OBJECTIVE
16 mi. @ 8:20/mi.
ACHIEVED
16.98 mi. @ 8:06/mi.
5:53 pm 54° 61% 2 mph
This turned out to be a surprisingly good run. I ran from home to the Y to meet up with the renegade Spring Running Club. I underestimated the distance and overestimated my pace so I arrived late but saw them ahead and was able to catch them. There were 4 or 5 guys together. I only recognized Gordon. He said Bob was up ahead and that I should catch him. I saw Bob and someone else and reeled them in. I was now at about 5.5 miles and holding around an 8 minute pace which I figured would be catching up to me on the back half of the run.
Bob introduced me to Michelle. She and her husband are triathletes. It was great to run with Bob and Michelle today. The miles passed by easily and I felt good with the small exception of my left ankle. I thought they would be turning at the 4-mile point but they were going for 10 miles. I figured I'd try staying with them for as long as I could. I stayed with them all the way back to the Y where we stopped. I talked to the other guys who had gone 9 miles, said my good-byes, and took off for the run home. It was tougher alone but I maintained the pace for about a mile or a bit more. At that point the traffic on Cypresswood and later on Louetta was bad and with little or no shoulder in places, I felt like I was in a real-life version of the 80's arcade game Frogger. My pace dropped off over the last mile but I was very happy with the overall result.
PRE RUN
GrapeNuts & skim milk; water
POST RUN
2 SlimFast & water
Later, Wheaties & skim milk
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Daily Injury Report
OBJECTIVE
5 mi. @ 8:20
ACHIEVED
5.14 mi. @ 8:11 (42:04)
4:51 AM 73° 78% 13 mph
It seems like my blog has turned into a regular injury report lately! I wasn't scheduled to run today but figured I better see what I could do about getting some miles since I missed Monday and last Saturday's run was a bit short.
It was a steamy, windy morning. I wore my IT band strap and my knee held up great. Each ankle had problems of varying degrees. I think the right ankle that I twisted lightly running hills yesterday is going to be fine. It's just a little tender. I'm not sure what to think about the left ankle. It doesn't seem to be improving and can get rather cranky. I plan on giving my legs a 48 hour break then going out for 16 miles Saturday morning. Hopefully the rest allows them to get feeling closer to normal.
This morning's run was uneventful. I held a decent pace that was fairly consistent. During Mile 2, I noticed I was going faster than I should have been so a pulled it back and pretty much held it there throughout. My cardio felt good and (other than my ankles) my legs felt surprisingly good after yesterday's hills.
I'm having concerns about my mileage and the inconsistency of my training but am hopeful that I'm on track (I know, you've heard me say that before!). Time is growing short with only 37 days until the marathon. I'm hopeful that every run between now and then can be focused and with purpose that will allow for my best effort on May 17. I also hope my body gets feeling better than it has for the past several weeks. I really believe my training inconsistency is the cause of my nagging injuries.
I believe next week is a "pull back" week in my training schedule. I need to check but I think I've only got 3 runs of 9 miles each. After that, I've got a 3-week buildup cycle with good intensity and distance followed by a week taper. I can't believe it's so close!
PRE RUN
Clif bar & water
POST RUN
SlimFast & water
Later, multivitamin & water; 5 grain hot cereal w/milk
5 mi. @ 8:20
ACHIEVED
5.14 mi. @ 8:11 (42:04)
4:51 AM 73° 78% 13 mph
It seems like my blog has turned into a regular injury report lately! I wasn't scheduled to run today but figured I better see what I could do about getting some miles since I missed Monday and last Saturday's run was a bit short.
It was a steamy, windy morning. I wore my IT band strap and my knee held up great. Each ankle had problems of varying degrees. I think the right ankle that I twisted lightly running hills yesterday is going to be fine. It's just a little tender. I'm not sure what to think about the left ankle. It doesn't seem to be improving and can get rather cranky. I plan on giving my legs a 48 hour break then going out for 16 miles Saturday morning. Hopefully the rest allows them to get feeling closer to normal.
This morning's run was uneventful. I held a decent pace that was fairly consistent. During Mile 2, I noticed I was going faster than I should have been so a pulled it back and pretty much held it there throughout. My cardio felt good and (other than my ankles) my legs felt surprisingly good after yesterday's hills.
I'm having concerns about my mileage and the inconsistency of my training but am hopeful that I'm on track (I know, you've heard me say that before!). Time is growing short with only 37 days until the marathon. I'm hopeful that every run between now and then can be focused and with purpose that will allow for my best effort on May 17. I also hope my body gets feeling better than it has for the past several weeks. I really believe my training inconsistency is the cause of my nagging injuries.
I believe next week is a "pull back" week in my training schedule. I need to check but I think I've only got 3 runs of 9 miles each. After that, I've got a 3-week buildup cycle with good intensity and distance followed by a week taper. I can't believe it's so close!
PRE RUN
Clif bar & water
POST RUN
SlimFast & water
Later, multivitamin & water; 5 grain hot cereal w/milk
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Hills without Will
OBJECTIVE
8 miles w/ 5 mi. tempo @ 7:05
ACHIEVED
WU
4 x hills 6:22/6:32/6:53/6:35
CD
core exercises
5:30 AM
On Monday morning, I started out early from home but only made it about .25 miles. My knee was having none of it so I shut it down and turned back for the house. My knee and ankle haven't been "right" over the past couple of days.
Tuesday evening was Part II of the Tour de Bayou which I probably could have run but decided it wasn't the best thing to prepare for Ogden so I gave my knee and ankle another day of rest. I'm very disappointed that I won't be completing the series and that I let my 20th overall position in the standings slip by the wayside but everything I do now needs to be focused on the marathon.
This morning was Will's Hills. Will is on sabbatical so Lee managed the workout. It was straight forward enough:
Easy run from the YWCA to warm up
25 minutes of hills over a course he laid out (5 ups and downs over xx miles)
4 x slightly downhill strides approx. 35 yards; run backwards uphill then repeat
Easy run back to YWCA to cool down
Core exercises
I wore my IT strap and am happy to report my knee did not bother me this morning even though it was achy before we started. The ankle had a dull ache throughout. I did step on uneven ground during the third hill and tweaked my right ankle (a danger of running hills in the dark, I suppose). It gave me something else to contend with.
I enjoy this group. It's low-key but the workouts are good and seem to be well designed. This morning and last Wednesday, the runs with been short in duration but high in intensity. It's not the most convenient for me to drive downtown at 5 AM but Jonathan is gracious enough to let me clean up and eat at his place afterwards. It's very convenient since it's not too far from where the runs are based and it's close to the office. I've been at my desk before 8 AM each day.
PRE RUN
Clif bar & water
POST RUN
water & SlimFast
Later, oatmeal w/milk & brown sugar; smoothie (Jonathan's special recipe)
8 miles w/ 5 mi. tempo @ 7:05
ACHIEVED
WU
4 x hills 6:22/6:32/6:53/6:35
CD
core exercises
5:30 AM
On Monday morning, I started out early from home but only made it about .25 miles. My knee was having none of it so I shut it down and turned back for the house. My knee and ankle haven't been "right" over the past couple of days.
Tuesday evening was Part II of the Tour de Bayou which I probably could have run but decided it wasn't the best thing to prepare for Ogden so I gave my knee and ankle another day of rest. I'm very disappointed that I won't be completing the series and that I let my 20th overall position in the standings slip by the wayside but everything I do now needs to be focused on the marathon.
This morning was Will's Hills. Will is on sabbatical so Lee managed the workout. It was straight forward enough:
Easy run from the YWCA to warm up
25 minutes of hills over a course he laid out (5 ups and downs over xx miles)
4 x slightly downhill strides approx. 35 yards; run backwards uphill then repeat
Easy run back to YWCA to cool down
Core exercises
I wore my IT strap and am happy to report my knee did not bother me this morning even though it was achy before we started. The ankle had a dull ache throughout. I did step on uneven ground during the third hill and tweaked my right ankle (a danger of running hills in the dark, I suppose). It gave me something else to contend with.
I enjoy this group. It's low-key but the workouts are good and seem to be well designed. This morning and last Wednesday, the runs with been short in duration but high in intensity. It's not the most convenient for me to drive downtown at 5 AM but Jonathan is gracious enough to let me clean up and eat at his place afterwards. It's very convenient since it's not too far from where the runs are based and it's close to the office. I've been at my desk before 8 AM each day.
PRE RUN
Clif bar & water
POST RUN
water & SlimFast
Later, oatmeal w/milk & brown sugar; smoothie (Jonathan's special recipe)
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Ill-advised Racing
OBJECTIVE
3.1 mi. : finish
ACHIEVED
3.13 mi. @ 7:13/mi. (22:35)
8:00 AM 61° 86% 4 mph
I probably shouldn't have run this race today. However, my employer is corporate sponsor and our running group received 35 paid entries. Late Friday afternoon, I checked the registration listings and found only 4 or 5 coworkers had registered so I signed up. Thinking that if Saturday's long run didn't go well that I'd just not race today.
This run is a HUGE local fundraising event for cancer research. On the course - all at the same time - are timed runners, untimed runners, family run/walkers, and walkers. Walking from my car to the packet pickup table was difficult for me. I was still feeling yesterday's run ... BIG TIME. I walked back to the car and stretched. I heard the call for runners and tried slowly running to the start. Wasn't happening .... Luckily they didn't start right away. I found a place in the pack, the gun sounded and off we went. I was behind slow people but that wasn't a problem today! My left ITB was throbbing and I had no get-up-and-go. Early in the race, I considered dropping out. I figured I might be hurting myself but honestly couldn't see I "good" place to drop out ... anonymously. So I slowed down even more and pressed on. I decided to "enjoy" the run as much as possible. When I saw the race leaders doubling back toward Reliant Stadium, it somehow lifted me. I cheered a few of them one then started cheering some of the other runners around me especially the young ones. I noticed that I was starting to pass people. My knee was still giving me a problem but not as bad as before.
I started focusing on the turnaround. I decided that I would work on my technique. Most runners started crowding to the extreme inside. This gave me the opportunity on the outside. So I swung wide while passing people then cut the turn and accelerated off the orange cone. I passed several others and got a lift. My knee was feeling better. I decided that my goal was to not let anyone pass me the rest of the way.
With .5 mile to go, I feeling felt good (relatively speaking). I picked up my pace. There was a long hill that I powered up smoothly; passing many others as I did. I turned hard for the finish and felt fine pushing to the end.
After the run, my knee was really screaming as I walked around trying the food samples available from the sponsors.
Normally this race result would have been a huge disappointment. But in context, I'm happy with the result:
* just ran 19 miles yesterday
* managed negative splits 7:41/7:30/6:39/ .14 @ 0:45 (5:21) [I think this is the first time I've gone negative splits in a 5K.]
* last year's time for this race 24:42
PRE RUN
Clif bar & water
POST RUN
water, pumpkin bread, spring roll, smoothie, granola bar, nutella crepe
3.1 mi. : finish
ACHIEVED
3.13 mi. @ 7:13/mi. (22:35)
8:00 AM 61° 86% 4 mph
I probably shouldn't have run this race today. However, my employer is corporate sponsor and our running group received 35 paid entries. Late Friday afternoon, I checked the registration listings and found only 4 or 5 coworkers had registered so I signed up. Thinking that if Saturday's long run didn't go well that I'd just not race today.
This run is a HUGE local fundraising event for cancer research. On the course - all at the same time - are timed runners, untimed runners, family run/walkers, and walkers. Walking from my car to the packet pickup table was difficult for me. I was still feeling yesterday's run ... BIG TIME. I walked back to the car and stretched. I heard the call for runners and tried slowly running to the start. Wasn't happening .... Luckily they didn't start right away. I found a place in the pack, the gun sounded and off we went. I was behind slow people but that wasn't a problem today! My left ITB was throbbing and I had no get-up-and-go. Early in the race, I considered dropping out. I figured I might be hurting myself but honestly couldn't see I "good" place to drop out ... anonymously. So I slowed down even more and pressed on. I decided to "enjoy" the run as much as possible. When I saw the race leaders doubling back toward Reliant Stadium, it somehow lifted me. I cheered a few of them one then started cheering some of the other runners around me especially the young ones. I noticed that I was starting to pass people. My knee was still giving me a problem but not as bad as before.
I started focusing on the turnaround. I decided that I would work on my technique. Most runners started crowding to the extreme inside. This gave me the opportunity on the outside. So I swung wide while passing people then cut the turn and accelerated off the orange cone. I passed several others and got a lift. My knee was feeling better. I decided that my goal was to not let anyone pass me the rest of the way.
With .5 mile to go, I feeling felt good (relatively speaking). I picked up my pace. There was a long hill that I powered up smoothly; passing many others as I did. I turned hard for the finish and felt fine pushing to the end.
After the run, my knee was really screaming as I walked around trying the food samples available from the sponsors.
Normally this race result would have been a huge disappointment. But in context, I'm happy with the result:
* just ran 19 miles yesterday
* managed negative splits 7:41/7:30/6:39/ .14 @ 0:45 (5:21) [I think this is the first time I've gone negative splits in a 5K.]
* last year's time for this race 24:42
PRE RUN
Clif bar & water
POST RUN
water, pumpkin bread, spring roll, smoothie, granola bar, nutella crepe
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