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wednesday, september 08, 2010

Recovery Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 34:49
Pace: 8:42

Comments: I arrived in Tuscaloosa yesterday and knew this morning's run was gonna be a bear. My legs were sore all yesterday from the track workout and the humidity here is as impressive as ever. Add to that the rolling hills of the area and you have a heaping helping of fun.

So I went out pretty strong but not crazy and then just tried to keep steady. My final overall pace was a bit slower than I had hoped but not terribly so. Mostly I was happy to finish without feeling whipped. I think this effort fully qualifies as a "recovery" run.

The nice thing about being back in Tuscaloosa is I was able to greet everyone I saw with a hearty "Roll Tide" and be sure to get on in return. Every yard I passed boasting a Alabama Crimson Tide flag was a great inspiration to keep after it.

Conditions:

Hour: 9:00 a.m.
Surface: asphalt
Weather: clear
Temperature: 80 degrees
Humidity: 77 percent
Wind: none
Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Shoes: Mizuno Wave Inspire 6
Sin Musica

Injury update: Achy but no real pain.

tuesday, september 07, 2010

Track Work

Distance: 4.09 miles
Time: 30:17

Comments: It is just a few hours until I head off to Tuscaloosa so I was feeling pretty pumped for the workout. I took my MP3 player to keep the momentum going and knocked out a brisk warm up mile.

Instead of another speed strength lap, Coach wanted me to put a half-mile in the middle somewhere. Which is roughly the same effect. Since I was feeling so up to star I decided to crank out the first 400 super fast and then settle into the pace (the opposite of what I had been doing in recent weeks).

So I kept the music on the first one and blew through a 78 second 400 meter. I then did the exercises and did a pretty quick second one as well without the headset. Then, another good one with the music back on. And then I realized I screwed up.

I knew this approach would wear me out and make the back half tough to tackle -- that was sort of my goal -- but after the third lap I realized I had forgotten the squat-thrusts in the strength part of the workout. No problem, I thought, I'll just double up on 'em for two and get back in sync.

Very much a problem. The sets of 20 simply drained my legs of all bounce. Add the stadium stairs after that (and the fact the temps had gotten back to the century mark) and my fast start strategy was a huge mistake. The half mile lap just beat the shit out of me.

I battled through another 400 meters but it was clear my legs were shot. Coach argues the workout doesn't do any good if you are going too slow on the running portion so I cut it short at six before it got really ugly.

Still, it felt great to blow a few of them out of the water and I got a good overall effort in even though I didn't get the workout I wanted done.

Conditions:

Hour: 6:30 p.m.
Surface: track
Weather: clear
Temperature: 100 degrees
Humidity: 25 percent
Wind: none
Location: Marcos de Niza High School, Tempe, Arizona
Shoes: Mizuno Wave Inspire 6
Con Musica

Injury update: Felt pretty good but the top of the right knee had a little discomfort reminiscent of my patellar tendon issues.

sunday, september 05, 2010

Week Wrapup

Week: August 29 - September 4
Total Miles: 18.01
Total Time: 2:37:38

A fantastic week of workouts. The Monday track effort was great. The recovery run went well. The first goal pace(ish) run went as good as I could expect. And the long/trail run to cap off the week matched my best ever time on the course.

I did a pretty good week of core work as well. Monday's speed strength was certainly pushing it up a notch and I hit the Roman chair hard on Friday and sure as hell felt it after my long run.

Overall I feel I've made pretty rapid progress this first month back. Given the upcoming travel plans the key element of training is holding to that and not losing any of the ground I've gained.

Injury update: The biggest concern has been a slight -- very slight -- discomfort on my right knee. Normally I'd just pass it off as normal achyness but this is where I had the Patellar tendon issue two years ago. Gonna keep alert to it and ice at every opportunity.

I also have a bit of noticeable achy soreness on the outside of my right hip a little more persistent than the usual post-run unpleasantness.

saturday, september 04, 2010

Trail Run

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 55:41
Pace: 9:16 m/mi

Comments: Man, I ate this one up! I matched my fastest time on this circuit from way back last March.

I woke up really early this morning, like 3:15 a.m. early but knew going back to sleep would mean just running this later in the day when it would be more difficult.

So I got up and took care of a few things and got out to the trail and running by 6:00 a.m. Which turns out to be the right time. The parking was decent and while there were a number of folks on the trail, almost all of them knew what they were doing.

I knew I wanted to try and get a solid time today so concentrated on holding a strong pace on the front end and keeping the intensity up on the inclines. Since I didn't bring the camera, I didn't have the handfull of quick stops to shoot pictures for the blog entry.

Going up I passed a number of running groups. Interestingly almost all of them were women. While most of the bikers out this early were men I didn't see but three or four male runners.

The descent was much like last week very rapid but under control. Like on the ascent, I tried to keep my pace strong on the final mile-and-a-half after getting out of the hills. I knew I had a better pace than last week but not almost three-and-a-half minutes faster.

Afterward I made sure to stop and get ice for an ice bath which was excruciating as always. Once again, it was intensely uncomfortable in my lower legs for the first five minutes.

Conditions:

Hour: 6:00 a.m.
Surface: dirt
Weather: partly cloudy
Temperature: 88 degrees
Humidity: 34 percent
Wind: little bit at the top of the hill
Location: National Trail & Mormon Trail, South Mountain Park, Phoenix, Arizona
Shoes: Nike Zoom Waffle Racer IV
Sin Musica

Injury update: Not much at all.

thursday, september 02, 2010

Goal Pace Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 30:54
Pace: 7:42

Comments: Well, almost. I actually got out to run fairly early and the weather was as close to ideal as I've had thus far. So my plan was to run it with the pedal down as far as I could but hold the pace the whole way.

I deliberately didn't check the Garmin and try to hold it at the "ideal" 7:30 pace. In fact, I decided to just go the full four miles and stop when it hit the distance to make sure I wouldn't cheat and check the time.

Overall this felt pretty good. I never started lagging or got that feeling of just trying to hold it together. My control and concentration need work as I didn't have the focus on the third mile I would like. But still, a solid run and very encouraging.

Conditions:

Hour: 6:00 a.m.
Surface: dirt
Weather: clear
Temperature: 74 degrees
Humidity: 52 percent
Wind: none
Location:Thude Park, Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Mizuno Wave Inspire 6
Sin Musica

Injury update: My hips, buttocks and hamstrings are somewhat sore.

wednesday, september 01, 2010

Easy Run

Distance: 3.47 miles
Time: 30:00
Pace: 8:38

Comments: I was pretty sore yesterday after the full-on track effort Monday. My upper hamstrings and buttocks in particular. So, weirdly, I was kind of looking forward to this run to work out the achy.

I got out pretty late due to some morning obligations and it was pretty warm by the time I arrived at the park. With the sun I was really hot really fast. I felt strong but deliberately kept the pace slow, actually even slower than I expected by the time I wrapped it up.

Conditions:

Hour: 10:00 a.m.
Surface: dirt
Weather: clear
Temperature: 95 degrees
Humidity: 24 percent
Wind: none
Location:Thude Park, Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Mizuno Wave Inspire 6
Sin Musica

Injury update: Achy but no real pain.

tuesday, august 31, 2010

Track Work

Distance: 4.52 miles
Time: 41:00

Comments: My sister came over after 5:00 and we headed to the track even though it was way early for the workout. I got in my warm-up mile but took off for the workout just as everyone got there. I knew what it was supposed to be (speed strength but with one more lap than last week) and I didn't want too cool down too much before getting to it.

After the strong trail work over the weekend I was hoping to feel more in control today but it really wasn't there. I clearly was faster and had a lot more strength at my disposal. My average 400 time was 90 seconds, a full eight seconds off the first workout two weeks ago and a solid six seconds off last week's effort. Of course the ten degree difference in temperature had a lot to do with that as well.

Still, my consistency was very good and while I need better control, I certainly wasn't sucking it up just to get the workout done. So the progress is there and the injuries seem to be holding off thus far.

Conditions:

Hour: 5:30 p.m.
Surface: track
Weather: clear
Temperature: 96 degrees
Humidity: 17 percent
Wind: none
Location: Marcos de Niza High School, Tempe, Arizona
Shoes: Mizuno Wave Inspire 6
Sin Musica

Injury update: My back hurt earlier in the day but wasn't any problem during the workout.

sunday, august 29, 2010

Week Wrapup

Week: August 22 - 28
Total Miles: 12.48
Total Time: 1:50:28

Not a bad week overall. The track workout on Monday was solid as was the trail run on Saturday. My times were faster and I was much more in control throughout. Still, there's a long way to go, that's for sure.

I got in just one mid-week run and that wasn't a spectacular effort. Worse, I completely neglected my core work. The Roman Chair went unused the whole week. This isn't getting me ahead of the game by any means.

I'm much more sore this week than last week. Today I very much regret not partaking of the ice bath yesterday. I'll play it by ear next week to see if the legs bounce back or need a bit of coddling.

saturday, august 28, 2010

Trail Run

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 59:10
Pace: 9:51 m/mi

Comments: The week turned out a bit crazier than I expected and with some intermittent thunderstorms I wound up with a two-day layoff. Given how hard the first week of work had affected me, I didn't feel overly guilty but I was determined to get this run in this morning.

I woke up a bit later than I thought and got out to South Mountain at just about the same time as last week. And with the slightly cooler weather it was even more crowded. But still folks were pretty understanding of each other on the trail, which has been really nice.

I took the Mormon Trail route first this week. The start felt really good and I kept expecting it to turn into a slog but other than a few moments on the extreme ascents, it never did. Which is a nice testament to my improving conditioning. Also, saw a havalina snorting it's way up the hill when I got into the hills. That was a little bit unusual.

The goal today was to get the six miles done in less than an hour. With that in mind I deliberately pushed the pace on the gradual incline that makes up the first mile and a half an then really concentrated on making up as much as possible on the downhills. I wasn't able to hold my pace on the last mile as much as I had hoped but that's more of a strength issue and it'll come.

I ended up finishing 1:11 faster than last week as well as shaving 22 seconds off the average pace. A nice improvement and a good goal for next week.

Conditions:

Hour: 6:15 a.m.
Surface: dirt
Weather: partly cloudy
Temperature: 79 degrees
Humidity: 59 percent
Wind: fair bit at the top of the hill
Location: National Trail & Mormon Trail, South Mountain Park, Phoenix, Arizona
Shoes: Nike Zoom Waffle Racer IV
Sin Musica

Injury update: A bit of pain in the middle of my back on the last mile and my right calf was unusually tight as well.

wednesday, august 25, 2010

Recovery Run

Distance: 3.58 miles
Time: 30:00
Pace: 8:24

Comments: Felt pretty rested after a day dragging post-track workout. The start was a bit unpleasant and stiff but eased up amazingly well. After the first quarter mile I felt pretty good and tried to keep a level stride rather than push it. The average pace was kinda unspectacular and I still slowed a bit on the third mile but not astonishingly so. Overall, this was a nice solid run and I had a great time doing it.

Conditions:

Hour: 8:30 a.m.
Surface: dirt
Weather: clear
Temperature: 90 degrees
Humidity: 39 percent
Wind: none
Location:Thude Park, Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Mizuno Wave Inspire 6
Sin Musica

Injury update: Achy but no real pain.

tuesday, august 24, 2010

Track Work

Distance: 2.9 miles
Time: 21:16

Comments: There was some kind of to do at the high school so the parking lot was packed. I had to drive around the block for a spot. It was like going to the clubs back in Dallas. As a result, I was a bit later that everyone else.

Which didn't matter much since I was doing speed strength and they were doing whatever horrid spectacle of pain Coach Dean had dreamed up. I was a little apprehensive to really pile it on after Saturday's run but Dean said it should be fine. So the goal was a total of seven -- one more than last week.

And I have to say, the first felt pretty good. I was on point, focused and in control. I knew it wouldn't last given the heat but it was nice to have that sensation again. By the third lap, it was pretty much done.

The fourth lap was sloppy, the next one better, then sloppy again and pushed it hard for the final effort. The main thing was keeping them all in the 1:40 range or better and that I was able to do. My average lap pace came out to be 1:36, which is a little bit better than last week.

Had a bit of trouble with the new Garmin. Instead of getting the whole workout on one report, I ended up with seven separate reports -- one for each lap and the warm up (and I forgot to re-set on one). So what is below is just the final lap. The rest are on the Garmin site.

Conditions:

Map & Details: Garmin Connect
Hour: 6:30 p.m.
Surface: track
Weather: clear
Temperature: 105 degrees
Humidity: 17 percent
Wind: none
Location: Marcos de Niza High School, Tempe, Arizona
Shoes: Mizuno Wave Inspire 6
Sin Musica

Injury update: Very very creaky and a little bit sore. My back was also pretty uncomfortable for about half of the workout.

saturday, august 21, 2010

Trail Run

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 1:01:21
Pace: 10:13 m/mi

Comments: I felt pretty good with the run yesterday and really wanted to get a decent workout in so I decided to start the long runs for strength early. So I got up really early and headed down to South Mountain to hit the trail.

As I got started it was pretty evident pretty fast that I'm starting all over again on this. I was feeling the incline in the first half mile and it didn't get any easier from there.

I decided to just go all in and take on the National Trail incline at the start. The whole way up I just kept reminding myself of how much worse the hike in the Abancay Valley on the way to Choquequirao was over the summer.

On the ascent I had pretty good focus and strength but two thirds of the way in I was just doing what I could to finish. Mind wandering and pace all over the place. I never had to stop and rest but I wasn't setting the world on fire either. I ended up finishing more than six minutes slower than the last time I did this run. Ooof.

Overall it was a pretty solid run for my first time back on the trail. I'd chalk the rough performance up to nutrition as much as lack of conditioning. We'll see if that can improve soon enough.

Conditions:

Map & Details: Garmin Connect
Hour: 6:30 a.m.
Surface: dirt
Weather: partly cloudy
Temperature: 86 degrees
Humidity: 42 percent
Wind: none
Location: National Trail & Mormon Trail, South Mountain Park, Phoenix, Arizona
Shoes: Nike Zoom Waffle Racer IV
Sin Musica

Injury update: No real issues at all.