Lightening Show

Last night there was quite the lightening presentation as a few different storms passed through the northland. There was a point in the early evening that no more than two or three seconds would pass and another lightening strike would occur. There was little thunder associated which I thought was a bit odd. After all the rain we received I figured the trail systems would be flooded, but I opted for off road running anyway.

I left the house and made my two plus minute jog to the Rock Hill trail head and proceeded to make four revolutions prior to jumping on the SHT and heading over to Hartley to run an outer loop of the ski trails. I was feeling quite well and controlled my HR the best I could on the uphills. My legs are coming around and having much less fatigue. I am excited for next week and would like to think that I have made an adjustment for the better which will make my next phase of running even more productive in the weeks to come.

Totals: 1:20:46  9.8 miles (HR 132) 8:16 pace

*hilly off road trails

Easy As It Should Be

Approximately two weeks after starting the 'Hadd' system my easy, low HR runs are starting to feel better. I was talking last night that I had some frustrations with these runs as they usually start good and end with my legs feeling heavy and fatigued. Not so much this morning. 

I started the morning like most others with the exception of taking a Power Gel and a glass of water just prior to setting out to the darkness. It is only 110 calories but I was hoping it would be better than nothing at all. It either helped or I had one of those good running days. My legs felt real loose and fluid and I had no problem keeping the HR down AND feeling good doing it. I finished with doing a couple of laps on the UMD track just to gauge the HR/pace effort and once I got home I did 4 X 100 meter striders.

Totals:  53:18  7 miles  (HR 125) 7:41 pace

*felt super!

Skyline Sunrise

Wednesday: No running this morning as I felt the mental need to take a day off and just hang in the morning and drink coffee. I must admit it felt good until I was on the bus to work and saw runners on the sidewalks. I had wished I ran. Not really but the desire was there. 

0 miles

Thursday:

This morning I decided to go a bit longer than usual and keep the HR near 135. I felt really great for the first thirty minutes or so and then I started to get fatigued and heavy legged. Still not sure, but I have to believe it falls under the reasoning of "the Hadd way". The good was I had an amazing sunrise to stare at as I headed home eastward on Skyline. Good times! I messed up the watch at the beginning of the run so I put my run into splits on the way home. 

Out in 32:02 4.5 miles (HR 131) 7:10 pace

Back in 31:19 4.5 miles (HR 138) 7:02 pace

Last/First segments 6:12 (HR 140 at end) 7:11 pace 

*not able to hold pace at HR

Totals: 1:15:44  10.6 miles 

Much of the Same

Monday:

I was planning on an easy run this morning and once I made my way to the kitchen I noticed the schedule called for an hour in the "middle" zones. Off I went and I couldn't help but think of the overall soreness I have been experiencing. This may be what Hadd mentioned in his article about not having the slow muscle fibers "in shape" because of running over and above that specific zone. Or it's a bunch of shit and I am just adjusting to consistent training. Regardless, I felt just 'ok' this morning.

58:45  7.5 miles (HR 126) 7:46 pace

This morning (tues.) I was to run seventy minutes at the upper limits. These are the runs I look forward to all week because I usually feel good doing them. Today was no different. Down to superior street and out to Lester and returning via London Rd. After a fresh rain last night the roads were still full of puddles making for some added fun. I broke the run into two segments as the last mile and a half or so would be up hill climbing from the bottom of lemon drop hill up to UMD area where we live. I often found myself holding back due to jamming up the HR at sub 6:30 pace. Overall, a good run!

Here are the splits:

flat split: 52:11  7.5 miles (HR 132) 6:58 pace

uphill : 15:41  1.9 miles (HR 142) 8:20 pace

Totals:  1:07:53  9.4 miles (HR 134)  7:15 pace

Northeaster

Another solo longer run as most people are doing their own thing on the weekends. A lot of people do long runs on Saturday and that keeps me running solo. I wanted to stick to the roads as much as I could so I headed west on Skyline to the "twin ponds" near Enger Tower where I decided to take the short section of SHT down the hill to Superior Street before heading east on the lake walk. When I hit the roads at the bottom of the trail to head east I encountered a decent northeast wind that made the HR jump up quite a bit at the pace I was running. I never got comfortable on this run and I just chalked it up to increase in overall volume this week. I should feel better after this upcoming week.

Totals: 1:37:39   12.4 miles (HR 131) 7:53 pace

Weeks Totals: 60 miles

Years Totals: 1524 miles

Rock Loops

With family in town for the weekend I made it my personal mission to get up early and run so I wouldn't interfere with any plans for the day. Today I had the pleasure of running with Chris, whom I worked with during the Superior 100 a couple of weeks ago, as he had to get his run in rather early too. My plan was to run easy mileage for up to an hour and I wanted to get off the pavement and run some of Duluth's more gentle trails. Off to Rock Hill trails where we did a series of loops and headed back home. Nothing special when you are doing easy HR mileage. Good conversation and the hour was up very quickly.

Totals: 1:03:54  7.3 miles (HR 122) 8:48 pace

Upper End

This morning was another "work" day where I get to explore the upper "limits" of my current training zones. I usually look forward to these days and today was no different. The one problem I had was I never got comfortable. It wasn't that the effort was hard. More of just having difficulty with the legs becoming fluid. I then remembered that this week was an overall increase in volume for me and I have been doing a bit more leg exercises, thus the heavy leg feeling. I am still happy with the run and the splits looked like this:

Totals: 1:12:30  10.5 miles (HR 136) 6:55 pace

Easy (hard) Hour

The schedule called for one hour at my current "middle" HR, which turned out to be near 130 bpm. It was quite comfortable in the early miles and I had a difficult time staying at the prescribed HR but after some time it became a bit easier. The hills always make it a bit difficult to maintain HR but I just concentrate on overall effort. Finished with a couple of sets of leg exercises.

Totals: 57:23  7.6 miles (HR 128) 7:36 pace

It Can't Be Right!

But it is. My HR Max that is. This morning was the chosen day since I woke up without the help of my alarm and I knew to see that as a sign. The morning was absolute perfect. A little moon light, no wind, cool and the track was clear. 

After warming up for a bit over two miles I was instructed to treat this test just I would a race. So I did. Complete set of stretches, striders, shoes tied tight, more striders, (I was really attempting to put the start off since I knew of the pain ahead) and finally a quick shed of the shirt and made sure my cap was on tight. After my last strider I knew I was ready.

The plan was as follows. Run a 800 meter all out and record the HR. Give myself a two minute rest (active) and then run an all out 400 meter. The HR at the end of the 400 would prove to be my Max. The numbers I would see shocked me as I figured them to be much higher. I don't know why I let myself believe this because I did an attempt at my HR max approximately ten years ago and I remember the HR being near ten beats higher than this morning. (it is said you loose your top end HR every year, thus the 220-age formula as an ESTIMATE) I gave it my all. My quads were burning, breaths at two or three per step. Yep, a real ball-buster. Here's the results:

800 meter HR 168 (2:19)

2 minutes of rest. boy did that time fly

400 meter HR 169 (no time recorded, forgot to hit the split)

I thought I would be in the upper 170's but I then remembered the HR test ten years ago showing my max near 180-181. So, I guess it makes sense. So does the "mini-test" I did last week and having me struggle with running the 160 and 170 HR zones. DUH! That actually made me feel much better about the test last week and will really open my eyes to upper HR limits of weekly training. I am a bit excited because if this HR training does work, and if I make the progress that a lot of runners make then the end result will really satisfy me. (those details of what the 'end result' mean will come later)

Man have I been over-training in years past. Amazing. The test wasn't fun. It hurt a bunch, but will be well worth it. 

Totals: 6 miles+ with warm up/ warm down and all.

"Work" Day

Monday: easy running to get the kinks out from yesterday's longer effort. Felt good but the temps were a bit cool. Had 32F at 0530 at our house. This was the second time for me to wear pants in the morning. Let's hope for warmer temps. Finished with 4X100 meter striders. 

Totals: 46:07  6+ miles

Today was was termed a "work" day on the schedule. Not really a true tempo effort but an effort that was a bit harder than the usual aerobic effort. I am still guessing on the HR's since I don't have my true HR Max yet. I want to have fresh legs and a good nights sleep prior to attempting the test. For now it looks like it may be tomorrow or Thursday. So in the meantime I would use 140-145 as my work zone for today. I was surprised how hard the effort felt, as far as my leg muscles, but it may have been some left over fatigue from Sunday's longer run. Once I got home and had a good stretch and a set of leg exercises I felt much better. As far as my breathing the effort felt really good and I wasn't challenged too bad. The morning temps were much better and having a full moon as my morning light was absolutely wonderful. A good run. Training is starting to make sense and I can start to see a little progress.

Totals: 1:04:16  9.7 miles (HR 140) 6:38 pace 

Sweetness

The title holds two purposes. One, today marks my wife Kari and my sixth anniversary. I love you babe! It also says the way I felt after today's run, which is the purpose of this blog.

I've been following my heart rate closely since I started training again on July 1st. I didn't have specific "zones" but I knew how and at what HR to stay at when doing easy days. What I didn't know would be the fact I was running my hard efforts too hard for this point in my training. Now, for the past two weeks I have been a bit more aware and starting to focus in on specific HR "zones" and will have a better focus after my HR Max test this up coming week. As I mentioned earlier this week, this theory would  come from the "Hadd-training" link I was exposed to. It's either a complete coincidence or it really works. I would love to think the later.

Today I was to get at least ninety minutes and start inching my Sunday long runs closer to two hours. I was excited to get this run under way and couldn't catch anybody to join me so off I went. Like I mentioned, I don't know my true HR max yet so today's intensity was a close "guess" and I would make the decision to focus my HR at 145 bpm and no more. The course I chose would offer some of the best runnable trails Duluth has to offer as well as some road sections to keep the distance honest. I had a decent amount of time running 'down' as I live higher than the lake and that was where I was headed. Once I hit Superior street at the bottom of Lester ski trails I would be running in complete down pour smiling like my three year old son as he splashes in the puddles. One of those runs where you know things are improving and you become excited about the future. One day, week at a time.

Totals: 1:40:06  13.3 miles  (HR 135)  7:33 pace.

Weeks Totals: 52 miles (6 runs)

Years Totals: 1464 miles

The Spandex Zone

This morning the Inline Skating Marathon was occurring. In years past Kari and I have gone to watch the finish as it has great opportunities for crashes! The announcer at the finish line likes to call the packs of skaters, in biking it would be called the pelleton, "the spandex zone". Weird... Anyway, I was running towards London Road and then realized that the race was this morning. As I made my way down the course there were several "zones" that went bye me with the crowd using cow bells to cheer them along the course.

As for my run I was using HR and made a decision not to run above 145 for an hour or so. Once I was down on London Rd. there would be only one option to get home. Up hill. I used the Chester Bowl trails and ran easy until I crested the trail at Skyline Blvd. There were a few times when I had to back off pace to  keep the rate below 145, but I managed to accomplish this pretty easy. I felt good after as well and that is what I have been liking about my current phase of training. I never feel beat up and recover well. It's going to take some time, but I have faith in this HR training.

Totals: 1:02:42   8 miles HR: 135 (7:48 pace)

Mini-Test Gone Wrong?

Thursday: 0 miles. I consider this my "float" day. IF I am going to take a day off it is for days like this. I woke no problem but found myself mentally shot. No will to run. So I didn't force it. One good pot of coffee and taking in some morning news prior to work. I will feel better tomorrow.

Hadd Mini-Test:

This morning I really wanted to get this test out of the way. My legs felt fresh from yesterday's absence of activity and I was willing to give a good effort and head to the track. After warming up for fifteen minutes or so I got busy. The track was covered with small sections of portable bleachers from last nights UMD Bulldog football game but I didn't let that deter me in any way. I had my Garmin on which provided me proper distance and HR. The test is  as follows: all interval distances are 2400 meters. The first at 140HR, then 150, 160, 170, 180. I started out and had a difficult time keeping my HR under 140 and may have overshot a bit. This is what Hadd said not to do. Here was my layout of the test, my actual HR in parenthesis: 

HR 140 (143) 9:19 (6:13 pace)

HR 150 (153) 8:33 (5:43 pace)

HR 160 (162) 8:00 (5:20 pace)

HR 170 (159) 3:25 (5:14 pace)

* I couldn't run this last interval. I couldn't get the HR up and I was side-stitching like no other. My breaths were three to one step and I felt miserable. I'm a bit confused by this. Maybe an off day? I know I can get my HR over 170 as I have seen it in training before. I will be doing my Max HR test early next week and hopefully this will make sense. The most likely I can think of would be I am like Hadd mentioned. My LT and aerobic base is way low and that is what I will be working on over the next 15 weeks or so. 

I have to do a bit more reading yet and will be working more closely with HR training and hopefully seeing an improvement in efforts soon. I am looking forward to it.

Totals: 1:07:56  9.2 miles

Martin Road

Took it easy running Woodland to Martin road and cruising it home via Vermilion Rd. Nothing special but just easy mileage as I do a bit more research into the "Hadd" training system. It's basis is Lydiard in the way it has you do easy mileage building on the "aerobic" system. I have been running easy for many weeks and so far it has worked for me as I feel I am getting more fit week by week. Just have to build on the speed later in the fall.

Totals: 56:00  7.7 miles HR: 128 (7:15 pace)

Intro to Hadd

With temps in the mid 30's this morning I chose to use a light pair of pants for the run. The plan wasn't calling for me to run "hard" so I figured the extra layer would keep my legs warm. I've started reading some training theory from an individual that refers to him/her self as Hadd. Erik mentioned this to me over the weekend and I found a document with the basis of his theories which is entirely based on heart rates. So far it seems interesting and I would like to get his "fitness" test in this week. Maybe Thursday?

This mornings run was an out and back on west Skyline Blvd. I wanted to "experiment" from what I read last night, so I attempted to keep my HR at 140, regardless of pace. I have to go back in my journal a month or more and see what this HR/pace was for me. I am assuming the pace was much slower than today. Here is what today looked like.

Out in 28:06  4 miles (HR 138, pace 6:55)

Return 26:53 4 miles (HR 144, pace 6:45)

Total: 54:59  8 miles (HR 140 ave., pace 6:50)

Dark and Easy

Just getting out of bed was the major goal of the morning. Any extra running was a bonus. I must have been caught up on sleep because I felt great this morning. I did an easy Cemetery/UMD loop that is often a staple in the winter months. Just easy mileage with a few striders to stretch out the legs. A good run.

Totals: 37:30  5.6 miles

Espresso and Running

I usually use are espresso machine at times of desperate need. Today was one of those days. We woke up this morning and drove downtown to watch the Duluth Minnesota Mile. The weather conditions were terrible with rain, cool winds and slippery brick streets. It still looked like fun and my mile race will be put on hold for yet another year.

I slept near twelve hours last night and remained tired. After the mile I just slept on the couch watching TV and my son ripping around the living room. My wife went for a run and I was to be next. That's when the espresso machine made its way out of storage and into operation. Ironically the sun decided to show itself and Lucas and I walked around the yard while waiting the arrival of mom. Suddenly I was beginning to feel better. The espresso worked!

Once Kari was home I put on my clothes and head to the trails. I couldn't handle the thought of running open roads. One half loop into Rock Hill and I ran into Jarrow, fresh off of the Burrito Union 10 hour endurance event, looking to get some easy miles in. We hooked up and ended getting a decent run in the trails of Rock Hill and Hartley. As the run progressed I started to feel better. I am most satisfied with my legs becoming a lot more fresh most days. (I haven't felt that for years) In the end I ran for ninety minutes. A good series of stretches and leg exercises would complete my day.

Totals: 1:29:39  ~ 11 miles

Saturday: 7 miles with Chris

Weeks Totals: 43 miles (5 runs)

Years Totals: 1412 miles

Superior 100 Part II, A Crew's Perspective

*sorry Chris only shot I could get

A little over a month ago I received a phone call from fellow "early morning" runner Chris Gardner. He was calling to see if I would be "interested" in with what he called, "not your average favor" which was crewing for the Superior Trail 100 miler. He didn't have the complete sentence out of his mouth and I already knew my answer. I just didn't let him know that, (sorry Chris), but I let him sit on the offer for a few days while I figured out if I was the right person for the job. Many thoughts went through my head. Could I stay up? What if I was too soft and couldn't be "mean" enough in the dark hours when he needed me most? After all, I didn't have any personal experience in ultra's. I've watched many, talked to many who have done them, read hundreds of articles, blogs and stories from others, but haven't been directly connected to anybody doing one. I said yes and he was thankful for the "favor". Below is my story of the night. It was fun Chris and I'm so happy I witnessed one of the most determined, goal-oriented, talented, "ballsy" running I've ever seen.

Chris had his wonderful wife and precious fourteen month old daughter doing major crewing efforts in the morning hours as I had to put in a partial day of work. I called Erik, Chris's pacer for the night, earlier than planned and we left Duluth around 1300. We were off to an early start and were thinking it would be a huge load off of both Chris and Christy's shoulders to see us early and relieve her of her duties. We made it early and caught Chris at county road 6 (mile 42.8). As we approached the aid station Christy and Ella greeted us with smiles and we found out Chris was out to an early lead and looking good. "He looked a bit dazed", we heard. Someone else mentioned, "he was slurring his words a bit, check him out and see what you think when he gets here." Chris showed up and was smiling and looking quite well. Not much chit chat, just a quick exchange of water bottles, Gu's, and one glass of coke. A quick wave goodbye and into the woods he went high stepping over the roots and rocks. "He looks pretty good" Erik said under a soft voice. Everyone who had seen him previously mentioned he "looked much better now". What the hell, a guy has to have a few bad patches when running 100 miles. This was also the low point for one unfortunate runner limping across the road to observe a bit himself. It was fellow blogger Adam Harmer. Hampered by a bum Achilles tendon it would not be his day. Sorry Adam. A neat guy as he and his crew member stayed up all night going point to point following runners. Off to Finland.

Finland 50.5 miles

Super aid station! These gals had it all. Camper, lights, canopies, and all to food to make a tired, growly ultra runner a bit less edgy. Chris made his appearance the same he did at the previous one. Smiling and bouncy. A quick change of shirt was in order as well as the same water, Gu, coke combination. Less than three minutes later a quick kiss to the wife and child, since this would be the last he would see of them until the finish line, and he was off bounding into the woods. This was the point Erik and myself would be assisting Chris to the finish. We spent some time visiting others as we waited for the next runners to arrive. First into the aid station was a not-so-happy Wynn Davis. He took one hell of a spill, jamming his big toe in the process. It would not be his day either. This was his finish line for the day. Sorry Wynn. Next to arrive would be Joe Ziegenfuss and Duke Rembleski (sp?) looking pretty good. Joe can eat like no other at aid stations!! Off they went back to the woods and Erik and I made our way to Crosby-Manitou.

Crosby-Manitou (62.2 miles)

Super Aid station. More lights, music and a disco ball!! Sweet jesus! Good job guys.

From the gun this was where Chris wanted to be prior to nightfall. He made his goal. This was also the starting point for pacer Erik Kaitala. I can't think of anybody else I would want to have by my side running in the middle of the night. He's a great person and has a long resume of running experiences to know how to get the job done. You did great Erik, good job! After the same check-in routine and donning headlamps, and taking in some ibuprofen for a twisted ankle, Chris and Erik were off to the next aid station.

Sugarloaf (71.6 miles)

After sitting at Crosby to see where Joe and Duke were I hit the gravel and made my way to Sugarloaf. I was getting a bit nervous and thought I didn't give myself adequate time to make the drive and many times thought I missed a turn while listening to satellite radio techno-dance music, slamming red bulls and pounding mini peanut butter cups. I didn't put Erik's Honda Element in the bush and soon found my way to the lights. Wynn's parents host this aid station and this was another not to let anybody down. Great Job! I will have to ask Chris but I think this was his "low" point of the race. He was a bit off pace and I was getting worried. Amazingly when they showed up Chris had that same grin on his face and was looking as good as any other. Erik mentioned it was a "good" section but I was thinking otherwise. A quick swap of bottles, a denied request for more ibuprofen ( I gave him more at the next station), and off they went. I visited for quite some time with Wynn, Adam, Eve and many others whose names I forgot and decided to make my way to Cramer Road. (We were told that nobody was there and the aid wasn't out yet, so I figured I better make sure I have some lights ready)

Cramer Road (77.2 miles)

As I pulled into the aid station there wasn't much for light but they were there in the early stages of setting up. A huge truck unloading gear took off as soon as I showed up and all the food and extras were soon ready. I had time to chat with probably the two youngest Ham Radio personnel in the state. The guy setting up the aid station said, "you are the only Ham radio people I know under the age of 60." They mentioned they had done "coms" (communication) in the service and continue to do it as civilians. It wasn't long and Chris and Erik showed up as fresh as any other stop. Chris looked at me with a bit of smile and wanted to know how he was doing. I said, "great Chris, you look good." As if he didn't know, but he was inquiring how the guys were doing behind him. Up to this point, Chris didn't know, or want to know, any time gap he had on the next racers. He was asking. I left the previous aid station early and didn't know how long the time gap was but I heard over the radio that Joe had left Sugarloaf about fifty minutes ago. "Are you sure." No I wasn't. "Can you stay and find out before heading to the next aid station?" Sure, not a problem. That's my job. Joe's light came through the woods 43:00 later. He spent near five minutes eating soup and anything else he could jam down the esophagus. "Shit, the leads down to fifty minutes" I thought. What do I tell Chris at the next stop. The truth I guess.

Temperance (84.3 miles)

Another great aid station. The bar was set pretty high for quality aid stations. I set up my gear boxes right away, grabbed some food from the truck along with another Red Bull and set up my bag chair by the hosts fire. Wow did that feel good. It wasn't too long and the boys made there way to the stop. As I looked at my watch it still seemed like the splits were off from predictions. Chris wanted to know the time gap right away. "Joe had a good section" I said. "What is it?" I didn't want to tell him. "You are running a solid pace, keep it up". That wasn't good enough. I had to tell him. "Around 48 minutes" I said. All they had to do was run a decent section and I would see them in under ninety minutes. "Let's go! Kaitala Chris said." Chris took off and I ran up to Erik and said, "push him on this section, even if you guys are power walking, push him a bit." Well, Erik didn't have to. Hearing after the fact, Chris hit the trial, said to Erik, "I want my ten minutes back" and that is all what was said for 5.7 miles.

Sawbill (90 miles)

I waited at the last aid station for 55:00 and no Joe. He must have had a bit of a "low". As I drove into the aid station I thought I might have my directions wrong. No lights, no people. Just one tent and one pop-up camper. I was so tired as I thought, "damn campers... this isn't a camp site. They will be sorry they camped here when all the runners decide to come running through." Little did I know, that was all the aid crew sleeping. One guy knocked on my window and I went out to say hi. He said, "hey, are you crewing for  somebody?" "Yup, the guy that is going to be here in twenty-five minutes." He was a bit surprised as he was told they had more than an hour before the first runner would come through. Not the case. I was planning for a ninety minute section and I soon saw two headlamps at eighty minutes! I had just sat in my bag chair with my sleeping bag munching on graham crackers. Wow! They had a super section. "How are you feeling?" Chris looked at me stated, "Good, what's the gap?" I told them I had waited fifty five minutes and no Joe yet. "Really, you didn't see him?" "Nope, you guys are jamming." It was at this time when I realized Erik was stretching like no other trying to get a tight psoas to loosen up. "Gregg, you better get ready to run at Oberg, I don't think I can make it." We're at ninety miles and Chris has the mind to ask if I was sure I wanted to run the last section. (he knows I've been on a build up since my achilles snafu this spring) Without a doubt, I stated to Chris, "you're not running the last section by yourself, I'll see you guys at Oberg." I jogged with the guys to the trail head and told Chris to empy the water bottles and take in the Gu's. Joe was going to run out of real estate on the chase and they just needed to have a good section to hold position. Got to go get ready to run.

Oberg (95.5 miles)

I blasted to the Oberg station slamming yet another Red Bull and got Chris's gear boxes ready. A quick change into running gear, filled up my bottle, made sure my headlamp had fresh batteries and I was ready to tackle the last 7.1 miles. Chris and Erik showed up in yet another quick section just about 80 minutes. I had to relay all messages to Erik about waking up Christy, making sure he had the keys and off we went. I was talking to Erik and Chris was half way down the parking lot. "I better catch up now, because I will never catch him on the trails." We chatted a bit and I wanted to find out what he and Erik were doing as far as conversation, pacing, etc... Chris mentioned he was front running and not doing a lot of talking. That's OK with me I thought. I really just wanted to be present for Chris and not screw up his race in the last 7.1 miles. Wow, would that suck! What I would witness in the next one hour and forty eight minutes will stick with me for the rest of my life. For those that know the terrain, Chris ran up Oberg! Yup, 95 miles into a race and he ran up it. To have the spring and agility he had to the finish was amazing. We chatted a bit but mostly I gave him quiet times and added some words of encouragement from time to time. Stuff that a beat up runner needs to hear at that point. It was true and he had an amazing pace going even when he was power walking the hills. "Chris you are keeping a really good pace up the hills. You are not slowing at all." He muttered, "good, it sure doesn't feel like it." We rounded a point in the trail where you can see the Lutsen Resorts lights and it seemed like that was a huge lift. The pace picked up and there was little walking after that. He nailed the downhills and soon we were off the trail. What a wonderful feeling it must have been for him. "How does that feel I asked?" "Pretty amazing, I can't believe I did it." We hit the gravel road, a little less than a mile away and I looked at my watch. I was attempting to do some easy math and realized that a sub twenty-two hour was definitely within reach. "Do you think you can make there under ten minutes?" I asked. Nothing was said, but the footfalls quickened and soon we were running 7:00 pace. I run this pace often and I know we were running 7:00's, no B.S. A quick dash around the pool at Caribou and it was all over. "Wow, he did it", I thought. The finish time was 21:57:53. Amazing.

So, that is my report from a crew, mini-pace personnel. One of those experiences that is cemented in my mind and will share stories for years to come. Thank you for all the memories, to all crew members, aid station members, and mostly to Chris, Christy, Ella and Erik.

Superior Trial 100 Mile 2008.

GARDNER WINS!

In his debut at 100 miles, Chris Gardner of Duluth MN. won the 2008 Superior Sawtooth Trail 100 Miler this morning in an unofficial winning time of 21:57:00. (course record was 21:42:11) More report later... it's time for bed. The official web page is HERE.

No Frills

Out for an easy mileage run this morning in the cool, dark morning hours. It was 42F at our house, cool enough for light gloves and long sleeves. Quite comfortable for running.

I did the extended Pig's loop out to Martin and home via Vermilion. Legs felt good.

Totals: 53:38  7.7 miles

Return to Lakeside

I decided to get another LT workout this morning and Lakeside offers a pretty good course for such a workout. On a whim I decided to do a four mile LT run. Warming up I felt good as the temps were in the low 40's and it was DARK.

Here's a breakdown:

2.2 mile warm up  16:55

4 mile LT: 1st mile: 5:49 (146)

                     2nd mile: 5:40 (151)

                     3rd mile: 5:45 (156 into wind)

                     4th mile: 5:49 (156)

2.6 mile warm down 21:10

Looking at the HR I am hoping that it was the slight headwind and up grade that was causing my HR to pop up. I was still feeling quite comfortable but off on the pace a bit. My next LT work should be near 5:43's. Overall I am satisfied with the workout. For some reason the lower calf muscles got tight again. I gave them a good stretch after the run.

Totals: 1:01:14  8.8 miles 

Tuesday: 1st day back to work. Slept like hell last night due to the heat. No running.

Trial of Trails

Since I had an "off" day yesterday  I figured I would take it easy and run some trails for a recovery. I was only three minutes into the run when I ran into a group of four runners including Kooks, Jess, Jarrow and Darrin. I latched on and ran three loops in Rock Hill followed by an outside ski loop in Hartley. As the run progressed I felt better and was quite thankful that yesterday's run was one of those fluky off-days. It was nice to be in the woods on trails because at 9:00 the heat was up! A good day and looking forward to the rest of the week except for the darkness.

Totals: 1:15:22  8.7 miles ( in woods ? gps accuracy, but close)

Blah

The title says it all. I should have known this was going to be one of those "get the mileage in and don't worry" kind of runs. When I woke up this morning I felt OK but not peppy and ready to tackle a longer run. The plan was to run 14-15 but the cards just didn't play out right. I thought running loops would be a good idea and allow me to get good fluids but all it did was mess up my mind. Had I done one big loop I would have been "forced" into completing the loop and thus I would have done the mileage. By doing a shorter loop twice I knew that there was a quick way home and I chose that route. Besides having low energy, my left, lower, outer calf muscle never loosened the whole run. I was waiting for it to ease off and it never did. We are heading to the lake later and will be doing some soaking.

The week was quite good, other than missing a day while attending the state fair, but this was a week to build on and have fun next weekend. (pulling an all nighter crewing for my buddy Chris Gardner as he goes for his first 100 miler on the Superior 100.

Totals: 1:32:44  13.2 miles 7:01 pace HR: 139

               1st loop: 46:52

               2nd loop: 45:52

Weeks Totals: (6 runs) 52 miles

Years Totals: 1369 miles

Lakeside Threshold

After yesterday's easy mileage and no significant stress since Tuesday I figured it would be a good day to add some threshold work to the week. I woke up and felt good right from the start. After warming up for 2.5 miles at 7:30 pace I worked into the workout and it looked like this:

2.5 miles warm up 19:00

2 miles LT pace (currently 5:45) 11:34/ 5:46 pace HR: 161

4 minutes easy 

2 miles LT pace  11:35/ 5:47 pace HR: 159

2.6 miles warm down

*interesting how HR eased off a bit the second repeat. I found the pace easy to hold so maybe just needed to work into it a bit. (Workout in lakeside to hwy 61 and london rd.)

Totals: 1:07:20  9.7 miles  

A Nooner

A run that is. I dislike running past 0900 on most days. My body is up and ready way before that. After a morning pot of coffee Kari decided to head out the door and get her run complete. That led Lucas and I out the back door to mix some cement and fix the curb at the base of the drive. Since we moved in three years ago a piece of the curb the size of a soccer ball was loose and every time somebody used our drive to turn around they clipped it and drug the piece down the street. (there has to be some very damaged under carriages on cars out there)

The run was about average. Nothing special, but nothing bad either. Kooks and I managed to head out West on Skyline around Enger Tower and back to Chester Bowl. After the run I did a short sequence of exercises just to stretch out the legs a bit.

Totals: 57:14  7.7 miles  (7:28 pace)  HR: 129

State Fair Fun!

Wednesday: 0 miles running  ~5 hours of walking at State Fair

We spent yesterday taking on the festivities at the State Fair. It's been 15 years since my last visit to the fair. We had a blast and will be returning for many years to follow. I have attached a few pictures. Our return trip went through Hayward where we visited the fish museum and the wilderness walk. That's Lucas and dad with their mean snears on.

I woke up this morning and ran a loop on the Hayward area roadways. The calf was still a bit tight and when I returned back to the hotel I hit the shower and did a complete set of stretches in the hot water. I figure my calf issues are stemming from tight glutes and low back. The next few days will focus on loosening and performing strength exercises for those muscle groups.

Totals: 48:30  7.3 miles 

Out of Place at The Track

It's been quite some time since my last "formal" track workout. In years past I have incorporated speed into my distance loops and have used time as an interval. There is nothing wrong with that method but I wanted to get back on the track to gauge my efforts to see where I compared to years ago when I was doing regular track work.

 Amazing how hard the efforts felt compared to seeing them on paper. The plan was to do 10 X 400 with 400 rest and to do them in 73 seconds. After the second repeat I noticed my left calf starting to tighten. It never got much worse than "tight" but by not loosening up I decided to alter the workout and finish with some 200's. I guess I am happy I didn't blow anything major, but I wished I had left the track on a better note. As long as the calf loosens up next week should be better. 

Here is a breakdown:

400M: 75 sec. (trying to figure out pace)

"    "    : 74 sec.

"   "     : 72 sec.

"   "     : 72 sec.

"   "     : 73 sec.

"   "     : 71 sec.

200M: 35 sec.

"   "     : 36 sec

"    "    : 36 sec.

"   "     : 36 sec.

Not much of a cool down, maybe 1.5 miles as the calf was tightening more. After I did a long period of stretches and things settled down quite a bit. Hope tomorrow is better.

Totals: 7.5 miles (track work)

Changes

Yes, I changed the blog template again. I wanted to get a title picture up and the old blog template wouldn't allow any of my pictures to fit properly. A panoramic would have been perfect. Oh, well I like the change so far. Maybe some tweaking in the future. Enjoy!

By the way, incase anyone didn't know, the Aerial  Lift Bridge in Canal Park, Duluth MN. is my title picture. This was taken the morning of Grandma's Marathon 2008.

Learning From Don

From the Blog list on my page one should check out Don's blog. A good read and often very good food pictures. From what I can tell he eats everything organic and has a wonderful way of putting meals together. (I should say he and his sweetheart)

Here's one for you Don. My wife Kari prepared the meal and I have to take the credit for presentation. Hope I made you proud!

Organic greens, tomato's, peppers, onions, avocado, organic tofu with Shanghai marinade along with some organic strawberries and of course organic Dark chocolate. I washed it down with some water as I had the mid afternoon Summit Pale Ale. (after all I am on vacation until Sept. 2)

790's Are Back

This mornings run was one for easy recovery. I wanted to give the trails another try and since I wasn't going to be running hard I chose the NB 790's since I haven't worn them on a run since May. It has been a slow transition to get the achilles and calves loose and strong once again to allow me to run in these shoes. A good thing as I love having the low minimal trail shoes as I feel like my feet are more responsive with the terrain.

The run went well. I didn't use the Garmin and ran entirely on effort. I am guessing I was near 8:00 pace for most of the run. My breathing was effortless and the legs recovered well from yesterday's triathlon. Not the usual triathlon but my own all day of activity. After yesterday's run I decided to seal the driveway. Our driveway is near 100 ft. and after four hours of back breaking squeegeeing (is that a word?) work I had to hit the shower and bike to the in-laws house for a birthday party. I ended doing about 35 minutes of biking. A good day for me!

Rock Hill trails, connected to Hartley trails and returned home via the same route. No pains to report. Super run!

Totals: 51:34  ~6.5 miles

Croft Thirteen

I have ran this course numerous times in past marathon build-ups and term it a "medium-distance" loop. For the next few months I don't see myself running much longer than maybe 15-16 milers as I focus on the shorter distances. I think I can squeak out a 1/2 marathon using this method.

As for the run this morning, it was cool at the start which made for near perfect running conditions. I started out at my usual slow warm up pace and once over the initial hills found myself running 6:40 pace quite easily. I tried to back off to 7's but there comes a point where comfort zone is easier than forcing a slower pace. I managed to work the remaining hills pretty good before heading into the last three miles of the course. When I do these types of longer efforts I like to close in what would equate to marathon pace in the future. Today that effort was 6:00 pace for three miles before jogging the last three blocks upon returning home.

 I was very happy with this run for many reasons. My legs and feet felt great, even with a tight right hamstring prior to setting off this morning, the weather was near perfect, the fluids were settling well and the closing paces felt super. I need to be aware and cautious of this transition phase from base to strength phase not to run too hard early on. Just because one can run hard doesn't mean one should. Just like any phase of running, you have to progress through the phase. Should be fun!

Totals: 1:28:48  13.2 miles  (6:45 pace)  HR: 140

               last 3.2 miles (6:00 pace)

Weeks Totals: 57 miles

Years Totals: 1317 miles

Hilly Trails

I haven't devoted  an entire run to trails since coming back from the achilles injuries. I was a bit skeptical in doing it but as far as trails go it was quite even surfaces. Two minutes from out front door are the UMD Bagley Nature Center trails. They have them listed as 3000 meters if you do all the outer loops. I did this four times keeping the HR low on the climbs and managed to feel quite well for the entire run. After the run I managed to get a couple sets of exercises for the lower legs and glutes.

Totals: 7.5 miles  ?time

Sticky and Zapped

I had planned on running an hour loop with hill repeats but things just didn't go my way as the humidity got to me. I did a loop where the hills were spread too far apart, that's my fault for not planning better, but I just ran out of gas. The couple of hill repeats I did manage to squeeze in felt really good. Possibly some light trail running tomorrow.

Totals: 51:42  7.6 miles (6:48 pace) HR: 145 (recovery 113)

Silver, Bronze... Just Kidding

How do you like that? Martina and Spearmon in the men's 100 meter final had to deal with that emotional roller coaster yesterday. To step on the line is unfair? I can see being over the line and into the next lane, but on the line? Seriously, does that 1/2 inch make the difference? I'm not sure I would feel right taking the silver or bronze knowing that someone beat me outright. I guess they have to draw the line somewhere. (pun intended)

Nothing special for this mornings run. I had gut-rot from the Burrito Union I had last night. Taste good going down, not so good the next  morning. 

I did the Martin road, Vermilion loop and had a slow time warming up. Legs started to feel a bit better at the end.

Totals:  52:43  7.6 miles (6:55 pace) HR: 138 (recovery 111)

Tightness

I felt decent when I woke up this morning and walking around the house felt close to the norm. The early miles felt good, I just didn't really loosen up until the end of the loop when I added three 100 meter striders. I always find the hip adductors very annoying when they are tight. After the striders they loosened up quite well. The second "speed work" for the week might be put on hold or the workout will be altered to stay comfortable. No need to tighten up any more...

Totals: 47:39  6.5 miles (pig's loop) 

Threshold

The schedule called for some type of intro threshold running. I adjusted the workout in order to stay comfortable and not "red-line" at all. I recovered well between intervals and had a good routine of stretches once I returned home.

The total run looked like this:

1.5 mile warm up 11:05

1 mile LT 5:47

1 mile LT 5:46

1 mile LT 5:42

1 mile LT 5:44

1.6 mile warm down

I did 2.5-3 minutes of recovery in between miles. The last two repeats were into a slight headwind and the last finished up a decent hill which made it feel a lot harder than it was. Overall I am pleased with this intro workout. As long as I feel decent, I will do some shorter intervals later this week.

Totals: 55:20 8.4 miles

Shaking out the Kinks

A little rough getting out of bed this morning but I knew I had to do it. The plan for today was nothing special, just an easy recovery-type run but these runs are very important. Two days after a race I was a bit sore prior to heading out but felt much better once I was done. This is often the case. For some reason the GPS didn't start registering mileage until ten minutes into the run. Not sure what was going on there?

Totals: 46:00 6.5 miles  (2 striders)

Technology Advancements

It's amazing how much data is on the internet and how immediate it can be. When information doesn't show up when you would like it to the reaction is one of "pissed off". That is the case with the race I ran yesterday in Duluth. In it's inaugural year the 8K on The Bay went off without much trouble from a participants eye. There were a few things that I am sure the race crew will sharpen up for next year but for the most part a decent event. Up to this point I am less than impressed with the timing company they chose to use. (I linked them yesterday in hopes to find the results) The first detail I and many others noticed that tipped me off to think, "have they done this before?", was the narrow starting mat they used. We didn't have a huge event, I am guessing ~350 runners, but I am sure the mid-packers had a challenge waiting to get through the timing mat. It was as wide as one lane of traffic. The finish was the exact same. Interesting... But most importantly, how hard is it to get "chip timing" results up within 24 hours of an event? 

My run today happened after my wife was done which meant I headed out the door at 0915. I headed to the woods and did a series of loops in Rock Hill, followed Skyline to Kenwood Ave. and made my way to the woods of Hartley. On the Hartley trails I must have just missed a fresh skunk as I believe I ran over a pile of skunk piss/stink. When I got home I smelled like the skunk was at the base of our front steps. Yuk! Good thing I didn't wear the shoes inside. (can you say sleep in the garage?) Kari looked up some anti-skunk recipes on the net, and actually found them, and we treated the shoes and front steps. Much better!!

The run was slow and hot and I just wanted to get in some decent time to shake out the legs from yesterday. My legs and Achilles feel great and after running a "race" I feel like I can safely start upping the intensity of my weekly workouts. (I am keeping my fingers crossed)

Totals: 1:21:13  10 miles 

Weeks Totals: 45 miles

Years Totals: 1260 miles

Good For Four

This morning I ran the inaugural 8K on the Bay. The results should be up soon and you can find them HERE by scrolling down to Aug. 16th. The race website should have linked as well HERE.

The race went about as well as expected with my time being just a bit slower than I wanted. (isn't that always the case?) It's amazing that an individual that has raced as long as I have, near 20 years, can usually get a close estimate on what their performance might be at a given distance. Having said that, I estimated that I could run 27:15-27:30. The results are not up yet but I think I ran near 27:40. I ran very comfortably for the first four miles then the wheels and everything that holds the wheels on fell off. I was rigging so bad I wanted to walk. The good thing was the person in front of me and the person in back of me were rigging just as bad. I managed to hold my position and finished 3rd overall and 1st in the 30-39 age group. Not bad for only seven weeks of easy running and some striders. I have a long way to go in the next eight weeks as I would like to run 1/2 marathon at the same pace I ran 8K today. Good luck, huh??

Overall a very good race to test the system and a very good race that I will probably schedule into my late summer racing plans in future years. It was a bit of a bummer to have the "rock bands" out of commish as the rain we got zapped their systems. Within the first kilo of the race I heard some major F-bombs coming from one of the band members because they lost power... better luck next year.

Totals: 20 minutes of warm up.

               8K race

               12 minutes of warm down.

               ~9 miles for the morning.

Easy Street

It was a good thing this mornings run was an easy day prior to my VDOT test run tomorrow. I am going to race the 8K on The Bay tomorrow the best I can in order to get an accurate VDOT for the rest of the seasons workouts. The morning should be a winner as there are no clouds in the sky for days. Click on the link above to get information and results.

This morning I didn't feel very good but I'm not bothered by that at this point. I know I have a lot of work to do the next two months and will have many good workouts ahead of me. Here's to better days and races.

Totals: 39:00  6 miles

24 Hours Difference

Yesterday I got up like I usually do and made my way to the basement to change into my running gear and head out into the darkness. Like most day's I watched the morning news segment to see what the weather would bring the next few days. What was different than most days of feeling a bit "tired" at 0515 was the degree of tiredness. It hurt to keep my eyes open and my body was screaming like no other "just lay down!" I fought it and thought if I would make the effort then all would be OK. After ten or fifteen minutes of doing this I finally gave up and hit the futon and covered up with a blanket until 0700. There are times when you have to fight this urge and there are times when you have to listen to your body. Ten years ago I would have gone out that door and most likely had a shitty run. Yesterday I got some much needed rest and my body thanked me for it all day as I had tons of energy.

Turn the clock ahead twenty four hours and this morning was off without a hitch. I was splashing in the puddles by 0530 and made my way up Woodland Ave. to make an hour loop. All systems felt good and I actually had to hold myself back from running too hard. That's a good feeling! In the end I ran just under an hour and felt super doing it.

Totals: 57:40  8.3 miles

Darkness

I may have mentioned this last week or so, but the early morning hours are becoming dark once again, especially without a sunrise. We had cloud cover this morning and a pretty decent chance of rain later today.

I watched the news a bit too long this morning and got a late start to the run but made the best of it. I did what I call the "extended cemetery loop/UMD". If I am in a bind, this makes for a good run as it has flats and a few decent climbs to get the HR up. The one thing I am noticing is the hills are becoming easier to handle and it feels like I actually have a bit of power to get up and recover quickly on top. A good feeling!

During the run today I worked the hills and added four or five striders.

Totals: 36:20  5.4 miles 

Fresh Start/ Wk. 1

This week is supposed to be week one of a Jack/Pete combined training phase for a mid- October half-marathon. I hope to get a few days of striders and start to phase in some easy tempo repeats. I have a "race", to take the term lightly, on Saturday which should serve as a decent gauge for my Vdot workouts.

It was cold on this mornings run... low 40's!!! Extended Pig's loop was a good wake up and all felt really good.

Totals: 45:11  6.5 miles

Subpar Week

I managed to get out early on Friday for a loop through some trails and finishing strong on the roads. Time 44:09  6.2 miles 

My sister got married on Friday night and I had all the intentions of running on Saturday but failed... big time! I was a bit disappointed in myself but tried to put it behind me.

Sunday was much the same. Looking back I am a bit pissed about Sunday. I was up early and should have gone out, but instead I turned over and slept for another hour and a half. So, two days off in a row. Shitty!

Totals Week: 28 miles

Totals Year: 1215 miles

Tough Rise

I had a lot of difficulty getting out of bed this morning. Once I realized what was going on I jumped out of bed a little late and made my way to the basement. The plan was to run a hilly loop that offered some downhill grades later in the course to allow me to work the quads after being fatigued for a bit. I felt really strong on the uphills and cruised the downhills. The weather was near perfect with temps in the low 50's with the sun rising. A good run and course that I will probably add to the routine every third week or so.

Totals: 50:26  7.6miles (6:38 pace) HR: 139 (recovery 109)

Race Night

Lucas will have his third weekly race tonight at Central High School track. Last week we ran at Bayfront Park in the heat but tonight should be cooler. Lucas likes the track as it makes him feel fast.

The run this morning was pleasant and cool and I found my legs feeling quite good. No pains to report and I think they appreciated the rest on Monday. Tomorrow will be a bit longer, hilly loop I am putting together.

Totals: 46:02  6.3 miles (7:18 pace)  HR: 131 (recovery 99)

Last of Six

This week marks the last week of my intro "base phase" of a J. Daniels plan. I'm doing fairly low mileage but will be concentrating on getting some speed back in the legs this fall before doing more serious miles in the next season of base running come this winter.

The run this morning was beautiful with cool, crisp air. The dew point is lower but still near the upper 50's. Can't really complain. I did the extended Pig's loop and added 5 or 6 striders within the loop.

Totals: 52:20  7.6 miles (6:55 pace) HR:136 (recovery 103)

Body Says Rest

The alarm would repeat for forty five minutes. I would not get up. My body felt no pain just fatigue. After the mental decision of not running and making the wonderful decision of making coffee I made my way to the kitchen. As I was walking around I realized that a run would have definitely been possible. That's OK, rest is good from time to time. I had a wonderful conversation with my Sport Med Doc last night and it was recommended to up the work on my glutes and  ab/adductors. This should take my through the final steps of rehabbing these Achilles and getting prepared for the next phase of training.

Today the legs and Achilles felt great.

0 miles

Never Happened

I think most runners have had this happen on a run. I set out and didn't feel the best and thought that eventually I would feel better and finish the run strong. Doing an out and back course on Skyline gave me the opportunity to gauge my pace and monitor specific points in my run. I had several patches where I thought I was running too hard and would look at the pace and see 6:20's... yup, too damn hard, slow down! I made it to the turn in 42:17. After taking a generous squirt of Gatorade from my bottle I headed home and was still waiting for that magical moment where I would feel good. To save you the drama, it never happen. I had a few good patches and a lot of no so good patches on the return trip for a split of 40:40. Happiness is finishing a run like this and knowing that the next time it should feel better. Glad to get a medium distance run in and looking forward to bumping it up. *side note of both achilles not feeling the best. 0530

Totals: 1:22:58  12.3 miles (6:46 pace) HR: 139 (recovery 103)

Weeks Totals: 50 miles

Years Totals: 1187 miles

Next Race

8K ON THE BAY!!!!

August 16, 2008

Bring all of your friends and family. This is an event you won't want to miss!!!

Click on the link above.

Early Morn Heat

As I write this I realize that fellow blogger PR is or should be near ending his 100K quest around Lake Calhoun. I haven't heard yet but will make some calls when I am done posting.

The run for me this morning was a bit hotter than I am used to since I usually get most of my weekly runs in prior to the sun getting too high. I adjust well and had an opportunity to do a couple of short easy "repeats" in the middle of the run followed by a couple of strider's. My legs are definitely making a turn for the better and becoming more fluid with the faster stuff. I was running on a rolling course so the spits were quite a bit different but I had an effort at 5:15 (159) and 5:50 (156) respectively. Making my way home I was a bit hot and fatigued but felt pretty good about it.

Totals: 48:49  7.2 miles (pace 6:48),   HR: 146 (recovery 113)

Close Monitoring

After doing a run on some uphill trails two days ago, followed by doing some light intervals at the kids races while running in Nike "free's" I noticed the Achilles getting tight and needing a bit more attention the last couple of mornings. I did three sets of exercises after this mornings run and I am feeling really good. Just to be safe I did another light, shorter run along with some strides. I added a small section of trails in Rock Hill and connected that with the Hartley trails before making my way to the roads for the remainder. 

Totals:  39:59  5.4 miles HR: 132 (recovery 108)

Early and Easy

Last night we took Lucas to the Grandma's Marathon "Wednesday Night at the Races". He is in the four and under age division and runs 200 meters. They were supposed to run 400's but there are so many kids showing up that they had to shorten the race and do multiple heats. He loves racing and it truly shows the roots of sport and the enthusiasm that adults tend to loose over the years. As part of the night, I volunteered to "lead" some of the other age groups through the course. I led ages five/six through the course four times and the same for seven and eight year olds. We then split up leading the nine, ten, eleven, and twelve year olds. Those older kids are tough to hold off the first 100 meters or so!! Overall, a nice evening of easy, low key "intervals".

For this mornings run I took it easy at 5am as I needed to get to work for a 7am meeting. Nothing too great from a running standpoint. Much of the same with striders added.

Totals: 38:04  5.2 miles  HR: 130 (recovery 99)

Stale Legs

The run started pretty good but soon turned into one of those runs where you will be "putting in your time" and not much else. I don't know what to contribute it to as it could be just one of those off days. I managed to run down to London Rd. and use the Lakewalk for a short distance before heading back up the hill via the Chester Creek trails. A beautiful morning for running!!

Totals: 57:56  7.8 miles HR: 135 (recovery 102)

Rain Drops Falling on My Head

I woke up to heavy thunder and lightening followed by heavy rains this morning. I immediately thought, "I have one option and one only... the treadmill." As I made my way to the basement to change, the rain persisted but the lightening and thunder had stopped. Perfect! My chance to hit the roads. In the end I had a wonderful run in the drizzle and my legs felt great. No Garmin today as I didn't know of the water resistance yet, so I wore out Polar HR monitor and gathered most of the information. I did extension loops to one of my older five milers. 4 X 100M pick-ups.

Totals: 43:37  6+miles, HR: 139 (recovery 103)

Fluids

Yesterday's day off was well worth it. I am a bit miffed that I missed a true "longer" run last week but in the end that's OK. We went out for dinner last night and I drank near 40 fluid ounces of lemonade. I guess I was a bit behind on the fluid consumption yesterday morn. Oops!

My run this morning was very solid and my legs and Achilles are really starting to near 100%. The right side is trailing in rehab just a bit, but tons better than one month ago. Nothing special of this mornings run. I did the Pig's loop and saw an abundant variety of wildlife. Deer, rabbits, possibly a fox, tons of birds including the ever so annoying crows! A great way to start the week!

Totals: 45:34  6.5 miles   HR:135 (recovery 103)

End Of Week

If there was a day to take off from running this was it. Last night I was up WAY past my bedtime and had a few extra 7/7's to make taking today off an easy decision. I'm OK with it but just don't want to get into the habit. The week was a good week of training and I am looking forward to build on it and make this next week better. I won't be adding too much to my training over the next two weeks other than a few more day's of strider's and just a small bump in overall mileage.

Totals: 0 for the day

Weeks Totals: 41 miles (6 days)

Years Totals: 1137 miles

One More For the Warriors

Kari and I made our way back to my hometown of White Pine, MI. for my 20th high school reunion. The school was build in 1960 and was closed in the late 1990's. There is talk about the school being demolished in the next year to come so I decided to make my way to the old school grounds and run one more mile on the track before it no longer exists. It's kinda sad because our school once had the track for our area. It was resurfaced and painted for my senior year. The track is now near cinders and the lines are barely visible.
The temps were excellent and just a little wind to keep any lingering deer flies off your back. Our town is small so I made my way to the city limits and ran all of the outlining streets before making my way to the track. Once there I decided to run on effort and see if I could run "one more mile" and see if it would be under six minutes. Not looking at my watch the entire way and just running on perceived effort I ran a 6:01. Just shy of the 5's I was looking for but decent anyway for just throwing in a track mile in the middle of a run. I then made my way back to the homestead to finish up. In the end I had a run that probably was a bit harder than it should have been but all is good.

Totals: 56:34 8.7 miles (6:32 pace) HR: 149 (recovery 113)

Wet with Sweat

Tis' the season for sweating. Earlier this week it was down right chilly in the morning, with  one morn in the low 40 degree's. This morning was quite the opposite. After changing in the cool basement, I headed out the door and walked outside with what felt like a sauna. (sowoona!, not sawwna) The dew point was near 68 degree! I'm not complaining as we don't get weather like this for long, so I am living it up!

My run took me to the same "warm-up" trails to the nature center at Hartley then I ran out to Vermilion and took the gravel pit trail to Jean Duluth Rd. and looped back home. The legs and feet felt good and once I hit the pavement I was running 6:40's quite comfortably. I still need to take it easy for a couple of weeks and need to persist with all the lower leg/core exercises.

Totals: 46:07  6.4 miles HR: 140 (recovery 103)

Near Zero

As I laid in bed this morning listening to the alarm clock I was attempting to talk myself into a day off. I figured it would be OK to have "one day off this week". I finally got my feet on the floor and that was all I needed.

I did a short loop through Hartley and Vermilion back to the house. A nice recovery-type run with additional striders to stretch out the legs. I am glad I didn't listen to myself and stay in bed. That is often the case where you will feel much better than anticipated. 

Totals: 36:20  5 miles  HR: 133 (recovery 108)

42 DEGREE'S IN JULY

Yup, that's what the temperature was at our house this morning. I started out wearing a long sleeve shirt and light gloves only to loose the gloves at two miles and the shirt at four miles. On the return trip home I had the fresh sun keeping me warm. Out and back on skyline to 10 Ave. West. For years I had a good feeling this was a good point to call four miles for an out and back of eight. Today I wore the Garmin and the turn was measured at 4.02!

I ran slight negative splits on the return trip for a decent 8 miler.

Totals: 55:54  8 miles (6:59 pace) HR: 139 (recovery 104)

Extended Pig's Loop

I am adding just a bit to my loops of last week and feeling quite good. Today's addition was about a mile to my "normal" Pig's loop. My heart rate is settling down quite a bit on the hills, as well as my overall exercising HR.

Nothing to great to report other than another building run with negative splits.

Totals: 52:30  7.6 miles (6:57 pace)  HR: 134(recovery 103)

Easy Miles

Nice and easy this morning through some of the wet trails and then a few road miles to get in a recovery type run. My goal was to run easy and I did. Managed an overall exercising HR of 128 at 7:29 pace. Nothing else to report other than feeling good.

Totals: 38:20  5.2 miles  HR: 128 (recovery 101)

Three Is Proven

Over the years I have said it a thousand times. It takes about three to four weeks of consistent training to get to the point where it feels like habit and things start becoming easier. I'm at that point and boy does it feel good. I'm not ready to crush any records or anything but I am running comfortably and most importantly pain-free. The next three weeks will be inching up the mileage until I am comfortable at 60-65 miles. I may do a little more from time to time but that is where my mileage will be for some time while I attempt to get some speed back.

Today's run was a bit of an experiment. I wasn't supposed to run longer miles until next week but I knew I was ready. I drove down to the marathon course and parked in front of the Portland Malt shop (24 mile mark). The goal was 12 miles, so off I headed "up the shore" making my way to the 18 mile mark. The miles cruised by as I hit the turn in 42:13. I had to fight the urge to pick up the pace on the way back and made it to the ten mile point before picking it up a bit. I closed the last two miles at 6:29 pace with a HR: 148. Very happy with today's effort.

Totals: 1:22:44  12.2 miles  (6:46 pace) HR: 141

Weeks Totals: 50 miles

Years Totals: 1096 miles

Easy Trails & Comfy Pick-Up's

Each day it is getting harder and harder to hold back. The one way I knew it would be rather easy to stay slow and controlled would be to hit a short segment of trails. After warming up for two miles on the roads I hit a short (16 minutes) section of the SHT. This brought me to Hawks Ridge and from there I ran the roads home. My Achilles are feeling great and my stride is becoming much more fluid. I "cruised" the last mile in 6:00. My HR was up a bit but I think it was related to the humidity being upwards of 75%. Overall a good run.

Totals: 48:23  6.6 miles HR: 141  (6:00 last mile HR: 158)

Progression Run

I managed to get a decent "flexibility/strength" session in last night. I woke up feeling more flexible and ready to get out the door. I've been fighting the urge to increase my mileage, but Jack D. says not to change much the first three weeks back into a program. This is the end of my third week back and things are coming around just fine. Over the next few months I will be mixing Jack's and Pfitzingers plans and seeing if I can get some speed back in the legs.

This mornings run took me through the Piggly Wiggly loop. Felt decent, but still lacking strength on the hills, and finished strong with a 6:11 last mile.

Totals: 45:46  6.5 miles HR: 139  Last mile: 6:11 (151 HR)

Easy

As I keep up with the boring base-building phase I go through good days and not so good days and anywhere in between. Today was in the middle of all of  it. My hip (?piriformis) tightness went away. Just like I said it would. It comes and goes when ever it pleases. I have been doing quite a few lower leg and hip exercises lately and backed off a bit the last two or three days and things seem to feel pretty good. Tomorrow will be another day. Modified the cemetery loop this morning and added a few extra extentions.

Totals: 43:00+   6 miles HR: 140 (recovery 103)

Skyline

Out and back on skyline this morning offered me a wonderful sunrise and a reason for living in Duluth. I never get sick of seeing it. 

The only new thing from a running standpoint is the return of an old nagging muscle in my right hip/upper glute that tightens and causes a little discomfort down my leg. I've had this before and it disappears just a fast as it showed up. Not sure what is the cause but it seems like once I get to a certain level of activity and stretch along with getting a Chiropractor adjustment, all things get better. It doesn't cause me to stop, just another thing to deal with.

Totals: 49:11  7 miles  HR: 139 (recovery 109)

Roundhouse Kick

With the thunder and lightening storms coming through last night it was just a matter of time until our 3 year old son joined us in bed. He saw it "flashing" outside and was scared. Mid way through the night I remembered getting a roundhouse kick to the head and seeing Lucas laying with his head down by our knees. Kinda funny now.

The run was much of the same. Boring base-building. Important, but boring. I did a few striders in the middle of the run and the legs seem to be loosening a bit and starting to get a hint of turnover once again. Good run.

Totals: 47:29  6.6 miles (7:14pace) HR: 142 (recovery 111)

Wet Grass & Spider Webs

The temps were a bit cool this morning. (47F) The morning dew was quite thick as the longer grass and weeds lay over the trail in certain places offering my lower legs a little wake up call. The other annoying trail occurrence early in the morning are spider webs. When hitting a narrow patch of trail you are expected to get a face full of webs from time to time. Fun!

Even if I have been absent from the long run or high miles I used this morning as an easy "recovery day". I like to do that on Monday's. Surprising that doing a little over an hour yesterday left me feeling like I had done a long run as my quads were a bit heavy. It could have been the 3 sets of lower body exercises I did after yesterday's run as well.

 

Totals: 37:49  5.2 miles   HR: 137 (recovery 101)

Good Days

Some time back, approximately a year or so, I talked about having good days and the importance of never giving up the ship, and to keep "chasing the carrot". I needed one of those days and today I got it! Nothing special. Just a solid run that left me satisfied.

I wanted to run a solid hour to see how things would feel. My right achilles was just a bit sore this morning and it warmed up well with the early miles of running. Getting "into the groove" was easy after the early mile hills were tackled. I was running with the wind for some distance and I was surprised to be running sub-6:30 pace! Something I haven't seen for awhile. HR and recovery were a bit up today having an overall increase in volume and pace.

To summarize: solid legs, solid breathing, solid run= Happy!

Totals: 1:07:06  9.6 miles (6:57 pace) HR:149 (117 recovery)

Weeks Totals: 38 miles

Years Totals: 1046 miles

Golfing Buddy

Putt-Putt with Lucas.

Lester

Lester River, Duluth MN.

Blah

That sums up this mornings run. I wanted to add a bit to the distance this morning but it will have to wait until tomorrow. I didn't really feel bad, just flat. I tried to do a few striders and it made matters worse. My nutrition was pretty bad yesterday so that may have played a part in it. Achilles are feeling pretty decent.

Totals: 37:10  5.2 miles HR: 145 (recovery 117)

Gloves

Yes, I wore gloves this morning. My threshold is usually around 50F. This morning it was 47F and foggy along with a little wind.

I did the "Piggly Wiggly" loop and was pleasantly surprised to see it unfold as well as it did. I am still struggling with any amount of hill as my HR spikes into the 160's quite easily. My recovery from those hills is improving quite well along with having an overall lower exercising HR. 

I had measured this course on the USATF "map my run" and today using the GPS it was the exact same measurement. These Garmins are really cool.

Totals: 45:40  6.5 miles (6:59 pace) HR:145 (recovery 112) 

Skyline

Just to change it up a bit this morning I ran west on Skyline out and back. Initially I was going to run for an hour but decided to cut it short a bit and save the longer runs for this weekend. I have been feeling pretty good this week and beginning to feel like things are making a turn for the better. I still remain a long way off from racing, but I do like the progress.

Here's today's numbers.

Totals: 45:15  6.4 miles (7:01 pace)  HR ave: 145 (recovery 111) 

Crisp Air

It's nice to be running in the early morning hours once again. Temperature's are cool and crisp, and today had low humidity. I did the same loop as the past 4 or 5 days and things are improving slowly. I did a few striders during the loop just to get the legs aware of the faster paces. I couldn't figure out why my adductors were tight until after my run. I have been adding about ten walking lunges after each run and I think I am feeling the effect of those. As soon as I started to do them today I could feel all those fatigued muscles begin to fire.

My "fitness" numbers are improving ever so slowly. Today's looked like this:

Totals: 36:51   5.2 miles  7:06 pace  HR: 140 ave. (recovery 109)

Maintain

This morning it was quite a bit cooler than what I was running in this past weekend. What a difference the temperature makes when you are out of shape. The heat must multiply the "out of shapeness" on a body. 

This morning my resting HR was 47. My overall average was near 20 beats lower! I did the same loop along with some striders x4. A good way to start the week.

Totals: 37:56  5.3 miles  HR: 138 (recovery 103)

*i was still at 130 yesterday for the same recovery period.

3rd Duluth Duathlon

Here are the winners of the 3rd Duluth Duathlon.

First Overall Male: Jonathan Balabuck, Thunder Bay, ON

First Overall Women: Marlo McGaver, Duluth, MN

Event Web Site HERE.

Heat Training

On Woodland Ave. a Bank thermometer read 98F. It tends to read warm, even in the winter time. Most other places I checked read near 85F. For us folks up north either one of those readings are a bit too warm for any major running.

I headed out for the same five miler loop to see how I would adjust to the heat. Just as I figured it to be... not that good. No major problems except just being wasted from the heat.

Totals: 38:40  5.2 miles HR: 153

Weeks Totals: 23 miles

Years Totals: 1008 miles

24 Hours Later

Yesterday's run was, as I wrote, a bit mysterious. High heart rate at rest and while running. I didn't feel the best but, just confused with the numbers.

Today was, I guess you could say, the other side of the coin. 

I left the house with my resting HR nearly 20 beats lower than yesterday's. During the early miles I seemed to exhibit the same HR  pattern as yesterday but with less energy. (I did the same loop as yesterday with the exception of one block.) The one thing I noticed was the humidity may have been a bit lower from yesterday as well as an earlier hour of running. The main point being, without the numbers, one's body can differ so greatly form one day to the next and you wouldn't even know it. You often hear people saying, "I just didn't have it today... " or "I don't know what was wrong with me today...". Interesting...

The other side note for me would be that I haven't wore a HR monitor in the past when I was trying to get back into shape. I just used it when I was in shape and performing threshold workouts. It will be fun to see my heart rate come down as I get in better shape.

Totals: 36:16  5 miles  Ave HR: 151

Too Much of A Good Thing

With a fresh start of running on Tuesday and the addition of consistent eccentric exercises I may have overdone it for a few days. On Thursday I could hardly walk down the stairs, thus no running that morning. I took the morning off from the exercises as well, but did one set in the evening. I woke up feeling much better this morning and after a couple of hours of being up and taking a short walk with the dog I was ready for a run.

The first data I thought was off was my resting heart rate. It wasn't a true resting heart rate as I had been up and moving for a bit but sitting just prior to starting the run my heart rate was 63. (usually low 40's- upper 30's) As I was running and attempting to get into a rhythm I couldn't help but notice my rate's in the upper 150's and 160's with any amount of incline.(threshold HR has been 164 in past)  I wasn't feeling dyspnic to the degree I should when my heart rates have been that high in the past. Weird.

I did a nice slower loop and my legs were dead, but my Achilles felt very good. NO Pain!

Totals: 36:55  5 miles  Ave. HR: 147

Technology

For the past six months Kari and myself have been thinking of purchasing a Garmin GPS watch. Well, we did it last night. A fresh Garmin 405 was all charged up and waiting for me as I got ready for the short run this morning.  After the quick set up pages I headed out on one of my regular short morning loops. (I will be doing this loop for the next four or five days) In the past I have thought of it as a "solid" 4 miles and maybe just a bit more. Today's measurement GPS-style was 3.98 miles.

It's a good thing that I had a new toy to occupy my mind, as my legs felt horrible but my breathing was better than yesterday. The neat thing of the new gadget was noting the fact that yesterday I was running a lot faster than I thought. Maybe that is why I felt so tired?

More data tomorrow.

Totals: 28:58  4 miles!

Fresh Start

I wanted to go out and test the Achilles this morning with an easy 1/2 hour. Most of the reading I have been doing mentioned that it would be ok to run for 1/2 hour if one is pain free. I am happy to say I am pain free. The eccentric exercises have done wonders and hopefully will hold up to running activity. 

I am completely out of shape. The little run I did this morning at 8:00 pace just about killed me. Wow, I wished I had crossed trained now...

I am sure it will come back quick after some weeks of suffering.

Totals: 29:15  4+ miles

Gary Bjorklund 1/2 Marathon Locals

Here are pictures of the "local" elites placing in this past weekends half marathon.

Local Men's Winner: Jeremy Polson 1:08:24

Local Women's Winner: Katie Koski 1:18:29