Let's Jog!

No Time To Blog–Too Busy Running

Dave — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:03:31 +0000

Here’s how it went down this past week….

Sun-7m
Mon-9m
Tue-7m
Wed-8m
Thu-6m
Fri-14m

Total–51 miles for the week

Here’s how it went down for the month of July:

Week of 7/5 – 40 miles
Week of 7/12 – 35 miles
Week of 7/19 – 44 miles
Week of 7/26 – 51 miles

Total for the month of July — 192 miles

Wow! Pretty damn good. How the hell did I do it???

Average pace for July — 9:41/mile

That’s right, slowing down so I can run more, thus eventually becoming faster. Since I’ve stopped looking at my pace while running, and forced myself to run strictly by feel (always easy, except for an occasional fast final mile or two), I’ve been able to rack up some mileage without injuring myself and/or wearing myself down. I’m actually feeling pretty damn ok, believe it or not.

And that’s not even taking into account a nasty 3-week sinus infection which had me feeling like total crap, and this little thing called HUMIDITY that we have here in NC (at least the last few weeks, anyhow….)

Looking back at my training log from a year ago, I was logging around 40-45 miles per week, running almost a minute faster per mile on average, always feeling worn out and on the verge of injury, and blowing off runs far too often. Lot of good that did me…

So here’s the game plan for my final conquest at a Boston Qualifier before I turn 45 next April….

1) Maintain 50-60 miles per week base, mostly at easy pace, between now and the half marathon in Raleigh this November. (6 runs/week, long runs up to 18 miles)

2) LOSE WEIGHT, about 1-2 pounds/week. I’ve already gone from 200(!!) to 193, need to get that down to 170 or lower.

3) Slowly introduce informal speedwork into the mix: fartleks, fast finish runs, some marathon-pace miles.

4) Run a strong half marathon in November, formulate a more structured training plan after a week recovery, increasing the mileage modestly and adding a bit more speedwork (but continuing to focus on overall volume….) Do some 20-22+ mile runs. Maybe one training run of 26+ miles (more on this another day….)

4) Run the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach next March, and qualify for Boston….

Piece ‘o cake, right? I’ll try to keep you updated once in a while, when I’m not out there running….slowly.

Sometimes Ya Gotta Just Say Uncle And Call Your Sister In Law

Dave — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:58:16 +0000

I finally broke down this past Wednesday and called my Sister-In Law, Dr. Ramirez. Despite a multi-prong attack featuring copious amounts of over the counter drugs and deep nasal irrigation, this sinus infection wasn’t going away and after almost 3 weeks of feeling like crap, I’d had enough.

Antibiotics are best left as a last resort in my opinion, and Dr. R seems to share that feeling, so when she gave me the green light for an amoxycillin script, I jumped on it. Two days later my intestines are doing the boogaloo, but I’m finally feeling better all around…

Somehow I managed to keep up with my mileage goals this week through some major heat and humidity, including a tough 12 miler this morning, for a total of 44 miles for the week. A few more weeks pushing through the 40′s, then I’m hoping to hold between 50 and 60 until the half in November. A little informal speedwork thrown into the mix, but mostly concentrating on keeping the mileage consistent.

Will post my DIY, fairly flexible training schedule later this week…..

I Guess I Had It Coming…

Dave — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:22:56 +0000

Ok, let’s get the sucky part out of the way…I totally bonked on a scheduled 12 miler this morning, cut it short at 9 miles, walked the last 1/4.

As lame as that was, I should’ve known it was gonna end up that way….we’ve been having quite an easy ride here in NC this summer with the heat and humidity–today both were back with a vengeance. Glasses totally fogged over by the first mile, swamp ass set in shortly thereafter and by mile 3 my shoes were actually squishing from all the sweat. Most summers this would be par for the course here, but we’ve been spoiled by conditions more reminiscent of New Hampshire for the last few weeks.

I also really need to start adding some water to my daily beverage duo of coffee and beer. I’m guessing it would’ve helped me this morning. Yes folks, I was what ya call dehydrated. Also need to bite the bullet and take the fuelbelt out on anything over 10 miles I guess–hate that thing…

Finally, since I missed my run last Sunday due to this annoying sinus infection (I’m 99% sure that’s what it is) I’ve been sneaking in extra miles on my runs this week–7,6,7 and 6 before the “long-ish” run scheduled for this morning. I did 40 miles last week in 6 days, would’ve hit 38 on 5 days had I completed the 12.

So what the hey, I still think I’m doing pretty damn good….maybe I’ll do a REALLY easy 5 miles tomorrow after the farmer’s market if I feel up to it. Or maybe not.

Can’t Stand The Summer Cold

Dave — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:32:47 +0000

I’m one of those annoying people who almost never gets sick….so when I do, I’m a total pussy about it. Waaaah, I can’t breeve. My throat’s kinda sore. I gotta headache. Mommy, I need some Sucrets…..

Despite this bout of severe allergies/head cold/combination of the two, I managed to hit the road for 40 miles last week. An 11 miler on Friday, an 8, a 6 and two 5s. 3 hill sprints on one of the 5 mile days….

iPod selections ranged from a ridiculously great Zeppelin boot from ’73, Squarepusher, new Dew Claw rough mixes, Tortoise (how appropriate!) a “This American Life” podcast (not the greatest idea–I dig the show just fine, but I don’t think the podcasts work for me on the road) to the strange young sounds of Rare Wall Mimic and Animal Collective.

Things are coming along. Except for today, when I blew off my 5 miler cause I wasn’t feewing so well…..

So we’ll see how close I can get this week to 40 miles on 5 days running. Should be fun!

Has It Been That Long??????

Dave — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:15:02 +0000

Ran 10 miles this morning for the first time since……November 2 of last year, which you might remember was the day I ran the marathon in Raleigh. Damn. What the hell have I been doing for the last 8 months?????????

Well, forget the fact that I’ve been a fat lazy slug for those 8 months and dig the stats this week–6 runs, 37 miles, ankle holding up ok…keeping the pace stupid slow for the next month–like upper 9 minute mile slow. Hey, screw you, it’s called base building, and it’s gonna pay off in the end, trust me.

A day off tomorrow for the farmers market then back at it Sunday morning. Looking to work the mileage back up through the 40s to 50 mpw and get started with some serious half marathon training mid August…..gotta start saving my pennies for some new shoes….gulp!

3 Days Sure Beats 3 Months

Dave — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:07:44 +0000

Did an easy 5 miler today after a 3 day layoff and the ankle is feeling a lot better. I’m fairly sure now this is peroneal tendonitis–pain in the outer foot in front of the ankle that’s the result of repeated twisting and stress on the ankle. I’m icing it as much as I can stand, wearing my big ‘ol hiking boots when I’m working out at the farm and sporting a $5 Wal Mart ankle brace….it all seems to be helping.

Believe me, taking the time off totally sucked, especially since I’m really trying to get back in the groove and build up some mileage, but I’m determined not to screw myself like I did a few years ago when I pushed it with tendonitis and wound up out for 3+ months.

Let’s hope my prudent approach pays off and I can string together a decent week…

Catch you later!

Spoke Too Soon…

Dave — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:13:44 +0000

Damn. Major foot flareup last night. This thing hurts the worst when I’m lying in bed, it seems. Weird, and I’m wondering now if it isn’t tendonitis, of the peroneal sort. In any event, a doctor’s visit, x-ray, mri and bone scan to rule out a stress fracture is out of the question, for financial reasons, at this point. I did walk around in some non-running shoes for several hours yesterday (yes, looking for a job) and I’m sure that had something to do with it.

I’m remembering now about how much my ankle hurt when I did that speed workout that put me out of commission for three months back in ’06…different spot, but similar pain level…

OK, I’ll take the day off, ice the shit out of it and keep you posted.

Like I said, damn.

Let’s Slog

Dave — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:25:42 +0000

Working my way through another week–still have the mysterious foot thing off and on. I’m still pretty sure it’s cuboid syndrome, but don’t have the scratch to go get it checked out for sure. Main thing is, it doesn’t hurt when I run, so I continue to run and dote on it as much as I can the rest of the day.

I decided that, since I’m working on building mileage for the next few weeks, I should not concern myself with pace. Even if it means running embarassingly slow–there’ll be time to speed up later, don’t worry. I disabled all pace indicators on my Garmin watch, so I have no idea how fast or slow I’m running until I’m done and go back and pull up the stats. And within one day of this, I went from around a 9:00-9:10 pace to a 9:30-9:45 pace, so I guess I’ve been running too fast for my current fitness level. I swear, one peak at that pace and I feel compelled to speed up. All those years of running with Lori, I guess!

So it’s all slow stuff for another month or so, with the exception of some Brad Hudson-style short, steep hill sprints (like 8-10 seconds in duration.) Hudson says these build up leg strength and prevent injuries in the long run. We’ll see. I’m currently up to 2 sprints, twice a week. Will add another repeat every week until I get up to 8-10 reps….

Here’s how the week is shaping up:

Sun-5m

Mon-5m + 2 hill sprints

Tue–7m

Wed-5m

Thu-5m + 2 hill sprints

Fri-10m (37m for the week)

See you on the other side.

Another Week In The Books

Dave — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:51:36 +0000

9 miles this morning, low 9 minute pace, felt good–except for that last very hilly mile (builds character, I know.) Just a tad less humid than yesterday and I’m oh so thankful…31 miles for the week for the first time in a long time. Should be able to up that to around 35 next week if all goes according to plan. Farmer Foot in check–I think it actually feels better the more I run on it, but what the hell do I know.

Tomorrow’s a day off, then back in the game on Sunday. Firming up my training plans for the half marathon in November, will share soon….

Just Call Me Humidity’s Bitch

Dave — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:02:04 +0000

We’re in the middle of a particularly clammy summer week here in NC and summer doesn’t even officially begin until Sunday…dang.

Even so, I managed 7 slow motion miles yesterday and 5 more today. I felt pretty slug-like, I ran at a slug-like pace and I’m sure I looked pretty slug-like. The few other runners I passed all had the same nauseated expressions on their faces, so I know it wasn’t just me.

Fortunately the miles are in the bank and if I plug away at these crappy runs I’m bound to have a good one eventually right? Right??????

Give me a run in a downpour any day over this steambath b.s…..

I’ll be going for 7-9 more tomorrow for a 30+ week. We’ll see what happens!