M'kay

2 mile easy run warmup in 15:06, 7:32/mi, HR 161, w/ 0.5 threshold effort.  

Hard race.  Still feeling a bit of the effects of the stomach bug I caught a couple days ago, but mostly recovered.  1st mile in about 5:45, including ratcheting it back at the 0.5 mile mark, so I went out too fast.  Really hurting the last 2.1 miles...no real kick at the end.  Not sure on time yet....didn't manage to hit the watch right away and the times aren't yet posted.  But it definitely was a PR.  A good reminder of how much 5Ks can hurt!

Did get to meet fellow blogger Jeff just before the race, thanks to FRB jackets we were both wearing (evidently, he can run and pay attention to his surroundings at the same time).  He won the 5 miler....by what looked like a mile and a half.  Wow.

Official results finally published.  18:31...a PR by 7 seconds.  Now I need to run another when I'm not sick.  Waah.

LM warmup (10 reps), 4 miles in 30:33, 7:38/mi, HR 153, 2.5 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches Ladder (6 steps), & stretching.

Back to being sick.  After the race yesterday, the head draining started in the afternoon and got steadily worse overnight.  Figured the nice easy 6 mile run on the schedule would be okay to help clear out the head, but by mile 2, I realized my HR was way too high for the pace and the effort was climbing, so I cut things short at 4 miles.  No aches or pains again (yet?) but somehow I doubt a long run tomorrow is a good idea.  About the only good news is that this probably did affect my 5K race yesterday....the 18:30-ish time I got wasn't exactly what I'd hoped for, and after a strong first mile, things got really difficult.  I don't think the results really reflect my fitness that well. 

Oh, and my right knee is bugging me a bit.  Have had some off/on mild pain the last few days, that seems to have subsided for now.  Hope it goes away with this cold or whatever it is.

LM warmup (10 reps), 9.04 miles in 1:08:01, 7:31/mi, HR 154, 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches Ladder (6 steps), & stretching.

Still a sore scratchy throat and some drainage, so decided to just go run whatever felt okay today instead of 20.  Probably could've done the whole thing and set myself back again in the process, but 9 felt pretty decent.  Right hamstring still has some soreness and the mysterious right knee pain showed up for miles 6 thru 8.  Then there were the 2 dogs that a woman was walking without leashes that accosted me....not a huge deal as they just circled around jumping up and down, but one jumped pretty high and I think it was a tooth that managed to graze my forearm.  The small amount of blood wasn't a big deal, but it left a half-dollar sized welt that is pretty sore right now. 

Back to feeling like crap, so no running today.  This is the strangest cold....seems to fade and then return, fade and return.  So I'm going to take a couple days off for the greater good to attempt to shed this thing permanently.  Not running today will be easy, since all the symptoms are in full bloom.....again.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:01:41, 7:42/mi, HR 166, w/ 12 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 1 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (6 steps), & stretching.

Still sick but past the sore throat and muddled mind stage and into the coughing up a lung stage, so figured I'd give it a go.  Wow.  Either my legs aren't processing O2 very well, or I've lost 6 months of fitness in 3 days.  HR was sky high, hill repeats were nigh impossible as my legs felt like lead.  Even my left hip, which has been pretty trouble free for a while, was giving me grief, especially on the hill sprints.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 46:30, 7:45/mi, HR 154, w/ 2 x Strides/Drills, PU/Crunches ladder (6 steps), & stretching.

HR a bit better than yesterday, but the effort remains high.  Legs feel trashed by the 3 mile mark.  Obviously punted on the scheduled workouts.....just trying to get back into some running without getting sicker again.  Really think it's doubtful I'll be up for a long run on Sunday, so marathon plans definitely in jeopardy.

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 45:41, 7:37/mi, HR 155, 2 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (6 steps), & stretching.

Sunny and 56F.  Crazy nice out.   Really tried to keep the effort easy today, regardless of the pace, so I was pleasantly surprised at the pace.  Legs still feeliing like they're suffering thru the run, and the pain in the left knee sporadically returned, but I think things are getting better.  Unfortunately, the cough is worse and I woke up several times during the night.  Resorted to a salt water sinus flush today....very unpleasant but it seems to have helped the head a bit.  Wonder if I might do my scheduled long run workout tomorrow?

LM warmup (10 reps), 18 miles in 2:33:05, 8:30/mi, HR 156, 2.5 mile walk w/ dogs, & stretching.

More gorgeous weather, partly sunny in the upper 50s.  Decided to alter today's scheduled workout (18 miles @ 10% off MP) to account for recent training downturn from illness.  Plus, the pain in my right knee had me a bit worried about pounding the pavement for 18 miles, so I decided to run to and in the UW Pack Forest.  Most of the run was either single or double track, with very challenging elevation changes and terrain (especially on the single track), so I knew pacing was out the window.  Really, I just wanted to get 18 miles in and to work at it.  Running the Hugo Peak trail helped.....1000' gain in 2 miles on a steep muddy but scenic mess.  A few picture and map consultation stops broke up the run.  The knee felt decent while running, but was a bit painful immediately after restarts and on the walk w/ the dogs.  A fun afternoon.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:01:54, 7:44/mi, HR 154, w/ 15 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 1 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder, & stretching.

 Warm with a rain shower (54F).  Tired from yesterday.  Right knee pain persists....believe it's a tight ITB.  Worst on miles 4-6, better after the hill sprints.  Started icing it today every couple of hours and will put some increased emphasis on stretching....my hamstrings have gotten tight again.  So tight that I've been waking up with a sore back, a sure sign I keep forgetting about.  Hope I can keep the knee pain under control so that training isn't completely derailed.

LM warmup (10 reps), 9.75 miles in 1:10:19, 7:13/mi, HR 159, with 3 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 15 min @ MP (6:43/mi), 1 min easy, 15 min @ HM/10K (6:23/mi), 2 mile cooldown (last 1.75 on treadmill), PU/Crunches ladder (6 steps), & stretching.

50F & rainy.  Aggressive icing last 24 hours significant help to right knee....no pain to start and only some minor feelings of looming discomfort at times during the run.  However, left hip was feeling sore today and given that I'm still not completely over the cold (still have cough and congestion) and lost a good week of training, decided to scale back the scheduled workout from 3 x 15 min repeats (MP, HM, HM/10K) to 2 x 15 min repeats (MP, HM/10K) with a shorter cooldown.   Actually, reducing the cooldown was because I was soaked and unmotivated to continue running in the rain, and because I wanted to give the legs a break from the pounding on asphalt, so I moved onto the treadmill, which I despise, so I conveniently dropped 1 mile from the cooldown.

All in all, a good workout and probably the correct amount to do.  More icing of the knee to follow today and increased stretching and self-massage should help bring the legs around.

LM warmup (10 reps), 12 miles in 1:25:34, 7:07/mi, HR 156, w/ last 6 miles Moderate, PU/Crunches ladder (6 steps), 3 x hip abductors, & stretching.

Managed to get completely soaked and cold in the run....rain started around mile 4 and steadily increased to a windy cold rain.  Very glad I decided on the tights instead of shorts today.  Felt good on the run.  Legs a bit tired from yesterday, but almost no noticable right knee discomfort, easy and moderate paces both nearly back to where they were before the illnesses set in late in Dec.  Perhaps my training plan hasn't been completely derailed.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 59:34, 7:26/mi, HR 153, w/ 15 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 2 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (6 steps), abductor leg raise (3 steps), & stretching.

Felt tired but good today.  Left hip still a bit troublesome but didn't impact stride.  All of the hill repeats felt good and strong, even the first ones.....rare.  Legs started tiring for the last few....expected.  Rained on....again.

LM warmup (10 reps), 10.34 treadmill miles in 1:27:18, 8:27/mi, w/ 4 mile warmup, 5 x 3 min Hill Repeats @ Incline=15 & same distance jog, 2.5 mile cooldown.

Idiot run.  I can say that because I'm the idiot, it's my blog, and I ran.  Faced with yet another miserable weather day outside with gusty & rainy conditions, I decided to use the treadmill to run my hill repeat workout.  Problem was, I did no preparation whatsoever.  The critical piece of data I was missing was what incline should I use, and I defaulted to the max on my particular treadmill (15), being a guy and all.

My repeats were 0.41, 0.39, 0.38, 0.37, 0.37 miles, respectively.  Repeat 1 was sheer agony by 1:30 when I frantically started mashing the slower button to try to last the full 3 minutes.  Figuring I'd pushed a bit too hard, I scaled back for repeat 2, which didn't help.  I actually had to grab the supports in the latter parts of repeat 3 and 5.  Of them all, 4 wasn't so bad, but that could be because I was losing consciousness, I'm not sure.  The guy in me also wouldn't let me get away with running any less than 5, nor with reducing the incline from 15.

So after the run, I perused Brad Hudson's book to see what he says about inclines for Hill Repetitions.  4-6 percent.  Oops.  Then I looked in my copy of Daniels running formula to figure out what kind of flat pace I'd been running at those speeds and at that incline.  ~4:59/mi for the first to around 5:20/mi for the last, give or take a lung.  Not exactly what I was supposed to be aiming for.  Which is why I'm an idiot. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 44:26, 7:24/mi, HR 151, 2 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (6 steps), Abductor leg raises (3 sets), & stretching.

Cloudy and cool but dry today.  Nice easy run.  Not feeling too bad after yesterday's overdone treadmill hill session.

LM warmup (10 reps), 16.41 miles in 2 hours, 7:18/mi, HR 153, w/ 1 hour easy, 10 x 90 sec MP/90 sec easy, 30 min easy.  2 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (6 steps) w/ abductor leg raises on 3 rungs, & stretching.

Left shin (inside) painful last night and today.  Iced it before the run, which helped.  Plenty of equipment malfunctions to deal with....mostly trying to get music into my bluetooth headphones.  I rarely run with music, so there were plenty of bugs to be worked out, causing several stops while I fiddled with my phone.  In the end, I just gave up and was treated to stretches of music and silence.  Oh well.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:00:16, 7:32/mi, HR 145, w/ 15 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 3 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

More left (inner) shin and right knee pain.  Same right knee experience after last week's long run.....new pain on wakeup, worse towards miles 3 - 5, not bad on hill sprints, and nothing on the walk.  Not sure how I wound up running 7:30-ish pace today....really kept things easy on the uphills.  Maybe I need an extra rest day to heal these nagging pains.

LM warmup (10 reps), 19.44 recumbent cycling miles in 60 minutes (L4/5), 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (6 steps) w/ 3 x abductor leg raises, & stretching.

Tried to run today but experienced some significant left shin pain immediately, so I opted for the dog walk & time on the bike.  Even the walk got a bit painful towards the end, but not too badly.  Continued icing.

22.61 recumbent cycling miles in 70 minutes, with 20 minute warmup (Level 5), 30 minutes simulating Ladder repeats (1-2-3-2-1-2-3) with 1 on Level 12, 2 on Level 10, 3 on Level8, recovery Level 4, 20 minutes cooldown (Level 5).  PU/Crunches ladder (6 steps) w/ 3 x Abductor leg raises, & stretching.

Still no running....left calf seemed to hurt worse, but I think that's an illusion.  Hope to run easy tomorrow and still manage the 10K on Saturday.  We shall see...

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 46:16, 7:42/mi, HR 160, w/ 6 strides, 1 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (6 steps), 3 x Abductor leg raises, & stretching.

Left shin pain remains, but I decided to try a run.  Painful the first quarter mile then things loosened up and very little pain the rest of the way.  Worse on the downhills than anywhere else.  Did some good stretching and iced afterwards....will see how things react tonite and tomorrow.

Unfortunately, the 3 day layoff, even with the bike ride, put me in a hole.  The "easy" run today took way too much effort from my legs and my lungs.  My HR was a good 15-20 points higher than normal and 6 miles seemed like 15.  Doesn't look like I'll be racing that 10K tomorrow....even if I tried the time would be slow, so better to skip it and nurse my calf.

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 44:57, 7:29/mi, HR 154, 2 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (7 steps), 4 sets Abduction leg raises, & stretching.

Better run, leg the same.  Aggressively icing and stretching....no better, no worse.  Not sure what that means, but complete rest wasn't helping either.

LM warmup (10 reps), 20 treadmill miles in 2:34:24, 7:43/mi, HR 157, incline 1, w/ last 5 miles Moderate effort, & stretching.

Left shin still painful at times, so decided to try a treadmill run to leverage better cushioning.  That and the weather outside was windy, rainy, and just downright nasty.  No pain during the run at all (at least, not from the shin), although it did get tough the last 5 miles or so as my hip flexors started tightening up.  Treadmill running definitely works my hip flexors more than outside running does, but I was happy to get the 20-miler done.  Even the slower pace really doesn't bug me much....I'm in the "treadmill running is harder" crowd. 

Leg started hurting during the stretching afterwards but a good icing had it feeling decent again.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

LM (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:03:05, 7:53/mi, HR 145 w/ 15 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (7 sets), Leg Abduction ladder (4 sets), & stretching.

Finally a true easy effort run.  Left shin pain no more than a 2, but immediately afterwards hit 5.  More icing throughout the day....wondering if my new Asics 2150s are contributing to the problem?

LM warmup (10 reps), 12.06 miles in 1:30:37, 7:30/mi, HR 156, w/ 3 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 2 sets of 10 x 0.25K @ 3-5K pace/1 min jog with a complete rest jog between sets, 3 mile cooldown.  1 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (7 steps), Abduction leg raises (4 steps), & stretching.

Left shin a 0-3 for the morning, a 5 the first dozen yards or so, 0-2 throughout the run, and up to a 4 afterwards.  Repeats were supposed to be 5-10K pace, so a bit aggressive, but it felt good to get out and run fast again.  I think the shin is improving slowly, but just in case I'm headed to the doctor's office tomorrow evening to get his opinion.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:03:05, 7:53/mi, HR 146, 1 mile walk w/ dogs, & stretching.

Legs tired.  Left shin 0 before the run, 0-3 during the run, and 2-3 after.  Saw the doc, who confirmed shin splint.

LM warmup (10 reps), 9.54 miles in 1:11:14, 7:27/mi, HR 157, w/ 3 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 2 x 10 minute Tempo Interval @ HM/10K pace (repeat 1: 1.57 mi, 6:21/mi, HR 172, repeat 2: 1.62 mi, 6:09/mi, HR 175) with 2 minute rest/jog, 3 mile cooldown.  1.5 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (7 rungs), Leg Abduction (4 rungs), & stretching.

Didn't get out until late afternoon today.  Warmup felt okay, but stomach felt a bit off.  First repeat went well; felt easy until the last couple of minute.  Second repeat much harder and stomach wasn't feeling good at all.  Made it through and partway thru the cooldown and had to make a sudden pit-stop.  Left shin still hovering between 0 and 3.

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 47:32, 7:55/mi, HR 147, w/ 15 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 1 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (7 steps), Leg Abduction (4 steps), & stretching.

Tired today.  Shin pain between 3-5 the entire run.  First few hill sprints were tough to get going....last few legs felt completely spent. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 22 miles in 2:47:49, 7:37/mi, HR 152, w/ 5 x 3 min MP, 3 min easy at 1:45 mark, & stretching.

Cool with a constant drizzle.  2nd long run in 7 days, because tomorrow I'll be flying back east (which takes all day from Seattle).  Felt okay in the early going, keeping things easy.  By mile 10, my right arch was getting rubbed raw, so I stopped to try to adjust the shoe to minimize the abrasion, but finally resigned myself to losing a big chunk of skin by the end of the run.  MP efforts in the middle felt fine, with only the last one starting to feel a touch difficult.  Gel at mile 17.  Emergency pit stop at mile 18.5.  Last 4 miles were tough as I got pretty tired.  Feeling the effects of dehydration afterwards (no water during run).  These runs aren't exactly fun but they are necessary and do make marathoning manageable come race day.

Next week will likely see some reduced mileage to accomodate work and travel stresses. 

Off day traveling.

LM warmup (10 reps), 9.35 treadmill miles (incline 1) in 1:11:20, 7:37/mi, w/ 3 mile warmup, 6 x 0.5K @ 5:49/mi (last one 5:40/mi), w/ 2 min rest, 3 mile cooldown.  PU/Crunch ladder (7 steps), 4 leg abduction leg raises (4 sets), & stretching.

Not bad for treadmill miles, but still mentally difficult.  Fast repeats actually made things easier.  It was nice to get fast, targeted repeats at the goal pace.  

LM warmup (10 reps), 7 miles in 54:48, 7:49/mi, HR 142, & stretching.

Ran after work.  Sidewalks still snow covered & many roads icy and slushy, so finding a place to run was problematic.  Wound up running around some type of military supply depot....nice, quiet, lit, and nearly 1 mile loops, but getting there and back on the roads was dicey.  Managed to reopen the blister on my right foot with all the shifting footings.  Some minor left calf pain (0-2) throughout the day, and the left arch is still sore.  Playing things safe by keeping the mileage low this week, since I'm on travel, but tomorrow will attempt to pace a co-worker thru 6 miles at a 6:40/mi pace.  Hopefully the roads will cooperate.

LM warmup (10 reps), 7.03 miles in 51:10, 7:16/mi, HR 151.  Stretching.

Weather warmed up enough to melt most of the snow and ice on the roads.  Goal was to pace Jim through 6 miles at 6:40/mi pace.   Not everything went as planned.  First mile was in 6:51 and it had Jim working way too hard; obvious (to me) that he wasn't fully recovered due to travel.  Suggested we switch to a mile on/mile off format, so he could get some hard running in while recovering between repeats.  2nd fast mile was in 6:48, still a bit slow, probably because our slow mile was too fast and he didn't recover enough.  3rd fast mile in 6:37....got the rest correct that time.  Last mile was in 6:48 for me, a bit slower....mentally harder since we were on the main road and were running into traffic without a shoulder after dark....not ideal.  Good MP workout for me and most of the faster miles felt pretty easy.

LM warmup (10 reps), 11.84 miles in 1:26:59, 7:20/mi, HR 152, with 3 mile warmup, 3 x 10 minutes @ HM/10K pace (6:25/mi, 6:29/mi, 6:02/mi) w/ 4 min rest, 3 mile cooldown, & stretching.

Better than I figured things would go, considering it was an evening run after work and I was tired.  Last hard workout before returning home tomorrow.

Spent the day traveling back home from VA.   Managed to take the dogs on a 2 mile walk.

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 46:24, 7:44/mi, HR 156, 2 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Getting used to the nice sunny weather (52F).  Felt a bit harder than it should've.....normal considering my recent return from a work trip.  Hopefully, tomorrow will feel normal.  Burning sensation still in my left arch....more icing and stretching.

2 mile easy warmup w/ 0.5 miles @ tempo pace (~ 6:20/mi).  13.1 miles in 1:25:53, 6:33/mi, HR 171.

Weather was decent: overcast and 45F at the start.  Race began 30 minutes late when three times the expected crowd showed up for race day registration.  Good for me, since it gave me more time to do a decent warmup.  Highlight of the race was getting directed off course...race director briefing at the start said to "follow the person in front of you" and the "white arrows" marking the course.  Well, unfortunately, there were some white arrows that looked identical to the course markings that sent virtually everyone off course at one of two spots.  In fact, the lead bicyclist, who'd marked the course, nearly got confused enough to go off course.  Anyway, it wasn't a big detour (my post-race map recon shows a 0.35 mi add in my case....some people cut nearly a half-mile off).  In any event, the course felt fast anyway, and garmin showed a 13.0 course *with* the detour. 

The first miles felt fast....according to the course markers, I was through 1 mile in 6:02 (6:06 garmin) and 2 miles in 12:26 (12:41 garmin), so I'm seriously doubting those were accurate, but I probably went out too fast.  I felt good through 4 miles, okay through 9 and survived the last 4.1....legs felt tired more than I felt the aerobic strain.  Took a gel at 9 but was wishing they had more water stops (only 1 that I found, but I passed it twice). 

My goal going in was to try to hit 6:30 miles as long as possible and run between 1:24 - 1:26, so I made that goal.  I managed to beat my previous time from 2 years ago (1:26:15).  If I take my average speed over the section where I added the extra mileage, I lost 2 minutes and 12 seconds, so that would've been good for a 1:23:41, which would've been a PR, but again, I think the course was short so my time was probably a bit more accurate.  All in all, happy to run the race that I did.  Now to recover while watching the Super Bowl.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:02:51, 7:51/mi, HR 146, w/ 15 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (7 steps), Leg Abduction (4 sets), & stretching.

Shorts weather (50F & sunny).  Legs tired from the race but none the worse for wear.  Left calf still bugging and right knee suddenly again during run today.....I'm starting to really wonder if it's these Asics 2150s (at least the knee part).  Slow starting on the hill sprints, but that's probably because it's been a week since I've done them.  Kept trying to remind myself that slow easy days are good.....my fast days went really well last week, probably because I managed to keep easy easy.

10.02 miles in 1:14:11, 7:24/mi, w/ 3 mile treadmill warmup, 2 x Drills (partial), 5 x 1K @ 5K pace w/ 2 min rest (5:51/mi, 5:54/mi, 5:39/mi, 5:39/mi, 5:52/mi), 3 mile treadmill cooldown, & stretching.

Cool temps and painful left shin steered me towards the treadmill today.  Unfortunately, I hit the limit of my El Cheapo brand K-Mart special 10+ year old treadmill....it couldn't hit close to 5K pace, so after the warmup, I was forced onto the roads.  Compared to the repeats on the nice hotel treadmill last week, these felt like torture.  Yes, double the length, but they really put the hurt on me. Guess I'm just glad they're done.

LM warmup (10 reps), 10 miles in 1:17:14, 7:43/mi, HR 150, 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs, core workout, & stretching.

Left shin a 3 pre-run, a 4 at the start, and 0-2 during the rest of the run.  Legs felt completely dead today, aside from a 1 mile energy burst around 4.5 miles in which helped carry me up the steeper parts of the hills.  Glad to have this slog done.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:01:34, 7:41/mi, HR 148, w/ 15 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 1 mile walk w/ dogs, core workout & stretching.

Left shin felt pretty good today.  0 pre-warmup, 1 during the warmup, and 0-2 during the run.  Legs still a bit tired....feeling a bit weak up the hills but that'll change.  Good hill sprint sets...tired on the last 5 or so.  

LM warmup (10 reps), 9 miles in 1:02:49, 6:58/mi, HR 160, w/ 2 mile warmup, 5 tempo miles increasing from HM to 10K effort in 6:46 (up), 7:00 (up), 6:35 (up & down), 5:57 (down), & 5:58 (down), 2 mile cooldown & stretching.

It's been a long week and my body feels tired from the mileage, despite the easy day yesterday.  That made finding motivation to run tempo miles instead of tempo intervals difficult, and the spotty rain and wind didn't help matters any, but......I did it anyway.  Workout called for HM increasing to 10K pace, so I tried to keep the effort honest but closer to HM for the first mile or so then dole things out from there.  Given the nature of the terrain (not flat), regular pacing was out the window, but I need these runs on the rolling hills to regain some strength I've (perceived) lost.  Despite the headwind at mile 2 (uphill, of course), the 2 downpours (not including the one on the last cooldown mile), and just being tired, a good solid tempo run workout.   Not sure I quite got to 10K pace on the downhill miles, but the effort was solid. 

I may make tomorrow an off day if I'm still tired so I'm recovered for Sunday's long run....knowing full well that I'll likely run anyway, but maybe if I say it here, I'll actually consider it.

Decided to follow thru and take today as a rest day.

LM warmup (10 reps), 22 miles in 2:47:03, 7:35/mi, HR 160, w/ last 11 miles Moderate (7:22/mi), 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs, & stretching.

Full range of weather today:  sun, clouds, calm, wind, rain, and sleet.  Okay, no snow.  Basically a 2 loop course, with the 2nd loop moderate.  Noticed a problem right away on the first loop....my HR was about 8-10 bpm higher than typical at the same effort, so evidently my day of rest yesterday was not so much.  Or something.  Anyway, went with it, got a decent easy pace 1st half done, then settled into the 2nd half.  Felt better at the faster pace for the first few miles, but since there were 11 of them, I just went by Moderate effort instead of trying to get close to MP today (so the miles weren't Easy but they weren't MP miles either).  GUs at 11 and again at 16.5.  Hit the deathmarch stage around 18; fortunately, the rest was downhill, but it hurt nonetheless.  Managed to hobble thru a 1.5 mile walk w/ the dogs afterwards, but it was sloooooow.  I'm going to be feeling this tomorrow.  Come on super-compensation!

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 47:45, 7:57/mi, HR 145, w/ 15 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 2 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunch/Leg Abduction ladder (7 steps), & stretching.

Very stiff and store today, mostly in glutes and hips.  Nearly feels like I raced a marathon.  Today's mileage was pretty close to torture, but I knew getting things moving and loosened up would help in the end.  Managed to gut thru the first few hill sprints, which really did help loosen things up, but it's going to take another day or two to get my legs back.  Will need to relook my training week tomorrow once I can assess things again.

LM warmup (10 reps), 10 Moderate miles in 1:11:34, 7:09/mi, HR 160, 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs, core work (7/7/4), & stretching.

Hips still a bit stiff this morning, so I decided early to swap tomorrow's and today's workout.  Really, this just flipped these workouts back to the way they're given in the training plan I adapted, so maybe the author knew something I didn't.  In any event, I wasn't feeling like this was going to be a particular good one going in, but I was wrong.  After settling in over the first mile or so, I just focused on keeping it moderate and went from there.....turns out I felt pretty good throughout.  Pace still is quite a bit off my goal MP (but they weren't easy miles, so I'm dumping them into the MP miles bucket), but at least things felt better.  Plus, a nice day outside to boot.

LM warmup (10 reps), 13.91 miles in 1:41:40, 7:18/mi, HR 156, w/ 3 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 6 x 1 mile @ 10K + 5 sec pace (~ 6:15 flat) w/ 3 min rest in 6:00 (down), 6:30 (up), 6:33 (up), 6:01 (down), 6:31 (up), 3 mile cooldown, 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs, & stretching.

Wasn't sure how I'd feel after doing a moderate session yesterday, but one I got started on the warmup, I could tell the legs were raring to go.  Still dealing with some left shin pain but nothing intolerable.  First couple of repeats felt good, next couple started working, and the last 2 my legs were tired but otherwise things were fine.  I'm chalking this up as a really good workout.  Now to keep this up thru the 15K on Saturday.

LM warmup (10 reps), 10 miles in 1:15:54, 7:35/mi, HR 153, 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunch/Leg Abduction ladder (7/7/4), & stretching.

What a gorgeous day....55F and sunny.  Legs got pretty tired by 6 miles in but feeling good otherwise.

LM warmup (10 reps), 10 miles in 1:18:34, 7:51/mi, HR 148, w/ 15 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 1 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Crazy nice weather....sunny and 54F.  Really tried to hold back today....feeling decent but not spectacular.  Legs still a bit tired.  Hill sprints went really well after the first couple.  

Mixed feelings about tomorrow's race.  It will only be my 2nd 15K and I won (outright) the first one, so in some respects this one's going to be a bummer.  But I'm really hoping to run in the 58 minute range so I can at least PR.  My memory of the last 15K race is that I went out pretty hard and hung on....hoping I feel like doing that again tomorrow.  At least the conditions should be ideal.  Wonder what the course is like though....

2 mile warmup in 15:04, 7:32/mi, HR 154 w/ 0.5 mile tempo (~ 6:20/mi).  LM (10 reps).  15K in 58:33, 6:17/mi, HR 167.  2 mile cooldown in 16:13, 8:07/mi, HR 140.

Perfect racing weather...sunny and about 50F at race time.  The 15 mile was pretty stacked at the top since this was the PNTF 15M championship.  After a brief warmup (where the tempo portion again felt like crap....typical), lined up for a 9am start a few rows back this time, a nod to both the quality of the 15M field and to try to not go out too fast at the start.  Worked as planned.  

Aimed to run in the 58 minute range, hoping for 6:15/mi pace at best but would settle for 6:20/mi pace.  Since I haven't run the longer (than 5K) course before and couldn't find a course map, I wasn't sure what the terrain would bring, but I knew there were a slew of turns and some contour to the course, based on the 10K route I did manage to lookup.  Announced at the start that the 15K and 15M courses had both been certified recently, so definitely in for a fair race.

Not a whole lot of elevation change, but some rolling to start, climbing to the 3 mile point followed by a decent downhill then some flats to the turnaround, then reversed.  Splits were 6:15, 6:22, 6:29, 5:59, 6:18, 6:37, 6:10, 6:06, 6:14, 1:58 (5:25/mi).  First half I was pushing pretty hard off the back of a group, caught them in the 3rd mile, then pushed to stay ahead.  Got passed (chicked!) around 4 but lucky me....she was running the 15M!  Less competition after the turnaround, but I did pick off two more runners and was trying to close as much as possible on a third when the kick began.  The faster closing miles are mostly because of the downhills, but now I'm wondering if I should've pushed harder in the beginning miles?  Oh well, next year I guess.  Happy to take 1st in my AG and 6th overall, which should put me in good standing for the series competition.  One more race in a month (20K), a week before my marathon.  Also happy that I was able to PR on the tail end of a big mileage week for me.  Now off to find more food!

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 45:54, 7:39/mi, HR 145, PU/Crunch/Leg Abduction ladder (7/7/4), 2 mile walk w/ dogs, & stretching.

Feeling pretty good after yesterday's race, but taking things easy.  Enjoying the spring-like weather.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 59:00, 7:22/mi, HR 151, w/ 15 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches/Leg Abduction (7/7/4), & stretching.

More spring weather.  Feeling pretty good so I wound up pushing the pace a tad bit, probably moderate in spots.  Hill Sprints were very strong and quick, but took the power out of my legs by the end.  The downside is that my left shoulder was bugging me...just felt tired and achy during the run.  Don't know what in the world I could've done to it.

LM warmup (10 reps), 14.11 miles in 1:47:54, 7:38/mi, HR 152, & stretching.

Cloudy, cool, & some sprinkles.  Ran out and back up into the forest land....run I haven't done for a while.  Essentially uphill outbound and downhill return, getting gradually steeper the closer to the turnaround.  Legs really hurting on this run....felt like jello by the time I hit the turnaround, so the fairly steep downhill stretches just pounded them.  I made it back but the last 5 miles was a real bear just keeping my legs moving.  Oh, and garmin must've gotten a bit lost on the outbound stretching, because it was farther than the normal 7 mile turnaround point, hence the extra .11 on the return.  Need to do this again at least once more before the marathon.

On a separate note, can someone please explain to me how one injures their shoulder while running?  I seem to have done it somehow.  The top of my left shoulder has been bugging me the last couple of days, seeming to get worse each day.  If this keeps up, I may have to run in an arm sling by Friday.  Worst part is I have absolutely no clue where and how this happened.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:02:39, 7:50/mi, HR 143, 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Dragging today.  Tired and completely unmotivated.  Decided to punt on the hill sprints since the legs feel particularly dead, the left shin/foot is bugging me today, and my feet generally feel tired.  Also decided to punt on the core workout since my left shoulder is still bugging me, although it is a tad bit better than yesterday.  Perhaps I've overdone things with the push-ups recently?  Another thought is that I did something walking the dogs (who tend to tug on the leash fairly continually), so I switched leash hands.  About all I can do save stop running.  Hoping I'll recover for tomorrow's hard workout.

LM warmup (10 reps), 13.02 miles in 1:35:23, 7:19/mi, HR 157, w/ 3 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 10 x 1K @ HM-to-10K pace in 3:46 (6:06/mi - down), 4:02 (6:30/mi - up), 3:59 (6:27/mi - up), 3:46 (6:05/mi - down), 3:38 (5:53/mi - down), 3:44 (6:02/mi - down), 3:55 (6:19/mi - up), 4:00 (6:28/mi - up), 4:00 (6:28/mi - up), 3:41 (5:58/mi - down), w/1 minute rest between repeats, 3 mile cooldown.  1.5 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Breezy but nice (50F).  Legs still a bit tired and were definitely the limiter on this workout.   Tried to start out closer to the HM end of things and finish closer to the 10K pace end, but difficult to tell since things weren't flat.  Just trying to keep the leg moving the last few.....the 1 minute rest interval didn't give me a whole lot of time to recover between reps.  But, I averaged a 6:13.6/mi pace for the repeats, between my 10K (6:04/mi) and HM (6:25/mi) paces, so I'll call it good.

Shoulder felt a bit better again today, so maybe laying off the push-ups for a few days was a good idea.

LM Warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 47:40, 7:57/mi, HR 142, PU/Crunch/Leg Abduction ladder (7/7/4), & stretching.

Legs absolutely shot.....no energy at all.  During the lunge warmup, they were popping like microwave popcorn.  Almost bailed after a few steps, but trudged through it.  I am definitely at my absorption limit....question is, have I gone past it or am I right at it?  I've got a 24 miler tomorrow to figure that out.

LM warmup (10 reps), 24.1 miles in 3:15:29, 8:06/mi, HR 151, & stretching.

Ran up into the hills, equipped with 100L hydration pack & a set of GUs.  8 miles up, a couple flat, a couple downhill, then reversed.  Some sections somewhat un-runnable in both directions, so this was a leg thrasher workout.  All in all, felt wiped but not horrible by the end, probably because I stayed fairly well hydrated.  Three GUs helped too.  Not a run I want to do very often though...

Due to the popping noises coming from joints, tendons and ligaments in my legs, many from places I'd never heard noises from before, decided to take this as a rest day.  Instead, I climbed on the roof with a 4-gallon sprayed strapped to my back to spray moss-out on the pump house roof.  Then, I proceeded to pull out some trees that had started to grow up against the side of the pump-house, taking frequent breaks because it took all my strength.  Then, I got smart and just spread the moss-out pellets on the roof-line of the house, probably saving myself in the process from falling.  So, yeah, not really much rest today.

LM warmup (10 reps), 10 miles in 1:10:27, 7:02/mi, HR 160, w/ 2 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 6 miles @ MP accelerating to HMP with miles in 6:55 (up), 6:55 (up), 7:04 (up), 6:17 (down), 6:19 (down), 6:09 (down), average 6:36.5/mi, 2 mile cooldown.  1.5 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches/Leg Abduction ladder (7/7/4) & stretching.

Still a bit creeky today,  but the real problem was that I decided to outsmart myself.  Months ago, I'd determine that I was lactose intolerant to a degree.  Disliking the taste of chocolate soy milk, I've been using normal chocolate milk as a post-run drink without problems.  So I decided that maybe I was mistaken.  Nope.  4 trips to the potty this morning after a bowl of cereal proved that.  Regardless, after a quick trip after the warmup, I managed to get in some good MP/HMP effort miles and wasn't too completely spent by the end.  My hips are definitely tight though.......entering the cooldown miles, I thought my right hip was going to seize.  Left shin still painful to start, but nothing to get too excited about.  Even though the day of rest yesterday wasn't, I think it did the trick.

LM warmup (10 reps), 14 miles in 1:45:11, 7:30/mi, HR 148, PU/Crunches/Leg Abduction ladder (7/7/4), & stretching.

Breezy and some intermittent light rain, but warm (55F).  Lots of popping and creaking still, but once I got warmed up things felt pretty good.  Evidently, because the average pace was decent.

LM warmup (10 reps), 10 miles in 1:14:16, 7:25/mi, HR 146, 15 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Bing!  That's the sound of my fitness suddenly jumping up a notch or two.  Seems like the past few days have been really good running days, and looking back, my easy pace has snuck down from the upper to the mid 7s, while my HR average has moved from the low 150s to the upper-mid 140s.  Nice. 

This happens to me occasionally, and it's always tough to figure out why it happened.  Looking back, I see my weekly mileage jumped a few weeks ago, which jives with the tiredness I've had lately (and some irritability unfortunately).  Perhaps taking Sunday as a rest day gave my body the chance it needed to absorb it all, since that seems to be the day the switch got flipped.  Or, all that is coincidental, and it just is what it is...

LM warmup (10 reps), 14.02 miles in 1:42:30, 7:18/mi, HR 154, w/ 3 mile warmup, 4 x 10 minutes @ HM pace (target 6:19/mi, with repeat pace at 6:15/mi, 6:15/mi, 6:18/mi, 6:17/mi) w/ 4 minutes rest, 3 mile cooldown.  PU/SU/LegAbduction ladder (7/7/4) & stretching.

A tiring but satisfying workout.  Great weather....partly sunny and ~ 52F.  Schedule called for 4x10 minutes @ HM pace, which is currently around 6:25/mi, but with a GMP of 6:40, decided to see if I could hit an equivalent GHMP of 6:19/mi.  All repeats were out and back segments, so no overall elevation gain or loss, but some rolling that made it challenging to keep a steady effort.  The last repeat was tough...wasn't sure I was going to sneak under 6:19, but the home stretch on that one was downhill a bit, so that helped.  Now to rest since Sat's long run is labeled as a "Long Hard Run".  Ugh.

LM warmup (10 reps), 7 miles in 53:29, 7:38/mi, HR 152, 2 mile walk w/ dogs.

Nice and easy run.  HR was up a bit, probably because sleep was poor last night.  Wish my left shin and foot would completely heal already. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 20 miles in 2:21:20, 7:04/mi, HR 159, w/ 1 mile easy, 18 miles @ MP + 20 sec (goal 7:00/mi, actual 6:58/mi), 1 mile easy.  PU/SU/LegAbduction ladder (7/7/4), & stretching.

Going into this working, I had some concern that 18 miles @ a 7:00/mi pace on my normal course was going to be too much to handle.  Almost talked myself into adjusting it into a 1 mile on @ MP, 1 mile off at 7:20/mi workout, but decided to stick with the plan.  Felt pretty good when I got up this morning though, and the sun was shining, temps @ 50F, so I was feeling okay about it today.  As it turns out, I had 39 seconds on my goal pace by the time I hit the 19 mile mark, most of which I gained in the first half.  It got tough in the second half, but not exhausting and I actually felt pretty decent at the end.  Did have a brief pit-stop at mile 6, but the gastro-distress waited until about 10 minutes after the run was finished.  2 GUs at 9.5 and 15.5 miles with water every 3-4 after 10 miles.  

So now the taper begins.  Actually, the only real taper I plan on doing for this first week is going to be driven by the fact that I'm out of town, which always causes me to pull back a bit.  Hopefully, I can keep the mileage up in the 70s, but we shall see.  Now on to enjoy the rest of this late-spring-like day. 

2 mile walk w/ dogs.  Another note to self.  Last 2 runs, I've tried to improve my uphill and downhill running form.  Quicker stride, more upright, eliminate forward lean at the waist.  I could definitely tell today it helped quite a bit.  Legs much less "pounded" than they normally are after 20 miles on this course, and the effort going both uphill and downhill was much less than I'd anticipated.  Just goes to show you how important it is.  I caught myself trying to lean forward at the waist going uphill, especially when I got tired, but it really helps if you stay upright and lean at the ankles.  Tough to know when you're leaning at the ankles though. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 10 miles in 1:17:33, 7:45/mi, HR 137, & stretching.

Short sleep & long travel so run wasn't the greatest.  Legs and feet were complaining loudly the whole time.  Skipped the hill sprints because:  a - no hills around, and b - legs and feet complaining too loudly to handle running up the hotel stairs. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 12 miles in 1:28:10, 7:21/mi, HR 147 w/ 8 x 2 min @ HM-10K pace, & stretching.

Fartleks were supposed to be at HM pace but I kept running them faster.....some were probably even closer to 5K pace, completely unintentional.  

LM warmup (10 reps), 14 miles in 1:41:19, 7:14/mi, HR 151, w/ last 7 miles moderate all between 6:42 & 6:52, PU/SU/Leg Abduction ladder (7/7/4), & stretching.

Flat course after work again, the last 7 in the dark.  Some gastro-distress in the last half, probably because I had some milk earlier in the day (doh!).  Glad to get this one over and done, but pleased that the MP-ish miles felt moderate given the mileage on this week of work travel. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 10 miles in 1:12:53, 7:17/mi, HR 156 w/ last 5 miles moderate in 6:48, 6:43, 6:42, 6:48, 6:36, & stretching.

Legs pretty dead to for first few miles.  Warm and humid (mid 60s) didn't help matters.  But once I got going on the moderate miles, I got it done.  Not so sure about tomorrow's run....may need to take a day off.

Decided to take today off.  Sleep debt starting to catch up with me on the road.  Plus, I'm on schedule to hit 80+ miles this week with a run today, which is the opposite of a taper.  Finally, legs are tired.

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 47:02, 7:50/mi, HR 145, & stretching.

Not a spectacular run.  Then again, after sitting in airports, cars, and airplanes for most of the day, what did I expect?  I didn't expect the hilly nature of my home course to feel so....hilly.   

LM warmup (10 reps), 20 miles in 2:31:19, 7:34/mi, HR 155, 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/SU/Leg Abduction ladder (7/7/4), & stretching.

First 7 miles were rough, just laboring and wasn't feeling it.  On the way up the steeper hills, started feeling better and moving out a bit more.  Right arch started rubbing on the shoe again and could tell a big blister was starting to form but managed to subtly modify stride to keep it at bay.  Started tiring on the way back down but throwing in some faster fartlek segments seemed to help.  Took in no carbs and only a couple of drinks of water the entire run, and finished strong but glad to be done.  Also managed to avoid the worst of the weather today...just some wind gusts and alternating warm and cold to deal with. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 45:48, 7:38/mi, HR 144, w/ 15 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 2 mile walk w/ dogs, & stretching.

Lots of joint popping during the lunge warmup.  Still dragging on the runs and the left arch pain was more substantial today.  Could tell I missed a week's worth of hill sprints, but actually felt better afterwards.  

LM warmup (10 reps), 11 miles in 1:21:37, 7:25/mi, HR 158, w/ 8 x 2 minute Fartleks @ 10K-HM pace & 2 sets of Strides/Drills. 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches/Leg Abduction ladder (7/7/4) & stretching.

Legs still feeling pretty beat up, and the left shin and arch still painful.  The fartleks went well, although I ran the first 4 uphill ones way too hard and then was stuck running the final 4 flat/downhill ones way too hard as well, so the legs were pretty dead by the end.  Come to think of it, the legs were probably feeling the effects of shoveling and moving gravel yesterday, so perhaps not as bad as all that.

LM warmup (10 reps), 12 miles in 1:27:49, 7:19/mi, HR 160, w/ last 6 miles moderate in 7:29 (up), 6:52 (rolling), 6:24 (down), 6:25 (down), 6:24 (down), and 6:21 (down).  1 miles walk w/ dogs, PU/SU/Leg Abduction ladder (7/7/4) & stretching.

Left shin and arch feeling better after icing and stretching yesterday, so more today.  Not very sound sleep last night, so I was tired for this run.  Big difference between this week's moderate miles on hilly terrain versus last week's moderate miles on flat terrain.  Last week miles average 6:40-6:50/mi with HRs in the 160-162 range, where this week's moderate miles were 40 sec/mi slower on the uphill, the the slow end on the rolling, and only about 15 sec/mi faster on the downhill with HRs in the 165-172 range.  Yikes.   At least I got the miles in during the somewhat windy but dry weather before the really windy weather with the rains came.

Am I crazy for having this foolish notion in the back of my admittedly tiny brain that it might be a good idea to try the Mt. Si Ultra 50 miler 2 weeks after the YRCMarathon?

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:01:51, 7:44/mi, HR 151, w/ 15 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Back into the 50s and sunny today.  The weather has been so nice this winter I fear our summer will compensate and get very hot.  But while its here, I'll enjoy it.  Wasn't really feeling it today, but the hill sprints went pretty well.  Tomorrow's a tough run, then short on Friday followed by a 20K race on Saturday.  All while tapering for next weekend.  Uh-huh. 

My descent into madness is complete.  I am now registered to run 50 miles on April 11th. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 12.65 miles in 1:29:20, 7:03/mi, HR 157, w/ 2 mile warmup, 2 x 4 miles at MP w/ 5 minute rest, 2 mile cooldown.  MP segments were in 6:22 (down), 6:54 (up), 6:42 (up), 6:45 (up) for the 1st set and 6:36 (down), 6:29 (down), 6:27 (down), 6:45 (down) for the 2nd set, overall average 6:37.5/mi, goal 6:40/mi.  1 mile cooldown walk w/ dogs, PU/SU/Leg Abduction ladder (7/7/4), & stretching.

Another fantastic weather day, aside from some winds.  Feeling pretty tired before the run, so I was getting to the "dread the workout" point this morning.  As I get closer to big races, I always seem to question fitness, ability, etc.  Anyway, hit my times, got it done, and moving on.  I did have to deal with a technology glitch.....somehow my Garmin workout missed the "repeat 4 times" part of the MP segments, but I got it all sorted out with only a brief pause in the action on the 1st segment.  Tomorrow's an easy day, then a final tune-up race on Saturday.  Started questioning the wisdom of running a 20K one week before a marathon, but hey, I'm an experiment of one, right? 

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 46:19, 7:43/mi, HR 148, 2.5 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Easy day....I needed it.  Short enough to rest, long enough to work out some kinks in the legs.  Another beautiful day outside.  Wondering how tomorrow's 20K will go. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 2 mile pre-race warmup w/ 0.5 @ ~ race pace (6:15/mi), 14:53, 7:26, HR 155.  20K race in 1:18:08, 6:18/mi, HR 167.  Stretching.

Wow, am I exhausted.  Automatic PR since this is my first 20K, but this race just became my fastest distance adjusted race, so a great day.  Woke up feeling tired and pretty crappy again, so normal for race morning.  Warmup was okay, but the legs really felt tired although the race pace stretch actually went pretty well.  Decided to overreach a bit and see if 6:15s were possible, but I was going to be happy with 6:19s since that equates to my goal MP of 6:40 for next weekend.  In that vein and because I was neck-and-neck with another runner for 2nd place in my AG in the series, I went out pretty hard and although the first mile felt pretty good, that feeling fled quickly.  I was really feeling the effort in my legs.  Same course as the 15K a month ago, just extended by 5K over a section that was pretty flat, so I knew where most of the hills were this time around.  Lots of negative mental baggage to deal with, ranging from being too tired to not being in 6:15 (or even 6:20s) shape (for frame of reference, my 15K last month was a 6:17/mi average.  

By the halfway mark, I was hurting but suddenly found myself in 4th place since the 20 milers kept going.  Wasn't sure where my AG competition was, which helped spur me to continue to push while just wanting to walk for a bit.  Did get a bit of a boost from the runners on their outbound leg, some of which were actually able to speak and gave words of encouragement....many thanks to them and sorry I couldn't return the favor, just didn't have the breath.  Legs like melting jello by the 8 mile mark.  Respiration rate at max by 10.  Lower back (kidneys?) started aching around 10.5.  Don't quite know how I really managed the last few miles....I'd swear I was slowing badly and was just giving it everything I had to keep going, but my garmin splits show my last 3 miles were actually a bit fast adjusted for the terrain.  Actually, it looks like my worst mile was the mile just before the turnaround.  Anyway, hit the track for the last 300 meters and had zero kick, just surviving at this point.  Still having trouble believing I ran a 1:18:08.....but I can really feel it and will likely be hurting tomorrow too.  Glad I'm tapering this week!  

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:03:02, 7:52/mi, HR 142, w/ 10 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 2.5 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Wiped out from yesterday's race.  Left shin took some pounding yesterday.  Considered bagging today's run, but figured an easy jaunt would help recovery more than sitting around all day.  First few miles were very easy, which got things loosened up a bit so the pace started inching up in the last 5 towards normal easy pace.  Decided to try the hill sprints....first 2 were completely uninspired but then the legs perked up and the remainder were okay.  Legs were definitely tired by #10, so glad to have a reduced set on the schedule for today.  More recovery to follow this week. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 9.28 miles in 1:07:18, 7:15/mi, HR 160, w/ 2 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 4 x 2K @ MP/MP-15sec/mi w/ 60 sec rest in 8:20 (6:43/mi - up), 8:22 (6:45/mi - up), 7:42 (6:12/mi - down), 7:47 (6:17/mi - down), 2 mile cooldown.  PU/SU/Leg Abduction ladder (7/7/4) & stretching.

Partly cloudy w/ some sprinkles in the upper 40s.  Left shin hurt thru the warmup and into the first repeat before it finally warmed up and receded.  Ran the repeats closer to the MP-15sec/mi effort simply because everything faster and harder will make actual MP feel easier come Saturday.  Legs still tired from the 20K Saturday, but this is the last of any fast stuff save 1 MP mile on Thursday.  Taper really hits starting tomorrow with runs of 6, 6, 5, and 4 between now and the race.  Hopefully, my shin will take that time to mend a bit, otherwise the beginning miles could really hurt. 

LM warmup (10), 6 miles in 45:14, 7:32/mi, HR 152, 2 mile walk w/ dogs, & stretching.

Just a nice easy run today to stay loose.  Legs still feel tired.  Left shin pain lower on the scale but present throughout the run.  More icing afterwards.   

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 45:27, 7:34/mi, HR 158, w/ 8 x 12 sec Hill Sprints.  1.5 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/SU/Leg Abduction ladder (5/5/3) & stretching.

Warm today (66F).  Tons of work frustration vented during the run....could've gone another 40 or so to get rid of all of it.  Legs still feeling a bit tired, but the felt much better after a few hill sprints, which were all strong and got stronger towards the end.  Left shin not too bad, but icing continues. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 5 miles in 35:58, 7:11, HR 160, w/ middle 2 miles @ MP in 6:21 (down), 6:46 (up), 6:33/mi avg.  1.5 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Cooler, cloudy and a bit of rain today.  MP miles okay.  Left shin still painful to start out so I guess I'll resign myself to dealing with it on Saturday.  Woke up with my head draining something fierce and some throat irritation and coughing today.....probably because yesterday hit record highs and the pollens were unleashed.  But if those are my only problems for Saturday, everything will be fine.  

Reviewed the notes from my last marathon.  Good thing too, because I've evidently forgotten a few things.  First off, no more negative thoughts.  Gone, banished, goodbye.  Secondly, refer to #1.  

Okay, finally outloud.  My goals for Saturday are:

1. Break 3 hrs (again).
2. PR.
3. Break 2:55
4. Outperform predicted 2:53:54 based on best tune-up race this cycle (last weekend's 20K)

LM warmup (10 reps), 4 miles in 29:20, 7:20/mi, HR 155, & stretching.

Ready to go.  Aside for some remaining left shin pain, which seems to move day to day up-and-down the shin, today I *felt* ready.  Yeah, wish my HR was lower at today's pace but that could be the adrenaline.  Legs wanted to go.  Excited, scared, anxious, all the things I get the day before a marathon.  Headed out this evening to stay in Ellensburg for tomorrow's race.

Race day weather.....starts in the low 30s, finished in the low 50s, mostly cloudy, NNW wind at 5-6 MPH changing to SSE 7-8 MPH.  Actually, the wind shift is supposed to occur at 11am and I'm planing on finishing just before that, so maybe the tailwind will help push me along.  Only concern is the strong and gusty winds happening today....supposed to be gone by tomorrow, but.....oh well, whatever happens happens and it'll be a challenge regardless of the weather. Can't wait.  Seriously, I'm not sure I can.

Spent the pre-race night at a hotel in Ellensburg and of course the sleep was fitful.  While I spent 7 hours lying in bed, I was up every hour or so adjusting the temp, using the restroom, etc.  But since I've focused on sleep this week, it probably didn't affect me too much.  Ate some oatmeal at 5, got some coffee from a strategically located (and opened) Starbucks, picked up my race packet at 6:30, used the bathroom a few more times, and was lined up for the 8am start.  Unlike last time I ran this race in 2007, I toed "the line" hoping to finish somewhere in the top 10 and to run this race without crashing and burning like I'd done on my first.  The weather was perfect.....low 30s to start, mid 50s at the finish, no real wind to speak of.  Did a light jog from the bathroom area to the start (maybe 1/3 mile) but that was about it for a warmup.

At the gun we were off....I ran the first half mile or so in 2nd place, which means I went out too hard, but quickly reined it in and got passed by a few and settled into 11th place.   While my first 5 miles were in the 6:39-6:43 range, I felt tight and a bit labored, so I knew it wasn't going to be one of those races where everything came easy but rather a battle at the end.  Ran for a mile or so with the eventual female winner before tackling the first small hill at the mile 5 mark and getting down to business headed down the canyon.

My first checkpoint in the race was at mile 9 which I'd hoped to hit in 1 hour.   According to garmin, I was a smidgen ahead, but the course mile markers had me 40 seconds behind at this point.  The cant to the roads on the curves in the canyon were pretty wicked and really affected my ability to hit pace.....on the stretches when the road was flat, I was a good 4-5 seconds/mile better and more relaxed, but on the curves where the cant was bad, the effort increased and my pace slowed.  But I tried to keep running the tangents as best as I could, since I remembered from my first trip down this course that not running them well adds some serious distance (and time).  Hit the 13 mile marker 58 seconds off a 6:40 pace and the halfway point in 1:28:40-ish, so I was still a bit behind.

This was about the time the outside of my left foot started hurting.  In previous half-marathon races where I'd worn the previous incarnation of the NB 905 shoe, I'd developed this same pain in the later miles, but hadn't experienced it for a couple of years now, nor in the training runs.  Well, whether the cant to the roads or the pace or the distance, the pain started returning.  In some ways, it was good because it gave me something to focus on aside from the miles ahead, but I dealt with it the remainder of the race.  Fortunately, it got to a pretty painful but consistent level and stopped growing worse, so it didn't turn into much of a factor.  

The first major hill during the 15th mile was painful but doable.  I'd just gotten done conversing with another runner who was shooting for his first sub-3 and advised to save some for the 2nd longer hill later in the race and not to expend too much on the first.  My uphill mile was 7:15 and the backside downhill was 6:07, so I think I did pretty well.  I could've run the downhill faster, but knew I needed to save the legs for the next hill that shows up near the 23 mile mark.  

Somewhere between 1-2 minutes off the 6:40 pace at the 18 mile mark, and by that time just trying to stay focused and to keep the physical and mental demons at bay.  By 20, the mental urge to walk for a few seconds, to give up trying for a 2:54 and just "settle" for a 3:xx something was growing.  Only the experience of having gone thru that before helped keep those thoughts at bay, and I spent some energy forcing myself to have positive thoughts.  Mostly I was trying to dole out the little energy reserves I had to keep the pace near the target range.  Then came the last hill, a monster.

Actually, at first sight, I thought, oh, not as bad as I recall.  It isn't all that steep, only a 2-3% grade the whole way, but it's a long long way.  Stretching for close to 1.5 miles total, I not only slowed below a 7/min mile pace, I hit a 8:04/mi according to garmin, and that felt generous.  The energy completely left my legs and just picking them up felt nigh impossible.  I was reduced to focusing on each individual step, not daring to think any further into the future.  Getting passed by a master who just seemed to float up the hill didn't help much, but I did manage some words of encouragement to someone who'd obviously saved a bit more energy than I had.  Oh, how I hate that hill, especially with a pseudo-summit partway thru (or did I hallucinate that) that makes you believe you've hit the top when you really still have a ways to go.

But the great thing about that hill.....it's almost all downhill to the finish.  The downhill coming off of the crest was pretty significant and I tried to take advantage as best I could, but now suddenly the hamstrings and glutes started protesting.  A couple of spasms later and now I was simply trying to go as fast as I could without locking up and falling on my face.   A 6:22 downhill mile was a blessing and I feel fortunate to have gotten that much speed out of it.

The last few miles were just plain hard.  I was locked onto the runner in front of me, trying to reel him in since a few miles ago he seemed way out of reach.  Plus, I knew I had a couple on my heels but I didn't dare look behind.  Managed to pick off a couple in the end and moved into 7th place overall.  I'm not sure how (although I know there was a bit of downhill but also a lot of flat), but my last mile was a 6:14.  With .2 to go, I was giving everything for a 6:23/mi pace just wanting to be done.  Another hands on the knees, are you okay, just let me stand here finish, glad to be done.

Garmin gave me credit for a 2:56:43 over 26.37 miles for a 6:42/mi pace, despite running the tangents nearly as perfectly as they could be run (scaling rock walls to cut corners not considered).  So even though I didn't hold a 6:40 average, with the course, the cant, and the hills, I'm damn happy to have run as well as I did.  4th in my AG, 7th overall, a second sub-3 performance, a PR, and probably most importantly, a return to marathoning after an injury induced hiatus last year.  Now to get ready for the 50 miles in 2 weeks!

GUs at 6, 14, & 21. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:02:00, 7:45/mi, HR 150.

Rainy.  Just went out for an easy run as long as I felt like (aside from not wanting to be out in the rain....that doesn't count as a good reason to quit).  Legs feeling pretty decent, lacking a little pep but otherwise okay from Sat. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 6.5 miles in 51:31, 7:55/mi, HR 149, core workout, & stretching.

Felt completely wiped out today.  Another rainy run, but worse was that I felt completely zapped.  Legs were lead, everything hard, so I wrapped things up early. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:00:53, 7:36/mi, HR 152, w/ 10 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, & stretching.

Rain and hail today....fun.  Feeling better after yesterday's crash, but can tell the legs still tire after a few miles.  Hill sprints woke them up....first couple were pretty rough but they got better for the middle ones, then the last few the legs were just plain tired again.  Going to see if I can handle a semi-hard workout tomorrow. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 9.8 miles in 1:14:44, 7:37/mi, HR 153, w/ 3 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, Ladder intervals (1-2-3-2-1-2-3) w/ equal hard and recovery @ 1.5K-5K effort, 3 mile cooldown.  1.5 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/SU/Leg Abduction ladder (7/7/4) & stretching.

Feeling good.  Nice and easy warmup where we went from sun to showers to sun to showers to sun to.....etc.  Quick bathroom break after the strides/drills, and I hit the ladder repeats with a vengeance.  It's been a while since I've (intentionally) run faster repeats, but I'm not wanting to overdo it 5 days post-marathon, so the 1-2-3-2-1-2-3 ladder workout seemed ideal, since it's relatively short.  The intervals were hard and I felt like retching a couple of times, but my body felt like it wanted to push hard on all of them so I went for it.  Nice and tired to jog thru the cooldown.  Pretty happy that it went this well today.  Tomorrow easy then Saturday I'm thinking of a hilly long run.

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 49:22, 8:13/mi, HR 147, & stretching.

Took advantage of a break in the nasty storm passing thru.  Legs definitely didn't want to go fast at all.  Ran about 2 miles worth on some logging roads & then what I'll call technical trail, which slowed me down considerably.  Left shin & ankle felt tired, sore and weak, especially on the trail, so I was glad to return to the road.  Icing now.

LM warmup (10 reps), 17.63 mile trail run in 2:25:13, 8:14/mi, HR 150, PU/SU/Leg Abduction ladder (7/7/4) & stretching.

Ran up into the Kapowsin & Elbe Hills forest on a hilly loop route.  The peak of the route was 1400' higher than the start, but plenty of ups and downs throughout....no idea what the total gain/loss was but it wore my legs out.  Now this was less than 18 miles....how in the world does one run 50 miles where the total elevation gain is over 8700' (White River 50m)?  Guess I need to do this and similar runs quite a bit more if there's even the slightest chance I'm going to think about doing that race this July.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:02:40, 7:50/mi, HR 145, & stretching.

Legs felt pretty tired today and took a while to loosen up.  Very breezy to downright windy at times, so I was glad this was an easy effort run and just went with the flow (or slowed down against the flow). 

Besides just not feeling it today, my left knee, shin, and ankle were all complaining.  Add a heaping scoop of "not enough sleep" and I decided to bag today's run in favor of recovery.  After all, I've got my first ultra coming up on Sunday.

LM warmup (10 reps), 11.32 miles in 1:27:25, 7:43/mi, HR 154, w/ 3 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 20 x 1 min on/1 min off, 3.14 mile cooldown.  PU/SU/Leg Abduction ladder (7/7/4), negative calf raises (15), chair (90 sec) & stretching.

Decided to take the advice I offered Tom the other day and to run the 20 x 1/1 workout.  Repeats are short enough that the hurt isn't sustained, but the gotcha is the short 1 minute recovery.  Plus, I run this on my normal course which isn't flat, so the first 17 of these were either rolling or uphill, with the final 3 fast downhill ones.  Aside from (another) garmin glitch where it decided to reboot in the middle, good tiring workout.  And by tiring, I mean my legs and lungs were both pretty fried by the time the cooldown came around, so I was very appreciative that it was all downhill for that part.  Best of all, all the aches and pains of yesterday evaporated by the time the warmup was complete.  Even the Strides & Drills were spot on today, so I'll call this a banner day.  Now to stay awake for the rest of it.

Now for my Garmin rant.  My 405 has been headed downhill....spontaneous reboots, freezing, inability to use bezel...once again just after the 1 year mark.  I've exchanged the last 2 at REI at about the same point, around the 1 year and 1-3 month mark, and here I am again.  I'm not hard on the thing, unless you count running nearly daily, but the pampering it gets afterwards should more than compensate.  I'm not going to own another 405, that's for sure.  The question is what do I do with this one?  I'm almost feeling guilty about returning it to REI since between all 3, I've gotten about 3.5 years of use out of them, but then again, this is EXACTLY the situation the lady at REI advertised when she sold me a membership (well, okay, the situation was having one breaking once, she didn't really address the 2nd or 3rd reoccurrence).  What to do......

Update:  Just checked my receipt (latest receipt).  Actually got this one in late July, so it's only been 9 months.  Way too soon.  Back it goes for good this time. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:03:19, 7:54/mi, HR 145, w/ 10 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, & stretching.

First day in a while where the forecast showed some sun, so of course it rained the entire time.  Tried out a new pair of headphones today, so listening to music distracted me enough that I didn't run too fast.  Decent hill sprints, with typical tough #1 & 2, better 3 - 10.  Wet. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 43:31, 7:14/mi, HR 158 w/ last 3 miles progression in 6:34 (down), 6:52 (up), 6:24 (rolling).  PU/SU/Leg Abduction ladder (7/7/4) & stretching.

Caught a break in today's nasty weather, so aside from some stiff gusty winds, pleasant conditions.  But I was tired to start and not wanting to put myself info a hole I couldn't dig out of, decided during the warmup to punt on the 3 x 10 min HM/10K repeats and to instead go with 6 miles total, the last 3 progressing from MP to 10K effort, whatever that turned out to be.  Between the ever-changing winds and the anything-but-flat course, no way to eval the paces, but the efforts were there.  Afterwards, it felt good to have done that faster running, but I was glad I decided to save the legs for Sunday.  A couple more short easy runs to go and then the 50. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 46:23, 7:44/mi, HR 146, 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Nice and easy today.  Turned into a really nice day outside. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 4 miles in 30:58, 7:44/mi, HR 153, & stretching.

Another beautiful day outside.  Almost doesn't seem worth it to only run 4 miles....wonder why my HR was so high on such a short run today?  Finally shook the headache I've had for 36+ hours... 

We're sorry.  Dale can't come to the computer right now.  He's utterly exhausted.  Please try again later.  Like maybe tomorrow...

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Wow, what an experience.  My first race (heck, my first run) beyond the marathon distance, two weeks after a pretty hard marathon run at Yakima, and I tried to go into this race with fairly minimal expectations.  First, I wanted to finish.  Second, I figured a sub-9 hour finish was completely doable and a sub-8 hour finish was possible.  Third (and maybe most importantly), I wanted to see what this ultra stuff was all about, whether I'd enjoy it, and whether I'd be any good at it.  Last, if I did enjoy this, I've been considering signing up for the White River 50, another 50 miler but much hillier (heck, mountainous) and competitive.

So the Saturday I spent trying to setup 2 drop bags.  Aside from additional GUs I figured I'd need since I could only carry about 6 or so at a time, drop bag packing was a crap shoot.  I wound up putting anything and everything I thought I might need, none of which it turns out I used.  That night despite trying to get some sleep (to bed by 9), I tossed and turned and really didn't get much sleep.  Too nervous (excited?).  Up at 3am to eat some oatmeal, make some coffee, and hit the road for the 1.5 hour trip up to Snoqualmie, WA.  Got there just in time for the early start, which quite nearly confused me at that hour and sucked me into starting with them.  Consciousness reigned and I figured out what was going on and set about to prepping myself for the real start.

So at 6 am the start arrived and we were off.  My game plan was to start running at a comfortable pace, make sure it wasn't stupid fast, and just settle in.  I was going to just walk the aid stations and run the rest until I couldn't run anymore, then shift to a run/walk scheme.  I settled into a nice easy run pace and headed off.  

The Mt Si course is pretty forgiving.  Only 1400' of total elevation gain/loss is advertised, the steepest being a 400' 5 mile climb from North Bend to Rattlesnake Lake, as advertised on the race website.  Okay, that's not entirely true. The roads we ran on in Snoqualmie had a couple of very short but steep uphill sections before dropping us down a staircase onto the Snoqualmie Valley Trail headed towards Fall City and Carnation.  Having beaten my legs into submission on 20 mile hilly training runs, I took these small hills (up and down) extremely easily.

Once on the trail, I was in 5th place and just enjoying the early morning run.  Still pretty cool and the day was just beginning, so it really just felt like a nice enjoyable trail run.  I did have people in front and just behind me, but we were all running alone for the most part.  Hit the first aid station at 5.9 in 46 minutes and I stopped to refill my water bottle, letting the 6 & 7th place runners pass me as they didn't stop.  Headed off within about 15 seconds to continue down the trail, made a brief pit-stop part-way and hit the first turnaround in 1:18, refilling the water bottle again.  

Broke rule #1 of running.....never try something in a race you haven't tried in training.  Well, okay, I didn't just break it, I stomped it into the ground.  I bought some S! caps and really had only used them once before to make sure my body didn't violently reject them, so I started popping 1 at every hour mark, to keep the electrolyte levels up.  I was also pushing back a GU about every 45 minutes.  But the biggest violation of the rule was the food I was grazing on at the aid stations.  Cookies, boiled potatoes, whatever looked good when I arrived, I did NOT want to wind up at 30 miles not having eaten enough, knowing that a nutritional deficit would be difficult to overcome.  Fortunately, I pretty much got away with it and so got to enjoy an excuse to eat cookies while racing.

Hit the 14 mile aid station in 1:52 and wound up stopping here for 2 minutes.  Issue #1.....my drop bags were pretty tightly packed and digging out my GU and stuffing my long-sleeve top into the bag proved problematic.  Finally got things sorted out and continued on.  Still feeling very good, catching early start runners periodically which helped break up the mental tedium.  I was carrying my phone for listening to some tunes, but had decided early on to postpone listening as long as possible, figuring I'd need the mental boost late in the race.  Also started seeing some of the relay runners headed out on their 157 mile relay by this point.  It was nice to watch them straining at their fast paces, while basically just out for a nice jog :).  Back up over the staircase, down the road, hit the porta-potty for a quick stop, and wound up gaining ground on both the 5th and 6th place runners.

Hit the 20.4 mile aid station in 2:45.  By now, I was very conscious of the fact that I was well on my way to a sub-7 pace, but since I was only 20 miles into a 50 mile race, still leaving a longer distance than I'd ever run continuously, I was trying to make my competitive brain focus on just enjoying the run and continuing on at a decent clip.  We'd also merged in with the 50K runners who'd started at 8:30 and headed up the north part of the Snoqualmie Valley Trail towards North Bend and Rattlesnake lake.   24.3 aid station in 3:18 which is also about where the trail starts the gentle slope upwards towards Rattlesnake lake.  I caught and ran with the 6th place runner here, and discovered we were both running our first 50 miler.  He said that he runs marathon's primarily but he's run some 50Ks in the past.  A nice distraction for a while, but I left after I saw a really slow mile and realized I was bleeding time and effort on the uphill with the chatting.  

Hit the 28.9 mile aid station and bag drop #2 in 3:57, and spent a minute here rooting around in my bag for some more GUs.  The sun was finally starting to come out and things were starting to warm up a bit, so I was putting away the water a bit quicker now.  This helped, because lugging the hand-held water bottle was really quite tiring....my shoulders were beginning to complain.  By this point, my legs were tired with the effort, but I wasn't crashing and didn't feel too badly.  Amazing what a focus on nutrition and electrolytes can do.  In most training runs past 20 miles, I'd be fried and crashing by this point.  

The stretch from Rattlesnake lake to the turn around started getting rough.  Mentally, I was really ready to turn around and start the home-stretch.  Heading uphill was getting old too.  Not knowing exactly where the turnaround was didn't help either.  I'd made up a card with the aid station mileages on them, had waterproofed it, and had forgotten it in the car....Oops.  Saw the eventual winner hauling down the trail (he went on to finish well under 6 hours...amazing).  Up and up and up.......until the trail sign pointed to a left fork that headed down a rocky gravel spur....steeply.  Now that's just mean.  Headed down the road at a....don't know how to describe it.  Faster than a walk, slower than a run, more like a drunken marionette, trying to appease hamstrings that were screaming, trying not to get depressed that I was going to have to run back up this stupid thing.  Hit the 34.4 mile aid station/turn around in 4:46.  Had to dig a rock out of my shoe in addition to the water refill and food grazing, so this was a 1-2 minute pit stop.

I'd like to say I power-hiked back up the hill, but when two women chatting non-stop pass you like you were standing still, it's not really power hiking, is it?  Okay, time for some tunes....Thankfully the painful stretch was short and I got back into a nice rhythm on the gentle downhill grade, now enjoying some distracting tunes.  Unfortunately, by this point, I was also being distracted by some mild nausea and the knowledge that I would need a bathroom break that might take a minute.  Despite running in the wilds on the trails, there really wasn't any place to hide for a potty break, so I just kept moving to try to make the next aid station where I remembered seeing a port-a-john.  This officially commenced the hard part of the run.

Finally hit the 39.9 aid station in 5:33 and of course, there was the port-a-john line.  Got my water and food needs taken care of, and was able to dig into my drop bag again (beat the 12:30 cutoff before they disappeared) for a couple more GUs, so I didn't have to wait long for the potty, but the aid station did take about 3 minutes before I finally got back underway.  The sun was starting to take a toll here, and I increased my S! cap consumption to every 45 minutes and upped my water consumption.  It was probably here that I started math gymnastics, really feeling like I could finish under 7 hours if I focused and the wheels didn't come completely off.  Spend the next 10 miles computing, recomputing, dicing and slicing my time and mileage left, trying to figure out how fast I needed to be going to make that goal.  My pace had slipped a bit, but I did manage a couple of sub-8 miles on this downhill stretch.

Hit an extra water stop at 44.5 in 6:13, just in time.  The official water stop had closed and packed up, but I was out of water and fortunately they'd kindly left a full water jug behind, so I half filled up (trying to think of the poor souls suffering in the heat of the day behind me) and continued on.   Approaching a crowded relay checkpoint in the distance, I spotted a wild man running toward me.  David!  45 miles into a 50 mile race, it's amazing what a boost a friendly face will give you!  A high five, me spouting something about trying to sneak under 7 hours, some encouragement from Dave, and the moment was past.  Still, can't quite say what a boost that was....thanks Dave!

Then there was the relay exchange a short while later.  It was pretty crowded with people milling about, and about halfway through, one of the volunteers said something about 50 miler coming through, and next thing I knew, everyone started clapping and cheering.  Wow, again, what a boost right when I needed one.  Throughout the race, the volunteers were simply amazing.  I can't tell you how many times I heard my name being called, usually by a volunteer with a clipboard looking at my bib number, providing encouragement along the way.  I tried to return the favor by thanking all the volunteers at each aid station I ran through along the way, although I'll admit that late in the race I began to forget.  But they all deserved our thanks, what a great crew.  Hit the water point at the far end of this aid station at 46.7 miles in 6:32 for a final refill.  

The final 3+ miles was a slog.  I knew if I could just maintain my pace in the low 8s, I should make it, but I was a bit worried that the course might be a smidgen longer than 50 miles and I couldn't afford much extra, so it was all about keeping my legs turning when they wanted to just quit and walk for a bit.  I think if I hadn't been on the sub-7 pace, I probably would've whimped out and taken a walk break.  Hit the stairs descending from the bridge on the upper Snoqualmie Valley Trail, did something resembling walking down them using the handrails liberally started pushing on the final road segment to the finish.  My final full mile was in 8:03 and the last 0.15 was at a 6:33 pace as I gave it everything I had not wanting to get caught a few seconds short.  It's only happened a couple of times in races, but I'll admit I started feeling pretty emotional on that final stretch but managed to keep it together and finally saw the clock up ahead clicking thru the 6:59:30s and realized I was going to make it, in more ways than one.  6:59:41, fifth place overall, 3rd in the Open (under 40) category, and my first 50 miler.  What an experience.  

Post race, I ate and drank and hobbled for a while until I realized I needed to head home so I'd make it before completely crashing.  Aside from a blood blister on my right foot big toe, my feet weren't too bad.  During the run, I did have some of that reoccuring outside/bottom left foot pain (early on, which was worrisome, but it disappeared after the 14 mile aid station which took a couple of minutes....not sure why).  Later on the drive home, I had to slip out of my shoes (which I hadn't changed) when my feet really started hurting...I realized that the shoes I'd raced in were regular width (a pair I've had a while and only wear occasionally, my only pair of "trail" shoes) and I'd switched to wide shoes a while ago.  Once released from the confines, they felt much better, so note to self:  get wide trail shoes!  Made it home via Quiznos (a sub which I only half ate as some nausea hit again) and wound up eating only salty foods the rest of the day, so evidently the sun and heat took it's toll.  Made it to 9pm before crashing for the night.

So a successful outing at the 50 miler distance.  I'm still pretty amazed that I had such a good race.  It was a lot of fun and actually pretty pleasant through about 30 miles or so, when it finally started getting hard.  I feel much better than I thought I would the next morning (Monday).  Now I really, seriously, absolutely must take some down time over the next couple of weeks to let my body recover and heal from the fairly continuous training its undergone the past several months.  And yes, I'm now seriously considering the White River 50 in late July! 

Postscript - I almost forgot.  The strangest thing I think I've seen in a race happened yesterday.  I was headed on the final return, about 8 miles or so from the finish, headed down the gentle grade on the trail, when I looked up ahead to see......horses and a dog.  Yup, about 5 horses trotted out on one of the dirt driveways that periodically crossed the trail and all turned up the trail and just kinda stopped and milled about.  My first thoughts were, oh crap, I'm hallucinating, not good.  Once I was convinced it was real, my next thoughts were, uh oh, how the heck do I get by them?  The dog with them almost looked like it was herding them for a minute, but then it just stopped and stood next to one.

As I got closer, I realized the dog wasn't a dog, but rather a.......goat.  So, here I am faced with 5 horses and a goat blocking my way, 42 miles into a 50 mile race.  As I approached, not breaking pace, I slowly started moving to the left side of the path and sure enough, the horses all moved over to the right side, allowing me to pass without being trampled (or spooking the horses).  I could almost hear my wife in advance of me telling her about this, wondering who's horses they were, etc, and I ever so briefly thought of stopping to alert the owners, but not having any clue where they originated from (there was a gate on the left and a long drive on the right that headed downhill towards some paddocks and whatnot, I selfishly decided to continue my race and hope that they didn't get too far.  So my apologies to the horse (and goat) owners for not rounding them up for you.

Took the dogs for a nice and slow 1.5 mile walk.

2.5 mile brisk walk w/ dogs.

Recovery going very well.  Late yesterday afternoon my left knee suddenly got a bit sore, but I just ignored that as one of those things and it's gone today.  Some residual soreness in hamstrings but otherwise feeling great.  I am getting a touch cranky though....must be missing my endorphin fix.  Tomorrow might be a short and easy run day.  Then again, it might not be.  

It struck me yesterday that I just ran a marathon and an ultra within 16 day of each other (go back an additional 7 days for 23 total and I can add in a 20K).  Unless I'm mistaken, that qualifies me to join the Marathon Maniacs.  Now that's never been a goal, nor can I say that right now I'm particularly interested, but the thought that I met the qualification criteria is a bit.....unsettling.  Not to terribly long ago, I'd have considered the entire notion crazy.  Now it doesn't seem like that big of a deal.

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 50:02, 8:20/mi, HR 150, 2 mile walk w/ dogs, SLCR (15), PU/SU/LegAb/LegAd/Ham ladder (7/7/4/3/3) & stretching. 

Gorgeous day for a run.  More like a jog today to see how everything felt and responded.  Lower right hamstring started out a bit tight but loosened up.  Then the right ankle started some general complaining for about a mile before fading.  The last 2 back the left hip and adductor were beginning to complain and I'm still a bit gun-shy when they speak up, so I eased up even more.  Afterwards, everything felt pretty decent overall.  Then during the dog walking, the left foot arch started hurting out of the blue again, so I guess I need to keep massaging that bugger.  Running is definitely good for my mental state though.

Interesting that the Garmin 310XT elevation tracks are *much* better than the 405s (or 305s) were.  Quite nearly the quality that the Garmin Connect elevation correction provides.  Good, since I plan to be hurling myself up and down very large and steep hills over the next few months. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 8.21 miles in 1:11:12, 8:40/mi, HR 150, w/ 10 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Ran most of this on trails that varied from gravel logging roads to grass and mud elk tracks.  Legs felt good today, so the slow pace was more to the hills, mud, obstacles (trees & brush) and exploration than anything else.  Decided to tack on the hill sprints at the end up the steep section of trail nearby...first one was slooooow but the rest felt good.  Started tiring on the later ones, so while the legs probably aren't 100%, they're getting close already.  Left knee was a bit troublesome again....possibly just the trail footing and hills, but maybe because my left ITB is tight, so some stretching to loosen that up.

My left foot arch started hurting on the walk.  Seems like running with a mid-foot plant is okay, but walking heel to toe is not. 

Up and down the sidewalk about 3 dozen times trying on running shoes at Fleet Feet.....doesn't count.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8.13 hilly trail miles in 1:04:54, 7:59/mi, HR 154, 2 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/SU/Leg Ab/Ad/Hamstring ladder (7/7/4/4/4), & stretching.

After a long day spend mowing grass, finally got out on my run with a foul mood to burn off.  Fairly successful, although getting rained on the last 2 miles didn't help with the mood.  Hitting these hills is hard but will get easier the more I do them......I hope. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 8.1 miles in 1:05:56, 8:08/mi, HR 141, & stretching.

Easy run after long flights on a variety of terrain including sidewalks, asphalt roads, grass trails, and farmer's fields.  Unfortunately, it included 2 emergency pit-stops for potty breaks, one at the Emergency room which just happened to be enroute.  Forgot to pause the watch for the second break, so the pace wasn't quite as slow as it seems.

LM warmup (10 reps), 10 miles in 1:14:00, 7:24/mi, HR 159, w/ 8 x 2 min Fartleks @ < 5K pace, PU/SU/Leg Ab/Ad/Ham ladder (7/7/4/4/4) & stretching.

Nice weather....in the mid 60s in VA.  Warmup was tough as legs didn't want to move after a day at the office and the first fartlek was only in the 6:05/mi range, also into the wind.  Once that was done, the rest were good and all in the 5:35-5:45/mi range, very good and better than expected.  The new Adrenalines felt like nice soft pillows....at first.  Then by about 6 miles, the pain on the outside of the left foot started again thru the finish.  Afterwards, realized the overlay is putting pressure on the widest part of my foot, causing the hot spot.  Need to try to stretch that out a bit so it doesn't return.  

LM warmup (10 reps), 14 miles in 1:47:11, 7:39/mi, HR 149 w/ last 4 miles Moderate in 7:06, 6:49, 6:44, 6:46, & stretching.

73F and sunny at the start, so the start was slow.  Just hung in there for the duration and when the final 4 miles came up was just looking forward to getting done.  All the running routes around here are flat and boring.  Not sure why the first moderate mile was slow....turns maybe?  Did seem to get a second wind and things felt better.  Still battling some left knee pain. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:01:35, 7:42/mi, HR 148 & stretching.

Nice and easy miles.  Cooler out today and just kinda felt better.  Which my left PF wasn't still giving me fits. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 9.5 miles in 1:07:56, 7:09/mi, HR 161, w/ 2 mile warmup, 2 x 15 min Tempo Intervals (6:16/mi, 6:03/mi) w/ 5 min rest, & 2+ mile cooldown.  PU/SU/Leg ladder (7/7/4) & stretching.

Warm and sunny workout after work (mid 70s).  First tempo interval was fast...aiming for HM pace ~ 6:19/mi; started fast and tapered back until I was finally on pace a few minute in.  Recovered completely for #2 but the heat was taxing and mentally wasn't in it.  Took one 20 sec break about halfway thru #2, then another 5 sec break with 5 minutes left.  Was aiming for a pace in the 5:57-6:00 range but just couldn't hang.  Some mental, but also haven't really done tempo work for a while so maybe the 15 min repeats were a bit overambitious.

6.5 miles in 51:31, 7:55/mi, HR 142 & stretching.

Forgot the LM warmup today.  Easy miles in cooler weather.  Kept today easy in prep for tomorrow morning's 5K race.  Drove w/ Jim up to pick up race packet @ Ft. Monroe, so didn't eat until late.  Then wound up driving myself to the ER with some pain that I'd been experiencing the past couple of days that suddenly got worse....long story short, got the good news, some Motrin, & made it back to the hotel by 12:30 for a 6am wakeup.  Not the recommended way to prep for a race.  Plus, after the race, headed to Ft. Eustis to visit with Aunt & parents.  

2 mile warmup in 14:56, 7:28/mi, HR 156, with 0.5 mile @ goal race pace (~ 5:50/mi).  3.1 miles in 18:39, 6:01/mi, HR 178.

Ran this race with some guys from work, 2 locals here and another that traveled in like I did for 2 weeks work here in VA.  Haven't run a 5K since Jan 1, and coming off the longer races with little interval work, wasn't sure what to expect.  The fartleks earlier in the week were a good sign, the tempo intervals just okay, but being tired from travel and last nights ER escapades, tempered any expectations.  Nonetheless, can't get much flatter than this course, and the winds were not too bad coming off the water.  Temps in the low 60s so a bit high, but with the clouds and the breeze, aside from the humidity, things were pretty decent.  Not sure what the competition was going to be being an out-of-towner, but was aiming for a low 18s race and an AG placing.  Splits of 5:54, 5:53, 6:08, and 41 should tell the tale...

Even being on the start line, about 30 people bolted ahead of me at the start.  First quarter-mile was on a 5:25 pace....ouch, way too fast, so I pulled back and settled into a more reasonable effort.   Crossed the first mile feeling decent and running hard.  Was in about 12th place or so here.  Worked up into 7th by the turnaround onto the boardwalk and into a bit of headwind, but still managed a good mile 2 at a reasonable pace.  Then there's mile 3.  I'm not exactly sure where the wheels came off, and really don't recall them falling off, but shortly into the 3rd mile, garmin was telling me I had slowed way down.  I tried pushing a little and didn't make up much ground.  I tried pushing a lot and still didn't make up much ground.  It just seemed like I was at max velocity and wasn't going to budge the needle to the right any more.  Funny thing was, my breathing was still under decent control in a 3-2 scheme, not the normal 2-2 pattern I typically hit in 5Ks around the 1-1.5 mile mark.  Guess the top gear wasn't there, or maybe the mental side was lacking.  Was really trying to reel in runners 5 & 6 and came within 3 seconds of catching 6, but just ran out of race.  Managed an okay sprint to the finish from about 1/4 mile out, probably more than I should've been able to do, so I really think I just slacked a bit on mile 3.

Anyway, took 7th, cheered my co-workers (& one of their significant others), got a nice glass for winning my AG, then promptly left before I froze since the temps dropped and the drizzle started.  Guess it's not too bad considering I'd no intention of running the race and had only signed up on Thursday.  Spend the rest of the day walking around Williamsburg visiting and letting the women do some shopping.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:01:52, 7:44/mi, HR 153, & stretching.

80F & sunny, then cloudy and windy.  Still a decent easy run after some good sleep last night.  Need to get my shoe situation sorted out....my left foot was killing me by mile 5. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 9.58 miles in 1:10:40, 7:22/mi, HR 161, w/ 2 miles warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, Interval Ladder (1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1) minutes on @ <5K pace with equal rest, 2 mile cooldown.  PU/SU/Leg ladder (7/7/4) & stretching.

The more I think about the 3rd mile in Sat's race, the madder I got at myself for losing 14 seconds in the last mile.  So as punishment I attacked the On segments with gusto.   Paces were 5:11, 5:28, 5:35, 5:43, 5:44, 5:40, 5:35, 5:17 per mile, so I obviously faded but the effort was there.  HR hit 188 on the 2nd 4 minute interval, which is probably the highest its been in a long time, so I know I was working.  Makes me want to try a mile race just for kicks, but not too many of those around.  Think I'll keep working on speed for a while since I actually feel better after these workouts (are over).  Had to run the cooldown a bit fast.....thunderstorm was closing fast on 3 sides and the open side was headed away from the hotel so that was a non-starter.  Then the lightning started in the not too far distance.  Then the really big cold rain drops.  Fortunately, made it back to the hotel before the worst hit.  

LM warmup (10 reps), 14.27 miles in 1:44:30, 7:19/mi, HR 148, w/ last 5.27 miles Moderate, & stretching.

Cool but fortunately post-storm.  Needed to make a couple of pit-stops during the run but otherwise uneventful.  The early part was faster than normal, so the late moderate miles felt a tad harder than normal.  Glad to be able to put these runs away after a hard day. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:01:58, 7:44/mi, HR 142, & stretching.

Sunny and pleasant.  Legs tired and a bit sore in spots.  All this flat land running is really going to make me pay dearly when I return to the hills this weekend. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 10 miles w/ 3 mile warmup, 4 miles Tempo (6:13, 6:15, 6:12, 6:05), 3.1 miles cooldown.  PU/SU/Leg ladder (7/7/4) & stretching.

Sunny and warm (77F).  Felt pretty tired and dehydrated to start with.  Tempo quickly got tough and found myself wanting to quit by the 2 mile mark.  Lots of negotiation and self-trickery got me thru all 4 miles.  Pretty surprised the pace was as good as it was.....pretty close to the 5K pace from this past weekend.  Homeward bound early tomorrow morning. 

6.5 miles in 51:16, 7:53/mi, HR 144, 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Back home after an early plane flight.  Felt decent keeping things nice and easy and transitioning from pancake flat Suffolk to the rolling hills of Eatonville wasn't too bad....today.  Dogs happy to get back to their daily walks. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 24 (8 road, 16 trail) hilly miles in 3:25:09, 8:32/mi, HR 149, & stretching.

Realized that a long run isn't in the cards for next weekend, so pushed this one from 18 to 24, with lots of elevation change.  2800' of climbing in total made this run brutal.  Much of the downhill was not very runnable....braking because of the pitch just trashed my legs so by the time I hit the final 4 road miles down a reasonable grade, I was toast.  I can honestly say that this run was harder and made me feel worse than the 50 miler did.  Which tells me the 50 mile trail race I want to run in late July that features 8700' of climbing is going to be very very very hard.  

Okay, time to stop feeling sorry for myself.  Just signed up for the White River 50.  Time to start logging the needed vertical mileage. 

16 miles in 2:20:56, 8:48/mi, HR 143 (4 miles road & 12 miles trail) & stretching.

My very first back-to-back long run days.  Okay, so today might not appear too terribly long to some and the total for both was only 40 miles, but considering that my legs didn't want to run 16 feet today much less 16 hilly miles, I'm chalking this up as a success.  Another 3600' of elevation change added to 5600' yesterday equals hamstrings and quads that stopped complaining....and working....hours ago.  Trying to wrap my head around the fact that an 8:48/mi average is probably okay for today's run.  Now what does the 3+ hours I spent mowing (more like haying) the lawn and the 2+ hours I spent pulling the yearly tractor maintenance qualify as?  All done before the run, because I knew it wouldn't get done afterwards.  I think tomorrow will be an easy day.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:03:43, 7:58/mi, HR 139, PU/SU/Leg ladder (7/7/4) & stretching.

Legs feeling a bit beat up after the past 2 days, but after the first mile or so, warmed up nicely.  Even warmed up, they weren't going anywhere fast....wasn't sure I'd dip below the 8 min/mi mark until late in the run.  HR low, breathing fine, stride okay, but pace was on the slow side.  The weather mix was really strange:  sunny, cloudy, sunny & hot, gusty winds, cloudy, rainy, sunny, winds from the other direction, cloudy, winds from all directions, rainy, and finally hail.   Flirted with the idea of running hill sprints today to get back on schedule, but my left knee would hurt on the uphill stretches, so thought better of it.   

LM warmup (10 reps), 12 miles in ~1:32:00, 7:40/mi, HR 152, w/ 3.55 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 20 x 1 min on, 1 min off Fartleks, 3.25 mile cooldown.  1.5 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

I set out on this run 3 different times and was confronted with hail all 3 times within the first minute or so.  Finally just went and thankfully it didn't last too terribly long (and was pretty small).  Hit the repeat portion feeling pretty good....that didn't last long.  These repeats were hard, I'm guessing because the first 17 were mostly uphill.  Even though the grade wasn't too bad, it seems to make a big difference in perceived effort and therefore pace. Last week's 1 min on fartleks in very flat VA felt fast but pretty easy....kept breathing rhythm below the redline and the legs felt okay throughout.  Today, legs felt trashed after the first few were done, breathing hit the redline by the 30 sec mark generally, and I flirted with the serious pain zone for most of them.  I'm sure the neighbors are all wondering what the heck I was doing out there....my face was likely a reflection of the agony I was feeling, complete with spit and snot on display for emphasis.  The cooldown miles were a forced march, fortunately downhill to make them bearable.  I guess the good news is that I covered 3.5 miles of distance during the "on" segments this workout, a tad more than the 3.42 I covered on this same workout April 6th.  

My feet thanked me today.  It's been a while since I've worn my lightweight trainers and they felt like cushioned gloves on my feet.  They just seem to fit and support in all the right places. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 8.1 miles in 1:03:00, 7:46/mi, HR 144, w/ 10 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, & stretching.

Today was a slog.  Out-waited most of the rain fortunately, but the run itself felt long and not easy.  The hill repeats felt pretty good though and the mile back from the hill sprint hill went by pretty quickly.  First hill sprints in a couple of weeks. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 12.01 miles in 1:29:54, 7:29/mi, HR 157, w/ 3 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 3 x 10 min Tempo Intervals w/ 3 min rest (6:14/mi, 6:15/mi, & 5:59/mi), 3 mile cooldown.

Nice weather today.  Decent warmup, drills were fine (done on the grass today, which was dry enough).  Back on the normal rolling course for the tempo intervals.  First two intervals goal was 6:19/mi at half-marathon pace, so both those turned out a bit fast.  Last interval goal was 5:57/mi at 10K pace, so a bit slow but I was maxed out on that one....legs tying up and breathing redlined the last couple of minutes.  My mind really didn't want to do this workout today and kept trying to talk me into skipping it or eliminating the last repeat, so I had my hands full ignoring myself.  

Probably won't be running much the next few days...headed out to Eastern WA for daughter's college graduation.  The last four years just flew by.

LM warmup (10 reps), 10.85 miles in 1:26:27, 7:58/mi, HR 159, w/ 3.2 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 8 x 90 sec Hill Repeats, 3.42 mile cooldown, PU/SU/Leg ladder (7/7/4) & stretching.

Returned from 3 jam-packed days of driving to attend daughter's college graduation.  Wonderful weekend but no time to get any workouts in, so essentially a 3 day break.  1000+ miles of driving was probably the worst part of the whole adventure and I had the tightness in my calves today to prove it.  Legs were energetic but stiff.  Repeats went well overall...the last couple were really tough and legs got wobbly towards the end.  Glad to be back outside running after a short hiatus.

LM warmup (10 reps), 14 mile trail progression run in 1:48:34, 7:45/mi, HR 158, 2500' elevation change, 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Clouds gave way to sun for much of the run, warming things up nicely.   Ran the 3 hills route, which is really 2 hills on an out and back with the turnaround at the top of hill #2.  Anyway, the hills are steep and provide both the uphill practice I need, but more importantly the downhill practice I need more.  Feel like I did better at not leaning back on the truly treacherous downhill, but legs were definitely being used to brake so that I didn't faceplant at a ridiculously out of control speed heading downhill.  So the legs were wobbly by the last 6 miles of the run.  I started pushing the pace on the return, or rather pushing the effort, which means the last hill was taken a bit more aggressively, which meant I was breathing harder but not going much faster.  Anyway, the first and last miles were road miles and once I hit the final mile, I clocked a 6:39, which definitely counts as moderate.  So my tired legs were beat up some more after yesterday's hill repeat workout.  The beatings will continue until morale improves.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8.08 miles in 1:00:41, 7:30/mi, HR 159, w/ 12 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 2 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Sunny and warm (60F+).  Hamstrings are a bit stiff and quads a bit sore, but the legs wanted to go today.  Probably the weather.  Hill sprints felt good...typical tough first couple and tired legs for last few but the middle ones were solid and leg turnover felt as good as its ever been.  

Thinking of going to run part 1 of the White River course this Saturday so I can see how hard these hill climbs and descents are going to be.  It'll probably make for a long day, since it's a couple hours there, a 26+ mile run in who knows how long, and a couple hours back, followed by the removal of our old malfunctioning dishwasher and the installation of a new one.  Part of me want to go run the Capital City marathon instead, but that's just the pizza memories talking.   

LM warmup (10 reps), 9.01 miles in 1:06:06, 7:20/mi w/ 3 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 3 Tempo miles in 6:53 (uphill), 6:31 (flat), 6:08 (downhill), 3 mile cooldown.  1 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/SU/Leg ladder (7/7/4) & stretching.

Sunny and warm (67F).  A bad run I won't be able to forget soon enough.  Forgot to grab my HRM strap...would've been nice to see what my HR was doing during the bad times.  The warmup was okay, nothing special.  Felt a bit tired during the strides/drills, but nothing too off-putting. Then the tempo started and within about 2 minutes I knew something wasn't right.  Initially supposed to be 5 tempo miles, 1 uphill, 1 flat, 2 downhill, & 1 uphill with 2 180s, I barely made the crest of the hill when I had to take the first of the unscheduled breaks for about 10 seconds or so.  I had my breathing under control, but my legs were weak and feeling weaker by the step, my shoulders were quickly getting tired and I just didn't feel quite right.  Off I went on the flats thinking things would improve but then didn't.  The legs were getting more wobbly by the stride with both quads and hamstring complaining loudly, and I still didn't feel quite right.  Considering that I ran a 6:31 on the flat when 2 weeks ago I averaged in the low 6:10s over 4 miles, I'm guessing something wasn't right.  After another 10 sec rest break just before the 2nd mile mark, I decided to just try to get thru 3 miles at tempo effort, whatever that might be and to pack it in.  The downhill was a bit kinder, but I still had a lot of trouble not dropping to a walk throughout.  Even the last 3 cooldown miles were tough.....I'll admit to 2 short walk breaks on that section.  Arrived back just in time to make a sudden bathroom pit-stop, which made me realize my blood had probably been getting diverted to my gut for some reason.  Not sure what I might've ate that would've done this.  Found myself feeling queasy for a couple of hours afterwards too...took a S! Cap to see if perhaps I was needing some electrolytes (after downing a Gatorade G2 immediately after the run) and that did seem to help.

So, I'll chalk this up to warmer weather than normal, not being fully recovered from the past several days workouts, possible electrolyte imbalance, and perhaps something I ate.  Fortunately, the ability to run 4 miles at Tempo pace is wholly unimportant right now so I can probably let this go without too much residual guilt.

My saturday plans have changed.  Decided to try to find some info on the trails I'd intended to run (White River 50 course, part 1) and discovered they're all listed on the Forest Service's website as "Snow".  The one snow gauge I could find in the area said it had 80+ inches of snow currently.  Wow.  The more reading I did, the more I realized the chances of running those trails before mid-June are slim to none.  So I went and found another really nasty route up near Ashford that gains 4200+' over the course of 24 miles.  

LM warmup (10 reps), 6.57 miles in 50:34, 7:41/mi, HR 151, & stretching.

Warm and sunny (67F).  Legs still feeling dead tired.  Saying I got 8 hours sleep last night is being generous....Dianna's got a horse show this weekend and was up late packing and then early doing more packing.  I really hope the legs will be recovered for a long hilly run tomorrow. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 31.5 miles in 4:25:00, 8:24/mi, HR 156 & stretching.

Sunny and warm (68F).  Long hilly trail run with 3400' of climbing/6800' total elevation change.  Decided to try running to Elbe, WA and back over the connecting forest roads, which would give me two significant climbs of about 1700' each and a place to get some more fluids at the halfway mark (Elbe gas station). Wasn't sure how far it would be exactly.....mapped it out at around 15+ miles one-way, so this would be a long run.  Even in the cool morning, the sun made things quite warm to start and it only got warmer.  Made it to the turnaround point in about 2:10-ish, took a short break to refill the water bottles and down a G2 and a "cheese croissant".  I'm not sure why they called it a croissant, but it beat the GUs I'd been consuming up to this point.  The return trip was very tough....the initial climb was at about a 10% grade which reduced me to frequent walk breaks in an attempt to let my pounding heart settle back into my chest.  The sun beating down didn't help matters much.  Fortunately, the truly steep parts didn't last forever and once I got to the top it was literally all (mostly) downhill from there.  Unfortunately, my legs didn't care much and were pretty much shot so my downhill paces maxed out at around 7 min/miles early on and got worse from there.  The last 5 miles or so were back on the pavement which my feet and legs didn't appreciate much.  Out of water with 3 miles to go, I limped home in 4:25 on the nose. 

The WR50 course is 18.5 miles longer and with another 5300' of climbing/10,600' of elevation change.  Today hurt.  That race is going to really, seriously hurt.

So I've got my very own personal 50K course and I now own the record.   I think I'll reward myself with a nice nap.  It could very well be in the chair I'm sitting in right now.  I'm not at all sure I'm going to get to the dishwasher installation today.

Planned to run after deinstalling the old dishwasher and installing the new one, just in case that task took longer than I expected.  It did.....7.5 hours including about 2 hours of ferret proofing.  Then, another 45 minutes of ferret-proofing after the ferrets defeated my initial work in about 5 minutes.  Since this didn't account for cleanup time, a run was out of the question.  Probably just as well since yesterday was an extremely hard run and my legs were really feeling it.

LM warmup (10 reps), 11.1 miles in 1:27:47, 7:54/mi, HR 158, w/ 3 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 8 x 2 min on, 2 min off Fartleks, 3+ mile cooldown, PU/SU/Leg ladder (7/7/4), & stretching.

Calves are the only things still hurting from Saturday.....right lower calf/achilles was a bit stiff, so I wasn't so sure about running this workout.  It seemed to loosen up during the warmup so I went for it, but it did tighten up during the last reps and during the cooldown so I hope I don't regret the decision.  

Warm & sunny today (69F).  Much warmed in the sun and I was baking.  Legs were still a bit tired from Saturday (and probably from yesterday's dishwasher install).   Ran these repeats pretty hard, quite close to the puke level.  First 7 were uphill, last 3 downhill, overall average 5:42/mi.  Even though they hurt pretty badly, I'm encouraged because I think I ran them stronger than the 20 x 1 min on/off repeats from 2 weeks ago.  But maybe that's just wishful thinking.

Iced the right calf afterwards in an attempt to makeup for abusing it. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 14 miles in 1:42:22, 7:18/mi, HR 157, w/ last 6 miles moderate effort (~ MP terrain adjusted) in 6:26 (down), 6:30 (down), 6:30 (down), 6:32 (down), 6:30 (down), 6:55 (up), 1 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Warm & humid, then rainy and pleasant, then back to warm and humid.  Lower right calf still a bit tight and sore...both calves a bit tight, but fine otherwise.  A good run, one where everything felt doable and not overly hard.  Love these runs....just hard enough to feel like you're working at it without completely zapping you.

On another note, it's time for me to get over my hangup with sub-6 minute paces.  Why is it that speeding up from 6:05 to 6:00 doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but speeding up from 6:00 to 5:59 seems like it's the hardest thing in the world?  Answer?  It's mental, you (meaning me) idiot.  I fall apart trying to run a sub-6 pace, not because I can't but because my mind keeps telling me it's too hard and I can't do it, or at least not for long.  Okay, so maybe the not for long part has a ring of truth to it, but the rest is pure bunk.  Reflecting on my 5K PR, it's embarrassing.  Oh, it's not too terribly slow for my other races and I don't focus on that distance and I don't train specifically for it blah blah blah blah.  But I really should be a low 18s and probably an upper 17s 5K runner right now given my fitness, which means the reason I'm not is.....the dreaded 5:xx mental block.  So here it is.  I'm done with it.  Not going to let something stupid like my own mind push me around like that.  From now on, I *love* running sub-6 paces and it feels easy, sustainable.  If it hurts, its because hurting feels good and I can keep hurting because I can run sub-6 paces just fine, thank you.  So time to pencil in a 5K and bring my 5K PR down to a more respectable time and get past this hangup so I can keep improving.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8.07 miles in 1:02:11, 7:42/mi, HR 155, w/ 15 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, calf raises & stretching.

Started out sunny and warm (74F) and finished in cloudy, rainy, and pleasant (56F).  Missed beating the rain by 1 minute.  Tired today....need to get some additional sleep tonight.  Legs were dead from the start and the first 3 uphill miles were slow....mid 8s.  Next 4 downhill miles were better, legs felt looser and pace dropped quite a bit.  1st hill sprints was ugly but the rest were good.  Legs started really tiring with 5 remaining but I got through them all.  #s 3-10 really felt good as I focused on running as fast as possible while staying relaxed, which is probably faster than when I add that extra percent or two but feel like I'm straining.  Last uphill mile home was a slog but at least the pace was decent.

My reign at position #4 in the 35-39 AG slot on the Northwest Runner Best Times List for the marathon for 2010 has come to an end.  Basically, I ran the first marathon that counted when the list was reset for the year and now that other marathons have been run by speedier folks in my AG, I have been usurped.  Ah well....it was nice while it lasted. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 11.36 miles in 1:22:55, 7:18/mi, HR 155, w/ 3 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 3 x 10 minute Tempo Intervals @ HM, HM, 10K pace in 6:19/mi, 6:14/mi, and 5:57/mi avg, 3 mile cooldown.  PU/SU/Leg ladder & stretching.

Another crazy weather day.  Bouts of sun intermixed with torrential downpours and hail.  I tried timing my run for the non-downpour and hail portion of the day and managed to avoid most....except for the downpour and hail during my last (and toughest repeat).  Fortunately I wasn't thinking too much about the weather during it.  But I get ahead of myself.

Still a bit tired despite getting more sleep last night.  The warmup felt decent but the legs were completely unenthusiastic about the drills.  After laboring through those, I discovered another gear during the strides.....suddenly at top speed my leg turnover was noticeably increased over previous strides.  Wow.  Perhaps trying to focus on the relaxed portion of the strides (and hill sprints) has helped?  Or maybe I was just imaging things.  In any event, the turnover increase was noticeable so I'll take it.

Tempo repeat goals were 6:18/mi for the first 2 and 5:57/mi for the last one.  I also wanted to avoid running the first one too hard like I normally do.  So the first one in 6:20 was a bit slow but a success since it was the slowest of the group.  Plus, the wind was starting to gust by now, so conditions were less than ideal.  Each of the repeats feature a 180 turn where I probably lose a couple of seconds, so I probably ought temper the paces accordingly, but oh well.  Repeat 2 felt hard but decent and I brought that one in under target.

Repeat 3.  Time to put $$$ where my mouth is.  The other day, I vowed to stop letting those 5:xx paces intimidate me.  It was difficult with the weather worsening, my legs tiring, and the normal "no way you can run 10 minutes at a 5:57/mi pace" thoughts surfacing, but I took a deep breath, pushed the thoughts out of my mind, stood tall, and went for it.  I kept my head up looking down the road, much more than I normally do, and tried to just go hard and not look at the watch so much.  Here's where the hail started greeting me.  Fun.  Looking up and down the road, I realized I probably run with my head down too much, which probably means I lean forward from the waist too much.  Anyway, at about 1/2 mile in I was on a 5:32/mi pace.  Wow.  Now the outbound leg is downhill slightly so it was expected to be a bit fast since I normally lose some on the uphill return.  I just tried to stay loose, push, keep the "you can't" thoughts out, and finish.  So when I hit the 10 minute mark and the watch showed 5:57/mi pace I was thrilled.  Then I wiped all the snot from my face and beard that had accumulated during the past 10 minutes.  Real fun.  The cooldown was uneventful, aside from crashing hard with about 1 mile left and stumbling in the final mile.   

Interestingly enough, about an hour later I got what I believe is an Ocular Migraine.  My vision gets all funky, with wavy lights moving through making it difficult to read.  I've gotten these before and they seem to be triggered by particularly hard exercise efforts.  Fortunately, I don't seem to get the headache that some people do who suffer from these.  I probably ought confirm my self diagnosis with my doctor sometime, but I've gotten these for years now after certain hard exercise bouts and I haven't keeled over yet, so I don't think it's too dangerous.  

Score:  Dale - 1, 5:xx/mi Mental Demon - 0

LM warmup (10 reps), 6.5 miles in 49:03, 7:32/mi, HR 148, & stretching.

Cool and rainy (50F).  Legs felt heavy and uncoordinated. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 14.14 miles in 2:33:23, 10:51/mi, HR 138, w/ 2300+' elevation gain.

LM warmup (10 reps), 16 mile progression run in 1:57:11, 7:19/mi, HR 149 w/ last 7 miles @ MP, 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/SU/Leg ladder (7/7/4) & stretching.

First three+ miles felt bad...made a pit stop and things magically felt better so I started pushing the pace on the steeper uphills.  Just kinda gradually kept upping the effort until I was in full-blown progression run.  Another pause to talk to the security officer, out patrolling the Hancock managed forest lands at mile 11, then really picked up the pace for the last few.  Started tiring with about 3 to go but kept at it to the finish.  Better than expected after yesterday's adventure and hole digging exercise.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8.09 miles in 1:01:42, 7:37/mi, HR 147, w/ 15 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Sunny and pleasant (62F).  Back is a bit stiff and tired from yard project work over the weekend; otherwise a good run feeling pretty decent.  Hill sprints good but not magical and my legs were really tired for the last 5.   

LM warmup (10 reps), 12 miles in 1:31:24, 7:37/mi, HR 151, w/ 3+ mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 8 x 2 min Hill Repeats, 3+ mile cooldown.  PU/SU/Leg ladder & stretching.

Mostly cloudy and humid (58F), but I did manage to miss the rains.  Warmup felt okay, strides & drills felt really good (legs weren't nearly as "weak" feeling as they normally are doing these).  2 min repeats versus 90 sec repeats from 2 weeks ago, so the goal was to go out a tad slower in the beginning, focus more on form and running the entire repeat without fading.  Nailed it, except for the first and last.  The first was too fast (6:02/mi)...fresh legs.  The longer recovery jogging back to the start actually helped keep the recovery pace up in a more reasonable range, or maybe it was because I wasn't killing myself early in the repeat and then hanging on.  In any event, the next 6 were all in the 6:09-6:15/mi range....strong through the entire repeat but teetering on the edge by the end.  The last was a tad slow (6:21/mi), which is either because I decided to go harder for the last and faded at the end, or was just tired by the 8th repeat.  Either way I won't complain.  6:12/mi versus 6:03/mi average on the shorter (90 sec) repeats with faster recoveries.  Still a bit of a death march during the cooldown though....the legs were toast.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8.06 miles in 1:01:50, 7:40/mi, HR 149 w/ 6 x Strides & stretching.

Consistently drizzly.  Fairly easy miles with some tired legs, especially the quads.  Can't seem to get my calves loosened up, which is to say that once/day calf stretches don't seem to be enough for me right now.  They're pretty strong right now but the range of motion I have in my ankles just plain sucks, and tight calves are at least partially responsible.  Guess I need to find more time in my day to get them loosened up.

LM warmup (10 reps), 11 miles in 1:19:02, 7:11/mi, HR 157, w/ 3 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 5 Tempo miles in 6:03 (down), 6:49 (up), 6:51 (up), 6:28 (rolling), 6:13 (down), 6:29/mi average, 3 mile cooldown.  PU/SU/Leg ladder (7/7/4) & stretching.

Cloudy and cool (56F).  A good night's sleep but I was still pretty tired this morning.  Hamstrings and quads felt a bit sore during the warmup & strides.  Jumped into the tempo aiming to focus on effort and not pace, especially after my last disastrous attempt at a 5 mile tempo run 2 weeks ago.  Somehow I managed it....stayed away from watch watching and just kept the effort honest.  My legs were pretty tired and ready to be done by the end of the tempo....didn't even really want to run the 3 cooldown miles.  

So here it is.  Logically, I know running tempo's on courses with terrain that's not flat (and has two 180s) will be slower than the same effort tempo on the flats.  I'm just having trouble wrapping my mind around how much.  4-ish weeks ago back in pancake-flat VA, I ran a 4 mile tempo at ~ 6:15/mi average.  Today on a double out and back course (so zero overall elevation gain/loss) with some relief to it (nothing more than a 2-3% grade at the most), I'm 14 seconds/mile slower.  That just seems like a lot.  The $64,000 question:  Does the terrain account for all of that time or is something else negatively impacting me?  Anyone? 

LM warmup (10 reps), 6.57 miles in 49:30, 7:32/mi, HR 150, & stretching.

Light rain and cool (50F).  Today is a recovery day so I didn't look at the watch much during the run, which mean I was surprised by the overall pace.  Felt like I was seriously dragging the whole time.  Didn't help matters that I was soaked by the first mile. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 20 miles in 2:35:34, 7:46/mi, w/ 2275' climb & equal descent including a 600' climb in 1 mile.  

Ran a fairly quick 20 in the mist and light rain up the long gradual hill into the Elbe forest land and down the steep backside & return. Pushed the downhills a bit since I was only doing 20 and need to condition the quads.  Ran-walked the steep climb at mile 10-11 but still made decent progress up the hill.  

Done in time to wolf down some food and head to meet up with Dianna @ the barn crew for some paintball.  Always wanted to try and never gone until now....a day later and I'm exhausted, but not sporting the bruises that most everyone else has.  What does it mean when 90% of the time I got killed were headshots?  Definitely buying my own face shield/goggles if I ever go again....couldn't see 5 feet in front of me most of the time due to google fog.  Still, a good (and muddy and exhausting) time had by all.

Taking a day off.  Been a long couple of weeks and after yesterday's long run and paintball wars, I'm beat.  I didn't add the sprints I did playing paintball into my running numbers, but I probably should.  Once I got the hang of things, I realized I could outrun most of the folks out there in the mud and slop and would move the skirmish line as far forward as possible on one of the flanks by running forward at the start until I spotted someone or hit the far boundary.  Quite fun but my legs are beat.