10.15.09

And so the rain begins. It's that time of year when the winds pick up, the sun goes down at 4pm and the heavens open up with tons of rain. I took the day off yesterday. My hams were so sore from the squats I did Tuesday I had a hard time walking. Today it's better, but still sore. I did some core work yesterday but nothing major. I think it's time to get back on the treadmill. Yesterday it was rainy and today it looks like it might flood due to the downpour we are getting, with no signs of stopping anytime soon. So I think I will at least hop on the treadmill after lunch. I'm also thinking some kind of cross training with a circuit of exercises might be good to have for days like this. I'm working on it. Tomorrow I'm going to Cleveland again to do caricatures. I'll be there the whole weekend, so running will have take a backseat to making money again.

bf 1922

9.20.09

I wanted to get a long-ish run in today in between the thunderstorms and it worked for the most part. I was about halfway where I wanted to be, head right for an hour and half when it started raining. I figured it would let up because it sprinkled for a bit at the beginning of the run and stopped, but it didn't let up. It just kept right on coming, and I kept right on running through it. After a good 20-25 minutes of running in this I was completely soaked and my shoes were squishy. I really felt like I was either going to slip and fall due to running 180º cul-de-sacs, or get some sort of nasty blister from my shoes being waterlogged so I just ran until I hit 1:15 and called it.

My plan was to get to an hour and half and see how I felt, possibly running a bit longer if need be, but as we all know plans have to change sometimes. The shin was doing it's weird thing, maybe I'm just thinking about it too much? Still no pain though, just that old tension feeling. I'm happy with today's run. Despite being 10 pounds heavier I managed to hold the pace and picked it up just a little at the end and I felt good, I could have at least got to 13 miles. I was thinking if I just held the pace for the next two miles I would've ended right at 1 hr 30 for a half, that ain't bad! I might not be as far behind as I thought. Some hill training will definitely get the times going in the right direction methinks.

6pm. rainy 74º 86%H calm
1:16:05 11.16m bf 1844

6.10.09

thunderstorms and lightning, stayed inside.

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

5.15.09

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

5.6.09

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)

5.4.09

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

5.2.09

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.

Unfortunately it was stormy today. It wouldn't have really mattered though, once April got home we had dinner and fell asleep watching a movie.

So coming up with an alternate workout that is equivalent to running is a task in itself. That's what I hate about schedules. One thing goes wrong and it can really throw you off course. So I guess I'll try running in the morning tommorow, and that should leave enough recovery time for friday night? Sounds okay to me. As for nights I'm unable to run I think maybe just doing squats and other muscle building exercises should suffice. I read back through my old stuff, and read my calves were underdeveloped, so that is something I can be working on.

Ok so I was going to post this the other day, but I forgot. It is from Galloway. He says it's not scientific, but he has gathered the information from other runners and his own experiences.

Adjusting Race Pace for Heat:
temp.....slower %......8 min/mile pace becomes
55-60.........1%...........8:05
60-65.........3%...........8:15
65-70.........5%...........8:25
70-75.........7%...........8:35
75-80.........12%..........8:58
80-85.........20%..........9:35
above 85 forget it run for fun

Again, this is for racing only. It doesn't necessarily pertain to training. What it does provide is a rough guide for pacing yourself on those hot days. For instance one day I ran in 93 degree weather, but tried to run a pace that I set at 78 degree weather. Thats about a 10% difference in pace. So instead of staying on regular pace, I should have cut at least 30 seconds off to stay at "normal" pace. Anyway I have all this stuff in my head, and because of that I forget to post it. So there ya go.

Wednesday 0 miles. Wall sits, calf raises.