7/7/14. Monday. strength 1. a little leg work at the massage therapist.

hit the gym at 5:30am.  6 people, which is a big class for 5:30 on a monday.  I stayed out of their way, did my standard monday workout, no real issues.  kept weights constant from previous week, felt fine.  this is a big week for miles.  this one will be telling, whether I have the energy to stay in the gym and still run my miles.  special attention this week - I'm going to get 8 hours of sleep every night, and I am going to drink a gallon of water ever day.  that's the plan.  its a little tough to go to bed at 9pm, when the wife and kids are staying up later, but that's what it is going to take.  the fact is, in order to have enough time in the day, i get up at 4:40-5:00am, everyday.  if i want enough sleep, then i need to go to bed.  early.  fact.

hit the massage therapist after work.  this was only my 3rd massage ever.  the first was after the tunnel marathon (recovery), the second was about a year ago when i was having some lower back stiffness/tightness (deal with an issue), and then yesterday (regular maintenance).  kind of a unique setup - this is a LMP I know (she has judged at a local crossfit event with me), and she has her practice set up at that same crossfit gym.  i think she has a good perspective on crossfit and athletics in general, as well as a good background working with runners.  I know she has worked many races and marathons in the area, providing sports massage and working on cramped/injured runners.  plus she is a powerlifter, and strong as hell.  i trust her to know what she is doing, and to be strong enough to really put some work into my muscles.  I elected to spend the entire hour working my legs.  special attention to some areas that have been giving me trouble.  left hip/IT band, right calf (tightness that may or may not contribute to my right foot/heel issues). felt great, but i don't expect overnight results.  i think this is something i will try to do once a month until Berlin.  just another facet of The Plan, just regular maintenance.  as an aside, if anyone needs a recommendation for a great LMP with crossfit/lifting experience that works with athletes and runners, let me know.

7/7/14. protein shake. coffee. orange. almonds/cashews. 2 sausages. 3 potatoes. tomato/kale/crouton salad. apple. protein bar. turkey/cheese. cornmeal breaded fish. pickled okra (i'm not a fan). salad. some kind of home made chocolate bar (Nanaimo bar?  i hear its the national dessert of canada).  lots of water.

7/6/14. 15K "race".

supposed to be a 15K (9.3 mile) "race".  this was not a good run for me.  in fact, it may have been my worst run ever.  I expected to go into this and just knock it out easily with an awesome time.  I think I did not respect the distance, and i surely did not respect the heat.  i got my ass handed to me, and I'm not afraid to admit it.

since i typically hit the centennial trail for my "race" days, my older son came along to ride a bike with me.  so i left the ipod at home so as not to be rude.  that was a mistake.  i think i dwelled on how shitty the run was, when maybe the music would have distracted me.  I came out of the gate too fast, similar to the pace I ran my 5 mile and 10K at, but this was a longer run than those.  I didn't carry my water, thinking it was only 9 miles.  i have run that distance without water before.  but it was mid 70s, full exposure to the sun, at peak sun hours of the day (about noon).  I roasted.  forgot my sunscreen, and burned for it.  I kept stopping in the shade and drinking some of my son's water.  every time i stopped, it was an incredible struggle to try and start to run again.  just brutal.  for the last 4 miles, I would run a mile, then stop, drink, walk for a minute, then start running again.  so hard to continue.  I hadn't bothered with Glide yet, since it seemed like my mileage was still low (under a half marathon).  combination of heat/sweat/shorts gave me some inner thigh chafing about halfway in.  just added to my anguish.

i was hating my run, and it shook my faith.  I am going into a big week.  36 miles is the most i have ever run in a week (while training for my first marathon).  I have 36 this week, and it actually goes up from there.  i had some self doubt sunday afternoon.  but even for all that stopping and walking, my overall pace was still 8:30 min/mile.  I finished in 1:19:06, of which only 1:15:54 was actually moving.  when I did run, i ran pretty fast (8:10 min/mile), but i was weak and i lost my mojo and i walked.  but i can't let this crush me.  compartmentalize it, put it behind me, and move on.  i was flipping through some books on Sunday afternoon.  I saw this dedication inside a martial arts book, "get knocked down 7 times, get up 8 times"  well, i was knocked down on sunday, but i got back up.  I'm not going to quit, and I am going to give my long runs and races the respect they deserve.  Here's to a long week...

7/4/14. Friday. Yankee Doodle Dash

5k with friends.  I wasn't concerned about pace, i just wanted to see my friends get to the end.  it was a beautiful morning, sunny, not too hot.  just a fantastic day to run.  my wife and sons ran, as well as 3 friends from work and a friend's fiance.  this is a special race for me, it was my first 5K when i started running.  it was less than a month after i started running in 2011, and i had never ran 3 miles before.  i remember being so nervous.  I ran it with my friend Megan (first of several races T signed up for, then had to bow out with injuries).  its a small local event from the YMCA, well managed, very friendly, not too crowded.  nice run for a first time 5K, or to do with friends.

I have to admit i was a little disappointed with a friend.  I gave him all the tools he needed, but he chose not to use them.  i spent some time putting together a good plan, based off Hal, modified a little to allow some timed run days as opposed to mileage days, very reasonable, that would have gotten him to 5K on 7/4/14.  he got off plan, he didn't follow it, and it showed.  we had to walk several times in the race.  this was a 5K, mind you.  at one point, I thought he was having a heart attack.  complaining about being unable to take  a full breath in, having "needles" poking him in the chest/ribs.  I just remember thinking "oh well, at this point we're only a mile away from the finish and I'm sure there's a medic there" so i helped him finish it.  but he didn't follow his plan, and the outcome was predictable.  it's like Mike Allsop told me: pick a goal, create/follow a plan, get back up after your failures.  well, the following of the plan takes discipline and dedication.  I jsut don't understand how people can expect to get to their goals without putting in the work. 

or maybe I'm just crazy. I don't know.  but I'm going to stay on my plan and try as hard as i can to reach my goals.  but all in all, it was a great morning with friends and I am very glad to have had the chance to organize this run together.

7/3/14. Thursday. strength 3. no run.

moved my 3 mile run to friday (for the Yankee Doodle Dash 5K that i had planned with some friends).  hit the gym, worked out.  felt pretty good.  bench rows with a kettlebell, bar dips, calf raises, GHD situps and back extensions.  actually a fairly easy day.  but this whole week is a recovery week, prepping for a big mileage step up next week.  felt a little lazy moving my run out a day, but it was the best choice, especially since i could only get about 6 hours of sleep.  get back on plan friday, get through the weekend, then hit it hard next week.

7/2/14. wednesday. mid-week longish run.

was in a real hurry today.  had to burn rubber getting home from work, knock out 5 miles in the hot sun, then shower/dinner and out the door.  a good friend had 2 tickets to see Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at the Paramount Theater (orchestra pit / floor).  months ago i had said no, i wasn't going to go.  i knew i was in training, and i didn't want to go out on a work night.  plus the ticket was expensive.  but he was over a barrel and didn't have a taker, so i stepped up so he wouldn't eat the cost of an extra ticket.

the run was tough.  i'm still stiff and sore, and i had the added pressure of mentally racing against the clock while still trying to take it slow and easy.  knocked out the 5 miles in 42:18 elapsed (41:39 moving) for an avg moving pace of 8:20 min/mile.  faster than I wanted, but I'll take it.  it was 70 degrees and the sun felt so hot.  I guess its possible to run on tired/sore legs and still keep a decent pace.  mind over matter.  but i'm worried about a sharp step-up in miles next week.

Nick Cave was awesome live, as always.  the Paramount Theater is a beautiful venue, and they kept the floor open (no chairs) so it was still a good live experience.  played a lot of familiar music, but played it differently live.  sometimes i recognized the lyrics, but the Bad Seeds really got wild with the tune/tempo.  was real good.  I especially enjoyed Tupelo, The Weeping Song, and The Mercy Seat rocked.  I was glad to hear Stagger Lee, and The Lyre of Orpheus (encoure), but they suffered a little last night . all in all, glad to do it.  tell you what, though, stiff/sore legs plus a 5 mile run plus standing on a hard floor for 2+ hours really sucks.  Could barely walk out of there last night - the steps were so hard to climb.

7/2/14. longish run. coffee. orange. almonds/cashews. grilled chicken drumsticks. potato salad. broccoli salad. chicken salad on a pita. salad. peach pie.  lots of water.

7/1/14. tuesday. run and strength 2.

up at 4:40am, out the door by 5am, 3 more miles in the bank.  3 slow, difficult miles, but complete.  still feeling pretty stiff/sore from the 18 mile weekend that just passed.  I have a lighter week, then a massage scheduled next monday.  then next week will be a lot more miles - stepping up to 36 miles (5 days of running in a 7 day week).  it was a beautiful dawn when i left the house, makes me wish i had a camera with me and that i could share it.  because i am absolutely sure nobody is going to show up at my house to run at 5am, a picture is the only way i could share it.

after work, strength 2. back squats, deadlifts, front rack barbell lunges, toes 2 bar, pistol progressions.  felt OK, good to stretch my legs out a bit.  same weights as last week so I better feel fine after this.  the gym was really crowded/chaotic, but it was cool to see so many people around.  it took me about 2 hrs to get done what i can normally do in a little over an hour, but it was ok with me. 

7/1/14. run. strength 2. coffee. orange. almonds/cashews. mongolian beef. white rice. peas. apple. nuts. protein shake. grilled chicken drumsticks. potato salad. broccoli salad. spinach/romaine salad. cherries. lots of water.

6/30/14. monday. strength 1.

5:30am workout.  nothing out of the ordinary.  i was able to maintain the same weights from last week, and broke my sets to the same number of reps.  good thing this was all upper body, as everything from the waist down is still pretty stiff/sore.  this is a  recovery week - small decrease in miles from 30 down to 24, with a 5K with my family/workgroup on friday and a 15K "race" planned on Sunday.  the 5K will be at the others pace so we can run as a group.  i'm not too worried about going for time (its a rest day anyways). but i want to hold race pace on the sunday 15K.  I think i have a massage lined up for next Monday, good way to start a big step up week.  next week will be 36 miles, which just seems high... some long runs.  i'm worried.

but seriously, i did just call a 5K run my rest day.  crazy, man, crazy.

6/30/14. strength 1. strict presses, pull ups, bench presses, GHD sit ups, GHD back extensions.  protein shake. coffee. orange. cashews/almonds. chicken marsala. potato salad. peas. turkey/cheese. mongolian beef. potstickers. wonton soup. cherries. lots of water.