Recovering from CECS

Essex Loop.  60 degrees and windy.  8.44 miles.  1:02:13. 7:22/mi. 141 BPM.

A good finish to a solid week of running.  This was an excellent run.  I felt very sluggish for the first 3 miles.  After that I felt fantastic.  11.05 miles.  1:19:13. 7:10/mi. 141 BPM.   

60 degrees and sunny.  A beautiful day.  I'm a little tired from my "big" 66 mile week and the National Guard exercise this weekend.  There's nothing like wearing a full chemical suit for 10 hours a day to sap your energy.

I decided to go a little shorter today and take a nap on the sofa this evening.  I do not have to work tomorrow so I'll do my long run then.  Middle Road.  6.26 miles. 43:57.  A little quick.  After a 2 mile warm up, I picked up the pace.  Average pace: 7:01/mi. 142 BPM.

Long easy run today.  Lost Nation Road and Indian Brook Road plus a bit.  I think this is my longest run since I was very serious about running back in the mid 1990's.  I'm pretty pleased.  However, in context of Holt's recent training, it's about 1/2 of one of his long days!

I was fine through about 15 miles.  My legs started to get very sore over the last 2 miles and my HR started to creep; probably due to dehydration.  I'm going to invest in a hydration belt for these 2 hour-plus runs.  17.26 miles. 2:08:54. 7:28/mi. 141 BPM.

After reading a few marathon race performances (way to go Cody and Bonnie!), I started to think about my first marathon, the Tucson Mary in late 1994.  I was in pretty good shape, but hadn't done may runs over 2 hours.  I had recently run a couple 1:12s for the 1/2 marathon.  I figured I could try to run with the big boys in the marathon.  My training partner at the time (a 2:25 marathoner) cautioned me to take it easy and predicted a 2:45 marathon.  When the race started, I felt great and went with the second pack, averaging around 5:45s.  I was feeling great through 18 or 19 miles, on pace for about 2:30.  I though I had a super fast first marathon in the bag.  I realized my miscalculation soon after a late race water stop.  I slowed down for fluids and never sped back up.  The wheels fell off the bus and I went from 5:45s to 8:30s quickly, finishing in 2:47.  I was humbled, but learned my lesson.  I came back and ran my 2:30:30 PR with a negative split in the SGM 11 months later.  Now, I hope I can put some good training together over the next 2 or 3 years and improve on my PR.

Essex loop with Loren at 5:15AM.  A chilly 38 degrees.  8.06 miles. 1:04:23. 8:00/mi. 125 BPM.

Loren and I are discussing his strategy for the Burlington Marathon in 3 weeks.  He should be able to break 2:50 if everything goes well.  I plan on jumping  in at about the 10 mile mark and running 8 or 10 miles with him.

It was raining this morning so I bagged my early morning run. I went around noon instead.  Essex loop plus a bit.  9.61 miles.  1:08:27. 7:07/mi.  141 BPM.

Met Loren at 5:15 AM. We did our first quality run together in quite a while. It was a short one to get back into the groove of tempo work. We did a good warm up followed by 3 laps at Fort Ethan Allen. I planned on running around 6:40, but ended up running the first mile in 6:16, too quick. So, I backed off a touch and ended up running closer to my 10K pace rather than my intended 1/2 marathon pace. Even though I felt like I was working hard, my HR remained in the 150s; a good sign that my fitness is improving. I'll find a small 10k race in the next few weeks to evaluate my fitness level. I'm hoping for under 39 minutes.

Mile	Time	Avg HR
1	6:16	145
2	6:26	152
3	6:25	156
.81	5:13 (6:23 pace)	157

A.M. Middle Road. 6.26 miles. 47:07. 7:31/mi. 131BPM.  50 degrees and foggy.  It rained all night.

P.M. River Cove Road Loop. 5.17 miles. 38:06. 7:22/mi. No HRM.

Middle Road.  6.25 miles. 45:22. 7:15/mi. 138BPM.  A nice easy run to finish off the week.  I'll get up early and knock out a long run tomorrow morning.

It was a little chilly this morning, 44 degrees.  I was under dressed for the run.  I should've at least worn gloves.  I could hardly tear the top off my gu pouch.  This was another solid long run.  I started to run out of gas around 15 miles again.  I didn't slow down and my HR was steady.  It just took more effort to keep going.  Lost Nation Road and Indian Brook Road plus a bit.  18.17 miles. 2:16:25. 7:30/mi. 142 BPM.

Today was an odd running day.  First of all, I overslept and missed my morning run.  Then, I didn't have much gumption to get out the door from work to go run.  I finally changed into my running gear around 2:00.  I was heading out the door when a co-worker started bragging about how he could beat me in a 5k even though he doesn't run much.  To his credit, Kyle is pretty quick for a non-runner.  He's got youth on his side, he's only 25.  He was also pretty good when he ran cross country in high school.  So... I told him to put his money where his mouth was.  I was a little tired from yesterday's 18 miler, but wanted to nip Kyle's banter in the bud immediately.  Kyle and I went to the track and duked it out, sort of.   I beat him by about 10 seconds.  I ran 17:29 for 3 miles.  I'm still impressed that the kid ran under 18 minutes while his exercise routine consists of jogging on the treadmill once a week and playing basketball.  On the flip side, my 17:29 for 3 miles is a good performance indicator for me.  I'm making good progress.  The next test will be pacing Loren in the Vermont Marathon 2 weeks from now.  We'll see how many 6:30s I can run in a row....

Essex loop.  It was a beautiful running day; 50 degrees and sunny with no wind.  My legs were a little tired from Sunday's long run and yesterday's 3 mile time trial.  8.43 miles. 1:00:53. 7:13/mi. 142 BPM.

A.M. Essex Loop with Loren.  A chilly 35 degrees.  I overdressed and sweat like crazy.  I have a tough time figuring out how much to wear from around 25 - 40 degrees. 8.03 miles. 1:02:03. 7:43/mi. 137BPM.

 P.M. River Cove Road with my big boss, COL Mike Morgan.  5.00 miles. 43:56. 8:46/mi. 131BPM.

2.5 mile warm up, 2 x 3 miles @ 6:30/mi.  .75 mile recovery, .75 mile cool down.  First session 6:37, 6:32, 6:25 145BPM, Second session: 6:23, 6:29, 6:19 156BPM.  Not a bad workout considering the strong wind.

I am traveling tomorrow and will probably not have an opportunity to run.  So, I did a little extra today to keep the week's total around 65 miles.  Essex loop pluss a bit.  11.00 miles. 1:20:57. 7:21/mi. 147 BPM.  It was a little warm today, but nothing like it'll be in Jacksonville FL next week.  I'm going to have to get up very early to avoid the heat.  I'm not sure how much my mileage will suffer.  My main goal is to just get out the door every day.

Flew to Jacksonville, FL today. My flights were delayed and I arrived in the afternoon. I decided to take the day off. On a non-running note, I flew on a Colgan Air Dash-8. This is the airline and airplane that crashed in Buffalo last winter. I had purchased the tickets well in advance and forgot about it. To add a little extra drama, I just read on CNN that a wheel fell off during landing on ANOTHER Colgan Air Dash-8 on Thursday. I might ask for a copy of the preflight checklist before I get on my flight home! It's concrete jungle around the hotel, but I should be able to get a few miles in this week.

7.00 miles. 52:31. 7:30/mi. 139BPM.  5:30AM run in Jacksonville FL, on the St. John River walk. 70 degrees and very humid compared to Vermont.

Jacksonville, FL. 8.21 miles. 1:01:36. 7:30/mi. 129BPM.  A liitle cooler, but still very humid.

Still in Jacksonville.  Ran around the Jaguars' football stadium and over a pretty good size bridge over the St. Johns River.  Pretty cool for Jacksonville standards, around 60 degrees.  Still very humid.  8.48 mi. 1:02:12. 7:20/mi. 130 BPM

Rain rain rain.  Stuck at the hotel.  No rental car...  no fun....

More of the same.  So much for sunny Florida....

Potential flooding around Jacksonville.  At least I'm well rested.... Flying home today.

I didn't get out today.  I'm worn out from the conference and being stuck at the hotel.  I hope I'm ready to run with my buddy in the marathon tomorrow.

The good news is that my friend PR'd in the marathon.  He ran 2:49.  The bad news is that my right calf tightened up 3 miles into the run.  I jogged a bit to warm up and waited for Loren at the 13 mile mark.  I did not time it well.  I ended up standing around for 10 to 15 minutes by the time he hit 13 miles.  When he came by, I jumped into 6:20's with him.  It was too much for cold muscles, especially after taking 3 or 4 days off.  I'll end up taking a few more days off to nurse my calf.  Another dumb mistake on my part.  It's tough enough to get out the door every day and stay healthy.  I'm pretty upset at myself for taking such a risk running hard on cold legs in rainy 40 degree weather.  I hope my calf heals quickly so I can get back on the roads.

Ice, ibuprofin and stretching.  The calf feels pretty good.  Maybe I'll try running a few miles by Friday.

Middle Road.  4.37 miles. 32:05. 7:20/mi. 149BPM.  Cool and rainy.  Easy run trying to nurse my sore right calf.   The temp and rain didn't help any.  I started to feel my calf tighten up a little at 2 miles, so I turned around and tried to keep the pace very easy.  I'm not sure if I should take a solid week off without any running or try running 3 or 4 miles every other day.  I hate to keep taking extended breaks.  I'm considering consulting with my doctor about these frequent calf muscle injuries.  They are not career-ending, but they are bad enough to sideline me for a few weeks.

My right calf was a bit sore today.  I decided to give it a rest.  Maybe I'll give a try tomorrow.

Easy 4.18 miles.  My right calf felt fine.  I jogged very slowly.  In fact, I race walked the last mile and a half with a neighbor.  My HR stayed elevated while walking and it was lower impact.  Today was successful.  I'll try to do 4 or 5 miles again tomorrow.