Buttsweat Towel© season has begun

45F.  6 @ 8:08 AP.  Goal is to nap a lot today.  We hosted a party last night so I couldn't go to bed until waaaaaay after I usually do.  Our neighborhood goes absolutely bonkers with fireworks!

41F, raining.  6 @ 7:47 AP.  All I could think about was all the mud being generated at Bandera.

41F.  12 @ 7:25 AP.  Legs are still kinda mushy from overdoing Thursday's workout.  5 easy days ahead though...hopefully I'll get those springs in my legs to grow back in time for the race!

38F.  6 @ 8:03 AP.  Barely made it through this run, had a sharp pain on the top of my right foot.  I started feeling it right at the end of yesterday's run and throughout the day Sunday...but didn't think much of it.  Then the first 3 miles today were ok, but it got sharper and sharper after that.  Last mile I walked and hobbled, and now have a nice limp.  Not good.

X-ray was negative, MRI next week.  Feels absolutely terrible, already dropped from Bandera...

No change at all in the foot...MRI Tuesday night.  I offered to work an aid station at Bandera instead.  The weather looks absolutely freakin perfect.

I actually had a pretty darn good time working at a couple aid stations at Bandera.  First with the Rockhoppers, then with Team RWB.  I probably would've stayed all night (even though I only committed to 6 hours) but there's no cell phone coverage through most of the park...I might've shown up on a milk carton.  Pretty cool to see things from that perspective, and I managed to keep my jealousy/bitterness of missing the race in check...

Had my MRI and the message on my phone said I pretty much had everything...stress fracture, edema, tendinitis, tendon tear, ligament damage...  Really?  Not a doctor reading the MRI, so we'll see.  I'm probably screwed though.

The foot specialist isn't available until Wednesday next week, so I'll see him then, but I'm starting to accept that ibuprofen isn't gonna get me through this one.  Cross-training regiment might be for real this time!

Getting injured opens your eyes to stuff.  I've talked about running being a bandaid and now that the bandaid has fallen off, I'm realizing there's a bloody mess underneath.

Never been a big believer in "things happen for a reason" but the timing of this injury coinciding with some other things in my life is almost unbelievable.  Some of me has been trying to piece this together and figure out why, and poor me, but that's useless.  The reality is I have some really hard work ahead, and this foot thing is going to make me do some work that's been needed for years.

Foot specialist said they didn't see an actual fracture, but definitely highlighted to me the "stress reaction" and warned of an impending fracture...I got to see the MRI and, yeah, 3rd metatarsal looks jacked up compared to the others.  All the other stuff mentioned to me on the phone was likely the normal wear and tear of being a runner.  I'd bet we all probably have jacked up tendons & ligaments if you look closely.

Anyway, their guesstimate was 4 more weeks and they put me in a boot.  It could definitely be worse.  Cleared me to elliptical, bike, swim etc.  Whether I get off my lazy ass and make myself do something is another story...

I'm still alive.  No cross training whatsoever, but foot is definitely improving.  I still favor the inside of my foot while walking, but no longer limp.  Never once wore the stupid boot.  Feels like maybe 2 weeks away from a short test run, at least.

Lots of life changes in the works, but this is a running blog, dammit.  I feel happy and hopeful though.  2016 started out like a big fat pile of crap, but I still think it could be a great year.

1 mile in ~9 minutes on the treadmill.  Boom.

I could still feel the spot on my foot and it did seem to slightly increase its presence as I ran.  It's one of those things that if I didn't know what it was, I might lace em up and run 6 miles on concrete tomorrow.  Walking around now, there don't seem to be any ill effects and there were no NSAIDs in my system, so those are positives, but I think I might give it another week.  I really, really, really can't have this happen again.

I felt bad for the rest of my legs...It was almost like my puny little muscles were ready to jump out of my skin, they wanted to run so bad.  I did crank it down to 8:00 pace for the last quarter mile, but still, sooooo unsatisfying!

3 treadmill miles in 26 minutes.  I barely felt the spot on the 3rd metatarsal, but it was still slightly present.  For all I know it could take a month or two until I feel nothing down there, and it's probably unnecessary to wait until that happens, so I'm comfortable taking it easy for now.  Sadly, this was actually a pretty decent aerobic workout for me anyway.  Fitness will come back, just might take a couple months...

3.5 on the TM, ~29:40.  Foot actually felt better today but had some asymmetrical soreness from those 3 miles yesterday (left quad, ham).  Sigh.  Day off tomorrow anyway.  It doesn't feel like I'm favoring my left leg at all, but after weeks of not putting weight on my right foot, who knows.  I think it'll even out eventually.

3 TM miles in 25 minutes.  Late run.  Spent an extra 5 or 6 hours at the office so I was completely spent before I started, but got it done.  Starting the morning run routine up again....NOW.  Just too hard to make it happen otherwise.

4 early morning miles outside!  My first outside run in 6+ weeks.  It felt almost euphoric...for the first quarter mile.  The other 3.75 was pretty tiring.  I didn't have my watch (dead, of course) but I'm pretty sure it was slow.  I reckon it'll take a good 2 months to get into halfway decent shape, thanks to the complete lack of cross training.

62F, 90%.  Guessing around 8:20s.  My watch took 3 miles to lock on, because Garmins are vengeful when you don't use them for long periods of time.

Evening TM run, 5 miles in ~41 minutes.  Best-feeling run so far (i.e. not sucking wind the whole time).

Obviously I had a lot of time to think about my injury - I think I need new shoes.  I'm no kinesiologist, but maybe, just maybe, that 3rd metatarsal received a little extra "stress" from running on a shoe collection that averages a thousand miles apiece.

66F, 90%.  4.5 @ 7:51 AP.  In Castroville while the kids were in Sunday school.  My legs really wanted to open it up a little, but when I did so...ever so slightly....the little spot on my foot was there to remind me what I did to it.  Doesn't even hurt, and it's probably fine, but I go from not being aware of it, to being very aware of it.

Need to take a day off (never meant to do 4 in a row anyway), order some shoes, and jog slowly in the bigfattrainers until they get here.  Still pretty happy with how the week went through.

6 on the TM in 45-something.  Last one @ 9+ mph.

45F.  6 @ 7:59 AP.

36F.  7 @ 7:16 AP.  last mile 6:32...felt the foot a little on the last mile but it's fine now.

42F.  8 miles, no Garmin.  Seemed like a brisk pace (relatively speaking).

6 on the home treadmill, last mile low 6's.

64F, 75%.  7 @ 8:01 AP.  Castroville again, but I found a couple of really nice county roads with almost no traffic, along the Medina river.  More options presented themselves as I went along, but I'll probably never be able to do more than 8 or 9 miles while the kids are in Sunday school.  Still a nice discovery.

62F, 90%.  7 @ 8:07 AP.

66F, 95%.  6 @ 8:31 AP.

50F.  12 @ 7:12 AP.  Last 4 in the 6:40s and 6:50s.

66F, 95%.  6 recovery miles, no gps.

47F.  6 recovery miles, no gps.

6 on the home TM in ~46 min.  Last 3 was alternating quarters @ 10mph / 1-4% and 7mph / flat.

63F, 90%.  7 @ 7:43 AP.  Sunday School Castroville run.

I signed up for Hells Hills (25k trail race) on April 2nd.  Won't be in shape for it in time, but if I wait until I'm in shape to race again, it'll be summer time.  And, I'm anxious to try and have a life again!

TM fail.  Got on to do 8, left with 4.  Just tired...

69F, 90%.  12 @ 8:04 AP.  Sticky / moisty / nasty/ foggy run.  Sill fatiguey too...y

5 @ 7:50 AP.  Heavy downpour, thunderstorms.  Stayed close to the car and turned back once the lightning and thunder were less than 10 potatoes apart.  Got down to 6 potatoes on the way back!

58F, drizzly.  8 @ 7:39 AP.  Had to do the 3:30am Tom Slick special today...sleep debt growing...

8 TM miles at home in 1:06.

52F, foggy.  18 @ 7:48 AP.  Danielle was able to stay with the kids, so I finally got in a long run this morning.  I think my longest since the injury had been 12 miles, so this was a little aggressive, but I needed it.  Got kinda ugly by the end, but I figured it would.

52F.  6 @ 8:45 AP.

61F, 100%.  6 @ 8:14 AP.  Thick, chewy fog.

64F, 50%.  14 miles this morning, including my first workout of 2016.  I warmed up for a little over an hour at a moderate clip, then 8 x 800m, 200m active recoveries (60-70 sec).  Averaged 2:58.4 (3:00, 3:01, 3:00, 3:00, 3:01, 2:57, 2:56, 2:51).

Pretty decent first workout, definitely did not expect any better.  Just hoped that it wouldn't be awful, and that box was checked.  Maybe another month of consistency to go before I'm the old slowjoe again (just in time for summer) but this was a good first step.

68F, 95%.  6 @ 8:26 AP.

69F, 95%.  7 @ 8:12 AP.

52F, N 19 mph.  20 @ 7:11 AP.  Slugging through that painful 18-miler last weekend seems to have paid dividends.  Once my legs recovered from that, they've seemed ready to run normally again.  Finished up this one with a couple 6:40s, and then a 5:51 for mile 20 (downhill).  Basically ran for about the same time and effort as last week but got an extra couple miles out of it.  Do I dare to think I might be in shape in time for Hells Hills in 2 weeks?

PM: Went to Thin Air with the kids and had way more fun than I thought I would.  I'll be a lot more sore from all the climbing, jumping, swinging, etc than I will be from the 20 miler.

45F.  6 @ 8:14 AP.  Weather will be incredible all day today - 365 days of this, please.

AM:  36F.  7 @ 7:50 AP.

PM:  62F.  4 @ 7:55 AP.  This was at lunch, another absolutely perfect weather day, solid blue sky and light breeze.  Did a few strides.

46F.  8 @ 7:54 AP.

Workout #2 of 2016 happens tomorrow.

64F, 85%.  14 @ 7:17 AP.  Aborted 4 x 1.5.  Ran a 9:28, 9:37, quit less than a tenth of a mile into the 3rd repeat, there was just no go left in the legs.  I was fatiguey and weather was kinda stuffy.  After pulling the plug I collected myself with 5-6 minutes of slogging and decided I should at least try and get in a couple MP miles while my body was under duress...then it wouldn't be a total waste.  I started but had to pull up again just before the end of the first mile with a pretty severe side cramp.  The joys of getting back in shape.  After another 9-10 minutes of slogging, trying to work it out, I ran the last mile in a painful ~6:45.

I'm strangely ok with it on the whole.  If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that running awesome workout times isn't what makes you faster; awesome workout times are best as "indicators."  Suffering is what makes you faster (and lets you run awesome workout times and races later).  Today was sufficiently painful to do some good.

AM:  52F.  6 @ 8:29 AP.  Big bright moon this morning.

PM:  71F.  4 @ 8:03 AP.  Finished up some stuff at work and got in a 4pm run.  I love 70 degree afternoons almost as much as I hate 70 degree mornings.

AM:  45F.  8 @ 6:55 AP.  Did 5 moderate miles, then 3 miles of fierce fartleking.  Distance-wise, something like 1/3 mile fast, 1/6 mile slow on average, but still kind of a mix.  Last quarter-mile in ~70.

PM: 4 TM miles in 31 minutes at home.

3 on the TM in ~21 minutes.  Yard work took too long and I shorted myself on time before our afternoon activities.

64F, 95%, mist or fog or light rain.  15 @ 8:05 AP.  Gooey morning.  Next weekend looks better though, fortunately.

Today the ol' legs were pretty unwilling to stray from 8-minute pace and I wasn't about to make them.  This wrapped up my first 70+ mile week all year, and I've been feeling the buildup lately...although my legs did have some surprising springiness on Friday.  Guess I used it all up fiercely fartleking.

AM:  51F.  6 @ 8:37 AP.

PM:  4 TM miles in ~31 minutes.  Included 6 x 1 min @ 5k.

AM:  60F, 100%.  10 @ 7:40 AP.  Felt tired and weak again, but begrudgingly did a little 2 x 1 tuneup, low 6's, on the way back...with a ridiculously long recovery in between.  I'm going to shave some miles off the rest of the week in an attempt to not totally embarrass myself on Saturday.

PM:  70F, 85%.  4 @ 7:45 AP.  Recovery except one mile was faster... I actually got passed by another runner in my own neighborhood for the first time ever, so had to remedy that obviously.

69F, 95%.  6 @ 8:40 AP.  Wet.  Buttsweat towel season is just about here.

68F, 95%.  7 @ 8:14 AP.  Did a few wussy strides.

61F, NE 18 mph.  6 @ 7:45 AP.  Cold front blowing in now, perfect timing.  Legs are starting to get a little life back as well.  Just gotta remember I don't have my distance legs back yet, and it'll probably be a ~2 hour race tomorrow so better not get too carried away early on.

45F.  Great conditions today for my first race of 2016.  I got my $&@! handed to me by a few 20-somethings but still had a lot of fun.

Course - it was in good shape, not too wet or muddy other than a few creek crossings (water can be pretty wet).  I realized about halfway through the race that these were my first trail miles all year.  The course, true to its name, basically takes you up and down switchbacks the whole time except for a few nice stretches of sandy jeep trail.  My fastest Garmin mile was ~6:30 and the slowest was ~8:30...actually, those 2 were back-to-back, not that I ever bothered to look at my watch.  Anyway, some of my climbs were pitiful "power" hikes, especially towards the end.  More trail running needed.

Race - start was fast, but worked my way into 3rd once we hit the singletrack.  I stayed there, sandwiched between Short Shorts and Yellow Soler's for the first couple miles and it hit me that I was basically sprinting with 13+ miles still to go.  So I pulled over, let Yellow Soler's pass, pulled my head out my @$$ and started running my own pace in 4th place.  3 miles later, I passed Yellow Soler's, and was then by myself in 3rd until maybe mile 12-13.  Blue Shirt caught up and absolutely blew past me...he ended up putting almost 2 minutes on me over the last 2-3 miles.  Not sure what he was doing behind me for so long, but in Tejas Trails races you only need 5th to get the crazy trophies, so whatever!

Somewhere in the last half mile, during a pointless push to the finish line, I tweaked my calf a little.  I thought it was about to ball up and cramp but now it just feels kinda strain-y.  I think it'll be ok by next weekend.

54F.  6 @ 9:15 AP.  nnnnnnghghhhhahahhhhowowowaahhhaaaachhh

Calf's fine.

49F.  7 @ 8:31 AP.  Still got the cool weather...40s in April is pretty rare down here.  Helps me so much, even during recoveries like this, as it just makes running so much less work.

AM:  49F.  7 @ 8:01 AP.

PM:  4 TM miles in 30+ min.  Included Begrudging Strides.

61F, 90%.  8 @ 7:56 AP.  Tired this morning.  I was going to try a little tuneup but legs still have a lot of race stink on them, so i ran easy instead.  Last week was relaxed and I got a lot of sleep, but this week is frantic with minimal sleep...not good for recovering from a 2-hour race.  Next couple days need to be super easy.

85F.  7 @ 8:04 AP.  Had to get to work too early for a run so I went out in the afternoon instead, to soak up a little heat.  My race will be a little warm this weekend but not too bad...mid-60s by the end maybe.

55F.  5 @ 7:50 AP.  Legs are starting to feel better now, at least they aren't gummy worms anymore.  I'm definitely not recovered 100% though - this week was way too tough.  Probably averaged 4 hours of sleep per night, and not restful sleep at that.  Last chance to get some zzzzz is here at the hotel tonight.  I'm in Waco - home of the Dr. Pepper museum, the Baylor Bears and the once mighty Branch Davidians.  It's another destination race, obviously.

55-65F.  A bit humbled up in Waco today.  A smaller turnout for this race compared to last weekend, and I didn't know anyone there, but still super challenging and fun.

Course:  Yeah.  I wasn't really ready for something like that.  Someone told me last weekend it would be tough, but I still underestimated it.  They set it up to be 10-mile laps.  There was some bushwhacking, crawling, and finally some hellacious stairs around the 9.5 mile point (and unfortunately the 19.5 mile point).  Not like stairs in your house, like Mayan temple stairs...

However the main problem was navigation.  It was marked ok but there were many, many intersections, and a few you just had to guess.  There were dozens of easy ways to cut the course, even if you weren't trying to.  I was looking for old race results last night and I saw one year where the RD wrote, "so-and-so is declared the winner of the 20-miler because he was the only one to run the full course."  That probably should have been my first clue.

Race - I started out in the lead and gapped everyone fairly quickly.  Then after 2 miles I got to a T in the trail and it was unmarked.  I went maybe 100m in each direction, hoping to see some markings then decided I'd missed something and better re-trace my steps.  Fortunately, from a distance I saw the new 1st and 2nd place dudes and caught up to them.  One said, "hey, aren't you that guy that took off in the beginning?"  Uh huh...

We dropped 1 guy and I was left following the older dude (55!).  After a couple miles it was clear we had a pretty big lead and we agreed there was no reason to run too hard.  After getting lost once already, almost twice, I was in no rush to pass him despite the easier pace (he'd run it last year and said they had the same problems).

We stuck together for most of the race.  There were a couple open sections and there was no one to be seen behind us.  I was feeling a little guilty because he'd kept us on course this whole time and I knew I'd just blast by him once I was ready.  But with 3 miles to go a totally different guy we'd never seen before pops up behind us.  We let him pass and it didn't look like my buddy was going to be able to keep up so I let him know I wanted to go after the new guy and he stepped aside and wished me luck.

But this new guy was flying.  Within a few minutes he completely disappeared.  It was weird because there was a long straightaway climb right after I lost him - I completely expected to see him up there, but no.  According to the RD after the race he was ~5 minutes ahead.  I was pushing pretty hard too, and had reserved a decent bit of gas in the tank.  Could not for the life of me figure out how a guy with wheels like that wouldn't have caught us much earlier, or why he wouldn't have tried to go out with our relatively slow-moving lead pack.

I talked to the older guy after the race who finished a couple minutes after me and you could tell he was quite suspicious.  But that might just be the nature of the beast in trail running...I mean I had to do quite a lot of hiking vs running, and the stairs at the end took me forever compared to the 1st loop - it's definitely possible that he legitimately just stomped us at the end.

Anyway, gonna skip this one next year.  The Tejas Trails races (the last 2 I did) make it nearly impossible to go the wrong way...just a lot cleaner competition, I think.  But it was mostly enjoyable, and a really neat park to run in.  Every time I do a trail race I learn things that I can improve on, so hopefully I'll get better as I go.

71F, 80%.  6 @ 8:47 AP.  Legs were a little tired and sore, but felt like I just did a regular long run yesterday, not a race.  Man, I thought I was running tactically smart for the win, but I could've easily taken it if I'd just kept racing the whole thing.  Which leads me to this list...  I'm going to try and add to this as I go for my own reference and hopefully make better decisions.  Obviously a few common themes I can draw...

Wild Hare 50

• Buy and use a handheld water bottle.  No one is going to hand you drinks here.  Wasted 5-10 minutes and ended up dehydrated.
• Don't be afraid to go out with the leader.  You can always decide later to let him go if it gets unmanageable.
• Don't stop racing.  Guy almost took 2nd away from you.

Hells Hills 25k

• You suck at hills.  Fix that.

TnT 20-miler

• You suck at hills.  Fix that.
• Pay better attention to where you're going.  No harm in laying back initially, especially if you don't know where you're going.
• Don't stop racing.  Guy took first that shouldn't have.  When people catch you near the end of the race, it gives them the mental advantage and drive to put you away.
• Plan for the race to be much longer than you think.  This is the only race I've run during which I actually got hungry while running.  Poor hydration again, should've stopped for another refill.

Paleface Marathon

• Underhydrated and underfueled again.  Eat and drink more than you think is necessary 
• Hot races = don't be the rabbit; pack it up with the guys you know are your competition.

Pedernales Falls

• Need more heat training but probably just had stomach virus.

To be continued 

8 @ 8:23

8 @ 8:00

11 @ 7:30 AP.  

On Monday, despite not having felt anything at all around my stress fracture area for weeks, I was WALKING to a meeting and all of a sudden felt something go bad down there in the same spot.  It stopped me in my tracks, but I walked around a bit and it seemed ok.  Ran Tuesday after doing lots of hop tests, and it started feeling a little sore after the run.  I cut this Wednesday run short because the sensation was still increasing, even though it still felt pretty minor.  But 30 minutes later it was not good at all and I was back to favoring the inside of my foot while just walking.

A much much slower onset than the first time...not sure what to think.  No running on Thursday for sure, and we'll see what happens.

4 easy miles in the bigfattrainers on the TM.  I took 2.4g/day of vitamin I starting Wednesday, and it seems to have basically taken care of it.  I popped the last 800mg before bed last night (none since then) and it felt pretty good this morning - before, during and after this run.  I don't know, my guess is I haven't seen the last of this foot thing, but I'm hopeful; there really is nothing right there that can get injured other than the metatarsals and some tendons your toes use.  Weird.

73F, 95%.  7 @ 8:02 AP.  Buttsweat towel season has begun.  Outside run, foot was fine during the run but slightly twingey afterward.  Wearing shoes around the house seems to make it happier.  Going to keep up the 800mg before bed for now, I think.

Flooding and thunderstorms so I hit the TM at work.  Legs felt really good - I finally got some rest this weekend and the downtime last week helped my legs.  Kept increasing the speed and averaged 10.5 mph or so for the last mile.  Foot seemed ok.  Still wondering if I'm 1 weird landing away from disaster, but I'm not just going to sit around when it feels fine to run on.

AM:  62F, 95%.  6.5 @ 8:19 AP.

PM:  3.5 on the TM.  2 x 1 uphill miles: 1 @ 10%, 6.0mph and 1 @ 11%, 6.2 mph.  About 1100' total climbing for those 2 miles.  By the end of the second one, my lower back was hurting a little.  Good to know my uphill leg muscles are so weak that my lower back has to be recruited to chip in.  I was actually hoping to use the stair machine instead of this but it was broken.  But I'll be doing some hill stuff like this at least once a week, as long as my brittle foot holds up.

AM:  68F, 95%.  7 @ 8:10 AP.

PM:  4.5 on the TM with 6 x 1 min @ 5k, incline 0-3%.

69F, 95%.  I met a couple guys from the trail running club at 5am for some hills.  Most Thursdays they meet to run up one of the longer hills in SA - about a 200' gain over a half mile - and there is a nice beat up trail alongside the road.  About halfway through, I started charging hard on the downhill part, and then just doubled back to recover with them.  The last 2, I charged the uphill part (which is what I needed the most).  Good stuff - around 1700' of climbing overall, and met a couple good dudes.  It was actually worth it waking up at 3:45 and driving across town!

4 easy TM miles in the evening in the gym at my new apartment complex.  This is my first night here at the bachelor pad...definitely sad, weird, maybe a little exciting, but yeah mostly weird for now.  The last time I lived on my own (other than deployments) I was 20 years old.  But I'll adjust, as all humans eventually do.  The girls will be spending the night here tomorrow too - they just couldn't wait to sleep in the new bunk beds.

AM:  56-70F.  20 miles.  Met up with a guy from the trail running club and had a good run at Freidrich park.  After awhile it got a little crowded and he took me up a nearby road that goes to these ridiculously big houses with some really cool views - about 350' climb which is basically a mountain when you live in San Antonio.  Man, I never knew these places existed.  After that we did another trail loop at Freidrich and he had to get going.  Didn't have my watch running but it was ~2.5 hours total at that point.  When he left, I changed into the fastwitch and went back up the "mountain" road and back down, running pretty hard the whole time.  I had my gps on for that and it was 4 miles in ~27 minutes (6:42, 7:45, 5:58, 6:32).  The 7:45 was probably the hardest mile I've run all year; the 5:58 was recovery compared to that.  I can tell my fitness might be starting to approach that crazy New Year's Eve workout breakthrough I had right before getting hurt.

It seemed like my foot was getting better the last couple days so I didn't do the ibuprofen last night which was maybe a mistake, as it's a bit tender right now - definitely got a good pounding today.  I'm pretty sure it's not the bone anymore though.  No way would I be able to get away with some of the stuff I've done this week if it was; back in January I couldn't even walk on it without hurting it worse.  Probably it's just some collateral damage from before - I know the tendons right there are part of it if not all of it.  I pushed my toes down the other day, stretching the extensor tendons right there for a few seconds and that made em hurt for an hour.  So I think I'll be ok, just need to be more careful than I was today.

PM:  rockhopper party - they had the spring social, headlined by the beer mile...on trail of course.  I've always wanted to do a beer mile but have been booze-free for 3 months now and definitely not worth it to break my streak.  They did, however, have a donut mile undercard (eat a donut before every quarter).  So I ran that (no idea what my time was) and won a fork.  Spectating the beer mile was probably more fun anyway!

69F, 80%.  6 @ 8:41 AP.  Ran in some old bigfattrainers that were retired a long time ago.  Must've been before I figured out that bigfattrainers last forever.

AM:  71F, 95%.  8 @ 7:44 AP.

PM:  0.  ran out of time...going to happen a lot more (doubles will become rare) so need to increase morning mileage probably.  And not pass up any opportunity for a double...like I did on Sunday!

AM:  12 @ 6:53 AP on the TM.  Included 6 x 1 mile repeats (1/4 mile recoveries at 7mph).  Speeds for the 6 miles were 9.4, 9.6, 9.8, 10.1, 10.3, 10.8.  No incline.  Last one was 1/2 mile at 10.5 and 1/2 mile at 11.1.  Clearly started out too slow but I suppose easy does it is ok for now...  After the last recovery, I finished with a 1/4 mile @ 12mph.

AM:  61F, 95%.  8 @ 8:11 AP

PM:  4 tired miles on the TM at the gym at work after a 12-hour day.  Made myself do 15 minutes of hill work at 5%, 10% and 15%.  I think I need to do more at the highest inclines at power-hike speeds.

In other news, the K3s are on their deathbed.  I wonder if I can find some black market K2s...they are still showing no signs of quitting on me.

66F, 95%.  7 @ 8:33 AP.  Kinda worn out...legs were not in the mood to run this morning, so I cut it a little short.  I need to get in a long run tomorrow morning, since I'll have the kids this weekend and there is a lot planned (as I try to overcompensate for not living there anymore).  Anyway, stupid legs better get in the running mood overnight.

75F, 90%.  22 @ 7:23 AP.  Really solid run with a dew point of 72 this morning.  These days I don't have the privilege of a weather-based running schedule...more of a schedule-based schedule.  That's right.  Anyway I was annoyed it was so hot but it was good for me, especially as I'm planning on racing long distances this whole summer.  Gotta adapt sometime.

Able to knock out the last 4 around MP (6:40s).  I actually just emailed the Paleface RD, trying to move up to the full marathon next race (8 days from now) as I was wait listed for the following race.  Feeling like my aerobic endurance has finally improved enough since the injury, although I probably don't have enough of a base built yet.  Meh.

5 easy on the TM, 42 min.

6 on the TM in ~48 minutes, which included some 1/4-mile hilly stridey thingys.

TM run in the laaate evening.  8 @ 7:15 (last 3 @ 9 mph).

55F.  12 @ 6:53 AP.  Nice cold front came in, though maybe a day too early for race purposes this weekend.

Didn't look at my watch for this one, just going for a progression toward the fast end of my aerobic range.  Last 6 were 6:30 AP, so that was a pleasant surprise.  I'm in pretty good shape right now - that did not feel like a workout.  Maybe back to pre-injury levels...only took 11-12 weeks!

Sleep and recovery is the name of the game until Saturday.

53F.  6 @ 8:35 AP.

56F.  7 @ 8:00 AP.

86F.  3 @ 7:17 AP.  Thought I had a gap in the schedule at lunch but it closed up so I didn't get a chance to run until after work, around 6.  So I only did 3 miles instead of the planned 5, but, I did 1 stride!

Pretty pumped about the race - it will be more competitive than I thought, and I am really excited just to compete.  Even though it's warm (duh, San Antonio in May), I'm really feeling fit and ready.

63F -> 76F.  Let me start out by saying I still had fun.  I did.  This was maybe the worst decision-making I've ever had in a race.  Worst bonk of my life!  1:33 / 1:58

So, my going-in strategy was to run in the lead pack, no matter what.  At the start line, my RH buddy Matt pointed out Paul Terranova, adding that he was the fastest trail runner in Texas.  I think he has won a couple national championships so it was good to know but, well, I already had my strategy.

Started out in a pack of 4, with Paul in front, and I was the caboose.  As the middle 2 guys appeared to lose contact, I'd pass them.  So about 3 miles in, I'm in 2nd.  Ran behind Paul for a mile or so when he turned back to me and said, I should probably let you know I'm only doing 1 loop, then dropping."  He had to be somewhere else.  I thanked him for letting me know and he said something to the effect that he didn't think he'd be able to maintain this pace for 2 loops.  Hint dropped.  Hint ignored.  I did let him go a little, but caught glimpses of him until mile 10 or so.  I felt really, really good.  Hit the half in 1:33 which I knew was downright irresponsible.  Hot trail race, and a 1:33?  I knew there were 2-3 really good runners behind me somewhere though.

I continued feeling pretty good.  There is a little out and back for the middle aid station on the loop, maybe mile 20 for the 2nd loop, so I knew I'd get some info about my lead.  Josh was in 2nd, and I had about the same lead on him as I did on the first loop.  But Jason had dropped back and I was pretty sure he was no longer a factor.  However, somewhere around mile 22 my world came crashing down.  The bonk escalated really, really quickly.  I knew by 22.5 that I would get passed, even though I couldn't see anyone yet.  Mile 23 or so I did indeed get passed by Josh.  It was shortly after that I started walking.  Just couldn't run.  I did the gallo walking a little, maybe 50/50 walk/run, and just waited for Jason to pass me.  I could barely keep up with the half marathoners I had lapped.  There were some 13 and 14 minute miles at the end.  Jason finally came by with maybe 1-1.5 miles to go.  "Good job" he said.  Every time I started walking I got really dizzy.  I was really thirsty and really hungry.  I almost felt like I could sleep when I closed my eyes (I stopped closing my eyes when I got more worried about passing out).  The sun beating down felt like a hundred degrees even though I knew it was probably only in the mid-70s.

I managed to run the last 200-300m and had to sit down right away.  Another teammate kept bringing me water, coke, and all kinds of food and I would guzzle/eat everything immediately.  Finally able to get up and talk to people after about 10 minutes of that.  Yikes.

One day I'll find a happy medium with my race strategy.  That day was not today.  The winner ran 1:36, 1:41.  I'm almost certain I was fit enough to win, had my execution not been so incredibly bad.  I talked to  everyone for awhile and had a good time, but I definitely threw this one away.  Skipping the final aid station was one of the dumber decisions (I was out of water!).  One day...

68F, 90%.  4 @ 9:17 AP.

73F, 90%.  7 @ 8:41 AP.  Obviously a way faster recovery than a road race, as I've noted in the past.  Course it also helps that I didn't actually RUN an entire marathon.  

My youngest slept over so I couldn't knock out a run this morning...which these days means no run at all.  But we always have fun and now somehow there's an ongoing ritual of eating ice cream after bedtime.

8 miles, no gps.

Yesterday I was at the office for >15 hours.  So I didn't even bother to set the alarm last night, even though I knew early morning would be my only shot...needed sleep more than a run.  Really glad to have this week behind me.  

8 on the TM in 1:04 (TM since I have the kids this weekend).  Included 1 @ MP.  Hopefully an evening run outside on Sunday, though it looks like crummy weather.

4 @ 8:13 AP.  it was after 8pm or so before I got a chance for a run, so 4 was about all I felt like doing.  I'm basically useless physically and mentally once the sun goes down.

16 TM miles at some decent aerobic paces.  I need to find an alternate place to run when it's raining and flooded on my trail.  Almost 2 hours on the TM is inhuman.

69F, 95%.  6 @ 8:43 AP.

65F, 95%.  T-storm blew through a couple hours before I woke up so we got a nicer, cooler morning.  I did 8 x (3 min on / 1 min off) on the creek trail...had to do a little back and forth as the flooding cut me off in a couple spots, but I got in a decent effort.  Legs were still a little gloopy from Monday's run but all the reps were still ~1/2 mile (~6-min pace) give or take.  Finished with a decent amount of gas in the tank.

I'm not even going to plan out my training at this point.  Doubles are probably out for the foreseeable future, work is too much of a variable, I plan on racing quite a bit, and the other weekends will be booked by the kids, so just need to take it week by week from here on out.  For example, looks like I need to cram in a long run on Friday this week.  I think overall it'll still work though, and hopefully I can still knock out 60-70 mile weeks on singles.

62F, 100%.  8 @ 8:31 AP.  Rained the last couple miles.

62F, 100%.  20 @ 7:22 AP.  Picked it up for the last 3: 6:34, 6:37, 6:22.  Felt decent.

Puts me @ 60 miles for the week, so if I can't squeeze in a run this weekend as Single Dad, it's already been a productive enough week.

TM at the apartment gym while the kids swam in the pool.  The gym treadmills look out toward the pool so at least that's convenient.

Was going to do 6 or 7 but had to hop off at 4 and barely made it to the bathroom before disaster struck.  It's been awhile since one of those days (but I remember one pretty well).  Anyway I didn't feel like finishing the run after that.

16 @ 6:51 AP on the TM - rained last night and I wasn't in the mood for unpredictable trail flooding cut-offs.

6 easy, then a continuous 10-mile progressive tempo at the following speeds by mile: 9.0, 9.0, 9.0, 9.0, 9.1, 9.3, 9.5, 9.7, 9.9, ~10.3.  Not even going to try to figure the AP out for the tempo part.  Seems pretty good but who knows with treadmills.  I do it on the same TM for every workout and this felt better at the same speeds, at least.  Progress.  Maybe.

75F, 90%.  7 @ 8:49 AP.

76F, 95%.  8 @ 8:02 AP.

10 on the TM, with 10 x 1 min on/off.  On's were 10.5 mph progressing to 11.4.

78F.  6 @ 8:17 AP.  Late evening run.

76F, 85%.  5 @ 8:17 AP.  Other than Monday, I've felt sluggish all week - not sure the race tomorrow could possibly be a decent performance, especially with a dew point of 73 but I'm going to take it easy and try to progress through each 5k.  It's a 5 x 5k loop race - one of those races that most people just do as a relay, because why would you run 15.5 miles solo at this time of year kind of race.

70F/85% -> 75F/80%.  Some ridiculous thunderstorms last night came through and hung around until right before the race started.  We got off to a bit of a late start, but the storms made things cooler than they would have been otherwise - looks the dew point stayed below 70, although it was increasing throughout the race.  Leftover t-storm wind was an issue on one of the legs (3/4-mile homestretch) but not too terrible, maybe 10-15 mph.

I really liked the format - it's mostly a relay race, so there are teams of 5, the course is 5 x 5k laps, and each lap has 2 different out-and-backs so you're never more than a mile from the starting line.  Only about 60 of us bozos did it as a solo 25k.  I definitely didn't mind the monotony of the loops and kind of enjoyed keeping tabs on each 5k time and getting encouragement from the crowds near the start.

The race plan actually went just like I'd envisioned for once, with progressively faster 5k's, and overall faster than I thought would be possible given the temperature.  The guy that won already had an insurmountable lead after the first lap, and there was no one close behind me, so I was able to relax and go by feel.  Splits:

20:18, 20:00, 20:02, 19:57, 19:20.

Laps 3 and 4 both had a 10-15 second stop to re-fill my bottle, so it was probably a near-perfect progression, even though the sun came out in full force for the last 4-5 miles.  Last thing to note is mile 15 was my fastest full mile (6:06) and the last ~1/2 mile+ was at 5:50 pace, so a really strong finish.  Pretty solid result in my first road race of the year. 

6 @ 8:40 AP.  Pouring rain the whole time!  Felt really regenerative though, even if it's just my imagination.

I finally have time for a double today...on probably the one day I shouldn't do one, trying to recover from a long road race (can already tell it'll be a rougher recovery than my trail races).  I'll just do some push-ups instead, I guess, since Allie could probably beat me up right now.

75F, 95%.  7 @ 8:45 AP.  Legs still really mushy...what I get for running a race on 100% concrete.

68F, 95%.  8 @ 8:04 AP.  Nice and cool, looks like more of the same for the rest of the week.

tstorms/flooding again, so 10 @ 7:12 AP on the TM.  Last 4 @ 9+ mph.  Still really tired but forced it a little as I won't be running much the next few days.

TM with some hills between laundry...1:13

no opportunity but maybe tomorrow night 

78F.  6 @ 8:13 AP.  Managed a few miles in the evening to avoid the double goose egg weekend.  Due for an early wake-up long run now!

65F, 80%.  23 @ 7:06 AP.  Combination of unseasonably cool weather and rested legs from not really running much this weekend meant the legs were due for some good abuse.

Didn't look at my watch much, just tried to keep up an good effort.  Last mile in 6:17 was the only one I really pushed it.  Aerobic engine is really strong lately.

Got home from work around 11pm, and finished this little run just before midnight.  Surprisingly good pace, took around 29 min...while I did feel the fatigue from Monday's run, I think I mentally needed the release of a good effort.

Slept in.  I got home at ~9:30pm but just couldn't make myself go run.

70F, 95%.  8 @ 7:40 AP.  Brutal work week...I'm in the midst of hiring a couple new analysts, but things are just going to be rough until they are onboarded and off and running.  So for M-F, just trying to pick 2 nights a week to get a good night's sleep (defined as 6 hours), and kids/work/running consume the rest.  Long tunnel, but there is a little bit of light at the end of it!

Had the kids overnight and then worked late.  I had time to run in the evening around 8:30, but couldn't will myself out the door.

AM:  76F/91% -> 80F, 80%.  Met a couple guys from the club and did a big loop at government canyon - 12-13 miles I think, in 2 hours - pretty good effort.  Summer got a late start in Texas but it's definitely here now.  One of the guys went out for more after our loop, which was also my original plan, but I was suffering more than I expected and decided I was done after 1 loop.  I definitely need to be running more in the heat, just hard to find the time.  More fun on tap for this evening, headed to Bandera!

PM:  18 miles.  I had a really fun evening and night at HCSNA in Bandera with a couple other Rockhoppers.  With the recent rain/floods, there were all these active springs and streams that are normally dry, so we did some exploring.  We totaled 18 miles - mostly running, some hiking and some swimming!

77F, 90%.  7 @ 8:28 AP.  Still not moving too well from Saturday's activities...definitely worth it though!