Activity!

Too lazy to retro post.

The runs were with Meesha.  Today's run was the best as she pretty much just trotted alongside me.  In the mile after the half mile walk today, Meesha started lagging a bit behind, so I'll have to make sure that I don't overdo it.

Running and walking with Meesha

We went on a mile walk last night with Meesha, so I knew that she was pretty good at obeying during a walk.  (She also showed no fear of fireworks, motorcycles, or loud noises) What I didn't know is how she'd do on a run...erm, shuffle...uh, whatever it is that I do...anyways, this morning I took her for a run.  And she did brilliantly!

For the most part, after about a half a mile, she ran along side me with the leash loose.  She didn't pull a lot, and she didn't try to stop and sniff too many times. I think with consistent training, she'll be a good partner for me to run with.  Yay!

The post in which we announce an adoption

 

This is Meesha.  She's on the running team now. 

Happy 4th!

Same course as Wednesday, only faster.  Of course, I didn't have Denali along for the walk portion, so there's that...

It was a beautiful sunny day for this run.  60 degrees F with little wind.

I bought some new shoes to help me stay on the wagon; I asked the clerk how to pronounce the name, but I've forgotten it already: Saucony.  I think I took a stab at Saw-Cone-ee, but that that pronunciation was not correct.  It's probably French...or Belgiumish (whatever they call their language.)

The return of green

I've been biking more this summer.  Trace has a job, Brandy has a job, and I have a job; we have two cars, so there is some juggling going on.  One of the things that I've started doing to help minimize extra trips is to leave my Murano at Brandy's work and bike home (Trace drops her off in the morning).

I think I've done this 3 or 4 times (I didn't keep track).  Now that I'm back on the running wagon, I'll start keeping track of my biking exploits as well.  Lucky you!

This post has been brought to you by retropost.

Back to running

Two miles running and a cooldown walk with Denali.  I'll probably go on another walk with Brandy this evening which will add a mile or two of walking to this total.

Retroposting...again!

Walking:
1 mile with Denali
2 miles with Brandy

Getting back on the wagon...again (part 3)

This is not a retropost.

So, all this week (since Monday), I have been in Phoenix.  Nice, warm, Phoenix. In late June.

Nice, warm...mmmmmm.

So far, I've seen 107 degrees F and at least 103 each day.  So, my efforts so far to jump back on the wagon have been on the treadmill.  Unfortunately, as I often do, I developed a twinge of shin splints after the second day.

I decided to just do some weightlifting yesterday to rest my shins, but I wanted to get back at it today.  Since I knew the treadmill would give me more aggravation, I decided to do something really crazy and run outside.

Now, I took a water bottle with me and mapped out a course that was a half mile circle around my hotel so I wouldn't be very far just in case I had some sort of emergency.  I ended up running the circle three times and walked it once for a total of 2 miles.  Oh, and the fact that I'm writing this is testament to the fact that I didn't die.  Yay on me.

Unfortunately for you all, I'm on a new laptop that I haven't loaded Excel on yet, so you'll have to do with the following.

Run:
Mile 1 - 10:37
Mile .5 - 5:17
Mile .5 walk

My shins feel great, the heat was very dry (which helped a whole lot), and I extended my exercising temperature upper limit to 103 degrees F.  I now have a total temperature range that I have exercised in to 119 degrees F (biked at -16 degrees F, ran at 103 degrees F).

Makes me feel like a man!

Getting back on the wagon...again (part 2)

Once again, today is 6/26/14 and this is a retropost.

6/24/14
Treadmill
1.25 miles @ 11 min/mile
.75 miles walk

Getting back on the wagon...again

Today is 6/26/14.
This post and the next one are retroposts from earlier in the week.

6/23/14
Treadmill:
1 mile run @ 11 min/mile
1 mile walk

Another beautiful day

68 degrees F.  Overcast.  No breeze.

Today wasn't as perfect as yesterday...who am I kidding!  Yes it is!  I don't know if I'll get in a run tomorrow, 'cause it's supposed to snow sometime soon.

Perfect weather

58 degrees F, partly sunny, a little breeze, and a lot of perfect equals a very nice run.  Today was a welcome relief from the latest round of cold temps.  I remember getting antsy for spring around this time when I lived in Anchorage, but it was still 4 weeks away. 

At least here in Indiana, I can look forward to spring in March instead of April, so I've got that going for me, which is great.

No run tomorrow, but hopefully after my haircut on Wednesday, I'll get in some more miles.

A run

I had a bit of the winter blues the last two weeks and really didn't feel like running in the cold.  I know...poor me.  Well, it was sunny and in the forties today, so, I figured I'd better get back to it.

I'm probably gonna run tomorrow also as it's supposed to be nice.  We'll see.  If I do run, I'll probably do 5.

No time for five

I ran out of time for five, so I got in what I could.

Monday:

Schedule

7 @ 10:00

Recovery Run

Maybe it was the temp: High 40's!

Maybe it was the sun: No clouds!

Maybe it was the short sleeve shirt: Short Sleeve shirt!

Maybe it was 2 days rest: Didn't run the last two days!

Whatever it was, this was a good run.  I was a little bit winded at the end of it, but it wasn't due to sprinting or anything.  Also, I did this run without pace alarms and without looking at my watch save for a couple of times in the beginning.  I just ran what was somewhat comfortable.

Saturday:
5 easy miles.

Daytona Beach Half Marathon

The race wasn't pretty, and I did not train for the large hill in the form of a bridge at mile 6 and again at 8.  I stopped around miles 10 and 11 to stretch and relieve myself, so my official time was 2:15:16.

I know I didn't get enough sleep as I took advantage of going to the Sprint Unlimited race the night before; I got to bed around 11 pm and got up around 4:30.  I also didn't get in all the training that I should have; I did not run at all the week before the race.

On the positives, I did beat Michael Waltrip in a race at Daytona in February, so I'll always have that to brag about.  um, yay.

Wed or Thu:
3 easy miles

5 mile tempo run inside 12 miles

Three days rest made this run easier than it should have been, and it wasn't that easy.  I'm not sure how well I would have done if I had done my Wed and Thu runs.  This is my last hard run before my half marathon on Feb 16th.

The temp was ok at 21 degrees F; my legs got a little cold as I was in shorts.  I hit a little packed snow, but most of my run was on pavement.

Monday:

Schedule

8 @ 9:40

Snomageddon Run

Thankfully the blizzard didn't really get going until after the second quarter interval.  That last mile was almost all into the wind and blowing snow.  It stung a bit...made me feel alive!!

Oh, and that third mile?  Personal best.

Tomorrow:

Schedule

6 @ 9:53

On the treadmill for sure...8-(

Faster than the master!

My coach ran 5 miles today at a 9:36 pace, which for him is a super slow pace.  I mean, it's almost as if he was walking.

On the other hand, this is my once intended half-marathon race pace tempo run, so it's the fastest that I could hope to hold for 13.1 miles. Of course, I won't be trying to hold down this pace in two weeks.

BUT!  Since Michael did run today, and I did run today, I can totally blow the two runs out of context and brag that I was faster than the master for once in my life.  It will probably never happen again, but I'll always have Feb 3, 2014 to cherish in my heart.  sigh.

Tomorrow:

Schedule	2 @ 10:02
	1 @ 7:45
	1 @ 10:02
	2 X 1/4
	in 1:49
	1 @ 10:02
400 recovery after each interval

Rainy 12

I only got rained on for a couple of miles; other than that, I was pretty comfortable with no gloves or ear protection.  I stopped at 3 miles to apply some dish soap to my glasses to help with the fogging and then again at 4 miles to pick up a baseball hat.

Overall, this is a fairly well rested run, so I won't make too much of it.  Next week is back to the schedule, hopefully, with a tempo run on Monday, some speed work on Tuesday, a couple of faster pace runs and the magical 5 easy, 5 tempo, 2 easy 12 mile run.

Monday:

Schedule

6 @ 9:02

The return of shin splints

I missed three runs this week and cut this one down due to shin splints in my right leg.  I'm not sure why they all of a sudden popped up, but I'm not too thrilled about it here 17 days before my next race.

I'll pick up training, including the forecast paces, but I'm thinking I might change my race pace to 9:20 or maybe 9:15.  Those will get me very close to two hours for my half marathon, and I can hopefully have a shot at breaking the two hour mark.  I plan on running another half in California on the Avenue of the Giants, so I may have to wait until then to finally reach that goal.

Saturday:

Schedule

12 @ 10:02

Snow Run

Remember my 2 mile loop and my one mile loop?  Guess which side was plowed and didn't have very much head winds?  I guess at least I was consistent on the one mile side; it really was tough going on that side.

So...outside again!  I ran mostly on packed snow and wet pavement; on the one mile side it was mostly loose snow and rotten snow - not much traction on that stuff.  On the plus side it was sunny and relatively warm in the upper 20's; unfortunately, there was a 24 mph wind out of the west.

Tomorrow:
Upper body

Monday:

Schedule

8 @ 9:40

10 mile dreadmill

For some reason, it wasn't as bad as I make it out to be.  I took a break at 4 miles to put a steroid drop in my eye (I have a case of iritis), and I thought that maybe the key to getting through these longer treadmill runs is to break them up into smaller runs. 

At most I would take a 3-4 minute break just to stretch and shake out my legs.  I realized today why I feel more worn on the treadmill: my legs are doing the same repetitive motion with no variation.  At least when I'm outside, I turn corners, I cross streets, I dodge various things on the road.  In short, I'm using all the muscles of my legs when I'm outside; the same cannot be said for running on the treadmill.

Saturday:

Schedule

11 @ 10:02

(hopefully outside)

Easy 6

Back on the dreadmill and back on the trainer track.  Just kind of zoned out for this one; not much to say except it was 70 degrees F with a slight wind from the fan I had on.  Tomorrow's run will probably be the same.

Tomorrow:

Schedule

10 @ 10:02

Forced 8 minute mile

Yes, those are intervals that I did on the dreadmill.  I didn't suffer any shin splint issues, so I'll continue to do them inside if the weather doesn't cooperate.  And before you go judging me for my slow intervals, remember, I'm somewhat fanatic about my times and 7.5 mph = 8 min/mile, which is easy to remember at 2 min/quarter mile.  7.6 or 7.7 mph is not so much easy...

BTW, I've started a new training schedule at week 2.  My new base pace is 10:00 min/mile, and race pace is 9 min/mile.

Tomorrow:

Schedule

6 @ 10:02

Back on the wagon

Last week, the wheels just fell off, and I had no motivation.  I ran for two miles on the treadmill on Saturday and just quit.  I felt so down about it that I didn't even want to post it here.

Well, today is a different day, and I got to run outside in fairly nice weather.  As you can see, my times were excellent, as they should be on 5 days rest.  So, that's all in the past, and it must stay there because I have four weeks to get ready for my next race.

Tomorrow:

Schedule	2 @ 10:02
	1 @ 7:45
	1 @ 10:02
	2 X 1/4
	in 1:49
	1 @ 10:02
400 recovery after each interval

Assorted intervals

Well, I only made one of my interval goals with this run; I guess I just wasn't feelin' it today.  I think around the middle part of this run, I got rained on, which wasn't so bad.  It made me feel alive!

I might skip tomorrow's run/workout due to an appt up north, but if I don't, here's what I'll do.

Tomorrow:
 

Schedule

6 @ 10:05

and Upper body  

10K PR

My previous 10K PR was in Mar 2011 with a time of 57:24, so yay for a better result in a training run.  I might enter the Caring Parents Don't Shake 10K in Columbus, IN come April; if you will remember, that was the race in which I would have placed first in my age group had I been 2 weeks older.

You may also remember that I would have been the only one in the 45-49M age group as well...

Anyways, I tacked on the extra .2 miles just to make it officially a 10K, and I can post that time as a PR on my Garmin Connect front page.  Go me.

Tomorrow:

Schedule	2 @ 10:14
	1 @ 7:55
	1 @ 10:14
	2 X 1/4
	in 1:52
	1 @ 10:14
400 recovery after each interval

and yoga

Outside again!! Woot!!

Even dodging slush/ice piles is better than the dreadmill!  For the most part, this run was on wet pavement, but as with last Saturday's run, I did hit a variety of snow/ice/slush on this run.  But I was outside, so that's all that mattered!

Monday:

Schedule

6 @ 9:13

Tempo run!

Treadmill Treadmill Treadmill Treadmill, NO INTERVALS! Treadmill

Yeah, this was supposed to be Wednesday's run.  Another thrilling run in the great indoors.  I had hopes of running outside when I saw that the main streets were merely wet, but once I got to my subdivision, I observed quite a bit of slush, rotten snow, puddles, and mess.  I don't mind getting wet or muddy, but I knew that my feet would freeze and I would be risking injury if I took to the streets.

Adult sensibilities win again...sigh.

Tomorrow:
 

Schedule

12 @ 10:14

probably on the treadmill...

More treadmill action

Yesterday's run didn't happen as my day pretty much spiraled out of control with work related stuff.  I could have put in the 7 miles starting at 5 PM, but I was just not motivated to do so.

As you can see, I did do my 10 minute trainer exercise, and I will make up the run tomorrow.  I will not be doing intervals on the treadmill as I remember getting shin splints the last time I did that.  I'll just run an easy 7 miles instead, 'cause it's lookin' like I'm gonna be on the dreadmill again tomorrow!  Ick.

Tomorrow:
7 @ 10:10 pace

Hampster wheel again

That about says it.

Tomorrow:

Schedule	2 @ 10:14
	4 X 1/2
	in 3:53
	1 @ 10:14
800 recovery after each interval

and upper body

Year in review and a run

Yeah, a balmy 70 degrees F here inside Mills' stadium and sleeping facilities.  It's a cool -7 degrees F outside with packed snow on the ground, so as much as I want the title of "Cuh-ray-ze Nutjob", I was unwilling to put in the necessary miles outside to obtain it.  Anyways, I've already told you all that I've biked 4.5 miles in -16 degrees F in Anchorage, so running in -7 would just be gratuitous.

(turn on fancy font)2013 Year in Review(turn off fancy font)
It was a banner year for me and my best year yet.  I set personal records (PR) in all the distances that I raced, including 5K, 5 mile, and half marathon as well as the 1 mile in training.

I ran four half marathons and ended with my fastest time ever at 2:05:52.  I ran two 5K's and ended with my fastest time ever at 26:19.  My lone 5 mile race clocked in at 45:42.

My total miles for the year was 1308. In 2012, I had 1016, so that is a pretty good increase.

I had some down time due to shin splints, sickness, and vacation.  I also (re)learned that my 5 days/week schedule is perfect for balancing training with what my body can do.  I still don't do well in the summer, but I was able to get in more runs this past summer than in summers past.  (see what I did there?)

So, overall, a great, great year for me in the running dept.  Now if only I could bring the rest of my life up to the same level, I'd be golden!

Tomorrow:
 

Schedule

6 @ 9:39

and yoga

Outside in the mess

It is messy outside.  The snow from the other day is still on the ground, but the temp warmed up considerably today (35 degrees F or so). I ran mostly on wet pavement, but I also ran on untouched snow, packed snow, packed snowy ice, icy snow, slush, icy slush, wet ice, and dry pavement.

And I didn't bust my butt!  Yay for putting that Alaska experience to use.  I was really happy to get outside today as it looks like I'll be stuck indoors for at least the first two or three runs next week.  yay.

Tomorrow:
Upper body + Yoga

Monday:
 

Schedule

8 @ 9:52

and Abs

Dreadmill is dreaded

Ick.

The snow came last night, and I knew I would be doing one of my tougher runs on the dreadmill.  This is my only ten miler not on a Saturday; in the original schedule, it was on Thanksgiving, so maybe I should look at spreading two miles over to other days.  On the other hand, it is a character builder as I seem to struggle with it, but in the end, I gut it out.

Friday:
abs and maybe yoga

Saturday:

Schedule

11 @ 10:14

Happy New Year!

Nice easy run to start things off.  It was a nice balmy 39 degrees F and a bit overcast, so shorts were the order for the day.  I took my gloves off around 3 miles; it really was nice.

Now this next Monday, the high is supposed to be -2 degrees F.  I'm not sure if I'll do my eight miles indoors or do some outside.  I would definitely like to try to run outside, and I think I have the clothing to do so.  I'll just have to burn that bridge when I get to it.

Tomorrow:

Schedule

10 @ 10:14

and abs (or yoga)