Heart Rate Observation

Thursday:

I repeated last thursday's workout and added a mile. The big difference this week was once I got up to pace on the steady-state miles I monitored heart rate a bit closer and kept it pretty steady as I started to fatigue. My mile splits were a little slower in the end but that's ok with me as long as the effort and HR were tuned in. Legs may have been feeling the effects of the ten miler last Saturday but I got through the workout will little problem.

Splits: 2.5 mile warm up

5:37, 5:41, 5:36, 5:46, 5:45,

HR's: steady at 157 bpm

*last two miles rolling up a bit

2.5 mile cool down.

Totals: 1:07:36 10 miles (steady-state in middle)

Wednesday:

The loop out to Howard Gnesen, McFarlan, and returning on RLR and Skyline are becoming a staple run on easy days. I enjoy the rolling terrain. I am also trying to incorporate some downhill running into my weeks which this loop offers.

Felt good and kept the pace easy for the loop.

Totals: 58:29 8.1 miles

Rest One, and Repeats The Other

Tuesday:

Fully recovered from the Sunday night fiasco and ready to resume regular early morning training.

I did a nice 4+ mile warm up and hit the track for 10X100 meter repeats and then hit the UMD trails, aka Rock Hill, for a nice warm down. My legs felt good, and ready for the bump in volume over the next few weeks.

Totals: 8 miles (10X100 meters @ 5k on track)

Monday:

I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. Monday I was hung over from the Gin Blossoms/ Toad the Wet Sprocket concert at Duluth's Bayfront Park. We had an amazing time and the music was just as great as it was in the 90's! Too many Mike's hard Lemonade's made for a late night and a rough morning. It's been a long time since I pulled one of those nights and I'm sure it will be a long night 'til I do another.

Totals: 0 miles

Mr Consistency

I made the trek out to Jeremy's house to join the group on a medium distance run. I didn't want to run much over ninety minutes and the rest of the crew was going two hours. The weather was fantastic and my legs felt amazing the day after a ten miler. We took the pace out easy along the western waterfront trail and once we hit some pavement I was ready to pick up the pace. I finished my run strong, striding out some 7:15's and feeling like I was loose and free! Nice to feel like that the day after a hard ten miler. The next week I will most likely take a day off and run solid the other six days of the week.

So I did some quick research on the Lumberjack 10 Miler and the last time I ran the race in 2006 I finished in 55:08, 16th place, with a 10K split of 34:33. On Saturday I ran 55:03, 16th place, with a 10K split of 34:33. Crazy how one could hit those figures three years apart. I guess the bright side of this story is at least I am not slowing down!

Totals: 1:35:02 12.3 miles

Weeks Totals: 63.5 miles

Years Totals: 1507.8 miles

*last 4 weeks 45, 52, 60, 64 miles

Kickin' With Zippy

Saturday:

Lumberjack 10 Miler, Stillwater MN.

16th place overall, and 3rd in age group. 55:03 /5:31 pace

I have run this race once before, about two or three years ago and I ran 55:02. I was a bit bummed not to break the 55 minute barrier but I was rigging many times throughout the race as I haven't been running quicker paces during my weekly running in quite some time. It was nice to have a familiar face to run with as my old teammate from Runners Edge, Jason Minnick, aka Zippy, and I ran pretty much stride for stride the entire race until he put the screws to me in the last mile and pulled me to the tape. My legs felt very fresh and fast, only thing was I side-stitched and had difficulty breathing at the quicker paces. (we had two different 5:15 mid miles during the downhill segments which just killed me)

I guess I will be happy with that as I have recovered nicely from a marathon a month ago and now will start adding some speed into the weekly volume.

I also had a nice chat with another old running mate from Duluth and the Edge, Patrick Russell, during my warm up. Nice to catch up PR!!

Totals: 55:02 race, plus warm up

13 miles for the day

Friday:

Since I have the ten miler tomorrow I decided to take it easy and just go out for an easy run with a couple of strides.

Nice to run into Chris on a summer run! We usually bump into each other during the winter on the single tracks....

Total: 31:00 4.5 miles

Thursday:

Today was an "uptempo" day and the plan called for an hour or so with 4 miles at steady state pace, which for me right now is 5:35:-5:40 pace. When I do these types of workouts I like to utilize Lakeside and their relatively flat streets. Once I got going the pace felt very comfortable and I managed to get through without too much of a strain. The last mile was a bit of an uphill grade, but no big deal.

The splits looked like this:

2.5 mile warm up

4 miles at steady-state: 5:40, 5:41, 5:44, 5:37

HR's: 151,157,160

2.5 miles warm down

Total: 1:01:19 9 miles

Wednesday:

Feeling quite good this week and this morning was an easy loop out on Arrowhead, Howard Gnesen, Rice Lake Road, and returning via Skyline.

The temps have been very comfy for the early morning hours and I should be ready for the steady state run tomorrow.

Total: 58:29 8.1 miles

Raindrops and Repeats

Tuesday:

I woke up during the night and could hear the winds howling and rain pelting the windows. Not a big deal, I had three or four hours until I needed to get up. Once my feet hit the floor, I managed to get to the basement and ready myself for a nice run that would include two miles on the track with running the 100 meter straights at 5K or faster paces. I opened the door and was surprised to see the rain. It was a light drizzle, no big deal, and the temps were comfortable at 61 degrees. After a four mile warm up in heavy down pour, the track was a perfect mix and the first three lanes were holding near two inches of rain. My legs started to really loosen up on the last three or four and I was beginning to believe that maybe one day I can get some speed back in my legs. A four mile warm down took me home with a decent morning of running in the books.

Totals: 1:09:56 10 miles

Monday:

The run this morning marks my first of a twenty week program heading to the Cal International Marathon in December. I didn't run a lot of volume last week, and my long run was one of medium-long distance but I still took a nice easy morning of running. I like to do the loop up Woodland and return via Vermilion on these days. Overall a good run and I need to stretch like crazy.

Totals: 51:07 6.6 miles (short SHT section)

Back To Work

Since I had family in town I attempted to get out early and log the medium distance run I had planned. It was a beautiful morning, one that we have been waiting for with all the grey mornings this past week. I made my way out to the rural roads of upper Woodland and returned home via Jean Duluth Road. I must have been suffering from the two day lag, because my hamstrings were very tight for most of the run. Having said that, there were several sections I had to hold the pace back as low 6:00's were showing up too often.

This will be my week of "warm up" running since the marathon. The next week starts my 20 week plan for CIM on the 6th of December. My mind and body are recharged and ready for the long road ahead. The time passes quickly when one is marathon training and before I know it, I will be looking at my watch in Sacramento.

Total: 1:37:38 14 miles

Weeks Total: 60 miles

Years Total: 1444.3 miles

Where Did The Speed Go?

Saturday

Kari and I managed to get out on the trails together for the first time in many months! It sure was nice to do that and it made my legs recover very well after last nights race. We ran Hartley to SHT and back to the house via Vermilion road. A good run.

Totals: 7.2 miles

Friday

I was going to get up and go for a quick three mile jaunt this morning but decided against it since I had to report to work early in order to make it out in time for my first ever Park Point 5 Miler. I have lived in Duluth for thirteen years and have never run that race. It never seemed appealing to me. In years past it seemed as though I was beat up from grandma's or injured or just plain ol' unmotivated at this point in the season. Not this year. I was gearing up for this race as soon as I knew my legs were going to let me, which was this week. I finally feel like I am clicking on all cylinders following a brutal marathon one month ago. Except for the speed. I was talking with my wife about how some people don't seem to really slow down year after year and I seem to have lost my shorter distance speed. It seemed like running 5:10-5:15 was second nature for the short distances but now have to struggle to stay under 5:30, and in the same month can maintain 5:35 for a half marathon. Then she reminded me I have neglected true "speed secessions" for the last three or more years and to blame it on that. I think she is right. Most of the last few years I have gotten away from speed work and just ran 'tempo' type training for true workouts. My new training program came yesterday and I have a bit more short speed worked into the next few weeks to attempt to wake up those fibers and see if I can resurrect some turnover. Let's hope so.

The race went as well as it could as I was rigging like no other just past four miles. A crazy side stitch hit me and I had to back off just a bit in order to finish up. In the process I lost a position and was unable to make it up. I was a bit disappointed as I wanted to get under the 26:45 USATF age-specific standard and I just missed it.

Finish was 7th overall with a time of 27:00.

Totals: 9+ miles (warm up, race, cool down)

Over The Hump

This morning I wanted to get another hour of aerobic running in and add a few striders before tomorrow nights five miler. I had the wonderful feeling of fast legs today and had to hold back quite a bit throughout the run. I did my McFarland, Rice Lake road, Skyline loop. This week I finally feel like I can resume regular training and start increasing the mileage in hopes to have some decent results later this summer and early fall before concentrating on CIM.

As far as the five miler tomorrow I have zero expectations. Is that a good thing? Maybe I need to set a time goal? But really, what difference does it make when I haven't speed trained for the shorter distances and all I'm going to do is run as hard as I can? It's amazing I have lived in Duluth for 13 years and failed to run this event in the past. The weather is usually hot and humid, and it falls just a month after Grandma's Marathon, so if you get beat up at the marathon, making it to the starting line of this race can be challenging. I'm just hoping for the best.

Totals: 58:21 8.1 miles

Wednesday:

Another easy recovery-type morning where I ran short road loop, then picked up the dog and ran a shorter trail loop in Rock Hill. Nothing too special, except I almost stepped on a small rabbit that was trying too hard to get out of my way and kept traversing across the trail until I ran bye and he zipped under my foot mid stride. Good thing the dog wasn't with me at that point as that could have been messy.

Total: 52:05 6.8 miles

Repeats On The Fly

This morning was a close call for a zero. I had a pretty rough nights sleep and my mind was telling me to stay in bed. Once I got up and moved about I was ready to go. I made my way out to Skyline and warmed up for three miles. Doing some "repeats" of some type was in the plan but I didn't have any specifics so I just made it up as I went. In the end I did 5 repeats of 2:30-3:30 at 5:25 pace. My legs responded well and ended with some nice warm down miles.

Totals: 56:51 8.3 miles (5 repeats totaling 3 miles)

Monday:

The morning went pretty well after doing my first two hour run since the marathon. My legs felt pretty fresh and I kept the pace slow just to insure a good recovery day. No animals to contend with which was a pleasant change.

Totals: 48:43 6.5 miles

Animal Magnet

The group at Jeremy's was a bit larger this week which made for some good entertainment. Our route was a first for me as we made our way to the Bong Bridge and crossed to Superior before making a short loop out in Billings before making the return trip. Another beautiful, sunny morning and my legs felt great until 100 minutes. The last bit was tiring but I made it and I am starting to feel like my old self.

We saw some sort of groundhog looking, rat-like varment that crossed right in front of us which made for yet another "animal" day for me. At least this one didn't give me the look to kill!

Totals: 2:00:00 ~15 miles

Weeks Totals: 52 miles (6 runs)

Years Totals: 1384.3 miles

Saturday:

We had a busy day planned so I got up at my usual time and woke up a bit more and headed out the door around 0630. The sun was up and west Skyline was calling my name. I went out to the four mile turn and back with a couple of thirty second striders thrown in at times. Legs felt a bit better this morning.

I had a family of raccoons cross my path and the mother of the group was giving me the stink-eye like she was ready to pounce if needed. Those suckers are mean!

Totals: 56:00 8 miles

Optimistic Choice

Friday:

Golden rule number one: Don't make a decision about running (exercising) when you are still lying in bed. Give yourself the chance and get up and go to the bathroom or go to the kitchen and get a drink of water at the very least. The second rule I try to live by is get out the door and give your legs at least one mile of effort before throwing in the towel. I mention these rules because I had to use both of them this morning just to get going. I'm not sure why, as I had a super night of sleep and my legs felt very good yesterday.

The run started off very slow but I remained optimistic as my first mile or so is always slow. Once the second mile was approaching by body was ready to go so I switched direction off of Skyline and made my way up Kenwood to the Hartley trails and ran a short loop before making my way home. All felt good, really good at the end, except the right glute and low back. (I still need that massage)

I am happy with the short loop this morning and should have a good weekend of running ahead.

Totals:46:50 6.1 miles (trails/roads)

Thursday:

Ran upper Woodland neighborhoods and out to Arnold road and Martin before making my way home via Vermilion. The day of rest paid huge as most of the achilles soreness is gone. My right glute and hamstring are nagging me as of late and I need a massage!

Legs felt super and I had to keep the pace down as today was not a "marathon pace" workout day.

Totals: 1:00:12 8.4 miles

Wednesday:

After waking up and walking around a bit I decided to give the achilles and legs a break and stretch them out instead. No harm in a mid week break.

O miles

Wake Up Legs!

This morning I woke up to a sore left achilles which I chalk up to running some uneven terrain last weekend. I will stick to the roads this week and do some good stretches and legs exercises to nip it right away, don't want to go down that path like 2008.

This morning I ran out and back on Skyline and added 6 X 1 minute fartleks just to get some leg turn over and it may have helped. I guess I will see tomorrow as to how my legs will feel.

Another beautiful sunrise over the great Lake.

Totals: 55:42 8 miles (6X 1 minute fartlek)

Monday:

Easy running up Woodland to Vermilion and home. No frills, just easy running. For once I didn't have any animals try to attack me.

Legs feel fair after the first week back.

Total: 48:00 6.5 miles

A Good Ending

The week finished much better than I was thinking and yesterday's and today's run went very well. Two weeks out from the marathon and little to no soreness, just a bit heavy-legged at times, and that's enough to keep me happy.

The weeks to follow I will start putting in some striders and short faster intervals to get the leg speed back and ready myself for the next two races on the 17th and 25th.

Jeremy and I ran out and back on an old railroad grade which provided a little extra protection from the sun. Nice to do the entire run off of pavement as well.

Totals: 1:37:00 12.2 miles

Weeks Totals: 45.3 miles (6 runs)

Years Totals: 1332.3 miles

Close Call With Nature

This morning I made my way out to the trails for an early morning jaunt. I always enjoy running the trails first thing in the morning as they are so peaceful. The birds seem to have the stage and their chirps seem so loud without any other competing noises. Everything was going well until the 42nd minute of the run. I was rounding a corner near a river bank and as I looked up after the turn there it was. A near three feet in front of me stood a SKUNK with its tail up and pink freckle pointed right at me. I screamed, "NO WAY!" and back-peddled as fast as possible. It never sprayed and once it hit the brush for a bit I sprinted past and was thankful for the critter not ruining my weekend. ( you get sprayed by a skunk and I can guarantee your weekend would be doomed)

My legs felt much better this morning and actually I was feeling quite snappy by the end of the run. Maybe a little longer effort tomorrow if I wake up feeling ready.

Totals: 1:01:30 7 miles

Friday:

The run was just a bit sluggish this morning but nevertheless a good one. My loop ran out on Arrowhead Road a bit and Howard G Road before making my way back to Skyline via Rice Lake Road. A good loop that offers flats, little up hill and decent stretch of downhill running. By then end of the run things were OK and looking forward to the weekend.

On a side note I think I figured out, with the help from some of the docs I work with, what the problem is with my stomach. I had a considerable stomach "ache/pain/cramp" during the marathon, as well as feeling it during the Fargo Half, and now have had it two days in a row while training easy paces. After some good discussions and comparing notes, I decided to take myself off coffee and attempt to keep high acid foods out of my diet for the next two weeks. Along with that I am giving Prilosec, a Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI), no plug for prilosec as this stuff is over the counter now, a trial and see if I can keep the stomach issues at bay. I must have some form of an ulcer or GI thang going on so hopefully this will be worth the effort.

Totals: 54:29 7.6 miles

Loosening Up

This morning I was feeling a bit closer to normal and my legs are getting looser. I've decided to use the rest of the week as mileage that my body will allow and then next week focus a bit more on added some easy speed and striders to get some snap back.

I have also mapped out the rest of the summer and fall races with the ultimate goal race being in December at CIM on the 6th. More on the season later this weekend.

Total: 50:00 6.5 miles (trails and road)

Wednesday:

Woke up just a bit tired after a stellar nights sleep so I decided to curl up on the couch and watch the news. That felt good too!

0 miles

Tuesday:

Maybe I got a bit excited with yesterday's return but my legs were a bit heavy this morning and I decided to cut the run a bit short and focus on easy running and some striders. By the end of the run my legs felt much better but still a bit tight in spots. Hopefully some good stretches will help that.

39:00 5+ miles