My biggest battle in running lately has been trying to find the time...to sleep. A combination of some busy days (and nights) at work, increased mileage, and various social events with friends and family has resulted in sacrificing sleep at a time when I probably need more than usual.
In an attempt to remedy this and hopefully "catch up" on some zzzzzzs this weekend, I've kept the entire weekend clear of activities save a workout tomorrow morning and a uptempo effort in the TJ Marathon with Pope on Sunday. Early mornings, yes, but I intend to have early nights as well. Netflix has kindly delivered to me most of season 2 of True Blood, Amazon sent me season one of Star Trek, and I've just cracked a Tom Robbins book. If all goes as planned, I'll have a weekend of running, sleeping, chilling on the couch, and home cooked meals.
July 9
10 in San Elijo. EASY. Should be able to squeeze in 4-5 + abs tonight. Still on pace for a 70 mile week, despite taking yesterday completely off.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
To Blog or Not to Blog
I am truly horrible at this. To the point where I question if I should even bother with a running blog. I log all my workouts in an excel spreadsheet so it's not like I lose my splits for all eternity if I don't update this.
However, twice this week I have come to this blog to look up not just past splits from races and workouts, but read the entries that accompnaies those times and gained a little insight into my own present fitness.
So I need to find 5 mins a day to update this thing because for me, running isn't just about the splits and the times, it's about the passion, the feelings, the confidence and the heartbreak that accompany those times. So...I begin again with a renewed effort.
I haven't the time to recap the last few months, so I'll nutshell if for you. Steady build up of mileage, increasing intensity of workouts, focus on goals, one random knee injury, one random trip to the ER for stomach pains, complete slacking in strength exercises, one okay race, one horrible race, and one great race.
T-minus 25 days until my half marathon.
Scripss Ranch 10K - July 4, 2010
37:44
Splits: 6:06; 6:07; 6:08; 6:08; 6:09; 5:58
avg pace: 6:06
Felt amazing. I was just cruising and felt strong the whole race. No latent stomach issues, no self doubt. Positive thinking for 6.2 glorious miles.
July 7
On Tap: 3 mi w/u; 6x1mile @ 6:10 w/ 1 min recovery; 3 mi c/d
Actual Splits: 6:08, 6:09, 6:10, 6:08, 6:08, 6:03
Felt like I had to work for it once I hit the third mile, but still felt strong. Channeled fatigue into positive thoughts about how in shape each step would get me.
Training Notes:
I heart Jack Daniels. This doesn't make me an alchy, rather a follower of Jack Daniels and his workouts and guide to running. Since I have been doing his workouts there have been several major changes in my running. First, I understand the purpose of each workout. I know why certain workouts have short recovery, why certain workouts are at certain paces, and what I am getting from each repeat, interval or tempo run. I am a smarter runner. Second, I am pushing myself harder. I know what splits I should be hitting based on my present fitness level, so I"m not setting ridic goals and being frustrated or setting too low of goals and feeling unsatisfied. Third, I am gaining confidence. Each workout is a challenge, but I'm hitting the splits I should be hitting and I finish exhausted but proud of myself. I'm not used to that. Feeling proud of myself after a workout. And finally, most importantly, I really like working out. Whether it be on the track or on the roads, I ENJOY my workouts. I'd just as much prefer to do mile repeats as go for a run on the roads or trails. I've NEVER enjoyed workouts. I've done them, I've felt good after, but I've never enjoyed the challenge of completing a workout and being as strong as I can be. And this is why I heart Jack Daniels. My passion for this sport has been expanded. It hardly seems possible, but ever since I picked up competitive running again, I keep finding new ways to fall in love with it all over again. Whether it be the challenege of a new event (hello, Half marathon, you beautiful thing you), the bonds created with fellow runners and teammates, or experiencing a whole new world of training (Julie loves High Mileage?). I am a whole new runner from the one I was 5 years ago. I can barely even identify with her as a runner anymore. And that's fine, because I love the runner that I am now.
However, twice this week I have come to this blog to look up not just past splits from races and workouts, but read the entries that accompnaies those times and gained a little insight into my own present fitness.
So I need to find 5 mins a day to update this thing because for me, running isn't just about the splits and the times, it's about the passion, the feelings, the confidence and the heartbreak that accompany those times. So...I begin again with a renewed effort.
I haven't the time to recap the last few months, so I'll nutshell if for you. Steady build up of mileage, increasing intensity of workouts, focus on goals, one random knee injury, one random trip to the ER for stomach pains, complete slacking in strength exercises, one okay race, one horrible race, and one great race.
T-minus 25 days until my half marathon.
Scripss Ranch 10K - July 4, 2010
37:44
Splits: 6:06; 6:07; 6:08; 6:08; 6:09; 5:58
avg pace: 6:06
Felt amazing. I was just cruising and felt strong the whole race. No latent stomach issues, no self doubt. Positive thinking for 6.2 glorious miles.
July 7
On Tap: 3 mi w/u; 6x1mile @ 6:10 w/ 1 min recovery; 3 mi c/d
Actual Splits: 6:08, 6:09, 6:10, 6:08, 6:08, 6:03
Felt like I had to work for it once I hit the third mile, but still felt strong. Channeled fatigue into positive thoughts about how in shape each step would get me.
Training Notes:
I heart Jack Daniels. This doesn't make me an alchy, rather a follower of Jack Daniels and his workouts and guide to running. Since I have been doing his workouts there have been several major changes in my running. First, I understand the purpose of each workout. I know why certain workouts have short recovery, why certain workouts are at certain paces, and what I am getting from each repeat, interval or tempo run. I am a smarter runner. Second, I am pushing myself harder. I know what splits I should be hitting based on my present fitness level, so I"m not setting ridic goals and being frustrated or setting too low of goals and feeling unsatisfied. Third, I am gaining confidence. Each workout is a challenge, but I'm hitting the splits I should be hitting and I finish exhausted but proud of myself. I'm not used to that. Feeling proud of myself after a workout. And finally, most importantly, I really like working out. Whether it be on the track or on the roads, I ENJOY my workouts. I'd just as much prefer to do mile repeats as go for a run on the roads or trails. I've NEVER enjoyed workouts. I've done them, I've felt good after, but I've never enjoyed the challenge of completing a workout and being as strong as I can be. And this is why I heart Jack Daniels. My passion for this sport has been expanded. It hardly seems possible, but ever since I picked up competitive running again, I keep finding new ways to fall in love with it all over again. Whether it be the challenege of a new event (hello, Half marathon, you beautiful thing you), the bonds created with fellow runners and teammates, or experiencing a whole new world of training (Julie loves High Mileage?). I am a whole new runner from the one I was 5 years ago. I can barely even identify with her as a runner anymore. And that's fine, because I love the runner that I am now.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Getting in the mileage
In college, I always felt that I had to fight for academics to take precedent over athletics. Not the normal college experience, despite going to a school where athletics wasn't exactly a top priority to the institution.
Now, I am finding myself in the opposite extreme, where a career takes precedent over running. The hardest thing for me to learn was to be flexible. I have always been used to controlling my schedule. If I was efficient, planned out my work schedule, and got work done then I would have time for what I needed to do. But I can be as efficient as humanly possible and it won't stop an assignment from coming in the door 20 minutes before I'm supposed to meet up for a track workout, or sleeping through a run because I had to work on an emergency project till 2am the night before.
I've had to learn the consequences of not getting up out of laziness in the morning (then being in the office till late and missing a run). I've discovered how to do an 8-miler during lunch and not appear too desheveled for the rest of the day after a quick clean up in the women's bathroom. I've accepted that tempo runs on the treadmill suck, but sometimes there are no other options when the work day wraps up at 8pm.
Life has been busy, but lately I've managed ok.
April 12-18 - 40 miles
w/o #1: Tempo cutdown - Treadmill
w/o #2: Fartleck 6x (3min on 2 min off)
April 19-25 - 45 miles
w/o #1 - First attempt at Hills. Ouch.
w/o #2 - 4 x mile w/ 400m recovery
Now, I am finding myself in the opposite extreme, where a career takes precedent over running. The hardest thing for me to learn was to be flexible. I have always been used to controlling my schedule. If I was efficient, planned out my work schedule, and got work done then I would have time for what I needed to do. But I can be as efficient as humanly possible and it won't stop an assignment from coming in the door 20 minutes before I'm supposed to meet up for a track workout, or sleeping through a run because I had to work on an emergency project till 2am the night before.
I've had to learn the consequences of not getting up out of laziness in the morning (then being in the office till late and missing a run). I've discovered how to do an 8-miler during lunch and not appear too desheveled for the rest of the day after a quick clean up in the women's bathroom. I've accepted that tempo runs on the treadmill suck, but sometimes there are no other options when the work day wraps up at 8pm.
Life has been busy, but lately I've managed ok.
April 12-18 - 40 miles
w/o #1: Tempo cutdown - Treadmill
w/o #2: Fartleck 6x (3min on 2 min off)
April 19-25 - 45 miles
w/o #1 - First attempt at Hills. Ouch.
w/o #2 - 4 x mile w/ 400m recovery
Monday, April 12, 2010
Back to the grind...
Have you ever had one of those mornings where you wake up and just feel stressed out for no good reason? The sound of rain outside and the memory that it was supposed to clear up and be sunny this afternoon kept me in bed till the last possible moment before needing to get up for work. I instantly felt stressed. Every little thing was stressing me out. The dirty dishes in the sink, the fact that I hadn't responded to several overdue emails, strange dreams from the night before, taxes, even the fact that my shoes were disorganized in my closet. The uneasiness carried through to work this morning, and is only now beginning to disapate as I look at my to-do list and silently remind myself I am not overwhelmed; it's under control.
This weekend was a good one for running. Got a solid speed workout in on the track. Not as fast as I would like, but a good start. Again my mantra of patience kicks in.
Spent all Sunday morning at the C-bad 5K. Got to hang out with some people that I hadn't seen in awhile, watch some other friends kick butt in their races, and ran my longest distance run (8 miles) since my achilles injury in January. Other than soreness from the speed the day before, things are feeling good.
Weekly Mileage: 33
This weekend was a good one for running. Got a solid speed workout in on the track. Not as fast as I would like, but a good start. Again my mantra of patience kicks in.
Spent all Sunday morning at the C-bad 5K. Got to hang out with some people that I hadn't seen in awhile, watch some other friends kick butt in their races, and ran my longest distance run (8 miles) since my achilles injury in January. Other than soreness from the speed the day before, things are feeling good.
Weekly Mileage: 33
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Sickness
March 27
Sick - bagged workout again. 4 miles.
March 28
LA all day. Not feelin' great. No run.
March 29
5 miles. Blah.
March 30 - April 2
SICK. No running. Lots of nose blowing. Very sexy.
April 3
Treadmill in Las Vegas - 4 miles. Not great but felt good to atleast run.
April 4
Treadmill in Vegas - 5 miles. Feeling much better today. Think sickness has finally run its course, at least physically.
Weekly Mileage = 14
You win some you lose some.
April 5
Off. Tired from trip + full day at work + desire to just go home, make dinner, and watch the NCAA game with Marc = no run.
April 6
Track - 3x (600 w/ 300 recovery, 400 w/ 400 recovery) 2x400 w/ 400 recovery. Total miles = 7-8
Worked in to Katie's workout. Body felt WEAK, not too shocking. But my original plan was to do 4x 600/400 so the fact that I almost managed to make it through should make me happy, considering my recent illness and lack of running. Time to do this.
April 7
5 miles easy before work.
Sick - bagged workout again. 4 miles.
March 28
LA all day. Not feelin' great. No run.
March 29
5 miles. Blah.
March 30 - April 2
SICK. No running. Lots of nose blowing. Very sexy.
April 3
Treadmill in Las Vegas - 4 miles. Not great but felt good to atleast run.
April 4
Treadmill in Vegas - 5 miles. Feeling much better today. Think sickness has finally run its course, at least physically.
Weekly Mileage = 14
You win some you lose some.
April 5
Off. Tired from trip + full day at work + desire to just go home, make dinner, and watch the NCAA game with Marc = no run.
April 6
Track - 3x (600 w/ 300 recovery, 400 w/ 400 recovery) 2x400 w/ 400 recovery. Total miles = 7-8
Worked in to Katie's workout. Body felt WEAK, not too shocking. But my original plan was to do 4x 600/400 so the fact that I almost managed to make it through should make me happy, considering my recent illness and lack of running. Time to do this.
April 7
5 miles easy before work.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Slow and Steady
Friday, March 26
Planned day off. Felt physically exhausted all day.
Saturday, March 27
4 miles - easy
Bagged the workout. Body is done. Got a bit of a cold and it took all my energy just to get up in the morning and move from point to point in my apartment. Finally dragged myself out for an easy 4 miles before rallying to head of to LA for A-M's bday.
Sunday, March 28
Off - Actually felt almost back to 100%, which was strange after feeling so crappy yesterday a.m. Decided not to run out of convenience. I'm usually pretty diligent about mileage, and there are some days where it's nice to just let it slide. Got home from LA and sat with Marc and watched the sunset while dolphins jumped and played in the waves. Sometimes it's nice to just sit and watch the world go by, instead of always racing to keep up.
March 22-28: 28 Miles
Monday, March 29
5 miles - North on backroads of S.B. Coast
Rolled out of bed late, and normally wouldn't have tried to squeeze in the miles, but I could really use the day after work to hit up the grocery store, come home and read on my couch. Ran slow not out of fatigue (felt well rested, not surprising after a weekend of light activity), but more just a lack of urgency. Workout tomorrow on the track. Would like to start seeing some fitness seeping in after 3 weeks at mileage in the high 20s.
Planned day off. Felt physically exhausted all day.
Saturday, March 27
4 miles - easy
Bagged the workout. Body is done. Got a bit of a cold and it took all my energy just to get up in the morning and move from point to point in my apartment. Finally dragged myself out for an easy 4 miles before rallying to head of to LA for A-M's bday.
Sunday, March 28
Off - Actually felt almost back to 100%, which was strange after feeling so crappy yesterday a.m. Decided not to run out of convenience. I'm usually pretty diligent about mileage, and there are some days where it's nice to just let it slide. Got home from LA and sat with Marc and watched the sunset while dolphins jumped and played in the waves. Sometimes it's nice to just sit and watch the world go by, instead of always racing to keep up.
March 22-28: 28 Miles
Monday, March 29
5 miles - North on backroads of S.B. Coast
Rolled out of bed late, and normally wouldn't have tried to squeeze in the miles, but I could really use the day after work to hit up the grocery store, come home and read on my couch. Ran slow not out of fatigue (felt well rested, not surprising after a weekend of light activity), but more just a lack of urgency. Workout tomorrow on the track. Would like to start seeing some fitness seeping in after 3 weeks at mileage in the high 20s.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Recovery Miles and Strength
March 24, 2010
5 miles on cliffs and DM neighborhoods in the morning. Definitely tired from working out the night before, but starting to get excited about getting into racing shape!
March 25, 2010
Gym session this morning. With daylight savings I can now hit up the gym in the morning and go for my run after work. While this could easily be flipped during the winter, let's just say my motivation to go to the gym after work was often lacking, whereas my motivation to hit up some miles in the daylight is definitely high.
Planning on running 5 after work at Lake Miramar. With track workouts now part of my routine and the pain being gone from the achilles, it's easy to take up the mileage too high without even realizing it. Gotta keep the recovery runs as recovery and not squeeze in too much mileage before the body is ready.
5 miles on cliffs and DM neighborhoods in the morning. Definitely tired from working out the night before, but starting to get excited about getting into racing shape!
March 25, 2010
Gym session this morning. With daylight savings I can now hit up the gym in the morning and go for my run after work. While this could easily be flipped during the winter, let's just say my motivation to go to the gym after work was often lacking, whereas my motivation to hit up some miles in the daylight is definitely high.
Planning on running 5 after work at Lake Miramar. With track workouts now part of my routine and the pain being gone from the achilles, it's easy to take up the mileage too high without even realizing it. Gotta keep the recovery runs as recovery and not squeeze in too much mileage before the body is ready.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Back on Track
March 8-14
Mileage: 24 mi
Strength sessions: 2
Quality: some tempo effort at St. Patty's Day Race.
March 15-21
Mileage: 26 mi
Strength sessions: 1
Quality: 6x400 @ 80-84; 1 min rest
Monday, March 22
6 miles at Lake Miramar after work (first 3 miles with Marc). 8 min down to 7:30 pace. Slowly getting into shape again. Post-run shrimp tacos and beer compliments of my awesome man ;)
Tuesday, March 23
Track Workout: 2 w/u; 4x800 @ 2:55; 3x800 83-84; ~300m recovery; 2 c/d
Mileage: 24 mi
Strength sessions: 2
Quality: some tempo effort at St. Patty's Day Race.
March 15-21
Mileage: 26 mi
Strength sessions: 1
Quality: 6x400 @ 80-84; 1 min rest
Monday, March 22
6 miles at Lake Miramar after work (first 3 miles with Marc). 8 min down to 7:30 pace. Slowly getting into shape again. Post-run shrimp tacos and beer compliments of my awesome man ;)
Tuesday, March 23
Track Workout: 2 w/u; 4x800 @ 2:55; 3x800 83-84; ~300m recovery; 2 c/d
Met with Brian and Katie to partake in part of their repeat 1,000s workout. With the only quality I've done occurring two days before and my mileage only in the mid-twenties, I was pretty unsure as to how much and for how long I could hang. By the third 800 my stomach started doing flips and the legs started to turn to jello. Took one interval off then jumped in for one more 800 effort. Did a few 400s to finish things off and bring Katie in at the end of some of her 1ks.
The largest inadequacy in my training since my return to the world of running has been my quality workouts. They are few and far between. I'm too stiff when I try roll straight out of bed before work and I do better when I have someone to push me. I think Tuesday night workouts on the track might be what I need to take things to the next level.
Grabbed food and beer with Katie and Brian post-workout and spent some time exchanging war stories from the track. Good day.
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