3/31/14/ strength 1 and run. elevation mask monday

up at 4:30am, couldn't sleep, ready to hit the gym.  at the gym by 5:20, waiting for The Man to show up.  warmed up and did strength 1 workout.  went a little heavier on the strict presses.  all pull ups were strict.  felt pretty good.  wish i had more time.  a few more lifts I would like to work in.  but felt good.

after work, the sun was shining, absolutely beautiful day.  which regrettably meant elevation mask monday (I secretly like my mask, it's just really hard to run with it and i kind of have a love/hate thing going on).  tried to pay attention to the rest of my body, beyond my strained respiration and elevated heart rate.  last week, i got fatigued and i think my core got loose.  i had a jarring shock in my lower back coming off a curb, going down a steep hill halfway through.  took two days to feel normal.  so this week i tried to pay more attention to these things. run went well, hardly wanted to throw up at all.

3/31/14. strength 1. run. presses. pull ups. push ups.GHD sit ups. GHD back ext. 3 miles in the mask.  protein shake. coffee. orange. almonds/cashews. pork jerky. chicken sandwich (grilled breast, honey mustard, arugala, ciabatta roll), waldorf salad. apple. protein bar.lettuce wrap thai pork. coconut rice. snap peas.

3/29-3/30/14. Sat-Sun. how not to eat before running. Swedish speedplay and the longer run.

this weekend i was an example of how not to eat before running.

sat.  after i got home from the gym (tried to get in and help judge 14.5 after E's little league game was canceled), I ate big sandwich (pastrami, swiss, spicy grainy mustard, dave's killer bread).  then about a quart of trail mix (cashews, almonds, peanuts, chocolate chips, dried cherries). and 2 serving of indian style fired rice (rice, beans, peas, cashews, curry, saffron).  then I went out for the sprint practice (swedish speedplay).  I truly wanted to vomit.  like when you drink too much, and just want to go to sleep, and so you wish you could just vomit and get it over with so the room would stop spinning and you could sleep?  yeah, that's how bad I wanted to throw up.  but i ran fast. data below.  sprints at roughly 14 mph, "rest" runs at roughly 6mph, for an average of approx 7.2 mph over a 35 min run (4.2 miles).

sunday. ate big breakfast sandwich. 2 slices toasted dave's killer bread, 2 slices pastrami, 2 fried eggs, 2 slices swiss cheese.  3/4 of a pot of coffee.  then another starbucks coffee.  then irish pub food - beef and guiness pot pie, mashed potatoes, carrots, broccoli, half a crispy chicken sandwich, half an order of fires, 2 slices of irish soda bread with grass-fed butter.  then I went and ran my 7 miles.

this is like training in bad weather.  if you can do your training in rain and cold and gloom, then you will do better when it's nice out.  well, if i can train myself to run with a gutbomb like that, then think of how fast and far i can go on a proper diet?  at least, that's what i told myself all weekend long...

3/27/14. thurs. run. workout.

up at 4:45am, out the door by 5 for a 3 mile run.  felt fatigued.  but did what i set out to do - run 3 miles in the dark.  just following the plan.

lower back was feeling better, so i went ahead and did my strength training.  i eased the weight down a bit for all movements. I was a little leery of the lower back, and I was thinking of how the last time i did front rack barbell lunges, my legs hurt for 4 days.  so I went a little lighter, and I'm glad to have been able to hit the gym.

3/27/14. run. strength. back squats. deadlifts. front rack barbell lunges. russian twists. toes 2 bar.  coffee. orange. almonds/cashews. reuben sandwich. black bean soup. apple. protein bar. protein shake. steak. bread. tomato salad. green beans.

3/26/14. wed. hill repeats. busy evening, with my run and E's wrestling tournament.

these hill climbs were brutal.  there were points when I wanted to quit running and start walking.  each climb started great, with a what felt like a sprint, a really steep climb, up on the toes, big arm swings, deep breaths.  each climb started feeling great, and rapidly got horrible.  the hill just never seemed to end.  chest working like a bellows, lungs heaving, slowed to the point of a jog, just so hard to continue running up the hill.  I just have to trust in the training plan, that this is a tool, similar to sprints or intervals, and that I am building an engine that's going to get me where i want to go.

it was so busy yesterday.  E had his end of season wrestling tournament.  that kid has so much heart, and so much courage.  the tournament was supposed to be 3 matches for each wrestler.  Based on his record going in (7 and 1), he didn't get a first match, they just moved him into the next bracket.  He lost his second match.  I think he was just over-whelmed with the whole experience, the crowd, all the matches, just he whole tournament environment.  Then came his last match, at the end of the night.  He almost pinned his opponent in the first period, then he almost got pinned in the second.  they were dead even on points going into the third.  E almost looked scared, but his coach told him something I didn't catch.  then he flat out went beast mode on his opponent.  he was all over him like a spider monkey.  his whole team was on the sideline cheering for him, and he fought so fiercely.  he was sprawling and grappling like a champ. down on the mat, he was all over that kid.  E pinned his opponent, and ended up taking third place in his weight class.  I'm so proud of him.  this was his first season, and he ended up varsity just because there was no one else in his weight class at his school (i think he weights in at 77 pounds, dripping wet).  so it was his first season, no previous experience, and he ended up with an 8 and 2 record, third place at the tournament.  He was so stoked.  He reveled in the team, all his team mates seemed to like him and support him, and all in all it was such a great experience for him.  since he's only in 7th grade, he still has another year in middle school.  he was so happy to get a win, and to get third place.  his team and his coach were real excited, and the enthusiasm level was so high.  but before bed, he told me "dad, next year, I'm going to be in first place".  I'm proud of him.  but I didn't get home and into bed until 11pm, which makes for a miserable 5am 3 miles...

3/26/14. run. hill repeats.  coffee. orange. almonds/peanuts. chicken/kale enchiladas. broccolini. protein bar. reuben sandwich. trail mix. bacon cheeseburger. seasoned curly fries. lots of water.

3/25/14. tues. just 4 miles, but so hard

was just a run day, and only 4 miles at that.  but it was hard.  every step of the way on the run out, i wanted to quit, turn around go home.  once past the halfway point, every step of the way, i wanted to give up and start walking.  it was a real struggle.  lots of aches.  everything from the waist down.  glutes, hamstrings, quads, calfs.  hips, knees, ankles, heel.  and a new one, the lower back.  this is one to watch.  I can't afford back issues right now.  I actually felt a twinge while running monday.  down a big hill, lots of impact, off a curb wiht extra height, and i felt a twinge.  I will need to care for this.  I will ice it throughout the day, and try to stretch tonight.  if i still feel it tomorrow, I will skip strenght training adn stick with stretching.  if i have an imminent lower back issue, on the verge, i cannot afford heavy squats and deadlifts, etc.

weather was strange.  when i headed out, it was really sunny.  i went with shorts and a tshirt.  but it was relaly windy, and then it got overcast, and then it started raining.  in the space of 33 minutes, I had hot and sunny, gloomy and windy, and then rainy.  i was glad to get home and hit the showers. 

I miss going to the gym everyday.  i miss the weights and the overall soreness of lifting heavy. I miss my friends, and the social aspect of the gym.  running is very solitary sometimes.

3/25/14. coffee. orange. almonds/peanuts. beef stew. mashed potatoes. protein bar. cheese and lunch meat. cottage cheese.  enchiladas. broccolini. strawberries and cookies. reese's peanut butter eggs (i think i finished the easter candy, and its only 3/24/). lots of water.

3/24/14. workout. run. Mask Monday.

hit the gym at 5:30am, workout 1. strict presses, pull ups, dips, GHD sit ups, GHD back ext. felt good.  wished i had a little more time, but this seems like all i can get done, at a reasonable pace, in the time i have. 

run. 3 miles.  beautiful sunny day, so it was elevation mask monday.  wow, it seemed to be getting a little easier.  the first few weeks that had a run with the mask on made my stomach hurt.  gave me a pain down in my guts that made made me feel like I wanted to throw up from the strain of breathing.  last week it came on about a mile into the run and it stuck with me for about an hour after i got home.  but last night it held off until about mile 2.5, and it went away as soon as I quit running.  I believe I was even a little faster on the loop than last week.  I wonder if the addition of this training will have any impact on my big picture running?  If not, no harm done.  it was only a 3 mile day anyways.

3/24/14. workout. run. protein shake. coffee. orange. almonds/peanuts. meatball sub. sauteed green beans. apple. protein bar.  beef stew. salad.  cashews. lots of water.

3/22-23/14. tempo run Saturday, longer run Sunday

3/22. Saturday.  tempo run.  Hal says "A tempo run is a continuous run with a buildup in the middle to near race pace. (Notice I said "near" race pace. You don't want to go faster than your 5-K or 10-K race pace.) In this program, tempo runs are scheduled for Saturdays, alternating with fartlek runs. A tempo run of 30 to 40 minutes would begin with 10-15 minutes easy running, then you gradually accelerate over a period of 10-20 minutes, building to peak speed, then decelerate gradually to finish with 5-10 minutes easy running. The pace buildup should be gradual, not sudden, with peak speed coming about two-thirds into the workout and only for a few minutes. You can do tempo runs almost anywhere: on the road, on trails or even on a track"

first attempt at a tempo run on the road. It's so easy to run intervals or tempo on a treadmill.  just dial it in, turn off your brain, and run just enough you don't go shooting off the back.  the road is much more difficult.  hills, elevation, traffic, terrain, GPS pace/speed lag time.  it was really difficult to do what I wanted.  I really wanted my data to obviously show my pace zones, I'm a little disappointed it wasn't more drastic. but all in all, avg pace of 8:17 min/mile for 4.22 miles was pretty fast. I will use the "lap" function next time, because I ran some number to get some averages based on the data I did have.  I averaged 9:02 min/mile (6.66 mph) for the first and lat 10 minutes, and 7:29 min/mile (8.02 mph) for the middle 15 minutes. so I did what i set out to do, easy 10 minutes, race pace for 15 min, then easy 10 min.

3/23. Sunday.  the longer run.  supposed to be 6 miles, but i went out a little far to make a loop and rounded it up to 10K.  it was an achingly beautiful run. absolutely clear skies, crystal clear blue, bright sun, but still chilly (43 degrees). ran in shorts, and felt fantastic. the air was so fresh and crisp, every deep breath was like a drink of cold water. The trees were blooming, dogwood and cherry blossom.  it was so bright, and so clear, and so colorful.  I wish my body wasn't so weak, and that I could have kept running forever this morning. I didn't want that to end. it hurt to stop.  it felt like it was harder to walk the last cool down home, than it would have been to just keep on running.

Sat. 3/22. tempo run. coffee. scrambled egg. granola/milk. peanut butter toast. rotisserie chicken. peas. polenta. PB&J sandwich. cheese stick. sunflower seeds.  NOxplode. Georgio's: meatball sub and pizza (fresh tomato and sliced meatball), salad. peanut M&Ms. lots of water.
Sun. 3/23. longer run. coffee. Dutch Baby with rasberries and powdered sugar. 4 strips of bacon.  granola/milk.  meatball sub. pizza. Reuben panini sandwich. lots of water.

3/20/14. run. workout. last of 6 days in a row.

yesterday's journal...

up at 4:45am, on the road by 5:00am.  As of this this morning's run, I have logged 250 miles on the road since I started running again on Nov 1st. I have done the same 5k/3 mile loop approx 50 times, with various other routes to hit the long runs, sprints, etc. About 750 more miles to go.

it was tough this morning.  it was dark and cold, there was ice on the windshield's of the cars.  everything felt sore and stiff this morning.  hips, quads, knees, ankles.  that muscle/tendon that goes across the front of your hip, running towards the side, maybe the sartorious?  wow, stiff.  left knee and right heel, just feeling them as I ran and keeping them under control.  this was 6 days running in a row, 24.6 miles without a rest day.  all in all, though, i think i feel pretty good.

second day of my homebrewed "strength for runners" plan.  back squats, deadlifts, barbell lunges, russian twists, toes 2 bar.  ugh, i'm not sure if doing leg work is better on Thurs (after 6 days of running) or on Mondays (day after the long run).  I kept it a little lighter than normal, and I did a lot of stretching/rolling after lifting.  it was kind of nice to just do my own thing today, not worry about the WOD, not worry about the clock, not worry about what other people are doing.  just get some work done.

3/20/14. run. workout. back squats, deadlifts, barbell lunges, russian twists, toes 2 bar. coffee. orange. almonds/peanuts. taco. corn. fresh tomato pasta. apple. granola bar. protein shake. pork tenderloin. broiled potatoes and carrots.  salad. wheat roll. lots of water.

3/19/14. run. 4 hill repeats. just pissing down rain.

the weather was really ugly, just pissing down rain.  really hard to get motivated to even leave the house and run, let alone hill repeats.  I needed four quarter mile hill repeats.  run 1 mile or so to warm-up, run the 4 hill repeats, then run a mile or so to cool down.  for the repeats, I'm supposed to sprint up the hill, then jog down to recover, then repeat.  can I just say, these really suck?  I trust that they will actually serve to give me more speed, or build my endurance, or make me stronger.  or something.  they better just do something, because they are hard and they suck.  I hope its not just punishment to build character.  I am so gassed by the top of the hill, heaving for breathe, heart pounding, fatigued.  it's such a relief to turn around and easily trot downhill, but the whole way dreading the turn around at the bottom. i got disoriented and confused on hill number 3, and i turned around early.  when i figured it out, let me assure you, i did not turn back around and try again.  i tell you what, four seemed like too many this week.  and doing it in the rain was just miserable.

but its done.  now a short 3 miler tomorrow morning, followed by some strength training after work, and then i get a hard-earned rest day...

3/19/14. run.  hill repeats. coffee. orange. almonds. fresh tomato pasta. apple. almonds/peanuts.  tacos. salad. granola. lots of water.

3/18/14. run. what does 40,000 people running look like?

a bit of a step up today, 4 miles on a tuesday. Really felt like I needed some energy on my run, felt hungry about 3 miles in. But it was fairly warm, and not raining, so I made the best of it.

seriously, can you imagine running a marathon with 40,000?  I did the seattle rock and roll in 2012, and i think that was approx 20,000 runners (combined start for full and half).  40,000 is unbelievable.  I trust my plan, it will get me to 26.2.  But how will I ever break free and run my own pace in a crowd of 40,000 runners.  unimaginable.  thanks to my friend Manuel for the attached picture, really puts it in perspective (this is taken just after the start of the race, you can see the Siegessaule, the Berlin Victory Column, inaugurated in 1873).

3/18/14. run. coffee. orange. peanuts. roasted pork loin. orzo/cucumber/feta/spinach salad. peas. apple. Bread with hummus. Turkey and cheese. fresh tomato pasta. lots of water.

3/17/14. workout and run

hit the gym at 5:30am, pretty basic workout.  strict presses, pull ups, push ups, GHD situps, GHD back extension.  was about right on time, but didn't feel like i got as much done as I would have liked.  would like to squeeze in bench presses and bench rows.

3 mile loop for my run. was a beautiful, sunny day.  wore shorts, and my elevation training mask.  i would like mondays to be elevation mask day, weather providing.  I think I may use the heart rate monitor for a mask day, see how much harder i work.  that mask seriously makes me feel like i want to throw up.  moisture from my breath condenses in the mask, as I breathe out, it gets forced out the valves like a squirt gun. even after i take it off, my stomach/abs feel sore and i feel a little sick to my stomach.  I hope it will make tomorrow's run feel easy though, like popping a free-flowing K&N air filter onto your engine.  smooth and easy breathing.

3/17/14. protein shake.  coffee. orange. peanuts. pizza. cobb salad. roast pork. sauteed broccolini. orzo/cucumber/feta/spinach salad. ice cream.  lots of water.

3/15-16/14. sat and sun. 2 runs

well, this is the new weekend plan for a while. short run on saturday, long run on sunday.  i guess the theory is that Hal want you to get used to running on tired legs.  Hal says "the pace runs are placed on Saturdays ahead of the long runs on Sundays for a purpose. The main reason is to tire you out a bit in the first workout Saturday so you are not tempted to do the second workout Sunday too fast. It is also difficult to hit race pace on Sunday the day after a draining long run."  so there is a method to the madness.  but it's tough, and I am tired. 

saturday. 30 minutes of fartlek.  swedish running term for "speedplay".  Hal says:

Fartlek was developed in Sweden; the word means "speedplay." Fartlek is similar to tempo training in that it features a continuous run that starts and ends slow with fast running in the middle. The difference is that fartlek includes multiple changes of pace over varied (mostly short) distances. Run as you feel. Be creative. Pick out a tree and run hard to it. Ease back into a jog until rested, then pick out another landmark for your next sprint. Hard, easy, hard, easy. You define the tempo by how you feel. It's an enjoyable form of training that can either be your toughest or easiest workout of the week.

here is my data plot of pace versus distance.  you can see my sprints.  maybe I'll try to make them longer next time.  but I randomly chose landmarks to sprint to.  fairly short distances.  maybe I'll try to run this downtown everett next time (in 2 weeks), and use city blocks as my distance for sprints.

then the long run on sunday, 7 miles in 1:00:38.  was a rainy wet cold miserable mess.  ran it on tired legs all right.  I feel pretty trashed right now.  ended up being 23.62 miles for the week, about 3 miles more than I thought i'd do (under-estimated the mileage for my hill climb day and the 30 min speedwork).  no rest day.  tomorrow the gym at 5:30am, then 3 miles after work.  no rest day until Friday.  but all in all, i feel pretty good.  this was a drastic step up in mileage, which is not smart, but i feel OK.  I believe it will be all right.

3/15/14. speedwork. coffee. eggs. canadian bacon. peanut butter toast. granola.  chicken fried steak.  laoded baked potato. kale casserole. potsticker/miso/snap pea soup. egg/cabbage/shrimp pancakes. pie and ice cream. lots of water.
3/16/14. long run. coffee. eggs. peanut butter toast. granola. gartorade.  loaded baked potato. cashews/peanuts/dried cherries. pizza. pie and ice cream. lots of water.

3/13/14. run. crossfit. 3 miles closer to Berlin

another super busy day yesterday, I am a day late updating my journal.

the run.  up at 4:45am, out the door by 5am, 3 miles down.  not much to say, the run went fine.  heel is manageable, I think its just the new normal (mind over body).  nothing else major going on, pretty average 8:30 min/mile or so.  it was super dark, but not too cold.  running in 40 degrees air temp feels much nicer than jumping into 46 degrees water temp (see yesterday's post regarding the winter challenge).

the workout.  called for running, overhead squats, and double unders.  No chance.  I don't go to the gym to get more running.  overhead squats are not going to keep me strong.  plus, running in nanos combined with DUs will aggravate my heel.  so I did Wednesday's workout, 21-15-9: Kettlebell swings, hang power cleans, hand release push ups.  I worked hard, and it felt good.

Friday - day of rest.  Sat, 30 minutes of speedplay/interval ("fartlek", if you insist on the unfortunate swedish name for it), then 7 miles on Sunday.  will be a hard weekend.

In general, I have been giving some thought to my workouts.  I am thinking if I am cut down to 2 a week, I can't rely on the WOD to give me what I want.  sometimes I get lucky (like the day we had tabata abs and 21-18-15: 205# deadlifts and pull ups.  that was awesome - hit everything I wanted).  I risk that something will come up that is not what I need, and I will have blow half my strength training for the week.  I have tried reviewing all the articles and journals I can find regarding strength training for runners.  they all seems to emphasize core, upper body, and leg muscles complementary to running (hamstrings, glutes, calfs).  So starting next week, here is my plan for the ext few weeks:

Monday
strict press 3x5
push ups or dips 3x10
pull ups 3x10
GHD sit up 3x10
GHD back ext 3x10

Thursday
back squats 3x5
deadlifts 3x5
barbell lunges 3x5 (x leg)
russian twists 3x10
toes 2 bars 3x10

will re-address as time goes by.  I hadn't really given any consideration to how long this might take me, so I may need to add/subtract from this baseline.

3/13/14. run. crossfit. KB swings. hang power cleans. push ups. coffee. orange. almonds. fried chicken. peas. noodles. apple. protein shake. cheesesteak sandwich. crazy hippy salad. dried cherries. lots of water.

3/12/14. run. hill repeats. 2014 "winter" challenge.

I was so busy yesterday, I needed to get caught up on this training journal today. it was tight.  E had little league (had to skip wrestling).  A had an orchestra concert.  I had a training run.  and then the winter challenge.

the run.  plan called for "3 hill repeats".  per Hal, "The speed benefits of hill training are similar to those for interval training on the track, but in the early spring it may be easier doing this workout on the road than doing repeat 200s or 400s at the track. Select a hill about a quarter-mile long, but don't worry about pitch or the exact distance. Run up hard, as hard as you might doing a 200 or 400 repeat. Then turn and jog back down, repeating the uphill sprints until finished. Be sure to warm up by jogging a mile or two before and cool down with the same distance after".  So my run ended up being 4 miles total, a little longer than planned (had to take the long way to get to my hill of choice).  tell you what, it was a 12% grade, and it was hard to run up it.  in fact, my "hill sprint" pace was about the same as my "jog recovery" pace.  But it sure winded me to run uphill.  I wanted to throw up.  my heel feels tight this morning.  probably a bit to do with the uphill runs, its hard on the calf and achilles, both of which can cause heel issues.  I need to ice and stretch and roll today.  data plots from the GPS watch below, you can see the elevation changes in the hill repeats.

the 2014 winter challenge.  hardly winter anymore, but I guess I'm a third round draft pick and it took this long to come around to me.  basically, the challenge was to jump into a cold body of water (like puget sound) get out, and do 50 double unders.  if you get challenged, you have 24 hours to get it done, and post video.  I was so friggen busy yesterday, I just went to the bottom of the hill and did it at mukilteo lighthouse park.  the floating boat docks are not in the water yet for the season, so I couldn't jump in.  i had to run down the boat launch and into the water.  best i could do with the time available.  I wore my jump boots just for the hell of it.  made double unders damn near impossible.  I'm embarrassed that my DUs are so bad in the video, but at least I got it done.

3/12/14. coffee. orange. almonds. chicken pot pie. apple. tomato soup. grilled cheese. salad. peanut butter toast. lots of water.

3/11/14 run on a busy day. but great weather.

another busy day - divide and conquer.  could have got up early and run before work, but I wanted to try and keep a full 24 between back to back runs whenever possible.  busy tonight, though.  wife and older son to the gym (without me, unfortunately).  I needed to get to the school to watch E in his wrestling match.

so I went into work really early, put in my time, them got my ass home ASAP, ran my 3 miles, then went to watch the wrestling match.  Awesome job by E, won his match on points.

the sun was shining, the weather was beautiful. temp was 50 degrees.  It was nice to be outside and running on a day like today, wearing shorts for the first time in I can't remember how long.  It was way easier running without the mask today. nothing special, just putting in the miles and following the plan.  and the plan will get me to my goal.

3/11/14 coffee. orange. almonds. meatball ragout. mashed potatoes. apple. protein bar. Chicken pot pie. Spinach salad. lots of water.

3/10/14. crossfit. run. used the elevation mask to start of a week with 6 runs...

lost an hour due to daylight savings time when I hit the 5:30am class.  3x10 box jumps (I did 2 sets as goblet step ups with a 53 pound kettlebell, and one set as actual box jumps), then 15 min AMRAP: 15 wallballs and 10 burpees.  yeah, I got sweaty, and I got out of breath.  But does this satisfy my requirement for strength training today?  I'm not sure.  I may need to think harder about what I want to get out of my time at the gym, and how I can do it most efficiently.

run 3 miles.  things kind of went sideways today.  One kid stayed after school at art club, the other stayed after school at wrestling.  we had a commitment to provide a dinner to some friends who just had a baby, and then it turned out T had to go to a meeting.  so I had to juggle all sorts of time commitments and being there for the kids, etc.  And today called for a 3 mile run.  no questions, no doubt, no slide.  its 3 miles, and I just had to make it work.  after looking out the window all day and seeing the weather improve, I was really looking forward to running in the sun today.  thanks to DST, it was still light and I got to run in the sun today.  felt good.  I tried my elevation mask, since it was a short run.  really made me work to breathe.  slowed me down, and it was difficult.  I think I would like to try to work this in once a week on a short run.

I had a question over the weekend, how do I handle water intake.  I used to really track my water intake closely, but now I'm much more informal.  I just watch my pee.  if it looks like budweiser, I'm pretty well hydrated.  if it starts looking like amber ale, better start drinking extra water.  I suspect that if it ever start looking like guinness, I better head for the emergency room because I probably need an IV saline drip...

3/10/14. crossfit. run. box jumps. goblet step-ups. wall balls. burpees. 3 miles. protein shake. coffee. orange. almonds. meatball sub. peas. apple. almonds. meatball carrot ragout. chocolate chip cookies. lots of water.

3/8/2014 judging 14.2, run, yoga

long run.  went to the gym with T and did some judging for the Crossfit Open 14.2.  Although I'm not participating, I'm at least trying to show up and help out and be supportive.  I help with the equipment when I can, do some judging, etc.  Its a good time, and I'm having fun with it.  I like being around the crowd at teh gym.

I ran my 10K from the gym.  awesome route, down Grand Ave, past Legion Park, down along the marina and waterfront, then back up the hill.  real nice run.  a little cool, light rain.  perfect conditions.  I hit a new 10K PR this morning (52:31, 8:27 min/mile).  I was running with what felt like a reasonable pace, but it was a little faster than I intended.  I wish I could run this route all the time, but its a little out of my way.  I guess if I continue to come in and support my gym on Saturdays, this will be my run.  with slight variations to add miles as required.  heel feels pretty good.  we'll see what tomorrow morning brings.

stayed at the gym after the long run, when T teaches yoga.  I really think that following a long run with an hour of yoga is doing wonders for my recovery.  we'll see if this holds true over the coming months.

3/8/14. long run. yoga. coffee. egg. country ham. peanut butter toast. protein shake with gatorade. chicken gyro. peanuts. ham and cheese.  cheeseburger. sweet potato fries. salad.

3/6/14. Thursday. run and crossfit. so this heel/arch discomfort is the new normal.

so I got up at about 4:45am so that I could be out running before 5am.  felt pretty tough.  I think a week break was good for me in the gym, in that i felt relaxed and ready to work out yesterday, but I'm not sure the break did anything for my running.  i don't really think a week is long enough to get out of conditioning, but it did feel difficult this morning.  my heel/arch made itself known.  was a little worse when I started, seemed to fade a little while running.  not painful, just noticeable.  then my dress shoes were a litle too flat/hard.  on my walk into work, my arch/heel seemed to ache a little more.  iced it.  rolled it.  will track it and see if subsequent runs make it the same or worse.

crossfit.  5 RFT: 10 handstand pushups, 20 double unders, 250m row.  I got through this pretty fast, at least it felt fast.  all good stuff, the making of a fun WOD, but it brings up an issue I am having. none of these is specifically strength training.  the nature of the programming and the variability of a "workout of the day" means it may not be what I am looking for.  I don't want my cardio in the gym, and I'm not really looking for improving my endurance in the gym  I will get that on the road, in spades.  I want to work some strength.  some lifting, some core strengthening, some mobility, some bodyweight exercises (pullups, push ups, etc).  we'll see how the next few weeks/months go.

3/6/14. run. crossfit. handstand pushups. double unders. rowing. coffee. orange.  almonds. ham/artichoke/swiss cheese lasagne. tortellini with sausage. apple. almonds. cheese stick. meatloaf. mashed potatoes. spinach souffle. a few gin and tonics.  not enough water.

3/5/14. Wed. Crossfit. no run today. the end of my break

after a full week of rest, I felt it was time to get back into the gym.  when I woke up and saw overhead squats and burpees, i wanted to go back to bed.  FT: 10-1 sets of overhead squats and burpees.  but I stayed the course and it actually felt good to get a workout in.  of course i kept the OH squats light, I'm not a complete idiot.  but I think the burpees went pretty fast and it didn't kill me.  all in all, i felt fairly good.

of course, after I got home, my heel was all flared up.  right back to how it felt before I took my break.  like there is something in the arch of my shoe, pressing into my heel/arch.  If no running and no working out for a week made it feel  a little less noticeable, but the first workout flared it back up, then i guess i'll have to live with it.  we'll see how it affects my running, especially when I start the mileage next week.  hopefully this is something that hits a plateau within my tolerance level and i can manage it.

looking forward to a run at 5am tomorrow morning, come hell or high water.  high water is likely, being that it is March in the pacific northwest.

3/5/14. protein shake.  coffee. orange. almonds. flank steak. tortellini and sausage.  corn.  apple. Bacon double cheeseburger smothered in cheese sauce and deep fried Mac and cheese. French fries. Chicken and waffles.  lots of water.

3/3/14. Monday. What I have learned about myself. 1 week until it begins.

well, I guess that what's important, is that I come away from this rest having learned something about myself. 

2 years ago, I ran 6 days a week combined with approx 3 easy workouts (mostly body weight, push ups, sit ups, some resistance band curls and pull-downs).  After months on this schedule, I ran 2 marathons in 3 weeks.  I was able to keep up with this training, and I felt fine.

then, for the last year, I WOD'd 5 times a week.  and I continued to develop new skills and get stronger.  This was an OK schedule for me.

since November, I have re-introduced running, and I have attempted to slowly ramp it up, while holding to the same 5 workouts a week.  when I was at 3 runs and 5 workouts a week, I was feeling pretty good.  If I was able to hold the mileage static, I think this was a schedule I could have held long term.  Then I stepped it up to 4 runs a week with 5 workouts.  I held that for 3 weeks, and I think this was a pace that was not sustainable.  I proved I could do it, and I'm sure I could do it again, but this was not training.  I was not recovering adequately enough that I could continue to make gains.  This was an important lesson to learn, and I am glad I was able to do this before I started The Plan.  This will help me plan for the next 30 weeks. 

Here is a snapshot of how I have prepared myself to be ready for marathon training.  Approx 200 miles down in just about 4 months.

In addition to going for full recovery (mental and physical), I have also used this week off to try and self rehab my heel.  I have foam rollered and stretched my calf every day.  I have rolled out my arch and heel with a frozen water bottle every night.  I took my triggerpoint footballer to work, and rolled out my arch/heel while sitting at my desk.  I have worn shoes with a decent arch and heel support all the time, even at home.  The heel/arch still feels a little tight when I wake up and first start walking, but it no longer feels like I have a pebble in my shoe when I walk. 

First order of business is to ease back into some activity.  I think WOD Wednesday morning. Run 5K thursday, WOD thursday afternoon.  Rest Friday.  Run 10K saturday with yoga after.  Rest Sunday.  Then, Monday, let the real training start.