No running today, went on another beautiful hiking in Marin County North of San Fran. It was a 7.3 mile hike that followed a river down to Stinson beach, and then went back up the nearby mountain, which was pretty steep, but beautiful. Then in and out of grasslands and forests with great views of the ocean. The weather was great, about 50 degrees, hardly any wind. A good way to build up and appatite for the New Years feasting that will be taking place tonight.
All I can say is beautiful...................and hilly.............but beautiful. I ran 5 miles today out at my aunts vineyard and man it was beautiful. It was also very hilly, I was almost done for at the end of my run, of which the last mile was all up hill, kinda steep as well. My legs feel pretty good after all the running I have been doing in the last couple of weeks, hopefully this continues.
Started out today planning on walking to the Golden Gate Park like I had done on Tursday, and then run 4 miles in the park. Thursday I was all over the place and had to back track a few times. So today I looked at a map and found a more direct route that would get me my 4 miles without stopping and starting.
Things were going well, I felt great, even after the long hike yesterday, the ground was moving smoothly under my feet. I was enjoying the sights as I was running. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimps of the Japanese Garden in the Park. I thought it might be cool to run by that on the way back. So when I made my return trip, I hung a right towards the Garden. I have been there before, but it was neat to see it again. As I ran by, I noticed that I couldn't exit that area in the direction I wanted to go. So I had to run along some fencing until I could get through.
Now I entered the park from the East, and I thought I was till traveling West back towards when I came from. Turn out I was going South, and when I exited the park, I didn't recornize where I was, but I figured I was just north of the street I came in on, so I hung a right, when sent me East, opposite of where I wanted to go. As I ran and ran, not seeing the street I came in on, I noticed that the streets were in the teens, and I knew that 17th street ran into Belvedere which is where I wanted to be. So I hung a left on that, which took me south again.
My reasoning was sound, but not knowing that I was on the wrong side of the park is what got me. So I kept running and running, and 17th was uphill, exactly what this picture looks like. Block after block of uphill running, I finally had to walk until I got to the top, and realized I was in trouble. Luckily, and nice young woman was able to give me directions back, after informing me that I was no where near where I wanted to be. So it was quite a run back, but I did notice that while I was running and not knowing where I was, it was nice, becasue I wasn't paying attention to the running, how tired I was, but just trying to figure out where I was. And I did get to see parts of the city I have never seen before.
Ok, so running in shorts and a shirt might have been a pipe dream of mine. It has been around 50 degrees here, however, when I went for my run this morning, it was 38. So I was wearing about the same outfit I wear when in Michigan :-(. No snow to high step through was the big plus, and the scenery was much better. I walked down the to Golden Gate Park and started my run there. Didn't really know where I was going, took a few trails that I had to back-track on, but it was a good run. Oh, I did forget my gloves, so my hands were chilly. When I got done in the park I was at about 3.25 miles, so I ran back to my aunts place, which is all up hill. That part was rough, great workout though.
Yeah, it snowed a lot last night, so the path was rough, but I hear it's good for the form, and it definatly is building my leg muscles. This is the last run I will make in Michigan for a while. Next run, no gloves, no hat, just shorts and a warm shirt................in Cali.
Went for a run this morning when I got to my sisters in Belleville before they got home. It was chilly, but I did get to run on the road, so no snow. I ran a little too fast, being on the road and got tired pretty quick, and it was the first thing I did that day which is never good for me, so it was a struggle.
Got some new gear from Gazelle Sports to keep me toasty, laced up my shoes, and took off again. People did a little more shoveling today, but there was still a lot of deep snow. I was told at Gazelle today that the high stepping in the snow is good for my form, so that's what I kept thinking about as my shoes were filling with snow.
Man, it was freezing out today, and the sidewalks were still not shoveled. I was really suprised that a lot of the businesses sidewalks were not shoveled, being Monday and all. Well, 4 more miles high stepping through the snow, it is hurting my quads quite a bit. But, I'm sure it will pay off for hills come spring.
We had a big snowstorm last night while I was in Traverse City, got back around 2 today and went for a run. It was cold, not a big deal I guess, I have ran in colder weather. But man, the snow was up to my knees in some spots, after the first mile, my legs hurt so bad from high stepping through it. I had to change course a little over a mile into it, right in front of Steelcase. The snow was deeeeeeeep. So I cut through their parking lot, into more deep snow, and then back onto 36th street, into more deep snow. So I only did about 3.7 miles, through some deep snow...........Can't wait to get to Cali.
Don't know if it was that today after work I started my 3 weeks of vacation, or that I felt really good today, but I got home and decided to go for the 4 miles route instead of the 2 mile route I have been doing. It felt great, it was cold, and the route was icy, but it was good. The knee feels good, even though I am feeling something in it, not pain, just a presense. Looking forward to lots of running on my vacation
Still trying to get back in the flow, of life, and running. Today I am eating a can of mixed veggies, and a can of Great Northern Beans, same thing I had for dinner. This is all I have in the house. Mmmmmm good. I have been easing back into running, but have been unable to do it on a regular basis with the holidays, work travel. Friday is my last day of work until the 7th of January, so I am planning on getting my diet and exercise back on track. I did manage to run 2 miles last night, wasn't too cold, and I feel good today. I think the extra weight I am carrying is making the runs a little tougher.......see if I can take care of that with all of the holiday food around.
Today was a doozy, after another week off due to traveling for work, I was ready to go this morning, till the air hit my lungs chilly. I think it's about 20 degrees and icy. Made it through, my MP3 player died about 2 minutes into it. Made it through, legs felt ok, just the lungs hurt. I am hoping that I can start getting back into it now, full time, even with the chillies. 2 miles.
Well, I didn't run when I was in Detroit like I thought I would, too much stuffing, so tonight I got back on track with two more miles. I cannot wait till I get my winds back.
Wow, I have lost my stroke. My game is all of................but I still feel great while running, it will come back. 2 miles at a time.
Wow, taday I ran for the first time in about 2 months. I have been on the road for work every week for the last 3 months. I haven't touched a weight in 3 months either. I am out of shape, I have been eating poorly and not working out.
So today felt so good, it was tough, but if felt good. 2 miles in 17 minutes, I didn't break any speed records, but I am on my way to getting back on track. More to come..................you can count on it.
I feel good
Went for a 3.64 mile run today here in Columbus. I am at the Holiday Inn this week because the Baymont is full due to the Air Show. So I looked on Google and thought I found a nice path that would take me to a park about 2.5 miles away. Well, there wasn't a single sidewalk on the route, I was running right next to a very busy road, and people were not making an effort to give me any room. So I cut it a little short and didn't make it too the park. I didn't want to risk getting run over.
4 Miles around the block today. My knee feels great, now I just need work to slow down so I can work my way back into a routine.
Ran 4 good miles last night. Up hill, down hill, on grass, sidewalks and the road, and didn't have any of the pain in the back of my knee. Not even this morning when I woke up, and I was runing at a good clip, 8 minute miles, which is a lot faster than I have been running. The new stretches I have been doing by pushing on my leg above the knee when it's straight have worked. My PT has worked it over good for a few sessions. He tells me now to just run and see how it feels. So tomorrow I am going to run 4-5 more up at Crystal Mountain.
4 Miles today, runners knee is coming back, still no pain in the back of my knee, did have a little pain behind my knee cap though. Tomorrow is my first PT appointment in a week or so, we will see how my knee feels in the morning.
Nice run today, 4 miles around the block here at home. My legs were sore, but they felt strong, and the run felt pretty easy. I felt the runners knee a little, not feeling the pain I had in the back of the knee, just some aches. So I think I am feeling better. Looking forward to feeling better and getting back into it.
Another 3 miles in 93 degree weather here in Columbus. Again, me legs felt pretty good, tired, but not painful. I think it is safe to say that I am not going to make my marathon in October though. I am way off on my training and I am not where I need to be. Time to reschedule another marathon.
Ha, it was hot today, 91 degrees, at 5:30 pm. I ran 3 miles around the hotel here in Columbus. Felt good again, the knee anyway. Man, it's amazing how quickly I lose what I had. I was out of breath, my legs we burning, and I felt all out of wack........Feels like where I started.
Ran 3 hard miles on the treamill today, seems to feel much better when I run hard and don't take those short steps when I take my easy runs. I will keep this up and see how it goes.
Ran 2.5 Miles today on orders from the Doc again. Felt good, no pain, I think Doc Jim knows what he is talking about.
Ran 1.5 Easy Miles today on doctors orders. He wanted to see if I could run that far without any pain. It felt good today, it usually does though. We will see how I feel in the morning. But for now, hopefully this is a step in the right direction. Feels like it's a long road ahead to getting back on my training plan.
My physical therapist Jim seems to think it won't take to long to get me back up and running. He thinks it is a number of things causing my issues. My weak left ankle from all the basketball sprains. My left foot points a little bit to the outside when I run, he thinks due to my tight hamstring and calf. And I have a bit up a hitch in my running due to the week muscles on the outside of my right hip. So I have a bit to work on. He does have me doing some stretches and starting out with a 1.5 Mile run tomorrow to see how my knee feels.
Well, I start physical therapy on my knee this week. The doc says there is nothing wrong internally with my knee, so there is no fear of damaging it. I do have runners knee, and it looks like I tore my hamstring where it attaches to the back of the knee, that was the pain I was having a hard time running through. Might have been caused by the stretching I was doing.
Got an appointment with the doctor next Monday about my knee. I called for a referal to a knee specialist, but they wanted me to come in to get checked out before I got a referral. Hopefully someone will be able to shed some light on what is going on. I fear that this my derail me from my marathon goal this year........well, there are other races this year I can still get ready for, half-marathons..............we will see.
Ran Quality run #2 today, 2 miles of easy jogging, 5 minutes at a "hard" pace, 7:13 second miles, 5 minutes of easy jogging. I repeated this 3 times. I felt so good I ran another 3 easy miles after this for a total of 7.3 miles. Well, my knee is hurting right now, I think I need to go and see a specialist and get diagnosed and given the proper remedy.
Felt good today on my 4 mile easy run. This is the first time I have enjoyed running in a while, pain free. Back on the road here at home, I felt like I could have gone 8 miles, but I didn't want to push it, especially with my Q2 workout coming up tomorrow. Still trying to figure out how to get all my workouts in while traveling around and working long days, it will come, it's probably the eating while on the road I need to work on a little more. I am also still sturggling to get 180 steps in a minute while running, I am up to 160, just having a hard time getting more while running slow.
My knee feels good today, I am still taking the day off, but it feels better than it has since I started running again. Hope all is well with my next run, might be tomorrow night.
I ran 3.75 Easy miles today, after stretching a little different way today and last night, I will dod the same stretch tonight and see how I feel tomorrow.
Ok, today I ran my first Jack Daniels Quality Run on a treadmill here in Louisville, 2 miles at Easy Pace, 10 minutes at Tempo Pace, 2 minutes Easy Pace, 10 minutes at Tempo Pace, and then and hour at Easy Pace. Well, I got all of it except I only made it to 20 minutes of easy pace at the end. My knee was hurting pretty bad, but not my runners knee, it was the back of my knee, I think I am stretching wrong for my runners knee and agrivating something else. I will try something different tomorrow.
Ran an easy 2 miles today, working my way back into it. It's amazing how much it feels like I have lost in just one week. I think I just need to wake my body back up from a week of inactivity. I will be on the treadmill for the next couple of days in Louisville, and then back on the road on Thursday or Friday depending on when I make it home.
Still resting the legs, taking it easy here in Philly. My legs are feeling pretty good, and my knee hasn't hurt in a few days. I am getting really excited about running again, it's only been a few days, but I am getting the itch. Getting back on the program next week, I will be in Louisville for most of the week, and there is no where to run around the hotel, so I will be hitting the treadmill. This might be good for easing back into it.
While taking my little sabbatical from running, I have decided to do a little research on my training to make sure I am on the right track and see if there were any other Marathon training plans that might work for me a little better. I came across Jack Daniels' Running Formula in an article in Runners World Magazine. Loved this book, I have a whole different view of my training after rreading it. Here's the breakdown:
Part 1: Training Essentials
This section of the book gets you preped for setting up your training and gives you some knowledge on the benefits of training.. It walks you through anylizing you current level of fitness, how much time you have available to train. Teaches you about the Physiological befefits of training and what effect they have on you. Explains the different levels of training, Easy, Marathon Pace, Threshold, Intervals and Repetitions. The best part of this Part of the book is the VDOT values. The VDOT value allows you to get an estimate of your race times for races between 1.5K and a Marathon based on a recent race. This will also give you your VDOT level of fitness. From this the book gives you a chart of the mile per minute pace you should run at for each of the above training levels. Finally it walks you though the 4 levels of training in this program.
Part 2: Training Levels
Details the different levels of training, Base Building, Marathon Pace Training, Threshold Training, Interval Training and Repetition Training
Part 3: Training for Fitness
Walks you through 4 different levels of training plans, Beginner, Intermediate, Experienced and Elite.
Part 4: Training for Races
Talks about pre-race preperation, food, clothing, warm-ups and what type of mental preperation is required for racing. It then details for you a training program for each of the following diistances, 800m, 1,500m - 3,000m, Cross Country, 5K - 15K, Half Marathon and Marathon. These are detailed plans for each week listing out what type of runs to perform as a percentage of your weekly total milage.
After reading this book I am going to make some changes in my training program to include some of the advice here. Hopefully I will have a positive post in a month or two about the results the additional training advice.
If anyone else has read this book, let me know what you thought.
Happy Training.
I am taking this week off to get some much needed rest. I have been pushing myself pretty hard on my training schedule, and have ran a couple of races in the last 4 weeks, both farther than I had ever run. My muscles hurt, my knee is pretty sore. So I am just going to kick back.....well, sort of, I will be lifting weights and probably hitting the stationary bike at the hotel this week in Pennsylvania. Hopefully I feel strong and refreshed come next week. Not sure if I am going to run the Grand Haven 10K, all depends on how I feel.
Tried a little different Tempo run today trying to reach the LT level. I ran 1 mile at an easy pace, then I race 3 miles at a 7:24 minute/mile pace, and then 1/2 mile at an easy pace. I think I ran the middle 3 miles a little too fast, it should be around 10-15 seconds slower than my 10K time, which would be about 7:40. Felt pretty good during the run, my knee was still a little sore after, but it's getting better.
Ouch, did my first track workout today, I ran an easy mile, then ran 800m at 7 minute mile pace 3 times with 400m at an easy pace in between each. Then I ran one last 400m at 7 minute mile pace and followed with an eash 400m. This was pretty tough, and I had a little more muscle fatigue than I normally do, which is good, definatly see the benefit though. I can see these being tough days on the training schedule.
I think I needed a little more rest after this weekends race. I ran 4 easy miles today, the first mile felt good, I ran it in about 8.5 minutes.....then I ran the next 3 miles in 10 minutes each. My left knee was pretty sore. I think I am going to continue with the training schedule this week, and then take next week off before the 10 mile in Grand Haven. Hopefully that will give me knee time to rest.
Wow, ran my fisrt 15K at the Cherry Festival in Traverse City yesterday. We got off to a bit of a rough start, when I arrived, it was pouring, then the race was delayed 25 minutes due to technical difficulties. But once we got going the weather cleared up and things went great. I felt really good on this run. Even the large and steep hill around mile 5 didn't slow me down, I was passing people running up it. I finished in 71:18, which is about 15 minutes ealier than I was hoping to. I was running around 7:45 miles until around mile 8 when I decided I could run faster and still finish, so I picked it up a bit and finished with a good time.
Well, my last run before the 15K this weekend. Just and easy 2 miler, not to strenuous. My knee was still hurting a bit, hopefully the next few days off will give it enough rest to feel good this Saturday. TC bound...........
Staying here at the Baymont Inn in Columbus, Ohio at the Rickenbacker airport. I used Google maps to plot a four mile course to do a little easy running before this weekends race. Well, they are doing a lot of constrution around here, and apparently Google maps isn't up to date on the changes. So I just ran around and around on roads and roads to be and used my GPS watch to get the miles. It was a little toasty, but a good run. Also wore some of my new running gear, I think I need to pick up some more. It did it's job of wiking the sweat away. It did smell like strawberry though.........I had a slim fast break open in my suitcase. Still having little pains in my left knee, not on the side anymore with my ITB, it's in the back now, almost feels like in need to stretch a little more.......
I broke down today and purchased some polyester running clothes to wick away moisture and improve comfort during long runs. Looked like everybody under the sun makes some form of wicking apparel. I ended up going with a mizuno top and shorts, and an asics tank. I gonna five these outfits a try this week while in Columbus, and if all feels well, I'll use them for the 15K next weekend.
Whew, 8 miles today, a little ahead of my training schedule. I wanted to put in extra miles to get ready for next weeks 15K. Wasn't a bad run, it was a little hot, I didn't get the early start I wanted. After about 6 miles I started to feel it in my knees, I think I had another mile left in me after 8, but I didn't want to push it. Really getting excited for the 15K, and spending a weekend in Traverse City.
Signed up for the Traverse City Cherry Festival 15K today. I'm excited about this one, I have never run farther than 6.5 miles, so 9.3 is going to be interesting. Gotta push it this Saturday for distance to gauge how ready I will be. Staying with the Ballards, that should be a good time, push myself Saturday morning, and then enjoy the family and the bay Saturday night and Sunday.
Ran my first tempo run today, seemed a little too much like the quality run I did on Tuesday. I think I need to start doing track work early in the week, then tempos on Thursday. My back did feel much better today, knee felt good, looking forward to my long run on Saturday.
Ran my first quality training run today. 4 miles, easy run for 3 minutes, run slightly slower than a 5K pace for 3 minutes, etc.... It actually felt pretty good, and I ran it in under 30 minutes.
Gotta be honest, I watched Youtube videos of Prefontaine races for a few hours tonight, it reminded me of college when we used to watch Michael Jordan videos before a game. It was the same kind of adrenaline rush, probably would have ran a good race last night. I gotta start watching his races and movies right before I run races.
The Reeds Lake 10K, my first race of the year, and my first 10k. My goal was to run it under 50 minutes so I did accomplish that, I ran a 47:12. The weather was great, I even ran past Little Phil's band playing on the side of the road. I did wake up Sunday morning with a strange ache right around my right kidney, not sure what that is all about. I also got passed on the last third of a mile by a guys about twice my age.......
Didn't get to run Wednesday, worked till 2:30 am, Thursday, I was too tired from the late night before. So I waited till Friday to run again. Still doing to 2 miles till I feel good about running again. It was cold today, 26 degrees. I didn't were my face guard, so my cheeks we freezing. Still felt good though.
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