM: I did the Myrtle Hip Girdle routine and Lunge Matrix suggested by the chiro.

Sunday, Sept 6

13-15 mile moderate run including 10 min progression run beginning at moderate effort and running the last few minutes @ 10k effort. 2-5 min recovery then run 4 x 4 min hills @ 5k effort w/2 min jog rests. Full recovery then 8 x 45 sec @ 3k effort w/1 min jog rests

15.0 @ 9:10. I did this on the treadmill because 1) 4 x 4 min hill w/2 min jog means I need a 10-minute hill, which I don't have and 2) it was 75 by the time I got going and would have been in the 80s by the end of my run. For the progression I stepped from 8:00 to 6:40 pace in 2 min increments. Hills were 6.8 mph at a 7 degree incline. I only did 9 mph for 3k. I initially hit the 10 mph "one touch" button and felt like I'd get thrown off the back end. My knee didn't do that great. It's definitely regressing. I need the chiro to do that magic thing again.

PM: 30 min XT moderate

30 minutes of breaststroke at the pool. I can't get myself to go to the elliptical at work on a weekend. Not a lot of time (~2.5 hours) between run and swim, but no problem.

week of 17 August

Hills 7

Foam Roller Exercises 1-2 x this week

Weights 1-2x week-on days of your choice

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

5 weeks to goal 10k

MPW 53 -- 49.9 + 30' swimming

Monday, Aug 17

5-7 miles easy

7.0 @ 9:29 outside.

Tuesday, Aug 18

7-8 mile total moderate run including SNW and 2-3 sets of, 30, 20, 10 sec hills @ mile to 3k effort w/easy jog down rests. Finish run 5 strides

7.85 miles. In California. 3 @ 9:33 on hotel treadmill waiting for it to get light, then 4.85@8:21/145 outside. No hills, so just went fast for 3 x (30,20,10).

Wednesday. Aug 19

Rest

AM: Flew back from California on 6:45am flight

PM: I realized, I couldn't run Th morning, so I did Th's run. On treadmill. Only did 9.0 (of 9-11) b/c it was 8:40pm when I finished. Did 8 x 5' @ 9:13 & 5 deg incline (my usual LT incline). Hitting 179 at the end of the last interval, so definitely HM effort at least.

I obviously didn't get in XT or weights.

Thursday, Aug 20

9-11 mile total moderate run including 7-8 x 5 min hills @ HM effort w/1 min jog rests. Finish run w/3 x 150m cutdowns

Rest

Friday, Aug 21

4-5 mile jog

5.0 @ 9:29 on treadmill again.

PM: Chiropractor and first experience with ART. I was already getting much better in the last week, so I'm afraid I won't be able to tell what's fixing me. There are a couple of very isolated painful spots on my IT band up towards my hip and maybe that's part of the problem. I get my gait video taped next Thursday.

No time for elliptical at work with the chiro appt and it was thundering when I got home, so no swimming either.

Saturday, Aug 22

8 mile easy run including 10 x 100m increasing effort strides w/1 min jog rests. Run the first stride @ 5k effort and the last stride @ mile effort.

8.0 @ 9:08. More on the treadmill. I've been avoidign outside!

Sunday, Aug 23

12-14 mile total moderate run including 5 x 1 miles (run the first .75 miles @ 10k effort then run the last .25 mile @ 5k effort). 5 min jog rest between reps

Thought of going outside, but the thought of doing these in full sun and 80 degrees, kept me on the 'mill. Again.

Used 9.2 (6:31) and 8.9 (6:44) for 5k and 10k paces. Messed up on first rest and only took 1 minute! I figured it out near the end of my second repeat and then took 9 minutes (1 + 9 = 10) and then 5 minutes rest for the rest. I was surprised I made it through this. My max hr's for the repeats were 179, 182, 185, 191, and 194! I planned to do 2 cooldown for 14 total, but I swear I find jogging afterwards mentally tougher. On the roads, you have no choice but to get home. Today I stopped at 13.0.

PM: Foam roller, core 100, and swimming.

week of 10 August

Hills 6

Foam Roller Exercises 1-2 x this week

Weights 1-2x week-on days of your choice

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

6 weeks to goal 10k

MPW 52

Total: 48.1 miles, 60' elliptical, 26' swimming

Monday, Aug 10

rest

Tuesday, Aug 11

6-8 mile easy run

8.0 @ 9:04 on the treadmill. I did my test run on the treadmill at the island gym. It's very hard to compare since the treadmill could be off, but the results were much better. 1st mile was set to 6.0 mph (10:00/mile), 2nd at 6.3 (9:31), next five at 6.6 (9:05), and the last mile at 6.8 (8:49). I hit the lap button at when the distance rolled over each mile and it didn't quite match the settings. Splits were 9:44/139 (high HR b/c not sweating yet), 9:19/124, 8:57/130, 8:58/132, 8:57/131, 8:56/130, 8:57/132, and 8:41/134. The heart rates were nicely low for the pace. Who knows if the machine is calibrated though.

Wednesday. Aug 12

10-12 mile total moderate run including (no rest between pace changes)

8 min @ 10-15 sec’s faster per mile than GMP then 1 min surge

7 min @ GMP then 1 min surge

6 min @ 10-15 sec’s faster per mile than GMP then 1 min surge

5 min @ GMP then 1 min surge

4 min @ 10-15 sec’s faster per mile than GMP then 1 min surge

3 min @ GMP then 1 min surge

2 min @ 15 sec’s faster per mile than GMP then 1 min surge

Finish run w/5 strides

On the treadmill. I screwed this up a little by accident and made it a little too easy. I went in thinking 10 secs slower than MP and alternated 7.8 mph (7:41) and 8.0 (7:30) with 8.2 mph (7:19) as my "surge" pace. This was on the same treadmill as Tues, but I didn't read the distance, so these might have registered as 10 secs/mile faster. Anyway, this wasn't hard at all. After the first minute or two I got to 150 bpm and crept to 161 at the end -- 153 bpm avg for the 41 minute "fast" part. I kinda sorta did the strides. Strides on a treadmill are not what they are on the road. By the time the 'mill gets up to speed, you're slowing it back down again.

PM: 30 min XT moderate

Weights & 30' elliptical (132 bpm avg)

Thursday, Aug 13

4-5 mile jog

5.1 @ 9:05/137. Ran outside. A little too short to rationalize the extra 30+ minutes of going to the gym. 73 and 100% humidity (i.e., dp 73).

Friday, Aug 14

8-10 mile total moderate run including SNW and 2 sets of, 30, 20, 10 sec hills??(if possible) @ mile to 3k effort w/easy jog down rests. Finish run 5 strides

9.03 @ 8:34/150. I really should have gone to the gym, but it rained like hell the night before and I had high hopes for better weather. I didn't start until 7:30am. At 7:53, the airport that I run by recorded 75.0 deg with a dp of 75.0. 100% humidity again. At least the fog blocked the sun again. Again it burned off and on the way back the sun was shining. The airport recorded 79.0 deg with a dew pt of 77.0! I think that's a dew pt record for me. Anyway I did the prescribed efforts on the flats. It really wasn't that terrible, but I'm glad I decided to turn around and make it 9 instead of 10 miles.

PM: 30 min XT moderate

Weights and 30' elliptical (126 bpm avg). I didn't get the same machine and it was hard to keep my HR up on this one.

Saturday, Aug 15 vacation

3 mile easy run including 5-7 strides @ 5k effort

Big fat zero. Wasn't going to happen. Drove back up I-95 home.

PM: Core 100.

Sunday, Aug 16

12-14 mile moderate run including 30 min run up a hill @ LT effort, full recovery then 10 x 60 sec’s @ 3k effort (on flat ground), 1 min jog recovery between reps. Finish run w/3 x 150m cutdowns

14.0 @ 9:10/160. Ran this on the treadmill. I did the same 5 deg incline and 6.5 mph. I actually did 32 min uphill b/c I accidentally hit the lap button midway. This was perfect for LT again. Avg'd 178 bpm for the last 16 minutes and hit 182 at the end. The 3k effort was only 9.0 mph. Only 6:40 pace but pretty scary on the treadmill and it felt like plenty. I managed the cutdowns at 9.5 mph for 30'' each. Only 6:19 pace? I'm supposed to run a 10k at close to that? Paces seem so much faster on the treadmill.

PM: 30 min XT moderate

26' of breaststroke. Would have done 30' but the whistle blew for life guard break time and my kids didn't want to wait around, unable to swim, to watch their dear old dad.

week of 3 August

Hills 5

Foam Roller Exercises 1-2 x this week

Weights 1-2x week-on days of your choice

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

7 weeks to goal 10k

MPW 56

Totals: 55.0 miles + 60' swimming

Monday, Aug 3

rest

PM: Did weights at work. Came home. Mowed the lawn. Went to the pool and swam 30' breast stroke.

Tuesday, Aug 4

7-8 mile easy to moderate including 3 x 30 sec high knees up a hill, 3 x 40 1 leg hops for distance up a hill, and 3x 30 sec speed bounds up a hill

8.07 including 3 x 30 high knees, 6 x 20'' speed bounds, and 3 x 40 leg hops (that was tough). Miles were in 9:10-9:30 range except the first mile, the drills, and coming up the big hill.

Wednesday. Aug 5

9-11 mile total moderate run including 8 x 3 min hills @ 10k feel w/2-3 min jog rests. Finish run w/10 strides

11.0 @ 9:23. Ran up my 3-minute hill 8 times and jogged back down. My apologies to the young couple on the bench, but it's the only 3-minute hill in town! I did 7 strides. Strides are always tough after hills/intervals and I worked my way up in speed. I could really feel my hip/butt thing though and it was starting to radiate, so I stopped.

PM: 30 min XT moderate

I flew to Atlanta and didn't get this done. (I did on Monday instead.)

Thursday, Aug 6

4-6 miles easy

6.0 @ 9:17. Warm, but surprisingly less humid in Atlanta than DC. Maybe it's just hotter and lower relative humidity?

Friday, Aug 7

8 mile moderate run over rolling hills including SNW and 10 x 100m increasing effort strides w/1 min jog rests. Run the first stride @ 5k effort and the last stride @ 800m effort. Full recovery then 60 sec’s @ 3k effort

8.0 @ 8:28. (1:07:45). Nice moderate run. I did all as prescribed. Ran 2.4 to a 1-mile loop. The 2.4 was mostly flat, but the loop has one end 30-50' higher than the other, so I think I can call that rolling. I did the strides as described on the way back.

PM: 30 min XT moderate

Skipped. Nowhere to cross-train really.

Saturday, Aug 8 Vacation

6-8 mile easy run

8.0 @ 9:24. Took the short cut (1.1 miles) to the loop because I thought the crushed gravel would be better for my legs than the concrete/asphalt. Afterwards, drove to the beach.

Sunday, Aug 9

13-15 mile total moderate run including 3 x 8 min @ 10k feel w/2 min jog rests between reps. 10 min jog rest then 6 x 45 sec’s @ 3k effort x w/1 min jog recoveries

13.9 @ 8:33. Down on the Ga coast. Very rough weather. 75.2 deg, 75.2 dew pt at 6:45. The sun was blocked by fog(!) thankfully. 75 and foggy. Did a little under 7 out to Ft. Frederica. Despite the brutal conditions, my heart rate wasn't terrible. ~133 at 9:00 early and then 8:44/142, 9:10/144 before the turnaround.

I turned around and did the 3 x 8' @ 10k w/ 2' jog rests. I shot for ~7:00 because I run 7:01 at the 10k in June and the conditions here are worse (although the terrain is flatter). First was 7:07/168 (I think the Garmin cheated me slightly on the twisty sidewalk as it said 7:46 after 1m30sec). Second was 6:56/179. I might have run that a little hard. Third was 7:08/180. Early in this I relaxed and was about 6:55, but I took my eye off my watch and slowed some. Still this was quite a workout.

I did the 6 x 45'' on the strip by the airport. By now the fog had burned off and I was in the blazing sun. My heart rate didn't get much below 170 during the rests and I averaged 177 over the 6x45'' including the rest intervals. I was gassed and did the last 0.5 cooldown in 9:00 at 175bpm!

I drank 20oz of gatorade during the run, but this was rough.

PM: 30 min XT moderate

I got a weekly pass at a gym on the island and did the weights and 30 minutes of breaststroke.

week of 27 July

Hills 4

Foam Roller Exercises 1-2 x this week

Weights 2x week-on days of your choice

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

8 weeks to goal 10k

MPW 56

I did 52 miles this week plus 60' of XT, 9h5m total. The first time over 9 hrs in a long while. ~10 hrs used to be my benchmark. I'm pretty sure the "hip thing" is piriformis. I laid off the NSAIDS for my stomach and b/c it's probably not good for me. The pain is mainly in my butt now.

Monday. July 27

Rest

Rest

Tuesday, July 28

5-7 mile easy run

7.0 @ 9:10/134bpm. Didn't get much sleep. 72 deg/94% (70 dp).

Wednesday, July 29

9-11 mile easy run including Everest Hill Drills 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. Full recovery then 10 x 90 sec hills @ 3 to 5k effort w/2-3 min jog rests. Finish run w/3 strides

9.3 @ 9:09/147 bpm. Horrible HR for the pace. Very hot and sticky. 75 deg/91%. 72 dew pt has to be the highest this year. Had to get up at 4:45am to try and make the bus (car in the shop). Really bad run. I had to take a detour to the McDonald's bathroom, forgot about the everest drills and 3 strides. Did the sprints. Got through about 6 hills before realizing I had to hoof it back home if I had any hope of making the bus. Didn't do final three strides. Missed the bus and my wife drove me. Fun!

PM: 30 min XT moderate

After all that in the morning, I forgot to bring my gym bag to work so no weight or XT. Did Core 100 at home.

Thursday July 30

4-6 miles easy

AM: Did 6.15 on the treadmill. I repeated the test I did on 9 June (plus an extra mile). I did 1 @ 6.0 mph (10:00), 1 at 6.3 (9:31), and 4.15 at 6.6 (9:05). Temp/humidity inside was 70 deg/54%. My heart rate splits for the 9:05 pace were 137, 139, 141, and 145 compared to 134, 133, and 134 on 9 June. I was very dissapointed with my fitness.

PM: Did weights and 30' on the elliptical.

Friday, July 31

6-8 mile moderate run including 4 x 20 sec hill bounds, 3 x 20 sec high knees, 3 x20 x 1 leg hops for distance and 10 x 100m increasing effort strides w/1 min jog rests. Run the first stride @ 10k effort and the last stride @ mile effort

7.8 @ 9:05/157 bpm. I did a pretty good job on this. My hill wasn't great though. It was too short and probably not steep enough. I did 3 x 20 high knees, 5 x ~12'' hill bounds, and 3 x 20 x 1 leg hops. I did the strides on the track and they went pretty nicely. I did 10 laps, striding the home straight. I absolutely nailed the times from the very first one. I started w/ 24 secs (40:00 10k pace) and worked down to 22 secs (5:54 pace).

Very, very hot sticky again. Even worse than Thursday. 77 deg/83% (72 dew point).

PM: 30 min XT moderate

I did 30' of breaststroke at the pool. It was backstroke that really exacerbated my pain before. I think it might be the narrow range of motion of a flutter kick that affects it. I also hope breastroke would strengthen my hip adductors. Supposedly weak adductors cause piriformis in some people. Also weak adductors can cause duck-footedness (like my right foot). Plus breaststroke is less tiring!

Saturday, Aug 1

6-8 mile easy run

8.0 @ 9:35/140. I was very tired and my legs were a bit heavy. I went for a slow run around the lake, but my heart rate still got up there. 69/68.5 dp at the start and 76/71 at the end. I had new niggle in my right shin.

Sunday, Aug 2

14-16 mile total moderate run including SNW and 5 min @ marathon effort. 3 min jog rest then 5 x 1 min hills @ 3k effort w/1 min jog rest. 5 min jog rest then 30 min run up a hill @ LT effort. Finish w/3 x 200m cutdowns

AM: 14.0 @ 9:26/153. Did this on the treadmill and pretty much followed the plan except I didn't do the SNW (not sure how on a treadmill). 30' uphill @ LT was only 9:13 pace, but 5 deg. I hit 183 bpm at the end, so firmly LT. My old left knee really bothered me for the first mile or two. The shin is clearing up, but still there.

PM: did core 100

week of 20 July

Hills 3
Foam Roller Exercises 1-2 x this week
Weights 2x week-on days of your choice
Core 100 1-2 x week – 100 total reps of ab/back exercises
9 weeks to goal 10k

MPW 55 scheduled -- did 51.4

Monday. July 20
rest

(swapped with Tuesday). 6.6 including hill drills. Splits 8:40-9:00 excluding the drills and the first mile. Quads were still sore from the 8k.

PM: Weights and foam roller.

Tuesday, July 21
6-8 mile easy to moderate including 3 x 20 sec high knees up a hill, 10 x 1 leg hops for distance up a hill, and 3x 20 sec speed bounds up a hill

No running. Did core 100 I think.

Wednesday, July 22
9-11 mile total moderate run including SNW and 10 min progression run- begin with 2 min high moderate then increase effort every 1-2 min so that the last 1 min is at 10k effort. Full recovery then 18-22 x 60 sec @ 3k effort w/1 min recoveries. Run workout over rolling terrain.

Did 11.05 @ 8:11 including SNW, progression, and 22 x 60 as above. I doubt I hit 3k effort, but it was tough! 22 minutes at 3k effort seems like a lot. Run was on dead flat terrain. 1 mile from the hotel to a 3-mile loop in a wildlife refuge (Assateague Island). My quads were still a little sore.

PM: 30 min XT moderate
No XT.

Thursday July 23
5-6 mile jog

6.02. Quads were now quite sore after Wednesday! I could feel my hip when I woke up -- didn't take Vitamin I before bed.

Friday, July 24
7-8 mile moderate run including 10 increasing effort 30 sec uphill strides. Run the first stride @ 10k effort and progress your effort every stride so that the last stride is @ mile effort. Full recovery between strides. Finish run with 1 min @ mile effort

7.22. I took a spur of the 3-mile loop, to a beach only accessible via foot or bike. Very nice. There was a light rain and it was cool. I didn't see a soul until about 5.5 miles. Quads sore again, but I did the 10x30'' and the 1 min @ mile effort but it was all on the flat.

PM: 30 min XT moderate
Did weights but not the XT. I won't to get my hip totally healthy before I add back the XT that I asked for!

Saturday, July 25
6-7 mile easy run including 5 strides @ 5k effort

6.27. Skipped the strides in hopes of getting my quads ready for Sunday.

Sunday, July 26
14-15 mile moderate run including 36-48 min total of 6 min @ marathon effort (not pace)/5 min @ HM effort/1min @ 3k effort. Run over rolling hills. Finish run w/3 x 150 cutdowns

AM: 14.0 on the treadmill. I got a late start and didn't want to run in 80+ degrees. Quads totally fine. Didn't even think about them. Did the 36 minute "tempo," but was probably a little easy with the pace: 7.8 mph (7:41)/8.2 mph (7:19)/8.6 mph (6:58). Despite my wimpy pace, this was quite a workout! I forgot about the cutdowns. I hit the incline button a few times to add "rolling hills," but I need to figure out how to program this thing. The builtin programs are too short and vary both the speed and incline (and the incline is often very steep).

PM: Core 100

week of 13 July

Mon 5.99 0:52:13 8:43 149
Tue 6.00 0:55:45 9:17 135
Wed Rest 
Thu 6.00 0:55:35 9:16 137
Fri 3.80 0:35:00 9:13 133
Sat 9.01 1:11:24 7:56 168
 - 7:57 PM 3.01 0:28:05 9:20 145  (includes SNW warmup)
 - 8:46 PM 5.02 0:33:45 6:43 188  (8k in 33:47)
 - 9:22 PM 0.98 0:09:34 9:48 165  (cooldown)
Sunday 4.00 0:38:03 9:30 140
 - did Core 100 workout

Week 34.81 5:08:00 8:51 146

All easy in the desert Mon - Fri. Flew home Friday and landed at 10:15pm. My hip improved ever so slightly each day, but still bothered me. On Friday, I finally got the genius idea to take ibuprofen and felt considerably better on Saturday. I could still feel it when I raced an 8k on Saturday night, but it was more isolated and didn't seem to affect my gait at all. The funny thing is, ibuprofen is exactly what helped the same problem last fall. What do I keep a log for anyway? I'm continuing the ibuprofen and am somewhat optimistic I'll be able to do a workout on Wednesday.

The 8k went OK. The weather was spectacular for this event. 70 at the start and 66 at the finish. *Very* low humidity. Upper sixties isn't exactly PR weather though and the course is pretty hilly for an 8k. That doesn't account for missing my PR by almost 2 full minutes though. I figure I'm at least a minute slower for the same course and conditions. Considering how little consistent running I've had in the last months, I suppose this is to be expected.

The race itself, the Rockville Twilighter 8k, is loads of fun and I highly recommend it. It starts at 8:45pm and turns into a big party afterwords.

week of 6 July

Mon 7.02    1:04:21    9:10    140
Tue 6.01    0:56:53    9:28    127
Wed 5.99    0:55:43    9:18    132
Thu 6.00    0:56:03    9:20    135
Fri 6.00    0:55:04    9:11    136
Sat 6.00    0:57:18    9:33    139
Sun Rest
              
Week  37.02    5:45:22    9:20    135

I ran all week in the desert easy on flat streets. I didn't have more than an hour to run and I needed to heal my hip anyway. Temps were ~70-75 and very dry. Flew back Friday night (got home at 10pm). Sat was on the treadmill at home. I stayed up until midnight catching up on home responsibilities and was too exhausted to run before leaving for the airport on Sunday.

My hip improved much, much less than I thought it would and I could feel it each day. It did get slightly better each day.

week of 29 June

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

12 weeks to goal 10k

MPW 52

49 miles

Monday, June 29

rest

Tuesday, June 30

5-7 mile easy to moderate including 6 x 10 sec high knees up a hill and 4x 10 sec speed bounds up a hill

6.3 @ 9:17 including hills

Wednesday, July 1

AM: 9-10 mile total run including 2 x 13 min @ LT effort w/5 min jog rests between reps over rolling hills. Finish w/8x 20 sec uphill strides and 5 x 10 sec sprints w/60 sec recoveries

10.8 miles inlcuding all above. Pace was OK. ~6:50 first 13' and 7:15 or so second 13'. First was net downill and second was well uphill including two of my long repeat hill.

Hip bothered me some afterwards.

PM: 30 min XT moderate

35' swimming. Got beat twice racing my son in 25m fly. My "hip" was *really* sore after this. My hip thing was really migrated around. Now it's more in my groin. I can feel it in my groin when I lift my knee especially if I apply any resistance (like putting my hand on my knee when I raise it). It feels a lot like this.

Thursday July 2

5-6 mile jog.

6.0 on the treadmill @9:30. Groin not as painful when I woke up but still not good. Was able to jog OK after warming up for a mile at 10:00.

Friday, July 3

8-9 mile easy to moderate including 4 x 20 sec high knees up a hill and 4 x 20 sec speed bounds up a hill and 10 increasing effort 20 sec strides. Run the first stride @ 5k effort and progress your effort every stride so that the last stride is @ 800m effort. Full recovery between strides

I just did this as a semi-moderate run. 58 degrees outside! It was fantastic. Almost brisk. The bad part is I got to experience just how bad a shape I'm in without excuses. 8.4 @ 8:54 per mile, averaging 141 bpm (~139 excluding first mile). Hard to tell on this course though (run around the lake).

PM: 30 min XT moderate

Skipped, to try and help my hip.

Saturday, July 4

6-7 mile easy run including 3 min @ 3k effort

7.0 on the treadmill including 3' at 6:27 (OK, not quite 3k, but going fast on the treadmill is scary).

Sunday, July 5

13-14 mile total run including Antelope Circuit. Full recovery then 15 min progression run from marathon effort to 10k feel. 5 min recovery then 10 x 100m increasing effort strides w/1 min jog rests. Run the first stride @ 10k effort and the last stride @ mile effort. Full recovery then 2-3 sets of: 2 x 200m @ mile effort w/200m jog recoveries then 800m @ 3k effort w/ 800m recovery then 300m @ mile effort w/200m recoveries. Repeat 1-2 more times

This run was a struggle from the beginning. After 2 miles at ~10:00/mi I did the antelope circuit 1x thru and my butt/hip/upper thigh was not doing well. I decided I'd surely do damage if I did the workout, so I set off to finish 14 easy. Even that was a struggle. It wasn't my hip really. I was just fried. I was struggling to run 10mm, so I cut it short and ended up with 10.5 @ 9:53. Ugh.

week of 22 June

MPW 51

52 miles

Monday, June 22

Rest

Swapped with Tuesday. 7.0 w/ drills.

Tuesday, June 23

5-7 mile easy to moderate including 5 x 10 sec high knees up a hill and 4 x 15 sec speed bounds up a hill

Rest (swapped with Mon). Of course they cancelled the meeting I was working around. Oh, well.

Wednesday, June 24

9-11 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

8x 10 sec's w/75 sec rests

4 x 15 sec's w/75 sec rests. Full recovery then 3 sets of 3,2,1 min hills @ 5k effort w/1:1 recoveries or easy jog down rests

11.45 miles. Did everything, but forgot the strides before the sprints. My hill was 2:47 -- not quite 3 minutes. Some people walking their dogs might have thought I was a little crazy.

Thursday, June 25

5-6 mile jog

6.0 in 56:40 on the treadmill. Watched Episode 3 of The Wire. Stopped my Garmin mid-run and forgot to turn it back on.

PCC

yep

Friday, June 26

6-8 mile moderate run including 10 increasing effort strides. Run the first stride @ 10k effort and progress your effort every stride so that the last stride is mile effort. Full recovery between strides.

Nice moderate run around the lake. 8.42 miles @ 8:45. 1:13:XX. I think the 75' moderate run is probably the perfect Friday morning run. It's a good addition to the medium/long run workouts on Wed and Sun.

Saturday, June 27

6 mile easy run

6.0 @ 9:17 on treadmill

Sunday, June 28

11-13 mile total run including Antelope Circuit. Full recovery then 15 min out and 15 min turn around beat your time run. Run the initial 15 min @ HM effort (note where you started) then turn around and run the next 15 min @ LT effort. Your goal is to finish further compared to where you started the first 15 min.

Finish w/3 x 150m cutdowns

Did 13.0 + about 0.5 (stopped my garmin when giving a guy directions and forgot to turn it back on). I probably dogged it a little on the first 15' as I made it back to my starting point in 13:53 and I definitely wasn't above LT.

PCC

Did 1x thru. Was running late and had to drive to Norfolk Sunday night and planned to do the other time when I got there, but it was almost 10pm when I got to my room

Forgot to do the core 100 this week

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.