track fan

2:01:37 (1:02:55/58:42).  8:41 average (8:59 out/8:23 back) ran about 8:30-8:40 pace after the turn-around until mile 11 and then I started to work a little harder. The only splits I am sure about were 12 & 13 and they were 7:54, 7:44, I am not sure about the last mile, I hit the 800 mark in 3:45 (which would have put me at 7:30 pace) but missed the last marker. Regardless, I ran hard the last 3 miles ...

Now I have to get ready for my lecture tomorrow and pack up the living room.

Happy Sunday bloggers!

125.4 (ok dehydrated, but I will take it ;-) - if I were to be honest, I am averaging about 128 these days)

AM: (9.5, 1:25:40).  8 x ~100 m strides.  Ran my usual 9 mile course - usually I do my strides after I get to my house, but I was short on time today (our refrigerator is being delivered to our new house) so I started the strides on my way home (uphill) and finished the last 5 in my usual spot.  The only place I don't run on dirt (sand) is on this mile stretch that leads uphill from the wash -- it is amazing how much faster it feels to run on asphalt vs dirt/sand ... I still prefer my dirt though.

PM: (4.5 miles, easy). Probably going to Reid park tonight - the only place with lights ...

Have a great day bloggers! 

1:03:xx.  I don't have my splits ... it was something like 31:xx out and 30:xx back.  Easy run, thinking about today's lecture.  Very complicated stuff.  VERY VERY glad that the semester is almost over.  I need to get a decent textbook for next  year, the one this year was a bust.

The next few days will be busy - sporatic blogging most likely.  After Friday I won't have internet access from home for a while, at least until we figure out how to install Comcast broadband wireless server software on our Linux operating system.  

Happy trails bloggers.

AM: (10.5, 1:27:28). 32:47 wu, strides + 6 x 3` @10k pace w/1` recovery, 28:29 cd. Ran part on the dirt and part on the bike path. Hoping for somewhere between 7:00-7:05 pace. Was able to get 400m splits a couple times on the way out (1:30, 1:29 - right on target  -- ok, it is official, I am an idiot, why did I think that a 1:30 1/4 was 7 min pace?  either the markings are off or I was actually running these at 6:00 min pace - which would have been waywayway too fast, no wonder my legs hurt right now) and then once on the way back (1:27 - a little fast - how about waywaywayway too fast? what a dork!). Felt hard, especially since I haven't been working this pace for a while. It felt like I was pretty consistent, but we'll see when I get on the track next week.

PM: (4 miles, easy).

Packing today, moving tomorrow. Warning: vent ahead ...

So, we are moving about 10 mins from downtown -- my goodness you would think we are moving to the Australian outback (one of the most desolate places I have ever been). I was on the phone for 2 hours -- yes two hours -- trying to get internet service. There is no DSL or broadband out at our new house. Apparently it is too far out in the mountains. SO, we have to get satellite internet service ... and in order to get this we have to get a TV satellite installed -- even though they need to install two satellite dishes ???? hmmmm. Anyway ... no gas service either, unless we want to use propane. Closer to the city, yet so much further away ;-). It looks like after tomorrow I will be out-of-touch with you bloggers for a while - though I can still blog from work (if I can find the time - which I hardly even seem to be able to ...).

Have a good day, run well, be safe!!

Very slow recovery run ... I am a little sore from yesterday. I did a bad thing.  Running a min/mile faster than I was supposed to is not a good thing.

I ran on the Yeatman trail -- yippee.  It is a 1/2 mile from my house.  Not great for fast runs, but perfect for easy days.  Hills, wild splendor ... who could ask for more?  The footing is ok ... some tough sandy parts in through some washes, some rocky uphills (and downhills) where you have to be careful, but not so bad that you can't run it at an ok pace.  Good for stablizer muscles.

My adductor is hurting way bad. I can't tell if it is reminents of Thursday's stupidity or something I did yesterday in the move ... I have decided to ice and not run a 2nd run today in hopes that I can salvage my long run tomorrow.

1:58:45.  My adductor still hurts, but it is better today.  Dean and I ran together for about 75 mins, then he went to work and I added on a few miles to get in 14 ... I ran the last 20` hard.  We ran on a trail that I had run a couple weeks ago, still trying to find the 5.3 mile loop the hiking book talks about ... still did not find the loop.  Footing is by and large pretty good on most of these trails though - I would rate it a 15-20 sec/mile slow down trail ;-).  

Still don't have internet service, we are living out of boxes.  This will last for a while as I don't have time to unpack -- and probably won't have a lot of time until after the semester is over.  I don't like it, but am trying to adjust. 

Have a great week bloggers!

AM: (9.5+, 1:26:59).  Easy run up Yeatman trail and back + 8 x ~100m strides.

PM: (4.5 miles easy).  Probably at Reid Park ... much closer to home so I can run as long as I want no matter how late it is!!

Woke up this morning and heard a weird sound outside of the sliding glass door of our bedroom ... looked out and saw a family of deer munching away about 50 ft away ... very cool.  The babies were quite pushy with their mom, they wanted to be fed right now.  I have never seen nursing deer before.  Very cool morning.

1:12:24.  Did a route discovery run!  I was suppose to run a 7 mile recovery run ... but my new route is more of an 8 mile recovery run.  Very cool run.  Very hilly, very good training, I am "very" excited!  It was hard, but all I could think of was, "I am going to get so strong!!".

 I finally got the kitchen unpacked. Yea.

AM: (10.5 miles, 1:32:21) .  29:06 wu + strides 3 x 10` @ 1/2 marathon pace w/3` recovery + 24:16 cd.  I went to the track so I could ensure the proper pace ... instead of 10` I did 2400 meters 10:57 (7:17 pace), 10:56 (7:16 pace), 10:59 (7:20 pace).  The mile split for my last one was 7:13 ... my last 800 was not good at all.  Dean was at the track and he said it looked pretty easy, I am not sure "easy" would be my definition, I wanted it to be a little easier ... but I was pretty relaxed and the first 3 miles felt pretty good.

PM: (4 miles, easy).

Have a happy day bloggers.

1:14:47.  Got lost, on a trail, in the very early dawn ... bad news because I was 15 mins late for a conference call!!  But, all is well that ends well.  I am afraid they are going to take my drivers license away (because of my lack of direction).  

Very busy today.  Hopefully we will have internet next week ... no satellite (because I can't connect to my work computer using satellite service and it is SLOW), I considered mobile wireless, but it is slow and expensive -- however, I found a local company that has a few wireless towers around the city and basically they mount an antenna on your house - it will be FAST ... faster than DSL (he said DSL is a Pinto and their service is an F-16)..  Anyway -- I have to run to yet another meeting.  I will be preblogging my run for tomorrow, since I won't be able to log in again until Monday.

Happy weekend bloggers!
 

AM: 9miles -- got a little lost, with Dean, ~ 79 mins).  Found some more cool places to run ... very hilly, great training.

PM: (4 miles -- see above ~ 35-40 mins).  flat run on a park that is set up with a few miles of trails for handicap use ... it is so neat, all wheelchair accessible with voice displays for visually impaired people and just a very nice idea.  About 1 - 1.5 miles from my house, the outer trails are dirt (about 1.5 miles worth of trails), the inner trail is ashpalt (about 1 mile).

2:02:37.  Very cool run ... I ran my just over 5.5 mile hilly loop trail in the National Park.  I ran about 2 miles before I started, and then ran two loops and added on a mile afterward.  I was supposed to run the last 20` hard, but I ran the second loop hard.  First loop was 49:49 and the second was 45:53.  Warm-up and cool-down were pretty easy (9:00-9:15 pace I would guess).  This is a great training run, the first 2.5 - 3 miles are steady uphill with some steep hills, the last 2.5 are gradual downhill to flat with the last .5 miles uphill.  I am hoping that all these hills are going to help with my cross-country race next week!  

Happy week bloggers.

AM: (10 miles, 1:27:09).  Hilly run + 8 x 100m strides.  Nice morning 50 and sunny ... Dean saw a javelina on his run, I saw one bunny and some beautiful cacti ...

PM: (4.5 miles easy).

Happy Tueday bloggers, the semester is almost over!!

1:02:xx.   Another "route-tester" run -- this one is not a route I will be doing much.  It was pretty hilly, more long (2-3 miles of long gradual climb up a mountain) hill than roller coaster, but that was not the problem.  The problem with the run was that although I was able to run on the nice dirt beside the road, there were a lot of cars, and many of them were just going way too fast.  This road leads up to a dead-end at the top of a mountain and there are at most 100-150 houses up there.  You would think that people who lived in such a nice, solitary, beautiful place would enjoy their surroundings, and have respect for the abundant wildlife (and wild runners) ... but apparently they don't.  So ... although possibly a nice training run, it is not one I will be frequenting.  

My knee hurts and is swollen.  I hope I hit it on something and just don't remember.  It doesn't really hurt when I run, but it does when I touch it and it is definately swollen.  I will not be deterred!  darn it!

Happy trails bloggers!

AM: (9+ miles, 1:18:17).  26:47 wu + strides/27:20 cd, 4 x 1200 tempo intervals w/1` recovery (5:17 (7:05) 5:18 (7:06) 5:16 (7:03) 5:14 (7:01)) -- the split in the parantheses are the equivalent mile splits -- not 1600 (the metric mile) but old fashioned mile ;-)) .   Felt so good today (despite my knee being full of some sort of fluid, more on that later) - it was a beautiful day for running hard (45F just a little wind on the back stretch - it is perpetually windy there I guess).   I figure this is somewhere in the middle of my 10K and 15K pace, so it really wasn't hard, I could have done many more -- I am happy about that.  I actually tried to slow it down to keep it on the lower end of the pace range, but this was the pace that felt good.

My knee -- who the heck knows.  It doesn't actually hurt when I walk, run or climb stairs (up or down), but it hurts to touch it, it is swollen (and hot) and I couldn't do my usual quad stretch this morning -- which makes me wonder if I somehow overstretched it earlier this week and didn't know ... I am planning on doing my second run tonight as planned, but I will abort if it hurts even one little bit.  Weird.

PM: (hopefully an easy 4.5 miles).

I am so glad it is Thursday!  Have a safe and wonderful day bloggers!

1:01:47.  Nice run on the Yeatman trail at sunrise.  BEAUTIFUL.  too bad the trail is so rough, I kind of have to watch where I am running, and can't really look around much.  But you better believe I spent every moment of the easier footing time to enjoy the red canyon views and the sun hitting the saguaro ... breathtaking.

This morning we got our new wireless antenna installed on our roof so we can get internet! Yippee.  Basically, our service will be as fast as the university's T3 I think.  But, let me say, when they tell you they will be installing the antenna (which is as big as a footlong sub at Subway) on a tripod with a reflective cone -- they mean a real live huge tripod with a reflective cone that is larger than a satellite dish.  What we will do for email ;-).

The javelina's showed up today.  The fence company had seen them, our handyman had seen them ... and today I got to see them.  There were about 15-20 of them near our mesquite tree, they have two trails that go through our yard and then up the top of the mountain that is our backyard.  Jake was outside and was going crazy - I thought he was going to kill himself trying to get through the brand new wrought iron fence.  They weren't really afraid of him, actually there were at least 5 of them that were almost double his size and actually probably would have hurt him if given the chance.  But man, it was cool to see them all climb up the mountain right next to our house.  WOW.  I have to get a digital camera so I can show you guys.  It was awesome. 

Happy Friday bloggers ... stay healthy (that means you Eric), happy and wise!

AM: (8.5+ miles, 1:13:19).  Ran 8 miles with Dean and then did 8x100m strides.  It could have been closer to 9 miles, Dean said he did not feel good today, but he sure ran like he felt good.  I was a little out of my comfort zone, not really running hard, but not entirely running easy either.  I really was hoping he would just take off so I could slow down ;-).

PM: (4 miles easy).

Happy Weekend bloggers!

1:29:37.  The schedule called for 90` today, with the last 20` hard.  I went out to the flattest trail I know about and proceeded to run the entire run hard ... dumb, but I was just a little inspired, and worried about running a 5K after not running that fast in months and months.  For the most part, this trail is pretty easy - rocky, yes, hilly, yes - but short little ones, sandy, yes, but easier than most of the trails.  It was gradually downhill out and gradual uphill back. 

Anyway, 46:47/42:49 - it wouldn't surprise me if the "out" part were about 8:30 pace or so, the "back" part was tough since I was already tired, trying to pick it up and simultaneously going uphill.  All and all, it was an inspiring run!  I just hope it wasn't too hard, and that I can recover by Thursday -- XC madness here I come!!

Happy Sunday my blogger friends!  I have to go track my friends who are doing Ironman Arizona today!! 

AM: (easy 6, 53:18).  Nice morning run on the Yeatman trail - I worked for a while first, I wanted to wait until it warmed up a bit ... finally, at 8AM it was 43F and I thought it was perfect.  Well, except that my feet were cold and numb for the first 20 mins (I was wearing my summer socks) -- luckily they started to thaw out before I got to the more technical climbs.  all and all a perfect day.  I am pretty tired ... I hope it is mental and indicative of Thursday.  I watched the NCAA cross-country championships yesterday -- it reminded me how cross-country races are!  Both OSU and Villanova showed lots of heart - they worked hard for the team titles!  

 PM: (easy 4).

Have a great rest of the day bloggers!

Easy hilly run ... feel ok.  I got the "usual" coach pep talk today, "don't worry, go out hard but controlled and pick it up from there" -- very helpful.  My favorite "coach" quote was one I heard from a friend who was running a 10K on the track in college "run fast, turn left".

I have to confess bloggers.  I have to become a nice person.  It was  a deal I made yesterday.  So ... yesterday I get to work and had brought my external hard drive from home so I could get some things I had written a while ago from it and put into a grant I am working on.  This hard drive is my back-up from the last 10 years (it isn't that old just the things that are stored on it) -- it has my dissertation on it, it has papers I have written, projects I have worked on, things that I am currently working on, etc.  Well, I plug it into my computer and nothing happens.  Hmmmmm... I jiggle it a little, replug it in and still ... nothing.  I look at it more closely and my heart stops -- no beat.  I feel like I might throw up.  The USB port has  broken off.  I start hyperventilating -- really.  I jump up and *RUN* across campus to the computer tech store below the bookstore.  Surely there will be some nerdy guy there that can either help me or tell me where I can go??  My office is about a mile from the bookstore and it was one of the longest miles I have ever walk-ran.  All I could think about was starting all over on that paper that I have been working on for 3 years now (it is in its second revision from a journal review) -- and all the projects that I have ongoing for which I have been modifying things that I have done in the past.  Oh why did I not buy that 5Terabyte hard drive from Costco (that is on sale for $100) so I could "back-up" my "back-up" disk? 

Well, the bookstore was a wash, the undergrads there only work on computers, not peripherals.  I was slowly, almost in tears, walking back to my office when I saw a sign "U/ITS 24/7" (University Information Technology Services -- 24 hours/day 7 days/week".  I decided to stop in and see if they knew of any local data recovery service in town that could help me.  I made a deal, "IF I CAN GET MY LIFES WORK OFF OF THIS HARD DRIVE I WILL BECOME A NICE PERSON, I PROMISE".  Well, as I walked into the the room I saw them the beautiful nerds for which I was seeking -- I knew immediately that they were going to be my salvation.  Sure enough, it took over 3 hours but my savvy techie was able to extract the hard drive from the case, read it onto another computer, and I after I ran back to the bookstore and bought another external hard drive was able to recover ALL of my data. 

Now I wish I had promised to give up coffee or something, instead of change my whole being ... but noone said it would be easy ;-).

Happy Thanksgiving Bloggers!! 

Yippee. I am very happy with my time today. It is only 30 secs off my 5K road PR on a moderately hard cross-country course! I beat my time from last year by almost 2 mins, but last year it rained all night and the course was really sloppy. The course is a 2 lap course with 4 hay bale, and two water jumps and 3 pretty tough hills and you hit all of them 2 times. I made the water jumps pretty well the first time through, got a little wet on the last one, mainly because I was getting really tired. The first mile is easier, the last is really hard because you have two of the toughest hills 2 water jumps and two hay bale jumps all in the last 1/2 mile. My splits were 7:05, 7:00, and 7:04 pace for the last 1.1 miles.

I won a pumpkin pie (a little bummed that I missed overall masters by 20 secs, and first in my age group by 18 secs -- must work on that for next year - I did beat the 40 year old age group winner by 25 secs so that was good). I was in the top 25 (which was my goal) out of about 600 women so I am happy today.

Happy Thanksgiving my fastrunningblog friends!

1:01:46.  Recovery run.  It took me about 40 mins to warm-up today!  Hills were a little hard at first (and I couldn't of hurdled a barrier if my life depended on it!) but I felt pretty good by the end.  Pretty slow, but I enjoyed it, and savored the day!

hi ho hi ho its off to work I go.

Have a great day bloggers!

AM: (9+ miles, 1:23:40).  Investigated a slightly different route from the "usual" Saturday route.  It might have added on a 1/4 of a mile or so.  I did 8 x 100 m strides, quite a bit slower than usual.  My legs are still feeling Thursday, but it was fine as long as I ran easy.  It is the first time ever that my legs are the limiting factor in my recovery -- cardio-wise I am feeling really good, my legs are just heavy.  Now I am a little excited to start speed training - I think in about 2 weeks or so.  I might jump into some road 5k's in the next month or so, my "key" race will be a 10K in January -- I am feeling more confident that a sub 44 min 10K is within reach.  Then I need to decide what to do this spring ... I am pretty sure a 1/2 marathon is in the cards, but I am not sure if I will just race a couple of those and then target another marathon next winter (maybe California International?) or whether I might run another marathon this spring.  I really want to work on my speed this year, with the hope of a solid marathon next year (when/if I am pretty sure that a sub 3:30 is plausible).  Stay healthy, stay healthy ;-).

PM: (easy 4).

I hope you are enjoying the weekend bloggers -- and enjoying the left-overs!  I was going to get a "tofurkey" - but they are too big for just one (and Dean would not eat any of it I am sure) -- so we don't have many left-overs ... no more than usual.

1:55:55 (isnt that cool?).  Today was awesome, I just went out and explored some trails.  I felt like I could run forever, I was not running hard and just felt good!  The weather was perfect, low 50s, cloudy (a storm is blowing through), and just right.  I am lucky to be able to run almost 2 hours straight, not have to worry about water (since it is so cool) and feel so good afterward.

The good news is the Arizona Wildcats beat the Sun Devils 20-17 yesterday.  The bad news  was that there were 5 serious accidents, and 2 people died, on the freeway between here and Phoenix.  The storm and high winds caused a severe dust/sand storm that made driving very dangerous.  Many of them were going to the football game, or traveling because of the holiday, and it is very sad. 

Be safe and well bloggers.

AM:(10 miles, 1:28:06).  Hilly run + 8 x 100m strides. So, I guess it takes me 3 days to recover from a 5K ... today I felt SO good.  The run was awesome, pretty, perfect weather (39F and sunny).  I think I saw Abdi today.  Whoever it was was FAST.  They had that stride that you only see on really really fast people who are trying to run easy, I can't describe it very well, but I know it when I see it.

PM:(4 miles, maybe 4.5, easy).

Have a great day bloggers.  Only two more lectures -- YEA!

I am moving this mileage to the correct day -- but leaving the blog here -- this run was actually for December 1, 2009 ... I don't want to mess up my "monthly" averages so I am moving the miles to the right day.  I am a dork, I know.