March 5, 2008 - 7 Miles Fast

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Motionbased Data

So, still having the issues with my back, shin and knee...still shakes out in the first half mile. I really need to get to the chiro... Pretty nice day. Cold, but no real wind, so went around the river again, and tried to (and succeeded in having a) hace a nice negative split. 7:16 average for the last 3.5 miles! Nice!

Trying to get faster. Sad I missed 4 days running. Hope to go again tomorrow.

Feb 29, 2008 - 8 Miler at Decent Clip

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Motionbased Data

Another amazingly gorgeous day. An average of 55°F and barely any wind. Had to get that monthly goal of 60 miles. I didn't know exactly which way I was going to go to get 8 miles in, so I took a few alternate paths to mix things up and hopefully bump the distance, which I did pretty well. Missed this month's stretch goal entirely since I didn't get to my first run until the 9th or something like that. So, now my goal for next month will be 70, stretch 80!

So, my goal for today's run was to have a negative split. Which would be tricky seeing as how I was going to start downhill and come back uphill! Well, I tried sticking to 7:50 out (bounced around faster/slower) and ended up at 7:48 at four miles. The next two miles I did in about 7:38 pace and the last two at about 7:15 pace (7:17 and 7:12). The last 0.12 was at a 5:50 pace! Yowsers, nice kick in!

So, it's nice to see that after 7 miles, even though they were "easy" I kept speeding up and I was able to do a 7:12 mile. I'll have to try to go the last mile of a 10k under 7 sometime next week. Probably Wedesday, as I plan on doing FAST 5k on Monday adn going out to lunch on Tuesday. Thursday off and long distance on Friday, like today, maybe.

Feb 27, 2008 - 6.9 Fast

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Motionbased Data

So today was another beautiful day and I took advantage by running again. I wanted to go out smoothly, but sped up immediately, so figured I'd keep it up a while and ended up going about 3.5 miles at 7:20 pace...then I significantly slowed down and ended up averaging 7:31 for the entire 6.89 miles.

Feeling good, legs tired, back/knee still sore (knee is getting better!) and having fun running. Actually brought my iPod and listened to some tunes. Definitely noted that a faster song helped me go faster.

Feb 26, 2008 - Havana 10k

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Motionbased Data

What a run. Knee and back killing when started. Broke free, so to speak at a quarter mile and tried going fast anyway. Going downhill(after getting to Orchard) and downwind I put in some real quick quarters. The slowed up the back until getting to Havana, where I tried to "turn it on" and have a good pace up the hill. Well, I did, so I decided to stop a little.

After a short rest, 40 seconds, maybe, I walk/jogged about 20 seconds and took off down the street at a pretty good pace again. Had 1/2 mile at 7:16 pace...and last full quarter was sub-7.

Weather was slightly breezy and 41°F. Pretty nice, since it was Sunny out. Overall pace of 7:44 is slower than the race, but not by much...and that includes the stop time and that horrible 8:24 pace on the first quarter. So, real/moving pace is faster than the race...but I can't stop in a race, so have to use the true pace of 7:44. Which is still pretty darn good a couple days after a race.

I really want to get faster, so I have to go faster and run londer at faster paces, in addition to adding some real intervals to my workout.

Feb 23, 2008 - PPRR 10k Race (Winter Series #4)

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Motionbased Data
OK, so how'd it go?

Mile   Splits      Time     Avg Pace
1      6:54.46    6:54.46   6:54.46
2      7:55.67   14:50.13   7:25.06
3      7:35.87   22:26.00   7:28.67
4      8:31.85   30:57.85   7:44.46
5      8:01.30   38:59.15   7:47.83
6      7:29.72   46:28.87   7:44.81
6.25   1:26.67   47:55.54   7:40.09

Which, when you look at the hills and such is actually pretty good. Not much faster than Tuesday's supposed taper run, but, heck that is on such flat ground. The legs didn't help much either from that too fast of a run. Although a lot of people were dressed in leggings the weather wasn't that bad. It was snowing in the morning, and overcast when we started, but it cleared up by the time we hit 1.5 miles into the race. So, with my tee and long sleeved thin shirt I was nearly too warm. It was probably 35 average temp. See Motionbased for the weather details.

And about those hills. Oh crap, they were killer. As one guy after the race said, "You think you're about to get a break and, then, nope, another hill!" So, 7:40 pace is pretty decent and I'm happy with it. Finished in the top 10%. Here's a link, and if it ever dies, here are some hand-picked lines from the page.

Overall  Gender  Age-Group
Place    Place   Place      Name             Age   Time
1         1       1/20      Shawn Dubbs      16   38:01
2         2       2/20      Chasen Golacke   17   38:40
3         3       1/3       Andrew Abdella   21   39:50
4         4       3/20      Tim Hamilton     17   40:32
23       22       1/24      Joel Hawkins     37   46:22
24       23       3/16      Richard Hedlind  31   46:27
27       26       3/24      Craig Torres     35   46:53
37       33       4/24      Erick Breneman   37   47:56
38       34       7/19      Steve Weeks      41   48:02
42       36       5/24      Steve Warmingham 39   50:09

So, there were a lot of fast high-schoolers running. I was not that fast in high-school, but I could have competed with them in college, like the third place finisher.

Everyone's times were slow, though. The first three miles were predominantly covered by shadows and therefore icy. It was snowing all morning lightly, so there was snow cover a tiny bit and ice in corners. A few people fell. I think I heard one guy behind me almost eat it. I took the corners pretty slow to be safe, but it was tough. The hills that first mile or so sure made for some slow times. My excuse for later was just being in pain! :-)

Here's a good picture taken near the end of the race...of me not looking so good.

Overall I'm happy. I figured I'd do the first mile in sub-7, which i did, maybe the first 3/4 mile a bit fast, so I fell back and only did 6:54 instead of 6:40...but that's OK, I kept thinking of holding some for the finish and not have to walk. Good job!

Legs feel sore today, I SHOULD run to loosen them up, but didn't and won't. Tomorrow is supposed to be windy, so we'll see if I get out, but will get out for sure Tuesday, as it looks to be perfect weather, and I'm going 10k minimum and hitting that Havana hill! I'm going to hit that hill at least once a week now. I need to work my legs more than I have, and I need to increase my average pace, I'm going too slow! I'm not going to get back into college shape (or will I?), but I'd like to do a sub-20 5k, and MAYBE a sub-40 10k? At least a sub-42! We'll see how all that goes over the next year or so, huh?

Feb 22, 2008 - Another Taper Run (Short)

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Motionbased Data

~8:15 for only 2:25 miles. Amazing to go so slow...hard to keep it slow, even though legs still hurt, the quads and behind right knee. I wish I knew how I blew it out after the run on Tuesday.

Well, tomorrow is the race. Hope I'm up for it. Today was nice weather, tomorrow could be bad.

Feb 20, 2008 - A Real Taper Run

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Motionbased Data

~8:10 pace for 4.45 miles. Now that's a bit more like it. Right knee is still sore, took a while to work it out. And quads still sore from Tuesday. We'll see how it goes.

Feb 19, 2008 - 10k Too Fast for a Taper

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Motionbased Data

Stomach hurts, too hard of a run....52°F, so warm, but ate something or something. Ouch. 7:44 pace was way too fast for today.

Feb 16, 2008 - Short 2 Mi, Hilly with Ella

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Motionbased Data

Pretty good run. Kept up a decent pace, even though wanted to go easy today. Ella tugged me along and I felt pretty good so I just kept going.

Feb 15, 2008 - Hills on Havana

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Motionbased Data

I had such high hopes to do 3 miles of hills. After that first 3/4 I said, I don't know if I can do that again, so I did the 1/2 and then a 1/4. I was wiped! So, I had done only 1.6 (an extra 0.1 on that first 3/4, actually). But running down for my "cool down" I felt I had to do more, so I busted out two more 1/4's, nothing too hilly, in fact first one was somewhat downhill, then up. Did a sweet 5:50 pace 1/4 on that one. Nice.

Legs stil feeling good. A bit cooler, but not bad. No wind to worry about, so it was a good run!

Feb 13, 2008 - Tempo 5k

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Motionbased Data

Wow, that was pretty good. Let Steve lead the way and I hung back. Near end I sped away. Watch said 7:01...motionbased weirdly says sub-7. Pretty fast regardless, since it was supposed to be about 7:05 to 7:15...said sub-7 would be cool, but didn't expect it. Nice beautiful day out!

Still feeling good! Legs fine and everything.

Feb 11, 2008 - Shorter Havana Run 4.8 mi

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Motionbased Data

So, quite a windy day. Can't believe we went so fast. Took it easy the first couple miles, sort of, at least compared to the end.

Really attack the hill for the .6 miles. Need to get this going for the upcoming race.

Feeling sick, though. Jack had a lot of green snot and such...so that was yuck, and I couldn't avoid it. Still going to try and run hard tomorrow or Wednesday, and get some intervals in one day, and run the course Sunday, then take it easy next week to "taper" before the event. We'll see.

Legs and everything are feeling great! So, that's a nice positive. Also, that last mile/plus were at 7:12-ish pace, which is good at the end of a 4.8 miler and attacking that hill so hard!

Feb 6th, 2008 - Hilly Streets Havana 6.11 mi

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Motionbased Data

Well, took a while to get started running this month. Felt good taking a little time off for my legs to recover, or rest, or whatever.

Today's run was an easier mellow pace. Mostly let Steve lead the way, but I took off up Havana, 1/2 mile at sub-7 uphill. Check that elevation rise of nearly 200 feet! And I kept pace up the hill! Nice! (But, I did know I could chill after it...so, in the upcoming race I may not do a sub-7 up such a long hill, but I can hopefully maintain a pace up and beyond!) And then I finished up the last 1/4 into work, DEAD INTO THE WIND, also sub-7.

Good run overall. I will only get the treadmill the next few days since Jess is leaving town. Need to get some miles to get on a 2mi/day average. Goal this month is 60, again, but with a stretch goal of 70!

Jan 31, 2008 - 1 Mile on Treadmill

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So, this was a simple fulfill the monthly goal run. I went downstairs after the kids got to sleep to put on the last mile of my 60 mile stretch goal for January. Hopefully I can do 60+ in February.

I just set the treadmill to 8mph (7:30 pace) and once it seemed up to speed (about 0.05 miles in) I ran just the one mile. I had the incline at 2.0 for about half a mile, then dropped it down a bit until I finished at 0.

After running my legs hurt BAD...just from being on the treadmill? I'm going to take a few days off and try to run maybe Sunday? We'll see. I'm just going to rest a bit, then hit it hard to get some strength before the race and taper just before it...then hope for the best...need decent weather and less snow on the ground.

Jan 30, 2008 - 7.68mi Faster

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Motionbased Data


OK, so this was faster, more my speed. I liked it. Legs felt better than Monday. Did I really run 8:40 pace that day? Yowsers. Yeah there were nearly 30mph winds, but so what...my legs were just dying.

Today I ran through that wooded section and it was SO icy and hardpacked it was hard. I had to walk through ice patches 3 times, so that pace is actually about 7 seconds too slow, compared to the rest of the run.

I'm trying to stretch and do the proper shin-splint type exercises, to strengthen the front of my shin. It's seemed to help. Still get sore, but nothing too bad. Not like last summer. Keeping it up. Only need 1 mile tomorrow to have 60 miles for January! I think I can hit the treadmill for that.

Jan 28, 2008 - Slow as Molasses

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Motionbased Data

So, slow painful day....read about it on motionbased or Sanoodi. I'm not interested in talking about it here... :-(

Jan 27, 2008 - Roller Coaster 3.5mi

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Motionbased Data


Whew, what a hilly run. Very needed. That race is going to be tough enough with the road conditions. Sandy (only a bit less than a mile are paved), snowy and lots of tight turns. In addition to that, it is hillier than the maps make it look.

Weather was decent. A bit windy, but mostly protected by trees. About the low 50's, so pretty nice overall.

Legs feel OK, back hurt when starting out. Left leg still funky, but started wearing my old running shoes and that seems to help.

Jan 25, 2008 - 5k at 10k Race Pace

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Motionbased Data
This run was pretty decent. Kept pace reasonably well. Weather was great and not windy or anything. Felt I could keep this up for 10k.

Now, I plan on doing two days of hills, smooth, not too fast. Two days of intervals, fast. And, lastly, a day of intervals ON hills. And as a specific training thing I want to go run the course easy one day on a weekend.

OK, not much to say, just keeping up on the running and looking forward to the race.

Jan 23, 2008 - Quick 5.5mi at Work

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Motionbased Data


OK, so, here I go updating this again. I'm pretty much still loving Sanoodi, but it is having trouble uploading my last two runs. I'm starting to feel that the site may not last, so I'll have to post my info here. Use motionbased (soon to be connect.garmin, but who knows when, or if these embedded links will still be active. I hope so. But, I think I'll make an online spreadsheet for the data and link to that monthly, as a recap.

Anyway, I thought today was going to be warmer than yesterday, so I wore less...it was 10°F colder. And I felt it, but it was still OK. Maybe that's why I ran faster? Anyway, it was a good run, I stayed on the streets more to have better footing.

I'm considering finding a sports doctor to talk with about my left leg. Starting to get sore again. Definitely not shin splints, but something with the muscles (or tendons) is happening to pull on my shin, or who knows what. Don't know if they could do anything, but at least may find out what's wrong and if a stretch or ice or heat could help? I'd hate to go under the knife again, like for my foot. That would be horribly annoying.

OK, that's about it. I think I'll start posting things here, again, as I said. See ya.

July 22, 2007 - Long Home Run 11.5 mi

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Motionbased Data

Yowsers, I did it, only one new blister on my left foot, toe next to pinky toe. Shins feeling great. Shoulder sore before run, felt better after. Had some good speed down the hills, but that first 4.75 miles, all uphill killed me! Great run overall. I need to add a bit to it somewhere to get up to 12-15 miles some days...need a base!

Not too hot, since left house at 6:06AM and got back before 8AM. Nice run. Last bit ran into weeds and a big sink-hole of water, so that was bad and slowed me down, but checking motionbased data, my moving pace was 8:35, which is pretty good with some walking and being so long! Good job!

July 17, 2007 - Another Dip and Dash

OK, I never updated the last dip and dash race post with details, so I'll put up details for me and Steve for the two races I did, then I'll discuss. First, though, here's the link to the first and second race's, full results. Now, here's Steve's and my comparison:

        Swim      Trans      Run     Overall
      Plc Time  Plc Time  Plc Time  Plc Time
June
Steve  4 13:18   3  1:05   2 23:04   2 37:26
Me    42 20:44  36  2:43   4 23:25  17 46:50

July
Steve  3 14:00   8  1:11   5 23:33   3 38:43
Me    30 18:43  29  2:05   9 24:35   9 45:22

So, first off, a few people said the swim course looked longer today, Steve and I and at least another person...looking at Steve's swim times for full course days: 13:53, 13:18, 12:48 and 14:00. Last week, the 12:48 Steve was feeling pretty sick, today he was feeling better, but his time was 1:12 slower? Sure it was hot, but that doesn't seem to matter in the water too much, and every other week he's been improving to slow down so drastically makes me think it had to be at least a little longer. And if the course was a little longer, that makes my improvement of 2:01 that much more impressive. At least 10% off my first time, and if Steve gained over a minute due to length, that'd be about 1:20-ish for me, so I really may have improved over 3 minutes, in a way? Nice!

And the transition, I definitely improved, but I forgot to pre-tie my shoes...d'oh!! So, that cost me at least 15 or so seconds.

Lastly, the run. What's to say, I stunk it up. Quads on fire, and it was hot. Lame excuses. Steve was a bit slower than that other week, but not much and that is likely just the heat some, but for me to gain 1:10 on the run is pathetic, pure and simple.

Coming into the finish, you can't see the clock until pretty close to the end, but it said 44:45, or something like that, so I just kept my pace, maybe increased slightly. My self goal was sub-45. The run killed me, after that swim. My legs were HEAVY, quads killing me...so, if I'd tied my shoes, I may have seen a lower time on the clock and been able to sprint it in? I'll never know.

I so need to do some hills/stairs or something to get my quads in shape. This time almost makes me want to do this again, instead of that 10k I have. I've run 10k's before. This is new. I don't want to do this over and over again, but to get a sub-45, maybe a sub-44 would be sweet. A shorter swim, cooler day, pre-tie my shoes...I could maybe do sub-43.

Anyway...Good race overall. It feels great to have improved. Heck I went from 17th to 9th! Yay, I broke the top 10!!!

I'll put up the run data later.

June 26, 2007 - Feet That Swim

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Motionbased Data

Feet that swim?!?! Waaahhhh? Yeah, I did the Dip and Dash. Weather wasn't the best, but really after getting in the water, it wasn't bad and the coolness was nice for the run. Thanks to Steve T for talking me into this and supplying me with eyewear, a head "balloon," and some pointers for going out. Thanks to Jay E for lending me a wetsuit.

I don't know what to say...don't have dongle to get data off watch, and the results haven't posted...but I'll tell you what I THINK of this event. Fun, PAINFUL, interesting, and quite the accomplishment!! I'm glad I did it. As I always say, ouch for the shin, but who cares, great fun. Do it again? Maybe... But hey, it's my first ever multi-sport event. Just for fun, like the last race, I'll post a few pics. Steve got two shots, pre-race and post-race on his cell phone, so I'll get those later, and here's my bib again. Sweet!

Here's the pre-race pic.
OK, looking good, goggles-check, wetsuit-check, shoes-check...

Next is the post-race pic.
Smiling, really? How can that be? Because I was WIPED OUT! Actually it was exhilerating.

Anyway, I felt like I was going to drown the first 100 yards of the swim. The goggles already started leaking, so I ripped them off. My heart was racing and I couldn't breathe...so, I kept my head above water...my neck is now sore, and I did a LOT of backstroking to catch my breath. I felt like my hips were falling deep into the water trying to do the crawl, but who really knows. 750 meters...1/2 mile. I know I've NEVER swam that far at once before, and probably approaches how far I've ever swam in my life all put together before this. :-)

So, then the transition...not much to say about that. Slowish, I'm sure, but again, my excuse is first time, and just catching my breath from the swim. Steve beat me by at least 6-10 minutes on the swim. We'll see when the results post.

Lastly the run. As I said, shin was sore, but I could ignore that mostly. Breathing wasn't too bad, it was a bit limiting, especially at first, but the most was my quads...they started burning. Partly the swim I'm sure, I'm not sure how much quads are used in swimming, but I'm sure it wasn't 0% usage. I think I was fairly even pace, just slowing a bit on the slight inclines and speeding up on the downgrades. I think I did a bit of a negative split, although not much. And the running portion was closer to 3.25 miles, than 3.07, which is a 5k. My time was ~7:20 pace and 23:24, I seem to recall. Not too bad for after that swim.

After: Well, I really started feeling the work in my triceps. Wow, haven't worked them like that, EVER, pulling arms through the water. Quads sore, but not too bad once stopped running. Neck is sore as ever, from a bit of slouching while running and from holding head up while swimming. I'm proud of myself for finishing and not turning back on the swim or drowning. I came out dead last for the men in the swim and many women passed me, but I caught one dude on the run and a bunch of the women. Yep, my strength is the running. Not sure if I care to make the swimming much better.

OK, that's enough chatter, I have to go eat now and reload some energy. I'll post Steve's pics of me and the data/results when they become available.

Whew, I did it!!!!

June 25, 2007 - Stetch out 4 Miler

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Motionbased Data

OK, so this was HOTTER than heck! Went out a little late so it was hot. We went slow, as we wanted as an easy day before the big Dip and Dash. However, it sure felt harder than the time shows. Quads sore from yesterday, and shin STILL hurting, of course...man, I should load that as part of the template...haha.

OK, we'll see how we do tomorrow.

June 24, 2007 - Home Hilly 10k

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Motionbased Data

OK, so, ouch. Sub-8, but still...not the best. Leg sore, hill all the way to Baptist road was a chore. Same hill climb as the 5k race in highlands ranch, just spread out over a further distance and at a higher elevation. I'm really not tearing up these runs. In the mid-80's and hilly and sore shin splints still...never fully recovered...but still...speed it up, loser!!!

June 21, 2007 - CW Around River 10k+

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Motionbased Data

HOT HOT HOT!!!! Holy cow, took off fast, about 15 minutes for first 2 miles, felt great, then the heat really got to me. Steve maintained much better than me. Felt left leg a bit, but that came and went. Left quad had tightness for a minute or two, that, too, went away. Really just started feeling worn out due to the 85°-ish degree heat. Ouch!

Leg still sore off and on, pain moving from inside to front and almost to the left, so it's healing, just needs more time. However, Steve has talked me into doing a "dip and dash" which will be entirely intersting...and Jess thinks so, too and wishes she could come watch me drown, oh, I mean swim. Oops.

So, I'm going to try and run once this weekend and easy on Monday to be ready to go Tuesday. Hopefully it's a bit cooler Tuesday at 6PM than it was at 9AM for this run...Temp in the mid-upper 80's.

Also, I finally routed out my old run around my apartment back in LA...I always thought my car driving CCW was adding a bit more to the route, but I couldn't tell how much. Well, with the wonderful mapping of mapmyrun (which I use for mapping without it being a current workout), I was able to find out the real distance. And it affected my measured pace by about 12 or so seconds per mile. Oops, again.

June 18, 2007 - I'm Back! 10k+

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Woot, Nice Run!

Motionbased Data

OK, so this was my third run in 4 weeks and 1 day. I ran those two times on June 5th and 8th. I took another 10 days off to rest my leg. It had a twinge at first, but it went away and only had a few pains here and there. Took off and ran faster than 4 weeks ago when I "was in shape". So, now, with the better leg, I should, with the new/proper shoes, be able to really train for the July race. Going to not push it and only run twice at work this week and once this weekend. Then maybe 3 times next week at work. Then I think it's the NC, trip, so we'll see what I can get in that week...hopefully will be able to run each morning!

So, what else? Been a long time since writing. Just nice to get out and feel good about a run again. Shin feeling it a bit at end of day/tonight, but used advil and feeling pretty good. Finally getting some use out of this watch, yay!!! What a great Father's Day gift. I better use it for a LONG TIME!!!!

June 8, 2007

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Motionbased Data

Yikes Steve took off way too fast. Check the lap data on the motionbased post. Anyway, left leg still having issues, limping a bit while running, but not too bad. And not feeling as sick, so that's all good. But running only this second time in 19 days, I could not maintain Steve's blazing 7:35-ish pace. Ended up averaging 8:01 pace. Not too bad. Nice day to be out!

June 5, 2007 - Welcome Back Western 10k

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Been a while, eh? Well, I'm back and trying to heal. Went out today, plan was 3-4 miles 8:30-ish pace...did 10k at 8:19...8:23 first half, about 8:15 second half.

First two miles my left leg hurt, but I focused on heal strike and good form and the pain went away mostly. It's back a bit now, tonight, so I am icing it and plan on running on Friday, but not before.

Also, I'm a bit sick, but, what can you do, I needed to get out of the office, away from the dust and allergens. So, it felt OK overall. Think I'll be OK for the July 28th run, and maybe one before if I can find a 5k somewhere. This was the first time I ever set the auto-lap on. Set to every 1/4 mile. Very nice, loads up into Motionbased very nicely.

May 31, 2007 - Still Recovering

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OK, so still haven't run. Figured I'd now just wait until next Monday, June 4th. Then take the week easy. Three runs, all at 8:30-ish pace. Will keep trying to ice (haven't done in a while) and just taking it easy. My leg has stopped hurting just walking, but can still hurt when carrying the kids up/down the stairs and definitely when squatting, like when cleaning the cat litter box...

In 4 more days I'm hoping I can run a bit and start getting in better shape to run a 42 min 10k...forget the 43-44 time, now. I need to really prove to myself that I can still run...I'd like to hit 40:49, like back in 2002, or even better yet, sub 40...not sure if that is possible this Summer, but if I keep running through this season and keep in relatively good shape over the winter, that should definitely be possible. In a few years, maybe I'll run my age.....run a 38 at age 38?? Hmmmm. ;-) Always positive and hopeful.

May 28, 2007 - Race Day (DNR)

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Yeah, DNR = Did Not Race...

Two reasons. Main is kids, lack of sleep, sick, and not wanting Jess to have to deal with non-sleeping, sick, cranky kids on her own for the 8 hours I'd be gone. Second was my leg, I suppose. I would have run through the pain. I haven't run since the 20th, due to the pain, so the leg could recover some before the race. Hoping my fitness would maintain a reasonable pace and the race would pull me through the pain.

Oh well, I'll never know. Looking for a new race to run. Nice downhill, point to point, race in Colorado Springs on July 28th...but I'd like to do one in June, as well. Still looking for that.

May 20, 2007 - 5.5 miles

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Motionbased Data

OK, another day, another painful left leg run. Faster than last week with Scott, but coulda/shoulda been faster. Felt very slow. But leg was in severe pain to start, then eased up, so I was able to increase my speed somewhat, but not a lot. This is killing me.

May 17th, 2007 - Western 10k

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Motionbased Data

Hmmm.....for 6.3 miles, normal western loop this was kind of fast/reasonable pace, but for a day after intervals and a day with such pain, it was downright, just plain, fast! Leg still hurting. No end in site. I slowed down a lot on the return half, as the leg just never felt better. One of the few times leg pain has slowed me down.

May 16, 2007 Interval Day 3.128 Miles

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Missed yesterday, due to errands, so moved schedule back a bit and will run tomorrow, instead of having a rest day after the intervals. That should be fun. ;-)

Motionbased Data. This has lap data, first time I used this feature, which came "free" with the programmed workout. Awesome, need to make all my interval workouts on the watch.

So, today was an interval day. Overall I think I did all right. Notice the rest times. They were based on time, not distance, so I didn't fully recover, nor was I really ready for another fast interval...what a wimp, huh?...so, I was a bit tired before those two runs. And that 1200 was nearly all uphill. Not a large hill, but a hill, none-the-less. And I did the first two intervals pretty quick. Check the data.

Dist (mi)  Time (s)  Pace (min/mi)
0.75        404.5      08:59        Warm-up
0.50        183.1      06:06
0.12        120.0      16:59        Rest
0.25         83.6      05:34
0.06         90.0      23:11        Rest
0.75        344.6      07:39
0.11        150.0      22:12        Rest
0.50        210.0      07:00
0.10        120.0      20:53        Rest
0.25         86.6      05:46
0.07         90.0      21:11        Rest
0.50        199.0      06:38
0.09        120.0      21:06        Rest
0.25         85.5      05:42
0.06         90.0      26:25        Rest
0.13         39.5      05:03
0.45        300.0      11:11        Cool-Down
0.12         68.1      09:27        Rest of Cool-Down
3.128      1231.8      06:33        Sum of runs - equiv 20:23 5k time
                  Using this website, this equates to a 42:32 10k.

And here's the course, basically just back and forth on the trails behind the office.

So, not bad, huh? Oh, and today was the first day I used my brand new Foreruner 205! Awesome! Programmed in a workout, with those times/distances all programmed and let it tell me what to do when, which is why I stuck to those resting times, even though it hurt. The watch is awesome, and since this is my own, I got to fiddle with it more and really work the features.

Anyway, if I can get in some miles and another quick 5k (maybe run with Scott this Saturday, improve the pain in my left leg a bit, get good rest, and taper well, I could maybe break 43:00? Well, that's the wave I'm in 43:05 or better. And looking back to 2002, in my last 10k race (at sea level, much younger, etc), I did 40:49.

So, give myself a couple extra minutes for age and altitude. Maybe sometime I'll be able to break 40. That is going to be a goal of mine this coming year. 43:00 is a 6:55.2 pace...so, let's see what I can do!

May 14th - 10k Havana to Trails

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Fast paced 10k. Sub 8, pretty good. Leg still having some issues. Had some left foot slapping for 1/2-3/4 of a mile, then felt OK.

Motionbased Data

Not a bad run, especially with how hard I've been pushing myself lately. Gotta get ready for that Bolder Boulder!

May 12 - Smooth 5 Miler

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Went out with neighbor Scott. Went a good/fast-ish pace for Scott and perfect for me that day. 8:22 pace for about 5 miles. Got some heavier breathing, but nothing of concern. Pretty easy run overall.


Motionbased Data

So, left leg started slapping on the ground. Shin splint issues, still. Running wrong side of the road for support and I think with the good supporting shoe, the muscles on the front of my leg are confused and having some trouble holding up my toe at impact. Odd. Need to ice and get this better.

May 11 - Qualifying Day

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OK, took the 10th off, legs hurting too much. I bought shoes on Wednesday after that shear agony on the treadmill. Which is all good, since I decided to go to Boulder around lunch time to qualify for a wave in the Bolder Boulder. Well I did that. Warmed up .3 miles in 3 minutes, or something like that. Then kicked the treadmill up to 9mph, at first, and in the last quarter mile or so I started increasing the pace until I finished the last little bit at 11mph. Finished at 13:14, which the guy helping me let me jump into the 13:01 grouping (Wave AB), since the treadmill takes a bit to spool up to speed.

At night, after eating and having two beers with Jess, and getting the kids to sleep I went downstairs and ran another 1.25 miles in about 8 minutes. Did .25 warm-up and then busted out another mile at 9mph (6:36 pace).

New shoes made this all possible. Legs still hurt, but much better than the old shoes. I just now need to get my left leg/hip to recover.

May 9 - Treadmill in AM

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Ouch! Left leg starting to really hurt. Wanting to do pace work, and stopping from pain after 1.25 miles. Warmed up .3 miles, then after that one stop, I went slow a bit and then fast another .25 miles, doing 1.8 miles total. The pace work was at 6:49 (8.8mph) pace if I remember correctly.

May 8 - Alternate Routes

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Motionbased Data

Took three alternate little detours. Went kinda fast, 49:47 for 6.3 miles, 7:52 pace. Pretty good run.

May 7 - Tempo 5k

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Motionbased Data

Posting this late, so don't remember much, but remember Steve leading and hurting a little. Not bad, though. 5k in 22:51.

May 5, 2007

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Hmpf...didn't run...too busy with the family. Thought about during nap time. Had to take pictures for EBay sales. Then after that it was raining, then the power went out, so we went shopping, then we got home and the kids didn't get to sleep until AFTER 9PM...AND it was raining...so, no running. Will really try to get out tomorrow! Need to do a FAST 5k (or so).

May 4, 2007

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Using Motionbased here, because Sanoodi broke the run into two (There and Back) sections again. Which it truly was, since we stopped to tour the Trails Rec Center, but still, it's nice having all the data in one spot. Hmmmm.....

Anyway, didn't feel that great, but still a sub 8 pace (7:43). Nice!

So, yeah, shins hurt. Iced them Friday (and tonight, Saturday). Going to keep saying I need shoes until I get them and if that doesn't help, then I'll just have to stop running! Hahaha...nah, I'd just keep icing all the time. Also, I was pretty out of it, so I wasn't much in the mood to run, so it was good we went. Gotta keep it up!

May 2, 2007, 5k Tempo Run

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Not bad, 5k, with lotsa wind (although major portion was downwind, and overall a downhill run)... Needed some pace-work. Felt good. I feel a little sick, but not too bad, hopefully it won't continue or get worse.
Motionbased Data and for the Cool Down

Here's the run:

Walk-jogged half a mile back to work, nothing to post about that. Feeling good running-wise overall. But, I do believe I need some new shoes, as that would probably help my shins, as they do get sore.

And, yeah, I'm thinking I'm liking the Sanoodi embedded map better. I like the elevation of MotionBased and I like some of the stats, but I like the look of Sanoodi better, with the embedded google map. I'll probably stick with that, and maybe still post to both, but link to the MB stuff, within the Sanoodi comments? I really like being able to get the weather, and to re-write it here is annoying and boring, unless it's out of the ordinary. OK, that's it for tonight. Tomorrow is an off day, then back to it Friday and hopefully both days this weekend, if I stay relatively healthy.

May 1, 2007, Long Run

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Longest run I've done so far, since 2002....just about 8 miles in/around Cherry Creek.

Motionbased Data

Was pretty nice. Fast in beginning and end. Need to pack on some miles, but need to pick up the pace a tiny bit, even on these runs, I think. Need to breathe harder, which is why I picked it up at the end. Gotta train fast to race fast! :-)

Apr 27, 2007 - Beautiful and WET!

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OK, so here's the same old course...

Sanoodi Data

But, the key today was water. Big storm on Tuesday/Wednesday with lots of snow/rain. Well, it's still on the ground and I had to shoo away some ducks (well, they heard me coming and flew away on their own) off of my trail.

How'd I feel? Well, pretty good actually. Went out fast, caught up to Jesse H and took it easy with him for a 1/4 mile after trudging through the first mini-lake. He turned back to work and went left into the trails. Where I encountered much more mud and water. The last two miles I felt pretty bad in my stomach. Not sure the cause of that, but whatever, had to keep going. A positive takeaway is that I had to lift my knees a bit more to prevent additional splashing, so that's added work, almost like running up a hill. ;-)

A Recovery Day?

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So, the family, including the dog, went for a little 3 mile hike up Mt. Herman Rd. Fun fun!!! We are nuts.

Sanoodi Data

I had to carry Summer pretty much the whole way, and Jess carried Jack in a front pack the whole way....tiring!! But so nice to get out!

April 21, HRCA Heritage Day 5k

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Oh gosh, I stink! Well, I did NOT train for a hill like that. I got 16th overall, 13th male... Hmpf...I got up the climb 5th, but then started getting passed. The hill destroyed my pyche. Ouch. Anyway, after the hills it's a bit rolly and such, and there's one last little climb before heading down. Checking my data you can see I did contiuously speed up down the hill, but never enough. I'm not my normal racing self. Weak mentally. :-(

I guess that's OK, first race in about 5 years, and it's this monster hill. I'll post links to the results and this photography group that was there later.

Before I get too into this, I wanted to make one comment, I wore the heart rate monitor to bed, and while asleep my heart rate dropped down to 49...just lying in bed before sleeping it was in teh 50's. And about the heart rate, I had some Rockstar on the drive to the race, and just drinking that stuff increased my heartrate 10-15 bpm....so I don't think I'm going to drink an energy drink before racing again. I think that could make it beat faster and shallower. And that can't be good.

So, well, I guess I should spill the beans...I finished in 25:22 per my watch...we'll see what the chip says. That's probably the slowest 5k of my life. But after this week of lack of sleep, missing my last intervals and a couple of runs...I guess that's OK. I'm going to try and stay in shape and place/win my age group next year! For my age group 30-39, there were many people to compete against. Seems to be the most popular age for running.

At the end, my right calf was very sore, so I stretched, changed my T-Shirt and went for a mile cool down, just running on the track. So, the final summary? This run won't give me a great wave for the Bolder Boulder, so I'll have to do a treadmill thing, or some other race...flatter...or just live with a crowd and having to pass a bunch of people. I haven't decided that, yet. OK, without further ado, here are my three sets of data, The Race, a lot of walking/jogging to warm up and, finally, the cool down.







All righty...the weather was very aggreeable, mid/high 50's <10 mph winds, into us up that hill, felt very warm turning around and running with the wind. Great day to run! OK, good job, be proud, be happy!

OK, a few more links/pics...this was my first race bib in about 5 years!!

And here's the link to the official results...who knows how long this will ever be active...and lastly here are the pics of me running, in no particular order, taken by Youth Sports Photography NetworkYSPN.

Apr 18, 2007

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OK, so took yesterday off as part of my taper, and it was a georgous day. Today, was running after work to see the course for the race Saturday. If we ran at lunch like normal it would have been beautiful, 60's and light wind...but, we ran later and got 30MPH winds...dead into our faces as we climbed that hill for the first mile...OUCH... I stopped and walked a little. I only wanted to see the course, not hurt myself. Here is the run info.



Tomorrow is off, and then Friday is a light stretch before the big race on Saturday.

Feeling OK, but, man, that hill is going to be TOUGH!

Quick 10k Apr 16, 2007

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So, here's the run, taken from Steve's watch...



We went out pretty fast, I thought I had a 10k listed for today at a anything under 8 pace...but I was wrong...that was supposed to be yesterday, but I missed that, due to hanging out with the family, and such. Also, I never did get in that set of longer intervals. I'll get in another 3 or 4 sets of intervals before the 10k in 6 weeks.

So, how did today feel? Well, it felt pretty good, actually. Only 4 hours of sleep at night, the last two nights, so I'm a bit drained, but I was able to keep up the 7:30-ish pace the first three miles, then we throttled it back for a mile and took it in pretty nicely. Legs feeling good, had protein and banana shake after dinner, and going to go ice my shins, for protection and get some sleep...I hope. I have set up two chiropratic appts for Tuesday and Thursday....gotta get this kink outta my neck, which should help me feel better for the run this Saturday. Check the link for weather, etc...

Apr 14, 2007

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Quick little 5k from home. Spanish bit loop again.

Summer put watch in data mode, so didn't start until I got to Alliegance, oops... Since that's .37 miles, and I started kinda fast I lost a bit over 2 minutes of time, maybe?

I'll post times starting from this point, with distances...I hate not having that watch. I need to sell that stuff on EBay, QUICK!!!

Mile    Split    Time    Pace
0.37    0:00     0:00    0:00
0.49    0:48     0:48    6:40
0.97    3:44     4:32    7:47
1.29    2:29     7:01    7:46
1.92    5:12    12:14    8:15
2.39    3:19    15:34    7:03
2.69    1:58    17:32    6:33
2.84    1:18    18:51    8:40
2.93    0:59    19:50   10:56  (Doubt it (map/location issue))
3.19    1:26    21:16    5:31  (Yeah, see)
So, maybe 23:30 total?   7:20-ish total

So, started really fast, then slowed, then felt slow and crappy, but overall time seems like it was OK. Especially since has that little hill. When got home I iced my shins, they actually feel OK since I took off Friday. Weather was 51°F and not too windy. Felt awesome!

Apr 12, 2007 (Super Cold and Snowy)

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Holy Crap! It snowed for about an hour or so today...and guess what, that's about when we ran!

Yeah, we checked the weather, about low/mid 30's, 18-20+ mph winds...but it just looked overcast and no big deal. So we went out for out 10k.



It started out OK...

Even after the first mile, when approaching the gate on Jordan, we were doing good. (That's Steve in the image.)

Soon after crossing Jordan (haha, get it?) and going left, the snow started falling. And when we turned West we got a good belting of a side wind and it really started snowing. Here's a pic of some shivering deer we saw...notice all the snow.

That wasn't the worst of it...right about the 3 mile point we turned south and were running dead straight into the wind, straight up hill!!! OUCH!!!

Well, we made it, and when we finally turned left on Orchard the wind was a bit more sideways, and we were done climbing the hill...so I took the opportunity to snap a pic of myself while running.

Remember that first pic up there...that was right near work, all clear and decent...well this is what we saw when we returned to that same area.

As I said, we made it...in one piece even...and covered with snow...check it out.

Also check out the ground, it got some coverage. Well, after we got in, cleaned up and got back up to our desks, it was nearly done snowing and the sun came back out...what bad timing. We really should have run yesterday! Messed up my training days a little, and sure put us out there on the worse day.

But, anyway, about the run, and me...I felt OK, pretty slow, but that's OK with the weather the way it was. My tendonitis is flaring up and my shins are hurting. I'm trying to stretch and ice...just gotta keep working it. Nothing TOO bad, yet.

Apr 10, 2007

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Yeah, pretty much met my goal, and then some...check it out.



Motionbased has this new "gravity" mapping dealie for dealing with elevations...

The pace was 7:33, 7:34, 8:05...then slow to about 5k, then I walked 50 or so yards, and then "kicked it in" for the last 400 or so at about 7:40-ish pace. Notice on that motion-based link, the 23 MPH winds. YES, 23 MPH!!!! That means, that middle mile or so, heading NNW we were going pretty much dead INTO the wind...i.e. a headwind of 30 mph, counting our running speed into it. So, the first 7:33 was easy, with a bit of a side wind, just starting out, but then going over those hills along Cherry Creek, dead into the wind...that 7:34 was HARD!!! Much harder than I wanted to run. Tomorrow's 10k should be much easier.

Apr 9, 2007

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Another day of intervals. Slow 10:30 warm up.

400    800    1200   Pace
1:27   1:29          5:52
1:25   maybe?        5:40
1:30   1:36   1:44   6:27
1:28                 5:52
1:34                 6:16
1:24                 5:36
1:23                 5:32
TOT  14:33           5:49

Cool down for 9:20. Total of about 4.5 miles for the day, running/jogging, another nearly 2 miles of walking 400 at a time between runs, so about 6-ish miles of motion.

Temp was about 55° with very little wind. That 1st 400, I had the watch on Data, not Chrono, so I missed getting the time, but was early and felt fast, so I'll assume 1:25. The wind was into my face on that 5th run (was supposed to be an 800, but I wimped out). Since I wimped out, I decided to do an extra 400 to make up the distance and to do them as fast as I could. I ran a total of 2.5 miles at an average of 5:49 pace...so, ah...I met my 6:10 or better goal, but went a LOT faster than I wanted. Oh well....I wanted pain. Shins are feeling pretty good, though, so that's nice, since I don't want THAT kind of pain.

My buddy Steve went out and ran 9.25 miles...nut-job! We're both nuts, I'm nuts sprinting like this, he's uts running such long distances...although, I'm sure I'll do a few of those with him after this 5k, before the 10k. And I know he'll go out and do more intervals and some fast 5k tempo runs...so, yeah, we're both nuts!

Anyway, now to try and get a good nights sleep...I hope Jacky only wakes up once, if that!

Sunday

Missed today...bad boy! Was supposed to do a 10k...but the weather and just my laziness (watched The Masters with Jacky) kept me from getting out. Bad for my training. Will just have to slide my doy off during the week back to today. WIll adjust, but won't let this set me back too much! Will still try to do intervals tomorrow. With the day off they should be good and fast!!!

Apr 7, 2007

On the Treadmill. Still cold and snowy outside. Not in the mood to slip and slide on the streets. Did about 3.5 miles in 30 minutes. Started uphill at a 3, and had a while at 8.0 mph, and then dropped the incline and pace. Watched the miles and the time and I kept it just under 7:00 pace...so the motor isn't that accurate, or it doesn't push along...it could follow my stride and be faster than on the screen?

Regardless, it was weird, it felt both very short time and like forever...I need to see things moving around me. Shins were sore...dare I say shin splints from the cold/hard running yesterday. Iced the after the run a bit and before going to bed. Will keep icing and making sure to stay one step ahead of the pain.

Apr 6, 2007

OK, today was interval day...

Dist     Time   Pace     Notes
 800     3:06   6:12     Up/Down Hill
 400     1:30   6:00     Straight uphill
1200     5:03   6:44     Uphill, then down into wind
 800     3:14   6:28     Ended uphill
 400     1:25   5:40     Neighbrhd, uphill, FAST
1200     5:08   6:51     Towards work, some hills
TOT 3M  19:26   6:29     Avg, Qual for Wave 3

Still need to keep trying, not ready to make my goal yet.

Hurt of course, but, had to push through it. Today was the coldest day of the month...had some snow, too! And windy...brrrrrr...

Apr 4, 2007

Actually about 7.25 or so, total distance. Add another 8 or so minutes to the total as well. Was shooting for 7:50 or so pace, for about 6.2 miles...went a bit longer and a bit slower, which felt fine, being a recovery run after yesterday. Felt good overall, finished decently at the end. Body is sore and tired, but no bad aches or pains (except neck/shoulder stuff).

Decent run...only 2.5 weeks until my 5k qualifier!
Here's another view, with the mapmyrun site...so many ways to do this...sigh...Still think motion-based is best...but, they don't seem to have blog embedding.

I do like this though...showing the mileage markers...but, it doesn't have the satellite option, etc. hmpf.

Apr 3, 2007

OK, so now I decided I need to start getting serious. I got confirmation from Jess that I can run these three races, so I need to start training! So, today we went out to do a 5k at pace! 22:20...which would get me into the 6th wave (which is about 47 minute 10k....I can't believe I'd run a 10k that slow on Memorial day)...Starting to train, my GOAL is 19:50 (wave 2) or better, but I'd be OK with a 20:48 (wave 3) which converts to about a 43 10k. That'd I'd be OK with.

Around 50°F and not too windy. I started struggling after two miles. Steve pulled me along. He's still in much better shape than I am.

Mar 31, 2007 (VEGAS!!!!!)

Yeah, you read that title right, Vegas, Baby!!! I actually woke up Saturday and went for a run. 1 hour long, 7.5 miles! Wow, good job. Tiring, and fast. 7:20 pace for a while, then slowed down...great run! (Lower elevation helped that, maybe?) Motion-Based Link for weather and such.

Pretty good, and maybe what helped me feel good and then have good luck the rest of the day! I made out pretty well!

Mar 28, 2007

Ran to I-25, took about 1:02...so, that was about 8:30 pace...it was a bit of a slow recovery day...

Yikes, Windy!!! Weather from Google Homepage: 57°F Cloudy Wind: SW at 26 mph Humidity: 21% Felt amazingly good overall. Question overall pace, due to maybe hitting the stop/start button at one point...may have been a bit longer. I'll look at the data later. Nah, forget the data, easy run, nothing to worry about.

Mar 26, 2007

OUCH!!! Ran in my sketchers, since forgot running shoes.

Felt OK overall. Nice day. Ran with heartrate monitor again. Can see by following the link. Liking this watch.

Mar 25, 2007

Trying so many sites...ran with Steve T's forerunner 305....I'm hooked and addicted, I need me one of them! I really liked the sanoodi site, but went back to see mapmyrun, and they're running a beta, which works with the forerunner as well...here's the embedded image from them...

Hmpf...so, had to change settings on blog to not do auto spacing...hmmm...could be a pain and the image is visibly chopped, but works...anyway, I'll chat about my training here, but will want to link to the workouts on those other sites and use them for my own training...hmmm...

So, here's the run, as posted on Sanoodi.

And as posted on motion-based.

We'll see how mapmyrun looks overall and see what data it gets/gives from the watch. So far Motion-Based seems to have the most detailed stuff...and most people online, but only 10 runs are free, then it's pay-to-play...yuck! I want free/ad-supported sites. So, it's between sanoodi, and now maybe mapmyrun...

Anyway, about this run, easy/fastish 5K around home. Felt pretty good. I'll write more about more sometime, as I have 5 more runs after this one to list...I'm now in an active training mode.

March 21, 2007

OK, so, after running these last 5 times, I figured I'd try running with a little pace control...and a little fast. Well, that didn't work out TOO WELL...but, here's what we did. First three links are from Steve's GPS watch.

Cruising out to set the 1/4 mile markers - map/data. Obviously no problem jogging out to the gate.

1st mile at pace - map/data. This started WAY too fast...then slowed a bit, but, sheesh, did a 6:30 pace average, when we were shooting for 7:30. Oops.

2nd mile run - map/data. This was harder. Note the extreme slow down. Back up hill for one, and just plain tiring. Quarters, per my watch, were basically 6:30, 7:20, 7:40, 8:20....so a total of 7:30...so hit final pace, but lacked consistency.

Finished up with a little walk/jog of about 1.88 mi back to office.

So, we did about 5 miles total overall.

Today, after the run, what hurt were y hamstrings. OUCH!! Man, I have't felt my hamstrings like this in a LONG time! So, I guess that's good.

We'll definitely be doing this again, but trying to use his watch to warn us of faster or slower pace... Hard, but fun, and definitely worth it!

Mar 19, 2007

An easy 5k to the auto dealerships with Steve at work.

Pretty good overall.

Mar 17th, 2007

El Paso Trail with Scott. About 38 minutes...8:22 pace, maybe. Didn't time it, but know it was about 4.5 miles from the mapping...

Felt pretty good overall. Nice and warm, although I had like three hours of sleep the night before, so I was pretty tired.

Mar 14, 2007

OK, the standard 10k loop.

55°F so cool, but nice overall. 50 minutes, 7:54 pace, basically..taken from Steve's watch...steve wore it today.

Mar 12, 2007

OK, when mapping this run:


using gmap-pedometer, there was a link to this sanoodi.com site...so I tried it out. Pretty nice. Don't know how it pickes the max/avg pace...but, it's a decent interface. Just needs a return route. Can download what you click in to a google earth file, so I'll try that sometime. Pretty nice. Anyway. I'll try using it a few times.

Anyway, about the run, slow, easy, took a left to keep off more snow, just a shortish 4-miler. Don't really remember the time.

Mar 8th, 2007

Map of the Run
Welcome back...nice easy run...NOT...ouch. A lot better than when I first started up running again with Steve, though, but being 3 months, I'm definitely back out of shape.

Ran 4.45 miles.

If I remember right it was about 41 minutes. Not a great pace, but, hadn't run for a while, so whatever.

Felt OK, front of legs/ankles hurt after from running through the snow in Cherry Creek reservoir section.

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...

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.

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:


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.


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!

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.


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.

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:


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:


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 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.


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.

Tuesday Oct 10, 2006

OK, that was cool!


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 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:

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.

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.