Runnin' in Mud...

Gallaway Track, 2:00 p.m., cloudy, very windy, 60.  We traveled back from Disney today and have been up since 1:45 a.m.  This workout went okay, despite the travel, 5 days of no running, and endless walking at the parks.  The big headwind the last 2.6 miles was tough.  I warmed up 2.6 miles and then ran my 1 mile course (measured with a wheel).  4x1 mile (6:37.34, 6:34.84, 6:35.11, 6:33.77) - avg 6:34.75.  All w/1:15 jog/stretch recovery.

Disney was great, but I was actually sore on Thursday.  I have what I would call a "bad back."  The countless tram rides, plane rides, resort hotel beds, carrying kids, and walking with heavy back pack did not do much for it.  There was one day (Thursday) that we got back from the park early and I was going to shed the back pack and go for a quick run.  About :30 into the run, I stopped and shook my head in amazement.  The legs felt like cement and refused to go.  I have trained for many marathons and other races and NEVER have I felt that feeling.  I believe it was a combination of lack of quality sleep, poor eating, and the massive amounts of walking we were doing!   

This was an unscheduled day off.  I still feel sooooo fatigued from the trip and lack of sleep on Sunday.  I also pushed a bit too hard on Sunday and should have just done an easy run, but not me - I felt that need to push it becuase I had 5 days off!  That's painful to type, unless you're injured.

Hwy 205, 3:00 p.m., cloudy, windy.  My whole left side felt tight (back, hip, hamstring).  The first 4 miles were uneventful and fast (7:31 pace).  The big headwind that I had the last 2.5 miles slowed me down a bit.  I still feel sluggish from the trip, etc.  8 miles in 1:00:30 (7:34 pace).

I am finally racing a race this weekend.  When I resumed my running career in 2003, this was my first race back.  It is a 10k and I would like to have raced a 5k by this time to get a gauge on what pace to go out it.  Oh well...I'm not stressing about it and will go out at 39:30 pace or so and adjust from there.  The weather should be quite nice and not anything like tonight (thunderstorms, tornadoes, etc).  

Tonight, I chose the treadmill upstairs to run on.  We are still experiencing high winds from the storms yesterday.  I can tolerate many types of weather, but I cannot stand to run in high winds.  It was an uneventful 5 miles, which included some 1 min. pick-ups just to pass the time. 

I put our son, Ethan (5 month) in his MegaSaucer and he watched me and played the entire time.  I thought it was quite nice of me to take the kids upstairs and give the wife some alone time. 

No run today.  I have been feeling extremely fatigued since we returned from our Disney "vacation."  My lymph nodes (neck) are slightly swollen and my throat hurts a little.  The wife had a work dinner, so I had to stay with the kids as well.  I could have forced a treadmill run, but don't want to risk further sickness, especially with my first race this Saturday.  

Patriot Lake, 1:15 p.m., sunny, 55.  Absolutely beautiful day today.  Tomorrow is the race, so I didn't want to run much more than 5 miles and wanted it to be on a flat, soft surface.  I chose to run 3 laps around the 1.67 mile lake.  There are no mile markers, etc., but each lap was with :01 of each other - now that is pacing (12:46.04, 12:46.56, and 12:47.00).  I just ran easy and by feel.  My throat is still a bit sore and my lymph nodes are now only slightly swollen.  The left side of my hip felt somewhat tight, but loosened up.  Then, the front of the left hip flexor felt tight.  I had a chiro adjustment this week, which really seemed to help.  I have been stretching more lately.  5 miles in 38:19 (7:39 pace). 

St. Valentine's Day 10k, 10:00 a.m., sunny, 49.  Last year, I ran 40:15.  This year, I had no idea what to expect.  Was I in 39:00 shape, 41:00 pace, etc. - I really had no idea.  The past few months, I have been consistently trying to do a weekly 10-11 mile run, which I normally don't do.  This was my first race in over 7 months.  Late last summer, I was diagnosed with 2 stress fractures and have SLOWLY tried to come back.  This was not a PR for me, but I will take it and it gives me a good indication of where I am at right now.  The course is hones, in that there are multiple hills, etc.   The mile markers were a bit off at around 4-5 miles, but he splits were: 6:09, 6:22, 6:39, 6:39, 6:51, 5:58, and 1:02.  As I said, mile 5 was a bit long and 6 was a bit short.  When I saw that I could break 40:00, I really kicked it in.  I was 8th overall and trailed the first two females all race.  I did get one of them at the end, but was ~:02 behind the other.  Trailing them all race actually motivated me.  I have no problems getting beat by a female, at all!  The wind was a factor at times, but the sun and temps were great.  One more month of QUALITY training until my 1/2 marathon.  I would really like to PR (1:26:57), but don't know how possible it is.  I'd really like to crack 1:26:00.  Any suggestions for the final month???

Random Arlington, 1:30 p.m., sunny, windy, 48.  I ran out Hwy 205 and saw 2 really large, aggressive dogs coming towards from ~200m away.  At that point, I decided to alter my route and returned to randomly run around neighboring communities.  My legs were slightly sore and fatigued following yesterday's race.  The next 4 weeks I hope to be at 50 mpw.  7.1 miles in 56:08 (7:58 pace).  Nice and easy!

Hwy 205, 4:00 p.m., sunny, 54.  Another easy run today.  The legs, hip flexors, are still a tad bit sore, but I felt really great on this run.  I had to force myself to slow down and thought about doing a tempo run, but fought the urge.  I don't mean to sound like a pansy, but I am still paranoid/fear another stress fracture.  4 weeks of SOLID training until the 1/2 marathon.  I would like to run ~1:26:30 or so.  6 miles in 46:28 (7:45 pace). 

Well, so much for my serious training.  Here it is Tuesday and I already am taking a day off.  I'm not sick, injured, etc.  This week will be busy around our house and I will have to juggle lots of things to get my "SOLID" running in.  Today, I mismanaged everything and am a bit mad at myself.  Oh, I also ate crap all day.  In between meetings and interviews, I chose junk food and fast food, which I don't normally do.  Ugh!     

AHS, 3:45 p.m., sunny, 29.  The plan was 4-5x1600m @ 6:18.  I could have done 5, but stopped at 4, as I had been doing 6000m worth of repeats.  Tonight, I did 6400m worth.  Each was followed by 1:45 rec. (6:17, 6:17, 6:18, 6:17) - 6:20/mile pace.  I followed the above up with 4x200m @ mile pace.  I felt really good tonight.  I would really like to have company for some of my runs.  The high school track team left and so did the coach.  I have an agreement with the coach that I will lock up if I'm there when they leave.  They left, but some younger coach stuck around for a few minutes and, mistakenly, locked me in.  I searched for a while to find a place to jump the barbed wire fence.  Oh the joys of jumping fences after an interval workout.

Treadmill, 7:00 p.m., indoors.  I waited too late and it was dark and miserable out, so I opted for the dreadmill.  I warmed up easy and then did 5x2:00 hills at max setting - whatever that is.  We have a very old (hand me down) Precor treadmill that has a calibration issue as well as it won't show the grade hill that you are running.  I swear this thing will allow you to run a sub 4:00 mile.  The manual indicates that it only goes to 10 mph (6:00 pace), but it is much faster than that.  The little one, for some reason, decided to wake up several times during the night, which meant sporadic sleep.  I don't require alot of sleep, but I like it to be continuous.  It is difficult for me to fall asleep after being awakened.  5 miles in 40:00 (8:00 pace).

Hwy 205, 3:00 p.m., cloudy, 58.  Nothing special - out and back on 4 mile course.  Too busy to write for now.  8 miles in 1:01:15 (7:39 pace).

Jetway Loop/Hwy 205, 7:30 a.m., cloudy, 42.  I debated whether or not to run long today, as I did a hill workout on Thu. and 8 miles on Fri.  The legs didn't feel "there" today for my 4-5 miles @ 6:55 pace.  After a few miles, they felt better, so I ran out highway 205 and did 4.5 miles @ 6:57 avg.  The out portion was ~7:00 pace, but the return (with wind) was ~6:55 pace.  I felt good and immediately showered and watched my nephew play his basketball games.  Absolutely no rest between.  11 miles in 1:22:00 (7:27 pace).

Hwy 205, 1:00 p.m., cloudy, 65, and windy.  The winds were blowing from WSW @ 20 mph, but gusting up to 30 mph, which made for a fun run!  Post injury, this is my highest mileage.  3 more big weeks, a taper week, and then my goal race.  Things are feeling good again and I am motivated for some fast races at every distance this year.  I plan to hold 45-55 mpw for the rest of the year.  7 miles in 54:50 (7:50 pace).

I was off for President's Day and took full advantage of it - took daughter to see the Hannah Montana Movie/Concert.  It is a Disney production and I was shocked when I was charged $15.00 per ticket.  I inquired and the young lady at the ticket office said, "Disney sets the prices, not us!"  My daughter watches the show and me going from room to room, I tend to hear the songs, etc.  I even find myself humming the little tunes at times.  I actually like the 3D effects of the movie, despite the goofy glasses we had to wear.  We went to lunch before and had a good Daddy/Daughter day.  She still likes going places with me and "hanging out" and going on dates with me.  She is a bit over 5 years, but I'm sure the day will come that she gets embarrassed by Dad and his short running shorts, etc.

Prior to the day's activities, I tried to run an easy 5 miles.  I ran, but it was a bit quicker than I would have liked (7:33 avg/mile).  I guess my fitness is really coming around, which is good.  I have only 3 more weeks of solid training before the 1/2 marathon.  My left hip is still a little on the tight side, but it feels muscular.  My wife has a busy week with meetings, etc.  She works 95% of the time from home, so this week, I have to arrange my work schedule and juggle when to do my running.  I will attempt to top 50 mpw this week.    

AHS, 3:45 p.m., sunny, 52.  The plan was 4x2000m @ 6:20/mile pace.  I completed the workout (4x2000m in 7:48, 7:46, 7:51, 7:51).  I was a bit fast on the 2nd one and actually had to run out to lane 8 a few times due to the H.S. track practice.  It was probably closer to 7:44 or so.  I avg. 7:49 for the workout or 6:17/mile pace.  I felt sluggish from the first one, but I never felt any worse as the workout went on.  My first repeat usually start a bit rough and get better.  I wanted to have my recovery interval at 2:00, but did 2:07, 2:21, 2:37.  On a scale of 1-10, 10 being race effort - this was a 6.5 or so.  A confidence builder, for me.

An unplanned day off.  I took today off, because the left outside portion of my hip is sore.  Again, I am paranoid because my previous stress fracture began as deep buttock pain (felt muscular).  This ache does definitely feel muscular or similar to a hip flexor strain, extends some to the front of my hip, but also the side.  As I type this on Thursdy morning, I don't feel it at all when I walk.  I will attempt to run later in the day to "test" it.  Of course, I will probably be overly cautious, as the race is 24 days away (yes, I have a countdown timer on my computer)! 

Patriot Lake, 3:45 p.m., cloudy, 50.  After a day off yesterday, my left hip feels much better.  I felt twinges at times, but not what I would call pain.  It didn't affect my stride at all and it actually loosened up as I ran.  I stopped for ~:30 to stretch my left hamstring and it really seemed to help more.  I have a history with my left hamstring.  Everything seems to be a bit messed up on my left side.  I've been going to a chiro for a few years now and occassional massage.  5.1 miles in 39:57 (7:50 pace).  

Shelby Farms Random, 1:05 p.m., cloudy, 39.  I slowly and randomly ran around Shelby Farms.  I tried to stay on soft surfaces and tried to take it easy.  The left hip feels about 90%.  My legs still feel flat and I wasn't motivated for this.  The day was gray and cold and blah!  5 miles in 38:03 (7:37 pace).

I have been doing weekly CV reps on the track.  In the previous months, I had always done ~5-6k worth of repeats in the form of 5-6x1k.  I worked up to doing 1600m repeats and this week, I went up to 4x2k repeats.  For my previous half-marathons, I always found the longer repeats to be of great benefit.  In hindsight, perhaps the 8k (~5 miles) worth of repeats was a bit much.  Maybe that's why the hip is getting angry and my legs are flat.   

Hwy 205, 9:00 a.m., cloudy, 38.  I didn't know what to expect from the hip.  Initially, it felt a bit tight and it was all that I thought (obsessed) about.  Once, I relaxed and just ran, I forgot about it and everything was great.  I believe that I am sooooo paranoid about getting injured again.  I tried to hold back the pace, but it kept creeping faster and faster, but it was not intentional.  The legs are back and I contemplated doing an uptempo sort of run @ HM pace, but decided to wait another day.  I think that I need a shrink to help with the head case that I am.  8 miles in 59:11 (7:24 pace).

Hwy 205, 9:30 a.m., cloudy/light rain, 38.  Where to start?  Yesterday, we had a funeral and then had ~15 people over for dinner.  Needless to say, I ate large amounts of lasagna, pasta, and meatballs.  We were quite busy all day and it was go, go, go.  I ate tons, stayed up late to watch the U of M Tigers (previous #1).  While doing so, I drank a few beers, all of which left me quite sluggish this morning.  Our son is sick, again.  No church for us, as they really frown upon taking sick kids to the day care.  Yea, they even sent letters to everyone, because it became such a problem.  We erred on being safe.

I wasn't feeling up to the Tinman style "Big Workout" aka the Long Wave Run.  You warm up a few miles and then alternate HM pace or close to it with easy pace inbetween.  Miles 2-4 were easy (7:39) and then my harder miles were 6:45, 6:49, 6:43, 6:49, 6:44 (6:46 avg).  My easy miles avg. 7:50.  Again, no rest following the run, as the family loaded up and went to Target for some shopping.  An afternoon nap might be in the works for me.  11 miles in 1:21:56 (7:27 pace).

Hwy 196, 2:30 p.m., sunny, 61.  First time running this course in quite some time.  Now, I know why I probably got the stress fracture.  Man, is that road sloped.  My left side is on a moderate slope throughout much of the run, unless I run in the middle of the road (not a good idea)!  Everything feels okay.  A few more easy days ahead.  I am 19 days, 12 hours, 53 minutes, and 01 sec. from my goal race.  I'm pretty excited to be racing again and being healthy again!  Don't take your running for granted, as it can be taken from you suddenly.

This was unplanned, but I am taking the day off.  It is my birthday and my wife surprised me with a babysitter while we go to dinner.  I turned 39 today and, oddly, can't wait until next year when I turned 40 and become a masters runner.  My wife thinks that I am off of my rocker for WANTING to or looking forward to turning 40!  It's just a number.

Hwy 205, 3:10 p.m., cloudy, 38.  I was going to the U of M game tonight, so I rushed to get this in.  I intended on going longer,but…  I ran 3 miles easy (7:23 pace) and then the last 3 miles, I picked it up (6:54, 6:47, 6:52).  This was my Tinman Tempo @ ~6:55 pace.  I felt comfortable at the pace, so maybe that will be my MP at St. Jude?  My whole left side (hip, back, and hamstring) just feels tight and "off."  Maybe I'll get a massage.  6 miles in 42:47 (7:08 pace ).

Hwy. 205, 4:00 p.m., cloudy, 57.  I ran with Enrique today and I really wanted to run around 8:00 pace, but we were a bit quick.  The return 3 miles was @ 7:30 pace, but I felt good.  The hip felt really good, but my right knee feels odd.  No pain, but it feels like it might buckle at any moment - wierd.  6 miles in 46:00 (7:40 pace).

AHS, 3:45 p.m., cloudy, 57.  I intended on doing 7-8x1000m, but did only 6.  I also intended on having a strict 1:00 rest interval.  My neighbor joined me for this workout, as he is also running the half-marathon.  The track team was running a bit late today, so there was lots of traffic on the track, which meant weaving, etc.  I'll just say I avg 3:55 per 1k.  Some were faster 3:53 or, but others were 3:56-3:58 due to having to stop, weave, bob, or duck!  The left hip remains tight and the knee was only an issue when I would first begin to run.  More stretching and icing.  There is absolutely no pain in the knee.