5/29/14. run. mobility day.

all right, all right, this is the last day i will allow myself to claim Murph.  i made a decision to skip my strength workout and go to the gym and just work mobility issues.  weak, but felt like the right thing to do.

up at 4:30am, on the the streets by 4:45am, 3 long slow miles.  seriously, these were the slowest miles since i started running again in November.  my legs were stiff and sore, and even my upper body kept reminding me how sore it was.  every step was an impact that i felt through my core and up into my shoulders, and even down into my forearms.  it wasn't really a fun run, but i had 3 miles to do and i did them.

strength 2 was supposed to be back squats, deadlifts, front rack barbell lunges and toes 2 bar.  instead, i spent over an hour with a foam roller, a lacrosse ball, and some bands.  i worked the quads, the hamstrings, the calves, the hips.  tried to hit just about everything from the waist down.  I think I am feeling better, and that listening to my body was the right thing to do.

looking forward to a rest day friday.  then i'm not sure how to fit my weekend runs in.  i need a fast 5 on saturday and a long 8 on sunday.  there's little league game sat, and a mariners game sun.  i need some more time...

5/29/14. coffee. orange. nuts. meatloaf/carrot ragout/mashed potatoes/peas. apple. nuts. cottage cheese. pork roast. pretzel roll. spinach salad. peas. granola. lots of water.

5/28/14. Wed. mid-week, "longish" run.

I am well into the first week of the second half of The Plan.  typical schedule has shorter runs Tues/Thurs.  Longish run Wed.  then a fast longish run Sat and The Long Run on Sunday.  5 days of running a week.  ramp up for approx 3 weeks, then have a cut back recovery week.  repeat this cycle until Berlin.  mileage starts with approx 24 total miles this week.  I will see a max number of miles in August when I hit 43 miles/week.  its kind of comforting to know my days are planned and my runs are slated.  no guesswork, no screwing around.  just perform.

running 5 wed afternoon was tough.  i am still feeling Murph'd.  my legs are super stiff and sore.  whatever tendon/muscle runs up your inner thigh is just aching.  and having a stiff and sore upper body makes for a hard run.  its hard to let go and relax and run, when you are constantly reminded of your arms/shoulders/chest.  it was a fairly slow 5 miles, took me 44:17.  slow and steady, I guess.  this whole week has been difficult.  no more Murph this year.

5/28/14. run. coffee. orange. nuts. meatloaf and carrot ragout with mashed potatoes and corn. apple. nuts. bbq chicken sandwich. broccoli salad. salad. lot of water.

5/28/14. tuesday. recovery run.

got up at 4:45am, hit the streets by 5am, knocked out 3 miles.  a few observations - its getting really light out, and its really starting to warm up - summer is coming.

this run was far more difficult than i thought it would be.  i thought the 300 squats were the easy part of Murph on Monday, but my legs were sore.  i guess it shows degree of specialization the running is developing.  even though I am running miles and miles and i feel like my legs are getting stronger, a bunch of squats still makes me ache.  looking back at doing Murph on my "cross-training" day, Hal says "Bike, swim, walk--whatever works best for you. Warning: Don't train too hard on cross-training days. Train only as hard as you would during a running workout".  Hah, "don't train too hard," I guess I blew it on that one. I vow I will not do Murph during my marathon training again.  this year, that is.

hopefully the rest of the week goes smoother.  I need a hot date with a foam roller.

5/28/14. run. coffee. orange. arugula salad with beans/tomatoes. turkey burger on pita, taboula salad. apple. nuts. meatloaf with carrot ragout, mashed potatoes. salad. lots of water.

5/17-19/14 Saturday Sunday Monday. 10K and Murph...

5/17-19/14 Saturday Sunday Monday

Saturday.  extra day of rest.  hal calls for a 10K race on sunday, so he gave me a rest day on saturday.

Sunday.  10K "race" day.  prepped like a real race day.  up early, ate a big breakfast, hydrated well.  wore my race shorts and my adidas energy boosts.  went out to the Centennial Trail in Snohomish, so I wouldn't have to worry about elevation or traffic or curbs or anything.  just run out 5K, turn around and run back.  2 scoop NOxplode. easy quarter mile jog, followed by some stretching and loosing up.  then I flipped the switch and ran like hell.  I pushed a little hard on this one, and I set a new 10K PR for myself.  6.22 miles in 45:51.  I think I could have probably pulled it out a little faster at the end, but all in all i put a lot into it.

Monday.  Memorial Day.  Murph.  if you are reading my journal, then you probably already know me, and you probably know what Murph is.  but anyways, Murph is a crossfit Hero WOD, dedicated to Navy Lt Michael Murphy, who gave his life in Operation Red Wings in Afghanistan, trying to save his team.  If you've seen the movie "Lone Survivor", then you know about Michael Murphy.  anyways, this was a workout he did to stay in shape when he was in the field and didn't have a gym.  he did it in body armor, so a lot of people do it in a 20# weight vest.  Not me, though.  it was hard enough with my own body weight.  Murph was: 1 mile run, 100 pullups, 200 push ups, 300 squats, 1 mile run.  I did the first mile in 7:15 or so, and the last mile in 7:40.  but the in between?  it took me 49 minutes to knock out the pullups, pushups, and squats.  so a 64 minute total for Murph.  it was pretty terrible, and i will probably remember this for a few days.  but the whole family went.  T did it faster than me (she is awesome), and E did the half Murph,  he used a band for his assisted pullups, but he kicked ass and I'm proud of him for doing this.  A was fighting off a bad cold and sat this out.  no worries. it was gloomy and rainy and a fairly miserable run to finish up Murph.  but its over now, and I'm so glad I did this.  I'm proud of my family and I'm glad we did this together.

5/22/14. early morning miles and afternoon workout.

i knew E's little league scheduled game was going to push me for time.  so i got up early again 4:30am, and was running by 4:45am.  got my 3 miles in slightly ahead of schedule.  even though it was earlier, it was warmer and lighter than previous weeks.  i think i am going to miss running in the dark.  there's something kind of cool about being out when no one else is around, in the dark, getting the mile in while others are sleeping.  kind of illicit, like i'm getting away with something.  the miles were tough to run.  6 days running in a show, the morning after some tough intervals.  legs were stiff and sore and felt wooden.  but i never quit, and i knocked them out.

i went into the gym a little nervous, after my lower back issue last week.  i took everything a little slower and tried to warm up a little more thoroughly for each lift.  started with lower weights, did more reps, concentrated on a tight core and keeping good form.  then I hit all the weights I have been hitting, with no issues.  so this was a better week than last week.  nothing like some deep back squats and lunges to stretch out those legs after a lot of hard running.  i really felt my tight hamstrings during the deadlifts.  I guess its better to feel the deadlifts in the hamstrings, than to feel it in the lower back.

really looking forward to a rest day.  next week The Plan transitions to 5 days a week running (down from 6). no more dedicated speed drills, no intervals, no tempo, no fartlek.  the miles will rack up.  slow increases each week.  typically ramp up for 3 weeks, then a cut back recovery week.  then pick up where it left off and repeat the cycle.  from next week until Berlin.  18 weeks and 1 day.  but who's counting?

5/22/14. run. strength 2. back squats. deadlifts. front rack barbell lunges. toes2bar. coffee. orange. nuts. ham/cheese sandwich.  chicken soup. apple. nuts. protein shake. sauteed stuffed chicken breast (pimento cheese).  baked kale/cheese/onion. snap peas. cottage cheese.  lots of water.

5/21/14. interval runs.

after 6 days running in a row.  I am really feeling fatigued.  my legs are sore and tired.

5/21/14. interval runs.

last day of intervals.  starting next week, the plan transitions from speedwork to more miles.  so although my days running will go down from 6 to 5 per week, my miles will start to increase.  typical Hal - roughly 3 weeks steadily increasing, then 1 week cut back and recovery.  then repeat the cycle...

not sure how i feel about this.  in retrospect, i kind of enjoyed the idea of hill repeats and intervals, in a masochistic self-flagellating sort of way.  i really feel that they have improved my speed and given me some new insights into what i a capable of.  but at some point, i need to be prepared to run the longer distances.  so the long run will be king.  unlike my last marathon training plan, this one will have me running back to back sat/sunday.  a little faster, maybe race pace, on sat for a "longish" run, then a long run on sunday on tired legs.  it will be tough.

so going into the intervals last night was kind of bittersweet.  the usual dread and mental anguish, but also a little relief knowing it was last time i would run a 400m interval set.  8 sets was pretty tough.  a really blew it all out and ran hard on my last interval, wanted to prove i could go faster on the last one (avg'd 5:54 min/mile for the last 400m sprint).  looking at my HR recovery plot, I think i was recovering better than ever before.  so if you heart is a muscle, and exercise increases strength, i think i have seen some quantifiable benefits from my speed work.  here's the data:

coming up next week, nothing but miles. 

5/20/14. coffee. orange. nuts. shikabob beef/peppers/tomatoes/onion/mushroom. bread. beef stew. cottage cheese.  granola/milk. spaghetti/meatballs. salad. chips/salsa.  lot of water.

5/20/14. 6 mile run.

6 miles still feels like a long run for a tuesday.  not much shorter than what my "long" runs on the weekend are hitting.  it was pretty warm, low 60s, so i kept it easy and ran steady.  had to lose my t-shirt after about a mile.  i don't know how i'm going to run in SC this year.  i have some seriously long runs in august, and SC is going to be brutally hot and humid.  i'm leaving the elevation mask at home, for sure.  10K "race" coming on sunday, then no more speed work.  just a steady mileage increase. slow and steady through september.

5/20/04. run.  coffee. orange. nuts. chicken. asparagus. peas. risotto. apple. nuts. ham/cheese. shishkabob beef, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes. bread.

5/19/14. strength 1 and run in the mask.

up at 4:50am, hit the gym at 5:30am.  lower back is still feeling a little stiff, so i eased up on the weight for the strict press.  i know i compensate for my lack of shoulder/upper body flexibility by arching my lower back during this lift.  I did some extra stretching, then reduced my presses (5# lower than last week).  i did pushup instead of bench presses.  I did ab mat situps and abmat back ext instead of GHD today.  I also did a lot of extra stretching on the mats before and after.  i think being careful was smart.  I am definitely no worse, and I am feeling a little looser now.

its Monday, which means 3 miles in the mask.  this is the last week with a monday run, and the weather was nice, so I went out determined to have a good mask run.  went fine.  difficult as always, but i didn't want to puke and i recovered fairly quickly.  Alex rode his mountain bike along with me, so it was a really nice run.  He seemed excited about it, which was cool.

5/19/14. strength 1. run. strict presses. pull ups. push ups. abmat sit ups, back ext.  protein shake. coffee. orange. almonds/peanuts/cashews.  birthday cake (yellow cake with homemade butterscotch icing).  chicken. stuffing. corn. more birthday cake.  apple.  another slice of birthday cake.  Chicken. Asparagus. Risotto. Salad. Lots of water.

5/17-18/14 yoga, tempo run, long run

5/17/14. saturday.  went to the Everett Y with T and did the yoga class she taught.  it was the biggest class I ever saw her teach, close to 30 people.  she did great, she's a real pro.  she has come a long way with her teaching, and seems very confident.  I tried hard in class.  I still have some lower back stiffness that I want to try and clear up before it gets worse.  Saturday was a tempo run.  a word about tempo run.  I really cannot do it as prescribed.  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.) 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."  Seriously?  gradually accelerate over 10-20 minutes.  that's ridiculous.  especially when running up/down hills.  curbs, street crossings, traffic, etc.  I cannot gradually run faster as described.  so instead I run slow for 10 minutes, run faster for the middle, then slow again for the final 10 minutes.  I imagine my tempo pace should look flat line, then slope up, then slope down, then flat again.  instead, i try to run a step function.  flat, then flat but faster, then flat and lower again. ended up with 5.48 miles in 45 minutes:

then sunday was the longish run.  6 miles doesn't really seem to count as a long run, but its what I was told to do.  I went out a little long, so I hit the lap button at 6 and went another .22 to round it off at 10K.  pace didn't feel terrible (8:25 min/mile), i probably could have kept going for a while longer at this pace.  weather was good. sun was shining.  felt hot in the sun, cool in the shade.  probably mid to upper 50s.  nice day for it.

kept my "sweat rate" data both days.  saturday's tempo run was hotter and harder, lost 1.21 liters/hour.  sunday's longish run was cooler and easier, lost 1.04 liters/hour.  so with 3 data points, i'm averaging 1.13 liters/hour of water loss.  crazy.

rest day. "on the move" challenge

rest day.  i went to the gym this morning at 5:30am with my wife.  I rolled out, and stretched, and did some general lower body mobility work.

so we are having an "on the move" challenge at work.  6 weeks long.  if you log your steps at least once a week, and average a min of 13,000 steps per day, you will win a $100 Amazon gift certificate.  all physical activities can be converted into steps.  Just like last year, I will have no problem cashing in on this.  Hell, I'm already training for a friggen marathon. just track/log the activities I already have planned, and ka-ching, money in the bank.  but i saw this as my opportunity to try and make a difference in some of my co-workers.  i gave a presentation about this challenge at our bi-weekly team meeting.  and i followed up with an email and lots of personal communication.  i formed a team group, and I invited everybody.  so far, about half the group has signed up.

i singled out the guy that sits next to me.  i know he wants to make a change in his life.  like i was about 3 years ago - middle-aged, over-weight, declining health, bad diet.  he has increasing cholesterol, blood pressure, etc.  I know he has had some health issues developing.  so I challenged him to train up and run a 5K on July 4th.  the yankee doodle dash, which was my first 5K, 3 summers ago.  the first even in my life and I made a lifestyle change.  I created an 8 week 0-5K training plan for him, based on Hal's 5K novice plan.  I sent him the link to register for the run.  I said I would run the race with him, if he followed through with it.  Will he follow through?  can this be the start of a change?  will a 5K be a gateway drug, like it was for me? or am i just a freak?  I guess time will tell.  I would like to be able to provide a positive influence in someone else's life, to give to them what has been given to me.  but to lead by example, and see who can follow.  or surpass. 

thinking of my best friend Manuel today, and thinking of the postitive influence he has had on me.

5/15/14. run and strength 2.

sticking with the "even earlier" plan on thursdays.  up at 4:30am, out the door by 4:45am, run 3 miles and back in the house getting on with the day by 5:15am.  it was really warming up out there. ran in shorts.  still trying to keep the nike flash jacket on when i run in the dark, but it doesn't breathe or wick.  i left it mostly unzipped, but i still sweated a lot.  when it gets warmer, i'll need to switch to the LED armbands I got for xmas.  fairly uneventful run - but its always hard to do a 5am run the morning after sprint intervals.  less than 12 hours recovery, so i still feel stiff/sore/fatigued.

workout was not so great.  my lower back started to feel stiff after 2 rounds of deadlifts.  same weight as the last 9 weeks straight, but this time i must have gotten slack and sloppy.  i finished the deadlifts, but i didn't do the russian twists.  i was afraid of aggravating it.  although its my rest day on friday, I am going to hit the gym in the morning just for mobility and stretching and rolling.  and I will ice during the day and take some alleve.  hopefully by saturday it will ease up and i can run without feeling each step as an impact. 

5/15/14. run. strength 2. back squats. deadlifts. front rack barbell lunges. toes 2 bars. coffee. almonds/peanuts. orange. coconut chicken. peas. ramen. protein shake. fried rice. salad.  strawberries/honeydew melon/almond butter cookies

5/14/14. interval day.

200m intervals.  sprint 200m, recovery jog 200m.  12 rounds.  with a half mile warm-up/cool-down run from home to the track (and back).  this was really tough.  the sun was bright and it was hot.  approx 75 degrees at 5pm.  intervals are mentally challenging, as well as being physically difficult.  i just have a sense of impending doom, just a uneasy dread as I approach the track.  its so tempting to just delay and stall.  and then during the intervals themselves, its so hard to approach the start line from a recovery jog, and intentionally run hard again.  it would be so much easier not to do it.  one way I mentally tricked myself was to think about it as 200m being shorter and easier than the 400m from last week.  but then since I should be running them faster since its shorter, in the end its just as hard.  12 is a large number, but i stuck with it and tried to keep my sprints as consistent as possible.  my 200m sprint split paces avg'd out to 5:33 min/mile (10.8 mph).  for comparison, when I ran 7x400m intervals last week, my avg sprint pace was 6:00 min/mile (10mph).  although it ended up with similar total distance for the runs, it makes sense that i could sustain a paster pace over a shorter distance this week.  this week's data looks pretty decent.  unfortunately I forgot my HR monitor. 

after dinner, i treated the family to DQ Blizzards while watching Survivor.  I think interval day in the hot sun deserves a Blizzard, although i did keep it down to a small one...

5/14/14. coffee. oranges. almonds/peanuts. coconut chicken. ramen. peas. apple. almonds/peanuts. granola. grilled pork tenderloin. roasted potato wedges. buffalo chicken cauliflower with blue cheese dressing. salad.  reese's peanut butter cup blizzard.  lots of water.

5/13/14. tuesday. run

it was a 5 mile tuesday.  really sunny and hot, approx 74-75 degrees.  took this one slow and easy.  just a steady pace to get the miles done.  the weather was beautiful, but it felt hot.  fantastic day to be outside.  I put some sunscreen on (face, shoulders), i will try to keep up with this habit as the summer develops.

just for the hell of it, i am collecting some additional data.  i am interested in calculating my sweat rate, which i can compare to my water absorption rate, and hopefully calculate how much water i should carry on long runs.  here's how it will work.  longish runs only, but not the Long Runs (i will carry water/gu on the Long Runs).  so for any run between 5 miles and 10 miles, i will weigh in before and after the run.  from weight loss, I can calculate my sweat rate (in pounds per mile or per hour, and liters per mile or per hour).  I will collect this data for a number of runs and conditions and take some averages.  as an example, here is my data from tuesday:

5/13/14. run. coffee. orange. almonds/peanuts. beef stroganoff. peas. ham/cheese. spaghetti with bolagnese sauce. salad. lots of water.

5/13/14. monday. strength 1 and a run in the mask.

at the gym by 5:30am, worked through my monday strength training.  it was strange to be at the gym that early and have it getting light out.  something about being there when it was pitch black, way before sunrise, used to make it feel kind of secret, kind of illicit.  but summer is coming. since I can do pushups at home, I continue to substitute bench presses for the pushups.  I will need to work out what a third day will entail, once my running plan drops to 5 days a week.

3 miles in the mask after work. it was so hot, i started out the door in a t-shirt and got about 5 feet before saying no way.  left the shirt laying on the front porch.  knocked out my miles in the mask, never easy, but maybe not as hard as when i first started wearing it.  I guess my training is more important to me that what other people think of me, because i must look like a crazy person running through my small town in a pair of running shorts and an elevation training mask.  i guess in 2 weeks, when the plan changes up, tuesday will become mask day.  tuesday runs will stay at 3 miles for 6 weeks, then ramp up to 4 miles, then 5 miles. at least for those short ones, i will continue to work in the mask.  I am not sure if there is a quantifiable benefit that come from training in the mask.  the theory seems sound.  it doesn't seem like it can hurt to train in it (not a lasting damaging hurt, that is, as opposed to the aches and pains of normal training). oh well, it was only 3 miles and it was just fine.

5/12/14. strict presses. pull ups. bench presses. GHD sit ups. GHD back ext. elevation mask run. protein shake. coffee. orange. almonds. beef stroganoff. green onions. apple. almonds. coconut chicken, white rice, peas. sunflower seeds. trail mix.

5/10-11/14. it was a good weekend for running.

saturday was slated to be a 45 min fartlek (random speed bursts and recovery jogs).  whenever possible, i will trail run to fulfill this.  the trail is well suited to this - run fast when you have a clear trial, slow down for the serious elevation gains and blind curves.  it felt great.  seriously, i cannot describe how cathartic a trail run is, how awesome it is.  i need to put everything else out of mind.  i cannot worry about life, work, family, or anything except my next step.  every step of the way is looking forward to where i am going to place my foot next.  mud, rocks, roots.  elevation changes.  sharp curves. low branches.  cool in the shade. hot in the sun breaks.  the air smells fantastic, that indescribable smell of the evergreens and ferns and fresh earth.  if i could run on trail forever, i would.  just running to beat the devil, anticipating what's going to be around the next curve. 

sunday was a regular run, 7 miles, long slow distance on the road.  took it real easy, something along the lines of 8:48 min/mile.  pretty stiff and sore from the trail run, so just slogged it out.  it was low 50s and very sunny.  nice day to run in minimal gear. shorts, shoes, GPS watch, ipod.  that's about it.  enjoyed the outside time, took my standard 7 mile loop.

and there went the weekend...

5/8/14. run and strength 2.

i knew it was going to be a busy day, and I wanted to get my training in.  so i got up even earlier, at 4:30am, and ran my 3 miles at 4:45am.  it was a little chilly, and i had to go back to wearing pants.  it actually seemed even lighter out than last week (although earlier).  funny thing is, as i drove to work an hour later, along the same roads i had just run, i realized i had no recollection of hainvg just running them.  i must have been on auto-pilot, because i couldn't remember a step of my training run.  I guess this is cool.  maybe the best training runs are the ones you don't even remember having done, and maybe the best races are the ones where you remember ever step.  i remember a few long runs 2 years ago, when it was feeling torturous, i remember pleading with my brain to just shut off, run the miles, then come back on.  let me not have to experience it and let me not have to fight every step of the way.  just do it and get it done wihtout knowing it, like sleep-walking.  and now it actually happened.  too bad i wasted it on a 3 mile run.  why couldn't it have been a *long* run?

after work i hit the gym, ran through my sets (legs and core), didn't screw around, didn't take the time to talk to anybody, just knocked it out so i could make it home in time for shower, dinner, and get over to the pre-school for an event.  my legs were feeling a little stiff/sore, but nothing too terrible.  they never did get back to "normal" after sunday's 5 mile race.  but i like spending some time in the gym, even if i'm in a hurry.  i'm starting to think about what i can add, if i can squeeze a third gym day a week, starting in 3 weeks.

5/8/14. run. legs/core. back squats. deadlifts. front rack barbell lunges. russian twists. toes 2 bar. coffee. orange. almonds. chicken teriyaki. white rice. peas. apple. beef protein bar. protein shake. pork BBQ. cornbread. green beans. chocolate chip cookies.  lots of water.

5/7/14. interval day.

The Plan called for 400m sprints.  7 of them.  with 400m cool down jogs between them.  bookended with a half mile to/from the track to warm-up/cool-down, and we have a 4.5 mile run day. 

running intervals is hard.  mentally tough, as well as physically difficult.  when I'm doing it, i want to slow down and I want to quit.  then when its over, i want to kick myself for not running harder, for not giving it my every last bit of effort until i collapsed puking on the track.  these intervals are the runs that will make me faster, and build speed, and increase my recovery rate.  and I only have 2 more weeks of them.  i hate that feeling, that if only i had tried a little bit harder, i could have improved a little bit more.  regrets suck.  i never look back and say "i wish i had just run a little slower and not tried so hard on my speed interval day".  lost opportunity.

So i averaged 6 min/mile (10mph) on my sprints.  managed to keep it pretty steady for the entire lap, each time.  although my recovery shows i didn't recover as quickly once the laps added up, i still felt pretty good at the end of each recovery lap.

some days I feel like nobody understands or appreciates how hard this is, and how much i'm giving to get there.  oh well, its a good thing I have a rest day tomorrow, because today my attitude sucks and and i am feeling bleak.  come the weekend i'm sure i'll be doing better.

5/7/14. coffee. orange. almonds. chicken parm/pasta. roasted broccoli. apple. bison protein bar. cottage chees. sausage/sheese.  half a PB&J. brunswick stew (chicken, not squirrel). corn bread.  lots of water.

5/6/14. run.

ended up pressed for time.  I tried to get to work early so i could run directly after work, before taking E to little league practice.  i had it planned to the minute, how long a 4 mile run would take, travel time, etc.  then i got stuck at work an extra 15 minutes and blew it.  so i geared up and just ran from the baseball field while they practiced.  ended up fine.  its nice every once in a while to run a different route, but it makes me strangely nervous.  this route was along the east side of Paine Field, so it was pretty level.  i kind of like the elevation variation i experience when i run from home.  the weather was good, mid 50s, a little too warm when i lost the breeze.  4 miles, although it sounds long to me, is really not that long compared to other tues on the plan.  looking at the plan, I'm 418 miles into it.  slowly creeping up on halfway. 

5/6/14. run. coffee. orange. almonds. chicken parmesan. spagetti. peas. apple. granola. cottage cheese. chicken teriyaki. rice. cabbage salad. broccoli. egg roll.  lot of water.

5/5/14. monday. strength 1 and run.

hit the gym at 5:30am. strength 1: strict presses, strict pull ups, sub'd bench presses for push ups, GHD sit-ups, GHD back ext.  felt fine.  honestly, although I filled the hour, I didn't feel wiped.  I think I could possibly handle a workout of this difficulty more frequently.  maybe 3 times a week instead of 2.  I think when the running plan transitions in 3 weeks (from speed to mileage) and the number of days running changes from 6 to 5, I will try to pick up an additional day in the gym.  probably Mon morning, tuesday afternoon, thurs afternoon.  this will push my tues and thurs runs to before work.  I think i can handle this, although it will be tough on longer mileage days (tues/thurs will go up to 5 mile days).  I will need to start getting up earlier, so I can run and make it to work on time . maybe 4:15am or 4:30am instead of 4:45am.  too bad my gym doesn't open at 5:30am on tues/thurs.  that would really solve my scheduling issue...

ran 3 miles after work, wearing the mask.  this went fine, although slow.  I'm not sure if the limiting factor was my cardio or my legs.  I felt fairly sore/stiff from the 5 mile "race pace" the day before, and I didn't feel up to running any faster.  of course, the mask would have kept me from going any faster anyways.  it was nice to run in the sun on a cool day.  low 50s, light wind, sun.  felt real good.

5/5/14. protein shake. coffee. orange. almonds. beef stir fry, white rice. apple. granola. peanuts. tacos. salad. lots of water.

"race" day. 5 miles in 36:24.

5/2-4/14.  2 days of rest for a 5 mile "race"

Hal wanted me to run a 5 mile/8K "race" on Sunday. so i had my 2 days rest, and prepped like it was race day. wore my 70s style teardrop running shorts, my adidas energy boost race shoes. 2 scoop NOxplode. it was perfect weather for a fast run - 52 degrees, overcast, light rain. I wanted a long, relatively flat, easy run, so I drove out to Snohomish so I could run the Centennial Trail (30 mile long "sidewalk" through the countryside, converted as part of the rails 2 trails project).  I ran several long runs here for my first marathon, and I will likely be back for my longest runs while trailing this year. 

I ran a warm-up 400m, stretched, then just kicked it into gear and ran a fast 5 miles.  I ended up clocking it at 36:24. avg moving pace 7:17 min/mile, avg moving speed 8.2 mph. this was a hard run. I actually came out of the gate a little too fast (ran the first mile in under 7 min), but settled down into a sustainable pace after about a quarter mile.  looking at the data, you can see the initial speed, then the gradual settling in on a steady pace. i guess this is why we do this, to learn from your body, and learn the difference between 5K day and 5 mile day. this helps me learn how fast I can ran in a sustainable pace, with different goals in mind.  I feel like this was fast.  this was hard, but it was fun.  in a few weeks comes a 10K.  then in summer a 15K, and then in august a half.  all steps along the way.

5/1/14. Thurs. run and strength 2

busy day.  so I got up earlier and ran earlier.  up at 4:30am, on the road by 4:45am, fast 3 miles.  it was pretty warm, maybe low 50s.  i wore shorts for my run, i think this is the first early morning run where i've been able to wear shorts.  a far cry from last thursday morning (rainy and cold).  miles went by in a flash.  my 3 mile route is not bad.  it has some uphills, some down hills, some level running.  its pretty varied, but i have run it so many times that i can do it on autopilot. the best I can tell is that i have run this exact same loop 57 times since november. I was looking at The Plan. only 3 more weeks of speedwork (intervals, tempo runs, fartlek, etc).  then I switch gears a little.  change from 6 runs a week, mostly shorter, with speed work, to only 5 runs a week, with longer mileage.  now i'm feeling like i wish i had tried harder on my hill climbs and my intervals.  i had my chance to build speed, and I'm afraid i didn't take full advantage.  its hard to sprint, when you're headed for a marathon.  damn.

in the gym in the afternoon for strength 2.  legs and core. same weight from last week.  actually felt a little easier.  maybe i was just a little run down last week. it was nice seeing friends.  the road is solitary.  its nice to be around other people working out.  its a little frustrating to see them all getting a little stronger everyday, while i am getting a little weaker every day.  but that's how this is going to go through september.

5/1/14. run. back squats. deadlifts. front rack barbell lunges. russian twists. toes 2 bar. coffee. orange. almonds. pork roast. pasta/sausage/peppers. apple. granola. protein shake. ham/chicken/cheese.peas in a pie crust (empanada style sandwich). salad. bowl of granola. lots of water.

4/30/14. wed. sprint interval day

had to wait until 5:00pm to run.  the middle school has track and and field until 5, and i wanted to run my intervals on the track (flat level, easy to judge distances).  i found it hard to wait this long in the day - at this point, i wanted to lay on the couch and take a nap, not go run intervals.

run was 200m intervals (200m sprints with 200m recovery jogs between them).  easy half mile run to the track (and home after) served as warm-up and cool-down.  intervals are hard.  they really make your lungs work, and your legs work, and your arms/torso/core work.  they pretty much thrash me.  at the end of each sprint, i was bellowing and whooshing like a freight train.  i wore the heart rate monitor so i could track my HR recovery.  I guess my cardio isn't that great, because you can see how with each successive recovery jog, i was not able to get my heart rate back down as low as the preceding interval.  my avg speed for the sprints was 10.81mph (5:33 min/mile).  it was tough to maintain speed for each of the intervals, and believe me, 10 felt like a lot.

4/30/14. run. 200m intervals. coffee. orange. almonds. grilled chicken breast. pasta/sausage/peppers. apple. almonds. cottage cheese. beef stir fry (beef, bok choy, peppers), white rice.  ice cream sandwich.  lots of water.