I only run on days that end in a "y."

Decided to take it easy today - 8:30's across the board.  Found my legs speeding up on occasions and I had to make a conscious effort to slow down.  Came home and stood in the sprinkler that was on.  That felt really good!

Nice morning - warm and humid though.  Met up with the group for a 12 mile run.  I thought I would try and take it easy today but still stay below 8:00 minute pace for the run.  I ran with Richard and then at a water stop we picked up a couple other runners, so it was nice meeting some new people.  Lisa blew past us around mile 1 and I did not feel physically ready to keep up with her.  We ran a lot of long runs together before my Iowa marathon.  I just found out today that her marathon PR is 2:53, so I won't feel bad anymore if she drops me, LOL!  Her goal now if to get to the Olympic qualifiers.   Cool for her!  

At the 9 mile water stop we actually picked Lisa up.  I think she started too fast and slowed a bit. I was ready to head back to the annex and call it a day, but thought I would run with them a bit further and get a full 12 miles in.  We just ran an out and back - the continued on and I turned around.  I got off on the wrong trail and had to double back some, so I ended up with 12.4 miles for the morning.  Maybe next week I will shoot for 14 miles.  I slowed the last couple of miles but managed to pick it up on the last .4 miles.  The heat started to take it's toll, my legs were still a bit tired towards the end but getting stronger.

Got under the outside shower at the annex for a great cool down.  I drank about 20 cone cups of gatorade/water too. 

8:36, 7:57, 7:44, 7:52, 7:46, 7:26, 7:27, 7:14, 7:20, 7:47, 7:46, 7:46, .4 @ 6:57.  Overall pace @ 7:40 for the run. 

A tad bit cooler this morning with a nice breeze.

I signed up as a wear tester through our running group.  I am wear testing the new Nike Free 4's, V2.  I picked them up yesterday after our long run.  Today was my first run in them.  I had given up on Nike but I must say that I really like these shoes.  I am sure it helps that I have been in the Kinvara's for while.  

The Nike's are just as light but even more flexible.  There are groves cut into the sole front to back, side to side.  The pictures say everything.  The midfoot landing feels natural.  There is enough cushioning as I could see using this as an everyday trainer.  At the same time the energy return is great.  The cushioning is not mushy at all even thought at first glance it would appear that way.  

Anyway, I am supposed to run in these as much as possible while recording my experiences.  I am looking forward to it.  

Woke up early and the rest of the family was still sleeping.  I thought I would take advantage of a slow morning and get an early run in.  I ran the hilly route today.  Don't know what I was thinking but I thought it was an 8 mile route but it is really 10.  Oh well, I got in a bit of extra credit.

At about mile 3 the big hill starts.  A cyclist had passed me a couple minutes earlier but I caught and passed him on the hill.  Not sure if he had to stop and walk or not but I did not see him for another mile when he passed me again.  

I am really liking the Nike's so far. I decided to pick it up on the last mile to test the shoes out at a faster pace.  They are very smooth, can barely hear anything during foot strike.  Not sure if they will supplant the Kinvaras though, but time will tell.  

9:15, 8:17, 7:59, 7:53, 7:57, 7:33, 7:47, 7:46, 7:39, 6:27. 

Close to 80 degrees and 80% humidity at 6 am.  Not sure if it was the hills or the shoes, or maybe both, but legs were a bit sore this morning.  Took it easy - 8:05 pace.

Thought this was funny!

Feel asleep early last night and slept in late this morning.  We to the indoor track at the gym but only had enough time for 5 miles at lunchtime.  7:30's-7:40's.  Followed by a quick but intense core session.

Warm and muggy morning - I parked at Barton Springs and ran to the annex.  I was already dripping when I got there.  The coach said that we were not going to the track but to Zilker park to run on the grass.  Well, that is right next to Barton Springs, so back I went with the group.  At least I got a nice 3 mile warm up!  

We got the Zilker park and did drills.  Today was a 2400 m time trail at race pace.  The coach marked off an 800m loop in a large open filed.  The grass was cut short and the ground was nice and flat.  I had never run fast on grass before so I was a bit worried about twisting my ankle or something but it was no problem in the end.  

I took off right from the start - a bit too fast - 4:50 pace - I paced off a really, really fast runner for the first 400m or so and then slowed a bit.  Halfway through the second lap I could hear foot steps behind me so I picked it up again.  I wasn't going to get passed.  Going into the third lap I laid it down - Garmin says 5:19 pace for the last half mile.  Coaches time was 8:23.  I am certain the grass cost me a few seconds.  Garmin read 1.54 miles and 2400m = 1.4919 miles so it appears we ran further than 2400m.  Garmin says 5:29 pace for the run. According to the calculators that is enough speed for a sub 3 marathon.

Wait, that's not all, now it is time for 10 x 400 m relays with a partner.  One runner runs 400m then the partner takes off while the one that just finished jogs across the field and waits for the partner to come in.  Repeat this 10 times.  Yep, I was worn out after this workout.  Easy 1.5 miles back to the pool.  Jumped in the springs to cool off.  So beautiful with the sun coming up.

2400 m time trial in 8:23, Garmin pace 5:29.

10 x 400 m relay repeats:

1:22, 1:30, 1:27, 1:26, 1:27, 1:26, 1:25, 1:27, 1:30, 1:23

Taking a day of rest today, but thought I would post this just for IJR:

Just say this in a local running blog - one of the reasons I got out of the military - too many goofy rules:

Don’t know where you stand on the applicability of "barefoot" shoes, but the US Army is not a big fan. The Army has banned the Vibram FiveFingers shoe, even though its supporters claim the shoe strengthens muscles in the feet and improves their running. But, the Army, issued a statement that read: "Effective immediately, only those shoes that accommodate all fives toes in one compartment are authorized to wear." The shoes, the Army says, "detract from a professional military image." That won’t do much for Vibram sales in Killeen and Waco.

Seemed really steamy out there.  I choose not to go down to the group this morning as I had an 8 am appointment at a kettle ball gym.  I picked up a Groupon for 8 sessions plus an intro session to go over all of the exercises.  This morning was the intro.  Nothing like running 14 miles in sweltering conditions and then going for another hour working out with ropes, core, kettleballs, etc.  I thought it would be an intro but it turned into quite a workout as well. It was good though as it is time to get back to full body conditioning.  I kinda took a break since the marathon.

 Anyway, the run today wasn't great.  Sometimes it's just a matter of getting through a run and that's what I felt like today.  I was done with 40oz of water by mile 10 and stopped at a faucet to fill up a couple of my bottles.  At least I was able to hold on and not slow at the end.  I was glad to be done. 

9:06, 8:15, 8:05, 7:57, 7:50, 7:39, 7:58, 7:54, 7:43, 7:39, 7:35, 7:44, 7:37, 7:29.

Up early this morning.  Another hot one.  I felt better than yesterday even with some sore muscles from yesterday's kettleball workout session.  Aerobic base miles.  19:14, 8:11, 7:52, 7:48, 7:43, 7:44, 7:35, 7:23.

This heat is wearing on me.  I wondered during today's run whether or not I would rather run in this or 20 degrees and a wind chill.  I remember some pretty cold runs during the winter though it seems a long, long time ago.  I think I would still rather run in these conditions even though it's tough.  

8 miles at around 8:00 pace.

I decided I needed a change of senery so I ventured down to Town Lake trail. The neighborhood routes are getting a bit boring. Besides, I felt like jumping in Barton Springs after the run. I parked at Barton Springs pool. It was 5:40 am and already 80 degrees. I thought I would run a progressive run of some type. I ran a mile warm up and then started to drop the pace. My legs are still a bit sore from Saturday's core workout and that scares me a bit - it wasn't that hard and it has been 3 days already. Oh well. I was feeling pretty good and figured I would drop to around a 7 minute mile or a bit lower for the last mile. At around mile 5 low and behold I see Lisa and another runner coming up the trail behind me. Oh boy, I thought, here we go. I knew this would be a good chance to drop the pace and why not, it is easier to run with or try to hang with someone rather than attempt this alone. They finally passed me and I decided to hang with them for a couple miles. It got the heart working, that is for sure. With a mile to go I stopped to grab a drink and slow it down a bit. Lisa had faded a bit but passed me here and I wished here good luck. Time for a mile cool down back to the pool. Nice cool down in Barton Springs pool to finish. 8:54, 7:50, 7:37, 7:35, 7:22, 6:30, 6:31, 7:43.

Workout #2:  Did the one hour core/kettle ball workout for the first time.  Challenging to say the least.  They had us doing crazy stuff like sets of jumping rope with a 2" rope - it must have weight at least 6-7 pounds.   Pistol squats, hang cleans, burpees, kettle ball swings, squats, I can say I have never worked out that hard for a solid 60 minutes before.  I am sure to be nice and sore for the next few days.  I would like to be able to do this twice a week for 4 weeks or so.  I want to get my body stronger in order to prepare for the rigors of fall marathon training.

Sunny and a cool 96 degrees.  Again I choose to sleep in this morning so out for a day time run.  Really tried to keep it in the recovery zone - 8:29 overall pace including a slow warm up mile.  Legs are sore from yesterday, well, everything is sore from yesterday.  

79 degrees and humid at 5:30 am.  Parked at Barton Springs and then ran 1.5 miles to the group and then ran with the group for another easy 2 miles.  Legs were still sore from Tuesday's core workout so I took the warm-up miles very slowly. Once we hit the other side of the trail we started our workout of 2 min hard effort with 1 min easy. I ran with the lead group for most of the run by they broke away with about a mile and a half to go.  The others that I ran with faded, too, but more so and I ended up running alone.  I was able to push it the last couple and even added another at the end of my half mile cool down to finish strong.  We ran the 1 minute easy portion way to fast - 7:40 - 7:20's - these should be much slower, especially in today's heat, and we ran the fast portions in the range of 6:10-6:30 pace.  I got 10 of those in for a total distance of 3.31 fast miles.  Ran in the Nike Free's again - still like them.

Did a canonball into Barton Springs to cool down afterward. 

Slept in again so 6 miles on the indoor track at around 8:30 pace. 

Parked the car at 5:50 am and it was 81 degrees already.  Not sure what the humidity was but it was high.  I got to the group just in time for the coach to say get moving, so out the door everyone went.  I hooked up with Lisa for the first mile or so and then we got passed by Desiree Ficker - she's kind of a local celeb in the Austin area - a professional tri athlete and finished 8th overall in the women's division at the NYC marathon a couple years ago.  Anyway, she runs with our group once in a while.  We kept up with her for a bit and then she took off and Lisa went with her.  I figured we would pass Lisa again as she was running too fast and that was the case.  I think we passed her at around mile 5 or 6.  Desiree is running an Ironman next week in Frankfurt and we all wished her luck when she broke off from the group at a water stop.   

Today's run went so much better than last week.  We pushed the pace and I managed to stick with it for the whole run.  At one point I wanted to go for 16 miles but at the pace I ran I decided 14 was sufficient.  Not sure how to record these miles because they are faster than my easy pace but not quite my MGP pace of 6:50.

Not quite 60 miles this week but getting there - been taking a slow approach to building back the mileage. 

8:19. 7:40, 7:26, 7:20, 7:05, 7:13, 7:18, 7:09, 7:08, 7:04, 6:56, 7:08, 7:13, 7:08.  Followed by 4 x 50m strides. Overall pace of 7:18.

7 recovery pace miles around the neighborhood.  Legs feel a bit sore from yesterday.  

Met Kevin and we went for an easy run in his neighborhood.  Around mile 3 my left calf flared up - not sure where that came from.  I made it back OK but looks like I need to take a day or two off and not risk anything at this point.

I tried this morning - I was good until about mile 1 then decided it was not worth it to push.  Was covered in sweat - can't say I miss running in this heat.

PM:  60 minutes of cross training @ Punch Gym.  We did a plethora of fun stuff.  I am sure I will be sore.

I went to an Airrosti doc yesterday afternoon.  I have a minor strain where the achilles tendon and calf muscle meet.  It is possible that I have a small tear as well.  He worked on it for quite some time followed by some foam roller and stretching.  It felt much better.  I am supposed to run 2 miles one day, 3 the next, 4 the next, and then 5, working my way back up to 7 or so.  He was quite confident this won't take long to get over.  Fortunately, I am not training for anything yet and I go on vacation soon, so if it had to happen now is the time.  Anyway, I ran 2.5 this morning and it felt pretty good actually, much better than yesterday. 

These guys are what got me through my Steamtown marathon when I did not think I could even run it.  So all of you Texas runners, if it ever comes to it, I would unequivocally recommend these guys.  I don't know how they do it but it works!  http://www.airrosti.com/index.php

PM- 60 minutes/6 miles on the elliptical machine.   

Slept in since I had no place to rush to this morning.  Went out for 4.5 miles @ 9:00 pace.  Calf a bit sore but so much better than 2 days ago when I couldn't run 1 mile.  I felt nothing at all walking around yesterday afternoon/evening.  Probably go for 5 miles tomorrow.

I came home and took the car to get it inspected.  The inspection place just happens to be next to the gym (great planning on my part ;-)) so I checked the car in and walked over to the gym.  50 minutes on the elliptical - 5.5 miles - over 6500 strides - @ moderate effort.  

Met Dan at Barton Springs pool and ran the Lake Austin trail.  Could have run a couple more but decided not to push anything.  Calf feels really good - cross training tomorrow and then run Tuesday morning.  I think I will probably cancel my follow up appointment with the Dr. on Thursday at this rate.  Jumped in the Springs to cool down after the run.   

As a side note, we met some friends yesterday afternoon and sat out on the shaded patio at Shady Grove.  When we went back to the car and got in the outside temp read 113 degrees!!!!! And the car was parked under some trees.  When we drove down the street and got some air flow the temp dropped to 108!  Can't wait to get to Holland. 

am - 60 minutes core kettleball workout.

Went out for a 2 mile run on the trail around work.  Unfortunately, there are some rocky areas and places with several inches of mulch.  I re-aggravated the Achilles area.  Probably running somewhere along here where I could have put too much stress on it.

Taking a couple full days off from anything.

Went to the Doc and he told me I definitely tweaked it again on Monday.  It is one small area to the right and on the inside of the Achilles.  He suggested that I keep running albeit slowly.

am - 2 easy miles that went well.  Unfortunately, I was almost home and stepped to the side when a truck was about to pull out of a driveway.  A small misstep is all it took to start hurting again.  Although I think I can run, it is way too risky.  Looks like I will stop running all together until it is completely healed.

55 minutes and 6.25 miles on the elliptical - 8,000 strides - I have found I get an equal workout to an easy run.  I put my heels on the back edge of the footwell and get a really good push, very similar to running.  I am going to mark my miles down so I can at least keep track of this training.  I consider it base mileage.

60 minutes and 6.5 miles on the elliptical - HR 140's - moderate effort.

60 minutes, 6.5 miles on the elliptical HR in 140's, followed by weight/core workout.