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.