track fan

AM: (8+ miles, 1:10:44). I am pretty sure it was more than 8 miles because I hit all my usual "time markers" a little faster than normal and went farther than usual before I hit my turn-around time of 36` (I have a tendency to get all fired up the day after a day off from running ;-) ). I backed off a little, but still managed a slightly less than 2 min negative split. hmmm. Need to not do this tomorrow as I have a pretty hard tempo run on Thursday. I was surprised at how good I felt today - especially since I got all of 2 hours of sleep last night, and my sinus problem seems to be getting worse ... I am overloading on vitamin C!

PM:(4+ miles, 38:03).  Ran to the U of A mall and then did 3 laps on the grass.  This is a fun run mainly because it is the "center" of campus and there is a lot of life there -- despite the fact that it reminds me how long ago my college experience was it brings back fond memories (PhD experience is not-so-fond, memory-wise ;-) ).

1:01:02.  Easy run today -- trying to make sure I am rested for my workout tomorrow.  Unfortunately, I have a head cold ... hopefully the fact that it sounds bad means it is getting better.

AM: (10+ miles, 1:21:13). 5 mile tempo run (7:22, 7:22, 7:18, 7:16, 7:18) + 21:40 wu (including strides) and 23:26 cd. Pretty happy with this workout. Not bad considering I had so much phlegm in the back of my throat I thought I would choke ;-), plus, there was a stiff headwind on the backstretch AND they were sprinkling the inside of the track, and the sprinklers somehow were timed to hit me every time I hit the 300m mark!! by the first 1/4 my behind was soaked and by the last one, my head was wet!!! I was pondering my workout when it was over (my tempo pace is supposed to be between 7:16-7:35, I was hoping for 7:30 average) and I think the extra mileage has helped a lot with overall stamina. I am still lacking leg speed (e.g., 5K-10K pace speed) as demonstrated with my speed workout a couple of weeks ago -- but my 1/2 marathon (and marathon?) stamina is improving a lot.

PM: (4.5, 35:26). I have a very important meeting this afternoon, but I hope be able to leave work while it is still light and run up on my favorite little hill loop near the Arthur Pack Park (try saying that fast 3 or 4 times!).  Ended up running at Reid Park -- it was dark!!

Have a great day bloggers.

Before I forget -- I have been trying a new shoe tying experiment to see if this helps my PF (it has gotten so bad that I limp everywhere when I am not running, and it is taking longer and longer for the pain to go away when I start running - it is 15 mins of pain now!). Anyway -- it is working!! I am retying all of my running shoes now -- I will try to get a picture and post it sometime this weekend, so other sufferers can give it a try as well.

1:02:54

Very late to work this morning -- I got waylaid by puppies on the way home.  9 very cute ~ 8 week old puppies were in the road and as I ran by they ALL started following me.  What ensued was an hour long ordeal with me trying to stuff them back in a fence that they had escaped from, without being bit by the big dogs that lived there ... a lot of drama, but with a happy ending - the fence is secure and the puppies are safe (and I am late to work).

AM: (8 miles, 1:11:13) ... ran out 36:13 and back in 35:00. Legs don't feel very good today -- probably because of the PT/deep tissue work I had done last night.

PM: (4 miles). I will be jogging with Dean, his hamstring has been pretty bad since the race last week so he has not been running, he went to my therapist yesterday and is going to try a little jogging this evening.

Tomorrow I am pacing the 3:50 marathon pace group for the first 1/2 of the Tucson marathon. It will be fun -- it is downhill and will be at my usual long run pace, so I should be able to do it ... but it is a little pressure, I want to make sure they all do well, so we can't go too fast or too slow!!!

(8:45 pace) What FUN!!!

I helped Laszlo and LaurenO from the blog - their running group was pacing for the Tucson 1/2 and Marathon today and they had some pacers back out at the last minute. So, I was "enlisted" to pace the first half of the 3:50 group (8:45 pace). I was supposed to run 16-18 miles anyway - so the plan was to run 17 with the group and then I would get a ride to the finish. There was some sort of mix-up with my ride, so after waiting around for quite a while (passing out gu and cleaning up water cups) I decided to try to find my own ride to the finish -- well, on the way there I saw "my" group just passing the 23 mile mark, so I jumped out there and ran in with them -- EVERY ONE of our "core" group (the ones that started with the 3:50 pace group, not the ones that we picked up along the way) came in 3:50 or under - Yea they rocked, and many of them qualified for Boston today!! This was my first run over 16 miles, so it was a milestone for me too! I had stopped my watch at mile 17 (2:29:15), but I the last 2.5 were in the 8:45 or faster range, so I would guess the overall time to be around 2:48 or 2:50.

AM: (10+ miles, 1:30:22). Ouch ... my quads have been hurting so badly bloggers. Drat on those downhill miles on Sunday! I really am just not cut out for downhills. Anyway -- I decided to run today - but if I am still sore this afternoon I might bag my PM run. I really want to recover by Thursday for my workout. I really don't want to sacrifice my workout for mileage (though I would love to have both!). If all goes well, I will run another 4 miles later (most likely in the dark).
 

PM: (4 miles, 38:12).  Very very tight and sore the first 1/2 mile.  Felt ok after that, but a little worried about my Thursday workout.  I got some epsom salts and soaked for 15 mins (I couldn't stand it longer than that it was so hot!).  Feel much better right now, it will be interesting to see if the relief continues. 

1:03:49.  31:59 out, 31:50 back.  Quads felt better today - they still hurt, but not nearly as bad as yesterday.  We have to take a faculty candidate to dinner tonight -- but I hope to have time to soak in the epsom salts again ... I can't tell if that is what is helping, or just that it is going away on its own.

AM: (4+ miles, 36:25).  18:15 out 18:10 back (uphill).  I had an early morning meeting today so I ran easy this morning and moved my workout to the evening.  I was a bit apprehensive about doing this, mainly because I am not used to running hard in the evening -- and I knew I would feel tighter after sitting all day.

PM: (10.5 miles, 1:26:17).  6 x 1200 w/600 recovery.  Goal pace was 5:18 (7:04 pace -- the slow end of the range since I am still so sore).  22:40 wu and then 5:18, 5:15, 5:15, 5:19, 5:16, 5:13 (the 5:19 was dodging two toddlers whose parents thought should play in lane 1) 15:34 cd.  My quads were still a little sore today, but they felt much better (until the last few quarters!).  I was quite suprised.  They did not feel good mind you, but I think had I been more "fresh" and not coming off of such a hard week last week and this weekend I could been under 7:00 pace for all of them (range was 6:56 - 7:04). 

I am super sore again now though ...

Happy Thursday bloggers! 

1:13:10.  37:15 out 35:55 back.  I am tired today, but despite the workout last night I felt better today than I have all week!  I have a PT appointment tonight, so I am hoping my quads will be back to normal by Sunday (they will hurt tomorrow but because of the work)!

Have a good Friday bloggers. 

AM:(8 miles, 1:03:13). 37:11 out/36:02 back -- tailwind on the way back. Today was my first virtually painfree run all week! yea! My legs were dead from the deep tissue work my therapist performed (and a different kind of sore in some spots) -- but it was oh so much more comfortable. I hope that by tomorrow I will be "all better". I am supposed to do a fast finish run tomorrow so recovery is the key. I think I spend most of my time figuring out how I can simply run, and recover, between workouts.

PM:(4+ miles, 39:25) on the dirt paths near Arthur Pack park - this might actually be 4.5 miles, but it doesn't really matter to me -- the big news is that I FINALLY  hit 70 miles!  It has been a hard week!

2:04:58.  1:04:52/1:00:06.  Last 2+ miles @ 1/2 marathon effort (7:48, 7:32 + ~1/4 mile).  I knew from the start that I was going to have to modify my expectations for today.  First of all, it was raining and about 44F when I started and the wind was blowing (tailwind on the out portion -- yuck, I was dreading the turn-around!) about 10 mpw (a little harder with the gusts).  Secondly, my legs were aching so bad last night that it woke me up a few times (just a general ache, not in any one place).  Then, to top it off, I felt felt pretty good the first few miles and then I got a tightness in my L quad that by mile 7 started to feel almost like a cramp.  After the turn around I just naturally started to pick it up (like a horse to a barn), and my leg did not feel any worse when I went faster - so I just kept my fingers crossed and sort of picked it up a little faster every mile (the trick in my mind was not to go too hard, because the headwind can really tire  you out if push too hard through it).

Anyway -- all and all a solid run ... I have some point tenderness in my leg, but I am off tomorrow and this week is going to be a recovery week, so I am hoping it is just a tired muscle.

AM: (8+ miles, 1:14:00). No pain!! yippee. My legs felt really dead at the beginning of the run, but felt much better as it progressed. This week, with the exception of my workout on Thursday, is all about recovery. I thought about not wearing a watch at all on all non-workout runs, but I realized I am connected to my watch and it would be more distracting not to have it ...

PM: (4+ miles, 38:39).  Ran on the grass at the U of A mall.  Beautiful night for a run (50F) - they say it might snow here tomorrow -- I believe them for the mountains (it has been snowing there for a couple of days) - but I don't know if I believe them for down at 3000ft - it would be cool though, I am homesick for the snow (and yes, even running on the ice~ I still have my yaktracs and sigh at them every once and a while), it is December after all!!

Greg has scheduled an extra day off this week if I feel I need it ... I doubt I will take a whole day off, but I might skip my evening run on Thursday. I would rather take a little extra time off and be rested than not take it off and end up being sorry I didn't. I will be ratcheting it up one more notch before my race in January -- and then we will see what these old legs can do!

Have a good day bloggers.

7+ 1:05:46 (maybe almost 7.5 today, I was only supposed to run 60` but I was thinking and lost track of time before I turned around).

Recovery is grand, recovery is great. I felt good today, I could have run longer, I could have run faster, but whenever I felt myself picking it up I just said "recovery, recovery, recovery".

Good times.

1:47:45. Tempo interval workout 3 x 2 miles w/5` recovery (target range 7:10-7:25 pace).

27:05 wu + strides, (7:23, 7:20, (4:49, 900m jog), 7:21, 7:21, (5:04, 900m jog), 7:23, 7:18), 26:37 cd

I wanted to stay on the higher end of the range, primarily in keeping with the "focus on recovery" theme this week but also because I wanted to see how difficult 7:25 felt (as I am hoping that this might be my new 1/2 marathon race pace). On the positive side my pacing was pretty consistant and my legs did not feel sore at all today. On the downside the pace did not come as "easily" as I was hoping, I really had to concentrate; also my legs felt much more nonresponsive than I would have liked given how easy the rest of the week has been - I just did not feel as "smooth" as I would have liked. There was a 8.5 mpw wind (according to wunderground) that was a cross-wind on the turns and headwind down the backstretch. By the last couple of miles I was getting pretty tired of fighting it every lap (actually sick!!) - but I tried to relax into the pace, and the last mile was suprising (I did not look at my splits until the end I just ran). It was a good workout, I really enjoyed my cool-down - I saw my first roadrunner!!

Have a safe and happy day bloggers.

1:04:15.  A long 7, I ran a little faster today so my turn-around spot was much longer than usual. Felt really really good today.

AM: (8 miles, 1:12:34).  Not a lot of time to write today -- lots to do to get ready for holiday visits.

PM: (4 miles) -- run with Dean near the park (our Saturday PM ritual now).

have a wonderful weekend bloggers.
 

2:42:18 (ave 9:01 pace). Beautiful day for a hilly run! Saguaro National Park West. I ran on the Bajada drive loop (a dirt road) 3 times. The trail maps say it is 6 miles, but based on my splits I did not believe it, I think it is about 400 - 600 meters short of 6 miles so I added on an extra mile (ran out and back on a ~ 1/2 mile dirt road that leads to a picnic area). The loops are primarily uphill for 3 miles and then downhill to flat for 3 miles. Splits were 51:05, 51:13, 49:59.

I could not believe how good I felt on this run, the hard part was that I was getting bored with running -- mainly I just did not want to be out there any more near the end - it would have been nice to have some company. But it was such a pretty run that it was tolerable (and I was so happy that I felt good!).

2:06:18 ... maybe a little long.  So, I don't know if I made the right decision today or not but I decided to just run one run instead of breaking it into two runs (I was supposed to run 90` in the morning and 4 miles in the afternoon).  I did this because it was raining and 40F and I just did not want to run in raining and 40F again in the afternoon, and I have to go to the airport this afternoon and I would only have had 4 hours to recover between runs.  Dean reminded me that I could have skipped my PM run -- but honestly, that option just did not occur to me while I was deciding what to do.  At about 5 miles into my run I just decided an extra 3 miles or so would be fine ... and I hope it will be.  The last two miles felt like maybe I had made the wrong decision (I think I am still a little tired from my 18 miler this weekend).  Now I have to make an extra effort to recover, eat well and hopefully it won't affect my workout this week. 

I hope everyone is having a good week and traveling safely, staying warm and enjoying their families and friends.

63:38, nice recovery run.  Now we are off to the Sonoran Desert Museum!

AM: (11.5). Yippeee, my longest tempo run ever! Went to the track at Pima Community College for a 7 mile tempo run, range is 7:16-7:35.

2.5 miles wu + strides, 7:35, 7:29, 7:33,  7:29, 7:29, 7:28, 7:27 + 2 miles cd. It was SOOOOO windy, 28 laps with a 12-15 mph gust on the backstretch every time - Dean said the wind was worth about 1 sec/lap (which is what I estimated -- I felt like I was running in the 7:25-7:26 range). It was an awesome run, I was running at exactly the pace I was supposed to be (Greg says I should feel like I could run a couple more miles when I finish, and though it would not have been 'fun' I certainly felt like I could have run a couple more).  The wu and cd are always on these very cool trails in the hills -- I love running there a lot!

PM: (3.5 miles, 32:16).  Run on the dirt around the 'hood.  

So, the greatest thing about my PM run?  I saw Santa riding a motorcycle down the street! 

Merry Christmas bloggers!

1:04:24.  Recovery run -- I must say today was a completely uninspiring run.  Mentally and physically I was just not in it today.  I could  not wait for it to be over and it was not simply because it was 38F and raining/sleeting.  I don't know why -- I was thinking  maybe I need some spinach or something. 

 The cool thing was that near the end of my run some of the clouds blew away and I discovered that the mountain tops of both the Tucson and Catalina mountains had snow!! That was a boost.

AM: (8 miles, 1:14:45). Slow run, felt better mentally than yesterday. This has been a hard week ... one more hard week and then all I have to do is stay focused and healthy!!

PM: (4.5 miles, 39:34).  I felt a lot better this afternoon.  I dread my PM runs, but once I get started I generally feel a lot better than my AM ones. Weird.

Happy weekend bloggers.

2:02:23. Fast finish long run. Ran 7 miles at ~ 9:00 pace and then started picking it up. I was supposed to run 2-4 miles @ 1/2 marathon race pace, so I decided I would ease into pace over the first two miles (8:04, 7:43, 7:23, 7:20). I actually ran on the lower end of the range today -(14-16 miles) - since the goal was to practice running race pace when I am tired ... I was tired from the beginning so I did not feel the need to run longer ;-). The goal of the run was accomplished, though it was not easy!

Happy Sunday bloggers.

AM: (8 miles, 1:11:54).  Easy run on the south side of the river trail (36:39/35:15).  Mainly contemplated how important the next 3 weeks will be, running-wise.  I am pretty sure I have every chance of a significant PR on the 25th, but only if I play the next couple weeks smart.  I have one more "major" workout, but much more important is staying healthy (no injuries), eating well, and getting sleep.  

PM: (4 miles).

1:07:02.  Today was fun!  There was a group of women who were doing a time trial (I found this out later).  They are signed up for the Ragnor relay here in Arizona and needed to give their expected times so they ran a 10K time trial today on the River trail.  I ended up talking to the guy who was doing their timing (husband of the woman organizing the group) until most of them finished.  Then, there was a little excitement when the 8 year old son of the team leader did not show up from his bike ride ... some very nice cyclists took a ride down the trail and found him really far from where we were (about 6 miles!).  Anyway - while I was waiting with some of the women I found out many of them had roots in Utah!!  Orem, Heber, Logan, etc.!  We had a really nice talk.  

Happy New Year's Eve bloggers.