Uuuuuuuunnnnnngggghhhhh.....
Timing and space has never been my strong suit. It always happens that the injuries and illnesses and all-nighters and all sorts of random misfortunes always happen right before target races, and despite possibly also being a drug cheat (Prednisone is a steroid of some sort) I can't even seem to run a halfway decent time trial. All I want is a freaking legitimate chance at a race.
Why is my 5K PR a race I ran with an injury that made me hobble even to walk? Why is my 10K PR a tempo run I did at midnight in trainers by myself on the Caltech track? Why is my 3K PR my only good race despite it being my first meet of the season and coming off of a mile PR double? Why is this so? It's just NOT fair, and I don't want to be judged on the basis of these results... because I don't feel like its a fair measure of my potential. What does it feel like to train for a season and peak and taper and run a race thats like a culmination of something? If I can answer that question sometime before hell freezes over, I think I could be ... a little bit more peaceful, if not exactly, happy.
Sunday 04/15: 9 miles, Arroyo to Rose Bowl bathrooms and back in 1:23:49 at ~155 bpm. First 5 miles felt like crap, HR still weird, lungs felt like they were stuffed with cotton. Then, magically something in my throat cleared up, the HR settled down and running felt strong and fluid again, I freaking hate allergies. I just don't know how to make this stop, or if there's even a way... it all seems so nebulous. Mildly encouraged by the first instance of a few miles of running that actually felt good in about a week, but R knee felt kind of ... funny. Really made an effort to keep good form, and it subsided a bit, but still concerning.
Monday 04/16: 3.1 miles, 10 laps around North fields at 145 bpm, HR baseline has magically returned to normal! Woohoo! Felt pleasant for the first time in a lot of days... happy for the first day that 145 bpm = sub-10 minute miles. Something about eventually being able to run at a reasonable pace AND a low HR some day... Core strengthening at the gym. R knee still feels a bit off, but better than yesterday.
Tuesday 04/17: 7 miles, 7 laps warm up around North fields, then 7 on 1 off x 3 on grass in Nike Frees. 185-190 bpm for the ons, jog rest for the off. Felt really easy and really good... if Mark's measurements of the North field are correct, likely to be just about 1 mile per interval. Slightly slower than on the track with short rest felt really good. Drills on the South field, not as exhausting as usual, felt like form has improved. Everything feels good. 8 laps cool down around South fields.
Wednesday 04/18: ~5 miles in the Arroyo, jogged ~150 bpm with one ~10 minute segment at 165 bpm, then jogged home--48:23 total. Felt relaxed and good, except pretty significant pain on outer edge of L foot, consterning. Feels fine on trails, but pretty painful on the concrete. Core strengthening at home. Definitely some odd aches, probably from the first instance of higher intensity running with the Frees yesterday. Ungh... why is my body falling apart...???
Thursday 04/19: ~5 miles in the Arroyo, drove to end of California to avoid pavement. Outer edge of L foot felt bruised and painful, made it through ~25 miutes before admitting defeat. Pain affecting stride, couldn't get HR over 150 due to shuffle-jog favoring the left side. Turned L ankle twice before heading back, second time caused significant damage... hurts to walk. Somehow made it back to car, extremely consterned. Iced but not much help.
Friday 04/20: completely off. Hurts to walk. Rain. 4 hours at the doctor. Miserable day. Had an unusual and extreme reaction to skin patch testing for allergies. Direct quote from doctor: "Hmmmm... you seem to be extremely, extremely allergic to everything that is green and moves in the wind. We haven't even started on the indoor allergens--that's next week!"
Saturday 04/21: 63 miles, 4 hours 15 minutes, fantastic solo ride out on the River trails and back. SO FUN!!! Easy gears, high cadence, tried to practice shifting to maintain cadence instead of shifting to maintain speed. Relaxing and cathartic, exactly what I needed to stay sane during this time of injury and consternation. When there's a slight downhill and you're going 25 mph at a HR of 145, I pretend that its actually flat and I'm actually fast and I could maybe even be a good athlete some day. Forgot to stop and eat until hour 3, felt pretty crappy in the last 10 miles (lost a lot ground on the avg speed metric...), then the food kicked in and felt good again but by then was almost home.
Target Mileage: 40 Miles
Week Actual: 29.1 Miles
Last Week: 30.35 Miles
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Monday, April 9, 2007
Week of 04/08/2007 - 04/14/2007 (Revised Rest Week Cycle 2)
At last, it has arrived--the week of the race/time trial.
There's an off chance I'll take off early from work on friday to go to the APU meet, but judging from the recent workload and lack of efficiency... its not looking good. Feeling really disoriented about how all of these HR controlled workouts translate to a race. A bit uneasy about lack of really hard workouts, I don't even remember what that heart exploding, legs burning, half drowning, I'm-definitely-not-going-to-make-it race feeling feels like anymore.
Sunday 04/08: First day completely off in almost a month. Mt. Wilson to Clear Creek with Peter--35 miles, many hours, adventures galore. Overcast and drizzly, insisted on going up the 2 anyways. Found out that I'm completely and utterly out of biking shape, that one shouldn't try to bend 5 year old glasses, and that its really really hard to descend when you can't see anything. One emergency optical assistance device surgery (involving packaging tape and a sharp edge), one declined offer for a nice warm ride back down, and some mild to moderate hypothermia later, safely arrived back home in one piece!
Monday 04/09: 3.1 miles, 10 laps around North fields at 145 bpm, felt light and speedy after the off day. (Aside: despite all of the objections to the term "off day" I still contend that "off" is subject to frame of reference. I'm referring to a day "off" from running, vs. a day "off" from exercise!) Core strengthening at the gym.
Tuesday 04/10: 6 miles, 7 laps around North fields at 145 bpm warm up, 2 x mile at 190 bpm with 1 lap jog rest (6:37, 6:35), drills, 8 laps cool down around South fields. Legs felt good, throat felt bad, slightly disappointed by lack of improvement despite some easy days prior. Still hard to regulate HR. Drill are moderately more coordinated, but just as exhausting. Wish I were coordinated... then maybe I could run the Steeple. 7.5 laps seems so much more manageable than 12.5....
Wednesday 04/11: 5 miles, 44:33, Huntington up Virgnia at 165 bpm. Sub-optimally warm, felt crappy after first few miles. Tired for no reason, can't seem to keep the HR under control. 4 x 100m striders, just couldn't get the turnover up, felt heavy and sluggish. Peeved, stressed about taxes. Core strengthening at the gym.
Thursday 04/12: 6.25 miles, 56:25, Huntington up Oak Knoll at 155 bpm, in the late PM. HRM being a punk... readings seemed low for last 4 miles, but seems like I managed to stick to the 9 minute miles on my own. Windy, dark, lots of debris on the streets, two fallen trees, cars all use their brights late at night, apparently. Stressed out and generally pissed at everything. No time for drills.
Friday 04/13: 2.5 miles, 7 laps around North Fields including 2 x 1 min surges, 4 x 100m striders. Friday the 13th!!!!! HR freakishly high for some reason... AHHHHH!!!! Felt kind of crappy, not sure if caused by Prednisone, on doctor's orders. Allergies really bad lately. Generally disgruntling. Core strengthening at the gym. Excited about SCIACS/time trial tomorrow!
Saturday 04/14: 7.5 miles, CALAMITY OF THE WORLD. 1.5 miles cool down with KB after duals, 6 laps around North fields warm up upon returning to Pas, HR insanely high again despite extremely low effort. Felt kind of queasy. Jog lap, striders, then 2 mile time trial with horrifying results. Felt kind of off from the start, couldn't get HR above 195, despite extreme amounts of effort, really strange, given than I struggle to keep HR UNDER 195 most of the time. Intended was 5K, but truncated after 2 miles, didn't care to run tempo pace for another mile longer feeling like complete basura. 20 minute lying in lane 8 blankly staring at the clouds go by, then 9 laps cool down around South fields. Extremely consterned.
Target Mileage: 30-35 Miles
Week Actual: 30.35 Miles
Last Week: 45.3 Miles
AAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH............
There's an off chance I'll take off early from work on friday to go to the APU meet, but judging from the recent workload and lack of efficiency... its not looking good. Feeling really disoriented about how all of these HR controlled workouts translate to a race. A bit uneasy about lack of really hard workouts, I don't even remember what that heart exploding, legs burning, half drowning, I'm-definitely-not-going-to-make-it race feeling feels like anymore.
Sunday 04/08: First day completely off in almost a month. Mt. Wilson to Clear Creek with Peter--35 miles, many hours, adventures galore. Overcast and drizzly, insisted on going up the 2 anyways. Found out that I'm completely and utterly out of biking shape, that one shouldn't try to bend 5 year old glasses, and that its really really hard to descend when you can't see anything. One emergency optical assistance device surgery (involving packaging tape and a sharp edge), one declined offer for a nice warm ride back down, and some mild to moderate hypothermia later, safely arrived back home in one piece!
Monday 04/09: 3.1 miles, 10 laps around North fields at 145 bpm, felt light and speedy after the off day. (Aside: despite all of the objections to the term "off day" I still contend that "off" is subject to frame of reference. I'm referring to a day "off" from running, vs. a day "off" from exercise!) Core strengthening at the gym.
Tuesday 04/10: 6 miles, 7 laps around North fields at 145 bpm warm up, 2 x mile at 190 bpm with 1 lap jog rest (6:37, 6:35), drills, 8 laps cool down around South fields. Legs felt good, throat felt bad, slightly disappointed by lack of improvement despite some easy days prior. Still hard to regulate HR. Drill are moderately more coordinated, but just as exhausting. Wish I were coordinated... then maybe I could run the Steeple. 7.5 laps seems so much more manageable than 12.5....
Wednesday 04/11: 5 miles, 44:33, Huntington up Virgnia at 165 bpm. Sub-optimally warm, felt crappy after first few miles. Tired for no reason, can't seem to keep the HR under control. 4 x 100m striders, just couldn't get the turnover up, felt heavy and sluggish. Peeved, stressed about taxes. Core strengthening at the gym.
Thursday 04/12: 6.25 miles, 56:25, Huntington up Oak Knoll at 155 bpm, in the late PM. HRM being a punk... readings seemed low for last 4 miles, but seems like I managed to stick to the 9 minute miles on my own. Windy, dark, lots of debris on the streets, two fallen trees, cars all use their brights late at night, apparently. Stressed out and generally pissed at everything. No time for drills.
Friday 04/13: 2.5 miles, 7 laps around North Fields including 2 x 1 min surges, 4 x 100m striders. Friday the 13th!!!!! HR freakishly high for some reason... AHHHHH!!!! Felt kind of crappy, not sure if caused by Prednisone, on doctor's orders. Allergies really bad lately. Generally disgruntling. Core strengthening at the gym. Excited about SCIACS/time trial tomorrow!
Saturday 04/14: 7.5 miles, CALAMITY OF THE WORLD. 1.5 miles cool down with KB after duals, 6 laps around North fields warm up upon returning to Pas, HR insanely high again despite extremely low effort. Felt kind of queasy. Jog lap, striders, then 2 mile time trial with horrifying results. Felt kind of off from the start, couldn't get HR above 195, despite extreme amounts of effort, really strange, given than I struggle to keep HR UNDER 195 most of the time. Intended was 5K, but truncated after 2 miles, didn't care to run tempo pace for another mile longer feeling like complete basura. 20 minute lying in lane 8 blankly staring at the clouds go by, then 9 laps cool down around South fields. Extremely consterned.
Target Mileage: 30-35 Miles
Week Actual: 30.35 Miles
Last Week: 45.3 Miles
AAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH............
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Week of 04/01/2007 - 04/07/2007 (Revised Base Phase Week 4)
April fools. An ambiguously auspicious beginning to a key training week.
When I was a kid, it snowed 2 feet of snow on April fools day one year. Unfortunately I attended the only school within 50 miles that insisted on opening anyways, and each kid had to shovel snow for 5 minutes prior to being let in. The next day it warmed up to 50 degrees and the april fools snow melted cleanly away as if it had never happened.
Sunday 04/01: 9.7 Miles, 1:32:26 easy in the Arroyo to the Rose Bowl. 47:47 out in 145-150 bpm, 44:39 back at 150-155 bpm. Felt a bit barfy in the beginning due to consumption of late lunch... much better on way back, a bit cooler, downhill, stomach a bit more settled. HRM being a punk in the beginning, but I think avg. HR lower than last week.
Monday 04/02: 3.1 Miles, 10 laps easy around North Fields at 145 bpm. Uneventful, slightly peeved that it always takes me a while to rediscover an efficient stride--feeling a bit OCD about monitoring HR and lap times. Core strengthening at the gym. Looking forward to miles tomorrow for some strange reason.
Tuesday 04/03: 9 miles, 7 laps warm up around North Fields, 4 x mile (190-195 bpm) with 1 lap jog recovery, drills, 6 laps cool down around North Fields. Miles felt not quite right, having a lot of trouble controlling pacing, 6:39, 6:46, 6:49, 6:32. Pacing and breathing and stride all clicked into place on the 4th one, felt perfect through 2 laps (3:18), then kinda went nuts and spiked the HR. Pleasantly tired, then after drills, unpleasantly tired.
Wednesday 04/04: 5.9 miles, Arroyo recovery loop, 53:20, 15 minutes of jogging, 23 minutes of 165 bpm, 15 minutes of jogging. Hard to control HR, shins complained on pavement sections, didn't feel great. Overall could have gone better, but not a complete disaster.
Thursday 04/05: 7.5 miles, Huntington up Los Robles, 1:10:53 easy 150-60 bpm depending on terrain. Definitely more tired than last week. Developed a blister, needed to pee... all sorts of uncomfortable. Drills on the infield, saw the Shapiro unit.
Friday 04/06: 3.1 miles, 10 laps around North fields, core strengthening at the gym. Stressed out, moderately tired. No sleep.
Saturday 04/07: 7 miles, Drinking + Second hand smoke + All-nighter = Ill-advised pre-tempo day preparation. 7 laps around North fields to warm up, extra slow, feeling groggy, head still hurts. 3 mile tempo in 21:27(7:09,7:12,7:06) at 185 bpm. Intended 3.5 miles, but felt really barfy, just couldn't make it those last 2 laps. Detour to bathroom, then shortened drills, really nauseous... 8 laps around South fields to cool down at 140 bpm, felt a little better after that.
Target Mileage: 45 Miles
Week Actual: 45.3 Miles
Last Week: 42 Miles
When I was a kid, it snowed 2 feet of snow on April fools day one year. Unfortunately I attended the only school within 50 miles that insisted on opening anyways, and each kid had to shovel snow for 5 minutes prior to being let in. The next day it warmed up to 50 degrees and the april fools snow melted cleanly away as if it had never happened.
Sunday 04/01: 9.7 Miles, 1:32:26 easy in the Arroyo to the Rose Bowl. 47:47 out in 145-150 bpm, 44:39 back at 150-155 bpm. Felt a bit barfy in the beginning due to consumption of late lunch... much better on way back, a bit cooler, downhill, stomach a bit more settled. HRM being a punk in the beginning, but I think avg. HR lower than last week.
Monday 04/02: 3.1 Miles, 10 laps easy around North Fields at 145 bpm. Uneventful, slightly peeved that it always takes me a while to rediscover an efficient stride--feeling a bit OCD about monitoring HR and lap times. Core strengthening at the gym. Looking forward to miles tomorrow for some strange reason.
Tuesday 04/03: 9 miles, 7 laps warm up around North Fields, 4 x mile (190-195 bpm) with 1 lap jog recovery, drills, 6 laps cool down around North Fields. Miles felt not quite right, having a lot of trouble controlling pacing, 6:39, 6:46, 6:49, 6:32. Pacing and breathing and stride all clicked into place on the 4th one, felt perfect through 2 laps (3:18), then kinda went nuts and spiked the HR. Pleasantly tired, then after drills, unpleasantly tired.
Wednesday 04/04: 5.9 miles, Arroyo recovery loop, 53:20, 15 minutes of jogging, 23 minutes of 165 bpm, 15 minutes of jogging. Hard to control HR, shins complained on pavement sections, didn't feel great. Overall could have gone better, but not a complete disaster.
Thursday 04/05: 7.5 miles, Huntington up Los Robles, 1:10:53 easy 150-60 bpm depending on terrain. Definitely more tired than last week. Developed a blister, needed to pee... all sorts of uncomfortable. Drills on the infield, saw the Shapiro unit.
Friday 04/06: 3.1 miles, 10 laps around North fields, core strengthening at the gym. Stressed out, moderately tired. No sleep.
Saturday 04/07: 7 miles, Drinking + Second hand smoke + All-nighter = Ill-advised pre-tempo day preparation. 7 laps around North fields to warm up, extra slow, feeling groggy, head still hurts. 3 mile tempo in 21:27(7:09,7:12,7:06) at 185 bpm. Intended 3.5 miles, but felt really barfy, just couldn't make it those last 2 laps. Detour to bathroom, then shortened drills, really nauseous... 8 laps around South fields to cool down at 140 bpm, felt a little better after that.
Target Mileage: 45 Miles
Week Actual: 45.3 Miles
Last Week: 42 Miles
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Week of 03/25/2007 - 03/31/2007 (Revised Base Phase Week 3)
The really fast people have the Butt Dimple.
If you're especially especially skinny, you can even see it through jeans--a slight concavity right behind the hips where a beautifully sculpted gluteus maximus holds the hips under the center of mass for maximum efficiency. If you can observe this phenomena without clenching your butt muscles, then, congratulations--you may have the Butt Dimple!
Today will be day one of the Butt Dimple Challenge. Though training, exercises and weight loss, I will endeavor to transform my mere mortal behind into the ass of an olympic athlete (see ref. Shapiro, Ian for example) in 100 days. Periodic updates will be posted.
Sunday 03/25: 8.6 miles, 1:22:21 at 155 bpm in the Arroyo. Easy and relaxed, happy to be running not in circles around the North Fields. Definitely improved since last Arroyo run, but pacing is still frustrating. Would like to get to the point where 155 bpm = 8:30 min/mile. Clearly lots of... room for improvement.
Monday 03/26: 5K, 10 laps around North Fields at 145 bpm. 4 x 100m striders, a few sets of drills and core strengthening at the gym. Saw Will, Ruby, Peter on stationary bikes, wished I had time to lift every so often, then maybe my shoulders wouldn't cramp up on long runs.
Tuesday 03/27: 7.7 miles, 7 laps warm up around North field, 3 x mile at 185-190 bpm with one lap of jog rest in between (6:57,6:54,6:57), 6 laps cool down around North Fields, coordination drills. REALLY REALLY WINDY, UGH. Feeling really peevish today.
Couldn't get warmed up because it was so cold, miles felt kind of stiff and form never really came together, could actively feel the wind resistance, but can't exactly blame it for like 20-30 seconds/mile worth of slowness. Felt fine after running but then unpleasantly tired after drills. Irritated that things didn't really come together today...
Wednesday 03/28: 5 miles, 45 minutes just barely squeezed in before midnight (15 min @ 155, 15 min @ 165, 15 min @155) no time for anything else. Stomach full of Pad Thai complaining loudly throughout--that's the last time I run AFTER dinner. Complete disaster of a day--laptop kicked the bucket, boss freaking out, parents freaking out, everything is totally out of control--went to bed at 2 am, still not finished with work.
Thursday 03/29: 7.5 miles, 1:09:49 easy at 155-160 bpm Huntington up Los Robles at night, felt really good. Never been so excited about 9 minute miles... feels like HR is settling down finally. Coordination drills, 4 x 100m striders, core strengthening at the gym.
Friday 03/30: 3.1 miles, 10 laps around the North Fields at 145 bpm. Getting close to eliminating 10 minute miles altogether. Exciting. Progress is slow, but at least its happening :). Core strengthening at the gym, felt kind of unmotivated to do the exercizes...
Saturday 03/31: 7 miles, 7 laps warm up around North fields, 3 mile tempo-lite at 180-90 bpm, coordination drills, 8 laps cool down around south fields. Still out of shape, but encouraging workout today: 3 miles in 21:18 (7:12,7:09,6:57) felt good throughout, slightly under threshold for 2 miles, then pushed a little harder in the last 800m (unplanned, got dark, hard to see HRM). Pleasantly tired.
Target Mileage: 40-45 Miles
Week Actual: 42 Miles
Last week: 35.35 Miles
Finally feeling recovered after the rest week. Running with hips under you is starting to feel a little bit more natural. Now to gain some strength/fitness...
If you're especially especially skinny, you can even see it through jeans--a slight concavity right behind the hips where a beautifully sculpted gluteus maximus holds the hips under the center of mass for maximum efficiency. If you can observe this phenomena without clenching your butt muscles, then, congratulations--you may have the Butt Dimple!
Today will be day one of the Butt Dimple Challenge. Though training, exercises and weight loss, I will endeavor to transform my mere mortal behind into the ass of an olympic athlete (see ref. Shapiro, Ian for example) in 100 days. Periodic updates will be posted.
Sunday 03/25: 8.6 miles, 1:22:21 at 155 bpm in the Arroyo. Easy and relaxed, happy to be running not in circles around the North Fields. Definitely improved since last Arroyo run, but pacing is still frustrating. Would like to get to the point where 155 bpm = 8:30 min/mile. Clearly lots of... room for improvement.
Monday 03/26: 5K, 10 laps around North Fields at 145 bpm. 4 x 100m striders, a few sets of drills and core strengthening at the gym. Saw Will, Ruby, Peter on stationary bikes, wished I had time to lift every so often, then maybe my shoulders wouldn't cramp up on long runs.
Tuesday 03/27: 7.7 miles, 7 laps warm up around North field, 3 x mile at 185-190 bpm with one lap of jog rest in between (6:57,6:54,6:57), 6 laps cool down around North Fields, coordination drills. REALLY REALLY WINDY, UGH. Feeling really peevish today.
Couldn't get warmed up because it was so cold, miles felt kind of stiff and form never really came together, could actively feel the wind resistance, but can't exactly blame it for like 20-30 seconds/mile worth of slowness. Felt fine after running but then unpleasantly tired after drills. Irritated that things didn't really come together today...
Wednesday 03/28: 5 miles, 45 minutes just barely squeezed in before midnight (15 min @ 155, 15 min @ 165, 15 min @155) no time for anything else. Stomach full of Pad Thai complaining loudly throughout--that's the last time I run AFTER dinner. Complete disaster of a day--laptop kicked the bucket, boss freaking out, parents freaking out, everything is totally out of control--went to bed at 2 am, still not finished with work.
Thursday 03/29: 7.5 miles, 1:09:49 easy at 155-160 bpm Huntington up Los Robles at night, felt really good. Never been so excited about 9 minute miles... feels like HR is settling down finally. Coordination drills, 4 x 100m striders, core strengthening at the gym.
Friday 03/30: 3.1 miles, 10 laps around the North Fields at 145 bpm. Getting close to eliminating 10 minute miles altogether. Exciting. Progress is slow, but at least its happening :). Core strengthening at the gym, felt kind of unmotivated to do the exercizes...
Saturday 03/31: 7 miles, 7 laps warm up around North fields, 3 mile tempo-lite at 180-90 bpm, coordination drills, 8 laps cool down around south fields. Still out of shape, but encouraging workout today: 3 miles in 21:18 (7:12,7:09,6:57) felt good throughout, slightly under threshold for 2 miles, then pushed a little harder in the last 800m (unplanned, got dark, hard to see HRM). Pleasantly tired.
Target Mileage: 40-45 Miles
Week Actual: 42 Miles
Last week: 35.35 Miles
Finally feeling recovered after the rest week. Running with hips under you is starting to feel a little bit more natural. Now to gain some strength/fitness...
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Week of 03/18/2007 - 03/24/2007 (Revised Rest Week)
They say that distance running is an exercise in patience. I'm so screwed.
Sunday 03/18: ~7.25 miles, 1:10:03 jogging around the North Fields at 155 bpm. 4 x 100m striders, felt good. At night, slightly groggy at first, better as time went on. Got locked into the field, had to hop fence to get out, slightly scary, but didn't fall.
Margaritas with PAA boys at Amigos. Found out that there is an official term for people like me: "Fred" = a person for whom the value of their bike exceeds their talent as a rider...! meh.
Monday 03/19: 3.1 miles, 32:51 recovery jogging, 10 laps around North Fields at 140 bpm. Lap times have decreased from 3:30 per lap to 3:15-20 per lap at same HR. Felt good about that until I measured the North Field loop at exactly 500 meters!!! Eeeeeee....what is WRONG with my cardiovascular system?!?!?!?!
Tuesday 03/20: 7500m = lets just say 4.65 miles. 7 laps of North fields at 150-155 bpm, tried mostly in vain to learn how to do drills correctly (ofcourse, the Shapiro unit was cranking out perfect sets of them next to me, which didn't help :)) 10 x 100m striders, then 6 laps of North fields at 150 bpm. Tried to run with good form, hamstrings all the way up through lower back feels tired! Oh, dear... I certainly have a lot to work on...
Wednesday 03/21: 8K, 4 x 100m striders. 16 laps of North Fields at 165 bpm, 46:20, really sore. Definitely slowed down per lap at same HR. Feels like I'm learning to run all over again. Pace/HR ratio depressing. Although, mysteriously the arch is a lot less sore when I concentrate on keeping my hips under me. Striders felt really good.
Thursday 03/22: 6.25 Miles, Huntington up Oak Knoll at 165 bpm, 47:45, concentrating on shoulders relaxed and hips under center of mass... so exhausting. Was undesirably warm. Drills lite, then sushi buffet with Dr. Rossi ---> thinks I *might* a hopeless case :). Ate 7 cream puffs. Definitely losing the battle with obesity.
Friday 03/23: 5K, 10 laps of the North Fields at 145 bpm, then coordination drills and abs at the track with Matt and Ian. Still feeling moderately exhausted, sore and out of sorts. Who knew how hard it is to keep your hips under you. Tried to analyze my natural stride tendencies, unpleasantly reminded of Rosen's story about "this guy who ran like he was mashing cockroaches!"
Saturday 03/24: 6 miles, 20 minutes of jogging, 15 minutes of 185 bpm, 20 minutes of jogging around the South fields at night. I love the track at night without lights. Felt good to run fast, but wasn't really quite a tempo effort. I guess this is okay given how exhausted I feel this week. Soreness is starting to subside. Feeling kind of uneasy about impending race(s).
Target Mileage: 40 Miles
Week Actual: 35.35 Miles
Last Week: 38 Miles
I feel like, if the improvement I need to make is denoted by the variable "x", then my current rate of improvement is something like 0.001x per week... this is especially depressing because x is so large, that the weekly improvement seems like you ought to be getting somewhere...
Sunday 03/18: ~7.25 miles, 1:10:03 jogging around the North Fields at 155 bpm. 4 x 100m striders, felt good. At night, slightly groggy at first, better as time went on. Got locked into the field, had to hop fence to get out, slightly scary, but didn't fall.
Margaritas with PAA boys at Amigos. Found out that there is an official term for people like me: "Fred" = a person for whom the value of their bike exceeds their talent as a rider...! meh.
Monday 03/19: 3.1 miles, 32:51 recovery jogging, 10 laps around North Fields at 140 bpm. Lap times have decreased from 3:30 per lap to 3:15-20 per lap at same HR. Felt good about that until I measured the North Field loop at exactly 500 meters!!! Eeeeeee....what is WRONG with my cardiovascular system?!?!?!?!
Tuesday 03/20: 7500m = lets just say 4.65 miles. 7 laps of North fields at 150-155 bpm, tried mostly in vain to learn how to do drills correctly (ofcourse, the Shapiro unit was cranking out perfect sets of them next to me, which didn't help :)) 10 x 100m striders, then 6 laps of North fields at 150 bpm. Tried to run with good form, hamstrings all the way up through lower back feels tired! Oh, dear... I certainly have a lot to work on...
Wednesday 03/21: 8K, 4 x 100m striders. 16 laps of North Fields at 165 bpm, 46:20, really sore. Definitely slowed down per lap at same HR. Feels like I'm learning to run all over again. Pace/HR ratio depressing. Although, mysteriously the arch is a lot less sore when I concentrate on keeping my hips under me. Striders felt really good.
Thursday 03/22: 6.25 Miles, Huntington up Oak Knoll at 165 bpm, 47:45, concentrating on shoulders relaxed and hips under center of mass... so exhausting. Was undesirably warm. Drills lite, then sushi buffet with Dr. Rossi ---> thinks I *might* a hopeless case :). Ate 7 cream puffs. Definitely losing the battle with obesity.
Friday 03/23: 5K, 10 laps of the North Fields at 145 bpm, then coordination drills and abs at the track with Matt and Ian. Still feeling moderately exhausted, sore and out of sorts. Who knew how hard it is to keep your hips under you. Tried to analyze my natural stride tendencies, unpleasantly reminded of Rosen's story about "this guy who ran like he was mashing cockroaches!"
Saturday 03/24: 6 miles, 20 minutes of jogging, 15 minutes of 185 bpm, 20 minutes of jogging around the South fields at night. I love the track at night without lights. Felt good to run fast, but wasn't really quite a tempo effort. I guess this is okay given how exhausted I feel this week. Soreness is starting to subside. Feeling kind of uneasy about impending race(s).
Target Mileage: 40 Miles
Week Actual: 35.35 Miles
Last Week: 38 Miles
I feel like, if the improvement I need to make is denoted by the variable "x", then my current rate of improvement is something like 0.001x per week... this is especially depressing because x is so large, that the weekly improvement seems like you ought to be getting somewhere...
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Week of 03/11/2007 - 03/17/2007 (Revised Base Phase Week 2)
A small breakthrough.
Finally the cough has gone away for the most part, unless something makes me laugh unexpectedly. The soreness has subsided, and the jogging feels *almost* almost normal. I want to do it right this time. Somehow I just want to make it through some extended training un-interrupted by catastrophe.
Being conservative feels counterintuitive. Its also kind of counter to my neurotic personality. I'm one of those people where the answer to every question is the same: Clearly, more mileage is necessary. Preferably, they should also be uphill both ways and run as close to your threshold as possible. Now that I'm starting to feel better, I'm also feeling that call of the wild, like I just want to go ahead and go crazy. I'm not exactly sure why I'm like this, but I figure I have to quell the crazy in order to avoid the next round of training disasters.
Sunday 03/11: All I have to say about this day is that my capillaries better be growing, and they better be liking it. 50 miles of biking and 11 miles of running at 150-160 bpm. New way to River Trail with Peter, fun until last 10 miles or so, after which I felt really, really bad. Hot and sunny, refused to wear sunscreen--burnt to a crisp.
Took 1 hour nap, then left for run at dusk. Followed 10.8 mile tempo course with short detour due to lack of daylight. Legs felt slightly groggy at first, but progressively better. Relaxed, thought about form a lot. Did not enjoy the pavement portions, but it was worth it not to be running circles around the North or South fields. This run took absolutely forever at 155 bpm.
Monday 03/12: 3 miles, 31 minutes at 145 bpm around North Fields at night in Nike Frees. Joined by Ian for latter portion, talked about running. Felt really good, not tired or sore at all. Core strengthening at the gym, then laundry.
Tuesday 03/13: 5.5 miles, 20 minutes warm up at 150 bpm (Frees), 20 minute of coordination drills, 16 x 100m striders with jog turn recovery in 8 grass laps (trainers), 23 minutes of cool down at 150 bpm around North fields (Frees - arch felt a tad bit sore maybe should have kept the trainers).
Combination of drills and striders is deathly. Body definitely not used to such stresses. Feeling better about form though. Definitely worse for the wear on the cool down, slower per lap of North field at same HR. Everything feels better than last week though. As they say, movin' on up.
Wednesday 03/14: 7 miles, 1:01:24, Huntington medians back up El Molino, then one lap of North Fields at 165 bpm. First training in many many weeks that could actually be classified as a "run" vs. a slow jog. Coordination drills, 4 x 100m striders, 4 x accelerations then core strengthening at the gym. Striders felt really really good for a change. Drills still sloppy and poor. They make me really tired. Not sure what to do about that. Need videotaping session.
Thursday 03/15: 3 miles, 31 minutes around North Fields. To borrow an entry from the Brain: "felt like basura". L arch feels questionable, was huffing and puffing but couldn't get the HR over 145, classic symptoms of fatigue. Decided wasn't worth it to try damage my body further by going on. Miserable day on all accounts.
Friday 03/16: 800 meters, warm up with KB prior to her successful record attempt (good to see new 10K record in sub-7 min/mile pace, congrats girl, you worked really hard and you really deserve this!). Oxy Distance Carnival to support the crew--big day for Caltech. Matt, KB, with impressive races. Great to see everyone, but felt really jealous of those running.
Some key competitors also had big results.... meh. Definitely sets the bar higher, but I feel extra motivated to exceed them (... some day). I just have to think of it in terms of losing the battle, winning the war.
Saturday 03/17: 8 miles, first attempt at tempo work = complete disaster. Woke up still full from yesterday's giant burrito. Dehydrated, hot. Intended: 2 x Arroyo tempo loops at probably 11:30's a piece, real easy, ~180 bpm. Actual: started out well, ~180-5 bpm, steady and controlled felt good, then HR started to climb coming down the second half of the first loop, tried to slow down but I guess I already had crossed the threshold, first loop in 11:15, then stomach started to complain loudly, cramped up early into the second loop. Felt dizzy and bad, HR totally out of control at this point, had to abort halfway through second loop, jogged it in.
Disaster. Something like 25 minutes a piece to jog from house to start of Arroyo tempo loop. This workout is cursed. A similar thing happened the last time I tried this one, except for without the gastrointestinal difficulties.
Target Mileage: 45 Miles
Week Actual: 38 Miles
Last Week: 40.25 Miles
Really looking forward to a short tempo session this week. Want to know if my body can still handle it. (um, the answer to that last one is, no. apparently. *big sigh*.)
Finally the cough has gone away for the most part, unless something makes me laugh unexpectedly. The soreness has subsided, and the jogging feels *almost* almost normal. I want to do it right this time. Somehow I just want to make it through some extended training un-interrupted by catastrophe.
Being conservative feels counterintuitive. Its also kind of counter to my neurotic personality. I'm one of those people where the answer to every question is the same: Clearly, more mileage is necessary. Preferably, they should also be uphill both ways and run as close to your threshold as possible. Now that I'm starting to feel better, I'm also feeling that call of the wild, like I just want to go ahead and go crazy. I'm not exactly sure why I'm like this, but I figure I have to quell the crazy in order to avoid the next round of training disasters.
Sunday 03/11: All I have to say about this day is that my capillaries better be growing, and they better be liking it. 50 miles of biking and 11 miles of running at 150-160 bpm. New way to River Trail with Peter, fun until last 10 miles or so, after which I felt really, really bad. Hot and sunny, refused to wear sunscreen--burnt to a crisp.
Took 1 hour nap, then left for run at dusk. Followed 10.8 mile tempo course with short detour due to lack of daylight. Legs felt slightly groggy at first, but progressively better. Relaxed, thought about form a lot. Did not enjoy the pavement portions, but it was worth it not to be running circles around the North or South fields. This run took absolutely forever at 155 bpm.
Monday 03/12: 3 miles, 31 minutes at 145 bpm around North Fields at night in Nike Frees. Joined by Ian for latter portion, talked about running. Felt really good, not tired or sore at all. Core strengthening at the gym, then laundry.
Tuesday 03/13: 5.5 miles, 20 minutes warm up at 150 bpm (Frees), 20 minute of coordination drills, 16 x 100m striders with jog turn recovery in 8 grass laps (trainers), 23 minutes of cool down at 150 bpm around North fields (Frees - arch felt a tad bit sore maybe should have kept the trainers).
Combination of drills and striders is deathly. Body definitely not used to such stresses. Feeling better about form though. Definitely worse for the wear on the cool down, slower per lap of North field at same HR. Everything feels better than last week though. As they say, movin' on up.
Wednesday 03/14: 7 miles, 1:01:24, Huntington medians back up El Molino, then one lap of North Fields at 165 bpm. First training in many many weeks that could actually be classified as a "run" vs. a slow jog. Coordination drills, 4 x 100m striders, 4 x accelerations then core strengthening at the gym. Striders felt really really good for a change. Drills still sloppy and poor. They make me really tired. Not sure what to do about that. Need videotaping session.
Thursday 03/15: 3 miles, 31 minutes around North Fields. To borrow an entry from the Brain: "felt like basura". L arch feels questionable, was huffing and puffing but couldn't get the HR over 145, classic symptoms of fatigue. Decided wasn't worth it to try damage my body further by going on. Miserable day on all accounts.
Friday 03/16: 800 meters, warm up with KB prior to her successful record attempt (good to see new 10K record in sub-7 min/mile pace, congrats girl, you worked really hard and you really deserve this!). Oxy Distance Carnival to support the crew--big day for Caltech. Matt, KB, with impressive races. Great to see everyone, but felt really jealous of those running.
Some key competitors also had big results.... meh. Definitely sets the bar higher, but I feel extra motivated to exceed them (... some day). I just have to think of it in terms of losing the battle, winning the war.
Saturday 03/17: 8 miles, first attempt at tempo work = complete disaster. Woke up still full from yesterday's giant burrito. Dehydrated, hot. Intended: 2 x Arroyo tempo loops at probably 11:30's a piece, real easy, ~180 bpm. Actual: started out well, ~180-5 bpm, steady and controlled felt good, then HR started to climb coming down the second half of the first loop, tried to slow down but I guess I already had crossed the threshold, first loop in 11:15, then stomach started to complain loudly, cramped up early into the second loop. Felt dizzy and bad, HR totally out of control at this point, had to abort halfway through second loop, jogged it in.
Disaster. Something like 25 minutes a piece to jog from house to start of Arroyo tempo loop. This workout is cursed. A similar thing happened the last time I tried this one, except for without the gastrointestinal difficulties.
Target Mileage: 45 Miles
Week Actual: 38 Miles
Last Week: 40.25 Miles
Really looking forward to a short tempo session this week. Want to know if my body can still handle it. (um, the answer to that last one is, no. apparently. *big sigh*.)
Monday, March 5, 2007
Week of 03/04/2007 - 03/10/2007 (Revised Base Phase Week 1)
Everybody else is training, and I'm not.
I'd been dawdling on getting started with my first run back, pursing my lips and puffing out my cheeks, slowly letting out a raspy exhale. Maybe I'm still too sick. Its awfully hot out. I'm already dehydrated. My chest hurts from all of the coughing. This sucks.
Then I saw an e-mail from Markimarkonnen, more SCIAC results. Idly browsing through numbers, realizing that everyone else is getting faster. Oh, God, I can't keep up with the kids anymore... this is not acceptable, can't let this happen. A familiar fiery warm feeling started to build deep within me--no, not heartburn--lets call it motivation. Furiously pulled on some shoes and made a beeline for the door. Everyone else is training, and I'm not. Gotta get to it.
Sunday 03/04: 9 miles, 1:23:11 in the Arroyo at ~150 bpm heartrate. Felt pretty awful for 30 minutes, then got slightly easier. Legs feel creaky and heavy, L arch hurts a little bit on and off, throat still raw, hard to take deep breaths. Took detour back to Garfield Park to do 4 striders on grass. Too many people, had to avoid running over small children. Legs still felt heavy and tired, but everything felt better after the striders. Jogged back home. Just glad to complete a run, its been so long.
Monday 03/05: 3.5 miles, 37 minutes around North Fields in the dark in Nike Frees. 4 x striders with Mark on the South Fields. Core strengthening exercises in the gym, then home. Vaguely unproductive. Strange man was flying a home made contraption in the North Fields that seemed to upset the heart rate monitor, kept reading 180-225... eeeeeee. Was supposed to be ~140 bpm. Not sure what it really was, *sigh*. Coughing mostly subsided, but still feel a bit short of breath....didn't feel as good as I had hoped.
Tuesday 03/06: 5 miles, 22 minutes warm up around South Fields, 20 minutes of drills on grass, 10 x 100m striders, 22 minutes cool down around North Fields in Nike Frees. So exhausted, good grief the coordination drills are hard. Felt really out of breath, can't seem to maintain form through all of it, very clumsy, but at least didn't fall on my face. Striders were really painful after that, glad for 20 minutes of jogging at the end. L arch hurt a bit towards the end, maybe need a few days off from the Frees.
Wednesday 03/07: 6.25 miles, Huntington up Oak Knoll, felt really tired. Intended 50 minutes at 160 bpm, actual probably closer to 165 bpm, still took 55 minutes, what a disaster. Went too hard in the beginning, and spiked the heartrate, everything felt really crappy after that. 4 x 100m striders and core strengthening at the gym afterwards. Legs feel heavy and sore. Running doesn't feel good yet. Still some coughing.
Thursday 03/08: 6.5 miles, slowly around the South fields 1:01:30 at ~155 bpm. Really peeved that the North fields were locked today, I'm not sure entirely why but the fact that its just 1 minute larger of a loop makes such a big difference in terms of reducing the ennui of going around constantly in circles. Good relaxed easy run nonetheless. HR much more under control than yesterday. Really, really sore this morning, still had to do the deathly coordination drills again... its seriously only a matter of time before I'm observed by someone I know, flailing and falling all over the place, good grief. Definitely looking forward to a rest (jogging) day tomorrow.
Friday 03/09: 3 miles, 32:30 slow jogging around South fields at 140 bpm, core strengthening at gym. Relatively uneventful. Legs are sore, thank goodness for no drills today.
Saturday 03/10: 7 miles, finally, some fast running! 20 minutes warm up jogging (as if I needed further warming, as it was already like 80 degrees out...) then HR test at gym with Kangway and Ian. 0.3 mph increase every 400m on treadmill starting at 10:00 min/mile until I couldn't make it through the next segment. Painful in the last few segments, would have liked to make it through the 5:40 one, but wasn't going to happen, not today. 20 minutes cool down jogging. Legs definitely not used to the higher speeds... felt exhausted.
Max HR = 212, threshold is somewhere in the 190 range, but not entirely clear from the graph (x-axis is kmph, raw data available upon request). Probably should have tried to push a little harder at the end, but since I did not have the cushion of pillows like in the Bannister test, I elected not to risk getting shot out the back.
Target Mileage: 30-40 Miles
Week Actual: 40.25 Miles
Last Week: Miles? hah.
Trying not to stress out about mileage, just have time quotas and heart rates for each day. No workouts, just base miles and recovery.
I'd been dawdling on getting started with my first run back, pursing my lips and puffing out my cheeks, slowly letting out a raspy exhale. Maybe I'm still too sick. Its awfully hot out. I'm already dehydrated. My chest hurts from all of the coughing. This sucks.
Then I saw an e-mail from Markimarkonnen, more SCIAC results. Idly browsing through numbers, realizing that everyone else is getting faster. Oh, God, I can't keep up with the kids anymore... this is not acceptable, can't let this happen. A familiar fiery warm feeling started to build deep within me--no, not heartburn--lets call it motivation. Furiously pulled on some shoes and made a beeline for the door. Everyone else is training, and I'm not. Gotta get to it.
Sunday 03/04: 9 miles, 1:23:11 in the Arroyo at ~150 bpm heartrate. Felt pretty awful for 30 minutes, then got slightly easier. Legs feel creaky and heavy, L arch hurts a little bit on and off, throat still raw, hard to take deep breaths. Took detour back to Garfield Park to do 4 striders on grass. Too many people, had to avoid running over small children. Legs still felt heavy and tired, but everything felt better after the striders. Jogged back home. Just glad to complete a run, its been so long.
Monday 03/05: 3.5 miles, 37 minutes around North Fields in the dark in Nike Frees. 4 x striders with Mark on the South Fields. Core strengthening exercises in the gym, then home. Vaguely unproductive. Strange man was flying a home made contraption in the North Fields that seemed to upset the heart rate monitor, kept reading 180-225... eeeeeee. Was supposed to be ~140 bpm. Not sure what it really was, *sigh*. Coughing mostly subsided, but still feel a bit short of breath....didn't feel as good as I had hoped.
Tuesday 03/06: 5 miles, 22 minutes warm up around South Fields, 20 minutes of drills on grass, 10 x 100m striders, 22 minutes cool down around North Fields in Nike Frees. So exhausted, good grief the coordination drills are hard. Felt really out of breath, can't seem to maintain form through all of it, very clumsy, but at least didn't fall on my face. Striders were really painful after that, glad for 20 minutes of jogging at the end. L arch hurt a bit towards the end, maybe need a few days off from the Frees.
Wednesday 03/07: 6.25 miles, Huntington up Oak Knoll, felt really tired. Intended 50 minutes at 160 bpm, actual probably closer to 165 bpm, still took 55 minutes, what a disaster. Went too hard in the beginning, and spiked the heartrate, everything felt really crappy after that. 4 x 100m striders and core strengthening at the gym afterwards. Legs feel heavy and sore. Running doesn't feel good yet. Still some coughing.
Thursday 03/08: 6.5 miles, slowly around the South fields 1:01:30 at ~155 bpm. Really peeved that the North fields were locked today, I'm not sure entirely why but the fact that its just 1 minute larger of a loop makes such a big difference in terms of reducing the ennui of going around constantly in circles. Good relaxed easy run nonetheless. HR much more under control than yesterday. Really, really sore this morning, still had to do the deathly coordination drills again... its seriously only a matter of time before I'm observed by someone I know, flailing and falling all over the place, good grief. Definitely looking forward to a rest (jogging) day tomorrow.
Friday 03/09: 3 miles, 32:30 slow jogging around South fields at 140 bpm, core strengthening at gym. Relatively uneventful. Legs are sore, thank goodness for no drills today.
Saturday 03/10: 7 miles, finally, some fast running! 20 minutes warm up jogging (as if I needed further warming, as it was already like 80 degrees out...) then HR test at gym with Kangway and Ian. 0.3 mph increase every 400m on treadmill starting at 10:00 min/mile until I couldn't make it through the next segment. Painful in the last few segments, would have liked to make it through the 5:40 one, but wasn't going to happen, not today. 20 minutes cool down jogging. Legs definitely not used to the higher speeds... felt exhausted.
Max HR = 212, threshold is somewhere in the 190 range, but not entirely clear from the graph (x-axis is kmph, raw data available upon request). Probably should have tried to push a little harder at the end, but since I did not have the cushion of pillows like in the Bannister test, I elected not to risk getting shot out the back.
Target Mileage: 30-40 Miles
Week Actual: 40.25 Miles
Last Week: Miles? hah.
Trying not to stress out about mileage, just have time quotas and heart rates for each day. No workouts, just base miles and recovery.
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