5.31.09

Not a bad run at all today. It was pretty hot outside getting up near 85, but I didn't mind. The shaded parts of the loop were welcome. Today I felt back to regular form and the legs felt pretty fresh, probably from getting a good night's rest. Not a lot to say about this run other than made a water stop at the second loop. I probably could have stopped a few more times because my mouth was really dry for a good portion of the run, but I don't like to stop so I usually just run through it. So that's pretty much it. I'm feeling really good right now and still haven't decided whether or not to do the one mile run Thursday night. It would be fun, but if something else comes up I wouldn't be that upset. We'll see what happens and I'll make a decision on that soon.

Haven't been wearing HR monitor lately. Not only does it feel more natural running without it, but I've just felt more "free" to run at whatever pace I feel like. It's worked fine so far because I feel really good on my last few runs with a moderate effort. I might just start using them on speed and tempo days, just days where the goal will be a higher HR.

5:15pm. home. 83° 37%H 7 mph from NW
1:01:30(9.43) bf 1397

5.30.09

I never got around to another tweet5k attempt. It wasn't that I didn't get to, I just didn't feel like I needed to do another hard run this week. The legs weren't tired, but they were achy and that usually isn't a good sign. Oh well, I got a pretty good time in all things considered. The other cool thing was I got a tshirt somehow. I guess it was part of a giveaway the day I ran, not real sure. There were some pretty crazy times posted, 13's and 15's is just crazy talk to me. I guess though most of those people ran in college and probably ran all through high school before that. I ran track in high school, but only in season, and of course I only ran cross country my senior year, because we didn't have it before that. It would have been a good night to run hard. It was cooling down and not as windy as it was the other day. There will always be more races to run though, so no big loss.

So I'm not so sure I'm going to do the one mile race. Honestly I like training much more than racing. I mean racing is fun, but it is stressful not only physically, but mentally it wears me down. I've really been wanting to get back to base training, so I don't know, maybe one more fast one, then call it quits for the hard speedwork. I won't quit working on speed entirely, but will just focus more on speed endurance. Thinking about it, this training cycle seems to be perpetually going on. I started back in September, and it just feels like it's time to regroup and start fresh. Just trying to keep an open mind at this point and do what will work best for me.

7:24pm. home. 79°48%H 4 mph from WSW
1:12:14(10.53) gf 740

5.29.09

I felt really worn down today. Hard tempo run yesterday took a lot out of my legs and bad night of sleep made the whole day a kind of blur. Still I got outside and ran a little, not wanting to put a zero in the schedule. Tomorrow I was wanting to do another attempt at the tweet5k, but I'm not too sure it's going to happen. It would be nice to go under 18, and I think I could probably do it with better pacing, but I'm not sure how tomorrow is going to go so we will see. If the legs feel good and fresh tomorrow I'll probably take a stab, if not I'll just run. I'm missing my higher mileage stuff a lot lately (never thought I would even consider that notion) and am wanting to get back up to snuff.

The one mile is next week. I'm not going all out on it as far as I know, but maybe I'll be in the zone. I guess I'm not going to go out gung-ho for a sub 5 or anything. A healthy PR of a few seconds would be just fine by me, but I'm mostly doing it for fun. The course is on inner state I-40 which has been under reconstruction for about 3 years now. They are opening it back up Friday, so theoretically it will be the only time anyone ever gets to run on it so that's pretty cool.

home. 74º 55%H 6 mph from NNW
21:16(3.06) gf 731
AHR 150 MHR 166

5.28.09

Today was a good tune up run. Split it up into three sections (in my head) with each loop being a section, starting off in a steady zone and working up. This was actually a really solid run and I felt good the whole way through for the most part. The first loop was just normal, even though I felt really strong and was getting a good pushoff, second loop much the same, this time HR was around 165 average, then the last loop my legs were tired and I was breathing a bit, but it was still controlled, average HR around 172 and hit 180 on the hilly part. It was sprinkling at the beginning of the run. The sky was split between blue on one side and heavy dark clouds on the other, with my area basically right between, so i think we dodged the heavy rain.

I really liked this tempo run and definitely felt like I was "doing something". Most runs I just go easy, but this was faster and actually a little more fun. I would like to make one more attempt at the tweet5k, but as it is I'm stretched pretty thin and am not sure if I'll be able to do much better. I suppose I could if I had someone else timing me because that was kind of stressful running with a stopwatch in hand and trying to take splits and use energy to look at the clock all at the same time. So hopefully it is nice Saturday and April might indulge me on that. Either way I'll probably attempt it and just see if I can pull something out.

4:20pm. home.80° 66%H 5 mph from SSW
1:03:22(9.25) gm 1051
AHR 163 MHR 180

5.27.09

So yeah this day was a big fat zero. Still not a total loss with a core workout. Good rest day after the tweet5k attempt. This will likely be a low week unless the storms move out.

5.26.09

Today I signed up for the tweet5k just for fun. I saw it a few days ago on twitter but wasn't sure if I was going to do or not, but for ten bucks and a good cause there's really no downside. There were some crazy times posted by the elites around the country, it's hard to comprehend just how fit these people really are, a lot of hard work I suppose. Anyway I decided to do a time trial sort of deal today at the track, because you get a few chances to post a time, and I wanted to take a little stab at it now so I can do another at the end of the week. My goal was 17:45, but that soon fell apart.

When I got to the track it was windy, and there were storm clouds around, and it was warm. Not really the greatest combo, but it wasn't raining or thundering so I just went ahead with the "time trial". I guess that's the best word for it. I'm also considering it speedwork, but in this workout I get zero rest, so I suppose that qualifies as a time trial. I had to run with my stopwatch which wasn't too big of deal, it just makes it harder to pump the arms. I tried to keep split times as well for better feedback on the run. Normally I'll just keep miles, but since I knew I had to run like 84's I thought it would be nice to compare later on. So I warm up for a good 15-20 minutes.

I wasn't expecting a lot today, my legs just started feeling better yesterday and I just had a race Saturday so I definitely wasn't going all out on this. It's weird sometimes running by yourself, or against yourself. There is definitely something odd about it that I can't quite put my finger on, something a little unnatural, lol. Whatever the case I clicked the buttons and was off. I had my stopwatch in my right hand, along with heart rate monitor watch, and my working ipod going as well. The first lap I missed, I was too busy trying to look at the split, I think it was 1:24, but I could be wrong. I got the rest of the splits except for the final 400 because I was just running.

I started off well, but slightly too fast for the first mile. It was slow and painful from there. I made it halfway and was already breathing hard, and pushing to stay on pace. Looking through the splits they were on pace through 2000 meters, then slowly degraded. I was hoping for a relaxing run, "just hit the splits" kind of deal, but got no such luck. Each lap was harder than the previous and I was breathing heavy and the legs were definitely still a little tired from Saturday's hard effort. I wanted to quit at 2 miles, 3200 meters, but I just kept pushing on. I needed to at least post a time, even if it slow, I thought. That kept me going, but the wind was going pretty good too and that really made the homestretch harder each time around.

Definitely much tougher than I would have liked on this. Breathing was erratic at times and it was hard to relax. I kept having to push to keep the pace up, even though my body wanted to rest. Somehow I maintained relatively close to goal pace, but definitely not in good enough shape to run it easily. I kicked the last 200 meters after reaching 4800 meters, but it wasn't quite enough to break 18. I hate to say it but now I'm almost dreading doing it again, that was much more difficult than I had anticipated, but I guess thats what running is sometimes, or a lot of times.

Splits
1:22?
2:47.66 1:26?
4:13.76 1:26.10
1600- 5:39.97 1:26.21
7:07.12 1:27.15
8:34.72 1:27.60
10:02.88 1:28.16
3200- 11:31.12 1:28.24
13:00 1:28.88
14:28.53 1:28.53
15:57.97 1:29.44
4800- 17:28?? -1:30?
18:05 - :37?

Just after the run, not even walking a full lap, it started raining. The rain felt great! It was like I was being rewarded after a hard run. The only bad thing was that it was really coming down and I didn't want to ruin any of my stuff or get my shoes waterlogged, so I had to leave. I didn't get to run any cooldown miles. I reached a new HR max today of 195, I've hit 191 before, but topped it today - not completely sure if that is a good thing. The nice part about today was having splits. I've never ran (raced) a 5k on a track before so it was interesting to see the technical details of how I fell apart :P

4:45pm. track. 84° 56%H 8 mph from SSW

18:05(3.21) fasttwitch 88
AHR 175 MHR 195

5.25.09

Very warm today, especially toward the end of the run when it got sunny. The beginning of the run was cloudy and felt really good, but by the third loop I was feeling the heat. I pushed the pace too and was pretty determined not to relax. The HR got up pretty high, but I'm not going to worry about that much anymore, the higher the better. The sun definitely helped in that aspect. It was a really nice today to run. I passed the Mormon's a few times and gave them a nice wave, thinking to myself about who people thought was crazier, me or them.

Quad is still a little sore, but legs were definitely back under me today.

4:15pm. home. 82° 60%H 3 mph from SSE
1:03:30(9.25) gf 728
AHR 160 MHR 180

5.24.09

Yesterday I forgot to mention that a muscle in my right quad was really iffy after the race. I almost felt it cramp up a few times, and going up stairs I was really leery that it would just tighten and stay that way. So today it is really sore. I think it was just from the hard race, but there may have been some additional damage from the cramping. The muscle runs along the inside of the top of the quad, if that makes any sense. The big reason to mention this is that I ended up taking it easier today because of that. I only got one loop around the neighborhood. Probably my shortest run in a long long time. I just didn't see the need in running around with a sore muscle. Obviously it needed rest.

So that was less than exciting. But it gave me time to go walk with April and we walked for a good 40 minutes with a trip up the HH so at least I was out there the amount of time I wanted to be. The swimming pool in the neighborhood is open now. I'm thinking it will be a great way to get some extra cardio in without beating up my legs. Looking forward to see if that works out.

I have decided to continue on with my speed training for another month. For one I have a mile race coming up that I'd like to beat my PR in, and if I keep training for a few weeks after that I should be ready to tackle a 5k at the beginning of July. That would pretty much sum up my summer racing because I really want to start a new base. I've enjoyed speedwork, but I feel like I haven't been running many miles. I'd like to stay up in the 100's ideally leading into some nice Fall races. So that's the basic skeleton for now.

On the ipod front - my ipod yesterday did not log the run as I said. It had been freezing on me and I'd have to restart it to get it back to the main screen. Even that didn't work at the start of the race, which is why I had to run blind. Now remember I've logged over 520 runs with this thing - rain, heat, and bouncing around, so 2 years is actually a pretty good lifespan (plus I bought it used to begin with). Well April used her combined b-day money to get a touch, so I have now adopted her "old" nano, which is newer than mine (but also was used before she got it). I'd like to sell the other ipod back to mac, because it still worked. The only problem is when it goes into standby mode it would come out of it, but show a blank white screen so they may be able to refurbish it somehow. So anyway I have a "new" ipod to use now :P.

6:15pm. home. 80° 63%H 4mph from ESE
22:35 (3.23) gf 719
AHR 153 MHR 172

5.23.09 Expo 10K

Okay I'm going to try and get this report done now, take that procrastination, bam! The morning started off well enough. It was gorgeous outside, but unfortunately I didn't sleep all that well last night. Well I slept well until about 4:30 am, at which point i tossed and turned. Either way I felt somewhat alive when I finally did get up. I had everything ready to go and decided to leave my HR monitor behind. I didn't want to be checking it constantly and just wanted to run.

78 must be my lucky number

So after some cereal and getting things in order, April and I were off downtown to get parked for the race. Pretty standard race morning, well for the most part. I had plenty of time to warm up and do all my pre-race things, which I normally don't, so it was nice just to be relaxed. Okay firstly this year the Expo chose a new course. Normally it starts down Gay Street in downtown Knoxville, heads out and then comes back finishing at Market Square, which is pretty much the hot spot nowadays. That course has a few rolling hills, but no major drops or inclines. This year it started at the Coliseum and headed out, then ended at the same spot, so definitely different and I hadn't really the "back" part of the course.

some pre-race happiness

The first thing I noticed was that the start looked to be right at the Coliseum. So I did all my warming up there, but after a while it got closer and closer to start time, and they weren't putting the banner out and nobody was lining up. I saw a migration up the hill, which is pretty steep, and just started following people. It turns out the start was clear at the top of it! By the time I chugged up that thing, everyone else was lined up and ready, yikes. Either way they still had to do the anthem and things like that so I wasn't too late or anything. I decided to get my ipod ready, which turned out to be a mistake. The screen went blank on me, and never came back. It has been doing that lately and was a huge oversight on my part not to take care of it earlier. So I ran this race blind.

trucking down the hill

That was probably a big factor in this run. Now normally in races you set out the mile markers like this 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. Well my friends today was opposite day....I'll get to that later. So I'm actually feeling good at the start, even though I knew I would have no idea of splits, I figured if I ran close to someone with a watch I might hear a few. Okay so the first part of this race is down the huge hill we had to walk up, then it goes right back up another hill, pretty much eliminating any momentum you had off the first. I decided to just run down this thing hard, well at least fast and not just coast down. I ended up being pretty close to the leaders at the top of the hill, but there were plenty of people ahead. So that was an interesting start.

trucking back up the hill

I stayed calm and focused on breathing easy and relaxing. It worked and I could tell the people around me were not feeling the same way. In fact even at mile 1 people were breathing hard like crazy. I tried to maintain a good pace. A runner yelled out 5:45 for the first mile, but I had already passed it, so I was probably closer to 5:42. I felt pretty good though and thought I might be able to hold that pace, I was relaxed. We come up on mile 4 and I think, I am feeling great, maybe I should pick it up. I had been running a guy for most of this time, step for step. We were feeding off each other and going at a pretty good rate. Then we come up on mile 3 and ....oh crap. There are STILL three more miles to go.

My legs at this point were already burning a bit, but breathing was good so I thought maybe I could hold the pace. The guy stayed with me, but I was pulling ahead. There were plenty of others right behind me though. At 2 miles I was running with our top woman in the area, Kathy Wolski. She was chugging right along. I actually stayed with her for the next mile or so, but she had paced the first half better and had plenty of gas in the tank and started to get away. I was just trying to maintain. She dropped me around 1 mile, but she wasn't too far ahead. At this point I was breathing pretty hard and the legs didn't have much strength. We had a short hill to climb, then cross the river on the bridge and not too far after that was the finish. At this point a guy was breathing incredibly hard tried to pass me. He got a few steps, but it was pretty clear by his breathing that he was hurting much more than I was.

My only goal at that point was holding him off. Remember, I have no idea how fast we are going, I'm just racing people, not time. So I try to get a gap on him, if anything just not to hear his crazy breathing anymore. That thing took a lot out of me and I slowed a ton, but at the top I recovered and took off. I got a good gap by the end of the bridge, and could sort of make out the turn to the finish. I could hear breathing guy getting closer, he was making a final push. I was determined not to let him get me. At that point I was going to do whatever it took. I thought to myself, I am in nowhere near as bad of shape as him, there is no way I'm letting him outkick me. And I just gunned it when I saw the finish line. The only fortunate thing here was it was a little downhill (we climbed it at the start) and I finished as strong as I could. I actually saw my time this go around, and it wasn't what I hoped for, but it was good enough.

no, I will not let you pass heavy breather guy!

So I ran a 37:50 today. I am making no excuses. The course may have been different and possibly a little tougher, but I was simply not fit enough to run faster. Maybe I could have gone out more conservative, but honestly I think I run better if I stick with people as I don't tend to catch to many. Of course that may be because I go out too fast, but 5:40's weren't really much faster than my goal pace and I had no clue how fast I was going to begin with. But considering my last 5k was 18:35 I can't really complain. I mean I basically ran that twice in a row today. Progress is progress, I just would have liked to see something a little closer to 37. So the training continues. It was a good day, great day in fact. I got a 2nd place age group finish, Last year I wasn't even close to the top. Probably the only bummer on the day was smoothie king wasn't there :(


first year
74th overall
12th age
43:50

last year
48th overall
10th age
39:22

this year
20th overall
2nd age
37:50*different course

8am. expo 10k. 64° 90%H 1mph from NE
37:50(6.2) fasttwitch 84

5.22.09

Nice litte run in the heat today. Legs are still a bit tight which I'm not too thrilled about, but I think once I get out on the course they will respond. Did form drills afterward, was going to them before the run, but since it's only in my routine for the track I just went about my daily routine and took off out the door. Should be good to go for tomorrow after this real easy day.

Any guesses as to finish time? I'm pretty solid with sub 38 for now. Sorry no contest this time, still finishing the last one :P New course, so hopefully nobody gets lost and everything goes smoothly. I really like the post-race for this one, normally smoothie king has delicious cool treats, woohoo!

4:15pm. home. 82° 46%H 5mph from E (sunny, warm)
36:25(5.14) gm 1043
AHR 150 MHR 168

5.21.09

Few loops around the hood. Was warmer today and a little harder to run, did three accelerations in the last mile. Not really feeling motivated from that run, but Monday's was really good so I'm not too worried. I think it was just harder because of the heat. I'm not sure what the weather will be like race day. It's usually warm in the mornings, but shouldn't be too bad. I'm as ready as I'm going to be at this point, all that's left to do is go out there and see who I can run with. It's a pretty decent size race and normally there are 4-5 people within striking distance no matter what your pace is. I think it will be good. Looking forward to getting out there controlled and fast.

81º 44%H 6 mph from ESE
55:14(8.10), gf 716 x3 accels
AHR 158 MHR 185

5.20.09

No run today, just took a full day of rest, tomorrow an easy day, then a really light day Friday with some striders. Just the normal core work.

After Boston, Kara Goucher had planned to take time off. That mentality changed rather quickly when she finished within seconds of winning the marathon. She wanted a bit of redemption, or maybe just another crack at the marathon the next week at London. That may seem a little crazy, but not really due to the first three-fourths of the race being extremely slow. Thankfully she decided against it, heeding the advice from her coach Salazar. The marathon is an extremely grueling race, and London always being fast, would be difficult even if perfectly prepared and rested.

I wrote my own little opinion about it, basically stating that if I were in that position, family would have to wait until I got one more crack at the marathon. The fact is Kara was simply in excellent marathon shape, and I hated the idea of that level of fitness be reverted back to a sort of ground zero before taking another stab at a high finish. But alas, wise minds worked together and came up with the solution, the World Championships in August. That gives Kara another attempt at running her best marathon and enough time afterward to start a family before returning to training for the 2012 Olympics. I am glad she, her husband, and her coach made the decision. Assuming her training continues well, she will do amazing at World's. Paula Radcliffe will be there and what better marathon experience is there to gain from racing against the world record holder?

Goucher on World Championships in August

5.19.09

Well who knew bowling worked muscles? That hit in the butt with a baseball bat feeling I had yesterday was from bowling, lol. Good to know it wasn't some kind of injury or flare up. We played like 5 games so I guess it really worked the old glute and hip flexors, all in good fun.

Today I took it easy through the neighborhood, relaxed and slow and just enjoyed the beautiful cloudless sunny day.

since I had a great run and nothing better to talk about, how about watching my favorite comedy actress, Kristen Wiig :)

original Lawrence Welk skit:


and last week when Will Ferrell hosted:


6:10pm. home. 73° 27%H 6 mph from ENE
1:05:21(9.49) gf 709
AHR 154 MHR 164

5.18.09

Not exactly what I had in mind for today, but a pretty good quality workout nonetheless. April has set a goal to do workout for 14 days in a row. I think it's a great goal. Anyway she wanted to go to the soccer complex with me today and run a bit. So I of course obliged, although if it were up to me I would have went to the track. In any case it was an easy compromise and I was going to make it work. Well the hard part about the complex is that it's fairly hilly. There are sort of some flat parts, but whichever direction you run, you are going to have to face a few hills. I chose the path of least resistance, as well as chose a few landmarks so I would at least have some idea of the distance I was going for future reference. I picked a bench just at the top of the large downhill, if for no other reason than it is a landmark. Steep downhill, gradual, then back up a moderate climb, and then a gradual downgrade for actually a good stretch, ending with a slightly steep uphill climb. That was my "track" 1200 for today.

Unfortunately I decided not to bring my stopwatch and just use my ipod - which is always a mistake because I can never remember the time I started running at after a few reps. Was it 20:30 or 23:30. So basically I only remember the last rep which was 35:30 to 40 minutes. I was cooking pretty good on the first and last intervals, with the middle one kind of being a I'm-not-so-sure how fast I'm going type of deal. They felt fast though and I was working hard. The other bad part was accidentally hitting my Heart Monitor button after the workout, bam, there goes that data. If I had to take a guess I remember looking only once and seeing like 182 or something, but who knows. So in a funny way today was kind of a fartlek since I really have no idea of how fast I was actually going haha.

My left hip was sore today. The hams were fine, but it feels like I got hit on the side of my butt by a baseball bat, although I don't remember that happening. Thankfully I decided today would be my last workout for this week. Supposedly you need 6-8 days for a workout to reap benefits. I'm not sure how much truth there is in that, but I'll go ahead and call it a week. I still plan on doing some sharpening - 200's 400's maybe Wed. as well as some striders so the legs will still have some speed on them. I do know one thing, I feel in pretty mean shape after the workouts this past month. I was breathing good and the legs were responding. I'm excited going into this next race, I really believe I have trained okay this time around and can put a good effort forward.

6:07pm. soccer complex. missed weather- update tomorrow. (cool, windy)
3x(1200)top bench to post @4:30 w/hill jog recovery
49:20(7.64) gf 701
MHR 183?

5.17.09

Nothing like a good old day off. Hams were STILL sore from this past week, didn't want to further the damage so I decided to wait until the afternoon and see how they felt. They actually felt better but by that time we had already made plans to go out with friends at 4:30. So I just figured it would be a good day to relax and not be a running robot.

Tomorrow I will do some kind of tempo work, nothing major I don't think. Possibly throw in some fast 200's or something just to keep the legs turning over. I'm not sure how much longer I am going to do speedwork. I'm actually wanting to lessen the speedwork slowly and sort of revert back to hill training, then back to base. Kind of like easing out of the speedwork instead of just completely stopping. Not sure how that will work, but it seems like a good enough plan.

5.16.08

Today the hamstrings were super sore. I guess the speedwork caught up to me. They were a little sore yesterday, but today my inner thigh and hams were so sore it hurt to lift my knee. I think a little part of the soreness was from not stretching Thursday night, and yesterday not walking after my run like normal. Still a good easy run never hurt nobody so I just did my normal thing. It was hot today, but for the first time I felt comfortable in it, well as comfortable as you can I suppose :P It was good fun, but I really had to work extra hard the last 20 minutes or so just to maintain a steady pace.

One week left to the 10k. I'm feeling okay about it. I mean I've done my marathon training and actually got in some decent speedwork this cycle, I just hope I go out and perform the best I can on raceday. Basically that means eating right, getting to the race early, pacing correctly, and having fun. If I do those things, I really think I have a good shot at hitting my goals. As always I'm trying to be realistic, but push my goals far enough that it will be a challenge. Hopefully I haven't put them out of reach, but I've been pretty accurate at judging those things in the past - even if I am a bit aggressive ;)

4:58pm. home. 75° 69%H 5mph from WSW (warm)
1:16:03(11.36)bf 1389
AHR 162 MHR 175

5.15.09

Hot and humid today. First 20 minutes I was taking it really easy to stay in a lower HR zone, almost felt like jogging. I was sweating like crazy, but then some clouds started moving in. In the west there were blue skies, but the east and just above were some fairly threatening cloud cover. The wind picked up. Ah, wonderful wind, not being sarcastic though, it was nice and cool. My HR dropped like 10 beats once that breeze started flowing, leaves were going everywhere. Was feeling really good at this point about 40 minutes into the run, then started noticing a few drops of rain every few minutes.

I was on my third loop, only one more to go and then there were more drops of rain. Huge giant drops, but it felt good so I kept on going. Then, BAM there was a huge lightning strike directly ahead of me on the horizon. I was about as far as I could be from the house at this point, so I was thinking it wasn't so good. Then there was a huge downpour of giant raindrops, like a shower head turned on over me. I ran for about 30 seconds, and actually ran out of it. I turned around because the rain just suddenly stopped, and I could see the line of rain moving away from me on the road. Kinda weird, but pretty awesome at the same time. I booked it home at this point, kinda worried about where the next strike was gonna land. When I made it to the porch, cats and dogs and sheep were falling from the sky, made it just in the nick of time.

4:24 pm. home. 80º 58%H 5mph wind from SSW
55:22(7.93) gm 1038
AHR 160 MHR 170

5.14.09

Quickly get this done. Incredibly humid today and just insane to run in. It didn't help I didn't get much sleep last night either. Whatever the case I got as much done as I could at the middle school track. Legs were sore and tired from the beginning of this thing - due to a hard day yesterday after speedwork - combo was like a one-two punch. First lap I was killing it because for some reason my crazy brain doesn't understand time.

I did a mile warmup, then my drills. Right away I noticed the humidity because sweat was just rolling off in every direction. I was just "warming up" so I hated to think what was going to happen when I started really running. The legs never did loosen, but I didn't expect them to after yesterdays hilly run.

Goal pace was 4:17 (1:26,/2:52 for 400/800) but for some reason I was thinking 76 instead of 86, I just do that sometimes. So yeah I started running my laps about 10 seconds fast. I went through 400 around 75 and was like okay I'm on pace, then I hit 800 was like 2:34 and just kind of didn't understand that number, lol. I thought that looked a little funny, but I just kept on going. I was really hurting by lap 2 and was like why in the world is this so hard already? I mean normally for VO2 pace I can hold my own, but I was falling apart already. So yeah first 1200 was 3:59.

Learned my mistake on that one, but between the legs being tired and I guess the humidity I was already feeling depleted. Jogged a lap and took some extra rest because I could just tell I needed it from how hard that first one was. Was supposed to be 400m recovery, but I actually stood around and drank gatorade to recover. Lap two felt slightly better of course because I was closer to the pace I should have been running, legs were still tired and was breathing hard by the third lap. Was really sweating at this point, slogged another lap.

Third one I wasn't feeling to good, my stomach just didn't feel right, but I didn't worry about it and just got to the line. This third one actually went well. I stayed on target and again it wasn't till the third lap where things got a little shady. Took a jog lap then another nice long drinking/standing recovery. I really procrastinated because I wasn't sure if I should end the workout or not. My stomach wasn't feeling great and I was completely drenched in sweat, but had only ran about 30 minutes total. I jogged around a lot, going up to the line, then taking a little more rest. Haha, it really took me a while before I just said okay I'm doing it. Then I said to myself, you can do it, just one more. Once I had that thought I was pretty much ready.

Last interval was pretty nice. I was tired, but just worked on relaxing through it and turning over. It helped and although it was tough I sprinted in for the last 200. Jogged a lap, then another mile and called it a day. The last mile, although at a slow pace, still had my heart rate up around 170+ so there wasn't a lot else to be done today. I had to be home soon anyway and all the extra rest/walk breaks and a long form drill session really ate up my time. I'm happy with the work because it was a tough day. I just wish I was a little more rested coming into it. No matter, planning another workout Saturday, which will be my last one before the 10k. I'll do some speed stuff next week, but mostly just tune up things working on form, not really trying to build fitness from those.

here are my notes
3:59 hurt (scribbled)
4:13.41 hard (barely legible)
4:13
4:11

4:50pm. middle school track. 77° 60%H 7 mph from SSW (warm, humid, little windy)
1200m @3:59, 4:13.4, 4:13, 4:11 w/400m and standing recovery
36:35(6.05) gm1031 fasttwitch 78
AHR 155 w/recovery MHR 191

5.13.09

Kind of a harder run for an easy recovery day, but I wanted to run somewhere other than the usual neighborhood cul-de-sacs. It actually was a really good run, but I just ended up working a lot harder than I wanted to due to hills and wind. The max HR is a little misleading as that was from the 4 accelerations I did toward the end, the highest it got on the hills was 170 or so. Not sure how the legs will feel tomorrow, but they were kinda sore today, mostly just the hams. It's supposed to rain again, who knows if it will or not, but I figured a little more effort today wouldn't hurt anything if I get rained out of track work tomorrow.

I was looking back through the blog trying to see some of my progress on speedwork and honestly there isn't a whole lot there. I mean there is if I compare to when I first started running, but in the last year or so I've been around the same speed. The one positive thing I did notice is that even though I'm at the same speed, it's more relaxed and I'm able to maintain it much longer than before (more repeats/total work). Not going to go into much more detail than that and bore ya, but it's more just for my own memo.

soccer complex. 76º 43%H 10mph from S (warm, windy)
1:08:02(10.0), gm 1027
AHR 161 MHR 179

5.12.09

Another great day to run. Gorgeous weather. Maybe warm, but hey I'll take sun and heat over clouds and thunderstorms any day. I was really excited to get to the track today. I found myself smiling as I was getting all my gear ready - stopwatch, a cliff block, ipod and headphones, waffle spikes just in case. I've been hovering over 50 miles a week and it's really helped my attitude towards running. I don't feel like I have to get in the miles, but rather just good old hard quality running - running fast is fun!

The track was pretty much empty except for a couple runners who were using the middle and outside lanes to run in. Good track etiquette is appreciated my fellow runners! I started with a mile and half warmup, then did my drills. My HR monitor has been wiggin' on me and was displaying 199 yesterday, it did it again today. The bad part is I have to reset it, which if you are in the middle of a run, there goes all the previous data (it isnt' stored and gets deleted when you start over). I was actually a little sore today in the hams, a little from the long run Sunday and a little from doing a couple different exercises during my core work last night. But by the time I got my drills done and did a few striders just to get moving I felt loose. Tonights workout was some tempo pacing around my goal 10k pace, then some shorter faster stuff to work on form and efficiency.

First up 3x1200 @ 6:13 pace. Now for some reason I've always thought tempo run mean't running hard like a 5k pace and maybe that's right, but tonight the pace felt very comfortable. The goal here was to do them with only 60s rest - I was kind of leery of that before I started these. First one started out well -41 at 200m, well within pace, then around 1:27 for lap 1 -800 was ... lol, I just now realized i ran miles instead of 1200's!!! omg. I guess I just like running miles! Geez I feel like a total idiot. So holy crap on that because I took the rest for a 1200....

so anywayz I was around 4:30 for 1200 and then finished the first MILE at 6:07. Good, well within the tempo pace of 6:13. The nice part about this was I was just flowing along - didn't breath hard the entire time and was very much within my comfort zone even though it was a little faster. So for these I took only 60seconds rest and I stuck to that. Mile 2 went through the half at 3:02 and maintained that pace from the start to the end at 6:04, couldn't have asked for better on that one. 60 seconds rest and I'm off to another mile, 1:26, 2:56 at 800 (started picking it up) 4:something at 1200 and the last lap I worked on turnover, but still stayed smooth. I was still within my comfort zone and came through at 5:56. Impressive considering I did these without even realizing I was supposed to run an entire lap less (and with the same recovery to boot)

60 seconds rest then I started 400's. These were to be at repetition pace which is 79 for the quarter. First one I came through in 73, not easy like the tempo stuff, but I was okay. Recovery was more for these, a jogging lap. Lap two I felt the first one and came through in 76. (recovery lap) lap 3 was 73.84 and I felt the muscles getting tired. Lap 4 was very rough and I was breathing hard and getting tired by 200 meters, still I pushed pretty hard and was totally out of breath coming through in 72.94. All in all that wasn't too bad, and was well within 79, so no fussing here. Jog lap for recovery.

I ended with some 200's, supposed to be run at 39-40 pace, although I knew I would be going faster than that because my tempo were at 42 and I felt fine. I was really huffing on the first one, but worked on staying strong and driving, 33.90. I was breathing hard after this one and the legs were tired. But I decided to do another just for good measure. This time I wasn't breathing hard, legs were utterly tired, but I just drove and pushed and ended up with 32.97 for that. (recovery was 200m jog for these) Then I did another mile and a half for cooldown and it felt great.

So those 1200's were interesting today :P I kind of feel like my mom switched my chicken nuggets for fried ochre or something. I just sort of tricked myself into doing more. No big deal it's just one of those things you get into the habit of looking at mile pace and go with it. I take a little notepad with me to the track so I can write down my splits (otherwise they all blend together) and right there on the paper it's says 6:13. It never crossed my mind that that wasn't what I was supposed to do until I started writing the times in the blog, lol. Still it was a great workout and although I ran more, it felt well within my comfort zone and was a great quality workout.

I'm feeling good about the 10k. Honestly I've never really focused this much on speedwork or pacing, so it will be interesting to see what happens at the race. I sort of "know" what 6:00 feels like, and the difference between working hard and all-out. It looks to be a fun race. They changed the course this year a bit, so I can't exactly compare it to last years. I just hope they don't add more hills :)

6:30pm. track.75° 36%H 7mph from ENE (warm, sunny, nice)
3x1600 @6:07, 6:04, 5:56 w/60s rest
4x400 @73, 76, 73.84, 72.94 w/400m jog
2x200 @33.9, 32.97 w/200m jog
56:09(8.27), fasttwitch 75
AHR ?? MHR 191

5.11.09

Cool day today and it made for great running. Nothing out of the ordinary the day after a long run. A little sore, but nothing compared to speedwork, a pleasant soreness if you will. I guess the cool weather really worked because I was just flying along without a care in the world. Sometimes that happens after a long run though, it sort of rejuvenates me somehow.

After the run I did some accels with the kids in the neighborhood. A kid asked me if I wanted to race so toward the end of my run I set up a little race. There were about four or five kids out there who did the start for us. I picked a little 75 meter run just out of convenience because there are three speed bumps, so we ran from the first to the last one. I was really using this as an accel so I gave him a head start. It didn't really matter much. I'm not trying to beat up on the kid though, so on the way back we did another one and I let him edge me at the line :) We did one more and I did a little more jogging to cooldown, good day of running. Should be recovered for speedwork tomorrow.

6:22pm. home. 68° 44%H 6mph from NNE (cool, perfect)

1:13:17(10.37) gm 1018
AHR 155 MHR 175 (x3 accels)

5.10.09

Yay, I finally got in a long run. Cheez loueez it felt like a year since I had done something over my normal time of around 1hr 20m. Not real sure what happened on that, I guess I was really wanting a break from long running after the marathon or something. Whatever the reason I forgot how great it felt to run easy and just take off into the wild blue. Well not really wild, but down the sidewalks and paved trails for mile after mile. At first I was like uh-oh it's been like a month since I ran long and I felt like I was struggling - but the first part of the course is a gradual uphill that just keeps going. After I made it over that I felt a little better and about 20 minutes into the run something just clicked.

I was floating, effortless and feeling great. I was doing my new favorite route which is to run the trail by walmart out and back, then make a pit stop at walmart for water. Today I decided to try a GU gel during the run, so it was a good test to see if I should start using those. I normally use cliff bloks, but during the marathon they were hard to chew (didn't help I was utterly exhausted and using every ounce of energy I had to keep moving forward). So I passed the ice cream shop on the way out to the right turn to walmart, which is about two miles from that point or so and was really feeling good.

Made it to the turn and then down about a half mile or so to the trail entrance, which is a really tricky curvy path to get on, you have to make really sharp turns. The trail starts out going over a creek, then there is a tunnel under a road and then into a forested area. This area was completely "dead" last time I ran here and I could see through the brown landscape and notice the housing units a few hundred meters away. But this time it was green and lush, it felt like I just ran into a jungle somewhere and I could barely make out the houses. It was nice and cool and really refreshed me. This path goes on for at least two miles I'd say, plus it enters a shopping center at the end and I like running by the shop windows so I can check my form, see if my back is straight, shoulders in line, not leaning etc.

From there it's just a turnaround back through the whole thing. I finally made it back to the entrance, which is very close to walmart and climbed the little hill leading to the parking lot. I decided to start eating my GU here. It took a little longer than I thought. There is a ton in that tiny package, and I had never had one I just assumed it would go down in like a few gulps. So I ran around the parking lot, carefully peeking around cars as I continued my stride and eating. The GU was so much easier to eat, although I have to admit the bloks taste better. Either way I got some water and was out the door. At this point I was around 1:12 into the run, with about 45 minutes left.

The trip back to the park was mostly uneventful. I was definiely feeling good (GU?) or maybe I was just excited to be out enjoying a long run. It really was nice to just go out there and do what I love to do without any expectation or anxiety. My legs were getting a little beat up by about 1:40 and that's when I wanted to get the show on the road. I suppose this long run was better because it really wasn't that long compared to some of my others where there is much more pounding and I'm out there longer. Made it back to the park and still had a few minutes left, so I did a loop around it and really felt good. I wasn't too exhausted or anything, just the legs were a little achy.

So the thought of the day was: "I forgot I could do that!" I was just finishing and I was like man I forgot I could run this long. It feels good to be able to do that, not because it's easy, but because I know how much hard work I put in to be able to - the privilege was earned. So I left this run feeling great, and excited for the 10k, and even my next long run.

5:50pm. ball camp. 72° 49%H 6mph wind from NNE (cool, perfect)
2:01:01(17.50) gf 694
AHR 156 MHR 169

5.9.09

Went to a wedding that was an hour away so that took quite a while just driving, didn't get home till late. Meh, thunderstorms in the a.m. and being busy the rest of the day. I guess we all have a few of them. Not worried, good rest day before a long run tomorrow and as of now weather looks to cooperate :)

5.8.09

Well this week was my first attempt at doubling up on speedwork. I had done speed and hills, but I recover from hills quickly and this double speed really seems to have taken a lot out of me. I really felt horrible at the start of this run - like my lungs were collapsing, but I think the heat had a little to do with it as well. So I just kept it slow. I only made one loop before I had to stop for a quick gatorade break. After that I only managed another half loop before calling it a day. I asked April to walk with me and we walked for about a half hour after that.

So that was interesting. Not sure how much of it was heat/humidity and how much just tiredness from the workouts, but I'm leaning toward the former. It was a good recovery day though and hopefully I'll be back to normal tomorrow. Weather permitting Sunday will be my long run and I hope to get around 16-17 in if possible. I need a nice long run as it's been a while, hopefully it works out.

5:30pm. home. 80° 62%H wind 12mph from SSW
35:01(5.09), gf 678
21 minutes AHR 145/165 rest of run AHR 157/167

5.7.09

Made my way to the track for the second workout of the week. Hammies were still a bit tight from Tuesday; but I looked outside, saw sunlight, and there was no way I wasn't doing a workout today. Did 1 mile warmup, form drills as usual and that loosened the legs up just a bit. I was supposed to run 1x3 miles around Threshold pace (6:13) I was actually running these in my trainers so I was expecting to have to a work a little harder, but I hit the first 200 in 38 and had to back off a bit. I also ran with stopwatch in hand. I'll talk more about that later though. At 800 I was round 2:50, 1200 4:25 or so, and then finished at 5:56 for the first mile. Definitely not close to goal, but I just thought Hey, faster is better right? It wasn't too far off so I didn't stress it.

Did two laps recovery, got a sip of gatorade cuz I was pouring sweat and started the next one. Pretty much the same deal as last time, but I had settled into pace, 42 at 200, didn't catch first lap, 800 I was round 2:50 again and really that's the only split I needed as far as pacing went. These were moderately hard, I was breathing within my limit but still pushing. I thought here about how I need to be running ALL my miles around this pace and not just speedwork. Seems impossible, but I will get there. Came in a little faster this time at 2:52 and repeated two laps recovery, sip of gatorade. This time I wanted to put on my cross country spikes and see how it felt. So I actually got another minute or so rest before this last one as I had to lace up real quick.

It felt funny putting on these because there is basically no cushion, they feel so thin compared to trainers that it's almost like you can feel the ground with each step. It's a good feeling though. So I wanted to be under control this last mile. 41 at 200, right on track, 2:45 or so at 800, 1200 was low 4's, didnt' really catch it because there was a toddler playing by the track and I didn't want to run him over (mom was nearby but far enough where I'd nail him before she knew it). I checked my HR on lap three it was only 178 or so - really not that bad. The funny thing is I felt really smooth this time around, and breathing was much easier. I wasn't really going any faster, but I was putting in the same effort but somehow now. Basically the shoes were making it easier to run at pace, so I was able to maintain with ease. I basically just stretched my legs the last 400 and came in at 5:45. Two laps recovery.

At this point I felt good. I had my spikes on still and was about to switch to trainers and I just thought, I might as well do some shorter stuff while I got em out of the bag. So I kept jogging and did a 400. I don't know what the time was because I just sort of did it spur of the moment. Lets just say 73... one lap jog recovery and I wanted to another. The first I was breathing really hard, and so I focused on that this second one. I just took deep breaths and really worked on turnover with a pickup the last 100 for a 72. Jogged a lap recovery, then switched shoes.

Trainers felt incredibly cushiony after switching almost to a silly point where I thought I had marshmallows in them. Ran two and half more miles which was actually harder than it seemed after the workout, but I wanted to maximize it and get all the capacity I could. Legs were definitely feeling it, but I felt good and the sun had set so it was nice and cool.

So an interesting day at the oval with some miles and a few quarters to get the legs going. It's difficult, but everytime I get a little stronger and paces get a little easier. Two weeks left to train till the 10k.

7:10pm. track. 77° 54%H 5 mph from WSW (warm)
1600m @5:56, 5:52, 5:45 w/800m rec. 2x400m @73,72 w/400m rec.
AHR 155 (with drills)/ MHR 187
gm 1009, forever 17

5.6.09

Wet, windy, and a little crazy.

Got 1 mile in, then there was a downpour and took off for cover:




Waited out the storm, which worked perfectly and after a mile on the treadmill I headed back out to finish the run outside. Really worked to keep the HR down, though it kinda shot up on the hills a few times. Legs were slightly sore today, and I was really trying to stay slow so I could be recovered for another workout tomorrow. Wind was pretty tough as well, but I didn't really notice it. Glad I got out for this run today because I wasn't feeling motivated.

5:15pm. home. Rainy 72° 72%H 19 mph from SSW (wet, windy, cool)
50:18(7.41), bf 1379
AHR158/MHR169 (last 30 minutes)

5.5.09

Track work today. Headed out to the middle school this time around. Their track is basically pavement, maybe a little more give since it's worn, but not much. Interesting to run on that instead of cushy, sinking rubber. The other difference here is there is a meter or two between the 400 starting block line and the finish line, so this track could be a little "long", although I doubt it. It feels the same to me, but then again my body isn't a gps receiver.

Started with a 2 mile warmup and right away noticed the legs were already a little tired. The run yesterday was a bit fast and there was more tightness than I would have liked. I tried stretching a bit after my form drills, but they never did feel right, so I just got on with it.

Took down times after each one. Originally I had planned to do them @ race pace, but then I begin thinking that was probably a bad idea and I was just going to run these harder. So I'm not going to be boring and describe every little detail about each lap, only note that I slowly began breathing harder earlier each repeat, with jog recovery lap inbetween each for recovery. By numero 6 I was ready to call it a day as the legs were pretty tired. I could have done more, but I like ending on a good note rather than driving myself into oblivion. I ran a little more after that, gradual mile pickups where I worked up to threshold pace and held it. I rather enjoyed those last two miles. At that point I ran another lap or two as I also worked in some accelerations, 1x100 and 1x200 and they felt smooth and fast.

workout went good, I'm not concerned with times, I just wanted to get anaerobic work in. Hopefully Thursday or Friday I can do some longer stuff, mile repeats at threshold pace (a litte faster than race pace - 5:40-5:45 if I can handle it and maybe throw in a few 1200's after that just to get a little extra distance in.

7:00pm. middle schell? (lol school) track. 72° F 59%H 9mph from SSW (cool, windy)
400m @76, 74.5, 74, 74.7, 74, 73.2 w/400jog rec.
58:54(9.28), fasttwitch 66
AHR166/MHR191

5.4.09

Almost couldn't contain myself today, I just wanted to fly. The rain let up for a bit, so I got out the door. I already had on my gear because earlier just as I went out the door there was a floodgate opening of the heavens. I decided to wait. It paid off and about 30 minutes into the run it started raining again. I still had lots of minutes to clock and decided to just go ahead and run because it was a light rain this time. I glided through it, legs lifting and pushing seemingly without effort.

But the rain kept coming a little harder, a little harder, and before I knew it I was totally drenched and wiping the water from my brow every couple seconds so I could see. Honestly it felt great. Splish spashing along, shoes completely soaked through, water flung from my fingertips each time I pumped my hands upward, my tech shirt flapping waterlogged (glad I didn't wear the cotton one - I almost did) and I trudged through puddles carefree and recklessly. It was fun and awesome and the rain felt so cool coming down from above. Toward the end of the run it let up a bit, but was still sprinkling. My hip started "feeling" not really hurting, but there was a sensation. I've figured out that it is from the cul-de-sacs, running them a little too fast. I have figured this out before, but always seem to forget. As a runner you look for the weaknesses in your judgement. Am I wearing the right shoes, are my shoes to worn..., am I running properly? But it was none of the above, just the simple matter of gravity pulling my weight to one hip, and the hip not being used to that centripetal force.

I finished reading "once a runner" yes in basically three days.... It's that good, I simply couldn't put it down. Every time I got to the end of a chapter I just had to read the next and so on. It is a great book. I was a bit disappointed, but not by the writing or anything, just a matter of finding out only at the end of the book exactly what category book it is. All the same I enjoyed it thoroughly and although that was a downer, it only lasted a second. Lets just say this little rain run today, was mostly inspired by the book.

5:56pm. home. 69° 66%H 8 mph from ENE (wet, rainy, cool -perfect)
1:14:02(11.17) bf 1373
AHR157/MHR170

5.3.09

Stayed up way too long last night reading. Enjoying my book so far (Once a Runner). We went to church, were it poured down rain for most of our marriage class and the service. When we got home we had some lunch and I was tired from staying up so I took a nap. When I got up I was surprised to see the rain had stopped for a bit, and looking at the weather it was supposed to be clear until about 7. I had originally wanted to do a long run out to walmart, but I really didn't want to be stranded 6 miles from the car if it decided to thunderstorm so I just stayed in the neighborhood.

The run was amazing. Legs felt 11 out of 10 and I really took advantage of it the first half of the run. Pace wasn't too fast, something less than a V02 max session, but still just a good moderate effort. It must have been the humidity or something, but I just felt like I could have ran forever today, and fast. My HR was way lower than normal, and only got above 165 toward the last few miles when I started pushing on a little acceleration work. It started raining a little over an hour into the run, but it was really light and actually just made the run that much better. But since I figured the storms would be coming soon and I had already pushed for a few miles and did a long acceleration at the end I just called it a day. It really started coming down a few minutes after I was finished.

I really miss my long run. It has been a while since I've done anything over an hour and half, but with the weather this week I just don't see a lot of chance to get that in. Still I feel in pretty good distance shape, definitely could race a half if I had to, but I'd feel more confident with some more mileage. Either way speedwork training has been going excellent and tuesday I hope it's relatively clear so I can get in some high quality reps. The days are winding down to the 10k, not much time for dilly dallying. At a last resort I'll hit the sweatmill, but I'd like to avoid that at all cost :)

6pm. home. 68º 78%H 9mph wind from SSW (cool, perfect)
1:14:23(11.01), bf 1363
accels 1x100 1x600

5.2.09

Interesting day today. First off I'm so excited because my book was in at the library "Once a Runner". It has been out of print for about 40 years, but I only heard of the book a year or two ago. Well they have started printing it again and i believe it's $25 now (had been known to sell $300 for an original print!) Anyway the local library picked it up and so I was surprised and excited to find out they even had it. I've just started reading it, but I'll be sure not to spoil it for anyone else.

It was April's b-day today! We went out to eat later on with her family at Olive Garden, then went to her parents house to chill and eat cheesecake :) It was a good time. April is using her b-day monies to buy an ipod touch. She is really excited about it and already has picked the apps she wants to put on.

But my running starting earlier in the day, mostly due to the fact it wasn't raining around 11 am, so I got out the door before it started again. It was a really sweaty run, but I think it just looked more sweaty due to the cotton shirt. I usually wear a light tech shirt so you can't really distinguish the sweat there as much. Anyway it was a really good run. The legs felt good and I wanted to go faster.

About the end of my run a little chihuahua came out of nowhere, definitely smaller than my cat and starting yapping away. More of a mix between a squeak and a bark than anything. It was funny to see it try to catch up as it was about top speed and I was just easily strolling along. At one point I turned left, the dog just kept on going straight and barking. It was in front of me you see, so it was more like I was chasing him. I thought i might lose it, but as I turned around at the end of the cul-de-sac I see him burning around the corner yipping away, and I ran past him in the opposite direction. Lol, it was comical. I think the owners were yelling for it, but I didn't really care, it was fun to have a running partner, or better yet a sort of target to chase around. After about a half mile at least of the poor little thing being chased I finally saw the owner and I stopped while he picked it up. I just said "That's what they do" and went about my business finishing the run.

So that was fun and really made the end of my run interesting - I even felt like running for another five minutes or so before wanting to stop because of that. That was pretty much it for today. Tomorrow I will try to get a longer run in, I've been wanting to run out by walmart again for a while - It's at least 12 miles out and back, maybe 14-15 if I take a few extra paths, so that will be a decent long run. I just hope it doesn't rain all day after church is out so I at least have a chance to get out there for 2-2 1/2 hours of running. I don't mind rain so much, but I will not ever run in lightning, so we'll see what happens.

11am. home. 68° 78%H 11 mph wind from SS (cloudy, mild)
1:18:21(11.50), bf 1354
AHR160/MHR179

5.1.09

Today was a rest day. Didn't really want it to be, but everytime it seemed like things were in the clear it rained. I looked at the forecast for the next ten days or so, there's thunderstorms nearly everyday. But it does look like the morning might be a little clear. At least it will be a little warmer in the sixties so I can run in the rain as long as it's not pouring, about noon there are supposed to be thunderstorms so I'll have to get out early to avoid that.

I was looking into crossfit and I'm still not sure what it's all about. There was a video on youtube that said something like "clear up all questions about crossfit" which I watched and still really have no clue what it's about, lol. I understand it's a fitness program, but I wasn't sure if there were specific methods/theories to use. I just starting looking into it so I'm sure I will find more information if I keep lookin'. Either way some of the exercises looked intense and I would like that not only for me, but for April as well. We went running later last night, jogged on/off for about 5 minutes at a time, then walked the rest of a loop around the neighborhood, took about 40 minutes but the point was we were out there. Hopefully we can keep it up, she is really wanting to be fit, I'm just not sure how committed she is yet.