The Long Run

I went to the Y, warmed up on the bike for about 10 mins, stretched a little, got onto a treadmill and then got off immediately.

Did the rower for a few minutes, got onto the treadmill, then off again immediately. Every time I got on I had an overwhelming desire to jump off.

Lifted some weights, then finally forced myself to stay on the treadmill for 1 mile.

I don't know why I wanted to keep jumping off of the treadmill.   My leg wasn't feeling great but it wasn't that bad either.

Anyway, figured that overall I did get some decent exercise in even though there wasn't much running involved.

Will try again tomorrow (fast forward to tomorrow, it turns out better!)

Ran with Jenny and Lisa for part of the run, turned back a little early and managed to speed up a little for the return trip.

Leg felt ok but not great, not a bad run overall. It was much better than yesterday.

Average pace: 8:43

Ran a little bit farther today than yesterday.  I think I felt better, too, or maybe I'm just being hopeful.

Started out with Jenny while she did her heart rate test, which was fine with me since I was a bit achey. She was running three miles while trying to keep her heart rate at a specified aerobic training zone.

Turned back a little bit early and picked up the pace to about 8:15 for the trip back.

Average pace: 9:43

So, I decided not to run today to see if that would help.

Felt kind of lame not running, so in the evening I did a workout which was similar to one Jenny had used at her boot camp.  Took me about a half an hour (I did skimp on some of the ab stuff at the end, otherwise it would have taken me much longer).  It was a pretty tough workout and made me feel less lame.

Also, I think it was excellent rehab work for my right leg.

Getting back to normal, I think.

Started out with Jenny and her group and stuck with them for a little over a mile and a half then started off on my own. Leg feeling better today, weather was nice.

Average pace: 8:20

Better run today, left from home and ran up and down Starkey blvd. Nice weather this morning.  I was able to start out not too slowly and felt pretty good as I approached the turnaround.

The nice thing is they now have asphalt down over where they had torn up the sidewalk.  So, now the Starkey Blvd bike trail will extend all the way to Starkey Park and continue all the way to the bike trail, so no more having to run on the uneven sidewalk or along the road.

I pushed the pace a bit on the way back with some 7:30ish miles, then had to back it down to the 7:50's for the 9th and 10th mile.  But, for the last mile my pace magically picked up to 7:08, which was nice.

Average pace: 7:53

Felt a little bit sore afterward, so still need to spend some time taking it easy so I can get back to really enjoying my runs.

But, today was a good start.

I went to the Y mainly to workout in general and to get in a small run to start off the week.  I also wanted to try out my new Brooks T7 racers I've had almost two months now but haven't worn due to not racing.  Wanted to see how they'd feel and realize I can pretty much wear anything I want on the treadmill, the lighter the better.

So, after some stretching and light cardio on a bike and elliptical I got onto the treadmill for a bit.  Average pace: 8:51

After the running, I did some weights and upped my bench press from last week.  I was surprised at how much I could still lift since it had been so long.

I wasn't sure if I was going today but decided to give it a try after yesterday being off from running.  I'm torn between "active recovery" and rest from running.  I think I'm getting better with the running while keeping the mileage and intensity down vs. not running.  But, it's hard to tell.

I ran with Jenny in the neighborhood, a little achey at the start, but felt better by the end.

Average pace: 8:54

P.M. - attended Jenny's boot camp class.  It was quite challenging and had a lot of great exercises especially for runners.  There were 11 people (including me) and that was with two of the regulars not showing up.  When she started this class there were only 3 people.

Started out with Jenny, Lisa, and Jamie, ran together for a few miles then went ahead a little.  Felt pretty good (I'm getting there!).  Nice to go a little farther and slightly faster without pushing it too much.

Average pace: 8:21

Started out with Jenny, Lisa, and Jamie and had a guest appearance from Cherise.  Felt pretty good today.  Started out easy, and picked it up a little bit after about 2 miles.

Kind of sore this morning from Jenny's Wednesday evening boot camp class.

Average pace: 8:14

Coolish at the start, warmer at the end. Ran with  Eudair for last 6 miles. Felt good on the last mile.

I had started out this morning pretty unmotivated and still slightly sore.  Showed up at Starkey about 6:45.  There were a few other Striders there but most were at the Miles for Moffit race today.  By the time I finished getting ready to run everyone else had started.  Got going by myself and then somewhere around 1.5 - 2 miles I saw Mike and Eudair.  Eudair turned around and ran back out with me.  We took it pretty slow out to the 4 mile point.

On the way back she asked if I was going to speed up and I told her I didn't think so.

But, we had a nice progression from 8:14 down to 7:28 in the last mile.  Not really trying or pushing too hard, just letting the pace naturally pick up.

Average pace: 8:30

So, I relearned a valuable lesson, never to underestimate the rejuvenating power of a run (i.e. feeling much better at the end than at the beginning).

Started out with Jenny and Lisa for first 1.5 miles, then did the rest alone. Great morning for a run.  I felt a bit achy at first, but better after all warmed up.

Average pace: 8:15

Started out with Jenny and Lisa, turned back slightly early and did last 1.5 by myself. I felt worse at the start than I did on Tuesday but felt better at the end both compared to the beginning of the run and to Tuesday's run.  It was probably good that I slowed down overall, but still finished strong.

Blessed with cool weather again.

Average pace: 8:40

PM - attended Jenny's boot class again, which included 0.5 miles of running, so I'll count that.  I was embarrassingly bad at the section where I had to roundhouse kick the pads my wife was holding, maybe I'll do better next time.  A great workout overall and a lot of fun.  Oh, and some pretty hardcore core exercises.

Started out with Jenny and her group (Lisa, Jamie, Carin) this morning. Added a little extra on and felt pretty good overall.

Average pace: 8:31

Went to Starkey park today.  Arrived just as the main group was heading out so I took my time warming up and headed out by myself.  Great morning for running.  I had originally planned on only doing 8 miles today, but when I started out there was no pain at all, so I figured I would go out just past five, keep it easy and then turn around.

I picked it up a little bit on the way back but stayed away from really pushing it for the most part.

Average pace: 8:01.

After the run, I did some catching up with a lot of my Strider friends and stuck around a little bit longer than I planned. 

I went to the Y this morning, warmed up on the bike, did some stretching and got onto the treadmill.

The run itself wasn't spectacular in the overall scheme of things, but it was a run nonetheless and was probably my best Monday morning runs for a while which had recently been either very short (around a mile) or not at all.  One of my main goals on Saturday was to make sure to not run so hard I wouldn't be able to run on Monday, so it looks like I accomplished that goal.

Average pace: 8:31

After the run I followed up with some weights. Leg extensions, curls, and bench press.  I've been trying to work my bench press back up.

Jenny wasn't feeling up for a run, so I headed out to run by myself.  Got started a few minutes later than usual. Just as I had finished warming up, Lisa came by on her run so we ran together.  We did the usual route, heading over to Fox Hollow golf course then towards Heritage Springs before turning back.  After reaching Heritage Springs gate and turning back to head towards the water stop she mentions to me that this is where I usually speed up and go ahead.   But, I told her we were already going at that pace.  She doesn't run with a watch and apparently can run faster than she realized.  

We reached that water stop, then she headed home and headed out a little bit farther so I'd be able to make it six miles for the morning.

Felt pretty good overall, except I can't seem to shake the nagging pain in my right hip/groin area, which sometimes seems like it is going to get better, but then doesn't.

Average pace: 8:21

I took the morning off from running, hoping that a random day off here and there is going to help.  I'm not sure yet.

P.M. - In the evening I went to Jenny's boot camp class at Flex One Trinity.  Tonight's workout was pretty tough.  She did the dreaded "deck of cards" workout, where a card is drawn, and the number determines the number of reps (2-10), and the suit determining the exercise - push-ups, pike pushups, burpees, jumping lunges, and jump rope for the Jokers.  As part of warmup, I ran about a half of a mile.

After the class I reacquainted myself with my old friend the bench press.  Actually, I've been dabbling with it on the last few Monday's at the Y.   After neglecting this exercise for so long, I decided what I could get for my 1 rep max - and the answer was 185.  So, I'm going to see if I can work my way up to over 200 at some point.

Ran by myself but did see Lisa at the water stop.  Felt pretty good on the run, but can't remember too much since now a whole week has slipped by without blogging.  Very bad of me.

Average pace: 8:23

Ran with Jenny and her big group in the neighborhood. I pulled ahead a little bit for a while but then ran with Jenny and Jamie from the water stop back home.

Average pace: 8:44

Went to Starkey Park this morning.  Ran with Sean, Gabby, and a little with Eileen. Did about 5.5 off road, then came back on the paved trail. Felt great while running off road, my first time ever.  The bugs weren't too bad except when we stopped.  The pace was slower but it was definitely a bit more challenging when not on the pavement.

Average pace: 9:21

Right leg a little bit achy toward the end when coming back on the pavement.

Spent a little bit of time at social hour catching up with the running buddies.

I'm going to take off some extra time from running next week.

As promised, took today off from running (mostly).  Did go to Jenny's boot camp class which she held in the morning instead of the evening.  Included three laps of running, so 0.75 miles along with lots of great cardio and strength.