Again to the Well

my week home

2008-10-14T13:27:00.001-07:00

So during my week home I didn't really think a lot about running I just did it. I really needed it as an escape. I ran a lot of my old runs and it felt nice to run at sea level. I didn't wear my watch very much, I was more interested in just getting out and getting my head straight. I'll start keeping track again next week.

September 28th - October 4th

2008-09-29T11:19:00.001-07:00

Sunday - Clint and I headed out to do some mile repeats on our newly measured Saddlebrook loop. I really haven't run any measured loops for speed, save for the lake loop and i didn't really know how far it was at the time but I set a plan out nonetheless. The SB loop is a gradual down hill followed by a nice gradual uphill that usually gets a nice little headwind off the mountains. I kept telling myself not to start out too fast and get myself in debt but I ran my first loop in 5:06, the next in 5:04 and then seized up at the 1k mark of the third. The goal was 4x1mile with 3min rest at 5:20-5:25. I guess that didn't workout so well. I lost it mentally. After I dropped clint I just didn't stay focused and let up. I'll fix that next time around. 63 minutes total.

Monday - I wasn't sore at all from yesterdays screw up but I was planning on running easy today to recover so i did. I just added some drills in the middle. 61:15 total.

Tuesday - My right calf was a little tender today before the run but loosened up after about 20 minutes of nice easy running. I did 34 minutes very easy heading out on Coal Creek and then ran hard for 15 minutes on the way back before chilling in 62:26. I finished with some strides and 30 minutes of good deep stretching. Core & Strength in the evening.

Wednesday - I forgot my watch at work last night after lifting so i was stuck running without it today. No big deal really. I wasn't concerned about the time of the efforts today. I ran my Elderado hills today. The idea was to hit 5 hills at a good hard pace then run 40 minutes moderate after. It actually worked out pretty well. 65 minutes total.

Thursday - Very easy day today 71 minutes around rock creek. The area is nice and hilly so running easy is always a relative term. Strength & Core

Friday - Well my grandfather passed away this morning so I spent friday trying to get back to attend his service. I spent all day trying to get aboard aircraft and being stuck in airports and having lugage lost. Not really what I needed after getting bad news today. No run.

Saturday - I left my watch on my nightstand at my parents house and just went out and ran one of my old loops today. Requate Road around the HS and back. 12 miles the way I do it from my folks' place with one GIANT climb and some rollers. I was able to really hammer the run out and my body just felt great to be back to sea level. My head on the other hand was a mess. Spent the afternoon with my mom and cousins.

Summary - Bad news at the end of the week. I'll probably be running a lot next week to cope. I guess this is one of those situations where running away from a problem isn't a good thing but it will help.

September 21st - 27th

2008-09-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

Sunday - I'm back to 100% for sure. I ran a version of the airport loop for 78:29 minutes from the house.

Monday - It's so nice to be back on top of the world. South Rock Creek double loop through the hills for 64:51. Strength & Core

Tuesday - I headed back to Horizons today for some work on the lake loop (ok so it's not much of a loop and I don't know exactly how far it is). The plan was just to gain some confidence and not run myself stupid. I had planned 5 efforts starting at 4:15 and working my way down to 3:55 w/ 1 minute recovery. I actually handled it without any trouble going 4:16, 4:11, 4:06, 3:59, 3:56. I know the times don't really mean anything as I don't know how far the loop is but I'll take it as I never really felt like I was working hard until the last 2 and even then I was totally recovered by the time i started the next.

UPDATE: I measured Tuesdays lake loop and it's 1199m. I thought it was about 1200 and i was pretty damn close. That puts this workout starting at 5:45 and working to 5:25.

Wednesday - I woke up with some sore hammies but got them stretched out during the run and a very light set of drills without the plyo portion. 57 minutes total.

Thursday - Left hammy still tight and just ran an easy 71 minutes on Coal Creek.

Friday - So it's the end of September and now officially fall and yet it's 92 degrees a mile in the sky today. It wasn't a big worry to me because I worked out early today and did my elderado hill workout. I did 10 reps with a slow jog back down. I took a little extra rest between 8 and 9 (4 minutes instead of 2) as a dumptruck decided to make my suburban road it's domain so I decided to hammer the last two reps out. 68,68,68,68,68,68,67,66,64,60. I really hammered the last one. I didn't have anything else in the tank on that one. It eclipses the fastest 10th repeat I've done on that hill by 3 seconds.

Saturday - My stomach hurts. I must have eaten something bad. My legs weren't sore at all and I ran 67:12 nice and easy on Coal Creek.

Summary - Two good workouts this week. I was very happy with both of them even if they weren't super structured. I don't know how far either of the courses were but I'll compare times as I'll be using both the hill and the lake loop on a regular basis.

September 14 - 20

2008-09-28T13:08:00.000-07:00

Sunday - My foot feels better but it is very raw. I wasn't in great spirits today but hit 71 minutes from home. My right hip hurts a bit. That isn't a good sign as thats the one that hurt me in the past.

Monday - My hip feels better today. I was just really cranky yesterday and taking it out on myself. The foot is healed up to the point where it isn't raw any longer. I did a 68 minutes very easy run around Storage-tek complete with a few fence hops.

Tuesday - Drill/plyo day at the football field. My body feels much better but my throat hurts a bit. I hope I'm not getting what everyone else seems to be suffering through. 72 minutes total

Wednesday - My throat was still a bit sore when i woke up so I should have known something was up but I planned to meet Harrison for a threshold run at Horizon. I felt like crap on the warmup but decided to try. The workout couldn't have gone worse. We started out too fast and Harrison fell on the 2nd loop. It all went downhill from there. I must have freaked and took off on the second lap and ran myself into debt. My body didn't want to move any more so i finished the 3rd loop and just decided to lick my wounds. After i finished i started coughing and felt myself get sick during the cool down. As I type this I'm sitting here with a feaver and a really sore throat.

Thursday - I woke up feeling awful today. I called into work and just spent the day in bed.

Friday - I'm still feeling like shit but I went into work (I can't afford to miss 2 days right now). I still don't feel much better.

Saturday - OK I feel better today and headed out early for a nice easy run from home. I just ran in Rock Creek for 30 minutes. My legs felt really fresh but I didn't want to do anything stupid and wear myself down again.

Summary - OK what a shitty week. A botched workout and an illness.

September 7th - 13th

2008-09-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

Sunday - My right calf actually feels better after the run today then it did at the start. I wanted to go longer today but didn't trust it. I did an out and back on Coal Creek but went farther then I usually do. 76 minutes.

Monday - Calf feels pretty good today. It was tight for the first 10 minutes or so but I loosened up a bit. I headed out on the McCaslin to Coal Creek loop and finished by running down Tape Drive and looping around. 63:28.

Tuesday - Good effort today. I did drills down at the football field and they felt amazing. My legs are really were sharp. Total time 68:17

Wednesday - I actually ran with someone today. I hit up the trails up to the airport loop with Harrison for 60 minutes and added on afterwords. I felt great on the run but I think these Brooks I'm wearing are giving me blisters. 1:17:53.

Thursday - I woke up early and didn't have anything to do so I headed out for a 35 minute shakeout. My feet hurt. These shoes are really starting to hurt, they just aren't wide enough. I'm going to go get some new trainers this weekend. I met Harrison for a run in the PM we did 30 minutes then drills and plyos then 20 minutes more. I have a nasty blister on the bottom of my 2nd toe that has become raw and really painful.

Friday - My toe hurt really badly this morning and I actually limped around the gym for a while but it started to loosen up. I managed to find an old pair of trainers with a little life left and ran 45 minutes on the grass. I was bleeding by the end of the run.

Saturday - I was supposed to run with Harrison this morning in Boulder but i woke up and couldn't really flex or extend my toe. I bailed on him but it is feeling better now that it's loosened up a bit. I taped it up and ran for 65 minutes in the late afternoon. Strength & Core

Summary- My body felt really good until i managed to screw myself with a shitty stupid blister. Not really sure what happened but i ended up bleeding pretty badly.

August 31 - September 6

2008-09-05T12:07:00.000-07:00

Sunday - Extended Airport Loop. A bit smoother and faster this week then last week. My body still starts to want to crap out after about 70 minutes but I stayed smooth without stopping to stretch this week. 87:50.

Monday - Very nice, cool but windy day. Rock Creek to Interlocken west via trails. I felt great today and ended up running a bit harder then I had initially planned. 65:02. Strength/Core

Tuesday - Drills/Strides. I didn't have my watch but I was right around 60 minutes total. Plyo based drills felt a lot better this week.

Wednesday - I really wish they hadn't blocked off the gates on the Storagetek loop but I love the dirt loop there so I ran a double loop jumping the gates. Around 70 minutes (no watch again). Core.

Thursday - I found my watch finally. 30 minute run to the field 3 sets of drills 8 strides, run home 62 minutes total.

Friday - Out and back on Coal Creek 64 minutes. My calves are a little tight.

Saturday - Same run as yesterday, it's flatish so it's easier on my sore calves/achillies.

Summary - I'm not happy about my calf tightness. The right one is bothering me quite a bit. on the medial side of the soleus. Icing is helping a bit though.

August 24 - 30

2008-09-05T11:33:00.000-07:00

Sunday - Extended Airport loop which is quite hilly. I run this loop a lot and it's a little under 90 minutes. Today was first run of that length since my crash and I ran a little slower and finished up in 93:25. My legs started to tighten up around 70 minutes so i stopped and stretched a bit and felt fine coming home.

Monday - 48:18 Rock Creek neighborhood run. My calves were a bit tight from yesterdays hilly "long" run. Strength/Core training.

Tuesday - 64 minute out and back on Coal Creek. Calves are much better today.

Wednesday - Rock Creek run centered around drills & strides. 2 sets of basic drills 6 strides total time 68:12.

Thursday - Yesterday was my first day out of drills since the fall (that seems to be a theme right now) and my lower abs are very sore from the double ups as are my calves. I didn't want to do anything on any hard surface today so I ran 60 minutes easy on the grass. Felt much better after stretching out and an epsom salt bath.

Friday - Solid uptempo run in Interlocken (paved roads w/ almost no traffic that is pretty hilly). 15 minute warmup, hard 40minute including a good climb of around 10 minutes and 15 minute cool down. 70 min total. Strength/Core at Lakeshore.

Saturday - My hamstrings and calves are a bit tender but wow I feel great after working hard yesterday. I haven't done anything hard in a while so this was nice.

Summary - I had a great week overall. My body is going to have adapt to training as opposed to just running. I'm going to start filtering in more hard and long efforts over the next few weeks and start running structured workouts the week of the 14th.

UPDATE!!!

2008-09-05T11:22:00.001-07:00

OK so I guess people were actually reading this because I got some emails asking where my log has gone. Well the summer didn't go as well as I would have liked. As you can read back I crashed my bike pretty hard on the 4th of July. I took some time off and kept trying to bounce back and it never really seemed to feel right. I was suffering from headaches and a bit of nausea which I later realized was post concussion syndrome. My hip was bugging me a bit as well (I landed on it pretty hard and its got some sweet scars now). That being said everything feels a lot better now. I've built myself back up to start training again and I'll start updating again. My goal race for the fall was going to be a half marathon but as of now I don't have the the time to prep properly so I'll be focusing more on the indoor season to develop speed and utilize the strength I've gained by running a mile up.

July 6th - 12th

2008-07-13T09:42:00.000-07:00

Sunday - Yeah, so my fall was a bit worse then I initially thought. I'm having a bit of a hard time focusing and can't really read for more then a few minutes. I tried to take a nice warm bath today thinking that would help my sore hips but got really nauseated and almost passed out. I couldn't even fathom running today.

Monday - Another day much like yesterday on the running front. AKA, zip

Tuesday - I ran 30 minutes really easy on the treadmill at work. I didn't want to risk going out in the heat and bonking. I felt ok during but had a MASSIVE headache after.

Wednesday - I know how Ryan Church feels with his whole post-concussion syndrome. I couldn't imagine trying to play baseball like this. I'm trying not to throw up looking at my screen long enough to type this. 30 minutes at Lakeshore again.

Thursday - My wrist actually doesn't hurt as much today and I was able to play bass today. Still had the post run headache but it wasn't bad enough to make me want to puke. 30 minutes outside from home.

Friday - Wrist, hip and head feel a lot better. My eyes are no longer watering and I was able to pay attention at work today. I feel close to 90% but I still am a bit nervous. 45 minutes on the treadmill.

Saturday - OK, outside I go and what a beautiful day. I headed out early (i was asleep super early last night) and ran Coal Creek out and back. My legs feel great but the left psoas is a bit snug. It was by far the slowest run I've done on that out and back 68:12. I was just a bit aprehensive about pushing the effort.

Summary - I think this week speeks for itself. I'll be back to normal next week.

June 29th - July 5th

2008-07-11T07:52:00.000-07:00

Sunday - I wanted to sleep in this morning but ended up getting out for a nice early AM run on Colton Trail. 64:35 out and back. Felt great going up the hill but my stomach was a bit upset comming down.

Monday - My hamstrings were a little on the sore side today for some reason. I spent a bit stretching them before the run and they seemed to loosen up a bit. Nothing spectacular for a run just 65 minutes in the evening from the house wandering around in the dark.

Tuesday - Today was very hot but I got out early enough to get a solid effort in without killing myself. I ran really early AM out around Interlocken which is roads but very hilly. Started out pretty comfortable and hammered the last 35 minutes or so. 57:34 total.

Wednesday - AM Drills. I've added some carioca and Russians to my drill package and I'm now doing 3x30y of everything but the frog hops and double ups which are 20y. 35 minutes.
PM 42:50 from the house running on the course for Friday for a few efforts down the hill. 2xstrides on the flat then 3x400 on the course from the 1/2 mark to the 3/4 with a jog up for rest. 61, 59, 58.

Thursday - Solid run out on Coal Creek in the AM. 59:30 total. I never was running hard but the time was solid.

Friday - So yeah the race i was talking about the other day. Clint talked me into running this downhill mile. I haven't run a fast mile since May 2006 and haven't really raced since either. I don't really count that 15k at the rez as i wasn't training and just ran it to wake my ass back up. The race went as well as can be expected. Clint was there on my bike and gave me my 1/2 split and the finish. I was running in back of the lead pack through 1/2 mile then it started to split up a bit. I went through in 2:02 and finished in 4:05. The course is pretty steep for the first 1/4 and then levels out a bit before finishing downhill again. I felt like crap before the race but somehow pulled out a solid effort.

Saturday - So yeah after the race I decided it would be a good idea to go for a bike ride. I wrecked really hard smashing my head against the ground (glad I wore my helmet) as well as tweaking my wrist and taking most of the skin from my hip and shoulder. I gave myself a sweet little concussion so i don't think I'll be running for a few days.

Summary - I'm really happy about the time from the race but I would have liked to have won some cash. Getting 4th isn't too bad on the 4th of July I guess. My head hurts and I threw up a bit last night and this morning. I'm not overly concerned I'm sure I'll be fine in a few days.

June 22nd - 28th

2008-07-09T10:03:00.001-07:00

Sunday - I didn't get much sleep last night so I was a bit tired this morning. I expected the run to be shitty but I actually had a good session. I did an out and back on Coalton Trail stopping at the field on the way back for 8 x strides. 71:18 total.

Monday - I never really get a chance to run early in the morning but my work day fell in the dumper, bad for the wallet but good for the body. I got in a medium hard effort on Coalton Trail. I normally don't like this run because it's windy and has no shade at all but it was nice getting out early. ~50 minutes out and back (screwed my watch up crossing the street). I got out for a nice little shakeout in the grass after work with Drill Package A. 87 minutes total for the day.

Tuesday - Mike Benedict offered to ride with me today on my run. I was looking to do a progression run on Coal Creek so it was nice to have someone keeping me going as well as carrying some water. The only time I had to run today was at 2 and it was sunny and 92 degrees. The water really helped but I still ended up shitting out. I had a little stitch the whole way but it's not really what bothered me, I just didn't have anything in my legs. On the way home I really struggled once passing the trailhead. I ended up doing the run in 57:25 which isn't awful but I was really hoping to run 56flat having mike there to pull me through.

Wednesday - I'm still feeling the dehydration from yesterdays effort and my legs were a little cramped up. I did a 25 minute shakeout on the Dreadmill and then strength training. The lifting seemed to wake my legs up and I had a great afternoon run and Drill Package A. 76 minutes for the day.

Thursday - Hips were a little tight this morning but loosened up after about 20 minutes. I ran Coal Creek again and felt really smooth on the way home. 62:50

Friday - AM shakeout with 8 x strides 34:40. PM 60 minutes easy from the house.

Saturday - AM shakeout and Drill Package A ~40min. PM Hilly 60 minutes around Boulder on the roads, felt great but the pace was pretty slow.

June 15th - 21st

2008-06-16T12:23:00.000-07:00

Sunday: Great run today but it was very hot. The plan was to run out and back on Coal Creek picking it up a little bit every 10 minutes. I crawled out the door and it was already hot. I felt really smooth and hit the turn around at 30:20. I felt great coming back but the heat was getting to me. I ended up closing in 26:35 finishing up the run in 56:55. Overall I was pleased but the hot weather was killer.

Monday: My recovery run today felt like crap. Well not the whole thing just the first 15 minutes. I just couldn't seem to get my stride to smooth out. After 15 minutes or so my legs started to feel a bit more like they should. That being said my hamstrings were still very tight and non-responsive. 42:35 around rock creek. + strength training

Tuesday: Today was my first day of drills for the summer. I know I should have started long ago but i didn't. I started out small with what I'm going to call Drill Package A.
Skips
High Knees
Buttkicks
Side Shuffle
Double-ups
Semi-frog Hops
Strides
I ran 30 minutes to the field and did 2 x 25y of all the drills and then 4x100y strides. I then ran 10 minutes back to my house. The drills felt fine but I'm going to be sore tomorrow. 40min run plus 15 minutes drills = 55min total

Wednesday: I wasn't as sore as I expected this morning but my hipflexors and low back regions were a bit tight. I stretched out for about 15 minutes and headed out the door for another out and back on Coal Creek. Nothing special just a nice easy 64:12 to the normal turnaround.

Thursday: OK so today I was a bit sore and ended up rolling my ankle trying to run on the grass next to the bike path. I ran through both north and south rock creek for 58:35. The ankle felt a little better in the evening so i went out for a shakeout with some strides. 15minutes to the field 8xstrides 15minutes home for a total of 37 minutes. 95:35 for the day.

Friday: My ankle is sore today on the lateral side but it's all good to run on. It's been hot all week but I got out a little earlier today and avoided the heat. I ran 72:48 down on the boulder creek path. Pace was very relaxed but I'm starting to feel better on runs lover then 70 minutes.

Saturday: Wow it was hot today. I'm glad I got up early and ran a total of 62 minutes around rock creek including strides at the field.

Summary: Not a great week but not a bad one either. I only had one good effort in and it was Sunday but I started my drills so I'm happy about that.

Saucony Tangent

2008-06-14T19:46:00.001-07:00

So it was time to try something new. I've always been an Asics Cumulus fan (when I had the choice) and also enjoyed the Pegasis before Nike ruined them in 2002. I decided to change things up as I wasn't a huge fan of the latest model of the cums. I picked up the Saucony Tangent. This is a lightweight aka performance trainer with a medial post which i assume to be more cosmetic then anything functional. On first glance these shoes actually look very bad ass and are very comfortable. I've always liked the way that a shoe with a soft flexible feel forms to the foot. The upper is very comfortable. On the run these shoes are flexible, responsive and make me feel very fast and light. Anyone who has run with me knows that my heals never touch and the Tangent really allows me to get up on the balls of my feet and make it feel natural unlike some heavier trainers.While running on the road, track, or cinder trails I have zero complaints. They may be the best shoe I've run in in quite some time. On the more rough trails they do have a flaw. Every root, stone, bump, whole whatever I felt. The midsole is too thin and soft for offroading. Overall I'll give the Tangent a 5/5 for road use and won't rate its offroad capability simply because that is not what the shoe was intended for.

June 8th - 14th

2008-06-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

Sunday: Today was a bit windy and warm but I headed out early and avoided both. Hitting the road on Sunday morning at six has it's own level of charm. I ran out through Interlocken and up by the airport. I wanted to get a solid hour in of fast running on some long gradual hills. I chose a great place to do it. 61:12. Later in the evening I hit up another 36:40 with Clint. We bombed out and back to Coalton and back. We headed a little up the hill and then back. It was faster then I had wanted to run but at no point did I feel like I was working at all. 97:52 total.

Monday: I woke up feeling great and headed out for 45:07 after my morning clients. My left shin is a bit tender but the run itself was amazing. Clint and Carl K asked me to run an hour with them tonight but I wanted to go do strides so I headed out solo. I zipped around Rock Creek north and hit the field at 30 minutes. After 8x100m I ran back home. The strides felt great. My body just wants to run fast. 43:18 for the evening. Total of 88:25.

Tuesday: I was planning on doing a workout today and taking tomorrow off but I reversed the days. I'm feeling fine but It's hot and windy today and tomorrow is going to be cooler and calm. I still did my strength training and I'm planning a Fartlek for tomorrow.

Wednesday: I woke up really sore this morning for some reason and I hoped that I would feel better this afternoon but I didn't. Overall the fartlek wasn't as good as I had hoped but I can't complain as I finished strong. Total time running was 68:25 with 6 x 3min w/ 2min recovery. The efforts weren't really fast but good enough.

Thursday: Today was another windy day. I've felt like it's the wind of march in New England for the past week. 63:15 on Coal Creek. My hamstrings are tight.

Friday: I wanted to hit two runs today but I ended up covering for someone at work during the slot for my morning run. Because of this I had to forgo it and just get in 70min this afternoon. It was quite windy and warm. Strength training after the run.

Saturday: Double day today. It was very warm by 9am and I knew it was going to be a scorcher later on. The morning run was the typical 30min to the football field w/ 8 strides finishing up in 45:20. The strides felt decent but the mileage was sluggish. Afternoon run was very hot with the temp standing right around 92 and 30mph winds blowing my hair back. 43 sweaty minutes later i arrived home from south rock creek and slugged down half a gallon of gatorade.

Summary: I'm not overly excited about the quality of the work this week but the runs themselves felt really nice. I'm really happy that everything is rolling along in the right direction. I talked to my dad this week and he was reminding me to train smart. "Carl, take your recovery days easy and don't let that hip hurt. You know you get fixated on the numbers so just be smart and have fun." I don't do quotes in my blog but that one works for me.

June 1st - 7th

2008-06-10T08:44:00.000-07:00

Sunday: It was really hot today and I ended up bonking a bit out there. The plan was for 90 minutes but I was hurting pretty good. No muscles were fried I was just dehydrated. That's really my own fault. I ended up cutting back a the short way on the creek path only getting in 83 minutes.

Monday: Damn I really was stupid yesterday with that long run. I doubled today to try and get a little extra volume in. Morning was shorter due to having only an hour slot to get it in. I ran from work up in the hills behind the club. Slow but not real easy for 31:15. My second run was out on Coal Creek Trail and was a bit faster but felt pretty easy. I went out for 25:30 and back in 24:41 for 50:12.

Tuesday: Same Fartlek as Saturday but a little longer. I got through another set going 1,2,3,2,1,2,3,2,1,2,3,2,1. The 3rd time through hurt a bit on the last 3 and 2. The effort was very smooth though and there were much fewer people in my way today. I hate running around families on their bikes. 84 minutes + strength training

Wednesday: I feel great today considering I ran hard yesterday. My right calf is nagging a bit but I'm not going to complain about it. I did an out and back on Coalton even though I hate that run because it runs me right by my football field for strides on the way back. 68:30 including the strides.

Thursday: Out and back on Coal Creek today. Out to the end of Aquarius. I felt a little shitty and it's a bit windy coming back. 64:26 + strength training

Friday: Today was very windy but I still had a workout scheduled. The plan was for 8x2:20 w/ 90sec back behind Safeway. It's not quite a half but it's somewhere in the area. I have run that quite a bit in the past and just wanted a stop and start point. I ran the first out of the wind and felt like I was being blown all over the place. The second was into the wind and was just awful. I ended up stopping after 4 because I felt like I wasn't accomplishing the goal of running smooth and fast. 2:17, 2:31, 2:18, 2:34. I came back in the afternoon because I was brooding about that workout all day. I hate not completing things. The wind had stopped but it was 84 degrees. I ran out there and hit 2:12, 2:09, 2:14, 2:14. It hurt way more then it should have and I ran too fast but I was taking it out on myself. 91 minutes total.

Saturday: I was a bit hungover this morning so I waited to run until this afternoon. I know that's not what I should be writing in here but it's the truth. Nice and easy on Coal Creek for 65:20.

Summary: One great effort and one shitty effort for the week. The volume was good though. Calf feels decent but not great and my left shin is a little sore. Seems like nothing that a little ice won't fix up.

May 25th - 31st

2008-06-10T08:23:00.000-07:00

Sunday: Today was another decent day to run and I did the same out and back as I did yesterday. My right soleus is a bit tender on the lateral side but nothing major. 62:41.

Monday: I had a heck of a day at work today but still managed to get my two runs in. The first was an easy 35minute jaunt through Rock Creek from home and the second an evening run on a similar Rock Creek course ending with 8x100m strides. 74 minutes total + strength training

Tuesday: A bit windy today but no worries for a run. I got out early and ran a decent 61 minutes up on the south side of Rock Creek. It's hilly so there really is no easy. Calf is still a little sore but I'm working it out on the myo-release ball.

Wednesday: I had this afternoon off so I headed down to Boulder to run. Nothing special really just an easy out and back on the creek path. With my calf a bit tender I wanted to stay flat and easy. I went out for 28:00 and back in 26:21. + strength training.

Thursday: I did a longer double today then on Tuesday. I did the Coal Creek out and back for 64:21 in the AM. The pace was very easy but felt nice to float on the cinders. In the evening I did a Rock Creek run hitting the football field at 31 minutes where I did 8x100m and finished up running home at 44:10.

Friday: My hamstrings hurt a bit today and I'm not sure if it's the volume or the fact that I did my strides a bit too quickly. Real easy run today with no watch but right around 45 minutes + strength training.

Saturday: I feel much better today and I did the workout I had planned. I love this fartlek that I ran with James out at Harper lake this winter. It's a ladder of 1min, 2min, 3min, 2min with equal rest. It's not all that hard because the rests are pretty long but I like it because it allows me to get my legs moving without really building up any crap. I did 1,2,3,2,1,2,3,2,1 out on the creek path and felt really smooth. 81 minutes total.

Summary: I had a great week. The best I've had in a while for sure. I was pleased with the volume as well as the workout on Saturday. I hope to keep moving in the right direction.

may 18th - 24th

2008-05-21T06:14:00.000-07:00

Sunday - Today was very warm and windy with temp at 87 during the venture to Marshall Mesa. I ran the normal loop out there with Clint in 64:17. Body felt really good and smooth. The hills weren't a problem but the last 15 minutes were really windy. I headed down to Potts and watched the Big 12 Champs afterwards. Some really great races. The 15 was amazing.

Monday - Another hot and sunny day but no wind. Run from home. Calves a little tight but no big deal. 58:35 out and back on Coal Creek.

Tuesday - 88 degrees and sunny. I was a bit dehydrated on this run but still felt very smooth. The calves were better today but the course I ran was very hilly for the first 20 minutes. I like this loop from my house but I ran it from work which allows no warm up before the climbs start. 54:29

Wednesday - Today was forcast to be very hot but I got out nice and early so I didn't have to deal with it. I'm not really used to running at5:30 anymore. What a kick in the face that was but once I got loosened up I felt amazing. I ran Coalton Trail out for 33:00 back for 30:42 for a total of 63:42 for the day. I may have to start heading out early when work permits.

Thursday - So when I say severe Colorado weather you probably think of huge snow falls, me too. Today however northern Colorado was pelted with golf ball sized hail and a tornado that devastated Weld County leaving many homeless and killing one man. I was totally oblivious to the severe weather forecast today and headed out to do a workout at Harper Lake. I made a lap warm up before the skies opened up and the deluge started. I love running in the rain so it was no big deal but when the sea salt sized hail started stinging my flesh and the winds picked up out of nowhere i ran ran for the car and drove home. It was then that I heard the tornado warnings and decided to call it a day.

Friday - We had much better weather today so i headed out to attempt that workout again. I went down to the creek path because it's fairly flat and marked off for distance. I did 4xmile with 1 minute rest. I figured that I should run about 5:20 to 5:25 pace for this workout but when I hit the first one in 5:10 i was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't until the last one that i ran into trouble and trouble hit hard. My splits were 5:10, 5:08, 5:12, 5:21. The last one hurt a lot for the last 2 minutes or so but i struggled in. I should have run it at the designated 5:20 pace but i got overzealous.

Saturday - I don't think there could have been a better day to run. At 3:30 I left the house and headed out Coal Creek to the end of Aquarius and back and it was just beautiful. 71 and sunny with big puffy clouds. There was a light cooling breeze from the west that just made today the quintessential spring day. Oh yeah back to the run. The run was 63:47 (32:18/31:28) and just felt really smooth. My calves were a little tight from running fast yesterday but overall I felt great. Well recovered from the intervals.

Summary - Not a bad week even if I did skip out on tornado day. I also got in 3 strength training sessions which I feel really help me. I know a lot of people say that strength training is a waste of time for distance runners but i disagree.