sub-3 or blow-up trying

Ran 9 miles through the hills in 1:15:28 (8:23 pace).  Felt fine for the first 5-6 miles, then the hip started to hurt.  Mostly on the uphills and a little on the downhills.  Pain got worse so after 9 miles decided to run/walk the last uphill portion until I got home. 

Am being careful to remain patient.  Realize for 3 days after Boston was having difficulty walking or going on stairs.  Walking's fine now as well as flat portions of running.  It's the hills that aggravates things. 

Made solid progress today.  Headed down to the track with my 4 and 9-year-olds.  Jogged a mile and then picked up the pace for 2-miles (6:35, 6:31).  My hip started to stiffen, so I slowed down for 2-laps and then stopped to stretch.  Decided to pack it in if the hip was still hurting after I stretched.  Jogged two more laps and then picked up the pace again for 2-miles (6:32, 6:26).  This time I felt less stiff than before (very relieved)...jogged 2 laps, stretched again, jogged 2 more laps and called it a day.  I was proud that I was able to stop before hurting again.  Seems to be a step in the right direction.

Although my goal for the fall is a sub-3 (6:53 pace), I will be working this summer at making 6:30 more of a comfortable pace and once fully recovered hope to shift my 1-mile repeats workout at 6-min pace to 2-mile repeats at a 6-minute pace.  Still need to stay patient for another week or two!

Drove down to the track.  Jogged 2 miles and then picked up the pace for 2 miles (6:35, 6:31), followed by another slow mile...stopped to stretch...the hip felt a little stiff, but no pain...jogged another mile and stopped to stretch again.  Picked up the pace for 2 more miles (6:37, 6:29), jogged 2 laps, picked up pace for 1 mile (6:36), and jogged to final laps...10 miles total.

Hip continues to show improvement.  I'm being real careful to build things up gradually, stretch, and stop running if it begins to flare up.  I'm itching to do speedwork, but will continue to be patient.  Won't go much faster until I feel 100%.

Ran 7 miles, mostly at a recovery pace (8:30-9min miles).  Ran a couple miles in the middle on the school track, including a quick mp mile (6:30) and 1/2 mile barefoot (working on good form).  Started to feel the hip on mile 7, but nothing all that serious. 

Ran another 7 miles right before dinner on TM.  Did 8:30 warm-up, 5 @ 7:30pace, 1 @ 6:30, and 1 mile cooldown.  First run at this distance without feeling any pain in the hip. 

Drove down to the track, 50 degrees and rainy.  Had a quick window of time to get a run in before dinner.  Jogged 2 miles, picked up the pace for two miles (6:27, 6:27), jogged a mile.  Stopped to stretched...no pain whatsoever in the hip.  Was pressed for time so jogged a 6th mile, picked up the pace for a mile (6:35) and then jogged 1/2 mile back to the car.  7.5 miles total.  I have decided to mix in my light trainers in training.  My feet and calves need to toughen up a bit more for distance.  May get a chance to run again in the evening...

Did another 3.5 miles on the TM.  Worked progressively up to a 6:31 pace and then held it for the final mile.  Hip felt fine until final 1/2 mile...little bit of a twinge, so shut things down to do a bit of stretching.  Getting 2 wisdom teeth pulled tomorrow morning, so we'll see how the rest of the week goes. 

2 wisdom teeth pulled this morning.  Well, on the positive side, my hip should be 100% by the time I can run again.  Have a mission trip on Fri/Sat, so will probably take 3-4 days off.  Probably good for me in the big scheme of things. 

bleeding gums...wisdom teeth pulled...no running.

still drinking blood...heading to Albany for mission trip.

I feel like I'm getting back on track.  It's been a week of working through hip injury, yanking wisdom teeth, lack of sleep, and difficult diet (liquid due to teeth).  Got back from the mission trip this evening and ran at a firm pace through the hills (no hip pain whatsoever).  Made it to the 8.75 mile mark in 1:04:23 (7:21 pace).  Decided to jog towards the track (1.25 miles) and ran 1 mile on the track at MP (6:40).  Started to rain and it was getting dark, so I booked it back home (2 more miles).  13 miles total and the hip feels fine (also, very little bleeding from the gums...jaw a little sore, but not a big deal.). 

Could have gone 20 today, but though I might wait another week to make sure I'm fully healed.  Feel in position to start pushing towards 70-80 miles weeks.  Will begin doing speedwork on May 20th (1 month from Boston) and hope to get a little zip back in the legs in time for the Litchfield Road Race the 2nd weekend in June (7.1 miles). 

Great Mother's Day!  5 of the children performed in church...one didn't sing (very cute), 2 others were part of duet.  Took mom out for Mexican food and the girls presented a variety of gifts/cards.  Everyone came home and hit the sack, so I slipped out for a run.  Ran 4 miles down to a 5k trail run.  Felt good so decided to see what I could do...ran 5k in 19:28 (6:17 pace)...rested 3 minutes and drank water, then decided to see if I could run it again at MP...not quite...did it a second time in 21:32 (6:57 pace).  There's a killer hill right in the middle that kicked my butt the second time through.  My hope it to be able to run it a second time through by the end of summer under 19:30.  Ran a shorter route home- 3 miles, for 13.2 miles total. 

AM:  Ran to Whitewoods and did the 5k course in 19:49 (6:24 pace), then rested for 3 minutes and ran a MP mile (6:36 pace).  Jogged there and back for a total of 6.6 miles.  My leg turnover needs major improvement for next Fall.  Summer should give me adequate time to build up speed.  Feel like I'm getting my legs back.  May run in the evening if I get the opportunity.

PM:  5 miles on the TM...1mile warm-up, 2 miles threshold (6:10 pace), 1 mile jog, last mile threshold (6:10 pace).

Noon:  Ran with Rick through Whites Woods trail at a recovery pace for 4.5 miles.  Spent 20 minutes doing upper body weights.

PM:  1-mile warm-up.  Felt pretty good, so decided to run the first 6 miles of the Litchfield Road Race.  Kept a fairly good clip and completed 6 miles in 39:44 (6:37 pace).  Jogged 1 extra mile as a cool down.  8 miles total.

Lunch break:  Felt a little sore after 4 straight days of solid running.  Began with a nice recovery type pace on a trail into the woods.  By the end of 2 miles, began feeling fairly good.  Decided to veer over to the 5k course and do a mp run.  Ran the course in 19:51 (6:24 pace), so will categorize them as threshold pace miles.  Jogged 2.25 back to the gym and did 20-minutes leg work w/weights.  The trails have added a great mix to my training.  Hard runs w/hills are far less tough on my feet than pavement.  It has allowed me to begin picking up mileage without much additional stress.  Also, I'm starting to feel much more comfortable with lightweight shoes, having mixed them into my training more often.  I have meetings this evening, so later run will depend upon how long they last...

PM:  Ran 6.4 on the TM.  1 mile warm-up, 2 mp miles (6:35 pace), 1 slow mile, 2 threshold miles (6:22 pace), and .4 mile cooldown. 

Didn't have a chance to run until 11pm this evening.  Headed down to the basement for a TM workout.  Legs were stiff from free weight squats yesterday.  Began by progressively working my way down to mp by the end of mile 3...held at mp for 5 miles (6:39)...did 1 final mile as a cooldown- 9 miles total.  Felt like I could have run forever, but don't want to overdo things this week. 

I can feel myself getting faster and gaining strength every single day.  After almost a year of +50 mile weeks, my body seems to have finally learned to handle higher mileage.  Could never quite get there before Boston.  Can't wait to begin "speedwork" next week. 

Dropped down a 20-miler today.  Not all that impressive time-wise.  Kept around an 8:30 pace for most of the run.  Started on the street through hills, then stopped to drink a 32-ounce gatorade planted at mile 12.  Ran the next 7.5 miles in the woods- more forgiving on the feet and about 10 degrees cooler (it was mid to high 70's today).  Finished the final .5 on the road to get back to the gym.

Also did 25 minutes of upperbody weights. 

rest...really wanted to run today.  Had a solid week of running and feel good, but felt it would be wise not to increase too much, too soon.  Will use today's rest towards another solid week. 

Ran 2 miles down to the track and then ran a warm-up mile (7:20 pace) in hopes of doing a few mp miles.  Picked up the pace for 2 miles on the track (6:24, 6:25),  but was not really into fighting a strong wind.  Ran 1 more mile on the track (slower pace) and head 1.5 miles down to Whites Woods (less wind). Ran the 5k trail course in 19:47 (6:23 pace) and trotted back home- 3 miles for a total of 13.6 miles for the day.  It's nice to be back outside more often!

Picked up a couple pairs of new shoes today- Saucony Trigon 5 guide's...ran 12.5 in them, felt good, but 1/2 size too large...headed back to the store right now...they're definitely sick of me returning shoes.  Last time told me they were losing merchandise off me...we'll see if they'll take'em back again.

Ran the monster hill to Goshen and back.  Forgotten how hard a run it is.  46:16 for 6.25mile to Goshen (7:24 pace).  46:22 for the same route back (7;25 pace).  I'm counting them as easy miles, yet produced marathon effort for probably 2/3 of the route.  Great workout!  I'll have to look back and see what my paces were for this route last summer. 

PM: Was able to get to the gym for a brief workout...20 min weights (still can bench 225lbs x 5...surprised myself) + 3 mile run in Whites Woods (almost attacked by a huge swarm of bees). Hope to get a run in this evening...all depends upon how dinner goes.

PM (2):  Headed down to the track right after supper.  2 mile warm-up followed by 3 x 800 w/1 lap in between (2:45, 2:50, 2:50).  Felt sluggish, but good to mix in a little bit of speed.  Finished with 2-mile cooldown. 

PM:  Goshen and back...6:25 there in 45:55 (7:21 pace) and 6:25 back in 46:10 (7:23 pace).  Same route as Monday, but 30 degrees warmer (high 70's).  Feel my endurance is starting to improve.  Getting a much better handle on mileage.  A black toenail or two from the hills, but I'll live.

20 minutes of weights + 2 miles of running.  Headed to FL for a week with family.

Experienced one of my best running experiences ever.  Am visiting my hometown in central Florida to celebrate my parents retirement before they move.  Headed out in the morning and was hit with nostalgia- humidity, smells of fresh cut grass, landmarks representing significant moments in my life, etc.  It was awesome!  45-minute run turned into just over 2 hours.  Very moderate pace, but really able to soak things in (while being soaked).  15 miles total.

Stayed up to 2am with family in FL, so didn't get out until 9:30am (hot and humid!).  Wanted to do Yasso 800's, but needed to stay within myself in respect to the heat.  2-mile jog to the track and then did some speedwork...

400's x 8 (w/1 lap jog in between):  (1:43, 91, 85, 82, 85, 82, 82, 83)

100's x 16 (jogged back in between)

Jogged 1.5 miles back for 9.5 miles total.

No running today...tremendous experience celebrating my parent's retirement...met in the Youth & Family Center now named after them...many presentations given, saw many faces from the past, and had an wonderful time processing in the evening with family.  Pretty special day!

Up until 1am with family, so didn't venture out until 9am- by then very hot and humid.  Kept pace at a very manageable clip (8:30ish) for 12.5 miles.  Very enjoyable run...spent the rest of the day swimming with family.

Ran 14.5 miles in just over 1:55.  Very hot, very humid, yet getting quite acclimated to the FL weather.  More quality family time.  

Still in FL with family.  Stayed up until 3am w/siblings, laughing and talking about current vision in life.  Got my first birthday kiss at midnight from wife, followed by a goofy second kiss by kid brother.  

Late night meant yet another mid-morning run in the humid Fl heat- mid-80's w/60% humidity.  Ran 13.5 miles at about an 8:30 pace.  I don't have opportunity to double, so am using this as a base building week.  

Last day in FL...had home communion w/family late last night...very meaningful.  Did a slow 11 in the heat this morning.

AM:  Had a quick window to get to the gym- 20 minutes weights and a quick 5-miler, including a few doses of mp and VO2 miles.  Now that I'm out of the FL heat, trying to inject a tiny bit of speed into the legs before doing more significant speedwork. 

PM:  Now I remember why I don't venture outside after dark...began a run at 9pm with thoughts of doing a 6-mile tempo...started out running towards the track (2 TM @ 6:15 pace)...got spooked by 2 deer that darted out in front of me by the graveyard...cut across the track and it began to pour rain...took shelter for a couple of minutes and realized this was going to be challenging...did 2 800's on the track in the rain (2:45, 2:50), including two jogged laps...ran 1.50 miles towards home at mp (6:35) and then jogged the final .5 through downtown sidewalks/traffic...5.5 miles total.  Not sure if I'll have time to do a long run tomorrow...we'll see.

Ran the nasty course to Goshen and back...1st 6.25 in 46:30 (7:26 pace)...2nd 6.25 in 44:47 (7:10 pace).  Portion back was close to mp effort, but I'll still categorize as easy miles.

Hopped on the TM this evening to try and get a few threshold miles in.  1 mile warm-up, 2 tm (6:22, 6:16), 1 slow mile, 1 tm (6:22), .5 mile cooldown...5.5 miles total.

rest.