10/18/2009 - 10/24/2009 (Week 8)
I've decided that the biggest issue for me with injuries is the loss of motivation, ergo the loss of momentum. The damage is more psychological than it is physical, and so I've decided that the key for me right now is just to re-establish the habit of running again.
Just take it one day at a time, rather than try to increase distance, or stress out about mileage, I feel like the key is just to run as many days as possible. The more days that I sleep in, the worse I feel, both physically and mentally. Consistency is key. Okay, here we go now:
Sunday: 5.2 miles, 42:49 (21:06/21:43) 2 x Washington Park Loops (8:14 min/mile)
After yesterday, I didn't really feel like I had 3 laps in me, so I decided to just do 2 and not feel bad about it. Felt better than yesterday, but still felt kind of buggered about the pace... maybe its not really a pace issue, actually its an endurance issue. The first lap felt fine... I also had someone to run with. I forgot what his name was, but we kept passing eachother back and forth so finally I decided to run next to him to avoid the competition. He was nice, but he was only doing one lap, so I think I slowed down a lot after he left.
Monday: Off, travel. Feeling lousy, not sure why, since I got a lot of sleep this weekend.
Tuesday: 6 miles, 47:25 Hillcrest, Orlando, Allen (7:58 min/mile)
Woke up feeling really beat, legs feeling really heavy... but force of habit is strong, it's Tuesday, so I figured that I should try to run a little faster than usual. Unfortunately my body just wouldn't go today. I felt like I expended an inordinate amount of effort not to get anywhere. My shoe came untied at Lake/California and I caught a glimpse of my watch. Seeing that I was 30 second behind last week's split, despite having worked a lot harder, I became discouraged and jogged the rest of it in. Bah, humbug.
Wednesday: 7.1 miles, 1:00:27 from Monterrey to RB (8:31 min/mile)
Hard to get up again, but was glad to make it on this nice, easy run. Was hoping it would be a little faster, but it felt good to take it easy after a few days where running felt more like struggling.
Thursday: 6.5 miles, 50:21 Hillcrest, Orlando, San Marino (7:45 min/mile)
An excellent night run in between baking a delicious chocolate cake. I kinda remembered what good base runs used to feel like today... I started off at a nice, controlled medium pace, and then pushed a little harder towards the end. That last part from Los Robles back to home always feels like a chore, so I tend to push through it. Felt good. Wish there were more runs like this.
Friday: Off, shots. Giving the hip and the feet and whatnot a precautionary day off by not trying to cram in a night run.
Saturday: 6.7 miles, 59:40 RB Perimeter to yellow gate at JPL (8:54 min/mile)
Good grief, I honestly don't know what happened here. I felt like I was going an "easy" pace, but it didn't feel like it was THAT slow. I also felt really wiped out on anything that went uphill, which meant that I really really struggled on the climb over the reservoir. I was so freaked out that I re-mapped this route immediately when I got home. Unfortunately, I didn't find a magical half mile or so that I forgot to measure... so I spent the rest of the evening feeling unsettled and irate.
Week total: 31.5 miles, some good, some bad... but making some progress!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Hip-hip hooray?
10/11/2009 - 10/17/2009 (Week 7)
I've decided that I'm still too young to have a metal hip... which means that I've got to come up with some way to fix this hip injury. Actually, at this point "hip" injury may be a misnomer. A variety of upper leg muscles have been hurting in turn at this point, so I'm not really sure what's going on anymore.
On the upside, it doesn't seem to make a difference whether I run fast or slow, and it's basically manageable with a smattering of core exercises, extra stretching and massage. Something always feels rusty and sore at the beginning of each run, but it seems to feel okay after 50 meters or so. It doesn't hurt me while walking around during the day any more, so I figure its improving and/or workable. I'm not 100% comfortable with it, but I think its good enough to proceed. Now to get that mileage back up. Last week I ran 3 days... this week I ran 4. One step at a time, I guess.
Sunday: 5.3 miles, 42:42 for Monterrey to bridge loop (8:03 min/mile)
I just decided, after yesterday, that I'm going to start running 8 minute miles now. Just like, in the beginning, I decided that I was going to run 8:30 miles. And I did, well mostly... and eventually it started to feel comfortable. I'm not sure why now, but it's time. Legs still feeling good and fresh, but breathing is kinda raspy. Overall a pretty good run though.
Monday: Off, slept in. Feeling lousy in that "under the weather" sort of way.
Tuesday: 6 miles, 46:10 Hillcrest, Orlando, Allen (7:46 min/mile)
Got up a little late, and it was drizzling out. Couldn't really decide what type of a run I wanted this to be. Went out hard, then backed off for most of the middle part, but then picked it up again coming back on California. Mostly, it was because the rain was picking up, I couldn't see anything, and I just wanted to get home sooner rather than later. Totally soaked when I got home, but I was super pleased to see my first solidly sub-8 minute mile run!
Wednesday: Off, slept in again. Feeling really fatigued and exhausted, not sure why.
Thursday: 6.5 miles, 54:30 Hillcrest, Orlando, San Marino (8:23 min/mile)
Slept in again, feeling really lousy... forced myself to go on this evening run though, to avoid 3 consecutive off days (counting shot day tomorrow). I was tired when I got home from work, and it was really humid. I remember thinking 5 minutes into this run that I was really hot and uncomfortable. Took it easy, but not THAT easy... so I was kind of pissed to see the slow run time. Oh well, try again on Saturday, I guess.
Friday: Off, shots, traveling.
Saturday: 5.2 miles, 42:18 (20:49/21:29) 2 x Washington Park Loops (8:08 min/mile)
First loop with Peter in Denver. Felt really lousy, I was feeling the altitude pretty early on, and it just got worse from there. The second loop felt a little bit more controlled, but I was pretty discouraged. Made some super delicious ginger bread men with Peter afterwards, and I decided to put this run behind me.
Week total: 23 miles. Well, whatever my hip needs to get better, so be it.
I've decided that I'm still too young to have a metal hip... which means that I've got to come up with some way to fix this hip injury. Actually, at this point "hip" injury may be a misnomer. A variety of upper leg muscles have been hurting in turn at this point, so I'm not really sure what's going on anymore.
On the upside, it doesn't seem to make a difference whether I run fast or slow, and it's basically manageable with a smattering of core exercises, extra stretching and massage. Something always feels rusty and sore at the beginning of each run, but it seems to feel okay after 50 meters or so. It doesn't hurt me while walking around during the day any more, so I figure its improving and/or workable. I'm not 100% comfortable with it, but I think its good enough to proceed. Now to get that mileage back up. Last week I ran 3 days... this week I ran 4. One step at a time, I guess.
Sunday: 5.3 miles, 42:42 for Monterrey to bridge loop (8:03 min/mile)
I just decided, after yesterday, that I'm going to start running 8 minute miles now. Just like, in the beginning, I decided that I was going to run 8:30 miles. And I did, well mostly... and eventually it started to feel comfortable. I'm not sure why now, but it's time. Legs still feeling good and fresh, but breathing is kinda raspy. Overall a pretty good run though.
Monday: Off, slept in. Feeling lousy in that "under the weather" sort of way.
Tuesday: 6 miles, 46:10 Hillcrest, Orlando, Allen (7:46 min/mile)
Got up a little late, and it was drizzling out. Couldn't really decide what type of a run I wanted this to be. Went out hard, then backed off for most of the middle part, but then picked it up again coming back on California. Mostly, it was because the rain was picking up, I couldn't see anything, and I just wanted to get home sooner rather than later. Totally soaked when I got home, but I was super pleased to see my first solidly sub-8 minute mile run!
Wednesday: Off, slept in again. Feeling really fatigued and exhausted, not sure why.
Thursday: 6.5 miles, 54:30 Hillcrest, Orlando, San Marino (8:23 min/mile)
Slept in again, feeling really lousy... forced myself to go on this evening run though, to avoid 3 consecutive off days (counting shot day tomorrow). I was tired when I got home from work, and it was really humid. I remember thinking 5 minutes into this run that I was really hot and uncomfortable. Took it easy, but not THAT easy... so I was kind of pissed to see the slow run time. Oh well, try again on Saturday, I guess.
Friday: Off, shots, traveling.
Saturday: 5.2 miles, 42:18 (20:49/21:29) 2 x Washington Park Loops (8:08 min/mile)
First loop with Peter in Denver. Felt really lousy, I was feeling the altitude pretty early on, and it just got worse from there. The second loop felt a little bit more controlled, but I was pretty discouraged. Made some super delicious ginger bread men with Peter afterwards, and I decided to put this run behind me.
Week total: 23 miles. Well, whatever my hip needs to get better, so be it.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Another one bites the dust...
10/04/2009 - 10/10/2009 (Week 6)
Things fall apart. Shit. The worst part is that I'm still not entirely sure what has broken, but something has definitely gone awry, because I wasn't walking normally on Tuesday after the workout. The best case scenario is a tweaked L hip flexor, which has happened to me with some regularity, and can be resolved with more diligent implementation of core strengthening. The worst case scenario is a stress fracture of the femural joint. I've been taking my gummy calcium bears, dammit! Clearly my runty left side doesn't respond to encouragement, so fine... die, left leg, die.
Sunday: 11.6 miles, 1:42:11 in the Arroyo then around the RB perimeter (8:49 min/mile)
Aaaaaahhhhh... turtle turtle. Why is not my long run pace improving?! I really didn't want to run today, but around noon, I finally cobbled together enough motivation to head out. It felt fine, except for I could tell that I was getting tired, and I was really dehydrated towards the end. I knew I should just have stopped for water at the RB or the casting pond, but for some reason I was determined not to stop. I think that the reality is that I run all of my runs as accelerations... in the Arroyo, I think I start out at 8:45 pace and then pick it up on the second half to average 8:30, but on this run, the picking it up thing never happened. It didn't feel particularly horrible... just long, and slow. I think it was too early for this jump, I should have stuck with a few more weeks of the 9 mile long run. Blahhhh.....
Monday: Off. I had felt really good immediately after yesterday's run, but woke up today with some aches and pains that distinctly felt like the beginning stages of injury, rather than a good healthy sore. Took a precautionary day off.
Tuesday: 6.5 miles, 2 x 700m, 2 x 1500m, 2 x 700m pickups with 100m jog rest at Lacy
Woke up at 6:50 am and realized that I wasn't going to run today if I didn't rush to 7 am practice (team has started T/Th morning workouts again). The prospect of 2 continuous days off scared me more than the twinge I still felt in my L hip, so I rushed out, and then sprinted again to Lacy bc I had missed the start yet again.
Felt like a good workout, my goal was to practice running fast, but still remain comfortable and consistent. I'm just not ready for a super high intensity thing right now, so these continuous loops are really ideal. Times were 3:03, 3:00, 6:44, 6:54, 3:13, 3:14. Legs were comfortable throughout, but I struggled cardiovascularly on the 1500's and that carried over towards the end. Not exactly sure how to fix this gap, cardio always lags leg strength for me, but its usually not as bad as this. (Strangely on the bike, its the reverse... )
Wednesday - Friday: Off. L hip took a turn for the worse after Tuesday, should have listened to the tweak while it was just that. The joint seemed to seize up after Tuesday's workout, I had trouble walking normally. Tried to sort out exactly what was wrong, but it was difficult. Just kept trying to stretch and loosen it, but a number of things seemed to have clenched around the joint. Kind of scary. There was a large improvement in the first day, but residual issues persisted for many days afterwards. In addition, some small muscles keep spasming in my calf. Bad news bears.
Saturday: 4.2 miles, 33:21 Glenarm/Hillcrest (7:56 min/mile)
Short run to test out the hip. Smelled like burnt tires out. Ran at noon, so it was warmer than I would have liked. I felt sluggish and my breathing was out of whack, but I assumed I was going really slow and I just felt badly bc of the days off, and the temperature. Felt better about the run once I got home and realized that I was going a decent pace. Did a lot of stretching and exercises afterwards. I felt like my L hip was different from my R hip, but it felt like a difference of strength vs. a difference of injuredness. It may have been better to take it a bit easier on the first day back, but I'm actually heartened to see the faster pace because it demonstrates that I'm still getting full extension out of my stride. Towards the end of my last cycle of injuries, I couldn't run faster than a 9 minute mile, simply because I had shortened my stride drastically to minimize the pain.
Week Total: 22.3 miles, ack, wrong direction!
Things fall apart. Shit. The worst part is that I'm still not entirely sure what has broken, but something has definitely gone awry, because I wasn't walking normally on Tuesday after the workout. The best case scenario is a tweaked L hip flexor, which has happened to me with some regularity, and can be resolved with more diligent implementation of core strengthening. The worst case scenario is a stress fracture of the femural joint. I've been taking my gummy calcium bears, dammit! Clearly my runty left side doesn't respond to encouragement, so fine... die, left leg, die.
Sunday: 11.6 miles, 1:42:11 in the Arroyo then around the RB perimeter (8:49 min/mile)
Aaaaaahhhhh... turtle turtle. Why is not my long run pace improving?! I really didn't want to run today, but around noon, I finally cobbled together enough motivation to head out. It felt fine, except for I could tell that I was getting tired, and I was really dehydrated towards the end. I knew I should just have stopped for water at the RB or the casting pond, but for some reason I was determined not to stop. I think that the reality is that I run all of my runs as accelerations... in the Arroyo, I think I start out at 8:45 pace and then pick it up on the second half to average 8:30, but on this run, the picking it up thing never happened. It didn't feel particularly horrible... just long, and slow. I think it was too early for this jump, I should have stuck with a few more weeks of the 9 mile long run. Blahhhh.....
Monday: Off. I had felt really good immediately after yesterday's run, but woke up today with some aches and pains that distinctly felt like the beginning stages of injury, rather than a good healthy sore. Took a precautionary day off.
Tuesday: 6.5 miles, 2 x 700m, 2 x 1500m, 2 x 700m pickups with 100m jog rest at Lacy
Woke up at 6:50 am and realized that I wasn't going to run today if I didn't rush to 7 am practice (team has started T/Th morning workouts again). The prospect of 2 continuous days off scared me more than the twinge I still felt in my L hip, so I rushed out, and then sprinted again to Lacy bc I had missed the start yet again.
Felt like a good workout, my goal was to practice running fast, but still remain comfortable and consistent. I'm just not ready for a super high intensity thing right now, so these continuous loops are really ideal. Times were 3:03, 3:00, 6:44, 6:54, 3:13, 3:14. Legs were comfortable throughout, but I struggled cardiovascularly on the 1500's and that carried over towards the end. Not exactly sure how to fix this gap, cardio always lags leg strength for me, but its usually not as bad as this. (Strangely on the bike, its the reverse... )
Wednesday - Friday: Off. L hip took a turn for the worse after Tuesday, should have listened to the tweak while it was just that. The joint seemed to seize up after Tuesday's workout, I had trouble walking normally. Tried to sort out exactly what was wrong, but it was difficult. Just kept trying to stretch and loosen it, but a number of things seemed to have clenched around the joint. Kind of scary. There was a large improvement in the first day, but residual issues persisted for many days afterwards. In addition, some small muscles keep spasming in my calf. Bad news bears.
Saturday: 4.2 miles, 33:21 Glenarm/Hillcrest (7:56 min/mile)
Short run to test out the hip. Smelled like burnt tires out. Ran at noon, so it was warmer than I would have liked. I felt sluggish and my breathing was out of whack, but I assumed I was going really slow and I just felt badly bc of the days off, and the temperature. Felt better about the run once I got home and realized that I was going a decent pace. Did a lot of stretching and exercises afterwards. I felt like my L hip was different from my R hip, but it felt like a difference of strength vs. a difference of injuredness. It may have been better to take it a bit easier on the first day back, but I'm actually heartened to see the faster pace because it demonstrates that I'm still getting full extension out of my stride. Towards the end of my last cycle of injuries, I couldn't run faster than a 9 minute mile, simply because I had shortened my stride drastically to minimize the pain.
Week Total: 22.3 miles, ack, wrong direction!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Rest week devolves to lazy...
09/27/2009 - 10/03/2009 (Week 5)
First rest week, and I've got two things going against me. One is that pre-season is over, so there isn't 6:30 am practice to get my lazy ass out of bed in the morning. Two is that I have a history of post-achievement motivational issues. And yes, running 42 miles last week is an achievement... because that's only happened twice so far in the past 2 years. Sad, yeah, I know...
The wheels kind of came off the wagon early this week, with the dreaded 2 consecutive off days, but I rallied to cobble together 35 miles in 5 days. I think the situation is under control, but I was afflicted by some serious ennui for a while there. Part of the problem is that I've been requiring a ridiculous amount of sleep recently. Since I returned from Colorado, 7 hours isn't cutting it. Kind of disturbing... but I'll chalk it up to recovering from altitude.
Sunday: 7.8 miles, 1:07:03 for 3 x Washington Park Loops in Denver (8:36 min/mile)
(22:00/22:38/22:25 lap splits) Argh, feeling lousy today. Not sure exactly why, but it was harder and slower than yesterday. It didn't feel like a complete meltdown, so I just tried to keep some sort of a steady pace and not do anything crazy. Glad to be done. ~ 6 mile hike to ~9000ft with Peter and his parents afterwards.
Monday: Off. Traveling. Didn't perceive that I was super tired, but apparently I was.
Tuesday: Off. Slept in, and then had to work late... decided not to do a late night run, such that I could get up for a proper run tomorrow.
Wednesday: 7.1 miles, 1:00:32 Monterrey to RB and back (8:32 min/mile)
Felt lousy again, can't imagine why after so much rest... but my body usually feels sort of groggy and out of sorts after days off. Started really easy, picked it up a bit on the second half, but it was still slow overall. Not too stressed out about it, just needed to get out and do something today to get back on the ball.
Thursday: 9.2 miles, 1:16:25 Hillcrest/Sierra Madre/Huntington/El Molino (8:18 min/mile)
Still couldn't get up in the morning, but this time I forced myself to run after work. Running at night around Pasadena is actually really nice, but this time I was afflicted by gastrointestinal distress, which made it... less nice. Went easy planning to do ~ 10 miles, but had to cut off the last part and head home early due to the stomach situation becoming intractable. Felt really good other than that. I was kind of sad that I didn't get to work the El Molino hill, because I had to concentrate on not crapping my pants. Stomach hurt for hours afterwards, couldn't eat anything... bad times.
Friday: 6 miles, 49:20 Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen back on California (8:18 min/mile)
Shots in the morning, but had to run after work to account for the unintended rest day on Tuesday. Felt kind of sore and weak presumably due to lack of food, and stomach still feeling kind of bad, but it was much better than yesterday. Easy until last 0.4 miles down Marengo to get home, felt really good picking up the pace a little bit. Running on the pavement is starting to feel really good and easy, and the paces are coming down. Not sure what it is about the trails that makes it that much harder.
Saturday: 5.3 miles, 45:21 Monterrey to Third Bridge Loop (8:33 min/mile)
This run kind of felt like a chore. The 12 hour turnaround is still hard for me, but I decided to sacrifice this run to get back on the morning schedule rather than Sunday's long run. My legs felt mostly okay though, so I think the badness came from forgetting to take my Zyrtec yesterday night, so I was stuffy and chest felt tight and congested in the morning. Mostly easy, but had to pick it up the last 5 minutes, to avoid being passed by Old Guy.
Week Total: 35.4 miles, why don't I feel more rested? Oh, because of the sub-optimal configuration of off days...
First rest week, and I've got two things going against me. One is that pre-season is over, so there isn't 6:30 am practice to get my lazy ass out of bed in the morning. Two is that I have a history of post-achievement motivational issues. And yes, running 42 miles last week is an achievement... because that's only happened twice so far in the past 2 years. Sad, yeah, I know...
The wheels kind of came off the wagon early this week, with the dreaded 2 consecutive off days, but I rallied to cobble together 35 miles in 5 days. I think the situation is under control, but I was afflicted by some serious ennui for a while there. Part of the problem is that I've been requiring a ridiculous amount of sleep recently. Since I returned from Colorado, 7 hours isn't cutting it. Kind of disturbing... but I'll chalk it up to recovering from altitude.
Sunday: 7.8 miles, 1:07:03 for 3 x Washington Park Loops in Denver (8:36 min/mile)
(22:00/22:38/22:25 lap splits) Argh, feeling lousy today. Not sure exactly why, but it was harder and slower than yesterday. It didn't feel like a complete meltdown, so I just tried to keep some sort of a steady pace and not do anything crazy. Glad to be done. ~ 6 mile hike to ~9000ft with Peter and his parents afterwards.
Monday: Off. Traveling. Didn't perceive that I was super tired, but apparently I was.
Tuesday: Off. Slept in, and then had to work late... decided not to do a late night run, such that I could get up for a proper run tomorrow.
Wednesday: 7.1 miles, 1:00:32 Monterrey to RB and back (8:32 min/mile)
Felt lousy again, can't imagine why after so much rest... but my body usually feels sort of groggy and out of sorts after days off. Started really easy, picked it up a bit on the second half, but it was still slow overall. Not too stressed out about it, just needed to get out and do something today to get back on the ball.
Thursday: 9.2 miles, 1:16:25 Hillcrest/Sierra Madre/Huntington/El Molino (8:18 min/mile)
Still couldn't get up in the morning, but this time I forced myself to run after work. Running at night around Pasadena is actually really nice, but this time I was afflicted by gastrointestinal distress, which made it... less nice. Went easy planning to do ~ 10 miles, but had to cut off the last part and head home early due to the stomach situation becoming intractable. Felt really good other than that. I was kind of sad that I didn't get to work the El Molino hill, because I had to concentrate on not crapping my pants. Stomach hurt for hours afterwards, couldn't eat anything... bad times.
Friday: 6 miles, 49:20 Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen back on California (8:18 min/mile)
Shots in the morning, but had to run after work to account for the unintended rest day on Tuesday. Felt kind of sore and weak presumably due to lack of food, and stomach still feeling kind of bad, but it was much better than yesterday. Easy until last 0.4 miles down Marengo to get home, felt really good picking up the pace a little bit. Running on the pavement is starting to feel really good and easy, and the paces are coming down. Not sure what it is about the trails that makes it that much harder.
Saturday: 5.3 miles, 45:21 Monterrey to Third Bridge Loop (8:33 min/mile)
This run kind of felt like a chore. The 12 hour turnaround is still hard for me, but I decided to sacrifice this run to get back on the morning schedule rather than Sunday's long run. My legs felt mostly okay though, so I think the badness came from forgetting to take my Zyrtec yesterday night, so I was stuffy and chest felt tight and congested in the morning. Mostly easy, but had to pick it up the last 5 minutes, to avoid being passed by Old Guy.
Week Total: 35.4 miles, why don't I feel more rested? Oh, because of the sub-optimal configuration of off days...
Saturday, September 26, 2009
More Activation Energy Required
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!
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!
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
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