Every Run is a Great Run!

Short entry today, gotta hurry. Ran in the afternoon today, about 3 miles with Kim then 7 more solo. Legs still dead as a doornail.

Ave pace 8:56.

AM: Not a good run today. I was wanting to do a 2x2 mile HMP workout, resting for .5 miles in between the pair of 2 mile segments. I was going to start around mile 1 of the SF 1/2 marathon course and run to mile 3 (slightly uphill and into the wind), then jog for a 1/2 mile then run the same section in the other direction (downhill w/ tailwind). I was thinking 6:40-6:45 pace on the uphill/wind section then 6:20-6:30 coming back should make me work but not be all that difficult.

The only problem was that my stupid left high-hamstring tendon-butt-itis has decided to act up again, and try as I might to loosen it up before beginning the cruise intervals (long warmup - 3 miles, including strides, stretching), I just couldn't get it going. So after struggling mightily just to run a 6:50 on mile 1, I bagged the workout shortly thereafter and hobbled home with my tail between my legs.

Ave pace: SNAIL

So what to do about the 1/2 marathon race on Saturday? I had already planned to make this a reduced mileage week (50-60 miles). I think I'll stick to that plan but will keep all the run miles very easy and also replace some of the running miles with some medium-intensity cross-training. Thursday I'll try a few strides and see how the hamstring is feeling at that point. I sure hope Kim and I survive the next few weeks and can make it to the start line of SGM without being completely broken down.

Late AM: Crosstrain workout - 22 minutes on bike and 20 minutes on the elliptical. I pushed a little harder than usual and was able to get my heart rate up to around 130-140 on the bike and 160-170 for the elliptical. On the elliptical I tried to simulate a tempo run but it was hard to get feeling like I was working to the same level as when running. But I think getting over 160 on the HR is a good sign I was working pretty hard, toward the end I got above 170 for a couple of minutes. I've never really measured my HR while running so I'm not sure what my max is or where I get to on harder tempo runs but I wouldn't imagine it's much higher than this.

So hopefully this was a useful workout. My legs felt very good afterward compared to most days running, and I did some stretching including Dale's suggested stretch and I felt very good and relaxed afterward. I'll will do more crosstrain than usual this week and perhaps keep this a part of the routine if I see good results and I am able to heal up and not lose any conditioning. Kim and I are also going to start going to our friend & neighboor who is a massage therapist. We'll probably see him every week leading up to the marathon and perhaps beyond then. He's always real good at teaching us what he is doing as well so we can work on each other and save some bucks. Hope with all this stuff we can be close to top-notch form come Oct. 4.

AM: Kim and I ran easy down Payson Canyon with the 5am small group. Only went 8 miles instead of the full 11+ as this is a recovery/reduced-mileage week and since we'll be doing the SF 1/2 marathon on Saturday. I've really been babying my left hamstring the last day, lots of RICE, also alternating heat with the ice, Dale's stretch, etc. So far so good, felt pretty good today but it usually does when I run slow. The test is trying to run under 7-min pace. Tomorrow I'll try some strides and see what the verdict is. Not sure what I'll be doing on Saturday. I was hoping to run it similar to Hobble, treat the first 6-7 miles as marathon pace tempo, then push the last 6 miles if I'm still feeling good. I would like to run in the 1:25-1:30 range but with the injury situation we'll just have to wait and see. Usually with this non-downhill race you can get a pretty good idea what you'll run at SGM by doubling your finish time, so SGM of 2:50-3:00 means running 1:25-1:30 for SF 1/2.

Not sure on ave pace today since the garmins don't seem to like the canyon this year. Probably around 7:40-7:50.

Late AM: 20 minutes on eliptical and core workout while watching that fine, redneck movie classic - "Raising Arizona".

Late AM: We were both needing some extra sleep last night so Kim and I slept in a bit. So I ran at work during a lull in the action and ended up getting in 7 miles. Hamstring was feeling better than the last couple of days so I thought I would attempt some roughly quarter mile surges at the beginning of miles 2-5 an just try and run what felt like 1/2 marathon pace.

I ignored the garmin until near the end of the quarters and just tried to focus on running relaxed, good form, and listen to the body. The first quarter I must have still been a bit cold, only 6:50 pace and it felt harder than it should have, similar to my failed Tuesday workout attempt. But around 2.5 miles I seemed to loosen up and start running better and the next 3 quarters felt better, although not completely pain free and as loose as I would have liked. Ran them at 6:35, 6:15, 6:30 pace.

So for the Saturday race I think I'll just make sure and get a good 3-4 mile warmup with some strides and then run whatever it feels like my body is willing to give me.

Ave pace: 8:30

Late AM: Ran just enough to loosen up the legs this morning with Kim. Since it's a reduced mileage week and race tomorrow 2.3 miles was just dandy.  Last night Kim and I got our first taste of deep-tissue sports massage (OUCH!) as our neighbor and pain-inflicting-loving massage therapist Nate came and beat us up. Man I thought I was going to die when he was wailing on my calves and shins.  I was pretty sore going to bed so I wasn't sure how I would feel today but I actually feel pretty great so maybe there is some magic in Nate's massage madness. He'll be working us over every week for at least until SGM to help keep our bodies loose and (hopefully) injury free.

Had a delightful run today. Perfect weather and the SF canyon wind was being well behaved. Certainly not what I would call a race effort as I felt pretty good (too good?) the whole way. I would have been more aggresive but I've been nursing a sore hamstring that seems to give me much grief if I go much faster than marathon pace. So I pretty much got into MP tempo run mode and ran the whole race at that effort hoping to at least break 1:30.

Toward the end (last 3 miles) I was feeling better than I should in a race and I thought perhaps I should work harder. However whenever I sped up my hamstring would start to yell at me so I just enjoyed the more relaxed pace and did just enough to keep Paul T from catching me :)) Paul actually ran a great race and seems to be improving with every race. He is definitely now in the sub-3 SGM camp.

Kim also had a great race but I'll refrain from providing any details and let her describe her run in her race report.

Warmed up a mile with Paul T then about another mile or so with Sasha. I was surprised to see him there I didn't think Sasha was running this race. He ended up winning it, so big congrats to him. There were a few other bloggers there as well and I think most everyone had pretty good races, I won't try to name everyone as I'm sure I'll miss somebody.

At the starting line I see that AG placing is out the door as I see the regulars... Darin C and Carl H there, but also new-master and super-speedster Ron Greenwood. These 3 are among the best in the state in 40-44 so there was no chance for top 3. Oh well we just do our best. Kind of sad when I can get 12th overall but still only 4th in AG. But since my long-term goal is to be top 5 AG at most races, I'm still good in that regard. I could have had the race in my life today and still been 4th as there were over 7 minutes between me and the slowest of these guys.

Splits:

1 - 6:48

2 - 6:59 (not sure what happened here, got lazy I guess)

3 - 6:49

4 - 6:52 (small hill)

5 - 6:44

6 - 7:09 (hill at the end)

7 - 7:06 (more uphill)

8 - 6:27 (downhill, experimented with running 6:00 pace for a bit but the hamstring wasn't happy about that)

9 - 6:49

10 - 6:41

11 - 6:47

12 - 6:48

13 - 6:43

.1 - :38 (6:30 pace)

Of course I would have liked to run closer to 1:25 today but I did get under 1:30 and it felt pretty easy. I think barring injury troubles or just a really horrible day, I believe I am on track for sub-3 at SGM. Maybe even closer to 2:50 if everything really comes together. 4 weeks to go I can't wait.