Cool Runnings!

Well, I was shooting for 7 miles today to start off the week.  Was bothered almost the entire run by severe intestinal cramps (that led to you-know-what, but thankfully not until the end of my run).  The pace felt good, but the cramps forced me to change my running form to be a bit more compact.  Warmed up for a mile in 8:20, then ran a couple miles at about 8:05 pace.  Picked up the tempo a bit more, ran the 4th mile in 7:31 (MP).  Slowed down, decided to cut the run a bit short due to the GI issues.  During the last mile, my left calf (soleus) was complaining a little bit, not much - just a few twinges - but enough to make me glad I was cutting the run short.  Finished the run at the corner gas station about 1/4 mile from our house - just in time.  Walked back home and then stretched out my calves before going inside.  Average pace for the run was 8:08/mile.  I am not sure what caused the GI distress, although it may have been the change in sports drink.  I have been drinking Gatorade Rain, which I really like for the taste and how easy it is on my stomach.  Last nght I had a few gulps of powerade, and I drank more this morning before my run, then finished off the bottle afterwards (32 oz bottle).  It would seem that my stomach and GI tract do not like all the dyes in the powerade I drank.  I honestly can't think of anything else, as I was fasting yesterday, an we made our standard Sunday dinner of 1/2 white, 1/2 wheat pancakes and eggs, plus I had some milk.  I'll see how I feel tomorrow and will make sure to take it easy on my run - no pickups, just nice easy pace.  If I feel better tomorrow, I will get an extra 1/2 mile in on Wednesday.

Felt MUCH better this morning.  When I talked with my wife yesterday, others in our famiyl were experiencing the same issues, so maybe it wasn't the powerade - but I still like the taste of Gatorade Rain better.  7 easy miles this morning, fastest mile was 8:23, average pace was 8:29/mile. Don't have the total time right now but will get that when I get home from work.  All in all, very nice run.  Legs felt good, stomach felt good, weather was warm but not too warm - low 80's - that's pretty good for July weather in Arizona.  Feeling good about my training again, will plan on 7.5 tomorrow.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Ran 7.5 miles this morning.  Woke up a little later than normal, since I didn't have to go to work today, again no pickups or tempos in the middle of the run - just wanted to take it easy again.  Average pace of 8:18/mile, little faster than yesterday, but it felt good.  Fastest mile was 8:13, slowest mile was 8:26 (running into a headwind).  To me that is a pretty consistent pace.  I'm grateful to still be healthy, and feel like everything I'm doing is still helping me to prepare for St. George and beyond.  About the only thing I still need to do is to work on improving my diet a bit more. 

Ran 7.0 miles on the treadmill this evening.  Did not get to bed early enough last night, so I decided to sleep in rather than go through the day sleep deprived.  Warmed up at 7 mph, then did 1.5 miles at 7.5 mph.  Was feeling good, decided to do a little tempo to break things up.  Ran the next 3 miles at 8 mph.  Felt good, definitely could have kept on going at this pace.  Slowed back to 7.5 mph for 1.75 miles, then cooled down the last .25 miles at 7 mph.  Treadmill was at 1.0 incline the entire run.  Total time for the run was 54:57, average pace for the run was 7:51/mile.  I will have to see how I feel tomorrow - my plan is to run in the morning, as my evening is pretty full.

Ran 6.0 miles this morning - decided to cut the run short as I was pressed for time and because I had run yesterday evening at about 8:00.  Took a litte while to get going and find my rhythm, but was able to maintain a pretty steady pace.  Total time was 49:57, average pace of 8:19/mile.  Looking forward to my long run tomorrow morning.

Ran 8 miles in the morning in Los Lunas, NM. The run felt pretty good. Nothing remarkable, although I did run to music this morning just to make the run more enjoyable. I gotta get me a shuffle (or shuffle clone). The last 1/2 mile of the run was up a major hill. Pushed it up the hill, this was the only time during the run when I started breathing harder. Got back to our hotel and met up with Libby to run another 3 easy miles. It was quite enjoyable to run with her, we got to talk, and it made the miles go by pretty fast. Not to mention the enjoyable company . . . :)

Total time for the 8 mile run was 1:06:58, average pace of 8:19/mile. Perhaps a bit faster than I had planned on, but I guess the important thing was that it felt good.

Total time for the 3 mile run was 32:54, average pace of 10:59/mile. Nice and easy, very comfortable conversational pace.

I am excited that I was able to get to up to 45 miles for the week this week.  The plan is to do 7 miles during the week next week, and then run a 14-15 miler on Saturday to get me at 49-50 miles for next week.  It is pretty amazing to see the miles finally getting up there for me.  And the most exciting thing for me is that I still feel great, no injuries.  Woohoo!

Ran 7 miles on the treadmill this evening.  Did not have the opportunity to run in the morning, as I had to get up super early.  The run felt good, no soreness in my legs.  Started off easy at 8:34 pace, then increased to 8:00 pace.  Decided to make a tempo run of it to spice things up, after 2 miles, increased the pace to 7:30/mile.  Still felt good, I felt like I could have kept the pace for quite a while.  After a mile, increased to about 7:04 pace for one mile, then slowed back down to 7:30 pace for 2 miles, then slowed down for the last mile.  Total time was 54 and change (don't remember the exact time, too lazy to go look at the treadmill).  I am super excited that things are going so well for me and that I continue to remain healthy.

Ran 7 miles this morning outside.  It was warm and humid.  Monsoon season is starting soon, which will make it miserable to run outside, even in the morning.  Tried to keep the pace nice and easy, but I found myself drifting towards 8:00 pace and had to keep correcting myself to slow down.  Total time for the run was 58:39 (I think), average pace was 8:23/mile.  The effort felt harder than the pace, probably due to the heat and humidity.  I think that tomorrow I need to focus on running based on perceived effort instead of focusing on a specific pace.  This may help me to slow down a bit and just take it easy.

Ran 7 miles this evening.  It was still pretty hot - in the upper 90's, and it has been getting more humid here due to monsoon season arriving.  In spite of the weather, I decided to try an experiment on Lybi's words (he he), and consciously focused on a shorter, quicker stride, with a light footstrike.  I also focused on a more compact form today, with my shoulders lower and more relaxed, and my hands down by my hips.  The combination felt very good.  I just wanted to do a nice easy run, but found myself in a groove just over 8:00/mile.  I decided, what the heck, I'll go with it, it feels good.  I decided to put in a MP mile on the third mile, and ended up with a 7:17 - exactly what I would need to run if I decide to do a BQ at St. George (which I am still undecided about).  Slowed back down, hit the next three miles in about 8:12.  Then sped up a bit at the end of the run to bring it in hard, finished in 55:46, average pace of 7:58/mile.  This was one of those runs where everything seemed to click, and my body felt good right from the start.  Hope to have more of these. 

Ran 7 miles in the evening.  Decided to do a test, and ran with my HRM instead of with the Garmin, since I knew the distance of the route.  With the increase in fitness, I was expecting my HR to be much lower than the last time I had measured it.  Surprise - it was actually about the same, although my pace has increased since then.  Total time for the run was 57:53, average pace of 8:16/mile.  Average HR for the run was 163.  This was surprising to me, but then I talked with my wife about it and we agreed that this was probably due to the heat.  It was still about 100 degrees out, which means my body had to work harder.  I may do another HR test in the morning when it is a bit cooler to see what, if any, difference there is in my HR.

AM - ran 5 miles outside.  The weather was a bit cooler, but not much better than last night.  I was up a bit late, so I set my alarm to wake me up a bit later.  Therefore I did not have enough time in the morning to do the whole 7 mile run.  Ran with the Garmin (sorry - HAL) this morning.  Total time for the 5 mile run was around 39:25 (don't have HAL with me to confirm), average pace of 7:53/mile.  This run felt good, although it was a bit hard to find my rhythm.  I kept finding my pace increasing to about 7:30-7:40/mile without intending to, and would have to conciously slow down.  I plan on runnng a couple more miles this evening to get the entire 7 miles in today, then I have a 14-miler scheduled for tomorrow.  I think I will do a nice warmup to the HS track (3.5 miles), then do a 7 mile tempo run on the track, and then a nice easy run back to the house.  I will have to make sure I get up nice and early to avoid the heat.

PM - ran another 2 miles outside.  Knowing this was going to be a short run, my body said "lets get it over with".  Ran both miles at or below MP (factoring in the heat), 1st mile was 7:27, 2nd mile was 6:56 (oops - a bit too fast).  I could tell at the end I was running a bit hard - the breathing was more labored than normal.  Total time was 14:24, average pace of 7:12/mile.  We'll see what I do tomorrow on my long run.

Ran 13 miles this morning.  Got up early (4:00 am), ran to the track (2.71 miles) at a nice, easy pace, about 8:45/mile.  Stretched, drank some gatorade, had a powergel, then started my tempo run.  Ended up only doing 4 MP miles - I think my legs were still feeling the effects of my run last night, and I didn't want to push it too hard.  MP miles were as follows:

Mile 1: 7:44 (just getting into a rhythm)

Mile 2: 7:20

Mile 3: 7:16

Mile 4: 7:18

Took a break, drank some more gatorade, then finished up at a nice easy pace at the track.  Average pace of about 8:25/mile.  Then headed home, still averaging about 8:20/mile or so.  Total time was 1:46:20, average pace of 8:10/mile.  I was shooting for 14 this morning, but my legs and body just said no more.  I will try to get in one more mile later today to hit my goal.

Ran 7 easy miles this morning.  Woke up tired, took me a bit to get going on the run.  After about a mile, I was able to settle into a pretty good rhythm.  Total time for the run was 57:39, average pace of 8:14/mile.  Glad I got out to run this morning, rather than in the evening.  It is still too hot in the evening, even at 9:00.  I need to work on getting to bed early enough this week.  Nothing much else to talk about - nothing special about this run.  I intend to make this entire week an easy week in terms of pace - no tempo runs, just get in the mileage.  Planning on 50+ miles this week - I am absolutely amazed at how I have gotten here.

Ran 8 miles this morning.  I did not quite get to bed at 9:30, but I did get to bed by 9:45.  I figure that was pretty good.  Woke up early, felt better than yesterday.  Started off easy, then picked up the pace after about a mile to around 8:15/mile.  It was hot and sticky this morning, about 90 degrees, and humidity was higher as well.  My legs got kind of tired towards the end, probably from the combination of heat and humidity, but I slogged on to finish the entire 8 miles.  Glad I finished.  I am planning on doing 8 the rest of this week as well, and will plan on 12-13 on Saturday to get me over 50 for the week.  Total tme for the run was 1:06:23, average pace of 8:18/mile.

Ran 6 miles this morning.  Got out the door a little late, and decided that it might be time to change to two runs per day, ratherthan trying to get in all the miles at one time. I think I would still prefer to get in the bulk of the miles in the morning, due to the cooler weather, and am still undecided about the idea, but right now I am thinking that I may do around 5-6 miles in the morning, and then 2-3 miles in the evening.  We will have to see how that works out.  I will definitely be putting in a couple miles this evening to get in at least 8 miles for the day.  Total time this morning was 48:25, average pace of 8:04/mile.  The run felt good, it seemed to be a tad cooler this morning - certainly felt less sticky than yesterday.  I did get a fairly good amount of sleep as well - got to bed by 10:00.  I would still like to get to bed a bit earlier - 9:30 is a good goal for me, I think.

PM - ran an additional 2.05 miles this evening - temperature was 108 degrees, took it easy.  Body did not get overheated, because it was only 2 miles, and on the way back, I was grateful for a headwind, even thought it felt hot.  Total time for the 2.05 miles was 17:19, average pace of 8:27/mile.  Believe it or not, that felt like it was easy.  The biggest indication it was really hot outside was when I came back in and started sweating like a pig. 

AM - Ran 7 miles this morning - the alarm went off at 4:30, and I hit the snooze until 4:45.  Once I got up, I felt very awake.  Due to a lack of time, I ran 7 instead of 8 miles, and may try to get in a couple more this evening - we will see.  The run felt good today - it was still warmer than I like, and the humidity was higher, but my average pace has been continuing to increase, even on the longer runs, without any extra effort on my part.  I am confident this means that my aerobic fitness is continuing to improve.  Total time for the run today was 56:25, average pace of 8:04/mile.  I stepped up the tempo for the last mile and ended up running around MP for the last mile.

PM - Ran 2 miles this evening - temperature was 104 degrees, a little cooler than yesterday, but not much.  As I was running, I could see a big storm coming - Hallelujah!  Total time for the run was 15:54, average pace of 7:57/mile.  Glad I was only running 2 miles.  I had not yet had dinner, as I had Webelos Scouts at 6, and didn't want to eat right before I ran.  Could feel my stomach growling as I was running - bad tummy!  (j/k).  I think I am going to continue to follow this plan of splitting my runs.  This will allow me to wake up a little later (4:50 instead of 4:30), and put less stress on my body at one time. 

AM - ran 6 easy miles.  We had a nice thunderstorm last night, and it cooled things down a little bit this morning.  Started out my run, warmed up the first mile, then settled into my pace.  This was another one of those runs where I couldn't quite find my rhythm, and I realized towards the end that even though it was a bit cooler, it was also quite a bit more humid (found out on the radio on the way to work that the humidity was 54% - this is way humid for Arizona!).  Legs felt kind of dead after about 4 miles although I was not pushing the pace.  Kept going, finished the run in 49:03, average pace of 8:11/mile.  Will plan on doing another 2-3 miles this evening - I will make sure they are VERY easy so I don't wear myself out for tomorrow's long run.  Good luck to all those who are running Draper Days.

PM - ran another 2.1 easy miles.  Weather was a bit nicer - only 102 today!  Took it easy, but found my pace was faster than I had wanted even though I was trying to run slow.  Had dinner at 5:30 - I could feel my dinner a little bit, althogh I tried to eat a light dinner, and will eat a little more later tonight.  Total time was 17:00 exactly for the 2.1 mile run, average pace of 8:06/mile.  At least it was slower than yesterday's 2 mile run . . . :)  Looking forward to my long run tomorrow, during which I plan to focus on running around 8:30/mile.  Also looking forward to getting my final Harry Potter book!  No, I am not standing in line at one of the bookstores, waiting for the 12:01 release - I will get mine delivered tomorrow (sometime), and plan on immediately sitting down and starting to read.  Should be a nice, relaxing day.  Only other thing I need to do is to take my car to get the oil changed.  I will drop it off in the morning as soon as the shop opens and hope it will be done in a couple of hours (I don't believe in paying 35.00 for an oil change, I either take it to a place I know that does it for about 15.00 and also rotates the tires and checks the brakes, or I will take it to a place where I know we have a couple free oil changes coming.

Sasha - I thought of another idea for the blog - maybe you could make a way to restart the mileage counter on the trainers and racers to account for new shoes replacing old ones . . . 

Ran 12 miles this morning - it was cooler from another storm last night, but boy was it MMMUUUUGGGYYY!  Took it easy, first four miles averaged about 8:30/mile, which took me to the track.  Stretched out at the track, ran another 4 miles on the track.  Averaged about 8:20 for the first 3 miles, then picked up the pace and did my last mile at the track at MP - 7:30.  This was pretty much the point where I realized it was pretty muggy outside - my shorts and running shirt were both soaked.  I took off my shirt, and it felt like it weighed about 5 pounds.  Ran back home, trying to take it easy, because I realized I was probably a bit dehydrated, and my legs were pretty tired, no matter how hard I tried, the pace stayed around 8:20-8:30/mile.  Got home, guzzled down the rest of my gatorade, then went and weighed myself - 162.6 - this is a new low for me.  I haven't been at that weight since I was first married.  I am guessing I probably lost about 4 pounds on this run, although I didn't weigh myself before I went out.  I was exhausted after this run - I attribute this to the weather, and not to my fitness.  Hit my weekly mileage goal of 52 - woohoo!  Next week I will put in a long run of 16 miles - this will be my longest run of the year so far.  Things are really coming together for me.

Ran 5 easy miles this morning.  Did not get quite enough sleep - I will need to work to make sure I get extra sleep tonight.  Weather was very muggy - mid-80's and close to 50 percent humidity.  Not enjoyable at all.  Started out slowly, gradually got into a nice rhythm by the end of the first mile.  Total time for the run was 40:18, average pace of 8:04/mile.  I felt fine on the run, but I could definitely feel the humidity.  Even though I love monsoon season here for all the rain which we desparately need, it is hard to get excited about runnng when it is so humid.  50% humidity here is like 100% humidity in the midwest or east coast.  Planning on getting in a couple more miles this evening.

AM - ran 6 miles this morning.  Still muggy out, but not too bad.  Got a little more sleep last night than the night before, but was still kinda groggy when I got up.  It took me less time this morning to slip into my rhythm - just a little more than 1/4 mile.  Ended up running a bit faster than I had anticipated,but it still felt good to me.  Lungs didn't have a problem with the pace, legs felt pretty good as well.  Total time was 47:37, average pace of 7:56/mile.  Feeling pretty good about my fitness - I think I will continue to see my pace increase naturally as my fitness increases.  Will plan on running again this evening to make sure I get in my miles.

PM - ran 2 miles in the evening.  Temperature was lower than normal due to storms during the day - only 95!  I am certain it was lower than that at 7:00.  Ended up running faster than I had planned - seems to be the story of my life - ran the first mile in 7:58, second mile in 7:16.  Total time was 15:15, average pace of 7:38/mile.  I still managed to keep my normal breathing rhythm, but I could tell the pace felt a little fast.  Will try to maintan an easier pace tomorrow to take it easy on my body. 

AM - ran 6 easy miles in the morning.  Made a conscious effort to run a bit slower today to give my body a bit of a break.  Felt a little out of sync, although I was able to keep the pace about 20 seconds slower than yesterday.  Total time was something like 49:36, average pace of 8:16/mile.  Not much else to report - will put in a couple more miles this evening.

PM - ran 2.05 miles with the boys in our double jogging stroller.  All 3 boys plus the weight of the jogging stroller meant I was pushing around 120 pounds.  We had a terrific storm this afternoon I would have loved to go out and run in, but didn't have the chance.  But it felt good running with the boys, although it was incredibly humid - I was sweating buckets.  Total time was 17:14, average pace of 8:24/mile for the run.  Not too bad, considering the weight I was pushing :)

AM - ran 6 easy miles.  Right lower leg was a little sore - probably from trying to push a car up our driveway - the car of the parent of one of Libby's piano students had died, and it was raining pretty hard, so we didn't want to try and jumpstart it in the rain.  Unfortunately, the car was too heavy.  Took things a bit easier today - at least for the first 3 miles, then the pace picked up a bit.  Total time was 48:47, average pace of 8:08/mile.  Last 3 miles were all sub-8:00.  It was extremely humid again this morning - gotta love that monsoon season.  I do love the rain that it produces (seems like more than last year), but I don't especially like the humidity when we are not used to it.  Will plan on doing another 3 miles this evening to give me 9 total.

PM - ran 3 miles.  Right lower leg still a little sore/tight - will ice it, stretch it and rub it down tonight.  No rain tonight - bummer :(  but the weather was still pretty nice, although still very humid.  Took off, and started with an 8:01 mile.  Then sped up for the next two miles - 7:37, 7:32 (I will count these as MP miles).  I know I picked it up the last 1/4 mile, but overall the run felt good.  Puts me at 9 miles for the day.  8-9 miles tomorrow, and then 16 EASY miles on Saturday.  I have to keep telling myself easy in the hope that I will slow down a little.  Gotta order me some Clif bars - although there are stores here that stock Clif bars, none of them stocks my all-time favorite flavor - blueberry crisp.  Whoever thought of that flavor was a genius.

AM - ran 6 easy miles in the morning.  My right lower leg was still a bit tight, but in keeping with a promise I made to Libby last night, I took it easy, and averaged 8:30 miles for the run.  Total time for the run was 51:00, exactly 8:30 pace.  Legs felt OK, lungs felt fine during the run, but my upper body felt prett stiff.  That's what I get for trying to push a car up our driveway the other day.  After my run, I stretched out and showered, and by the time I got to work, my back was really sore.  I must have done something to do it when I was trying to push that car.  I went to the chiropractor this morning, and it feels a bit better, but still not normal.  I have a heat pack on it right now, and will use the heating pad this evening.  I may or may not run the extra 2 miles this evening, depending on how I am feeling, and I will have to see how I feel tomorrow morning to determine whether I will do the entire 16 miles or not.  If I run this evening, it will probably be on the treadmill (Libby gets to go out with some friends).

No running today - back hurts too much from trying to move that stupid car.  I went and saw my chiropractor again, and he said that everything was out but my head . . . after the treatment, my back feels a little better, but definitely not normal yet.  I am going to wait until the pain is gone before resuming my training.  Even if I lose a couple of days of training, I am certain it will not affect my long-term training for St. George and beyond.

Well, another day of no running - back is still hurting me quite a bit.  Believe me, I have learned my lesson about trying to push cars.  Went to the chiropractor again, and everything was out again, including my head.  Got an adjustment, feeling better, but still will take it easy today and maybe tomorrow (until the pain is either gone or negligible).

Yay!  My back is finally feeling good enough to run again!  I was thinking about this as I ran today, and I have the feeling that running helped me in two ways:

1) The increase in my health and fitness may have lessened the extent of the injury

2) It may have also hastened the healing process (although I am positive that the chiropractic visits didn't hurt either - just no cracks about my head not being on right . . .)

Just did 3 miles this evening to loosen things up again and get into the flow.  Worked on making them easy miles.  I also ran in new socks today - they are very comfy!  Total time for my run today was 24:44, average pace of 8:15/mile, and that was with the last 1/4 mile at about MP.  I feel good (dah dah dah dah dah dah dah), I knew that  I would . . . so nice (dah dah), so nice (dah dah), (dah dah dah dah dah dah, <primal scream>)!  Boy, this is scary, I'm just giddy to be running again, and after only 3 days enforced inactivity!