Hope To Run Again Before End Of The Year

I did not want to run in the dark after dinner. So I had to hurry to get one in before dinner. Decided on 5. I could tell from the get go that the pace was a little quicker than my norm. On mile 3 it was all flat and downhill so I went ahead and opened up some. But I tried to keeps things in control by not doing too much on 4 and 5. Good run, feet might be feeling better even with running daily. But I am not expecting any miracles for everything to get well too soon.

5.17 - 7:52, 7:46, 7:23, 7:49, 7:47, 1:22 - 40:00 - 7:44 avg.

Probably 6 or 7 tomorrow at easy pace. That would put at or about 40 miles for the week.

53.61

Thought about taking today off. But then figured it is almost 60ºf and light winds so I should just go. I decided to run long and slow. I was very surprised with my 1st mile split. It was about 20 seconds faster than I had wanted. But I thought, that's ok, because I can tell I have slowed. But then the next mile was even faster. Even though I wold check my watch at every mile split I was running strictly by feel. And I felt like I was running between 8:30 and 9:00 pace. There was a slight cross wind working mostly in my favor the 1st 5 miles so I guess I can attribute the faster pace to the wind. Had a slight scare at 4.75 when two dogs jumped off their front porch and charged towards the road. I hurried and crossed to the other side and yelled at them. They never left their yard, but did get to the edge of the road. They did not bother me when I passed back by them. So stopping to pick up the big rock ended up being a waste of time. Overall it was a good run. I think this is a pace I can handle at this time in my training. Cardio was great the whole way. Never breathed hard.

But my feet really hurt bad when I was done. The pain is on the big toe side of each foot. And it is just behind the ball of my foot. Some foot strikes it will feel like a burn in those places. It is a very small spot on each foot. I can push on the spot with a finger and can feel it too. Then my feet hurt the same as if I had been standing on them all day non top. But that feeling subsides about an hour after the run. I wonder if some sort of extra padding beneath the ball of my foot would help? I think it is something I need to check on.

10.05 - 8:08, 8:01, 7:50, 7:53, 7:56, 7:59, 7:57, 7:58, 8:03, 7:58, :27 - 1:20:13 - 7:58 avg.

63.66

Took today off except for walking 1.5 miles with the family around the neighborhood. Had to jog/run some to keep up with my daughter on her bike.

Went to the pool/gym today. Had not swam in a few weeks I guess. So I just went by feel. I wanted to do enough to feel like a workout, but not so much I was wore out. Swam 1800 yards (1.02 mile). Started with 400 free. Then 1000 free / breast mix. I alternated strokes every 100 yards. Then finished with another 400 free. Next was the AirDyne. Took my time on this as well. Legs started to feel it at 8 miles. But my heart was pumping and I got the chance to sweat as well. A couple of hours later went out for a 6 mile run. Felt good on the run. Ran by feel.

Swim - 400 free - 7:12 / 1000 free/breast - 18:37 / 400 free - 7:19

Total Swim - 1.02(1800yds) - 33:08

AirDyne - 10 miles - 35:32

Run - 6.03 - 8:08, 7:50, 7:50, 7:53, 7:57, 7:59, :13 - 47:52 - 7:56 avg.

Total for Day - 17.05 / 1:56:32

69.69

Went to the pool again. Swam 100 breast to warm-up. Then 1000 free/breast mix. Cooled down with 100 free. Then rode the AirDyne for 23 minutes.

Got home and ate a banana and set out for a 6 mile run. It was 74f º when I left the house and very windy. The first 2 miles the wind was on my back. The next 2 it was head on in my face. It was starting to wear on me pretty quick. Plus I was not use to the warmer temps, especially in February. Still I had no desire to stop, just slow down a little. But then stomach troubles hit. I made the turn for home and called it a run at 4.6. I am sure the 2 bowls of chili for dinner last night, plus the bowl for lunch today were to blame for the upset stomach.

Still consider it a good workout for the day.

Swim - 1200 yards - 22:35

AirDyne - 6.6 miles - 23:00

Run - 4.61 miles - 36:42

Total Time - 1:22:17

Tonight starts the dreaded Midnight Shift. 6 in a row. Let the misery begin........

74.30

Midnight Shift was tough going last night. I was very tired. Then today I kept waking a lot. The telephone rang twice. First it was an automated sales person telling about some sale at a local department store. I promptly hung up on her. Later the phone rang again. When I picked it up heard, "Hello, this is Congressional Senator John McCain." I did not wait long enough to see if it was really him or a recording. I just hung up. So Senator, if it was really you and you see this blog, sorry for hanging up on you. But you did disturb my sleep.

After finally waking up for good I headed to the pool. I felt out of sorts with the drastic change in sleep schedule. So I just just took everything real easy today. I swam, rode the AirDyne, then ran. I am running 6.5 miles instead of 6 today and for the next 2 days to make up for yesterday's short run.

I really hope my body responds well to my new workout cycle. 6 miles a day running, with 45 minutes of cross training (swim & bike) Monday - Friday. That would give me 90+ minutes a day of exercise. Saturdays run 8 to 10. Sunday rest. I think it will kick my fitness up a notch while at the same time reduce these aches and pains I have had recently from running more mileage.

Swim - 1200 yards - mix free/breast - 23:04

AirDyne(air resistance bike) -6.3 miles - 23:00

Run - 6.52 - 8:12, 8:06, 8:04, 8:03, 8:02, 7:57, 4:11 - 52:38 - 8:04 avg.

Total Time - 1:38

80.82

Made it to the gym for swimming and AirDyne. All went well there. But ran out of time and had other things that needed to be done. Hoped to get in a late night run. But the later it got, the less motivation I had. So no run. Bummer

Swim - 1200 yards - 22:56

Ride - 6.4 miles - 23:00

Since I missed yesterday's run, I skipped the gym today to put in a longer run today.

At the 1/2 mile mark, I saw two dogs playing in their yard. I had trouble with these two before, So I stopped my watch and turned around. Thought about which way to run for a minute then reset the watch and started over again. So that counted as a warm-up.

I ran 10 miles and it felt very good. This was a real good pace for me. The ball of might left foot twinged a little, but everything else was good. I was happy with today's run.

Run - .51 - 4:20

10.15 - 1:23:14 - 8:12 avg.

1	8:16	6	8:16
2	8:13	7	8:07
3	8:17	8	8:05
4	8:18	9	8:08
5	8:19	10	8:02

Still bummed on missing my mileage goal this week. Missing Thursday's run and cutting another run short because of an upset stomach were the reasons/excuses. But I did get in at least 45 minutes of exercise each day.

Lately I have been wondering how my slow paced training would translate to race results when the times comes. I have my first race of the year mid-March. Last year I only ran in two, and they were six months apart. I am just not sure what to expect from myself. I know that building a good base is the way to go and speed will come later. Of course I mean that in relative terms. My speed is a slow pace to many others. So before I ran I looked at some blogs and saw Lybi's race report. She said she trains at a 10 - 11 minute pace. Then today she raced at sub 8. I wondered if I am capable of something like that. So I made a spur of the moment decision to find out. I ran a warm-up to a pond that has a flat dirt path around it. 8 laps equals 3.11 miles. I ran it as hard as I could. I figured I would have a first mile split in the neighborhood of 7:30. Then I figured the 2nd would be a little faster. I would just hang on and try to maintain for the 3rd.

The 1st mile split was 7:08. I thought, uh-oh, too fast I am going to end up dying midway through mile 2. But then I hit 7:00 for that split. Finished well with a 6:41 3rd mile..plus tack on :43 for the final .11. Total was 21:32 - 6:55 avg. I was very surprised with my finish time. Then ran a cool down back to my house.

So I think I need to get used to running some faster paced miles. The race is a little over a month away. I am going to try and run some of the middle miles of my workouts faster than what I have been doing.

Running is starting to get a bit more exciting to me all of the sudden!

Run - warm-up - 1.65 - 13:54

3.11 - 7:08, 7:00, 6:41, :43 - 21:32 - 6:55 avg.

cool down - 1.73 - 14:25

I had planned on today being a rest day but my legs were a little sore from yesterday. I wanted to do something nice and easy. I called John and we went for 4.47 in some very strong winds. The pace was relaxed and everything was good.

4.47 - 9:21, 9:16, 9:08, 9:15, 4:13 - 41:14 - 9:13 avg.

102.44

The plan for this week is about the same as last, but without the missed run. 45 minutes of cross training and 6 miles of running Monday - Friday. 8 to 10 miles run on Saturday.

Finally am off of Midnight Shift. When I went to the gym for my swim and bike it was the same time I had been going to sleep for the last week. But so far the adjustment has been ok. The power went out yesterday from the very high winds we had. After it came back on no one checked to see if the pumps and heater came back on. So this morning the pool was chilly and cloudy. But at least the air had a chance to warm up. Outside of the initial dive in, the water felt fine after a couple minutes of swimming. I swam 1200 yards. Next was the AirDyne. Used it for 23:00. Then went home.

When I got home the roofers were there and just starting to work. Our house was built in 1975 or 1976. It still has the original roof...and no leaks. But it has needed attention for a while now. so finally we are getting this out of the way.

This afternoon I went for my run. Today starts my idea of putting some faster miles into my workouts. The course I chose took me 7 miles. I ran the 1st two as a warm-up. The next 3 were going to be faster than my what my average pace of 8:00 has been lately. I thought 3 x 7:30 would be good. It would be :30 a mile faster and I guessed that was a good place to start and see how I would do. 1st mile was 7:24. Ok, I thought, a little faster than the plan but it felt good. 2nd mile was 7:22. So I ran steady for 2 miles and was still happy. I had some downhill on the 3rd mile and I could tell I picked it up some and ended with a 7:06. These 3 miles felt great. I am going to try similar workouts like this on Wednesday and Friday. Cooled down for the last 2 miles. At 5.5, 6.0, and 6.5 I ran strides for :20 each. I had not done these since high school in 1988. Running them was fun, but probably looked silly to anyone who saw me.

Swim -warm-up - 100 yards breast - 2:12

1000 yards - free/breast mix alternate every 100 yards - 18:44

cool down - 100 yards free - 1:48

AirDyne Bike - 6.3 - 23:00

Run - 7.05 - 8:28, 8:14, 7:24, 7:22, 7:06, 8:00, 7:38, :23 - 54:39 - 7:45 avg.

Total Workout Time - 1:40:23

Hit the pool this morning. The heat was working today and the water felt good. I must have had some seahorses neighing today because my pace just kept picking up as I went along. I was surprised but just went with it. After the pool I did my 23:00 on the AirDyne bike. Then went home and saw the roofers were back and making good progress. Calling for rain tonight and in the morning tomorrow. I hope there are no leaks where they have not finished yet.

After lunch I went for a run. I was bored yesterday and messed with different settings on my Garmin. So no autolap to tell me my mile splits. But I manually checked them at 3 and 6 miles. Today's distance and pace seem to be right on for me. I do not feel like I am over doing it, nor do I feel like I took it too easy. Good Run. And it rained a little too.

Swim -

100 breast warm-up - 2:09

1000 free/breast mix - 18:04

100 free cool down - 1:50

AirDyne Bike -

6.4 miles - 23:00

Run -

6.71 - 24:08(3), 23:28(3), 5:44(.71) - 53:20 - 7:56 avg.

Total Time - 1:38:23

I woke up tired this morning and went to bed a little earlier than I had the other nights this week. Once in the pool I could tell it was going to be slow. But that is ok. My morning swim and bike workout is only supposed to enhance my running. I look at it as a bonus to be able to do these workouts and do not worry about their intensity. I just want to get in my 45 minutes worth. After the swim I rode the AirDyne.

This afternoon it was still sloppy out. When I left the house it was a heavy mist. It turned to rain for most of the run. And back to a heavy mist by the end of the run. The pace was faster than usual, but felt good.

Swim -

warm-up - 100 breast - 2:10

1000 free/breast mix - 19:42

cool down - 100 free - 1:39

Airdyne Bike -

6.5 miles - 23:00

Run -

6.23 - 7:54, 7:42, 7:48, 7:33, 7:36, 7:35, 1:56 - 48:06 - 7:43 avg.

Total Time - 1:34:37

I had a great lunch with my wife today. Then went to workout only 30 minutes after I finished eating. My stomach bothered me some on my swim and a lot on the run. Had to squeeze all of my workout into one session today so I would not be late for work. I was very tired at the end. But that is mostly because I was not well hydrated and the gym temperature was so warm. Towards the end I could hardly produce saliva in my mouth. But I got it all done and now its in the bank.

Swim -

warm-up - 100 breast - 2:10

1000 free/breast mix - 18:37

cool down - 100 free - 1:45

Run -

Treadmill - 6 miles - 48:00 - 8:00 avg.

AirDyne Bike -

6.5 miles - 23:00

Total Time - 1:33:32

Been awhile since I used a treadmill. It really beats me up. I felt some twinging in my achilles afterwards. Both feet hurt as well. These pains had been gone for a couple of weeks now. We will see how I feel when I run on the road tomorrow.

Felt sluggish this morning. Most likely due to my work schedule this week. I am getting off at Midnight, then trying to go to sleep around 12:30am. Then up at 7. I am not getting my naps this week like I am used to. I swam and rode the AirDyne bike a little slower than usual.

The weather was great today. 66ºf and lots of sunshine when I ran today. It was shorts and t-shirt weather. The roofers also made it back today. They started on the back of the house. Hopefully the weather will be good on Monday and they can just about finish up.

My run felt good. My calves were so tight the 1st 1/2 mile. They were really burning. It had to be a residual effect from running in the treadmill yesterday. It always happens. But they loosened up by the end of the 2nd mile. On miles 3,4, and 5 I picked up the pace and it all felt good. Ran the last 2 miles slower, but at 5.5, 6.0, and 6.5 I added :20 strides.

Another good workout day complete !

Swim -

warm-up - 100 breast - 2:13

1000 free/breast mix - 19:41

cool down - 100 free - 1:43

AirDyne Bike -

6.3 miles - 23:00

Run -

7.10 miles - 8:09, 7:52, 7:25, 7:21, 7:05, 7:43, 7:38, :47 - 54:04 - 7:37 avg.

Total Time - 1:40:41

Was not very motivated to go on today's run for some reason. At 2 miles it felt like I had done 3 times as much. But I trudged along and somewhere around mile 6 I started feeling better. Just clipped the 8:00 guy. But the bottoms of both feet and both knees feel sore.

Run -

10.32 miles - 8:07, 8:07, 8:03, 8:12, 8:09, 8:08, 7:56, 7:52, 7:39, 7:38, 2:31 - 1:22:27 - 7:59 avg.

Planned day off.

Went to the pool and after having 2 days away from the water my arms felt very fresh. I held back those neighing seahorses though and swam comfortably. No AirDyne bike today.

Ran after I got home from the pool. I am going out of town Wednesday and Thursday. I most likely will not get in a run either day. And after yesterday being an off day I am going to try and front load some miles in the beginning of the week. But I must say that is easier said than done for me.

So this is February right? Because it was 75.4ºf when I set out for the run. I wanted to try and get 12 today. I ended up running the longest run of my life. And it felt like it too. I was so tired and exhausted when I was done. Still feeling it hours later. But I set a PR and got it done and am happy about it.

Swim -

warm-up 100 yards breast - 2:11

1000 yards free/breast mix - 18:23

cool down 100 yards free - 1:46

Run -

12.21 miles - 1:39:46 - 8:10 avg.

1 - 8:03	7 - 8:05
2 - 8:10	8 - 7:58
3 - 8:17	9 - 8:12
4 - 8:13	10 - 8:15
5 - 8:10	11 - 8:09
6 - 8:06	12 - 8:20
.21	1:50

Had court in the morning, so no pool or bike workout. I got out and ran 8 today. It was so windy. 20 to 30 mph !

Legs got tired after 5. Even though I wish I did not have to take tomorrow off, I think my legs could use the recovery.

Run -

8.21 - 8:14, 8:19, 8:14, 8:09, 8:02, 8:08, 8:03, 7:47, 1:43 - 1:06:42 - 8:07 avg.

Out of town. Not really comfortable running in the area I am in. Thought about driving to a shopping mall nearby and running around it for awhile. But after eating dinner, my stomach is a wreck. So I will hopefully get home early enough tomorrow to run

Back home, and glad. Will resume running tomorrow....finally !

This felt like the easiest 8 miles I have ever run. Most likely because I had the last two days off from running.

I ran easy for miles 1,2,7, & 8. And picked it up on 3,4,6, & 7.

I did tire over the last few minutes of running, but overall it was a good feeling run.

Run -

8.26 - 8:08, 8:07, 7:42, 7:37, 7:31, 7:28, 7:59, 7:54, 2:13 - 1:04:42 - 7:50 avg.

WHEW !!!

This was a fast one...and it won't easy. (bad grammar)

Got home from work and needed to hurry so I could get home and light the grill to cook dinner. 1st mile was 7:35. I did not know it was going to be that fast. I immediately wondered if I could hang with the 7:30 guy for 8 miles. This would be a tough thing for me to do so I decided to try it 1 mile at a time, without killing myself. Mile 2 - 7:35. Still feeling good. Mile 3 was 7:33 and I began to wonder if I could hold the pace for 5 more miles. 4th was in 7:24 and I was only 9 seconds behind. So I wanted to make that up on the 5th and then just hang on the last 3. Mile 5 was 7:20. The final 3 were - 7:18, 7:14, & 6:56. Finished 8 in 59:00 (7:22 avg.)

I normally would not run this hard on a training run. My quads are sore now. I am going to treat this like a race since I run so few of them. But hopefully this workout will help when it is time to race for real.

I still managed to meet my weekly running goal of 36 miles. But I had to do it in 4 days instead of 6. Also I did not get the 45 minutes of daily cross training I wanted. Turns out day shift limits my time where I cannot get to the pool. But I still love day shift more than the others by far! Next week, starting Monday, I am going to run the 2 miles to the pool. Swim my 1000 yards, then run 4 to 5 more miles on the way home.

Today was another good run !

Run -

8.46 - 7:35, 7:35, 7:33, 7:24, 7:20, 7:18, 7:14, 6:56, 4:00 - 1:02:59 - 7:26 avg.

Quads were sore all day from yesterday's workout. I decided to run the path around the pond. I was hoping the softer surface would decrease the pain. I ran 1.6 to and from the path, plus 3 on it. Legs hurt on the downhills.

Run -

6.45 miles - 8:29, 8:20, 8:29, 8:24, 8:16, 8:14, 3:40 - 53:55 - 8:21 avg.

My quads are still sore from Saturday, which surprises me. Going downhill is not fun.

I ran to the pool after work (2.1miles). Then swam 1000 yards. I had not been to the pool in almost 2 weeks and was glad to smell the chlorine again. I swam a relaxed pace. I did not want to over do it since I had been away so long. And I still had more running to do afterwards. After the pool I ran 5 miles. The pace felt very good. It would have been great if not for the sore quads. I truly feel my relaxed pace had decreased by about 10 seconds per mile. I hope that is a sign of better overall fitness.

Run -

2.1 miles - 8:04, 7:54, :48 - 16:48 - 8:00 avg.

Swim -

1000 yards free/breast mix - 19:35

Run -

5 miles - 7:50, 7:58, 7:44, 7:52, 7:41 - 39:07 - 7:49 avg.

Today's run felt terrible. When I started there was very little residual soreness from the weekend. So I chugged along and felt good. On the 2nd mile I turned in towards the wind. It slowed me a bit, but I was still doing ok. 3rd mile lactic acid started to build in my quads and I could feel the burn. 4th mile the soreness in the quads came back. Miles 5 and 6 the soreness got worse and now my breathing and form were off. I was glad when I was done. No chance to get to the pool today, bummer.

So hopefully these quads will stop being sore soon.

Run -

6.4 miles - 7:46, 7:51, 7:54, 7:58, 7:51, 7:55, 3:11 - 50:28 - 7:53

Ran to the pool. Winds were about 20mph and gusts around 30mph. I fought a headwind all the way there. The soreness was barely there, and that was great. But my legs got real tight running against the wind....good song by the way.

Swam 1000 yards. Very relaxed and easy.

Ran 5 miles from the pool and back to my house. The wind was on my back most of this portion or was blocked by houses, trees, etc. Legs were still tight and there was some burn for 3 miles. The last 2 I just decided to push it some and it actually felt good. Legs felt a little dead at the end though. But I will still call a good workout, mostly based on the last 2 miles.

Run -

2.1 - 8:07, 8:04, :52 - 17:05 - 8:08 avg.

Swim -

1000 yards free/breast mix - 19:16

Run -
5 - 7:54, 7:55, 7:53, 7:44, 7:24 - 38:53 - 7:46 avg.

Went to the pool after work. Wanted to get in a mile. Swam 1000 yards freestyle to start, thenn 100 breast. Put on the fins and used the kickboard next. Kicked 100 free, 100 fly, and 100 free. I am not sure if it was the way the fins rubbed against my right achilles or the extra resistance but I did not like it. Another 100 free and then 300 of free/breast mix.

Ran with John around 8pm. We met along the way at the 1 mile mark. Ran the next 3 together. Then we separated and I ran on my own the last 2 miles home. John's average pace has moved a lot closer to mine. The run felt good.

Swim -

1800 yards - mix of strokes - 32:54

Run -

6.28 - 7:44, 8:31, 8:31, 8:34, 7:56, 7:30, 2:29 - 51:06 - 8:08 avg.

Long run today. Everything was good, but would have been a lot better without the wind. Miles 4 and 8 were especially difficult. They were open areas with nothing to buffer the wind and I was running into head on.

1 - 8:23	2 - 8:22	3 - 8:12	4 - 8:06	5 - 8:07
6 - 7:58	7 - 7:52	8 - 7:56	9 - 7:58	10 - 7:44