Saturday, November 04, 2006

Friday Nov 3, 2006

No links or pictures today...to lazy, and kinda late. I'm actually up burning some CDs from iTunes.....only to rip them back on the PC...gotta make them listenable on the ol' XBOX 360, don't ya know...and/or anywhere else I darn well please... That DRM breaks the DMCA, so why shouldn't I? Well, I don't believe I am...under fair use and all...We paid for the music, we're going to listen to it as we wish!

But, anyway, I'll get off my soapbox...

About the run...it'd been over a week, there was the winter storm, a blizzard, if you will...and this week Steve and I were just kinda busy and couldn't get together on a day. I was going to run on Wednesday, with or without him, but I couldn't do it...I just worked right through lunch. So, that left us with the last opportunity on Friday, and since it was about 60 with little wind, we had to get out there, even if just for the 5k we ended up doing.

It started slow and easy, and we talked a lot about work and stuff. When we reached the halfway point (about 13:19 for 1.55 miles, basically) I realised how slow we were really going and when we turned around I also realized we had been going up a hill...so turning around we were now headed downhill, basically all the way back to work, so I started to pick it up. Started at like 8:45-9:00 pace and the last half was about 7:40 pace, with a nice kick at the end, probably closer to 7:10...total time of 25:00 flat, basically. Not bad.

Legs/calves are a bit sore, even a bit still now, but it felt good to go go go! Now, since I'm up at 1AM, I'm not sure if I'll get out to run later today (Sunday)...I may have to go down and take a nap when Summer does.

OK, that's it, gotta finish this CD and get to bed...

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Tuesday Oct 24, 2006

So, this was the same ol' Cherry Creek 10k. Great weather, a bit chilly/mid-fifties, and not too breezy. Warmed up FAST as I wanted to go out for about a 8:20-8:40 pace, and hopefully keep it kinda consistent...

So much for that. We took off fast (7:20 or so pace), and even talked about it, and figured we'd get to the gate (1.1 miles, about) and then slow. We did slow a little, but not enough. I only have myself to blame, because at that point I was leading. When we got into the woods though, I started hurting and Steve pulled away a little, pulling me along.

When he got back to the road/gate, he was 100 yards ahead and waited for me. He said something like, "You know, right now we're at 8:01 pace, if we kick it in, we can get under 8:00....so, I said, I'll see what I can do and TOOK OFF! That lasted 1/2 a mile, and then Steve teased that I was holding back, and I just died...so, he ran off again and finished about 100 yards ahead of me.

But, overall, I showed 49:33 for the 6.24 miles, which is an average of about 7:55 pace, which means that last 1.1 miles was about 7:30 pace, which matched the going out pace, almost...yowsers! I definitely felt it later that day and Wednesday.

We were supposed to run today, but, ah, we had a blizzard and the roads were closed so I didn't go into work, and my exercise was nearly 2 hours of shoveling snow drifts up to 2+ feet deep! So, if I make it into work, we should be able to run tomorrow.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Compare two weeks

Hmmm...just to put them together, here are last Saturday's and today's run, side by side:


Miles OUT-Sat Sun IN-Sat Sun
Home to Sign 0.64 7:24 8:24
Sign to Bit Out 0.25 7:12 8:08
Bit Outer to In 0.32 8:35 8:35
Inner to Bit Top 0.51 9:06 8:31
Top to Inner 0.57 7:46 8:00
Inner to Outer 0.33 7:20 7:13
Outer to Sign 0.24 7:46 7:10
Sign to Home 0.33 7:45 8:12
Total / Avg Pace 3.21 25:24 25:06 7:55 8:08

So, I didn't fully recover from that slow start to go faster, but I was a bit more consistent overall. Saturday had a delta of 1:54 between fastest and slowest pace sections, while Sunday's delta was only 1:21. And Sunday had the fastest split of the two. The consistency is a goal...I'd like to be able to maintain 7:30 the entire route. Next weekend that will be my goal...even though I don't know how to maintain pace right now...I'll use my data to determine the splits I need for each leg and just try to hit those, and see how I feel. There should be enough splits to help me feel it out.

Sunday Oct 22nd, 2006

Home Run, just that little 3.206 miler like last weekend. About 45° and 5-10 mph winds. Not bad. While running I really realized the fact that I'm 1000+ more feet higher than at work. Yowsers.

Just ate a pretty good sized burrito about 1.5 hours before running so went out SLOW and wanted to do a bit of a negative split...which I accomplished. 26:05 total, for an average pace of 8:08 min/mi. Which is just a touch slower than last week, when I took off fast then came back slower. This week I started out slower than that and sped up.

I took splits at certain points. I dug into the data from last week to know the distances and here are the splits:

                       OUT    IN
Home to Sign 8:24
Sign to Bit Outer 8:08
Bit Outer to Inner 8:35
Inner to Bit Top 8:31
Top to Inner 8:00
Inner to Outer 7:13
Outer to Sign 7:10
Sign to Home 8:12

Felt pretty good. Need to strech and clean up now, though, and go play with the kid. Nice run!

Friday October, 20th, 2006

OK, so, Friday went out with the idea of running for an entire hour...We decided to go east, towards the neighborhoods. Temp was mid-high 50's with little wind (5-10, maybe) and sunny, so it felt very warm and comfy. We started out at about 8:30 pace. We felt, after that last run at 8 min/mi pace, which felt so fast, that we should shoot for 8:15-8:45, or something..so, our first mile at 8:30, was pretty good. We then picked up to 8 min/mi for a mile or so, then started slowing down a bit. We went past the water fountain from a previous run and went all the way to a local rec center. (Which doesn't show on the map...Google needs some more updated images!) Stopped for 30 seconds to get a quick drink of water and then headed back.

Steve wasn't feeling so well, as he's been eating Halloween junk food all morning lately...so, I actually was the one trying to keep up the pace. Overall, we had to run around work's parking lot to get in the full hour:

Around the Office
And that got us up to 7.16 miles. So, that's the longest run I've done in years! Felt nice, though. I'm proud to have gotten the full hour out of it! Our pace ended up average right around 8:45, which is pretty good for 7 miles, for me being new backto running!

The full run map says a bit less, but I trust Steve's GPS watch, which he was wearing that day. One thing I just noticed, though, was that gmap also has an elevation feature, so I put that on the map, too.

Full Run
So, that run felt good, and we stretched fairly well after, and I did some bench presses and also iced my heel.

Today is Sunday, and I would like to go for my little 5k around home when Summer takes her nap, we'll see.

Oh, and lastly, that was my 10th run, since I've gotten back into it! Yay, I'm into double digits. Additionally, here is the GPS data from Steve!

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Monday Oct 16, 2006

Well today's run was odd. I think it was about 60 like Saturday, but I didn't look it up and I am posting this late...so can't say for sure. But it was nice and cool and not windy. So, I didn't know the course, again. Steve says it's about the last run/direction he has for me. Sure we'll take a few detours here and there, but now I know most of the runs. This one went south and along a little creek. The distance was only 3.75 miles, and we took 29:27, with negative splits, but DANG it felt faster than the 7:56 pace it works out to. Hmpf.

Quick, But Slow
So, iced my foot after the run and took some advil, so even today my foot is feeling OK, so I am definitely going to keep up the icing. Our plan is to do a longer run tomorrow, but we'll see how that goes, since today it is snowing. If not snowing, I say we should still go and just stick to the streets. We'll see.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Saturday Oct 14, 2006

Hmmmm....About 60-63°. 5 MPH winds, nice running weather. Summer went down for a nap, Jessica was showering, so I just took off. Started off kind of fast, sub 8 pace, then went around that loop, which is kinda uphill, so I slowed a bunch. Then I picked it up a little. I carried my GPS, which I'll try downloading the data to the PC later. Basically it said 3.206 miles, a touch more than the gmap. Basically ran the distance in 25:24, which is 7:55 pace. Here's the route:

Un-Even 5K
I mapped this out before I ran it, hoping I'd run it. And it worked. It's a nice run, not really hilly, and running on that dirt road is nice. This will be my normal quick little weekend route, until I'm ready to go longer distances. For now, my work runs are my longer runs.

So, how'd I feel? Not bad, but not great. I've been icing my left heel and taking ibuprofen. Trying to keep ahead of the pain. I should ice it now, even, just to keep the swelling down, especially since Steve and I are supposed to run tomorrow at work. I wish I had been able to keep my pace up, more consistently, was about 8:00 pace, again. I'll see if I can get some data off my GPS.

Stupid Extra data taken from my GPS unit:

More Data
I started out fast and finished a bit quicker, but as seen in the slower pace as the altitude increased, I definitely slowed down up/around the loop. Will be fun running this ovre and over to see how my pace changes. I will try to do a consistent pace throughout sometime down the line. You'll note the graphs don't match the max/min numbers, because I averaged the data points to smooth the lines somewhat, because the GPS was taking data every 3-5 seconds.

Ran this again next week (yeah, this is a later edit on 10/22) and did up the stats from the GPS, based on the stopwatch locations...and here's the paces...check these compared to next Sunday's Run:

                       OUT    IN
Home to Sign 7:24
Sign to Bit Outer 7:12
Bit Outer to Inner 8:35
Inner to Bit Top 9:06
Top to Inner 7:46
Inner to Outer 7:20
Outer to Sign 7:48
Sign to Home 7:54

Friday, October 13, 2006

Friday Oct 13, 2006

So, today it was about 60 or something with hardly any wind. Left heel is kinda hurting...plantar fascitis/heel spurs...or something along those lines.

Steve felt bad from eating sweet-tarts, I felt sluggish and just not into it. But, at least we had some negative splits. Started out SLOW (another new route, with no idea where/how far we're going, so I took it easy...) and it was also uphill most of the way out...so, on way back we slowly picked up the pace, to 7:20...which is fast. I knew it was faster but literally could not tell it was that fast, because it was painful and it felt like I was just trying to maintain the pace. Oops.

Steve wore his GPS watch, and I got this link. Pace was 8:28...not too bad, for being kinda tired.

A Slow, Not so Fun Run
So, we went twice this week. Next week we'll try to go 3 times, MWF, I imagine. We'll see. I feel fine now..heel feels warmish, but overall I feel pretty good.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Tuesday Oct 10, 2006

OK, that was cool!

What a Run
And by cool, I mean it was 38° with about 5 mph westernly winds. So, we took off againt the wind, and were a bit faster than 8 minute pace, and kept it up. I forced a slow down for a bit and then we picked it up at the end. Overall it was an 8 min/mile average for the entire 5.25 miles. Good Run!

After the run, though, my right calf muscle hurt a little. Just need more stretching, especially on the cold FAST run days.

Friday, October 06, 2006

Friday Oct 6, 2006

Wow, so I did it, I really did...I ran twice in one week! And after that long super painful one, too! Yippee!!!

So, what'd we do? Well, just about 4 miles in about 32 minutes, right around 8 min/mile pace. mid-high 70's, bit breezy (Web said wind up to 23 MPH...didn't feel that much.)

Route:
Quick 4-Miler
So, the trick with this run...took a slightly different route than expected, not too big of a deal. Still right around 4 miles, so not too bad. The two tricky parts were kicking a stump and taking a tumble, and a portion of the path was run over and basically a mud-pit...basically walked through it to not splash, but still was a few inches deep and got shoes and socks soaked.

Run felt pretty OK. Steve was cool and gently prodded me and kept the pace up. We started the the first bit to the gate at around 7:30-7:45 pace...then slowed a bit, then from the gate back we kept it to about 8 min/mile pace. Not too bad.

Right leg tight right now, I hit it yesterday while shooting pool with Chuck, another guy from work. Had a big ol' protein shake and took my vitamins tonight. Will TRY to run a short distance on Sunday, next run at work is tentatively planned for Tuesday.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Tuesday Oct 3, 2006

Felt more like 7 miles... mid-high 70's. Light/no wind, felt really hot out in the sun. Legs were dead, breathing was a chore, but legs felt it the most.

First tim running this loop, so being unknown where going, or the distance, made it hard, as well.

Painful Today

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Tuesday Sept 26, 2006

Same run as on the 5th. Temp was cool, still, but a bit warmer and a bit more breezy, a great day for running.

So, about 10k, 60's, slight breeze. 3rd run while back, Stopped to tie shoe, doesn't TRULY count as stopping. But, then still ended up stopping to walk around the 5 mile marker, I think. But, that last mile, I got a second wind, and didn't feel TOO bad, so I did a few fartliks at the end. Overall, I felt really good after this run.

Total Mileage for Sept: 6.25 + 3.75 + 6.25 (roughly) = 16.25 miles.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Wednesday Sept 20, 2006

Faster, but shorter.

Coolish day, not too breezy. Went out in about 7:30 or thereabouts pace...way too fast, so I slowed down, and just like that first day running, two weeks ago, I had to stop and walk. :-( I hate stopping to walk!

But, anyway, it's only second time back, went fast, went further than I normally wood. But overall felt OK.

Quicker

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Tuesday Sept 5, 2006

OK, so this was the first day I went out with my co-worker/running-buddy Steve T. He took GPS data of the run, but I don't feel like uploading that, so I made this quick map from gmap-pedometer.com. Pretty cool site. Using that, mapmyrun.com, motionbased.com and any other site I can figure to use/make work the best.

See the previous post for my previous running history...it's been pretty empty since my last successful run/10k race.

Anyway, about this first day out...ouch!

So, about today. If I remember correctly it was in the 60s, a little breezy and we went out at a decent pace, for me, to last 3 miles...but we were going 6+. So, Around 4, I really started to feel it. I'm used to starting getting into shape by running 5k...oh well. Jump right in, right?!

Anyway, left from work and went into Cherry Creek Reserve. Here's the map:

First Run in Ages
OK, so I looked around and found this link, embedded in my google earth program:
10k Run. This is the run from my co-worker's GPS enabled watch 55:17 for 6.30 miles...and here is the google earth image of the run.
GPS Route
That extra distance was gained by some lack of detail on my gmap and since he started/stopped the GPS closer to the office, not right at the beginning of the run. But, now I can use this to modify my trail through the 'swamp' behind the office.

Training for that Race in 2002

OK, so before that race, I had to train...before starting to train I don’t have any running since November of 2001. I ran the 2001 race and a few times after that, but after November I had nothing. So, I ran a little in 2001, then stopped from
11/23/2001 until 4/20/2002 (5 months), and in a short 9 weeks I got my race pace for a hilly 10k down to 6:35/mile. Not bad.

Here is the preparing running journal from 2002. This is more than I need to share, but I want to get back into running and to post this is a great way to have it
available as a reminder that I can run, and I just need to set goals and I’ll be
able to do this again. Even if I am 4 years older.

DateTimePaceTime/WeatherNotes
04/2026:568:129:00AM before playing tennis cool, clear, nice.A little winded and icky feeling when done.
04/2525:377:484:00 after work, cool, clear, nice run.About the same, nothing much to say, or complain about.
04/3025:287:455:30PM cool, slight wind in face at beginning.Started a bit slower and relaxed, felt pretty good. Think I'll keep it up for July 4th 10K.
05/0223:397:125:45PM cool, sun setting, very nice.Started fast and tried to remain fast. Enjoyed myself, but felt the hard work, which is good, if I want to get in shape to do better at the 10K!!!
05/0530:00  10AM in Santa Barbara with Greg.Simple easy run, down along the beach.
05/1422:40  11:30AM Running at lunch time. 67°FEasy run out the back door. Times are rough, as didn't have a good split watch, and missed a couple and such. Felt good and easy enough.
05/1629:27  11:30AM 62°F Ran at lunch. Overcast, cool and comfy.Actually went full 30 minutes after home. Right calf felt tight at top to start, then felt pretty good throughout. Ran around golf course from work to home.
05/1833:15  11:30AM about 60°F and overcast. Ran with shirt off, cool and nice.Right calf felt a super small twinge as before, but nothing bad. Felt nice. Ran fairly easy out and around golf course.
05/2161:01  11:30AM 62°F and SUNNY, lunch time run, full hour.Wow. Had stomach cramp at first 8 minutes, then felt fine. Left ankle tendonitis a pain, but ok. Felt good overall. At least 7 miles. NICE!
05/2322:426:555:30PM 64°F Nice and sunny, very slight breeze.Left ankle tend- is acting up. Used Bengay, feels ok. Felt like went pretty fast, and kept it up. Felt good. Will have to go longer at that pace soon. Felt better than 3 weeks ago.
05/2535:16  10AM 62°F Little Clouds, cool and nice.Agony in neck, the kink. Ran easy just to stretch. The run itself felt super easy. Out and around Penmar GC.
05/2823:547:1711:30 Lunch Run 64°F Sunny, slight breeze in back on finish.Simple, smooth easy run. Nothing hurt, look back to similar speed 23:39, I said how fast it felt. Today was slow and easy.
05/3058:42  11:30 lunch run 69°F (so says weather.com) but it felt like 75-80. No wind and sunny!New Shoe day. Left ankle is OK, but felt it. But, it was an hour, so…who knows. Felt harder than last time, but it was a bit faster. Pace was all over the place, not consistent at all. But overall it felt all right. Felt REALLY warm. Should have drank more fluids before run.
06/0221:536:402:30PM 65°F No Race, as it was canceled. Sunny and cool, slight breeze.Felt pretty good overall. Good pace, felt tough, slowed down up the hill, not TOO badly, as I slowed the last 2 segs. Need to work hills and some more on speed and distance!!!
06/0328:14  Lunch 66°F Nice and Sunny, actual time of 28:40 as stopped at light.OK, so I went slow, then picked up, then slowed way down. 160 BPM heartrate when finished nice and easy. From work around GC home. Nice easy run all the way.
06/0660:00  Lunch 67°F Nice and cool and sunny.Out work to the beach on Rose to Venice and back up, running around to make it full hour. Slow and easy run, about 150-160bpm.
06/0724:137:2212:30PM, after golf. Normal Route 64°F Overcast and coolWent out easy, stayed easy. Picked up twice to make a light. 1st split had to wait on two lights… Left ankle tendonitisy, but ok. Gonna tap foot in shower. Overall felt nice. 160bpm.
06/0933:47  10AM 67°F Sun starting to break out and cool. Perfect for the intervals.Short warm up, then intervals, 8, 12, 8, 12, 8 then cool down. See interval sheet for times. Wow, felt Great!! Almost wanted to do more. Stretched after really well.
06/1022:276:504:30PM After work 68°F. Sunny breezy. Nice.Ran with music. Felt fine. Not too fast or slow. Maybe a bit faster than a relaxing day should be, but felt easy and a nice stretch.
06/1228:07  11:30AM Lunch time. 73°F. Sunny and nice.Out around Penmar GC. Slow and easy the whole way. Felt good.
06/1360:00  6:20PM 68°F (Approx Temp) but ran in Shade the whole way. Very warm, yet cool feeling.Wow, ok, did the hilly part of the course. Ran 3 full loops, plus down and up the hill to start, basically. Felt good, fastest/first being 10:46 about from Sunset to Sunset. Hurt a bit, but felt OK when done. GREAT workout!
06/1421:42  11:30 Lunch 68°F. Sunny, hardly any breeze.After yesterday, just out of work, around normal loop, easy. Felt slow and easy. Hardly breathing at all.
06/1621:38  78°F Noonish After Golf, Sunny and breezy, ran on the track.Intervals. Didn't do exactly as I wanted, ran too fast so died on 2nd int and re-planned. Felt good overall. Very tired after golf at 5AM.
06/1870:00  4:10PM 74°F-ish. Along beach Venice to No of SM Pier. Normal breeze.Felt ok, slow and easy. Left ankle a bit sore…from jogging kinda hard? From Sunday's overwork? Need to stretch it and heat it and ice it and tap it… Otherwise felt great, like I could go a full 26.2 miles. Did about 7 I would guess.
06/1928:34  5PM after work 70°F. Sunny slight breeze. Typical day.Felt OK. Left ankle about the same…a bit sore. Need to work it. Legs are kinda dead…worked hard since those hills. A few more tough runs in the next 5 days then I taper…looking forward to that!! From work out around PGC.
06/2050:00  5:15PM 74° After Work at Will Rogers Park - HILLS!Ran the hill three times. 4:55 for the two fast ones, 10:30 for the whole way. So-so…little sore left ankle and right shoe felt like had extra sock. OK overall.
06/2122:546:58About 5ish? Took nap after golf, I think then went running. Cool and normal weather.Pretty easy run after golf. Nothing special. Had to run, because I figured I'd take a few days off. Been tired lately.
06/2425:23  5:30-ish 65°F-ish. Breeze at back fro finishing 100Ran intervals. See interval sheet for times. Went too fast again. Tried to go slower, didn't work… Feeling good though.
06/2519:46  Lunch Time 68°F. Sunny and clear, slight breeze…typical dayOops, stressed at work, so did the middle 1.1 miles fast. Yowsers. Felt good though. Feeling a bit head coldish.

Been a While - Some History

When I moved to Colorado, I tried to get into running to be able to get used to the altitude... I had these four runs logged into excel:
3/11/06 - 20:36

40°F-ish. Cool, but well dressed.
Felt Slow, but first run in LONG TIME. Ran once or twice, just never logged it. Been months, though.
3/18/06 - 22:36
60°F-ish. Warkmer than expected when left Apartment.
Went longer time and longer distance. Also went faster, I could definitely feel that.
3/26/06 - 24:36
42°F on People's Bank's sign.
Felt OK, ran all the way to our home site. Don't know the distance, but longer than the other two, and 2 more minutes. Felt pretty good. Shorts and warm top over a tee.
3/27/06 - 24:36
53°F Average. Windy, in face on return path.
Felt slower than last time, but was faster out and slower back, due to the high winds. OK overall, but stopped to walk and check pulse for 1 minute (stopped clock). Tiring. Back has been sore. Need to stretch!
The last item I have in that spreadsheet was from 06/25/2002. Yeah, that's right, 2002. That was when I met Jessica and was training for the 10K. The 10K race data for that and the previous year's Will Rogers July 4th 10K:
Mile   2001         2002
1 7:29 5:42
2 7:46 15:15 6:42 12:24
3 7:32 22:47 6:28 18:52
4 8:07 30:54 6:56 25:48
5 8:02 38:56 6:45 32:33
6 8:04 47:00 6:57 39:30
Finish 1:33 48:33 1:19 40:49
Avg 7:50 6:35
2001 Comments:
10:00AM I think. Weather was coolish, which made it bearable.
Wow, Didn't think I could do this. HILL-ASS course, and painful, but I am proud I did so well. See results at www.runraceresults.com goto July 4th, Will Rogers run!
2002 Comments:
8:20AM Start 64°F
Slightly overcast, cool and not much wind. Perfect race weather!
Wow, went out way too fast, as expected…5:40 is even faster than I thought, though. Cut back right away and took it easy. Hills were hard, but I made it and kept it under 7/mi, which is good. Beat my goal of 42, so I am ecstatic! Next year, drop another 30 seconds/mile, maybe...
Same place for results, also Will Rogers Run.
From checking into runs at motionbased.com I seemed to have found a person that did a 20k and looks like may have gone up that switchback section and it shows his one section has a 500 foot climb...I think it's a bit less than that, but there is one NASTY section, which slows a person down around 3 miles.

SO, I ran a bit after the race, but not a lot. Got busy and then in 2003 started planning our wedding. Just after moving into our condo in December of 2003, I had foot surgery, and haven't hardly run since, except very sporadically.

And in addition to those runs in March, I ran one or two more times, short and sweet. Here is one I did in the morning once, before work, just for kicks and giggles, slow, like 10-11 minutes per mile...

Slow Morning
So, that generally covers my running experience for the last FOUR (WOW!!) years! I had a few other runs in there, I remember running with Cindi and Sal around UCLA for the Nike runs, but that was just a couple of times. And my foot hurt from those runs some.

Journal

This is basically more for myself than anything, so I'll put up my geeky gadget junk and game things in addition to my running, but mostly this is just a plain old running log. I Kept written journals, then I used Excel, now I'm going to try this with mapmyrun.com and just put it in a blog. See if that will help me keep track, help motivate, etc... We'll see how it goes.

I have run 4 times in about the last month with a friend/co-worker and he's a longer distance runner, so he's pretty much destroyed me, having me run 6 miles, twice, 7 or so miles, today, and one time we only did 4, but we went FAST... So, as said, hopefully this blog will help keep me motivated.