track fan

AM: (7 miles, 1:03:08).  Tried to find a track (for future reference).  I found a really cool dirt track but it is part of a private school and I don't think we are going to be allowed to use it.  Too bad, it is about 2.5 miles away (perfect distance for warm-ups/cool-downs) and I liked that it was dirt.  I don't think they use it either -- there were bleachers in lane 1 ;-).

PM:(3.5 miles).

My legs felt good day - although they were slow to "warm-up".  I think it  was because of the massage yesterday.  I like my new massage therapist -- I could tell when one of the first things he said was "well, this won't be fun so I don't have to worry about you falling asleep".  He does myofascial work, which is painful but exactly what I need.  I got a late start today, so it was pretty hot (89F when I finished).  Supposedly, it is going to cool down over the next week here.

Happy weekend bloggers. 

1:46:37. Wow. My first desert trail run. It was really hard. We went to the Catalina State Park - our plan was to do a 6+ mile loop twice. Well, it was really steep, rocky, and sandy (what?) -- it was much longer than 6 or 7 miles too - I don't know if it was because we missed a turn-off (very possible as we were supposed to run on 3 different trails and I think we only ran on 2) or what ... but Dean ran it in 1:36/1:37. The last 5 miles or so were much easier (trail was more like a trail) except for the last mile which was essentially ankle deep soft sand! No water until about about 1:32 into the run -- which was not the plan, since it was pretty hot today. Luckily, we are pretty acclimated to running in the heat (since we start our long runs so late in the summer) - so 86F wasn't really too bad. I was glad to get some water - though I probably could have held out the the end of the run.

Next weekend we need to get up to Mt. Lemmon before it snows!

Happy Sunday bloggers. Tomorrow is our first day at our new jobs ...

You know, I really don't like to talk about weight - but, since this month is the end of 7 months of a self-imposed restructuring of my diet I thought I would mention that I am actually back to my "normal" pre-surgery/pre-40 year old weight.  I have lost 15 lbs and feel much more like my "old-younger-self" again.  I think it is helping my running, but regardless, I feel much better and that is what counts.  Even after being a vegetarian for 16 years I still managed to put on weight in my 40's and now it is gone again and I am happy.

AM: (1:21:33, 9.5 miles).  Modified fartlek workout.  I wanted to do 4 x 2000m tempo intervals, but I kept  missing some of the 200m markings (and the ones I did see I was pretty skeptical about the pace they set me as going).  So, I modified it to approximately 8` on with 3-4` recovery (I say approximately because I was trying hard to get an idea of my pace so I was trying to use the mile markers instead -- again I did not believe them!).  So, I ran 8:15, 8:47, 8:00 and 8:11 on with ~ 4`.  I finally was able to get an accurate mile reading the final one, HOLY COW, my original splits were right - I was running 7:00 - 7:05 pace!  I really really really did not think I was running that fast.  Actually, I was not supposed to be running that fast (tempo interval pace is about 7:15-7:25 for me).  I need to get to a track - and I need to get up to Mt Lemmon (8000 ft) so I can retain some of this altitude training benefit.  I am really shocked.   I am hoping, if I can stay healthy between now and Thanksgiving to be pleasantly suprised at my race time -- although cross-country courses are actually not really the best race to use for "time" - if I can break 22:30 for a xc 5K I would be happy at this point.  Next week -- tempo run (grrrrrr!).

PM: (3.5 miles).

Happy Election Day bloggers.

1:04:02. Very slow recovery run -- my legs are tired today!  I saw a baby hawk sitting on a fence - I stood about 5 feet from it and it did not budge -- very cool, but I am worried that he/she might be sick or something.  It was tagged with a metal band ...

Happy mid-week!

AM: (9.5, 1:16:34). 25` wu/cd 6 x 3` @ slightly faster than 10K effort w/2` recovery. Felt pretty good. My legs are still a little tired from Tuesday, but the faster stuff felt good. One thing about fartlek runs are that as you do the faster bits the slower bits get faster! So my cd was a little faster than my wu ...

PM: (3.5 - or more?). I am going to try to meet up with the BPR group tonight for my second run. Whoops ... did not make it. I wanted to meet up with LaurenO and Laszlo, but I was installing software on my work computer and just couldn't get out in time. Instead it was the same run as Tuesday (I am getting bad about blogging my 2nd run) - run on the soft dirt around Reid park, in the dark.

1:02:02.  Weird, I felt pretty bad today -- unmotivated actually (wrt running).  My legs felt bad, then they felt good, then they felt ok, and so on.  It was a strange multimodal feeling.  However, in the end, I went much faster than usual - unintentionally.  Also went a bit further than usual so either my 7's have been short, or this run was long -- but not by an amount worth counting!

Happy Friday bloggers. 

AM: (7.5 miles, 1:04:19). Felt pretty good today, probably because I had some work (cross-friction type of therapy) on my legs yesterday -- it hurt so bad that at one point I jumped off the table! But, today my legs felt much better - my foot hurt pretty bad for the first 10 mins but felt fine after that. I have been wearing an arch support band that really helps - but I seem to have misplaced it yesterday. I tried hard to get an early start this morning so I would have a couple more hours between runs, it gets dark so early here in the evening that 5:00 is the latest I can get out safely.

PM: (4 miles, 36:24).  Ran on some really cool trails about 15 mins from our house (driving).  There had been some sort of cross-country or mountain bike race there and there were arrows telling you where to go.  Sweet!  And, we got to see the sunset during the run -- if you haven't seen a desert sunset it is something to put on your "to do" list, it is beautiful.

Tomorrow we are going to do our long run on a fire road that goes up to Mt. Lemmon - this is the highest peak in the Santa Catalina Mountains (9,157 ft). The road is about 20 miles and is described by mountain bikers as "rolling". I am supposed to run for 2 hours, so depending on how tough the run us it will be 14-16 miles.

1:58:31 (1:03:11/55:20).  Tough run (as you can tell from the massive negative split!) ... pretty cool for the most part.  It took us almost an hour to drive to this old fire road that climbs up to Mt. Lemmon.  As we suspected - it was very hilly.  Mainly rollers but with a significant overall net elevation gain (eventually goes from 4500 ft at the start to over 9000 ft -- but this is over somewhere near 20 miles).  Mostly it was easier than Jeremy Ranch Road, but there was one section that climbed quite a bit - about 2 - 3 miles of switchbacks.  The worst part today was the wind - really really severe headwind going out (up the hills) - at some points the gusts were so high I simply was not going forward (but the gusts did not last long).  It was severely dusty (since this was a dirt fire road) -- I will be tasting grit for days I am sure - and my eyes feel like they have been scratched!  

It was a challenge - but so worth it!  The views were something - and there was a sense of accomplishment that goes with a hard run.  

Have a good week bloggers. 

AM: (9.5 miles, 1:18:09, 4 mile tempo run). So very cool. Today we had the day off from work (and decided to take it since we are not finished unpacking our house) so we drove to the Pima Community College track for our workout (Dean was doing 4 x 1 mile @ 10K race pace). There are all kinds of trails around the college for wu and cd and the view is spectacular. The track is very nice - mondo surface with alternating blue and gray colors so it looks like water from a distance. It is a wide track too, so the turns are a little less sharp (easier on the legs) - I have heard that the track in Indianapolis that they use for USATF track championships is similar.

Anyway, I am so excited! Last week was not a fluke! I ran a wu of about 3 miles (26:09) with 800m of short strides before I started the tempo portion. The tempo run felt great! I felt really relaxed and did not even start to struggle until the last 800m and even then, I just had to relax into it. My tempo run pace is somewhere between (7:16 - 7:35/mile). I ran the first mile pretty conservatively and let myself go on the last one. (7:31, 7:21, 7:16, 7:13). I could have run one more at this pace if I needed to, I was pretty happy and felt I had the correct tempo pace dialed in. Had a nice 22:26 (~2.5 mile) cd on the trails.

PM: (3.5+ miles, 33:59). Ran with Dean in Reid Park.  Probably ran a little faster than usual (and than I should have), but I was with Dean and I got really inspired because I saw David Krummenacker (!!!!!) running in the park.  He went by the first time (very fast) and I told Dean, "I think that was David Kurmmenacker" -- then when I saw him again I actually called his name and he waved!  Then when I got home I looked it up and sure enough he lives here!  Pretty cool.  He has great form and even when he is running easy he looks fast!

1:12:40.  recovery run on the river trail.  I am tired today -- but it did not get any worse on the run so I guess that is good ;-).

AM: (9.5+ miles, 1:21:43). 25:31 wu + 18 x 1` @ slightly faster than 5k effort w 1` recovery + 20:22 cd. The first few were a little fast, so I felt these a little more than I should in the final ones ... but all and all a fun workout.

PM: (4 miles, 36:32).  Reid Park ... in the dark. 

1:06:04.  Whew, my legs could have used another 8 hours between runs ... tired today, but not any worse than I expected (I expected the run to be tough).  I hope I ran slowly enough that I feel more recovered tomorrow.

Happy Friday bloggers.
 

AM: (8 miles, 1:11:06). Very slow miles -- mainly because the first 4 miles were into a headwind that was gusting at times. Felt better than yesterday - just wanted to take it easy and recover for tomorrows longer run.

PM: (4 miles, 36:34). Ran on the very cool trails up north -- I found a dirt road (off of the trails) that runs around the golf course.  It was very cool, and better because the last 5 mins of my run was in the dark!!!

2:01:40. Very cool run today (not temperature-wise!). We went to the Saguaro National Park - West today. Ran a slightly longer than 8 mile very hilly loop on a dirt road and then added on more on an out-and-back to get to 2 hours. No water, but as long as it is not too hot (above 85F) I have found I can run about 90-1:45 without water - so we just left water at the car and included the car in the loop - it worked out just fine.

It was very beautiful ... lots and lots of Sahuaros (mountains covered in them) -- it is truly something to see, looks postcard perfect. Probably more beautiful in the early morning/late evening with the sun setting/rising.

AM: (8.5+, 1:13:11). Last 10` at ~ half-marathon effort (7:30 pace). Ran at about 75% effort easing into about 5 miles at 8:20 pace before the last 10 mins. I am sure it was more than 8.5 miles based on the mile markers, but it wasn't quite 9 miles. Felt pretty good, easy and relaxed on the faster part and I don't feel tired at all this morning. Trying to keep it a little easier at the begining of the week as I have a pretty hard workout scheduled on Thursday - possibly the hardest workout I have ever done, but really good for judging my fitness going into the cross-country race next week.

PM: (4.5 miles, 40:31). Ran (jogged) at Reid Park, got there a little earlier than usual - it was still dark, but I could see where I was going for the first 20 mins!

Nice run -- very easy.  Trying to rest for a hard run tomorrow.

Happy Wednesday bloggers!

AM:(12.5 miles, 1:41:14). 2 mile wu + 400m strides (20:51) then 5 x 1 mile w/800m recovery (7:11, 7:08, 7:10, 7:12, 7:12) + 3 x 200m w/200 recovery (:49, :48, :48) then (finally) 2 mile cd.

I am not sure how I feel about this workout. It was not easy, and it was a little slower than I was hoping. But, it also was the fastest workout I have done in over a year and the hardest I have done in a couple years ... and after a week of the highest mileage I have ever done. I think the race next week is not actually going to be even a cross-country PR, but it will be a good workout and a lot of fun.

PM:(3.5+ miles, 34:01). Whoops, another run in the dark! I ran on the bike path, there were dozens of rabbits (and very loud birds) out. A bird scared me half to death - I thought it was a person, right by my head! Couldn't see my watch easily so I ran a little further than I meant to. I felt ok, but I am very tired now. I am too old for this.

On a side note, I just got back and was listening to NPR on the way home, I ended up sitting in the garage until the story was over with tears running down my face. It was an interview with a miner in Congo - they have thousands of "independents" that simply dig holes in the side of mountains looking for coal. Their lives are horribly difficult. The guy they interviewed (and there are thousands just like him) stays in the mine for weeks on end, when he does get home, hopefully with a little money - his wife is laying sick with malaria. No money for a doctor, barely enough to buy her some food, the next morning, he leaves again. I know these things, I realize how lucky I am every day -- but still, every once in a while it just takes my breath away.

1:13:45.  8 mile recovery jog.  Felt much better than I thought I was going to after yesterday.  Body is tired, but legs felt pretty good.

Happy Friday bloggers.
 

AM:(7.5 miles, 1:05:27). Easy run down the soccer fields with Dean and then I ran along the river trail for a while and back home.

PM:(4.0 + miles, 37:03). A little scenic run around the golf course (I think it is called the Arthur Pack Desert Golf Course) -- pretty nice, the "rough" of the course is actually dirt/sand/brown grass - a very pleasant running surface (despite the fact we probably weren't supposed to be there). We found a new track too!

2:02:45, beautiful hilly run.  I saw a fox!  It was a little hot by the end (in the 80's), but I really can't complain.
 

AM: (8 miles, 1:14:05). Beautiful morning -- though it looks like rain by tonight and into Thursday (should be perfect for cross-country!).

PM: (4.5 miles easy, 39:35). I am hoping to get enough work done that I can leave before it gets dark and run on the grass at Reid park in my spikeless xc shoes to see if I want to wear them on Thursday, if it is going to be slippery then I would be better off risking achilles tightness rather than turning an ankle with my more "supportive" trainers (and I think my Nike Frees - which I wear for my shorter runs - might be way too slippery in the rain/mud).  I ended up not going to Reid park, and not trying out my cross-country spikes ... my foot hurt way too bad to wear them (I could not even wear them walking around in my office) -- instead I worked until it was dark and then ran around the mile grass strip in the middle of campus (pretty fun actually -- runs near the student center and dorms -- for me, it is nice to see so many young people milling about talking about school and life).

Happy Tuesday bloggers.

1:06:16.  I would be lying if I said that because of my day off on Monday and an easy day yesterday I am ready and raring to go for tomorrow.  My legs are tired and dead!  And, I am getting a sinus infection (I am smelling smoke again -- weird -- and my nose was running faster than me today!).  I am still thankful, even if I can't seem to run fast, I am one of the lucky ones in many ways.

WOW!! This was one of the hardest and most fun races I have ever done! So, it rained all night last night and into the start of the men's race (first they ran the men's race and the women were the second race - they alternate every year, mainly because the second race is much harder because they tear up the course); there were about 1200 people total between the two races. The course was a double loop, with only two hard hills but two hay bale jumps on the backside (so you hit them each twice) and then a double hay bale jump + two water jumps of about 5 ft over about 50 yards directly on the bottom of a steep up and down hill (you hit this twice too) and there was on "rock jump" (you had to jump on a rock to cross a creek. The course probably would have been "moderately hard" course if it had been dry - because of the rain we had *3* calf-level creek crossings (one ended being about 25 yards in the creek) -- again, we hit this twice -- but what made it so slow was the mud!!! It was so slippery up the hill (and down actually) before the double hay bale and double water jump that even when I was warming up I fell going up, after the guys were done with it the mud was ankle deep -- even 1" spikes wouldn't have helped! It was soooooo fun - I was soaking wet since it had poured during my warm-up and then I ran around the course cheering Dean and then did some strides before my race ... my shoes were soaked even before we started - so when we hit the first couple creek crossings I did not care at all. The creek crossings were actually great the second lap because the mud was packed on my shoes and they were really heavy, I was glad to wash it off!!

Anyway -- I did not run as well as I would have liked, it was slow and I did not seem to have enough confidence and I did not take off at the start the way I should have - there were only a few places where it was easy to pass people and I got stuck for the first 1/2 mile. In the end, I did finish pretty strong - I passed about 25 woman the last 1.5 miles, but the big mud hill slowed everyone down (and actually coming down was even worse, people were sliding all over the place). I have to vent -- a woman who beat me (by probably at least 20 seconds - she was faster than me) cut the course - actually a bunch of woman in front of my ran around the back course hay bales and then cut corners! I was ticked off actually, I followed the line and actually hurdled every bale! I actually ran through one of the water jumps because my shoes were so slippery I was afraid I was going to fall -- but that is not cheating -- but passing hay bales and cutting corners I feel is cheating!! It did not really matter, my splits were slow and I did not come close to throwing up -- I am disappointed in that -- but, it was fun -- I have only run a few cross-country races and this one was by far the hardest and just loved it! splits: (7:38, 7:44, 7:43 +?? I somehow missed stopping my watch in the finishing shoot -- my time was in the high 23's, i will change it when the results are posted). Dean ran about 1 min slower (so he thought) than he would have if the course were dry, so I guess I am somewhat vindicated by that logic ;-). I did win a pie.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

54:13.  I really thought I wanted to run longer today (even though Greg had told me to run 4-5 miles) -- but about 15 mins into the run, I realized I was a lot more sore running than I was walking around the house (go figure).  So, I just ran slow ... I have some sore muscles that I have never felt before -- they must be "hurdling muscles" since that is the only thing that was completely different than anything I had ever done (unless it was "wading in the water or trying to run uphill in mud" muscles!).  My main focus right now is not mileage for the week, but recovery for a "workout" that I am supposed to do within my long run this week.

I hope everyone is having a nice "day after Thanksgiving". 

AM: (1:11:32, 8 miles).  As I started the run today I felt plain ole 'tired' -- not really sore, just whole body tired.  I thought I was going to have to only run one run today, and maybe cut my run this morning short.  But, funny enough, by about 25 mins into it I realized I felt much better!  It was slow, but I think I am going to be recovered enough for my workout tomorrow! yippee.

PM: (~4 miles).  

Plain for the day is to finish unpacking -- the moving company is supposed to come and take all the empty boxes away this week ...

2:08:59 (1:06:52/1:02:05).  Second split included a short detour to a drinking fountain - so it was actually faster than 5 min negative split! Fast finish progression run.  Ran the first 7.5 miles at about 9:00-9:05 mile pace then pushed the pace slightly on the way back (probably about 8:30-8:45 pace) and ran the last 3 at tempo - 1/2 marathon race pace (7:50, 7:40, 7:28).  I was pretty happy with this run, I did not feel great today and was not sure how it was going to go -- I was hoping to run a 4 mile fast finish run, but my legs just felt horrid the whole way, and my nose was running (still/again).  I did not know exactly what to expect with my last 3 miles, I was pleasantly surprised that I had a 7:28 left in the tank ;-).

Happy Sunday!