Winning Back What I Lost

7PM: Started off the new year with what will pass as a decent run for me this winter. I guess you could call it a slow progressive run. Hopped on the scale today and learned what I already knew- I put on 10 lbs the last couple of months. Turns out that eating pretty much everything you want during the holidays leads to weight gain. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

625AM: 12 degrees. I was probably a little overdressed. Had some sweat roll down and freeze on my brow and headphones. Another slow progressive run. This should be the coldest run this week as temps are supposed to moderate each day. Going back to a low-carb approach and limiting myself to 1500 calories or less at least until I get my mileage up to 50 mpw and then I'll bump it up some. 

830PM: Easy run on TM. Finished with last .5M @ 8:00/mi pace.  First TM run at the IAC in quite some time. I've been reluctant to run inside, especially now that my wife got me a really nice Garmin watch for Christmas.  It was pretty nice not to have to run in the dark and wear multiple layers though. 

630AM: Easy run. Struggling with a sore throat. It's always puzzled me how much a sore throat can debilitate the entire body. Cold air probably isn't the best thing for it but I haven't been outside in a couple of days. Wore the wrong pants thinking that it would not be as cold this morning as it has been- it was. Temp in the high teens which was low enough to quite literally freeze my naughty bits. Is it spring yet?

9PM: Quick, easy TM run (5.3M) to boost the mileage.

Easy TM run. Fighting off the flu. Took some antibiotics which left me more than a little lethargic. But I got the run in so I guess that's what counts. 

5PM: Extended easy run. Was able to run the first half of the run in the sunlight for a change. Increased my weekly mileage by 10+ miles this week.  Looking to increase it by that much each week until I top out at 65 miles at the end of the month.

Early morning progressive run on TM. A dusting of new snow on the ground so I opted for the comfort of indoors. Started slow and topped out @ 8:19/mi for the last 1.5M.  

630AM: Another progressive TM run. Not quite as much life in my legs this morning.  Topped out at 8:27/mi this time. I blame it on my shoes. My Wave Riders weigh about 1.5 ounces more than any of my other shoes.  

635AM: Interval run: 2M warm; 1M @ 6:58; 1M jog; 1M @ 6:58; cool. First hard workout in over a month. Going back to the 2 "big" workouts (Long run + Speed-Interval or Tempo) per week program for next month or so then assess whether to step it up to 3.

635AM: Easy run. It was warmer this morning so I wanted to get back outside. Little did I know that we had some freezing rain last night. Made it difficult to get any push-off. Slippery enough to feel it in every stride but not so slippery that it made you fall down. It would be interesting to calculate the actual resistance benefit of running on ice. It's got to be similar to a 2-3% grade.

Easy TM run. Locked into a comfortable pace (8:41/mi) and didn't budge.

Legs felt better than they've felt in weeks. I've been using a new ankle brace on my long-injured left ankle it seems to be helping.  Easy long run in the fog. It was the proverbial pea soup out there this evening. Felt like I was running in a bad 70's slasher film. 8:21/mi pace. 

I knew this woud happen. Start running on the TM and I wouldn't want to put on the gear to run outside anymore. Well, fortunately running inside does have significant drawbacks that make me want to run inside too often. I made the mistake of heading to the club at 530PM and was reminded that a LOT of people take up running in January. I was forced to wait about 20 mins for an opening so I did some light upper body weight training to pass the time.  Another drawback is the heat w/ all those people packed in to such a small club. Had a horrible headache from dehydration by the time I left. 

Packed all my miles into one workout but I'll be doing 2 a day's the rest of the week to bump the mileage to the mid 50's.  Exiting the annua maintenance/lazy phase of my training. Marathon prep has officially begun. 

630AM: Stayed up too late last night watching Terminator Salvation. It wasn't because the movie was so entertaining (it wasn't) but for some reason I always feel like I have to squeeze every last second out of a 3 day weekend.

Got out of the house and had to hurry to meet Court on Cloverdale. I went out faster than usual so I was winded by the time I found him. We ran 3+ miles at what was conversational pace for him but I was really struggling to get my wind. Talked about our spring racing schedule and current events in BYU and BSU football.

I'm totally fixated on dropping weight right now. Not only because I think that is the single greatest obstacle to achieving a BQ in May but also because running is so much more fun when you're not carrying an extra 20-30 lbs. Nutrition is the obvious weak link in my training. 

I'm all about enjoying the journey because that is the only way I see to be able to increase my weekly mileage and keep it at 50-60 mpw minimum. Last year I was just going through the motions for the most part and trying not to backslide instead of working to improve. Running has become a chore, both mentally and physically.  I have to rediscover the love of running that I had in '08 and most of '09. The key to that is real tangible improvement in my running.

Pace: 8:35/mi

9PM: 4+ miles easy on TM. Re-reading (listening) Born to Run. Really struggling to find an edge or something to spark my training. Hopefully, the bump in mileage the rest of the month will get the ball rolling.

635AM: It took everything I had to get out of bed this morning.  My 4 year old was coughing all night and eventually ended up in our bed. My 7 year old heard the commotion and decided she would join the party. I put down 4 hours of sleep but it was probably closer to two hours.

I'm quite sure that I didn't make any fitness gains as a result of this slow run. I literally jogged 4 and a half miles. I felt like walking more than once but somehow kept my legs going. I guess I figured that if I'm up then I may as well get something done. I find that there are little inconveniences like this about once every couple of weeks. It would be easy to just write off the day but if you add up all of these "inconveniences" they amount to a couple dozen missed workouts per year. That's about a month's worth of training (assuming 6 day week schedule)- and that's something.

9PM: 4.6M slow on TM w/ 4 strides @ 8:00/mi pace. Worked on keeping my hips aligned and running tall. Re-learned an old trick (pretend that you have a rope tied to your waist and someone is pulling it while you're running). Feels awkward but it does seem to improve oxygen uptake. 

Noon: Opted to sleep in today in order to make up for last night's debacle. In the spirit of looking ahead towards Robie in April, I decided I'd do a short hill workout in the Ft. Boise WMA area behind our offices. I was really winded by the time I reached the top but its been quite awhile since I've done any hill training. Starting over is always daunting.

9PM: 5+ easy miles on the TM. Battling some nausea today.  Not sure if it was the low-carb six-dollar burger I ate for dinner or something else. Legs felt relatively good considering the earlier hill workout.

630AM: Short easy run. Temp around freezing and no wind. Could not muster any turnover until the last half mile (7:56 mi). I probably won't run tonight because I'm planning on a long (13-15 mi) run tomorrow. Starting to feel the stepup in mileage. I don't feel sore. Just a general fatigue that I'll have to work through. 

330PM: Beautiful sunny afternoon for a long run. Nicest weather we've seen in the Treasure Valley in weeks. Kept a slow steady pace just under 8:40/mi the whole way and picked it up for 8:00/mi pace the last half mile. Still suffering from nausea but I was able to keep it at bay, w/ the help of some pepto tablets, until the end of the run.

Registered for the UV Marathon last night. I waited too long for Ogden and my experience w/ last year's Great Potato Mara was not very good. Part of that was I went into it on the spur of the moment and severely undertrained. But a bigger part of it was the lack of organization and the haphazard nature of the course. It really isn't designed for a marathon.  UVM seems to have exploded in popularity in a relatively short time. The course layout looks to be fast w/ a more gradual downhill grade. It's got some uphill but nothing too steep or prolonged and the last 10k is, unlike TOU and Ogden, more or less a straight shot.

Dropped another lb. thanks to the step up in mileage. All in all a very good week of training. Excited for what next week will bring.

6AM: Woke up a little earlier than usual so I could hit my daily mileage goal in one run. I'm so glad I did. Felt really good throughout the run. No stomach/nausea problems thanks to a Pepto tablet I'd taken just before leaving the house. The day off helped me feel light and run strong. My breathing never seemed to get away from me even though I picked up the pace in the second half of the run, finishing the last half mile @ 7:38/mi. Best run I've had in weeks. Shooting for the 60 mile mark this week. 

6AM: Extremely foggy, wet & slippery outside so I hit the gym. Gradually increased the pace until I topped out @ 8:00/mi for the last half mile. 

830PM: I really struggled to get this second run in tonight. Fell asleep on the recliner for about 10 mins while I was watching the SOTU and, surprisingly, I felt refreshed when I woke. Did a little bit of core and leg work as a warmup then a nice easy run on the TM topped off w/ the last 3 mins @ 7:30/mi pace.

Checked out a copy of Advanced Marathoning from the Public Library. I think I'll start Pfizinger's 18 wk 70 mpw program on Monday.

630AM:  Very mild temp this morning (32F) w/ a slight breeze. Took me about 2 miles to wake up. I decided to keep it nice and easy. I'm trying to transition toward a workout regimen built around Pfitzinger's theory that easy runs should in fact be easy.  IOW, non-speed/tempo runs should be easy. I often fall into the trap of not really running hard when I don't have a specific workout/run planned but not exactly taking it easy either.  I don't know why. Maybe its because I'm worried that if I'm not breathing hard then I'm not improving my fitness. It sounds counterintuitive but sometimes it really does take a fair bit of discipline and will to run slow and easy so that, on another day, you can run fast.

10PM: Late evening TM run. Wanted to leave earlier but I couldn't pull myself away from watching the amazin' Jimmer & the Fredettes. So I've been doing a little research regarding proper running form. I've known for quite awhile that my form is seriously lacking. It just hit me after looking at some of my race photos that none of them show me in a position where my trail leg is any higher than a few inches off the ground. I have almost no toe-off or extension. My gait is more akin to a running shuffle than a running stride. Soooo, I've been consciously trying to bring my trail leg up to horizontal w/ the TM or the road. Right now it seems awkward and a little exhausting but I'm hoping I'll adjust to it and run stronger very soon.

640AM: Not enough sleep last night. I was actually going to skip this morning and then run a 10 miler this evening but my 4 yo son was already up and doing cartwheels so he kinda made my decision for me. Legs were tight and heavy. Still feeling those squats and lunges from a couple of days ago. Very slow pace. Wore my heart monitor for the first time in forever. Tried to keep my HR in the 140's and I was more or less successful.

6AM: I got a great night's sleep last night. Skipped the evening workout and went to bed at 9PM. First time that has happened in forever. I wish I could do that more often but that's probably not very realistic. Got a 1 hr massage yesterday too. I'm not sore like I usually am afterward. This particular massage therapist actually asked me if the pressure was too hard, a novel concept.

Interval run on the TM: 1M warm, 4 x 880 @ 7:03/mi pace; 2 x 440 @ 7:03/mi; cool.  I thought this would be a moderately tough interval session but the effort didn't seem to match the pace. I'd like to think that is because the TM isn't properly calibrated but the more likely reason is that I'm in worse shape then I thought.

830PM: Quick upper body weight session then an easy 3.6M on the TM to get my daily mileage to 10M.

3PM: Long slow, easy run. Weather was pretty decent. Temp around 40 w/ a little bit of wind out of the west. Like last Saturday, I was able to run in shorts w/ a long sleeve and gloves. So nice to be able to run in the daylight. Tried to keep my pace even throughout but fell off toward the end. Felt sluggish and heavy. In hindsight, probably not a good idea to do a speed workout + a double the day before a medium long run. Looking forward to a day off. 

Big workout on TM tonight. Day 1 of Pfitzinger's 70 MPW 18 week Marathon Plan. 2M warmup; 4M @ slightly faster than HM pace (7:27/mi); cooldown. Starting to see results after a couple of weeks of increased mileage and improved diet. Down 8 lbs this month. It would be nice to not have to lose the winter coat every year but at least I got an early start this year. Unlike the last 2 years, I should be in good racing shape by the time Robie Creek rolls around in April.