5/31-6/5

I got back to business as I jumped my mileage up from 55 last week to a bit over 80 his week. I had good workouts on both Wednesday and Friday but felt pretty crappy the rest of the week. I am not sure why, but it bothers me when I run an 8 minute mile (I have the Forerunner set to give mile splits) and I have see several of those in the last week. I keep telling myself that it does not matter and that I should just listen to my body so that I recover and stay injury free. Looking back over the week, I will gladly take the slow miles on recovery runs if I can blast some good workouts (and races , in the future). It is only the first week of June and it feels like we are in the middle of August with all of this heat and humidity. I am hoping that it cools off and dries out a bit because I am rotating three pairs of running shoes right now and all three are always wet.

Monday: 11.7mi (?) My watch battery died just as I started the run. Grrrr! Anyway, I was planning on doing some hills today but after digging in the yard for 5 hours and considering the heat I just did a moderate run in Mine Falls Park.

Tuesday: AM - 6.5mi (50:25) This was a really slow recovery run. I was supposed to go 8 miles but it was so hot and humid and I felt like garbage so I cut it short. PM - 4mi (29:30) On the treadmill at work. I could not face the humidity again today.

Wednesday: 11.5mi () 3mi warm-up in 21:50 followed by 1600/800/400/400/800/1600 @ 5k pace with 400m rest for all (yeah, I know, that is a lot of rest). I hit 5:00 (2:30ish), 2:28 (3:03), 71 (2:49), 71 (2:47), 2:25 (2:56), 4:56. The heat and humidity really started to get to me (83 and the dew point=64 when we started). Cooled down for about 4 miles.
Thursday: AM - 8.1mi (61:26) Really slow recovery run again., PM 4mi (29:12) On the treadmill at work again. This heat and humidity is killing me!

Friday: 9.9mi (61:25) This was my "10 mile" stead-state run. I was a bit nervous about this one because it was 84 degrees and the dew point was 64 degrees (not good running weather). I did not wear the Garmin today so I did not get exact splits but here is a summary of how I did compared to last week's run when the weather was much more conducive to running. I was 20 seconds slower than last week at 1.5mi but had pulled even by 2.5mi. At the turn around (halfway) I was 5 seconds faster and by 8 miles I was ahead by about 20 seconds. I decided to shut things down at this point and just cool down the last two miles because I was getting really hot and figured that it was not wise to over-do things. I averaged about 6:00min/mi even for the first 8 miles.

Saturday: 8.1mi (60:23) A really slow recovery run in Mine Falls park.

Sunday: 17mi (2:01:30) I did what I should have done the last two long runs and I drove down to Mine Falls Park and ran from there. That allowed me to stop for fluids half way through. I did not think that I would have issues today since it was only about 66 degrees but it was quite humid and I still can not seem to deal with the humidity. I never really felt good on the run and never got into a groove, but I got in 17 decent miles at 7:08 pace. The heavy rain hit at about 14 miles and when I heard the thunder rolling in at about 16.5 miles I quickly changed my plans to try to hit 18 miles and headed for the car.

Completed: 80.8mi

Plan Total: 70-80mi

5/24-5/30

This was a decent week, although it did not feel as restful as it was supposed to be. I think that was because of the extreme heat that we had (Wednesday hit about 95 in Nashua!). I ran 55.5 miles on 6 runs and I had two good workouts and even got in a real long run. Next week I get back to work and my mileage will pop back up to 75ish miles and I will probably try to throw in 2-3 doubles in the week.

Monday: 6mi (43:16) Easy run.
Tuesday: 7.5mi (57:16) Really easy run in the morning to beat the heat.

Wednesday: ~8mi () 2.5mi warm-up in 19:13 w/ an acceleration in last 200m, 10x400m @3k pace w/ about 150-200m rest (~90sec) followed by a 2.2mi cool-down (18:10) and 6x100m strides. It was about 93 degrees when we started and this is an easy week so I was not about to put too much into this workout and was fully prepared to pull the chute if the heat got to me. I finished all 10 repeats and hit pretty consistent splits except a couple where I let the wind on the back stretch get to me and I slowed by a second or two. Times and rests:

Bout	Split	Avg HR	Max HR	Rest
1	70	172	186	89
2	71	176	184	80
3	71	178	185	77
4	70	175	188	85
5	70	176	186	78
6	72	176	184	110
7	70	173	184	91
8	71	177	185	96
9	72	173	184	91
10	68	-	-	-

It is interesting to note that for the repeats where I slipped to 72sec my peak HR was around 184bpm while it was about 186-188bpm when I ran 70sec. This just shows it was a mental slip, not a physical limit. In the end I do not really see the point of this workout, especially since it was touted as a HR workout. We were supposed to run 3k pace and with pretty much equal time rest. I agree with Dan Hocking's rant about this type of workout.
Thursday: 8mi (58:21) Nice and easy today. A bit longer than I planned, but it was such a nice day and I could not resist.

Friday: 9.9mi (59:35) This was the same "10 mile" steady-state run that I ran last Friday, but I wore my Forerunner and it unfortunately came out 1/10th of a mile short. Oh, well. I was feeling a bit tired and was not sure if I was going to do this run, but once I got going I felt better and had a decent run. I averaged 6:02min/mi pace and my mile splits were: 6:20, 6:14, 6:03, 5:59, 5:51, 5:58, 6:02, 5:59, 5:52, 5:12 (for 0.9mi = 6:03 pace). If it had been a full 10 miles the time would have been ~60:20.

Saturday: 0 - I spent the day digging in the yard. Yay!
Sunday: 16.25 (1:51:21) I felt alright, although a bit sore from yesterday's digging, and began the run hitting 7min/mi pace for the first 6 mile. Just after 6 miles I stopped to stretch and did most of the rest of the run at around 6:30 pace until I started to get dehydrated and slow down. I am not sure which was the worst part of the run, the dehydration or the chaffing that I endured for the last 8 miles of the run. I think that I have to get some compression shorts to run in from now on.

Completed: ~55.5mi

Plan Total: 50-60mi

5/17/2010-5/23/2010

I am going to start updating this daily so that I do not have to remember all my runs at the end of the week.

Monday: 11.75mi (80:20) Easy run to shake out the legs from yesterday's long run.
Tuesday: 10mi (69:42) Felt really easy and I was just resting up for tomorrow's workout.

Wednesday: 11.5mi - 4mi warm-up followed by 1 mile @ 5k pace on the track, 5km @ MP on the trails and finish with 1 mile @ 5k pace back on the track. There was no rest between each segment and it turns out that the 5k on the trails that we did was actually only 2.5 miles. It was pretty cool (55F) and rainy but I felt decent. I did not really know what pace to do for the "5k" section so I used my heart rate monitor and set an upper limit of 176bpm, which is about 87-88% of my HRM (pretty much marathon pace from what I know). I hit the first mile in 5:15 w/ an average HR of 183 (only 90% of HRM), I did the 2.5mi stretch in 14:55 w/ an average HR of 177 (sadly enough, it was only 6:00 pace), and then closed out the last mile on the track in 5:14 w/ an average HR of 185. I felt really comfortable the whole way, rightly so since I ran so stinking slow, and the hardest part of the whole run was switching up the pace for the last mile. I ended with a 3mi cool-down and 6x100m strides. Rest up tomorrow.

Thursday: 11.75mi (83:05) Same route as Monday. I felt great the first 8 or so miles because it was sunny, warm and I just felt good. However, as the run went on I sweat so much that chaffing became an issue and the run went down hill. Overall it was a great run because I am starting to feel like a runner again but I really need to cut my weight.

Friday: 10mi (62:15) I felt really good from the start today and let out the reins a little bit to get the legs going. I covered the first 5 miles in 31:47 and covered the second half in 30:28. The pace was pretty quick but I was not pushing too hard - it was much slower than LT pace.

Saturday: 8.2mi (60:09) This was a really easy run and my first run with my new Forerunner 305. It seems pretty good, although it is A LOT bigger than my Suunto T6. I like the idea of being able to set up workouts based on any combination of time and distance (intervals and rests) and do them on the road.
Sunday: 17.1mi (1:59:07) I felt really good on this run other than the fact that I had some hydration issues. I usually drive somewhere to run and take fluids with me but today I ran from home and did not have access to any fluids on the run. It was not that warm out but it was pretty humid and I felt dehydrated by 9 miles. I started out at 7:30 pace for the first 2-3 miles, did most of the run at 6:55-7:05 pace and then finished the last 4 miles at 6:30-6:40 pace

This week was pretty good. I hit my highest mileage yet (80 miles on singles), I had two good workouts and my longest long run yet. Next week is going to be a really easy week with one or two easy workouts and I will only do 50-60 miles.

Completed: 80mi
Plan Total: 80mi

5/16/2010

I got 74 miles this week with one good workout, a decent tempo and my longest long run since coming back. Next week I will shoot for 75-80 miles and then take a rest week and cut my mileage to 50-60.

Monday: 10.6mi (1:14:56) Easy run. I thought it was slower than it really was.
Tuesday: 10.6mi (?) Standard 10 miler at work.
Wednesday: 11mi - 3 mile warm-up, 5x1600 @ 10k pace w/ 400m rest and 2 mile cool-down.

Thursday: 10mi (73:11) Really easy run at work to shake out the legs.
Friday: 10.6mi (71:03) Really easy the first half and then pushed hard for 6-8 miles. Averaged 6:40 pace overall and near 6:00 pace for the hard parts.
Saturday: 5.2mi (40:13) I really needed an easy run.
Sunday: 16mi (1:50:04) I wanted to do 3-4 miles at MP but after the first 6-7 miles I realized that I was not feeling great and just focused on getting the run done. It was beautiful weather so I was a bit bummed that I could not run the run I wanted to do. Oh well. I also had to cut it a little short because I had to take one of the kids to a birthday party (I was planning on 18 miles).

5x1600

I really like this workout, 5x1600m @ 10k pace w/ 400m rest, so I was psyched for tonight. There must be something in the air because, from what I can tell, a lot of people did this workout tonight. We had great weather but I felt awful for some reason. I kept getting a stitch at the top of my stomach and never felt like I got into any kind of flow or rhythm. I got in a 3 mile warm-up with a couple strides and hit:

5:20
5:15
5:17
5:23 (I paced Joe Rogers at 83 for the first lap and I got a bad stitch when I jumped to 80s pace)
5:15

The rests were all 2:20-2:40, which is not bad but I would like to work on cutting that down to the 60-90 second range. I wrapped it up with a long 2 mile cool down and 4 strides on the track. Total miles covered ~ 11mi.

5/9/2010

Again, I am posting late, but I always seem to run out of time on Sundays with the kids, the long run, yada, yada, yada ... I hit what will probably be my peak weekly mileage until I am 100% confident in my recovery and I start the ramp for Bay State in the fall. I hit 73 miles off singles and I did not ride at all. For sanity's sake, I am going to stick with singles for now because work is a bit crazy right now and I don't mentally feel up to doubles at this point. I am just enjoying being able to run 10 miles/day without pain.

I do not like to talk of work on my running blog because I try to keep those two worlds separate, but I will make a small exception here because of how much my job has impacted the last two years of my family's lives. I am really happy that I was able to get in all of my runs this week because the chip that we have been designing at work for the last two years came back on Tuesday and I had to spend 3-4 very long days in the lab testing all the blocks that I designed. I have a lot invested in this chip (lots of long days and countless nights working until 2-3AM after the kids went to bed) and my family sacrificed a lot (we have not had a vacation in over 2 years) in order for me to get my work done. In the end it was all worth it because all of my stuff works! I am hoping that the next year will be much less hectic and I may be able to get some decent running in.

I did not get too many times for runs this week because my watch battery died and then the wrist strap broke right after I replaced the battery. Maybe it is time for a new watch ...

Monday: 8.2mi (?) Easy run
Tuesday: 10mi (?) Standard 10 miler at work.
Wednesday: 13mi - 4 mile warm-up, cut-down based on time (7m/6m/5m/4m/3m/2m) at 10k pace with 3 mile cool-down.

Thursday: 8.2mi (61:30) Really easy run at work to shake out the legs.
Friday: 10mi (?) Again, no idea on time but I took the first half really easy and then picked it up a bit for the second half.
Saturday: 8.5mi () Easy run in the cold rain.
Sunday: 15mi (1:39:48) I did a similar thing to last week and ran fairly easy for the first 10-12 miles and then I threw in 3 miles at MP. That felt pretty good but the wind beat me up a bit. I also tried something new on the run based on some videos that I watched by Ryan Hall on YouTube. At about 8 miles I did some really short, full speed accelerations on the flat and on hills (3-4 total for 30-50m each) to recruit different muscle fibers later in the run. I am not sure if it made too much difference but I did feel a little better. I am hoping that there will be a long term benefit to doing this.

3/25/2010

I went to the Wednesday workout tonight and thought I would give an update. We were supposed to do a 2000/1600/1200/800/400/200 cut-down with about 1/3 the distance rest at 10k pace but the Nashua South track was overrun with high school kids tonight. Instead, we headed into Mine Falls Park and did a similar workout on the trails based on time. The workout consisted of efforts of 7min/6min/5min/4min/3min/2min with rests of 3min/2min/2min/1min/1min at roughly 10k pace. It was actually a nice change of pace to be in the trails and not running in circles on the track. Our group actually started out about 6-7 strong, the largest that I have seen it in a long time which made for a more interesting run. I am not sure what pace we were running but I covered a little over 6 miles total (I turned back after each bout so we could all start together) in 36:17 and I was probably running 5:20-5:30 for the efforts. Not too bad. I should get a GPS sensor for my watch so I know exactly how far I have run on workouts like this. I started the workout with 3 miles of warm-up alone and a mile of warm-up with the group and then ended with a 3 mile cool-down for a total of 13 miles on the night.

5/2/2010

I am a bit late posting my blog this week because I am was so tired yesterday. After getting in my first real long run (15 miles) I worked in the yard all day edging flower beds in 93 degree heat. Not smart. I am just about to hit the hay tonight too because today's run was a bit torturous - I am not used to running in 85 degree weather with a 65 degree dew point yet. I got in 63 miles in 6 days of running. I wanted to run on Saturday but decided to give myself a day of rest. I should hit 70 miles next week. Oh yeah, I did not even sit on the bike this week ...

Monday: 8.2mi (59:10)
Tuesday: 10mi (69:24) Standard 10 miler at work.
Wednesday: (9.5mi tot) 3mi warmup (22:47) 3 x (400, 400, 800) with half the distance rest + 2.2 mile cool down. I thought that we took way to much rest last week so I was glad to see the rest was cut in half. I still decided to do the rest at a much quicker pace: last week we did the 400m rest in 2:30ish and this time the 200m rests were in about 50s and the 400m rest was in 1:45ish. Joe Rogers stuck with me for this workout which was great. I usually do not have any one to work with so it was nice to have company. My watch battery died part way through but the first 400 was in 76, the remaining work was all done at 78 pace and the last 800m was in 2:41 because I let Joe lead the first half. Joe had a great workout, especially considering how short the rests were.

Thursday: 10mi+ (74:14) Really easy from home to shake out the legs.
Friday: 10mi+ (69:10) Same run as yesterday but I felt so much better.
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 15mi (1:41:48) I ran the first half of the run pretty easy and then progressively cranked down the pace the second half. I was going to do two miles at marathon pace on the track at the end but I opted for this in the end. I am not sure of pace but I would bet I hit 5:40-5:50 pace for 3 miles or so based on how it felt. Pretty good for where I am now.