Saturday, February 16, 2008

Long Run

23 today, average pace 7:30. I was spaced out and took a spill at mile 21, so I skinned myself pretty good on a few places. First case of road rash in a while...

Friday, February 15, 2008

WILL

2:37.

HP

Wasn't sure what the footing would be on the lakefront path -- so I did 10 miles in Humboldt Park. It was completely clear -- aside from the neighborhood riff-raff. They are filming a movie of some kind in the park right now -- must be a big deal. There were 14 trailers and lots of film equipment and union thug types hanging out doing whatever it is that Teamsters do on film sets. If they are using HP as the backdrop -- must be a crime film.

No star sightings though -- too f-ing cold. I underestimated the cold due to the fact that the sun was out. It was still pretty nasty out there. I did see one suspicious looking handshake between a dude on a bike and someone in a car... other than that, no drive-bys and no fresh chalk lines.

Aside from a few taunts (that's what you get for wearing tights into an underserved neighborhood) -- it was a good route. It's a good option for you Matty now that you're temporarily "WEST SIDE". There is also a decent little sledding hill there.

Also did a strength/power/core session with Bill. Saw Sweney at Accelerated. His "downhill" training session on the Michigan slopes netted him a strained MCL. He's on the shelf for a couple of weeks.

156 lb/ 16.6% body fat

Slacked today

I'm supposed to keep it to a low mileage week (70 miles) and i already had 50, so i figured an off day was needed. Tomorrow's 22 will put me at about 72 for the week. Next few weeks will be rough, with 120, 100, 130, 70 miles per week coming up.

My foot has been bothering me slightly, but only when i run downhill, so I am staying away from hilly areas. Except for tomorrows long run.

Catching up

I had a little breakthrough the last couple of days. Nothing spectacular pace-wise or anything, but just being able to get a long LT in yesterday and follow it up without GI issues today was big. Plus the path is clear again!

Thursday - 60-75 Minute LT: 9 miles at LT, 14 total
Felt good for the first few, running in the 5:50-6:00 range. Then somewhere around mile 6 I seemed to really slow. I didn't have mile markers to help me keep pace. As soon as I got back to mile markers, I got the pace down again only to shock myself with a terribly slow 9:19 first half of the Cricket Hill Loop. How demoralizing and I was not able to recover from that, so I jogged home.

I was a little down about the workout, yes, but it is what it is. I kept the heart rate at 82-83% the entire time after the first couple of miles. I still have no idea how you are supposed to manage a workout to % of max heart rate in this cold.

I also spent a lot of the time gradually shifting in and out of gear. I would concentrate on those little changes that seem to make a big efficiency difference, mostly getting the foot to strike near the forefoot and keeping the glutes engaged (mildly contracted) through the entire gait cycle. I was able to hold that form for several minutes at a time, but would inevitably find myself falling out of that. So, I guess it was good progress. But I really hope this gets better quickly.

Friday - Mid-Long with Hills: 4.5 miles on the hill, 14.5 total
It was sunny today. What a change and actually wonderful to run in, despite the low teens temps. So, I headed down to the Chicago River bridge (I'm sure there's a name for that thing) and did the hill on the south end for 32 minutes. I had another aha moment as I ran back north. The underpass that connects the Michigan Ave & Oak St to the running path is nearly ideal for hill training.

Looking forward to the Ins & Outs tomorrow and the Cary course on Sunday!

2 Weeks in a row

Friday morning on the "Hill" again....

Icy, cold and not fun. Total of 8 miles today.... hated all of them. Hate the rest of you that are ditching me on the hill on Fridays too (you included too, Ed...... it's only a 2 hour flight). I need a massage... think my shin splints are coming back....... wooo hoo!!!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Make war, not love.

By war I mean running... not the Bush kind.

Todays speed workout with the crc:

3 mile warmp up, 2 miles (5:50, 5:37), 1 mile jog, 1 mile @ 5:30, 1/2 mile jog, 2 miles (5:52, 5:40), 3.5 mile cool down.

Not bad, not great, but good enough.

Now I got to write a paper for tomorrow... ah sleeeep... when will I get to sleeeeppp?

Central Park Simulation

Ran in Central Park again today (on my treadmill) in balmy 72 degree weather.

It's a hilly 10k course. 45 minutes of Seinfeld (the whole NYC theme and all).

158 lbs/17.3% body fat.

Time for love, not running

After an out and back to Atlanta starting at 6a today, not much time for running. So B and I did a quick 5 miles before I attempt some amorous acrobatics. I call it additional core training (Jen probably calls it a waste of time)....

Hill tomorrow, anyone.... Bueller?

(Acrobatics with wife, not dog, you sickos).

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Wednesday's Weak Showing

Woke up at 5:20 a.m. to do an LT on the lakefront... then went back to bed. So much for the 60 minute LT. Made it to Accelerated for a one hour session with Bill and came home to do 2 X 1 mile of uphill on the treadmill with a slight warm-up and cooldown for a big 4 miles -- slightly under Matt's total for the day. None of the miles were under 6 minutes, 7 minutes or 8 minutes!

8:20 overall pace. I'm awesome.

Also still obese... 160 lbs/17.1% body fat

Will attempt to get my LT tomorrow. For those that are counting... 11 consecutive days of running.

Not happy either

I did an easy 6 this morning with the idea of doing a solid ins and outs this PM.

I got to the indoor track at 9PM and the ultimate frisbee "team" was practicing in the lanes. I had to negotiate for some space for "running".

When i finally got going I was only able to do 3 miles of mediocre ins and outs before throwing in the towel, tired and depressed. The splits: 5:40, 5:54 5:56 for a lousy 17:30 3 mile effort. thats barely 18:05, not even sub 18 5k. no comment.

F this snow!!!

So there is nearly ZERO good consistent footing in town. Either there's scattered icy patches or the jackasses that own the property don't even make an effort to clean the walks (that includes Mayor Daley and his running trail crew). There was a reasonably decent stretch on the lakeshore trail if you could avoid the ice and Chris and I attempted a mid-length run this evening. Our plan, head to Montrose for a couple laps around "Sodomy Circle" or "Proposition Park" in the early evening. Other than dodging the cars backed in to parking spots, our hope was there would be no ice or snow. Just as we planned..... except Gastro-king Woods had another incident. Ed, I think he's filling in for you now that you're in Boston.

Despite Chris' problems, I had a decent middle section of the run, keeping it in the low 7's for about 6 miles. All in all, I had 16.4 today. I found my depletion point for now (assuming diet and timing) is around 15.75 miles. I slogged it in from there.

Next week the plan is for doubles on Monday, Tuesday and hopefully Friday. Big mile week!!!

In & Outs Out. Tempo In.

Tried doing the In & Outs workout: 200 at 85-89%, 200 at 80-85%, repeat for three to six miles. It just wasn't working. I couldn't get into a rhythm in the first couple of laps--my heart rate did not depart from 80%. So, I dispensed with the In & Out idea and decided to do the 60-75 minute LT.

Those first two laps helped out my first mile. Here are the splits:

5:35, 5:56, 5:58

All of this and my heart rate never crept above 81%. I think I could have held this for quite a while. So, why didn't I? Severe intestinal discomfort. I think I ate too much way too late yesterday afternoon.

I am really disappointed with myself.

Total: 5 miles, 3 at tempo pace

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

BORED

5 more mind numbing miles on the treadmill. F-ing snow/ice/crap. 7:20 pace. Core circuit.

158 lbs/16.8% body fat

Sunday & Monday Update

Ten weeks until Boston. Eight weeks until taper which probably means only about seven weeks left to really accrue any training benefits.

Sunday: 7 miles on the treadmill, lost of incline both up and down there & strength ciruit
Monday: 8 miles outside slippin and a slidin & peak

Looks to be a crappy running day here again. Will try to get about 15 miles in. Matt wants to do a tempo workout tomorrow. We'll hope for the best, but I think we are going to have to either go inside or to the Cricket Hill loop.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Leveling off...

Core strength circuit and 30 minutes on the treadmill. 4.2 miles (just under 7:30 pace).

158 lbs/17.3% body fat

Missing pizza, potatoes, pasta, Ben & Jerry's and everything else I gave up for lent.

Now that's a hill



So thinking that I had done a few hills in Lemont, I decided to climb to the highest point in downtown San Fran this morning. Ooooh, did I get my "come uppance." Note the nearly straight uphill nature of the first minute. That might be a tad exaggerated, but not too much. Needless to say, I was happy to head down to Fisherman's Wharf and run along the water once I got down from the summit. FIFTY TWO DEGREES at 6a when I went out this morning. Understanding that it's still damn cold back in Chicago, I'm going to have an evening stansa and go for another run out here by the airport. For those inquiring minds, 830s on the ascent, mid to low 7's on the remainder.

FEAST your EYES ON THIS f***ers!

I mean that nicely. Today it was pretty cold here (we finally got the chicago weather) so I headed to the indoor track for a nice, heated LT. Here are the splits:

3 mile warm up.
6:21
6:12
6:01
5:57
5:56
5:55
5:54
6:06
6;03
5:56
1 mile cool down
tunisian circuit (30 min)

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Easy Day

4 miles on the treadmill. Miles 1 and 3 uphill, 2 and 4 flat.

158 lbs/17.8% body fat

O miles

Thats right. I took a rest day. Too much work and I'm planning on a long LT tomorrow, so nothing today...

Lemont... you can keep it

Chris and I plodded through 15+ in Lemont yesterday, lured by the course that was posted on the USATF site. First, it took us about 75 minutes to get out there in the early afternoon because of pothole patching on I-55. Then the idiot who posted the course has no respect for their own life since the first portion was on a narrow, windy and slightly hill TWO lane road with NO shoulder.

We started in Lemont, looking for hills. We found them, but once again there was little shoulder for running. The course that we cobbled together was, at best 7 miles long. Three good hills, but not worth the drive. We were mid 7's through much of the run until Chris popped his Cliff Blox and then he took off with a couple low 7's to finish.

I vote for Cary or Barrington next time....