Of Mice and Marathons

PM: Treadmill - 7 miles slow. HR 131.

+ weights and stretching 

PM: 4 ground miles with Megan along Forbidden Drive. HR 132.

Megan's fairwell to Wissahickon Valley Park. I'll try to get down there once more.

I was going to jump on the treadmill when I got home but we stopped for a drink at Valley Green Inn, which I have run by hundreds of times but never gone into or had a drink at (food is pretty spending and out of the way).

Evening: 8.5 miles. HR 155.

Trails with the guys. Felt surprisingly good. Dew point down and humidity down. Didn't feel easy but I was comfortable. I should have run with them more.

Megan and I went to Center City to hang out and say goodbye to the city part of the city. Getting the moving truck tomorrow.

Evening - 6.25 miles. HR 139.

Picked the truck up around 10 and packed stuff until just before 7. Megan went out with some friends, I went running, then tried to pull together an empyish cupboard with a few additions from the grocery store. I think I'm going to move a few more things so tomorrow isn't as hard. Thankfully I had three running buddies help me witht the heavier stuff.

Off. Moving and packing. Long day.

Off. Long day. Packed from 9-4ish, then drove 10 hours to Toledo. Got in at 2:30. Managed to stay up a little while and had some wine for no other reason than it was a long day. To bed at 4:00 or so.

Got up at 9:30, had a good breakfast, drove 90 minutes to Rochester Hills area, and unloaded. Megan's uncle and my two brother-in-laws helped us unload. Took an hour. We are both exhausted. Megan and I had dinner at a place that can only be described as Suicide Girls meets upscale Hooters. The fish and chips was good, the side salad distinctively Midwestern: large portion, oversized veggies, and a sprinkle of shredded cheddar. 

Megan has a meeting tomorrow, so I'm going to run home from dropping off the truck and hopefully go to the gym before dinner tomorrow when she goes over.

AM: 5 miles or so home after dropping of the truck. 

Forgot my watch and the Strava app messed up because I run with my phone rarely. Pretty much when I drop off moving trucks. Dead tired.

PM: 4 miles with Megan on the Clinton River Trail. Warm, dry, and dusty. Humidity 27%. The trail is dirt and cinder at least for most of the 2-mile stretch. The glacier was beaten down but hadn't given up, so it's flat through here. It's no Forbidden Drive, but it's a nice trail and will serve my purposes.

PM: 8.7 miles easy to moderate with a quality aerobic progression last ~2 miles (moderate down to 5k effort based off heart rate and a little whim. HR 158)

I found a park 2-2.5 miles from our home with a one-mile dirt loop around a lake/park. It has some pullup bars, ducks and seagulls living in relative harmony, and some other park-like stuff (swimming, volley ball, etc). It will likely be good for aerobic builders, farleks, easy runs, and recovery runs.

AM: 8 miles. HR 147.

Ran to Staples for an ink cartidge. Very flat. Good rhythm running though with good footing and long stretches between major intersections.

PM: 4 miles with Megan with a ~1 mile walk between a 2.2 (HR 129) and a 1.8 mile (HR 133) segment. It was dry but 93 degrees I think and Megan doesn't spend too much time in the heat. I wasn't really wanting to run much faster than 9:30 to 10:00 pace. I showed her the park I ran to yesterday and we did a nice walk around the pond and I did a few pullups.

AM: 8 miles. HR 153. Did a couple strides. 

So much for the comfortable dry air. Dew point 72-74. 89 degrees when I finished. I tried to run on the treadmill but they are basically toys. 20 minute limits and they are narrow. The middle one goes up to 60 but you have to push it up in 1-minute intervals. And it said 7:40 pace for 7 MPH. I got off after 2 minutes. No thanks. I'll use them to warm up for core and weights. Otherwise useless. It's $35 per month to add me at Oakland University, so I'll likely do that.

AM: 8 miles. HR 153.

Did a little exploring. Struggled a bit with the heat and dew point, but that's what it's like running in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic this time of year. Everything in the area is straight out of Abandoned America (Mid-West Edition). Some decent, wide dirt shoulder, which I like to run on.

Might get out for a shorty this afternoon, but I definitely need to get to the gym for stretching and core.

PM: 4-mile shakeout. HR 138.

Found a shortcut to Spencer Park through the woods after tempo loop recon.

+ Stretching and core at the gym after

PM: 8.25 miles. HR ~161 (a glitch in the first mile)

Pretty gross out even with the wind, clouds, and cooler temps.

AM/Lunch: 8.2 miles. HR 146. Sporadic pickup at the end.

Watched the women's Olympic Marathon and didn't leave myself enough time to get a longish run in before doing a bit of tutoring and before we go to a friend's in Ann Arbor. I felt really good today though. The conditions were more comfortable and I am getting my stride back.

PM1: 4.25 miles. HR 142. Pull-ups in the middle.

+ Stretching and core at the gym

Evening: 6 miles with Jeff Shadley at Dodge park. Cooler and cloudy. Air just felt wet. I played the role of boat anchor :-). Dinner and drinks at Buddy's after. I like the pizza. Some intriguing combos. Great to meet you tonight, Jeff!.

AM/Lunch: 9 miles, easy to moderate with 10-12 minutes high-end aerobic finish. HR 153.

Found a second of the Clinton River Trail. A slightly flooded section after all the rain. Saw two deer. I stopped to talk to one. I was about 10-15 feet away. The trail was pretty much empty other than one person walking. That never happened on Forbidden Drive. 35-40 MPH winds with snow in the middle of winter? People are out walking.

PM: 5 miles easy. HR 137.

PM: 9.25 miles.

Had an interview at the Home Depot for a part-time position. I figured I would be hired for power tools, etc given I have about 7 years experience. I'll be working in lumber, drywall, decking, etc. At times I'll be running radial armsaw and a panel saw. Here I was thinking my advanced degrees would keep me from blisters, splinters, and disarticulating industrial cutting equipment. Taxes should be interesting with two different states for two different people and the (as yet) five different jobs I have had/will have.

PM: 10.6 miles. HR 159.

20' up/45' AT/20' down

Averaged 7:03 for the 45-minutes (HR 173). On the slightly stronger end of AT effort based on HR. It was warm (85 degrees/60% humidity/65 dp) and this is my first workout back for some time. It's a start.

AM/Lunch: 7.5 miles. HR 138.

Mostly on trails. Slow. Couldn't figure out how to connect various points of the trails but then figured it out. Several sections of trail are not maintained or really used. I was getting ticked but then I began to figure it out and I stopped for a few seconds at the Yates Cider Mill to watch the kids pet baby goats. I then realized I might be perceived as creepy, so I didn't linger. Hot, sunny, and chaffy.

PM: 4 miles with Megan. HR 125.

PM: 7.25 miles easy to moderate progression

Lunch/PM: 13.25 miles, averaged 7:50

Weather was favorable. Sluggish and legs are feeling like concrete, however. Okay run. Did a 2-mile pickup after 10 miles, which ended up being 7-minute pace. Feeling way out of shape but looking forward to the training. Enjoying my runs for the most part.

Went into Downtown Rochester, picked up the Clinton River Trail for a mile and a half, linked to the Yates Trail by the Cider Mill and back on the roads of Shelby Township.

AM/Lunch: 7.75 recovery miles.

PM: 4.5 mile shakeout, mostly with Megan. HR 124. Beautiful weather today. Just perfect.

The band is breaking on my Garmin and I'm having some issues with my thrills and spills warranty paperwork. For $6 on eBay, I'll probably just fix it myself.

AM/Lunch: 9 miles. HR 153. Did a few strides. Awesome weather again.

PM: 4 miles or so (GPS took a wicked tangent). Did two sets of pullups.

+Stretching and core at the gym after PM run

Hit 2000 miles for the year even though I hit the 1000-mile mark three days earlier this year than any previous year.

Starting running almost 6 years ago sometime in mid- to late-September. First hit 2000 miles in one year in 2012. A short history of the 2000-mile mark for me.

October 18, 2012

July 20, 2013

July 25, 2014

July 6, 2015

August 23, 2016

I ran plenty last year (just shy of 4000) and most years that should be more than I likely need.

AM/Lunch: 10 miles, averaged ~8:10 w/ 30-minute farlek

28' up/30' farlek of 6 x 3 minutes w/ 2 minute jogs/23' down

First two were around 6:05 pace, the next 2-3 in the 5:50s, and the last one was around 5:45.

My backup watch is messing up. My next GPS will not be a Garmin. Complete junk.

PM: 7.5 miles recovery. Did some pullups.

Humidity and dewpoint back, but doable.

AM: 8.5 miles w/ ~12 minute high aerobic finish.

Ended up being about 6:15 for 1.8 miles. Funny my watch never really got below 6:20 pace (I knew I had to be travelling faster).

PM: 4.5 miles + pullups

About 4 hours at Depot on the computer training and a few more hours tutoring mixed throughout the day. Looks like I managed to cobble together 35 hours between one online tutoring gig (11) and Depot (24) and then whatever the other online gig ends up being. Another 2-3 hours a day I think (every day). It likely won't be enough but it's about all I can do I think.

PM: 12 miles firm, averaged 6:52.

Broke one of my running rules and drove to run on the Paint Creek Trail. It was 70 and decently rainy. The trail is flat, hard packed dirt. Got wet and sandy. I loved it and the trail.

Jumped two deer and other one farther down. They were munching when I came back. I was probably 6 feet away cruising around 6:20 pace and it barely looked at me. We also have black squirrels, which I first saw in Philadelphia.

Got out fairly quick and ran 7:15 for the first 6 miles about 44 minutes. Then 6:28 pace on the way back in about 38:30. Glad for the bathroom at the end. I was going to give it heck the last two miles but my stomach was giving me grief. Must have been the overpriced Boy Scout popcorn I got talked into.

At least a hundred ducks hanging out at the park at the trail head. I'm very tired.

Unplanned day off. I had a little bit of work to do in the morning, then we went to Toledo to see Megan's parrents. We got home around 8 or so and I was dead tired and full of pizza.

Lunch: 7.4 recovery + pullups and strides

PM: 4.6 mile shakeout w/ Megan. HR 124.

PM: 10.6 miles, averaged 8:07

Fartlek: 28' up/16 x 1' on/off/25' down. Averaged 5:33 for the fast parts.

I had planned on 20 x 1' but that was ambitious given the conditions and current fitness. This is the most faster running I've done other than a few short sets of strides in a while. I was almost falling over on the last few recoveries. Stomach issues again, which are rare but I think it's too much protein or the combination of high protein and feta and a little milk in my eggs, which didn't seem to bother me before. Crappy American beer maybe?

AM: 4-mile shakeout. HR 128.

PM: 8 miles recovery. HR 139.