Where's the Donuts?

Slug Club run on Beach Drive. I was late getting there and figured I'd run alone, but luckily Ernie showed up late also so I had a partner and someone to help hold the pace back. We were planning 10 easy miles, and tried to make the pace more consistent than a week ago. It was a nice morning, in wake of a rainstorm and the sky slowly cleared as the sun came up. Cool, but not cold and the wind died down by the time we were returning. I figured I didn't have much to prove in trying to push the pace, since Moab is next week, so wanted to just relax. That's what we did, the pace felt great and my legs were really comfortable. Here's the splits:

6:53 (first mile is always short because of the route, so it's actually a 5:12 and then 1:41 at the end of the run to even the distance up); 7:04; 7:08; 7:03; 6:50; 7:16; 7:17; 6:51; 7:14; 7:15. 70 minutes total, which was great.

supernova -- 184

Easy recovery miles, short version of the 11th St.-Shore Drive route. Took the dog with. I was running 7:40 pace but then we had to pause to smell every third tuft of grass in the sidewalk, so the pace seemed a little balky the rest of the way in. No hurry though. Felt fine, loosened right up. 24:04 total. 

Got to go find a race report from the Del Sol guys now.

supernova -- 187 

Sprinkling outside this morning, I went to the Y. Four on the treadmill, took awhile to get my legs interested in what was going on but once I settled in I was moving along. It just seemed to take awhile. First mile at 8, others at 7:30; 30:45 total. I spent more time stretching than I usually do, I think my legs need that this week to be nice and fresh for the weekend in Moab.

supernova -- 191

Five easy treadmill miles, first one at 8 and the rest between 7:15-7:25. 38 minutes exactly. I took yesterday off, felt rested today and cruised along. I'm really anxious to run on Saturday, today's my last day of work for the week and I fly to Utah tomorrow afternoon.

The treadmill has a television on it, so I watched 20 minutes of Brett Favre highlights. Welcome to the Aaron Rodgers Era, Paul. Go Bears.

supernova--196

30 minute run on the Burke-Gilman trail. Race warm-up, that's not the exact distance but it's not far off. 

A few pre-race miles up the dirt (kind of) road leading uphill from our cabin. Uphill at 6,500 feet or whatever takes a little toll on a sea-level guy. I realized the race might not be as easy as I imagined. But nothing hurt, and maybe less oxygen in the brain was going to mean I wouldn't feel myself fall apart as early. Always positive at this blog. The place was beautiful though, and I was happy to be there and ready to run. 

Here's the long-awaited race report: 

Woke up on the perfect Moab morning to run: cloudy skies, chilly but not too cold, Ben not making the upstairs stink too much. I was pretty excited. We headed up on the bus and were dropped off way early in true Moab 1/2 fashion. Cody, Ben and I and another friend hung around for awhile, then finally stripped down 30 minutes before the gun and jogged up to the start. I was wearing the FRB jayvee team jersey (the t-shirt instead of the singlet). The start was more crowded than I remember in the past, no room to really warm up. So the jog to the start was really it. We had a tailwind so I figured the first mile would get my legs in gear. They needed it after freezing up at the start. With the threat of altitude effects I planned to go out conservatively but stay in striking distance of 1:25. I felt confident I'd be under that and had that race plan in my head.  Finally, we were off.

Splits, and a little analysis:

6:13 -- First mile is downhill and with that tailwind, so I knew I'd be fast. 300 yards in I was warmed up, and glad I hadn't kept any extra clothing on. The Brian Sell mustache was plenty. I hit that split and eased up a bit.

6:34, 6:34, 6:34 -- Three remarkably consistent miles, if a few seconds slow. I would rather have been under 6:30, but like I said I was running conservatively. Those three clicked right by though, hardly even felt them and passed a lot of people. I think that kept me from pushing, since with little effort I was moving through the pack.

6:23, 6:31 -- Better miles here, I was still feeling fast and kept moving up. I was pretty pleased at this point, especially since at miles 6 (the 6:31, I had hit my watch a few steps after the mile marker).

6:13 -- This mile was a few seconds short, but it was also one with a slight hill. I had two people in sight on the hill so I caught them and left them. It was ambitious, but I like to do that to people who start too fast. Makes me feel like a big man. I was feeling good about the 1:25 goal at this point.

6:23, 6:21, 6:20 -- Now I knew I had locked in a 1:25, and had thoughts in my head of really turning it on for the last third of the race. I really felt good going up the hill around mile 8.5 or whatever, especially remembering how it had killed me in Moab races past. It was a blessing not to deal with the sun or heat at this point. Like I said, couldn't have asked for a better day. I thought through whether or not 1:20 was possible, but decided not to burn it at that point. I felt good, but just wasn't confident enough of my fitness to take a risk like that.

6:35, 6:39 -- Miles 11 and 12 are why I'm glad I didn't surge too early. I caught the women's leader and tracked her for awhile here, thinking I'd draft and then take off the last mile. But she really held me off and my legs were dead at that point. I wasn't exhausted, but didn't have much get up left. By the 12 marker I felt like I was just holding steady, especially since it's on that mentally draining stretch of highway into town.

6:48 -- The last mile-point-one wasn't too bad, considering my legs (especially the quads) were beat down by that point. I held a steady pace, extended the kick into nearly the full last mile and even moved up one more place. The women's leader had pulled away by 150 yards or so, I lost touch with her and couldn't make it up. Maybe if I would have actually heard Paul yell "Mustache it in" at me I could have done it. Even though I still don't know what that means.  

Final chip time of 1:24:15, and I was pretty pleased with that. Great day to run, my best experience at Moab. I'm afraid to go back because my expectations are so high. But a wonderful time, good to run with Cody/Ben/Paul and meet a few other bloggers, and that half time gives me real confidence a sub-1:20 is on the way this season.

Oh, and we ate brugers afterward. Oh did we eat brugers.

Planet Walk run in Logan with Paul/Cody/Jon. Been a long time since I've run in Logan with those guys, it was good. My first time on Planet Walk since the renaming. Nice early spring afternoon, even wore shorts. My legs were recovered from Moab, the soak in the hot tub Saturday afternoon and two days of no work other than a short hike was a wise, albiet a little lazy, thing to do for myself. Hey, I was on vacation. 

Decided to end the lazy post-race week this morning, and headed down to the Slug Club meeting point. Ernie and Mike were there at 6:10 am, looking for 14 miles at 7:30 pace. I would have liked to run 7:30s, would really have liked to. 

We hit 7:30 for the first three, and again for mile 5. I felt good at this point, real relaxed and  enjoying a dark and drizzly Washington morning. But something happened and we'd push the pace then back off, then push, and splits were all over the board -- 7s, 7:15s, even one or two under 7. About mile 7.5 my quad developed a knot in it. I tried to stretch some to no avail but kept on going, kind of subtly prodding (I'm still kind of new, after all) that we get back to a slower pace. But there's a few little downhills on the way in and the sun was coming up, so we stayed with the faster pace. They seemed pleased with it, not too much complaining. My hamstrings were complaining though. I really tightened up, the pain moved back there and I was spent by the last few miles. I stuck with the guys, we finished 14 miles in 1:41:41 (7:13 or so overall?).

Now, my hamstrings are killing me. I've stretched, heated/iced, they're just blasted and I'm shuffling around. I wasn't sore the days after the Moab race, but not running much since did this, I suspect. I think I didn't clean whatever junk out that needed out, so loading 14 decent miles on took its toll. I'll run easy tomorrow to loosen up, maybe take a walk this afternoon. Maybe even a walk behind the lawnmower, since the sun is coming up. Any advice for the hamstrings is appreciated.

supernova -- 220.5 

Short route on 11th-Shore Drive, 25 minutes. Ran slowly to test out my hams and quads, they are still feeling beat up from yesterday. More fatigued than anything else, like I'm running with a charlie horse. Stretched a bunch after the run and that loosened things up some, but we'll see what tomorrow morning brings. I'll be careful for the next few days and hopefully rebound by next weekend. 

supernova -- 123.5
 

Caught a bit 'o luck for St. Patrick's Day. I skipped the a.m. run thinking I'd go to the Y in the evening, so I'd have time to sit in the hot tub and relax my hamstring. Plus it was rainy. But the weather unexpectedly cleared in the afternoon, and I managed to leave work at 6 (which is the real lucky part) so I ended up with a nice evening run outside. 

11th Ave-Shore Drive short loop, plus a few extra blocks (I'm in a rut, I like that route when it's windy though). Hamstring problem is now concentrated only in the righty, and just the lower part of my muscle. It was pretty tight tonight and still cramped up, so I didn't extend the run as much as I planned. Trying to be cautious for a few more days.

Still felt a little tight in addition to the right leg, but other than that an excellent spring run. And the freshly cut lawn is green enough to qualify me as Irish for the day. 29:53 total (7:30/pace), plus 4 miles on the bike (work and back).

supernova -- 127.5
 

Ran on the treadmill today, it was just sprinkling just a little but I though it might be wise to be inside if the hamstring acted up. I wanted to get 5 miles at 8 minute pace but after half hour or so my leg just wouldn't stop nagging me, and I realized how stubborn that thought was -- an extra mile or two now only aggravates it, and I'll get the mileage eventually. So I stepped off at 3.5.

The overall pain and fatigue from the other day is gone, but it has boiled down into a tight little strain or something in my right hamstring. Took yesterday off to rest (although I did bike to work, so it wasn't complete rest), which may have helped a bit but there's lingering pain. It's nothing severe, just a little pull and tissue soreness about mid-hammy, more toward the inside of my leg. I was limping a bit when I stopped running because it seems to seize up, and stretching was kind of painful. I'll keep massaging away at it and icing, give it a little try to loosen up in the morning and see what happens.

supernova -- 131

No running since Wednesday, I've gently tried both days but heard a clear 'not yet' from my leg. The hamstring thing is still nagging away, I must have aggravated it Wednesday so I'm going to hold back for a few days. It's a very small area that's in pain now, kind of strange, but it really limits me lifting my leg to take a stride. I may swim tomorrow morning for awhile to get a "workout" in. This morning I went for a walk, then stretched and iced.

My right hamstring wasn't as obviously painful Sunday and Monday so I gave it a go this morning. Just a short run as a test. It's definitely improved, the sharper pain isn't there anymore and I was able to run pretty freely from the beginning. Still a little tight at some points later in the run; then again, I didn't run very far so who knows what's in store when I run a real distance. If I recover well and the muscle feels good through the day I may try for a few more tonight. Hopefully I can slowly come back now after a few days off, babying the hamstring just enough but still keeping in some routine.

Probably a bit short of 2.5, but in that neighborhood. 18:36 overall. Ice is on it as I write.

Finally some good news. 4.5 miles this morning on the 11th-Shore Drive route, and no pain in the hamstring. Absolutely fine. A little tired, but that's what I get for taking 5 days off. I didn't really feel a groove at all and it was kind of a cold, drizzy morning, but I was smiling the whole way. 33:20 total, so just under 8/minute miles. Back to the ice, etc. now to make sure it stays this way.

supernova -- 138

Five on the treadmill. Legs felt loose, no hamstring pain at all. I think Josse's suggestion to find those trigger points really helped (thanks, if you read this). I started a little slowly (above 8/min miles) then gradually worked down to 7:35 or so as my body allowed. It was pretty encouraging. 40:06. Now if only the sun would come out and stay out.

supernova -- 143 

Four treadmill miles on cold, rainy (snowy some places) morning. Pretty easy pace but I'm feeling comfortable and peppy again; 31 minutes. Another day without pain in the hamstring, so it looks like that's done with and I can get back into a routine next week and get the mileage back up.

supernova -- 147 

Morning run with the slug club. Ernie was running 18 but that sounded a bit rich for my blood after an abbreviated week, so I met him at Waterman Dock, which is near the 3-mile marker. Left Waterman at 6, nice morning for a run. No snow/rain/sleet like yesterday, and it turned out to be great -- cloudy, about 40-45 the whole time, no wind. We were dead set on a comfortable pace and managed it for nearly the whole time, about the most consistent run I've had on that route. Miles were: 7:38, 7:24, 7:21, 7:49 (someone messed up the mile marker past Manchester when they repainted is the rumor, because the next one is always short), 7:10 (turned around at this point), 7:02, 7:26, 7:29, 7:10, 7:26, 7:06, 6:47. The 7:10 on the way back was inspired by two camels along the route, I think I got excited. One had two humps, the other had one. Too bad James wasn't there to run through their field and get chased. The last two were fast because I needed to get to the bathroom and was in a hurry. Conversational pace the whole time though, and there were a lot of other sluggos out on the road who met up at breakfast.

1:27 total, really a great Saturday morning run. No pain in the hammy, so I think I'm all clear. Back up to a more normal mileage next week and shooting for 15 next weekend.

supernova -- 159

Morning run, a little cold but no rain so I went outside. The sun's coming out now. 11th-Shore Drive long loop, plus .5 up to Cascade Trail at the end to make it an even 5. Easy pace to start (7:35) and I gradually sped up until I was going at a good clip, probably around 7/min. 36:26 total, so around 7:15 pace overall. Legs felt good, rested from yesterday. Good way to start the week.

supernova -- 164