track fan

1:49:04 (56:26/52:34). Yippee. Averaged 9:00 pace on the way out and 8:30 on the way back. I did find that I have been running my runs this week a little on the fast side, which was good to know because I was hoping 9 min pace would feel easier than it felt yesterday. I will have to readjust my internal garmin as I build my mileage back up again. I was a little uncertain how it would feel today, seeing how I haven't run any longer than about 8 miles since the marathon. I wanted to make sure I kept it really easy for the first 1/2; once I turned around I was feeling good and the pace just picked up naturally. It was good to see that 2 miles is 2 miles again (instead of that time-warped 10 mile-like 2 miles of the marathon ;-) ). I got out just in time today, the weather was tolerable about 70F at the start of the run and 86F at the end.

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday is that is one of my favorite times of the year bloggers - there are basically two time of the year that are awesome -- indoor track season and outdoor track season!! for about a month in the winter and a month in the late spring I can watch track ON TV every weekend! yea! This weekend was the Reebok grand prix and so many people made the A qualifying standard for the World Championships in August. Which is good for them because now they can train for the championships and not chase the standard ... but there is still more great races to come over the next few weeks, the next one being the Prefontaine meet next weekend in Eugene! Highlights of yesterdays meet: 3 men in the 5K ran faster than HAD EVER BEEN RUN on US soil!! Bernard was second with a 13:03 -- did not break the AR of 12:58 but still a PR for him. The womens races were spectacular, Christin Wurth-Thomas ran the fastest 1500 so far this year with a gutsy kicking lead with 600 meters to go ... she decimated the field. And wow, Linet Masai (Kenya) beat Tirunesh Dibaba by 5 seconds, she looked good the whole way and just kept pulling away with every stride - this was the first race that Dibaba has lost since the world xc championships (she won gold in both the 5 and 10K in Beijing). Ahhhhh .... it was a great evening. Which was good since I worked about 9 hours yesterday and was brain-dead in the evening ...

Off to work I go! Happy rest of the weekend bloggers!

One more thing -- in reference to Carolyn in Colorado's blog post earlier this week ... Pete Magill has some interesting advice on running longevity (specifically for us older runners, but good read nonetheless). I love his blog ... although he does have a funny list of marathon tips that starts off with "don't run one" ;-)

ok, now I really do have to get back to work.

(129.4)

Happy 1st of June everyone.  Scheduled day off - rode my bike to and from work (22 miles).

The cactus flowers are in bloom here ... truly beautiful!

One more very stressful week getting my grant finished.  I had a friend look it over last week and she did not understand it as well I was hoping she would ... so I guess I have a lot of editing to do here.  And I am having some technical issues with one of the primary aims ... like, it maybe can't be done ... daggonit.  I am freaking out.

1:11:21 (36:35/34:46). My legs felt a little weird this morning. Probably from the biking yesterday. I am a little dehydrated too, I think. Did you know that temperature readings are always taken in the shade? hmmm. The closest temperature reading to my house said 85F this morning -- it felt a little hotter than that. But, all is good, it felt great to be out, I feel strong and invigerated!

So, I came home last night and found Dean fiddling with a hanger and a piece of paper? hmmmm. I asked him what it was (after I went on and on about the frustrations I am having with my grant) and he said, a compass to measure hip angle ... have I told you all that besides being a funny, handsome and good runner, Dean is also a huge geek (what is there not to love?). Anyway. He had taken a pants hanger (the kind with the circular cardboard piece on the long end) taken off the hook a the top and taped a paper with angles on it (that he had made from a statistical graphics package that we use). He then used my medal from the Des News 10K last year attached to a thin piece of elastic (used for conference badges) as a "plumb bob" (so it would hang taut). He then could find the top of his (and mine) hip bones and put the two ends (where the hook would be) on the front and back of the hip bones.  Interesting.  Pelvic tilt on his R side was about 4.3% and 2% on his left.  This is a likely cause/effect from his current hamstring woes that have kept him from training for the last 5 months.  Mine were 8%/9% (women have more pelvic tilt than men and 5-7% is considered normal) - not bad, and nicely balanced (if I do say so myself ;-) ).  I tried to take a picture of it ... but I am not sure if my cell phone is capable of taking clear enough pictures to really convey the "contraption" in its fullest light.

Have a good day bloggers!

(128.2, dehydrated?) 

48:17. Modified Dean's loop. Felt much cooler than yesterday (I think because I finished sooner).  I did practice a little hill bounding - just to see how the hill would work -- it was ok, but I am going to continue to search for the perfect hill.  I have a couple more to try out, and I have to figure out which days to incorporate these.  Well, and I still haven't found a good solution for measuring stride length so I can do some before and after metrics.  I won't have time until next week to even think about this.   I somehow "tweeked" my adductor yesterday - I don't know if it was my exercises from yesterday (they are heavy on hip and adductor work this month), on my run, or if I can blame it on my workload at the desk ;-) or my 4 hours of sleep/night.  It is not "injury" bad, just "avoid aggravating it" bad - hill bounding was a little aggravating.

Have a great day bloggers. I miss keeping up on your blogs, I will play catch-up next week!

AM: (7.5 miles, 1:04:04) 18 x :30 w/1` recovery (I was supposed to do 15, but I lost count and did not realize it until I got back to my chronometer on my watch, it wasn't because these were fun ;-) ).

Preblogging because I likely won't be back online tonight. I am tired. really tired.

PM: (long 4, 38:20).  I am glad I got my first 98F mile run over with, now I know what it feels like.  Luckily it was mostly overcast.  Man, Montelepsy ROCKS - and it is humid (and windy, sandy) there!

Have a good day bloggers!

48:24.  Modified Dean's loop + my loop.

Wildlife encounters: thousands of lizards, hundreds of bunnies, 1 coyote and 1 goathead.

ok ... goatheads are not technically wildlife, though they are abundant here in the desert.  We find them in our house all the time - by the tried and true method of "walk barefooted to the kitchen".  Their scientific name is, appropriately, "puncturevine weevils".

 Anyway - the one I "found" today was the largest I have ever seen, it was long enough to stick all the through the bottom of my running shoe and about 3 inches into the pad of my foot --- ouch.  I was able to pull it out and all is well ;-).

Have a great Friday bloggers!

1:13:46 (37:21/36:25).  Easy run ... much cooler 83F today ... ahhh.  Even so, I was feeling a little lightheaded after my run.  Probably caused by the sleep deprivation of late.  This too shall pass.

11 miles to work on bike.

(129.4, very hydrated)