Saturday morning Steph and I completed a very exhausting, but very satisfying 11 mile run. It was cool, but got hot when the sun beat down on me. Like normal, my knee was tight feeling by mile 1, but it didn't bother me. It's just a dull ache, and a knowledge that things are in perfect operating order. As Steph mentioned, we finished at a fantastic 10:09 pace. We had a nice strong pace, with negative splits and by the end I was finished physically. For a change, I didn't feel like I could have continued for another mile or two. I was stiff and sore right away, but walking around the Ren Festival losened me up. Sunday morning my right knee was pretty sore. I had a hard time supporting myself getting out of bed. Later in the day, that knee was fine, but by night it was my left knee. I really think my soreness is muscular, based on the delay of my aches and pains. Fingers crossed.
I rested through till this morning, when Steph and I got in a quick 3 mile run at 9:20 pace. I felt strong at the finsh, not like I had pushed very hard. We got back in time to see Jannelle out the door and wish her a happy birthday. WOOT!
Things I will concentrate on for the last month prior to the race.
- Stretching. if not daily, as often as possible.
- mileage. I've really been slacking on getting in my 3 days of running. I will, of course taper when appropriate.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
11
Last weekend, among the busyness, we ran 11 miles. At a 10:09 pace. Pretty cool! The aftermath brought some sore legs, but we both seem to have managed it.
Today is Wednesday and we ran 3 short, easy miles at a... 9:20 pace! It's been a while since I've done that! I felt good. Not much coughing, but it was really hard to breathe at the end. I feel like my throat gets smaller and I find myself feeling like I am physically moving my chest in and out in order to get the air in there. The feeling didn't stop immediately after running either. I guess I will blame it on my allergies. The humidity wasn't there this morning, it was cool and beautiful.
We should register for the race.
Today is Wednesday and we ran 3 short, easy miles at a... 9:20 pace! It's been a while since I've done that! I felt good. Not much coughing, but it was really hard to breathe at the end. I feel like my throat gets smaller and I find myself feeling like I am physically moving my chest in and out in order to get the air in there. The feeling didn't stop immediately after running either. I guess I will blame it on my allergies. The humidity wasn't there this morning, it was cool and beautiful.
We should register for the race.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
You've been away doing WHAT??!?!
Wow, it really has been 6 weeks since my last blog post. Yikes.
Fast forward Benny-Hill style recap......
Spinning, running 8, spinning, running
Race a trail race! WHOOOO HOOOOO!!!!! only 75 seconds behind Greg.
spinning running 8, spinning, weigh in at 189
Nurse my knee, run 4, spin, nurse my knee
Spinning, running, running spinning, running 10 at 10:15, weigh in at 187
Spinning, running, running, spinning, run 6 at 9:35?
Plus or minus some running and spinning that pretty much gets us to the present. I think Steph is steering this half-marathon-training-boat in the right direction. I felt pretty darn good after our 10 mile run at what feels like a reasonably quick pace. I have no doubts that I could go out and run that 13.1 today if I wanted, but I'm please that we still have another month of training. I really hope that the race will not be as much a test to determine if I can make it that distance, but rather at what speed I can finish. I'm not planning to sprint or anything, but I like knowing that I shouldn't have to push just to finish the race. Kudos Steph... We've got 11 to go this weekend, and it's going to be beautiful out there!
Ok, so here's a funny story. For the last few weeks our in-house music has changed from a light rock channel on Sirius to a straight up elevator Muzak channel. It's terrible. Mild jazz, all instrumental... you know what I'm talking about. Luckily, we have the overhead speakers turned off here at the 'desk. My exposure to the Muzak is only when I'm walking the halls, taking care of business in the boys room, and in the locker room. Thankfully, this is at most a half hour of my day. Today the absurdity of it shone through. Let me see if I can set this up. I walked into the locker room, and noticed right away that it was busier than normal. The space isn't that large, maybe the size of our living room. I'm going to guess there were 12-15 guys in the locker room as I entered, all in various states of undress. It's a bit awkward when there are that many folks in there at once because you start running out of space to find a secluded locker not uncomfortably close to some naked guy. So, I find my locker and start getting dressed for class. There was an awful silence in the room, and I realized there was no muzak. All of a sudden I start hearing this crescendoing chime start ringing out of the speakers in the ceiling, which segues into Moon River. It was like the lights needed to dim and we should all be naked, by candle light. Everyone in the room suddenly felt how awkward the moment was, and we busted out laughing. Brad, standing there naked, turned to the guy next to him, and in his best radio voice says," This one goes out to you, John. You know how much I love you." It was hilarious. Oi Vey.
Spinning was pretty great yesterday. Karen was joking about how it would be a tough class. She said it was because her self esteem had been crushed by the Dr. and assistant at the eye glass store. I guess the way-older-than-her-Dr. kept mentioning that she was getting old, and then when trying to find frames similar to her old ones the assisant said they were all wrong for her face. So, to build her self esteem, she wanted to come in and have a kick-ass class. And it was pretty good. I found a few points to really push hard, and felt really good when I was finished. I think the spinning has really helped to push my cardio limits, and has been an all around great cross training exercise for running.
When I was finished, I weighed in at.... dunh dunh daaaaaaaaaaa! 184 woooooot!
11 miles tomorrow morning. Then, I turn 32 on Sunday. I've never been in better shape, and I hope to never let my body get back to the way it turned 31!
Fast forward Benny-Hill style recap......
Spinning, running 8, spinning, running
Race a trail race! WHOOOO HOOOOO!!!!! only 75 seconds behind Greg.
spinning running 8, spinning, weigh in at 189
Nurse my knee, run 4, spin, nurse my knee
Spinning, running, running spinning, running 10 at 10:15, weigh in at 187
Spinning, running, running, spinning, run 6 at 9:35?
Plus or minus some running and spinning that pretty much gets us to the present. I think Steph is steering this half-marathon-training-boat in the right direction. I felt pretty darn good after our 10 mile run at what feels like a reasonably quick pace. I have no doubts that I could go out and run that 13.1 today if I wanted, but I'm please that we still have another month of training. I really hope that the race will not be as much a test to determine if I can make it that distance, but rather at what speed I can finish. I'm not planning to sprint or anything, but I like knowing that I shouldn't have to push just to finish the race. Kudos Steph... We've got 11 to go this weekend, and it's going to be beautiful out there!
Ok, so here's a funny story. For the last few weeks our in-house music has changed from a light rock channel on Sirius to a straight up elevator Muzak channel. It's terrible. Mild jazz, all instrumental... you know what I'm talking about. Luckily, we have the overhead speakers turned off here at the 'desk. My exposure to the Muzak is only when I'm walking the halls, taking care of business in the boys room, and in the locker room. Thankfully, this is at most a half hour of my day. Today the absurdity of it shone through. Let me see if I can set this up. I walked into the locker room, and noticed right away that it was busier than normal. The space isn't that large, maybe the size of our living room. I'm going to guess there were 12-15 guys in the locker room as I entered, all in various states of undress. It's a bit awkward when there are that many folks in there at once because you start running out of space to find a secluded locker not uncomfortably close to some naked guy. So, I find my locker and start getting dressed for class. There was an awful silence in the room, and I realized there was no muzak. All of a sudden I start hearing this crescendoing chime start ringing out of the speakers in the ceiling, which segues into Moon River. It was like the lights needed to dim and we should all be naked, by candle light. Everyone in the room suddenly felt how awkward the moment was, and we busted out laughing. Brad, standing there naked, turned to the guy next to him, and in his best radio voice says," This one goes out to you, John. You know how much I love you." It was hilarious. Oi Vey.
Spinning was pretty great yesterday. Karen was joking about how it would be a tough class. She said it was because her self esteem had been crushed by the Dr. and assistant at the eye glass store. I guess the way-older-than-her-Dr. kept mentioning that she was getting old, and then when trying to find frames similar to her old ones the assisant said they were all wrong for her face. So, to build her self esteem, she wanted to come in and have a kick-ass class. And it was pretty good. I found a few points to really push hard, and felt really good when I was finished. I think the spinning has really helped to push my cardio limits, and has been an all around great cross training exercise for running.
When I was finished, I weighed in at.... dunh dunh daaaaaaaaaaa! 184 woooooot!
11 miles tomorrow morning. Then, I turn 32 on Sunday. I've never been in better shape, and I hope to never let my body get back to the way it turned 31!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Week in Review: 9/12 - 9/18
Sun 9/12 Disc golf at park near Galloways.
Mon 9/13 20 mile bike ride
Tue 9/14 2.5 miles on track. 1 mile warmup, 8x200s.
Wed 9/15 4 miles in 38:15 (9:34 pace)
Thu 9/16 off
Fri 9/17 off
Sat 9/18 6 miles at 9:50 pace.
running: 12.5 miles - um, that's not enough
bike: 20 miles
6 on a Cutback Week
Saturday's 6 miles went pretty badly for me. There was a potty break, and a few breathing breaks. Still managed under 10 minute pace. My legs hurt for the first half of it - the same really tight and painful feeling I've had before. I'm not sure what that means- dehydrated probably?
Work is going to be crazy Monday. I am hoping to do something in the evening be it the group ride or a ride by myself.
Work is going to be crazy Monday. I am hoping to do something in the evening be it the group ride or a ride by myself.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
A Speed Sandwich
After the 10 miles at a great pace, I certainly feel I'm at least getting stronger. Unfortunately, this week's track night was pretty much a bust. I've lost my discipline and motivation there. Not sure what it is, but it hasn't been fun for a while now. I warmed up a mile on Tuesday with the intention of doing 400s. I got to my first 200 meters and was mad and tired. I did it in 55 seconds. I didn't want to walk, so jogged very slowly for 200. I did this 5 times, then took a break. I did 3 more to make it an even 8. Those 3 were at 50 seconds each and I walked between them. I don't know. Back in June I did 6x200 at 50 sec each, so I guess it's not horrible. I just wasn't having fun. I didn't bother cooling down. I laid on the ground and did leg raises while I waited for Roman and Greg to finish.
Wednesday was speedy again. We did our 4 miles at 9:35 pace - our quickest 4 in training so far, so says the blog. I felt like we were going faster, but I also felt smooth. The end elevations get me, and I was still hacking a lot. But overall it felt great.
I didn't get to run today as I had hoped. There's something about Thursdays and work just getting rough. Maybe I can go for a short quick run tomorrow. 6 this weekend is going to feel like nothing!
Wednesday was speedy again. We did our 4 miles at 9:35 pace - our quickest 4 in training so far, so says the blog. I felt like we were going faster, but I also felt smooth. The end elevations get me, and I was still hacking a lot. But overall it felt great.
I didn't get to run today as I had hoped. There's something about Thursdays and work just getting rough. Maybe I can go for a short quick run tomorrow. 6 this weekend is going to feel like nothing!
Monday, September 13, 2010
20 Mile Bike Ride with Roman
Beeeeautiful evening for a bike ride. I met Roman at the monkey bar. He has Greg's bike right now because he's going to be doing the Morgan's Little Miami triathlon in October. His buddy he's doing it with has a road bike, so he doesn't want to be left in the dust on his mountain bike. So far he had gone on one ride, yesterday. His bum was sore, but I think he's in really good shape for biking because he's such a strong runner.
We headed north and I took him on the road route that we usually do on the shop rides. In South Lebanon we turned left off the trail and headed out to the roads. We rolled along ...uh... I really should probably pay attention to the street names. I was happy I recognized all of the turns though; I've never lead through those areas. After a few miles we were back on the trail, just north of Morrow, and headed back south.
It was a good ride. Most of our pace on the roads was 18 - 20 mph. We were going 16 on the trail going out. But going back I was distracted with talking and stopped paying attention to speed. Doh! But that's OK, it was still a really good ride. Ended up being 20 miles, which was just what I wanted to do.
We saw three packs of deer (are deer called packs?) while we were coming back. And I almost hit a chipmunk. It darted out and back twice before my bike. I was probably a foot from hitting it and braced myself for the squiiiish...but thankfully it didn't happen.
We headed north and I took him on the road route that we usually do on the shop rides. In South Lebanon we turned left off the trail and headed out to the roads. We rolled along ...uh... I really should probably pay attention to the street names. I was happy I recognized all of the turns though; I've never lead through those areas. After a few miles we were back on the trail, just north of Morrow, and headed back south.
It was a good ride. Most of our pace on the roads was 18 - 20 mph. We were going 16 on the trail going out. But going back I was distracted with talking and stopped paying attention to speed. Doh! But that's OK, it was still a really good ride. Ended up being 20 miles, which was just what I wanted to do.
We saw three packs of deer (are deer called packs?) while we were coming back. And I almost hit a chipmunk. It darted out and back twice before my bike. I was probably a foot from hitting it and braced myself for the squiiiish...but thankfully it didn't happen.
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