Winning Back What I Lost

10PM:  Intermediate long run on my birthday.  Sunday is usually my rest day but we'll be driving to Lincoln City, OR all day tomorrow so I don't know if I'll get a run in tomorrow evening.  October is sneaking up on me and its really past time to get serious about training for St. George.  Need to focus on diet and weekly long runs.  Looking forward to some runs along the beach this week.  Should be fun.

10AM- Beverly Beach State Park, Depoe Bay, OR- Started out as an epic run on the beach during low tide & the marine layer wearing off. That is until I forgot myself & tried to jump over a creek & came down wrong with all my weight on my bad left ankle. Limped back to our yurt, more than a little pissed that I had needlessly injured myself seriously. Going to the store for some icepacks. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Beverly Beach, Depoe Bay, OR- Ankle felt a little better & I was anxious to test it. I was really worried it was more serious injured this time. Two days off brought down the swelling & I was able to run a decent pace on the sand so long as I stayed out of the softer sand &the rocks. Could have gone longer but the tide was comin in & it was threatening to cut off my route home. Warm/5.5 mi @ 8:24/cool.

6AM:  I got up a little earlier than usual in order to go a little longer than usual. Slow and easy pace w/ a little bit of dead legs syndrome.  Ankle was stiff and a little sore but I have a chiro appointment set for later today.  I'm hoping he can get me back to where I thought I was before the hiking and beach running of the past couple of weeks. 

6AM: Very slow run this morning.  Another chiro adjustment and massage for my ankle yesterday.  Massages always leave me really sore and my legs lifeless so I wasn't surprised at my lethargy this morning.  The masseuse tried something different for my ankle.  She hooked up a "stimming" machine that sent electrical currents into my foot and lower leg to loosen things up.  Bathed in some epsom salt when I got home so we'll see if I can work some of that swelling out in the next few days. 

6:15AM:  Good tempo run this morning: 1M Warm, 6M @ 7:52/mi, 1M Cool.  I've decided to actually do some tempo and/or speedwork every week instead of all base mileage that I experimented with last year.  I'm hoping that, coupled with a drop down to 165 lbs over the next 6 weeks, will give me the speed I need for a serious shot @ holding a 7:30/mi pace for an entire marathon.  I held that pace through 18 or 19 miles last year at TOU at 180 lbs and little or no tempo or speedwork so I'm confident I can improve on my PR of 3:35.  It's just a matter of how much an improvement I'll be able to realize in SG. 

615AM:  Easy run.  8:31/mi pace overall w/ the last mile being the quickest (7:57/mi).  A little cooler than usual this morning.  It's supposed to warm back up by the weekend but it was nice if only for one day.

630AM: Quick run this morning.  Long run tomorrow so I kept it short.  8:03/mi pace, quick pickups and the last half mile @ 7:47/mi pace. 

9PM:  Nice long run this evening;  I wanted to go 20M but I underestimated a little and didn't feel like extending it to compensate.  A little on the warm side for a long run, upper 70's to low 80's, and no breeze.  By the time I'd hit about 9M I wasn't trying to avoid the sprinklers that water the sidewalks any more.  The good thing about this run was that I was able to finish strong with my last 2M being my quickest (8:15/mi combined pace).  8:45/mi pace overall.  I've decided to take a new approach to my long runs of starting a little slower and finishing fast to simulate the mental push one needs during the last 10k of a marathon.  I'm always compromising at the end due to fatigue and/or cramping and settling a for a little less than my best possible time.  Hopefully, this approach will help me push through that mental hurdle at the end of every marathon. P.S.- First time I've used my lightweight racing shoes for a run this long and feet are a little more sore than usual.  Probably won't use the DS Racer's for anything longer than a half marathon from now on. 

615AM: Recovery run.  Didn't get very much sleep last night so I was more than a little sluggish.  Started to get a rhythm about half way into the run.  Temps were cool (50's) but I was still sweating like normal.  I wonder if that is attributable to lack of hydration.  I need to drink more water but I'm having a hard time cutting back on my Diet Mt. Dew addiction.  8:33/mi pace overall. 

620AM:  No rest for the weary.  I need to get to bed earlier but that is almost never in the cards. Getting out of bed is difficult but it does feel pretty good to get those miles in the bank to start off the day.  Found out today that my bro-in-law will be lending us his trailer to take down to St. George.  This is a good thing since I put off looking for a hotel room until a couple of weeks ago and they were all gone.  I told my wife that we'd probably have to stay in Mesquite, NV and get up at O dark thirty to get me to the busses and she immediately got on the horn to her brother.  8:36/mi overall

625AM: Got home late last night from a fishing trip w/ my dad to the S Fork Boise R.  Normally, that would be a nice diversion but not an especially memorable occasion.  Well, this one was different precisely because we (my dad) flipped the boat and we floated down river for a couple hundred yards holding onto my overturned pontoon.  We were eventually able to flip it back over and then float downstream, sans oars, near where I had stashed my mt bike so that I could bike 3 or 4 miles uphill back to my truck and trailer.  The whole episode was a model for what not to do.  Tops on the list: Never wear waders when floating because they act like concrete golashes and pull you down to the bottom.  I can laugh about it now but the outcome was sort of in doubt until we actually got to the riverbank a few minutes after we had flipped the boat.

Exhausting run that ended w/ me dry heaving in my front yard in full view of neighbors leaving for work.  It wasn't that I ran hard (8:25/mi pace overall) but I did pick up the pace the last couple of miles and sprinted to the end.  I think the recidivism rate for hurling after/during a run is similar to suffering from a concussion or rolling an ankle.  Once you do it once, it becomes increasingly likely that you'll do it again.   

930PM: New shoes today- Nike LunaRacer's.  They are super light and have a surprising amount of cushion.  3M really slow with my wife and then 4+ miles alone (7:40/mi; 8:32/mi; 8:34/mi; 7:17/mi; cooldown).

730AM:  Long run this morning on Boise R. Greenbelt; more like 19M and then a cooldown; kept the pace at 8:30ish the first 17M then a blister on my right foot really started to bother me; shouldn't have worn my new shoes; they felt great otherwise; mile 16 was 8:18/mi and mile 17 was 8:21/mi so I wasn't really all that fatigued. I also had to combat a horde of bicyclists on the GB.  They were all dressed up for some Mardi Gras activity that was going on downtown.  The annoying part was that most of them were riding 2 and 3 abreast and making me go on the grass.  Ugghh!!

620AM:  Recovery run.  Started out slow and then transitioned quickly into a pretty good run on a very cool morning.  8:23/mi pace overall but I was able to finish the last 3M at 8:06/mi, 7:59/mi and 7:53/mi respectively. 

630AM:  Easy run.  Really took it easy (8:33/mi).  Didn't sleep well last night- again.  I had planned on going 9M but I took a shortcut home rather then wait for traffic to clear so I could cross Eagle Rd. 

1245PM: Easy run on a hot afternoon on the GB; my alarm didn't go off because we lost power yesterday afternoon and had to reset my alarm clock before bed.  I reset it 10am when it was 10pm.  I'm such an idiot.  On the upside, I got a really good night's sleep.  Kept it slow and easy (very tempted to run and jump in the Boise R. it was so hot) until the last mile @ goal marathon pace + 15 secs. 

615AM:  Speed workout this morning.  Headed over the MVHS track for some mile repeats.  2+ miles warmup en route to track; 1M @ 6:38; .5M jog; 1M @ 6:48; .5M jog; 1M @ 6:59; 2+ miles cooldown back home.  Very breezy this morning so 200M against a stiff wind and 200M with a nice tailwind.  A little dry heaving following the last repeat.  It's a good thing I didn't eat anything this morning. 

615AM:  Very cool again this morning.  Supposed to have a 30 degree cooldown over the weekend.  I felt really good this morning, better than I've felt in a long time.  Started slow and finished strong w/ a 7:39/mi pace over the last mile and change.  8:16/mi pace overall.

8PM:  Another good run despite windy conditions.  Headwind on the way back home but I was still able to work through it and finish with the last mile plus @ 7:40/mi pace.  All part of my training plan to finish all off my longer runs at or near marathon race pace.

6AM:  First day of school so I tried to get out of the house a little earlier than usual so I could help the wife get the kids off to school.  A little soreness in my left knee.  I kept it slow and easy until the last 3M when I realized that I would have to push it in order to get back by 715AM.  8:29/mi pace overal w/ the last 3M @ 7:59, 8:09; and 7:56. 

615AM:  Easy run.  My legs are a little bit tired and lifeless.  I need to get a better night's sleep tonight.  I was in a position to get to bed early last night after I got back from my fantasy football draft but I managed to putz around on the cpu for a couple of hours.  I'm starting to watch Season 1 of Friday Night Lights.  Started watching during season 3 and I knew I had to go back and watch the other seasons.  Excellent book, good movie, better TV show.  Not as good as The Wire or Breaking Bad but definitely in my top 5 TV series.