Every day is a new day

Just a very easy recovery run today.  My legs hurt less than expected but I knew not to push it at all.  So I ran at a 9:10 average pace for 9 miles for a total of 82:30.  Felt easy relaxed and unforced until the last ten minutes when my hamstrings tightened quite a bit.  Now as I write this my quads are complaining a wee bit.  Glad I took it easy.

A.M.

Had to get up at 3:30 to get my son to the airport to go to the State CC meet this weekend. I am going tomorrow. Meet is in Palmer which is next to Wasilla, a town we have heard of a lot lately in the national news. Since I had to get up early I decided to do an early run and break up my running a bit.

Did a 2.3 mile warm up in the park then ran the official CC 5K course at 90-95%. I don't know why I decided to do this workout it just happened. Ran the 5K in 23:05 which was about right. This afternoon will be just an easy run.

P.M.

Just did a slow 5.1 miles on the treadmill at a 9:05 pace.  Felt fine but getting bored by the end.  Traveling this weekend and am unsure as to running chances. 

Travelling with the high school cross country team this weekend.  After flying to Anchorage early in the morning I drove to the meet site in Palmer.  Decided since the kids had not yet arrived I would run the course so I could tell them what to expect sice they would only jog the course once.  So I did a warm up lap and then ran the three lap course at tempo pace 7:30 average.  Then ran a cool down jog with the kids while expaining what I had found. Boys finished sixth in the state and the girls were third.  Not a bad performance.  Highlight of the day was the state champ running 15:07 on a measured, hilly 5K course

Nice fall day!  Ran in the park today.  Felt pretty strong after the weekend off.  Ran about 4.4 miles but found I was speeding up the whole time.  So I decided to end the run with a 5K at tempo pace.  Finished up the 7.5 miles in 1:02 for a 8:25 average pace.

I could not decide what to do today.  I ran a little too hard yesterday to have a hard day, but not hard enough to feel worn out and needeing an easy day.  Well the more I thought about it, it seemed unwise to do too much so I ran 9.1 miles at about a 9;05 average.  Nice, easy and relaxed run.  Glad I did not try to do more, as there is always tomorrow.

Wednesday means treadmill tempo day.  Nasty rainy day made that decision easy.  I did a 2 mile warm up and the got into the tempo run.  Chose 7:45/ mile again and thought I would extend the distance if I felt good since I decided a speed increase might not be a good idea.  Ended up only adding .3 to the run but I felt good up to the end when my hamstrings really got tight.  Decided it better to stop rather than hurt something.  Ran a .7 mile cool down and then walked for 5 minutes more.  Good solid workout for me.  Will up the speed next week.

We had another nice but cool day today.  About 40 degrees when I went out at lunch. Wore gloves, hat and coat for the first time this fall.  Decided to run the park and then out the road to Whalepark.  Easy recovery run scheduled but I kept having to slow down.  Ended up running 9.4 miles in 81 minutes for a 8:37 average pace.

Experimenting with weight control.  I have felt slower all summer compared to last spring.  I have gained about 7 pounds so I am going to track my weight over the next few weeks and see if I see any noticable improvement.

Weight: 187

Traveled to Colorado with my son to look at colleges.  Could not run yesterday due to travelling.  Arrived in Gunnison Colorado at 5:00 PM and 7,850 feet.  Went down to the treadmill since I had no idea about running in town as well as the heavy rain and sleet cooled my enthusiasim.  Started up the treadmill and was distressed to find out it was limited to 6.3 MPH.  I uped the slope to 2.5 % to warm up and assumed I would just continue to do a hill workout instead.  Five minutes into it I realized I was a little light headed and was breathing quite hard.  Always living and running at sea level has spoiled me.  I also realized I was affected when driving over the handful of 11,000 foot passes.  Sorrry I will not be here long enough to make use of the altitude.

Visiting the University of Colorado in Boulder.  Ran the bike path for about 3.5 miles.  It was a little easier at 5,400 feet but still seriously affectted my breathing.

Still in Colorado.  Down to 5000 feet.  Still suffering.  Ran a normal easy run and found myself lagging after just a few miles.  Ran a total of 6 miles and decided that was enough for the day.  Look forward to the return to sea level.  I would love to stay here long enough to acclimate but that is not going to happen.  So in summary I now have much more respect for those that run at altitude and/or run with a stroller.  I will always be in awe at both groups.

Back home to seal level!  Ran on the treadmill for just over an hour.  Set the slope to 1% and ran at 7 MPH.  Easier than 6.5 at 5000 feet.  Breathing was back to normal and easier than at altitude for a harder workout.

Mile interval day.  I did a two mile warm up, stretched and then started.  Plan was 3x1600 with 3 minute jog.  The intervals went like this 7:02 6:50 and 6:55. Then ran a little over a mile cool down for the total of 7.1.  Miles felt under control with a little left if I were at 100%.

The USCG puts on a seven mile road race to celebrate Alaska Day.  On this day the Russians turned over Alaska to the U.S. right here in  our town.

Why 7 miles was chosen I don't know, but the course is two connected road 5K's with a bit added on to make the full seven miles.  I started easy, I think, as there were no markers until the turn around point.  I ran with one of my normal long run partners who is training for  a marathon next month.  She is clearly in better shape.  We ran together for the first 3 miles and the I slowly pulled ahead.  I reached the turnaround in 28:05 or almost exactly  an 8:00/ mile pace.  Felt good at this point and decided to just cruise back without pushing since I had done an interval workout yesterday and my legs felt tired.  All was good until the bridge at 6 miles.  the bridge is a half mile long with only about 80 feet of elevation gain.  I slowed on the uphill but neglected to speed up much on the way down.  I could tell when I hit the flat with .5 to go that I was tired.  My running partner caught back up and passed me while encouraging me to pick it up.  The legs just would not cooperate and I crossed the line at 55:55 for a 27:50 split. Guess did not actually slow too much at the end. Still all and all a good run that I never intended to race flat out.

Forced my way through six recovery miles.  My legs really hurt after yesterday. Two hard days in a row was a litlte much.

Did not have time for a true long run today so I ran a short long run at about 30 seconds a mile faster than my long run usually would be.  Ran the park with Indian River and Sawmill Creek roads added on.  11.3 miles 97 minutes for an 8:35 average pace.  Was in fact a little tired after this run.

Easy day after yesterdays longer run.  Ran on the treadmill as the weather,  40 degrees, raning and wind gusts to 60 mph was too much.  Ran for 83 minutes a total of 9.3 miles for an 8:56 average pace.  No problems except tight legs.

Wednesday means tempo run day.  Weather is still terrible rainy and winds over 50 mph.  Treadmill the only sensible choice.

Did a two mile warm up in 18:00.  Then dialed in a 7:30 pace and figured on a minimum of 5 miles and 6 if I felt good.  Funny the first mile seemed a little harder than normal but I soon got into it and the rest of the run was uneventful. I did the full 6 miles as I was fine after 5.  This was one of those runs where I felt really good afterward and was sure I could have run a little faster without trouble. One mile cool down for a total of 9 miles.  I am pleased with this workout.

Easy day after yesterdays tempo run.  Hard to believe but still blowing 50 and raining, the third day in a row.  Ah, fall in Southeast Alaska.  So treadmill recovery day ran 10.1 miles in 90 minutes for an 8:55 pace.  Actually felt great when done.  I started adding at least one hour of sleep by going to bed an hour early EVERY night 9 days ago.  I am starting to believe it makes a huge difference, if not in endurance, in how I feel after a run.

Even though I did not want to do it, I had a cross train day today.  Eight running days in a row was enough especially with an 18 miler scheduled for Sunday.  So I did 35 minutes on the elliptical, 20 minutes walking at 15% grade, 15 minutes on the rowing machine and 20 minutes of weight machines. I hate cross training and I have no idea why.  Antway i survived and am going to count that as 5 running miles.

Today was just an easy 7.5 mile run.  The weather is better for today only and it was nice to get back outdoors.  Kept to an easy pace and ended up at 9:00/ mile average.  Cut the run short in favor of the anticipated 18 miler tomorrow.  Weather is expected to be raining with winds to 55 mph.  Should be fun.

Rain or shine.  That was my long run partners comment on Friday about todays run.  When I got up this morning it was cold, raining, windy- 30 gusts 55 or more and generally quite nasty.  A deal is a deal though and I had agreed to run the full 2 hours and 45 minutes her schedule dictated for today.

We met up at the starting point at SJ College where it was raining hard but only a little wind.  Good day for a run she said as we started.  Two slow warm up miles in the park in 18:45 then out on SMC road into the wind and  we were off.  Between there and Whale Park I got blown off the sidewalk twice by gusts and we had a great time up the big hill into the wind.  Reached Whale Park 5.05 miles in 46:42 total , good for a 9:15 pace. Ran the next 4 miles into the rain and wind but a bit downhill in  36:12 for a 9:03 pace to the turn around spot, then reversed course and ran the same route back.  The rain quit so I started to warm up a little but the wind was still around 20+, although less by far than on the way out.  The 4 miles back to Whale Park in 35:09 for a non wind impeded 8:46 pace.  Gained some help in four other runners who came out to help us along half way back to Whale Park.  So we only had the 5.05 miles back to the cars left to go.  Uneventful really, only the legs mild protests were noted.  Felt pretty good all the way back.  Ended the last leg in 46:47 for a 9:16 pace.  Total run 18.1 miles 2:44:50 for an aveage pace of 9:06.  Good run, would have been great if the weather had been better.

192 pounds? seem to be gaining

Time will tell if a recovery day was a wise move or if today should have been a cross train/ off day.  Decided I wanted to loosen up with a recovery run of a half an hour or so.  Did the treadmill thing to keep impact low on my sore knee and legs.  Ended up running 5.25 miles in a slow 47:30.  Sore at the start then a little knee soreness at the end, although not bad at any time.  Hope to do a longer slow run tomorrow then tempo on Wednesday.

Even for a place with bad weather in the fall this is hard to take.  Another day, fourth out of five, with winds 40 and gusts to 70. Really great when you commute by small boat.  Maybe sleeping in my office tonight.  Anyway the treadmill was the only viable option today.

Legs only a little tired today.  Ran 9.1 miles on the treadmill in 81:30 for about a 9:00 pace.  No issues felt good but tired at the end.

Wimping out today.  Knee and foot (P.F.) acting up a lot today.  No doubt due to Sundays long run with no day off after.  Oh well that's how it goes. So instead of the usual tempo today I crosstrained:

50 minutes elliptical - 7 miles

25 minutes bicycle -   7.5 miles

I hate trying to come up with equivalents for easy miles but the 75 minutes is worth at least 5 miles.  Will do the tempo run tomorrow assuming no serious leg pain.

Tempo day.  Always leaves me wondering if I will make it all the way through it.  It's like a pre-race moment with me, wondering if the pace I choose will be too fast to sustain all the way through. Well today I decided to try dropping 15 seconds a mile and try to get at least five in.  Started with a 2 mile warmup at a 9:00 pace.  Streached for two minutes then into the tempo at a 7:19 pace on the treadmill.  Felt pretty hard but ok. Decided I would make four and probably five miles.  Getting tired but a little burst of enthusiasim carried me through to 10K.  So 6.2 miles in 45:23 for the tempo. Then a 1 mile cool down at 9:00.  My best tempo run to date although it might have been a wee bit close to race pace, still a good run for me.

The bottom line is it is always something.  I am starting to think it is impossible to go more than a few months without some body part letting me know that it does not want to participate in training.  This weeks star is my plantar faciitis, which while present has been manageable.  Sundays long run brought it back to the front and yesterdays tempo run left me almost unable to walk last night.  It was better this morning so I took a chance and jogged for an hour.  Pain manageable and actually feel better now than this morning.  Day off tomorrow before a long run (shorter than last week) on Sunday.