M'kay

2 mile easy run warmup in 15:06, 7:32/mi, HR 161, w/ 0.5 threshold effort.  

Hard race.  Still feeling a bit of the effects of the stomach bug I caught a couple days ago, but mostly recovered.  1st mile in about 5:45, including ratcheting it back at the 0.5 mile mark, so I went out too fast.  Really hurting the last 2.1 miles...no real kick at the end.  Not sure on time yet....didn't manage to hit the watch right away and the times aren't yet posted.  But it definitely was a PR.  A good reminder of how much 5Ks can hurt!

Did get to meet fellow blogger Jeff just before the race, thanks to FRB jackets we were both wearing (evidently, he can run and pay attention to his surroundings at the same time).  He won the 5 miler....by what looked like a mile and a half.  Wow.

Official results finally published.  18:31...a PR by 7 seconds.  Now I need to run another when I'm not sick.  Waah.

LM warmup (10 reps), 4 miles in 30:33, 7:38/mi, HR 153, 2.5 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches Ladder (6 steps), & stretching.

Back to being sick.  After the race yesterday, the head draining started in the afternoon and got steadily worse overnight.  Figured the nice easy 6 mile run on the schedule would be okay to help clear out the head, but by mile 2, I realized my HR was way too high for the pace and the effort was climbing, so I cut things short at 4 miles.  No aches or pains again (yet?) but somehow I doubt a long run tomorrow is a good idea.  About the only good news is that this probably did affect my 5K race yesterday....the 18:30-ish time I got wasn't exactly what I'd hoped for, and after a strong first mile, things got really difficult.  I don't think the results really reflect my fitness that well. 

Oh, and my right knee is bugging me a bit.  Have had some off/on mild pain the last few days, that seems to have subsided for now.  Hope it goes away with this cold or whatever it is.

LM warmup (10 reps), 9.04 miles in 1:08:01, 7:31/mi, HR 154, 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches Ladder (6 steps), & stretching.

Still a sore scratchy throat and some drainage, so decided to just go run whatever felt okay today instead of 20.  Probably could've done the whole thing and set myself back again in the process, but 9 felt pretty decent.  Right hamstring still has some soreness and the mysterious right knee pain showed up for miles 6 thru 8.  Then there were the 2 dogs that a woman was walking without leashes that accosted me....not a huge deal as they just circled around jumping up and down, but one jumped pretty high and I think it was a tooth that managed to graze my forearm.  The small amount of blood wasn't a big deal, but it left a half-dollar sized welt that is pretty sore right now. 

Back to feeling like crap, so no running today.  This is the strangest cold....seems to fade and then return, fade and return.  So I'm going to take a couple days off for the greater good to attempt to shed this thing permanently.  Not running today will be easy, since all the symptoms are in full bloom.....again.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:01:41, 7:42/mi, HR 166, w/ 12 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 1 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (6 steps), & stretching.

Still sick but past the sore throat and muddled mind stage and into the coughing up a lung stage, so figured I'd give it a go.  Wow.  Either my legs aren't processing O2 very well, or I've lost 6 months of fitness in 3 days.  HR was sky high, hill repeats were nigh impossible as my legs felt like lead.  Even my left hip, which has been pretty trouble free for a while, was giving me grief, especially on the hill sprints.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 46:30, 7:45/mi, HR 154, w/ 2 x Strides/Drills, PU/Crunches ladder (6 steps), & stretching.

HR a bit better than yesterday, but the effort remains high.  Legs feel trashed by the 3 mile mark.  Obviously punted on the scheduled workouts.....just trying to get back into some running without getting sicker again.  Really think it's doubtful I'll be up for a long run on Sunday, so marathon plans definitely in jeopardy.

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 45:41, 7:37/mi, HR 155, 2 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (6 steps), & stretching.

Sunny and 56F.  Crazy nice out.   Really tried to keep the effort easy today, regardless of the pace, so I was pleasantly surprised at the pace.  Legs still feeliing like they're suffering thru the run, and the pain in the left knee sporadically returned, but I think things are getting better.  Unfortunately, the cough is worse and I woke up several times during the night.  Resorted to a salt water sinus flush today....very unpleasant but it seems to have helped the head a bit.  Wonder if I might do my scheduled long run workout tomorrow?

LM warmup (10 reps), 18 miles in 2:33:05, 8:30/mi, HR 156, 2.5 mile walk w/ dogs, & stretching.

More gorgeous weather, partly sunny in the upper 50s.  Decided to alter today's scheduled workout (18 miles @ 10% off MP) to account for recent training downturn from illness.  Plus, the pain in my right knee had me a bit worried about pounding the pavement for 18 miles, so I decided to run to and in the UW Pack Forest.  Most of the run was either single or double track, with very challenging elevation changes and terrain (especially on the single track), so I knew pacing was out the window.  Really, I just wanted to get 18 miles in and to work at it.  Running the Hugo Peak trail helped.....1000' gain in 2 miles on a steep muddy but scenic mess.  A few picture and map consultation stops broke up the run.  The knee felt decent while running, but was a bit painful immediately after restarts and on the walk w/ the dogs.  A fun afternoon.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:01:54, 7:44/mi, HR 154, w/ 15 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 1 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder, & stretching.

 Warm with a rain shower (54F).  Tired from yesterday.  Right knee pain persists....believe it's a tight ITB.  Worst on miles 4-6, better after the hill sprints.  Started icing it today every couple of hours and will put some increased emphasis on stretching....my hamstrings have gotten tight again.  So tight that I've been waking up with a sore back, a sure sign I keep forgetting about.  Hope I can keep the knee pain under control so that training isn't completely derailed.

LM warmup (10 reps), 9.75 miles in 1:10:19, 7:13/mi, HR 159, with 3 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 15 min @ MP (6:43/mi), 1 min easy, 15 min @ HM/10K (6:23/mi), 2 mile cooldown (last 1.75 on treadmill), PU/Crunches ladder (6 steps), & stretching.

50F & rainy.  Aggressive icing last 24 hours significant help to right knee....no pain to start and only some minor feelings of looming discomfort at times during the run.  However, left hip was feeling sore today and given that I'm still not completely over the cold (still have cough and congestion) and lost a good week of training, decided to scale back the scheduled workout from 3 x 15 min repeats (MP, HM, HM/10K) to 2 x 15 min repeats (MP, HM/10K) with a shorter cooldown.   Actually, reducing the cooldown was because I was soaked and unmotivated to continue running in the rain, and because I wanted to give the legs a break from the pounding on asphalt, so I moved onto the treadmill, which I despise, so I conveniently dropped 1 mile from the cooldown.

All in all, a good workout and probably the correct amount to do.  More icing of the knee to follow today and increased stretching and self-massage should help bring the legs around.

LM warmup (10 reps), 12 miles in 1:25:34, 7:07/mi, HR 156, w/ last 6 miles Moderate, PU/Crunches ladder (6 steps), 3 x hip abductors, & stretching.

Managed to get completely soaked and cold in the run....rain started around mile 4 and steadily increased to a windy cold rain.  Very glad I decided on the tights instead of shorts today.  Felt good on the run.  Legs a bit tired from yesterday, but almost no noticable right knee discomfort, easy and moderate paces both nearly back to where they were before the illnesses set in late in Dec.  Perhaps my training plan hasn't been completely derailed.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 59:34, 7:26/mi, HR 153, w/ 15 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 2 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (6 steps), abductor leg raise (3 steps), & stretching.

Felt tired but good today.  Left hip still a bit troublesome but didn't impact stride.  All of the hill repeats felt good and strong, even the first ones.....rare.  Legs started tiring for the last few....expected.  Rained on....again.

LM warmup (10 reps), 10.34 treadmill miles in 1:27:18, 8:27/mi, w/ 4 mile warmup, 5 x 3 min Hill Repeats @ Incline=15 & same distance jog, 2.5 mile cooldown.

Idiot run.  I can say that because I'm the idiot, it's my blog, and I ran.  Faced with yet another miserable weather day outside with gusty & rainy conditions, I decided to use the treadmill to run my hill repeat workout.  Problem was, I did no preparation whatsoever.  The critical piece of data I was missing was what incline should I use, and I defaulted to the max on my particular treadmill (15), being a guy and all.

My repeats were 0.41, 0.39, 0.38, 0.37, 0.37 miles, respectively.  Repeat 1 was sheer agony by 1:30 when I frantically started mashing the slower button to try to last the full 3 minutes.  Figuring I'd pushed a bit too hard, I scaled back for repeat 2, which didn't help.  I actually had to grab the supports in the latter parts of repeat 3 and 5.  Of them all, 4 wasn't so bad, but that could be because I was losing consciousness, I'm not sure.  The guy in me also wouldn't let me get away with running any less than 5, nor with reducing the incline from 15.

So after the run, I perused Brad Hudson's book to see what he says about inclines for Hill Repetitions.  4-6 percent.  Oops.  Then I looked in my copy of Daniels running formula to figure out what kind of flat pace I'd been running at those speeds and at that incline.  ~4:59/mi for the first to around 5:20/mi for the last, give or take a lung.  Not exactly what I was supposed to be aiming for.  Which is why I'm an idiot. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 44:26, 7:24/mi, HR 151, 2 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (6 steps), Abductor leg raises (3 sets), & stretching.

Cloudy and cool but dry today.  Nice easy run.  Not feeling too bad after yesterday's overdone treadmill hill session.

LM warmup (10 reps), 16.41 miles in 2 hours, 7:18/mi, HR 153, w/ 1 hour easy, 10 x 90 sec MP/90 sec easy, 30 min easy.  2 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (6 steps) w/ abductor leg raises on 3 rungs, & stretching.

Left shin (inside) painful last night and today.  Iced it before the run, which helped.  Plenty of equipment malfunctions to deal with....mostly trying to get music into my bluetooth headphones.  I rarely run with music, so there were plenty of bugs to be worked out, causing several stops while I fiddled with my phone.  In the end, I just gave up and was treated to stretches of music and silence.  Oh well.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:00:16, 7:32/mi, HR 145, w/ 15 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 3 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

More left (inner) shin and right knee pain.  Same right knee experience after last week's long run.....new pain on wakeup, worse towards miles 3 - 5, not bad on hill sprints, and nothing on the walk.  Not sure how I wound up running 7:30-ish pace today....really kept things easy on the uphills.  Maybe I need an extra rest day to heal these nagging pains.

LM warmup (10 reps), 19.44 recumbent cycling miles in 60 minutes (L4/5), 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (6 steps) w/ 3 x abductor leg raises, & stretching.

Tried to run today but experienced some significant left shin pain immediately, so I opted for the dog walk & time on the bike.  Even the walk got a bit painful towards the end, but not too badly.  Continued icing.

22.61 recumbent cycling miles in 70 minutes, with 20 minute warmup (Level 5), 30 minutes simulating Ladder repeats (1-2-3-2-1-2-3) with 1 on Level 12, 2 on Level 10, 3 on Level8, recovery Level 4, 20 minutes cooldown (Level 5).  PU/Crunches ladder (6 steps) w/ 3 x Abductor leg raises, & stretching.

Still no running....left calf seemed to hurt worse, but I think that's an illusion.  Hope to run easy tomorrow and still manage the 10K on Saturday.  We shall see...

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 46:16, 7:42/mi, HR 160, w/ 6 strides, 1 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (6 steps), 3 x Abductor leg raises, & stretching.

Left shin pain remains, but I decided to try a run.  Painful the first quarter mile then things loosened up and very little pain the rest of the way.  Worse on the downhills than anywhere else.  Did some good stretching and iced afterwards....will see how things react tonite and tomorrow.

Unfortunately, the 3 day layoff, even with the bike ride, put me in a hole.  The "easy" run today took way too much effort from my legs and my lungs.  My HR was a good 15-20 points higher than normal and 6 miles seemed like 15.  Doesn't look like I'll be racing that 10K tomorrow....even if I tried the time would be slow, so better to skip it and nurse my calf.

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 44:57, 7:29/mi, HR 154, 2 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (7 steps), 4 sets Abduction leg raises, & stretching.

Better run, leg the same.  Aggressively icing and stretching....no better, no worse.  Not sure what that means, but complete rest wasn't helping either.

LM warmup (10 reps), 20 treadmill miles in 2:34:24, 7:43/mi, HR 157, incline 1, w/ last 5 miles Moderate effort, & stretching.

Left shin still painful at times, so decided to try a treadmill run to leverage better cushioning.  That and the weather outside was windy, rainy, and just downright nasty.  No pain during the run at all (at least, not from the shin), although it did get tough the last 5 miles or so as my hip flexors started tightening up.  Treadmill running definitely works my hip flexors more than outside running does, but I was happy to get the 20-miler done.  Even the slower pace really doesn't bug me much....I'm in the "treadmill running is harder" crowd. 

Leg started hurting during the stretching afterwards but a good icing had it feeling decent again.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

LM (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:03:05, 7:53/mi, HR 145 w/ 15 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (7 sets), Leg Abduction ladder (4 sets), & stretching.

Finally a true easy effort run.  Left shin pain no more than a 2, but immediately afterwards hit 5.  More icing throughout the day....wondering if my new Asics 2150s are contributing to the problem?

LM warmup (10 reps), 12.06 miles in 1:30:37, 7:30/mi, HR 156, w/ 3 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 2 sets of 10 x 0.25K @ 3-5K pace/1 min jog with a complete rest jog between sets, 3 mile cooldown.  1 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (7 steps), Abduction leg raises (4 steps), & stretching.

Left shin a 0-3 for the morning, a 5 the first dozen yards or so, 0-2 throughout the run, and up to a 4 afterwards.  Repeats were supposed to be 5-10K pace, so a bit aggressive, but it felt good to get out and run fast again.  I think the shin is improving slowly, but just in case I'm headed to the doctor's office tomorrow evening to get his opinion.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:03:05, 7:53/mi, HR 146, 1 mile walk w/ dogs, & stretching.

Legs tired.  Left shin 0 before the run, 0-3 during the run, and 2-3 after.  Saw the doc, who confirmed shin splint.

LM warmup (10 reps), 9.54 miles in 1:11:14, 7:27/mi, HR 157, w/ 3 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 2 x 10 minute Tempo Interval @ HM/10K pace (repeat 1: 1.57 mi, 6:21/mi, HR 172, repeat 2: 1.62 mi, 6:09/mi, HR 175) with 2 minute rest/jog, 3 mile cooldown.  1.5 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (7 rungs), Leg Abduction (4 rungs), & stretching.

Didn't get out until late afternoon today.  Warmup felt okay, but stomach felt a bit off.  First repeat went well; felt easy until the last couple of minute.  Second repeat much harder and stomach wasn't feeling good at all.  Made it through and partway thru the cooldown and had to make a sudden pit-stop.  Left shin still hovering between 0 and 3.

LM warmup (10 reps), 6 miles in 47:32, 7:55/mi, HR 147, w/ 15 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 1 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches ladder (7 steps), Leg Abduction (4 steps), & stretching.

Tired today.  Shin pain between 3-5 the entire run.  First few hill sprints were tough to get going....last few legs felt completely spent. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 22 miles in 2:47:49, 7:37/mi, HR 152, w/ 5 x 3 min MP, 3 min easy at 1:45 mark, & stretching.

Cool with a constant drizzle.  2nd long run in 7 days, because tomorrow I'll be flying back east (which takes all day from Seattle).  Felt okay in the early going, keeping things easy.  By mile 10, my right arch was getting rubbed raw, so I stopped to try to adjust the shoe to minimize the abrasion, but finally resigned myself to losing a big chunk of skin by the end of the run.  MP efforts in the middle felt fine, with only the last one starting to feel a touch difficult.  Gel at mile 17.  Emergency pit stop at mile 18.5.  Last 4 miles were tough as I got pretty tired.  Feeling the effects of dehydration afterwards (no water during run).  These runs aren't exactly fun but they are necessary and do make marathoning manageable come race day.

Next week will likely see some reduced mileage to accomodate work and travel stresses. 

Off day traveling.