09/20/2009 - 09/26/2009 (Week 4)
Heading into week 4, I am sooooooo tired... Up until yesterday, I had been feeling fairly energetic, despite various aches and pains and respiratory distress. I thought taking Friday off would revive my legs, but on the contrary they seemed to have even less "pop" after the day off. Nuts.
This is the phase of training that I think of as the peak of the Activation Energy in a reaction profile. You ramp up the mileage, and crank down the paces, and somehow all of that happens a bit quicker than you gain fitness. There's an "uphill" part where you start to accumulate fatigue... before the increased fitness kicks in and you finally start to see some gains. This week is probably going to be my hardest one yet, but I'm hopeful that there's some good stuff there once I put in the requisite E(sub)a.
Sunday: 9.3 miles, 1:23:13 from Stables to Rose Bowl Perimeter (8:57 min/mile)
It's still morning, but the sun has come out and it's warmer than I'd like. I'm even more tired because it's only been 12 hours since my last run, but I'm determined to start the week right, with a proper long run, for the first time thus far. Started out feeling like my legs were really weak under me, but felt a lot better on the second half. Cardiovascularly, this run felt really pleasant and easy, so the time went by a lot quicker than I thought it would. I was kind of sad to see the final time, but also glad that I hung in there and didn't cut the route short.
Monday: 7.8 miles, 1:07:48 for a reverse California/RB perimeter loop (8:42 min/mile)
Slept in and missed the women's long run, so ran the guys' long run, mostly with Ben and Anton. I felt a lot better than yesterday at first glance, but in retrospect the effort/speed ratio was unfavorable compared to yesterday. I worked pretty hard to keep up with Ben in the beginning and at the end, but I was feeling a lot better jogging with Anton who was sore. I guess this is a lot of miles in 2 days for me, I'm feeling pretty beat.
Tuesday: 6.5 miles, 8 x 700m pick ups/100m jog rest at Lacy Park, 1.5 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down
Despite my resolve to take a day easy, Ian tempted me with this pretty mellow workout with the team today. I woke up and my legs were feeling good for the first time in a while, so I decided to go for it. It got off to a bit of a bad start, because I was late and had to haul ass to catch the group at the park, but the workout actually went really well. I made a good decision (for once!) and ran with the second pack, Phyllis, Perrin and Mia. Phyllis was an awesome pace leader, she's really steady and the pack stayed together for all of the repeats. I ran all of mine by feel and most of them were either 3:08 or 3:12, strangely enough. The pace was easy for me in the beginning, and just the right amount of challenging by the end, it felt fun and relaxed and great.
Wednesday: 6.7 miles, 54:36 Lorain/St. Albans (8:09 min/mile)
Really fun base run with Susan and Masha. I haven't been down to Lorain in a long time, and it was really nice. The pace was a little faster than usual, and I was feeling it a little bit in the middle, but I started feeling good again when we hit the hill coming up Virginia, and was able to finish strong. I think my energy levels are reviving a little bit. I felt really good at the end.
Thursday: 6.5 miles, 52:09 Hillcrest/Orlando/San Marino/California (8:01 min/mile)
Wanted to wake up early and do a tempo run in the Arroyo, but slept in instead :(. I felt pretty worn out by the time I got home from work, so I decided to do just a base run, but with some tempo paced pick ups in the middle. I wanted to do 5 x 5 minutes, but I think it ended up being more like 4 x 2-4 minutes. My legs felt good, but the breathing was pretty ragged for the faster parts. I really focused on maintaining a solid pace between the pick ups though, so it felt like a good solid effort. I was kind of hoping this would average out to sub-8 min/mile pace, but I guess it'll have to be another day.
Friday: Off, shots. Travel to Denver. I was really good and didn't gorge myself on free lunch.
Saturday: 5.2 miles, 42:42 (21:32/21:10) for 2 laps of Washington Park in Denver (8:13 min/mile)
Pleasant morning run in Denver. I made a promise to myself to keep this run really easy, so I was really pleased to see the split for the first lap. I got a little bit excited and pushed a little harder on the second lap, but overall it was a steady, non strenuous effort. The altitude didn't really bother me, which was also nice. A good end to the week.
Week Total: 42 miles, totally solid!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
No workouts for you
09/13/2009 - 09/19/2009 (Week 3)
It took me a few tries, but I think I've finally learned my lesson... Running with the team is fun, but I still have to focus on doing my own training. I guess the temptation will cease with the end of pre-season, but I want to make sure that I don't do any undue damage to my feet or to my musculature by trying to tag along on the team's workouts.
Given that a few weeks ago, I could barely run 3 miles, I think the focus for me right now is to get back to doing what I do best: long steady runs. I don't really want to build a lot of hopes around any specific race at this juncture, rather my general hope is to gain back a level of basic fitness. I want to be comfortably running a 7:30 to 7:45 min/mile base pace, with a weekly mountain run and Sunday long run of 15-20 miles. Even if I'm not training for any specific, I know that this keeps me happy. I'm naturally kind of "interval" averse, so I think this is a good starting point.
Sunday: 3 miles, 24:39 in the Arroyo (8:13 min/mile)
Wanted to do a proper long run today, but woke up too late. Instead did the 3 mile loop with Peter. Felt pretty good. Still feels a lot harder than it should, but compared to before, there's definitely some progress here. Beach with Will afterwards. Swam in the ocean and did some foot exercises in the sand again. Peter lost the frisbee :(
Monday: 7.5 miles, 1:03:35 Huntington/Los Robles (8:29 min/mile)
Pleasant morning run with the team, ran with Masha, Sylvia, Justine and Clara. Legs were kind of heavy in a weird way from the swimming yesterday, but my breathing has totally settled down. Felt pretty good, but the grass was ridiculously long and thick on Huntington, which made the run a little bit more tiring than I expected.
Tuesday: 6.2 miles, 4 x Arroyo Tempo Loops (~1 was at "tempo pace")
This was kind of a disaster... I wasn't really sure why I thought this would be any different from the San Marino Hill Circuit, but I love tempo runs so I decided to give this a try. I managed 1 lap in about 11:40, after which I started losing the pack, and when I slowed down I obtained a side cramp, so the second lap was basically just shuffling and trying to work out the cramp. It was pretty miserable. There was also a lap warm up and a lap cool down for 4 total. Argh.
Wednesday: 5.1 miles, 42:18 Rose Villa, San Gabriel, Lombardy (8:18 min/mile)
Another one of Susan's cute neighborhood runs. Ran with the group, then Sylvia and Masha towards the end. Felt really good today, wanted to go faster. I'm excited that it's a lot easier to breathe and the paces are coming down, slowly but surely. Legs are starting to feel a little bit tired though.
Thursday: 6 miles, 50:26 Hillcrest, Orlando, Allen (8:29 min/mile)
The trouble with not going to team practice is that there's no incentive to wake up on time. Slept in pretty catastrophically, so had to run at night. I guess this was okay, because my legs were feeling really worn out in the morning. Actually, they were still feeling really tired at the end of the day, so I was pretty unenthused about running. Once I got started though, it was really nice and relaxing. Went really easy and just focused on keeping good form and not slogging. Started to feel pretty good after about 15 minutes. I forgot how nice it is to run at night, it was so calm and relaxing I didn't even notice that I had forgotten my iPod.
Friday: Off, shots. I really wanted to run today, but my legs were really really tired. So I decided to make cookies for the team instead.
Saturday: 5.3 miles, 45:27 Monterrey to Third Bridge (8:35 min/mile)
Went to see the race at Riverside in the AM, it was really hot but pretty fun. Hung out with Gustavo, and Goldhammer almost ran me over with the van. As a result, I had to run in the evening. I put it off as long as possible to avoid the heat... but then ran into the other problem of lack of sunlight. Nuts. Another troubling thing... my legs still feel really worn out despite the rest day. Had to take it really easy, started feeling better towards the end, but then I had to slow down pretty significantly bc it was completely dark and I couldn't see the footing on the trails. Nonetheless, it was a nice run, and I'm encouraged that I'm managing 8:30's even going super easy.
Week Total: 33.1 miles, coming along nicely!
It took me a few tries, but I think I've finally learned my lesson... Running with the team is fun, but I still have to focus on doing my own training. I guess the temptation will cease with the end of pre-season, but I want to make sure that I don't do any undue damage to my feet or to my musculature by trying to tag along on the team's workouts.
Given that a few weeks ago, I could barely run 3 miles, I think the focus for me right now is to get back to doing what I do best: long steady runs. I don't really want to build a lot of hopes around any specific race at this juncture, rather my general hope is to gain back a level of basic fitness. I want to be comfortably running a 7:30 to 7:45 min/mile base pace, with a weekly mountain run and Sunday long run of 15-20 miles. Even if I'm not training for any specific, I know that this keeps me happy. I'm naturally kind of "interval" averse, so I think this is a good starting point.
Sunday: 3 miles, 24:39 in the Arroyo (8:13 min/mile)
Wanted to do a proper long run today, but woke up too late. Instead did the 3 mile loop with Peter. Felt pretty good. Still feels a lot harder than it should, but compared to before, there's definitely some progress here. Beach with Will afterwards. Swam in the ocean and did some foot exercises in the sand again. Peter lost the frisbee :(
Monday: 7.5 miles, 1:03:35 Huntington/Los Robles (8:29 min/mile)
Pleasant morning run with the team, ran with Masha, Sylvia, Justine and Clara. Legs were kind of heavy in a weird way from the swimming yesterday, but my breathing has totally settled down. Felt pretty good, but the grass was ridiculously long and thick on Huntington, which made the run a little bit more tiring than I expected.
Tuesday: 6.2 miles, 4 x Arroyo Tempo Loops (~1 was at "tempo pace")
This was kind of a disaster... I wasn't really sure why I thought this would be any different from the San Marino Hill Circuit, but I love tempo runs so I decided to give this a try. I managed 1 lap in about 11:40, after which I started losing the pack, and when I slowed down I obtained a side cramp, so the second lap was basically just shuffling and trying to work out the cramp. It was pretty miserable. There was also a lap warm up and a lap cool down for 4 total. Argh.
Wednesday: 5.1 miles, 42:18 Rose Villa, San Gabriel, Lombardy (8:18 min/mile)
Another one of Susan's cute neighborhood runs. Ran with the group, then Sylvia and Masha towards the end. Felt really good today, wanted to go faster. I'm excited that it's a lot easier to breathe and the paces are coming down, slowly but surely. Legs are starting to feel a little bit tired though.
Thursday: 6 miles, 50:26 Hillcrest, Orlando, Allen (8:29 min/mile)
The trouble with not going to team practice is that there's no incentive to wake up on time. Slept in pretty catastrophically, so had to run at night. I guess this was okay, because my legs were feeling really worn out in the morning. Actually, they were still feeling really tired at the end of the day, so I was pretty unenthused about running. Once I got started though, it was really nice and relaxing. Went really easy and just focused on keeping good form and not slogging. Started to feel pretty good after about 15 minutes. I forgot how nice it is to run at night, it was so calm and relaxing I didn't even notice that I had forgotten my iPod.
Friday: Off, shots. I really wanted to run today, but my legs were really really tired. So I decided to make cookies for the team instead.
Saturday: 5.3 miles, 45:27 Monterrey to Third Bridge (8:35 min/mile)
Went to see the race at Riverside in the AM, it was really hot but pretty fun. Hung out with Gustavo, and Goldhammer almost ran me over with the van. As a result, I had to run in the evening. I put it off as long as possible to avoid the heat... but then ran into the other problem of lack of sunlight. Nuts. Another troubling thing... my legs still feel really worn out despite the rest day. Had to take it really easy, started feeling better towards the end, but then I had to slow down pretty significantly bc it was completely dark and I couldn't see the footing on the trails. Nonetheless, it was a nice run, and I'm encouraged that I'm managing 8:30's even going super easy.
Week Total: 33.1 miles, coming along nicely!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Patience, young grasshopper...
09/06/2009 - 09/12/2009 (Week 2)
I'm not really young or a grasshopper, but I've been trying to tell myself to chill out all week. I guess the plan was to hold back on ramping up the mileage, but it didn't quite work out that way. I'm just itching to get back into shape, and its hard to resist the urge to pile on the miles. I probably made some unadvisable calls, but the important thing is that my feet are still feeling good, and I'm still looking forwards to my next run. I think that's going to be the most important thing for me right now, that I want to enjoy each run. I'm trying to stave off for as long as possible the state where I'm really stressed out about completing mileage and hitting specific paces.
Sunday: 3 miles, 24:54 in the Arroyo (8:18 min/mile)
Progress! Awesome. Got up a little bit earlier and ran at 8 am, and that made all the difference. It was 20 degrees cooler and 100% more pleasant. Tried to re-establish the practice of breathing out of my nose to keep things under control. Felt pretty good.
Monday: 7.3 miles, 1:02:18 from Softball Fields to Salvia Canyon (8:32 min/mile)
Our whole apt got up to run with the Caltech team in the morning. Ran with Garrett in the beginning and then with the roomies. I was pretty nervous about running an entire hour, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was actually pretty fun, and I was pleased to see that it was about the same pace as the shorter runs I've been doing. Beach with Will, Ruby, Ian and Kangway afterwards. Did some ocean swimming, and a lot of foot exercises in the sand. Also pretty fun! Pleasantly tired afterwards.
Tuesday: Off. Work at 6:30 am for first day of school. Hard to wake up without morning run. My feet feel really excellent though, I think the sand was really good for them!
Wednesday: 5 miles, 46:18 Susan's 5 mile Loop (9:15 min/mile)
Super easy with the Caltech team. I guess they had a hard workout yesterday. Liked the loop though, we went on some streets I've never been to before, despite having lived here for 9 years now. First day with new Adidas shoes, which I like a lot. Got some new blisters, though I don't think it really has to do with the shoes, since I was getting them with the old shoes too. I guess its just part of getting used to running again.
Thursday: 7.5 miles, San Marino Hill Circuit (I gave up on keeping time after 2 hills)
This is (was) one of my favorite hill workouts, and since yesterday was so easy I talked myself into coming out for this, despite the fact that intensity is probably the last thing I need right now. After the first hill, I was pretty much wondering how in the world I ever could have thought this was a good idea. It was really a large shock to the system. The best way to describe how it felt is 'rickety'. My legs felt really weak under me, and it felt really unnatural to swing my arms quickly, as if the joint needed some grease. The biggest problem was basically just lack of intensity endurance. I did okay on the shorter hills, but died pretty quickly on the longer ones. Overall, I think I survived okay though. I wasn't too far behind the front pack, and I finished without having a catastrophic meltdown.
Friday: Off, shots. Calamity of the world... I ate 3 donuts today. I've been in intensive weight loss mode all week, and was doing well until today. Nuts.
Saturday: 5.3 miles, 44:06 Monterrey to third Bridge Loop (8:19 min/mile)
Nice run in the AM. R hamstring felt a little tired, but felt alright overall. Thankfully the breathing has calmed down a bit since last week, I've got it mostly under control now (breathing out of nose only). Focused on keeping good form, even rhythm and landing softly (per Susan's feedback). Hopefully that will help keep the strain off of my feet.
Week Total: 28.1 miles, now that wasn't so bad
I'm not really young or a grasshopper, but I've been trying to tell myself to chill out all week. I guess the plan was to hold back on ramping up the mileage, but it didn't quite work out that way. I'm just itching to get back into shape, and its hard to resist the urge to pile on the miles. I probably made some unadvisable calls, but the important thing is that my feet are still feeling good, and I'm still looking forwards to my next run. I think that's going to be the most important thing for me right now, that I want to enjoy each run. I'm trying to stave off for as long as possible the state where I'm really stressed out about completing mileage and hitting specific paces.
Sunday: 3 miles, 24:54 in the Arroyo (8:18 min/mile)
Progress! Awesome. Got up a little bit earlier and ran at 8 am, and that made all the difference. It was 20 degrees cooler and 100% more pleasant. Tried to re-establish the practice of breathing out of my nose to keep things under control. Felt pretty good.
Monday: 7.3 miles, 1:02:18 from Softball Fields to Salvia Canyon (8:32 min/mile)
Our whole apt got up to run with the Caltech team in the morning. Ran with Garrett in the beginning and then with the roomies. I was pretty nervous about running an entire hour, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was actually pretty fun, and I was pleased to see that it was about the same pace as the shorter runs I've been doing. Beach with Will, Ruby, Ian and Kangway afterwards. Did some ocean swimming, and a lot of foot exercises in the sand. Also pretty fun! Pleasantly tired afterwards.
Tuesday: Off. Work at 6:30 am for first day of school. Hard to wake up without morning run. My feet feel really excellent though, I think the sand was really good for them!
Wednesday: 5 miles, 46:18 Susan's 5 mile Loop (9:15 min/mile)
Super easy with the Caltech team. I guess they had a hard workout yesterday. Liked the loop though, we went on some streets I've never been to before, despite having lived here for 9 years now. First day with new Adidas shoes, which I like a lot. Got some new blisters, though I don't think it really has to do with the shoes, since I was getting them with the old shoes too. I guess its just part of getting used to running again.
Thursday: 7.5 miles, San Marino Hill Circuit (I gave up on keeping time after 2 hills)
This is (was) one of my favorite hill workouts, and since yesterday was so easy I talked myself into coming out for this, despite the fact that intensity is probably the last thing I need right now. After the first hill, I was pretty much wondering how in the world I ever could have thought this was a good idea. It was really a large shock to the system. The best way to describe how it felt is 'rickety'. My legs felt really weak under me, and it felt really unnatural to swing my arms quickly, as if the joint needed some grease. The biggest problem was basically just lack of intensity endurance. I did okay on the shorter hills, but died pretty quickly on the longer ones. Overall, I think I survived okay though. I wasn't too far behind the front pack, and I finished without having a catastrophic meltdown.
Friday: Off, shots. Calamity of the world... I ate 3 donuts today. I've been in intensive weight loss mode all week, and was doing well until today. Nuts.
Saturday: 5.3 miles, 44:06 Monterrey to third Bridge Loop (8:19 min/mile)
Nice run in the AM. R hamstring felt a little tired, but felt alright overall. Thankfully the breathing has calmed down a bit since last week, I've got it mostly under control now (breathing out of nose only). Focused on keeping good form, even rhythm and landing softly (per Susan's feedback). Hopefully that will help keep the strain off of my feet.
Week Total: 28.1 miles, now that wasn't so bad
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Running is HARD!
08/30/2009 - 09/05/2009 (Week 1)
For some reason, I thought that having trained on the bike for a few months would make this easier. It's not. The soreness is crazy, and fatigue is starting to become a factor. It kind of feels like 5 years ago, when I first started running.
I'm trying to keep the discouragement at bay, and even though it's been hard, I found some solace in a book that my new boss gave me at work: What I talk about when I talk about Running. Unlike most of the running literature I've read so far, this book is written by and about a non-elite runner. Hearing someone's perspective who is more like me, and how much running means to him was really the sort of inspiration that I needed.
One thing I've taken to heart after reading this book, is that you should run every day so that you still want to run again tomorrow. I've never thought about it that way. My style is to run as much as you possibly can, and then some. I guess that's never going to be conducive to consistency, and thinking back, I have gone through periods where even if my body hasn't broken down yet, running wasn't fun anymore--it had started to stress me out, more than make me happy.
Given that my foot situation is what it is, I'm really going to think hard about this before tacking on the extra miles.
Sunday: 2.6 miles, 22:53 one lap of Washington Park in Denver (8:48 min/mile)
I am tired today, but thanking my lucky stars that the catastrophic soreness has not returned. I'm kind of disappointed that this was so slow and so hard, but I'm glad that I did something, instead of taking the day completely off. ~2 hour bike ride with Peter afterwards. Man, this was hard too. My hamstrings started cramping whenever there was a hill.
Monday: Off, travel. So hot back at home... I didn't get any sleep.
Tuesday: 3 miles, ??? in the Arroyo (??? min/mile)
After a miserable night of tossing and turning in the oppressive heat and smoke, I forgot to bring my watch on this run. I am really sad about this, because this run felt great! Well, great is relative, but it felt faster and easier than any of the other runs so far, and I didn't feel tired at the end.
Wednesday: 3 miles, 26:12 in the Arroyo (8:44 min/mile)
I was excited after yesterday, but this one wasn't very good. Maybe the third consecutive night of not getting any sleep is taking its toll. Felt harder and worse in addition to being slower. I'm going to blame the heat and the smoke rather than my extreme lack of fitness.
Thursday: 4.2 miles, 35:04 Glenarm to Hillcrest (8:21 min/mile)
Not sure if it was a clearer day, or if the pavement is more forgiving than the trails, but I'm finally on the right side of 8:30 pace. This run felt pretty good, I decided to get a little extra sleep while it was cool in the morning, and run at night after work. Breathing is still harder than I'd like it to be, but otherwise it was pleasant. Still had energy left at the end. Good times.
Friday: Off, shots. It is just not getting any cooler... but Dennis' parents are here, so we have somehow figured out the AC situation.
Saturday: 5.3 miles, 47:16 Monterrey to Third Bridge Loop (8:55 min/mile)
Bad times in the heat. Slept in rather catastrophically, and started at around 11 am. It was 85 when I started and close to 90 by the end. There is not as much shade in the Arroyo as one might think. Didn't feel tired, but felt really dehydrated and overheated, despite having a bottle of cold water before, and after. Yikes. This was not a pleasant experience... but my streak of not running any 9 minute miles survives another day, though just BARELY.
Week Total: 18.1 miles, next week will be better!
For some reason, I thought that having trained on the bike for a few months would make this easier. It's not. The soreness is crazy, and fatigue is starting to become a factor. It kind of feels like 5 years ago, when I first started running.
I'm trying to keep the discouragement at bay, and even though it's been hard, I found some solace in a book that my new boss gave me at work: What I talk about when I talk about Running. Unlike most of the running literature I've read so far, this book is written by and about a non-elite runner. Hearing someone's perspective who is more like me, and how much running means to him was really the sort of inspiration that I needed.
One thing I've taken to heart after reading this book, is that you should run every day so that you still want to run again tomorrow. I've never thought about it that way. My style is to run as much as you possibly can, and then some. I guess that's never going to be conducive to consistency, and thinking back, I have gone through periods where even if my body hasn't broken down yet, running wasn't fun anymore--it had started to stress me out, more than make me happy.
Given that my foot situation is what it is, I'm really going to think hard about this before tacking on the extra miles.
Sunday: 2.6 miles, 22:53 one lap of Washington Park in Denver (8:48 min/mile)
I am tired today, but thanking my lucky stars that the catastrophic soreness has not returned. I'm kind of disappointed that this was so slow and so hard, but I'm glad that I did something, instead of taking the day completely off. ~2 hour bike ride with Peter afterwards. Man, this was hard too. My hamstrings started cramping whenever there was a hill.
Monday: Off, travel. So hot back at home... I didn't get any sleep.
Tuesday: 3 miles, ??? in the Arroyo (??? min/mile)
After a miserable night of tossing and turning in the oppressive heat and smoke, I forgot to bring my watch on this run. I am really sad about this, because this run felt great! Well, great is relative, but it felt faster and easier than any of the other runs so far, and I didn't feel tired at the end.
Wednesday: 3 miles, 26:12 in the Arroyo (8:44 min/mile)
I was excited after yesterday, but this one wasn't very good. Maybe the third consecutive night of not getting any sleep is taking its toll. Felt harder and worse in addition to being slower. I'm going to blame the heat and the smoke rather than my extreme lack of fitness.
Thursday: 4.2 miles, 35:04 Glenarm to Hillcrest (8:21 min/mile)
Not sure if it was a clearer day, or if the pavement is more forgiving than the trails, but I'm finally on the right side of 8:30 pace. This run felt pretty good, I decided to get a little extra sleep while it was cool in the morning, and run at night after work. Breathing is still harder than I'd like it to be, but otherwise it was pleasant. Still had energy left at the end. Good times.
Friday: Off, shots. It is just not getting any cooler... but Dennis' parents are here, so we have somehow figured out the AC situation.
Saturday: 5.3 miles, 47:16 Monterrey to Third Bridge Loop (8:55 min/mile)
Bad times in the heat. Slept in rather catastrophically, and started at around 11 am. It was 85 when I started and close to 90 by the end. There is not as much shade in the Arroyo as one might think. Didn't feel tired, but felt really dehydrated and overheated, despite having a bottle of cold water before, and after. Yikes. This was not a pleasant experience... but my streak of not running any 9 minute miles survives another day, though just BARELY.
Week Total: 18.1 miles, next week will be better!
Starting over, yet again...
08/23/2009 - 08/29/2009 (Week 0)
So, the universe has spoken. The mountains are burning, meaning that, even if I wanted to I wouldn't be able to get any quality cycling in anyways. Thus begins a new chapter, my N-th attempt to return to running. I admit, I'm having some motivational issues... why do I bother doing this to myself? Statistically this attempt will end like all the others: with much heartache and a hefty medical bill.
Nonetheless, I'm committed. I can do this.
Wednesday: 3 miles, 25:34 in the Arroyo (8:31 min/mile)
Glad to see that my legs still remember what to do. Other than the ragged breathing, this run felt okay. Concentrated on landing on the outside of my foot, so as not to acquire another navicular stress fracture.
Thursday: 3 miles, 25:33 in the Arroyo (8:31 min/mile)
Felt pretty sore after yesterday, but if I take a day off now, I may never go back. Powered on through, just thinking about keeping a good rhythm. Pleased to see that the pace was the same as yesterday!
Friday: Off, shots
Arghhhh... I am insanely, insanely sore. I could barely lift myself out of my chair at work yesterday and today is not much better. I can not believe I have been vanquished by a 3 mile run...
Saturday: 5.2 miles, 45:54 two laps of Washington Park in Denver (8:38 min/mile)
A pleasant surprise. The air is cleaner and the temperatures are lower here. Felt pretty decent, and passed a lot of people on the first lap. Though I slowed down a little bit (22:16/22:38), I was pretty excited to be able to do two laps at all. Felt pretty tired in the last stretch though.
Week Total: 11.2 miles, just gotta keep at it.
So, the universe has spoken. The mountains are burning, meaning that, even if I wanted to I wouldn't be able to get any quality cycling in anyways. Thus begins a new chapter, my N-th attempt to return to running. I admit, I'm having some motivational issues... why do I bother doing this to myself? Statistically this attempt will end like all the others: with much heartache and a hefty medical bill.
Nonetheless, I'm committed. I can do this.
Wednesday: 3 miles, 25:34 in the Arroyo (8:31 min/mile)
Glad to see that my legs still remember what to do. Other than the ragged breathing, this run felt okay. Concentrated on landing on the outside of my foot, so as not to acquire another navicular stress fracture.
Thursday: 3 miles, 25:33 in the Arroyo (8:31 min/mile)
Felt pretty sore after yesterday, but if I take a day off now, I may never go back. Powered on through, just thinking about keeping a good rhythm. Pleased to see that the pace was the same as yesterday!
Friday: Off, shots
Arghhhh... I am insanely, insanely sore. I could barely lift myself out of my chair at work yesterday and today is not much better. I can not believe I have been vanquished by a 3 mile run...
Saturday: 5.2 miles, 45:54 two laps of Washington Park in Denver (8:38 min/mile)
A pleasant surprise. The air is cleaner and the temperatures are lower here. Felt pretty decent, and passed a lot of people on the first lap. Though I slowed down a little bit (22:16/22:38), I was pretty excited to be able to do two laps at all. Felt pretty tired in the last stretch though.
Week Total: 11.2 miles, just gotta keep at it.
Week 3: Pause (08/16/2009 - 08/22/2009)
Okay, let's re-evaluate. Things aren't going very well with the Everest Challenge Training. I'm not used to getting super full blown sick, but here it is. Sunday was still very painful... and the coughing is not letting up.
Work is also heating up, things are really stressful, and I wake up multiple times a night to cough. Not a lot has been accomplished so far in terms of training. The Everest Challenge is less than a month away, and I don't think I'm going to make it. So, where does that leave me?
Sunday 08/16: 52 miles, 4 hours? Mt Wilson. Took the new bike, so time and distance are estimated. I kind of wish I had these numbers though, because I climbed pretty hard. Started feeling horrible, and sent Ian and Peter ahead. I really, truly considered turning back at the foot of the 2, but the more I thought about it, the more angry I became. In that instant, everything had pissed me off. This stupid plague, the stupid birthday ride, stupid getting old, stupid everybody and everything for making me feel weak and useless. So onwards I went, fueled by a lot of pissed off and a little bit of nuts... I mashed the unfamiliar gears on and on. I reached Clear Creek, and I was still angry. I reached Red Box and I was still angry, so I went all the way to the top of Mt. Wilson, and there, finally, I felt not really any better, but a little bit deflated... enough to go home.
Monday 08/17 - Wednesday 08/19: Off. Trying to shake this damn cold. Lots of work. Feeling really stressed and unhappy.
Thursday 08/20: 13 miles, rode to work in the morning. Car is in the shop in preparation for driving up north for Brain's wedding. Felt sort of okay, but I stayed at work pretty late, and then John came and picked me up so I didn't ride home in the dark. Went for "sending off to SF" dinner. Ahhh, so sad. Everyone is leaving :(.
Friday 08/21: Off, shots. I guess it would be generous to say that this was the only reason I didn't train today though. Gah...
Saturday 08/22: Off, drove 6 hours up to Sacramento to pick up Peter for Brain's wedding on Sunday. Nice picnic, saw lots of cool folks I haven't seen in a while, but no riding.
Conclusion? I don't think I'm going to do the Everest Challenge. I guess I should try a little running in the meantime...
Work is also heating up, things are really stressful, and I wake up multiple times a night to cough. Not a lot has been accomplished so far in terms of training. The Everest Challenge is less than a month away, and I don't think I'm going to make it. So, where does that leave me?
Sunday 08/16: 52 miles, 4 hours? Mt Wilson. Took the new bike, so time and distance are estimated. I kind of wish I had these numbers though, because I climbed pretty hard. Started feeling horrible, and sent Ian and Peter ahead. I really, truly considered turning back at the foot of the 2, but the more I thought about it, the more angry I became. In that instant, everything had pissed me off. This stupid plague, the stupid birthday ride, stupid getting old, stupid everybody and everything for making me feel weak and useless. So onwards I went, fueled by a lot of pissed off and a little bit of nuts... I mashed the unfamiliar gears on and on. I reached Clear Creek, and I was still angry. I reached Red Box and I was still angry, so I went all the way to the top of Mt. Wilson, and there, finally, I felt not really any better, but a little bit deflated... enough to go home.
Monday 08/17 - Wednesday 08/19: Off. Trying to shake this damn cold. Lots of work. Feeling really stressed and unhappy.
Thursday 08/20: 13 miles, rode to work in the morning. Car is in the shop in preparation for driving up north for Brain's wedding. Felt sort of okay, but I stayed at work pretty late, and then John came and picked me up so I didn't ride home in the dark. Went for "sending off to SF" dinner. Ahhh, so sad. Everyone is leaving :(.
Friday 08/21: Off, shots. I guess it would be generous to say that this was the only reason I didn't train today though. Gah...
Saturday 08/22: Off, drove 6 hours up to Sacramento to pick up Peter for Brain's wedding on Sunday. Nice picnic, saw lots of cool folks I haven't seen in a while, but no riding.
Conclusion? I don't think I'm going to do the Everest Challenge. I guess I should try a little running in the meantime...
Week 2: Old (08/09/2009 - 08/15/2009)
This week, I will be turning old. I have been preparing for this inevitability by planning, many months ahead of time, something special I can do to prove to myself, if not the rest of the world, that I may be old, but I still got game. What better way to do this, than to ride the entire length of the Angeles Crest, from La Canada to wherever it ends past Wrightwood.
I even moved around all of my meetings, and took a day off from work for this grand venture, but alas, as has been the trend for the past 20 or so years, my birthday tends to be an inauspicious day, fraught with bad luck and misfortune. Whomever believes that one is special on one's birthday and is predisposed to good things happening to them is an idiot.
I guess no one beats Father Time. In retrospect, I should have known better than to indulge these sentimentalities. Next year, I will pick a completely meaningless and arbitrary day on which to execute an epic bike ride, and hope that I will still feel the warm glow of success on the actual day of oldening, which, try as I may to avoid it, will still come around again.
Sunday 08/09: 78.2 miles, 4:53:15 (16.1 mph) Seal Beach the short way. The week started auspiciously enough, with a nice relaxed flat ride. It was kind of slow, but productive, low HR, high cadence, and went a little bit harder for about 15 miles in the middle when I ran into a nice guy who rode with me for a while. I think my instincts are to push the pace when I run ride with strangers, which is how this section ended up a little bit faster.
Monday 08/10: Off. Taking it easy, body still not really used to training again.
Tuesday 08/11: 43.2 miles, 3:06:41 (13.9 mph) Angeles Crest to Red Box. Strictly enforced the low HR rule to try to establish a good pace for Friday. Feeling pretty good about the big ride. This pace is perfect for 145 miles, and I'm resting up.
Wednesday 08/12: Off, DMV. This is where things started to fall apart. A nice clerk at the bike store informed me that my drivers license is set to expire on oldening day... in 2 days. Uh oh. Due to the fact that I moved a few times in the past year, I did not get my renewal notice, and now it was too late to do it online. Crap! I tried to make an appointment online, but that also failed. First available was 9/1.... leading to the inevitable, which is that I sacrifice this ride in order to get up early and camp out at the DMV in the morning. Another thing that bugged me as I stood in line for 1 hour, was that there was this tickle in the back of my throat, but it must just be allergies...
Thursday 08/13: Off, sick. Despite my efforts to feel better, the sore throat got worse and worse yesterday, and congestion and coughing started to build. I decided to take this day off to see if it would pass... but it didn't really.
Friday 08/14: 35.8 miles, 2:45:18... Fail! Because I took a day off already, and because I'd told so many people that I was going to do this, I set off on my 145 mile bike ride anyways. I got a late start due to feeling poorly, but I was still determined to go. I rolled down the hill past Clear Creek before realizing that this was a lost cause. By the time I reached Clear Creek the coughing had gotten so bad that some random guy stopped to comment "huh... it doesn't look like you made it". Gah! Anyways, I guess he was right. I didn't make it. Instead I slowly rolled back down the hill feeling raspy and horrible.
Saturday 08/15: 11.8 miles, ~46 minutes? Attempted to do an easy ride with Peter, but was thwarted by some back wheel trouble on his part. We went to Ian's instead to true the wheel, but by then it was getting kind of late since we started in the evening. I wasn't really feeling up for a ride anyways, so I guess it was okay.
Training this week: 169 miles, 11:31:14 Bad times...
I even moved around all of my meetings, and took a day off from work for this grand venture, but alas, as has been the trend for the past 20 or so years, my birthday tends to be an inauspicious day, fraught with bad luck and misfortune. Whomever believes that one is special on one's birthday and is predisposed to good things happening to them is an idiot.
I guess no one beats Father Time. In retrospect, I should have known better than to indulge these sentimentalities. Next year, I will pick a completely meaningless and arbitrary day on which to execute an epic bike ride, and hope that I will still feel the warm glow of success on the actual day of oldening, which, try as I may to avoid it, will still come around again.
Sunday 08/09: 78.2 miles, 4:53:15 (16.1 mph) Seal Beach the short way. The week started auspiciously enough, with a nice relaxed flat ride. It was kind of slow, but productive, low HR, high cadence, and went a little bit harder for about 15 miles in the middle when I ran into a nice guy who rode with me for a while. I think my instincts are to push the pace when I run ride with strangers, which is how this section ended up a little bit faster.
Monday 08/10: Off. Taking it easy, body still not really used to training again.
Tuesday 08/11: 43.2 miles, 3:06:41 (13.9 mph) Angeles Crest to Red Box. Strictly enforced the low HR rule to try to establish a good pace for Friday. Feeling pretty good about the big ride. This pace is perfect for 145 miles, and I'm resting up.
Wednesday 08/12: Off, DMV. This is where things started to fall apart. A nice clerk at the bike store informed me that my drivers license is set to expire on oldening day... in 2 days. Uh oh. Due to the fact that I moved a few times in the past year, I did not get my renewal notice, and now it was too late to do it online. Crap! I tried to make an appointment online, but that also failed. First available was 9/1.... leading to the inevitable, which is that I sacrifice this ride in order to get up early and camp out at the DMV in the morning. Another thing that bugged me as I stood in line for 1 hour, was that there was this tickle in the back of my throat, but it must just be allergies...
Thursday 08/13: Off, sick. Despite my efforts to feel better, the sore throat got worse and worse yesterday, and congestion and coughing started to build. I decided to take this day off to see if it would pass... but it didn't really.
Friday 08/14: 35.8 miles, 2:45:18... Fail! Because I took a day off already, and because I'd told so many people that I was going to do this, I set off on my 145 mile bike ride anyways. I got a late start due to feeling poorly, but I was still determined to go. I rolled down the hill past Clear Creek before realizing that this was a lost cause. By the time I reached Clear Creek the coughing had gotten so bad that some random guy stopped to comment "huh... it doesn't look like you made it". Gah! Anyways, I guess he was right. I didn't make it. Instead I slowly rolled back down the hill feeling raspy and horrible.
Saturday 08/15: 11.8 miles, ~46 minutes? Attempted to do an easy ride with Peter, but was thwarted by some back wheel trouble on his part. We went to Ian's instead to true the wheel, but by then it was getting kind of late since we started in the evening. I wasn't really feeling up for a ride anyways, so I guess it was okay.
Training this week: 169 miles, 11:31:14 Bad times...
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