sorry

Man this has been a long week. I am sorry readers for not posting anything these past few days, I have just been busy. The taper has gone well, and the good news is I am prepared for tomorrow physically. Mentally I'm getting there, but not quite in the zone yet.

I've been slaving over times and splits, but I think I am just going to leave it all out there tomorrow. I hate to say I'm running blind, but it sort of feels that way. I haven't raced since November, and I was heck of a lot worse shape then. I really wish I could have gotten the strawberry plains race, but I will have to make due. I guess I can learn from that for the future. This race is a big race for me, but I've sort of already put it behind me. I've been thinking a lot about my goals for the rest of this year, and my plans for running during the summer.

Basically it involves more. More running, stretching, drills, weights, hills, sprints, just more. I'm ready for it and if I'm going to make a huge improvement next year I'll need to do this. I need to do it not just to get faster, but to be healthier so that I can run as much as I plan to. Well I guess instead of hiding it I'll just say that I plan on increasing mileage drastically in a span of 5 months- like nearly doubling it in that time. Not only will that get me prepared for marathons, but it will put me closer to elite athletes training. All that will be left at that point is building speed, and that just takes time.

I've broken this training cycle down pretty much already. Except for this week, I've been good about keeping track of times and efforts. This has been the toughest week out of all of them. Trying to figure out how much to run without overdoing it is tricky, and running track practices afterschool and some pretty rough days at work made for an extremely trying week.

Friday-4 miles slow. 55 degrees Wet- looks like the same tomorrow. GF 68
Thursday - 2 miles at school, legs dead tired. 70 degrees. BF 202
Wednesday-7 miles, 2 at track w/7 hill sprints!! 4 at home. 60 degrees. BF 200
Tuesday- 5 miles. 57 degrees. BF 193

quick

Sunday was Easter. Went out for a run in the morning and just didn't feel great, plus I had to get ready to leave to visit family. Just a mile. Spent the day at April's Grandmas and watched the UT game with her dad. Pretty good day.

Today was snowy, yes complete actual snow and two days ago it was 70 degrees. Not very motivating, plus today was inservice. That mean't no real schedule, which mean't a perfect opportunity to slack off. Still I got some dinner in me afterschool and felt good, so I got on the sweatmill for 5 miles. I would like to say they were easy, but it's just hard without a fan. So much sweat. At least it will get a few pounds off for the race. I've kind of been ignoring it lately. People don't seem to really care about when I mention it. I want to be ready and fully motivated, so I'm just not worrying about it till the schoolweek is over.

Sun- 1 mile. 36 degrees. BF 183
Mon- 5 miles. Treadmill. BF 188

last speedwork

I wanted to run this morning, but I didn't sleep very well last night. I was up at 4 and the cat was doing her thing at 6. So I was already tired when I got up at 8. That didn't stop me from getting in my planned speedwork around noon. I got out to the track and warmed up for a mile, then did my running drills. I'm still not 100% on those, but in all honesty I've only done them 3 times so that's not much time to develop those skills. Still they were good and after a few flys for 100 meters I was feeling ready. The legs tightened up just a little, so I again did some light stretching and a few more flys before I toed the line.

I wanted to get a good mile in just to see where I was at. The wind was pretty strong coming from the west and it was very sunny out. Unfortunately it would mean running straight into the wind on the backstretch- where I'm usually kicking and at my strongest. So I started off okay. It's still funny running in spikes, but the warmup went well so I wasn't wasting a whole lot of energy. Two laps went by and I was feeling fine, I knew I'd have to pick it up the third lap because I felt too good and probably mean't the pace was slow. So by the last stretch on the third lap I was feeling it. Final lap was great until again I hit that wind and just didn't have a lot left. I stopped and looked at the stopwatch on the ground- 5:40. Not bad, but certainly not my best either. I kept jogging for a lap and half.

That was all the recovery I gave myself before my next 800. It was a good run, and now I'd have the wind to my back on the stretch since I moved to the other side of the track. Two laps went by pretty quickly and legs were turning over well, but still not as fast I wanted-2:49. This time I took 3 laps as I was pretty tired from basically back to back sprints. I was off again, but this time ran with the stopwatch in my hand. The last lap I had stopped to pick it up while still jogging and dropped it twice.

First lap was a measley 1:25, I knew I'd have to kill the next one, so I pushed. Instead of being on my toes, I let my heel strike just slightly more and that made everything loosen up. Last 200 meters felt good and the last 100 I finally felt like I was sprinting for the first time today- 2:45. I jogged at least another mile or maybe a little farther while drinking water before calling it a day on the track. I didn't need to be prancing around in spikes for more than 5 miles, which is where I was at that point.

Tonight I just felt like I didn't get enough out of the workout today. Granted I worked hard, but I didn't want to overdo anything so close to the race. I probably could have gotten away with more, but most of the work has been done and the risks outweighed the gains for me. Had some sun on my shoulders from being out in the morning too. So anyway got out to the soccer complex again for 6 miles at easy pace- although that turned wrong since I was going so fast earlier today I couldn't help but push. The hunger I had yesterday and the day before was also gone, and other than a little tiredness from the sprints everything was flowing well. It was one of those awesome runs where I just felt excited to be out there.

AM- 5(5.75) miles. 62 degrees sunny w/wind. Forever 11
1600 @5:40 w/600m rec. 800m @2:49, 2:45 w/1200m rec.
PM- 6(7)miles @6:43. 55 degrees. BF 182

cramming

Another good run today. 5 miles in the morning after a hearty breakfast. Not much going on in this run. Breathing was very heavy.

Later tonight back at the soccer complex for 6 tough miles. Legs are pretty worn out as I'm headed to 70 miles on the week, and my norm is 55-60. So yeah, they are tired, but not sore or anything. Both times yesterday and today on my late run I noticed I didn't have the energy I normally have. That emptiness in the stomach you get when you're hungry. I may need to get out earlier in the night instead of enjoying the lateness of the sunlight. Again, most of this probably has to do with the miles I've put up this week.

Things are going well though, I'm feeling more fit than I've been in a way long time. I dare say I'll be able to outrun my old high school self before too long. I've also been thinking about the race a lot. I keep bouncing back and forth over strategies, but mostly I just hope I feel good after the halfway point. If I do, then it's on. Two PR 10ks back to back is a feat in itself, but I think I can handle it. I'm not sure if you can "cram" for a race, but it really feels like that this week. I've just been running around the clock since I've had all this time with spring break. I hope that cramming is a good thing though. I'm sure a little extra won't hurt.

Crunching the numbers currently working on April's schedule, but also to post the data from my pyramid this cycle.
AM-5(5.75)miles @7:01. 36 degrees sunny. BF 170
PM- 6(7)miles @7:04. 62 degrees a little wind. BF 176

going well

Morning run of 5 miles. Wierd clicking thing under the left knee. Tendon seems to be rubbing or not responding correctly. I did do hill sprints yesterday, but I think it was the calf raises last night that caused it.

Later a run at the soccer complex. Again I ran in the zooms. I like switching up lighter shoes with heavier because it "slows" me down. Maybe that's true, or maybe I just work harder to run just as fast, haha. Either way the miles were somewhat tough as the soccer complex offers rolling hills and my legs are tired from yesterday. Tired, but not sore. That means Saturday should be lined up for some speedwork on the track. I'm thinking 1 mile timed, then 2 800's and call it a day (plus a later run of course). Yes, that means I'd like to get up early and go to the track. I think it would be good to practice going fast as early as possible so I'm all set for raceday. This week has been good for that.

AM- 5(5.75)miles @6:54. 36 degrees and sunny. Zoom 144
PM- 6(7)miles @6:48. 55 degrees. Zoom 150

hill+wind+rain=workout

Hill sprints. Whoa today was crazy. I was hoping to get in 8 quality hills sprints, it was more like 3, then died for 5 more. First I started off with 6 miles at steady pace. The largest hill I have to overcome in the half is well, at the half. So I wanted to simulate that run by putting my hills in after running approximately 6.5 miles. I was already breathing pretty good by the time I got back to the HH after 2 laps around the hood. That usually doesn't matter, because once I start hiking up and up, my body reacts to that and I don't even feel tired anymore.

The first sprint was the fastest, strongest, and toughest. The wind today was not good- 23-25 mph and coming right at my body all the way up. I was just about blown off the road once and probably looked like I was running drunk swerving like I was. Not only that, but it started to rain. So now I got rain pelting me in the face, wind blowing me around, and of course the giant hill I'm wanting to sprint up 8 times consecutively. whew.

So the first 3 were just me against God. I was so hyped to run these today and it just felt like he was trying to break my spirit. I didn't let it happen. Not today. 6 would have been good enough. I was dead after the first 3, I mean I felt like I was crawling up. So I did one more just to say I did more than I thought I could. Tough, tough workout, but I'll be much stronger because of it. Bring on the half marathon in decent weather.

11(12)miles @6:57 +7 HH sprints. 55 degrees 25 mph wind+rain. BF 165

nice night for a run

Tonight just felt good. I wore my moonboots yesterday to run in, so tonight with my frees felt like I was running barefoot. It was nice. The wind was really whipping. Somehow that didn't seem to hurt my pace as everything was well under 7 minute miles, and the third was a 6:30. Guess I was just feeling good. Beautiful tonight, though a little warm. I was going to do my hill workout tonight, but there is still a tiny bit of stuff in the legs. A good nights rest and tomorrow morning I should be ready to hit the hills.

8(9)miles @6:42. 65 degrees strong wind. BF 154

dead legs

Legs are really tired lately. Today the right calf was pretty tight too. Not a lot to do about it, just kind of waiting for relief next week during my taper. Once I get some fresh legs under me I'll feel a lot better about the race. I've pretty much decided to cut out my speed session and replace it with hills. The course preview pretty much blew up my quads, but I think a lot of that was lingering from other workouts and normal runs too.

So maybe tommorow the legs will feel better and I get some hills in. If that works out I'll be able to do some light speedwork on Saturday, then take it easy all the way to the race. Sounds like a good enough plan for now. Pace was fine on this last one, felt like a fast jog. I kept it held back a lot because I knew I was going for ten on these legs.

10(11.37)miles @7:07. 60 degrees. Zoom 139

sundy duble

5 miles this morning. It was nice to wake up early and get outside before church. Enjoyable morning with some nice cool air.

Had lunch with April's fam at Famous Dave's. Talk about fattt. Had some barbeque ribs smothered in sauce. Not exactly the healthiest meal, but it was delicious. No basketball today. Drove up there and lights were off. Turned around and went home.

7 miles at the soccer complex tonight. Legs were sore this morning and the same was true tonight. That didn't stop me from going fast. I thought I was going rather slow, but in reality I was probably going faster because I was trying to make up for the legs being sore. Didn't feel very good, erratic breathing and legs tired till 5, but after that started feeling good. 6:20 last mile felt effortless and powerful.

AM 5(5.64)miles @6:54. 42 degrees. BF 139
PM 7(8)miles @6:38. 55 degrees. BF 146

course preview

I saw that the Marathon had training runs Saturday mornings, but never got up to do any of them. I guess I'm a just a loner or too busy to drive or something. Not today. I had put this date on my schedule a while back. It's an important run, a long run on the first half of the course.

Knowing where you're going to run is a big thing. You get to know turns, hills, flats, and landmarks that help you know how to pace. So today was a great motivator and I think will help tremendously. Got up around 6:30 ate and headed out the door. On raceday I'll be getting up much earlier than this because the race is at 7, not 7:30 like todays. I was one of the first few people there though and just sort of hung out with the course director volunteer guy- who's name eludes me. At 7:30 we still hadn't started, but lots of people had come for the training run- maybe 30 or more. The director tried to tell us where the turns are and what roads were where, but I still had pretty much no clue. All I remembered from last year is flat/hill/flat/hill/end, well honestly a little more than that but not enough to say I could lead anyone on this run.

So a few guys took off in front and everyone else hurried up and clicked their watches, garmins, or for me, ipods. I started off behind the three guys and a taller guy was right there with me. Eventually two guys died and we were now behind a man and a woman who were leading. I probably would have went in front of them if I knew where I was going, but I didn't have that option- I really had no idea where turns were or anything. Things started looking familiar to me, "there is where I died", or "there was where I lost all hope." Soon enough Bob started talking to me. We just chatted away. It was something I was looking forward too, but didn't know who would talk first. As we chatted the two leaders slipped away. He had read "Running with the Buffaloes" recently and had a garmin, so we talked about that. It's hard to talk and breath, but we were doing fine.

Soon the course turned off and the leader guy stayed behind. He knew we'd probably miss the turn (or were only doing the half so we'd keep going straight). LOL, the half marathoners turned off here. Obviously I was feeling great about an easy 15 today!! so I stayed with the full marathoners for more miles. The woman who was ahead of us who turned out to be not bad herself came back and ran with us. We all got along so well, like old friends meeting up again. Apparently we were all teachers, and so she was like "what are we doing out here". That cracked me up.

The run went on and we picked up another guy who actually knew the course a million times better, so that made things easy. I knew where the hills were. Thats it. So we started on one of the roads I remembered and I said "at the end of this road is a huge hill". And there it was. Actually it's two hills on top of each other (which reminds me of a certain HH in my area ....) We all slowed down a tad bit, but still kept pretty strong. I tried to take in landmarks and stuff, and a lot came back to me once we got there, but it's still a pretty winding course which makes it a little confusing to me even now.

Turns out Andee, who lead with the me the whole long run, won the Marathon here two years ago. She is shorter than me by a few inches and has a quick stride with a carrying armswing combo that makes her look like she's floating. I wondered if I looked that easy while I was running. She also never breathed hard- except once after a hill. I don't think I ever got to that point as I was only noticing the others. So it was nice to run with a winner. She called it a fluke and said "God made it happen" for her. She had been in a car accident the day before and used part of the money she won to pay for the insurance and the other for her vacation.

The whole run seemed to be God inspired. Everybody ran fine, the clouds parted, and the sun shined through even though there were supposed to be thunderstorms today. Bob did take a spill while we were on our 13th mile and I (we)turned the wrong way, realized it, and turned back. He stumbled on the curb because of it and fell. Luckily and thank God he didn't get hurt or I would have felt terrible. I already felt bad enough and apologized a lot afterward. We almost didn't run the extra, but I kept going and everyone decided to follow me. It was my last long run and 13 wasn't going to cut it, not in my book. So we ran an extra out and back for 15 total, which Bob had on his garmin. I had 16.5, which is about right since my ipod is always over and even moreso on long runs. It's nice to have a second opinion for comparison sake because I knew it was off.

So I met some new people, got in a nice run, previewed the course, and am feeling pretty good. The running joke was that I was the half marathon guy, and I'm out here doing the run with the full. Everybody kept saying how I was going to do well and what not. I hope I live up to that. I felt good today and even feel like I should run something shorter tonight. 15 just isn't that much of a long run to me anymore I guess. Don't get me wrong it is a tough course, but aerobically I could probably handle the full marathon but with a time I wouldn't be happy with. Soon after I got home from the run, downpours and lighting erupted. Good day.

15(16.5)miles @7:10. 48 degrees cool/sunny. GM 340

rainy, but got em in

8 miles around the hood. Nice acceleration around 6 miles when the pugs came after me again. I turned around and said "come on, that's all you got?!" when they died after 50 meters. Haha, fat ugly out of shape dogs. So that was interesting. Took a few minutes to get back to by rhythm, but the light rain helped keep me cool. Nothing else to note other than I've been wearing my nike free's again. Running form seems to have gotten to the point where they feel really nice on my feet. I don't feel like anything unnatural is happening in them, plus I'll probably end up racing in them.

8(8.75)miles @6:54. 60 degrees sprinkling. BF 134

sore

6 at the soccer complex after practice today. Legs are really sore from the workout last night. Even the booty, which is actually a very good thing. I haven't had that be sore for a long time, glad I was working everything well. Calves and hams were pretty much the same. Used the first mile as a warm up, but got in the groove around 3-4. Hills were pretty tough obviously, but it was good to have a challenge. Pushed the last mile for some reason, guess I had some gas left in the tank. Spring break after tomorrow!!! Looking for lots of doubles 2 weeks before RACEDAY!

6(6.5)miles @6:50. 70 degrees. BF 126

track meet and workout

Yesterday was the track meet. It was fun playing track coach. Had a few kids stand out, but Oak Ridge distance looked better coming off their state championship in cross country *cough 4:24mile cough*. I was happy with our results, but we've got plenty of work to do.

Obviously no running yesterday, it was late when I got home and by the time I ate it was time for sleep.

Today was good, sent the distance guys out and watched the sprinters workout. Tomorrow is our own meet. Well just between our own team members for fun. Should be interesting. We're having it because not everyone got to go to the practice meet yesterday.

Stayed until everyone was gone, then did my workout on the track. I just went by feel on this one. CALVES!!! they are so friggin tight lately. Nothing loosens them up. I ran my warmups and did running drills, then got started. I am beginning to feel like I have rocks instead of calves. I'm not sure if this is good or bad. I'm guessing it's just overworked muscle fiber, but it has been this way for a while so they must really be overworked.

1200m @4:23
800m @2:56, 2:56
400 @74
800m @2:52, 2:50
Forever- 3

I could have ran more, but again the calves were destroyed before I even started, so it just wasn't necessary. Was breathing somewhat hard on these, but I like hills better. I just feel faster running uphill for some reason. I guess I can really use my major muscles more so I feel stronger. These times aren't great....yet. It's still early for me, and I didn't get the strength foundation from my hill training that I really wanted.

Oh yeah, I also ran 6 miles when I got home. I figured the legs were shot so I might as well tack on some more. Another run under 7:00, I seem to be improving. Oh and if you really want to see improvement, check my training log for the first week when I ran some 1200's. I ran those just for comparison sake later on-- now that's planning ahead.

6(6.5)miles @6:54. Zoom 129

bad knee saga

oh dear. The knee was terrible today. I could hardly walk up stairs, walking regularly was painful, and I was pretty worried that I had done something major to it. All day long like this. Sitting when I could, walking with a limp. I took a Motrin after school at 3. Track practice was at four and it was still hurting even then. Not real sure what happened, maybe I dislodged something or forgot about it or the motrin kicked in, but it just stopped hurting. I was thinking, "sweet, now I can run my workout of 800's". But my smart side took over and instead of doing that I chose to wait and see.

I got home and still nothing, this was now 4 hours after the motrin, and it should have worn off by then. So I went for an easy run which turned into my 10 miles. Tried some new shoes, they were nice, but my sensor was slipping which lowered my miles to 8:00, and I was running much faster- oh well. It was NOt pain-free. My calves were tight from yesterday, as well as the hams, and the ankles were pretty beat up too. But....the knee was perfect. Even now there is absolutely no pain, I can just walk around. Someone must have put a prayer up for me or something. Just miraculous.

I'm so happy now. My biggest fear- a major injury that would keep me from reaping the rewards of all my hard work- seems to be averted. Now I just have to hold steady mileage and maybe to a few speed days and I should be pretty prepared to run a decent half.

10(10.55)miles @7:21. 46 nice and cool. Explosion 10

futility and injury

Saturday I took a day off. Legs still hadn't fully recovered from my first workout and I didn't want to put additional miles on top of that.

Legs felt awesome when I woke up this morning. Time change happened last night-that won't help my getting up earlier problems at all. Basktball today felt futile. We were down by 14, came back and was up by 5. The scoreboard then went down and had to be reset, as well I think they were giving points to the other team that we were scoring. Regardless the other team had 2 guys hit EVERY three pointer they shot, and they shot a lot. When I say EVERY, I literally mean they did not miss a single three. Kind of hard to win with that phenomenon going on. I made a few to compensate, but it was just too much. We lost by a good margin.

- the run tonight started off wierd. I took a nap after basketball and when I woke up I had a pain in my knee. Well just under my left knee and to the left to be specific. Anyway it hurt during the run on leg extension, so my steps were really short. I didn't want them to be, but my body naturally compensated for the hurt knee. I think it is a bruise. I also have a bruise on my left hip bone, to coincide with the one on my right hip bone. By the end of the run the knee wasn't so bad, but it still didn't feel right. That just sucks because my legs were feeling so great today. Tomorrow I'm doing another workout, and we'll see what happens with the knee stuff.

7(8)miles @6:51. 40 degrees. BF127

late run

Just a later run on the treadmill. Track practice was all by myself today. Everything seemed to go well. I love how high school kids complain so much. They'll regret slacking later on (the ones who didn't practice today that is). The rest of kids looked good out there. It takes dedication to run on cold, wet, rainy days. I really wanted to run outside, but chose to help April cook dinner instead. Maybe I'll get to run in the snow in the morning though.

6(6.75)miles @7:19. treadmill. BF 120

short and sweet

5 miles with the guys at easy pace. 5 faster miles at the soccer complex. Extremely sore today in the calves and especially the hams. Hams haven't fully recovered from my long run, or at least it feels that way. I'm trying to get a few more miles in and hopefully work out some of the lactic acid in there, but for the most part I think it is just going to take a lot of easy days before they aren't so tight.

5@6:53. 54 degrees. Zoom 123
5@8:00. 60 degrees. Zoom 118

So I just started running today

For some reason the past few days have been funny. The other night at the soccer complex I looked around and was like, "hey I'm running right now". It's weird to think about how I don't think about running while I'm running. It just never really happens that often. Tonight was a fun night where I again just felt like I was going somewhere, even though it was in circles.

The good old track. It almost took me back tonight, but in a newer fresher way. I remember putting on my dirty, old white spikes at the school and getting ready to fly on our old potholed cinder track. While I laced on my bright shiny Nike forevers I had that same old feeling- knowing you were just going to fly. I went with the girls, well I sort of had too due to timing issues. The guys time themselves, but the girls can't. So we were doing 1200's, I was doing 800's. I would click the watch, let the girls start, then run around them in the third or fourth lane and do my 800's. It worked out perfectly because I was done with my second lap before them and could see their splits. The only bad thing was I got extra recovery time (wait over a minute for them to finish, then add 3 minutes for recovery). Still it wasn't bad.

It felt good to wear spikes again. Ah it just gives you that feeling of power and speed. I'm not real sure what exactly my splits were. I had to throw the stopwatch on the ground, so it took a few seconds to find it and flip it over to see my times, but all were under 3:00, and I'm pretty sure I saw a 2:45 on the last one. I was breathing really good on them and they were not easy. It didn't help not having wore spikes for 8-9 years !!! I was using muscles I had forgot existed, mostly in the calf area. So when the girls were done with their 3 12's, I ran 3 more 800's with the normal rest time. I also ran a one mile warmup and cooldown.

Got home pretty early and still had all my gear on, so I went out for an easy few miles just for aerobic building. Planned 5, but didn't feel right to end in the middle of the course, so I just finished it out for 6 miles. I was going to run this morning, but was tired last night and ended up setting alarm for PM. Duh. I'm glad I did because I got up at my normal time without any alarm (b/c it obviously wasn't going to off for a while). I hope to eliminate the need for the alarm soon, so I can just wake up raceday and be ready. Haha, last night on Seinfeld the same thing happened. Jerry's friend was running a marathon. Jerry told him to stay over because he didn't trust the wakeup call at the hotel and dumb Kramer ended up blowing the fuse with his hot tub so the alarm clock didn't go off. Haha, it was classic.

Legs are worn, but I'm feeling better than ever. I've had less niggles lately and it seems as long as I take it easy on my easy days I'll be doing just fine.

2 miles warmup/down
6x800, all below 3:00 w/4:00 rec.
6(6.5)miles. 42 degrees. GM 325

putting them in

Thunderstorms and superwind today. Cancelled track practice. Was thinking about running outside, but it just didn't look good out there. Ended up on the treadmill later for 6 miles. I need to get a fan because I sweat 10x as much on that thing, even with the window open it didn't help.

Tomorrow looks like a track workout. I might run with the guys (we moved their workouts back a day this week b/c of the weather), but I also might do it after they are done to eliminate competitive tendencies I have.

6(6.5)miles. treadmill. BF 114

ez

Was late after practice so I stopped by the soccer complex on the way home for my run. Smart decision as I had no choice once i got there. Legs are still very fatigued. First few miles were tough, but by the end it had cooled down from 70 degrees, as well as the wind died down, so the last few miles felt great. Legs were really moving well. I think part of that has to do with my striders barefoot on the grass yesterday. I forgot to mention that I did 6x50 meters after my workout last night.

Had some pain on the outside of my left heel. Other than that the hams have just been tight from the 38 miles this weekend.

7(7.75)miles. 67-62 degrees 20-mph winds. GM 326