track fan

1:48:47.  Very hilly run in the national park.  The first lap I added on almost a mile to ensure I got in the time - the second lap I ran faster than I have ever run this loop by almost a minute.  I was suprised because I really felt horrible the whole run.  My legs have been sore pretty much every run for the past week - they just seem to get tighter through the run. It is not a good sign since I haven't even begun really training yet. 

I hope you all had a good weekend!

AM: (9+ miles, 1:18:07).  Probably a little longer than 9.  Fartlek workout 15 x 1` w/ 1` recovery @ 3K-5K effort.  Felt really good to run faster today!  I had some deep myofacial work done on Sunday and though I am still really sore from the work my muscles are not nearly as sore when I run. 

PM: (4 miles, 37:48).   Faster than usual, though I felt like I was dragging while I was running.

Have a good day bloggers!

1:05:20 (33:27/31:35).  Felt pretty yucky on the way out but somehow finished pretty strong (even though the last 2 miles are uphill).  No sleep last night, I think the stress of work is catching up with me.

happy Wednesday bloggers.

AM: (11 miles, 1:34:55). 23:58 wu, 5 x 5`@ 5-10K effort w/3` recovery, 30:24.  I would guess the faster bits were about 7:08-7:15, I went farther every one so it was a good workout -- I could tell I was in the right pace/effort because by the last 2 I needed to concentrate on holding pace.

I knew from the start that today was going to be a good running day.  It was the first time since the race (over 3 weeks ago) that I was was motivated (both mentally and physically) to run!  My landmarks were about 10 seconds faster than usual (which meant I had to slow myself down on my warm-up).  I was starting to worry that I would not have the desire/ability to train for this marathon ... I hope I can maintain this now ;-).

PM: (4 miles).

1:07:15.  Easy recovery jog.  The overall time includes laying in the dirt ... I have to "jump" (I usually step) over a little wire fence that surrounds a park that the dirt road I run parallels.  Well, I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later -- I somehow did not get my back leg over and ended up falling ... I am just glad that somehow my body managed to twist so I did not break my leg (it could have been snapped by the wire which is probably about 3-4 inches in diameter) -- and I did not rebreak my wrist! yea!  I found my missing glove this morning too, so I would consider the whole run to be a success!

Happy Friday bloggers.

AM: (8.5 miles, 1:15:34).  Felt better today than I have in a while ... there are a few things going on.  First, I had an Egoscue appointment yesterday ... Egoscue is basically a technique that incorporates Pilates, yoga and stretching exercises to increase your alignment (particularly with respect to hips, shoulders and spine).  The thought is (my naive interpretation of it anyway) is that this alignment increases biomechanical efficiency.  For runners, this biomechnical efficiency helps increase speed and reduce overuse injuries.  Basically, I believe that rather than trying to force a particular efficient stride, you need to ensure your body is in proper alignment and then the most efficient stride for you will come naturally.  I don't know if this is exactly the way things work, but I do believe that many times when start to have "aches and pains" it is remedied by changing some of these exercises.  Right now I go once a month and they give me a new set of exercises to do -- and then in between visits I can email them if things are "working" and they will give me some alternate ones to try.  It adds about 30-40mins on to my workout every day -- but I think it helps.  The second thing is that I am just not recoverying very well between runs right now (which is a problem since I am not actually training very hard yet!).  So, I have started taking an amino acid supplement to see if that helps any.  Trial and error ... so far it may be in my head but I think it may be helping.  From the looks of it, Greg has me alternating my "long run days" between shorter but more intense runs and increased distance (next week I will be running 18 miles) -- as we progress through cycles it will morph more and more into both higher mileage and some higher intensity. 

PM:(4.5 miles in my favorite park).

Off to work!  Happy weekend bloggers!