A clydesdale no more!

Feeling a little better each day.  I have lost my voice but I feel pretty good physically.  Took it relatively easy today but picked up the pace the last mile.  I actually felt like I had a little spring in my step the last 1.3 miles.

Total Time: 57:08 (7:50/mile) 

It would have been a nice run if I would have waited an hour to go out.  The clouds started rolling in as I was getting home and it was cooling off a little.  Didn't feel particularly great this morning but was able to get the miles in.  My right tibia was a little more sore today than it has been. 

Total Time: 1:36:24 (8:02/mile)

The cloud cover was nice but the humidity is really bad.  Took it super easy today.  All of my runs lately have been really slow so it didn't seem like I needed a recovery run.  Ran out to Farmington bay and back home at a comfortable pace.  Had a hard time figuring out how to get across the Legacy highway construction.  It's a real mess right now.

Total Time: 58:16 (8:19/mile) 

Worst run ever!  Didn't feel well from the start of the run.  My chest felt heavy and my legs were a little heavy.  I thought that once I got going, I would start to feel better but never did.  At 10.5 I actually had to sit down for a few minutes.  My right tibia started to hurt and I figured that I was doing more harm than good so I called my wife to come pick me up.  I was very dehydrated (lost 7 pounds) despite drinking a lot of Gatorade and water during the run.  The only other time that I had to have somebody pick me up was last year on Aug 5.  Very strange that it was almost exactly 1 year ago.  I guess next year I will take the day off.  I was pretty disappointed in myself that I quit.  I'm sure that I could have toughed out the last 2+ miles.  My rationale was that I wasn't really running fast enough for a good workout and felt as though I was risking injury if I continued.

Total  Time: Doesn't really matter.

Warmed up with 3 easy miles then ran a 3 mile tempo run.  Wasn't sure what to expect after Saturday's fiasco.  First quarter was way too fast but settled into a decent pace.  Splits were: 6:23, 6:32, 6:30 (6:28/mile).  Ran 1 easy mile then felt guilty for running such a short tempo run so I ran 1 more mile in 6:30.  It was more work than I would have liked.  Finished with 1 more easy mile.  Hopefully, I will start to feel better as the week goes on.

Total Time: 1:07:45 (7:32/mile)

To change things up, I ran a route that I usually run backwards (in reverse - I wasn't actually running backwards).  It's funny how I never noticed how much downhill I usually have until I had to run it the other way.  To top things off, most of the uphill was into the wind.  I am starting to feel better and was able to pick up the pace towards the end of the run.  I saw the WXHS cross country team out this morning and it got me to pick the pace up a little.

Total Time: 1:50:11 (7:52/mile) 

Recovery run.  Felt good and relaxed.  Temperatures felt a lot cooler which makes running a lot easier.

Total Time: 49:06 (8:11/mile)

I haven't run a lot of hills lately because my tibia has been bothering me.  I worry that excessive downhill running will aggravate it.  I have been feeling better lately so I decided that it would be a good day to run up to Mueller Park canyon.  I'm still running a little slow right now but the run felt good.  The hills weren't as bad as I thought they would be.  Looking back, I really think that the heat and humidity really got to me that last couple of weeks.  It has been a few degrees cooler for a couple of days and I can really feel the difference in my energy level.

Total Time: 1:25:04 (8:06/mile) (46:34 going up/38:30 coming down)

Easy recovery run.  Tibia is burning a little but feel pretty good otherwise.  Form felt in control for the first time in a long time.

Total Time: 49:39 (8:16/mile)

What a difference a week makes.  After last weeks horrible long run I was curious to see how today's run would go.  First mile was a little slow but felt alright.  Once I got warmed up, everything felt pretty good and I was able to run comfortably at a decent pace.  After 3 miles I reached back for my Gatorade and realized that I forgot to put my bottle in my fuel belt.  I really didn't want to go back to get it so I figured that I would just stop at the next convenience store and buy a Gatorade.  Only problem with that was that I was running along Farmington Bay and I knew it would be a few miles until I got back to civilization.  Since the temps were cooler I figured that I would be alright until the 9 mile mark where I thought a store would be.  Once I got out of Farmington Bay and into Farmington there was nothing in site.  I thought I remembered seeing  a park around here last year when I ran this route but I was mistaken.  There was a table set up with water on it for a 5K race that was going on but I didn't feel right about taking anything since I didn't pay for the race.  There was a park about 1 mile away and I decided to hold off until I got there.  In the mean time, I was running really well.  My pace was around 7:30/mile and it felt very easy.  Got to the park and the drinking fountains were turned off (of course).  Finally got to a convenience store at the 13 mile mark and bought a water and Gatorade.  My legs were starting to wear out at that point but they were far from dead.  Next few miles were a little slower because of the leg fatigue but was able to pick the pace back up on the last mile.  I can't believe how much better I feel this week than I did last week.

Total Time: 2:12:08 (7:46/mile)

Tired this morning and had a hard time getting started.  Saw another runner at the top of my street and that gave me motivation to pick up the pace.  Only followed him for 1/4 mile before we parted ways.  I was able to hold a decent pace for the entire run despite warmer temperatures and a little wind.

Total Time: 58:55 (7:22/mile)

I caught a stomach bug that has been making it's way through the family.  As soon as my running started to improve I get wiped out with this.  I almost turned back home after 1/10th of a mile but just plugged along for a few miles.  Probably could have run a little further but I was feeling wiped out.  My Garmin died during the first mile so I have no idea what my time was but I was probably running around 8:30/mile.

Too sick to run.  I feel a lot better than yesterday but I didn't eat or drink anything yesterday so I figured that running on empty was not a good idea.  This was supposed to be one of my biggest training weeks and it is going to end up being a cut back week.  I was planning on taking it easy next week in preparation for Hobblecreek.  That only leaves a couple of weeks for some serious training before the taper.

Thought I was ready to run again but I was wrong.  I felt alright when I woke up but I had absolutely no energy while running.  I guess not eating in 2 days and losing 8 pounds will do that to you.  I will start refueling and hopefully will be ready for a good long run on Saturday.

Total Time: 17:37 (8:48/mile) 

I started this blog by writing that I was still too sick to run and was going to take another day off.  It just didn't feel right so I laced up my shoes and headed out the door.  First half I felt alright but a little more tired than expected.  The second half was awful.  After 3.5 miles I had to fight of the waves of nausea.  My puke pace is usually under 6:00/miles and I was experiencing it at 8:30/mile.  I took a break for a few minutes then continued to plod my way home.  I feel pretty awful but am glad that I got a few miles in.

 Total Time: 43:00 (8:36/mile)
 

All the women in my life (wife, mom) are telling me that I need to take a break from running.  I guess I'm looking more gaunt than usual because of the flu that I have had this week.  My main goal right now is to be healthy for next week's half marathon so I am going to take their advice and take today off.  I still haven't shaken this bug but I can tell that it is almost cleared up.  This is the fewest amount of miles that I have run in a week since Mar 2005.   A little disappointing but I know that it is the best thing in the long run.

 

Temperatures were absolutely perfect for running.  I'm feeling better but I'm still being a little cautious.  My energy level isn't completely back to normal and my stomach is still a little unsettled.  I was a little more fatigued than I should have been for the pace that I was running but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I ran the last 3 slightly downhill miles below 7:00/mile.  Hoping for some big improvements throughout the week so that I can have a decent race on Saturday.

Total Time: 53:56 (7:23/mile) 

Feeling better every day.  It took a couple miles to get going but once I warmed up, I was able to comfortably run at 7:30/mile.  Legs still aren't as strong as I would like but feel pretty good for the most part.  The one good thing about last week's reduced mileage is that all of the nagging injuries in my legs seem to have gone away.

Total Time: 1:16:28 (7:39/mile) 

I was desperately in need of some hills.  I haven't run near as many hills this training cycle as I usually do.  Didn't want to over do it with the race coming up this weekend and still trying to recover from last week's illness.  Decided to run up to Mueller Park canyon but not push the pace too much.  Felt really good during the run.  On the way down, I wanted to get 1 mile in at 1/2M pace.  I pushed the pace for one mile and was very disappointed to see that I barely broke 7:00.  I did have to stop for traffic a few times which threw off my pace but it was still slow.  I wasn't tired but the pace felt faster than 7:00.  My internal speedometer seems to be off.

Total Time: 1:25:03 (8:30/mile - 48:00 going up/37:03 coming down) 

Nice, easy recovery run.  Calves and hamstrings are a little sore from yesterday's hill run.  Legs area little heavy.

Total Time: 42:30 (8:30/mile)

Avg HR: 138 

The weather was really nice this morning.  It almost felt a little cold.  I feel like I am almost back to full strength.  I backed off the pace for the last couple of miles because I want to be fresh for Hobblecreek tomorrow.  I'm not sure what the race plan is going to be.  I will probably go out at 6:30/mile and try to hold on as long as possible.

Total Time: 1:01:23 (7:40/mile)

Avg HR: 149 

I wasn’t mentally ready to race today. I’ve been fighting the stomach flu for 2 weeks and I just haven’t felt speedy in quite a while. I started feeling better on Thursday so I figured I didn’t need to hold back during the race. Warmed up with an easy mile and discovered a top secret out house. After a 40 minute delay and an unapologetic race director making the final announcements we were on our way down the canyon. I tried lining up close to the starting line but ended up a few rows further back than I would have liked. It was very congested but I was able to get a clear path after a few minutes. My plan was to start out at 6:30 pace and try to hold it as long as possible. The first half of the race I felt pretty good and was able to hold a good pace. My average pace for the first 6 miles was 6:24 which was exactly where I wanted to be. Starting at mile 7, the course became more volatile (some uphill then some downhill then some flat) so my splits were all over the place. I also felt like I was asleep during the second half of the race. I just couldn’t convince my body to move faster. My legs were tired but not so much that I couldn’t have pushed harder. I was able to pass a few runners between miles 7 and 10, though. Somewhere around the 10 mile marker, I got behind another runner and followed him for the rest of the race. I kept thinking to myself that I need to make a move and pass him but the desire to move to the next level of pain just wasn’t there. I hung behind him until the 12.5 mile mark and then decided to pick it up and finally pass him. He ran just off my shoulder for a while then passed me. I mentally gave in at that point. As we passed the 13 mile marker, I decided to kick it in to high gear and pass him and one other runner once and for all. I was moving pretty well down the final stretch and saw 1:23:50 on the finish clock. I knew that I was going to come in under 1:24 and was pretty happy. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that my running partner for the last 3 miles decided to turn this into a real race. I tried to keep up but he just nipped me at the finish line. His finish time was 1:23:58.9 and mine was 1:23:59.2. What made it worse was that he was also in my age group.

I have mixed emotions about the race. It is a PR by almost 2 minutes and about what I expected to run which is good. I am a little disappointed in my lack of concentration. I really feel like I could have run at least 1 minute faster had I been more focused.

Here are my splits according to my Garmin which came consistently 0.15 after the mile markers starting at the 3rd mile.

Mile	Split	Note
1	6:22	A little fast but not too bad considering the amount of downhill
2	6:27
3	6:16
4	6:26
5	6:30	I started to worry a little that my pace was consistently slowing
6	6:21
7	6:42	Included a water/GU stop and a little bit of uphill
8	6:34	Another Gatorade stop
9	6:16
10	6:48	I have no idea why it was so slow
11	6:38	Falling asleep
12	6:39	Can't wake up
13.1	6:00/mile

My wife is going out of town this week so it is going to be a challenge to get in as much running as I would like.  Because of this, I decided to get in a few easy miles today.  My training volume has also been down lately due to illness so I wanted to make up for some of the missed miles.  It was warmer this morning than it has been lately so that made things a little less enjoyable.  Also, yesterday's race took a little more out of me than I thought.  I wasn't concerned about the pace at all.  Just took it nice and easy.  Now I have to try to figure out when I can get my running in for the next few days.  I have an 11 year old and two five year olds.  Is it safe to leave them home alone while I go running in the morning?  I would be home before they wake up but I'm not sure if I feel good about them being home alone.  Maybe I will just do a bunch of 2 mile loops so I am never too far from home.

Total Time: 1:23:51 (8:23/mile) 

With my wife out of town, I got out the door a little earlier than usual and just did loops around the neighborhood.  There is about 1/10th mile climb and the same amount of drop and mostly flat otherwise.  It wasn't nearly as boring as I though it would be.  I'm still a little worn out so the pace was slow but I was happy to be able to get out and get the miles in.  

Total Time: 1:18:57 (7:54/mile)

Much needed recovery run.  Legs are still a little dead and my right tibia is sore.  

Total Time: 44:14 (8:51/mile) 

Ran the neighborhood loop again.  The loop is 1.4 miles and I did 9 loops plus a little more to make it an even 13 miles for the day.  To mix things up a little, I alternated the pace each loop.  I ran the easy loops at 7:45-8:00 pace and the quicker loops at 6:45-7:00 pace.  Everything felt really good today which is encouraging.

Total Time: 1:36:04 (7:23/mile)

Avg HR: 156 

Warmed up with 2 easy miles.  I wanted to get in some tempo miles today but wasn't sure how many.  Started with 3 miles (2+ loops around the neighborhood) with the intent to run around 6:40/mile.  Averaged 6:27/mile which was a little faster than I wanted.  Heart rate started to get into the 170's so I decided to run 1 loop at an easy pace to reset my pace.  After the easy lap, checked on the kids then ran 3 more tempo miles.  These were more in control and I averaged 6:36/mile for the 3 miles.  Cooled down with 1 more loop around the neighborhood.   Feel really good about today's run.  My wife comes home this afternoon so I can start venturing out again.

Total Time: 1:17:16 (7:17/mile)

Avg HR: 155

Easy recovery run.  Right tibia aches a little and both achilles are sore.

Total Time: 58:50 (8:24/mile)

Avg HR: 146