I'm Leaving You

I saw this on another bloggers site and had to "borrow" it. (Thanks Mike H from Fatuous Drivel...from an ultradistance runner.) Great motivation...

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All Legs Report In

20.43 Miles. Mission Accomplished. I finally did it. A new PR for distance.

This last Saturday, I got my butt up at 4:30 AM for the longest run on my training calendar...a 20 miler! Going into the weekend, I knew it was going to be hard to get this one in. My wife and her two sisters (and the significant others) and myself, we're all headed to Napa for some wine tasting (OK, drinking) and we were scheduled to leave at 9:00 AM. I knew I wouldn't be able to run later in the day (due to not functioning). Sunday I had a golf tee time planned already with some old friends from San Jose, so early Saturday was the only chance.

Surprisingly, it wasn't too bad getting up and getting out. Weather was almost perfect for a long run...cool, but not cold where I'm bitching every few minutes. Started out at 5:00 AM running six 2-mile loops around the neighborhood. (~ 8:33 min/mi). At this point I was bored of the loops and also wanted to get off the pavement so I headed out to the levee for the final 8+ miles. The best part of this run was running on the levees with no wind. (Another benefit of running in the early morning). Once I hit the final mile, my IT Band started to feel like it was on fire and I struggled to get to the end. In the end, it took me 2:58 to finish the 20.43 miles (~8:42 min/mi). Took a seat in the pool for 10 minutes and then got ready for some wine adventures. Happy to say, the body felt pretty good the rest of the day. Just made sure that I drank plenty of water along with the plenty of wine.

Today (Monday), begins the downhill portion of the training schedule. This week is fairly similar to what I've been doing (minus about 8 or 9 miles) and then we really taper the final two weeks before the race (I can't wait). So here's what's on tap for the next few days:

Today (4/28) - XT for 60 minutes - Think I'll try the "Angie" Crossfit workout from last week - 100 pull ups, 100 push ups, 100 sit ups, 100 squats for time. That should keep me busy for awhile. Maybe hit the pool and just float around for a few laps.
Tues. (4/29) - Quality day - 8 x 800 @ 8:00 min/mi pace + 90-second recovery walk/jog
Wed. (4/30) - Easy 6 miles (Miles loves these)

Talk soon...

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20-Miler Approaching

Looks like it's going to be a beautiful day today in the Central Valley (California). Would be nice to get out and run today, but it's my day off so I'll save my legs for tomorrow. Yes, I will finally tackle my biggest and final long run hurdle tomorrow - the 20-mile run (probably push it to 21 so I can test breaking the psychoogical 20-mile barrier).

Had a nice easy 6-mile run with Miles (the dog) on Wednesday - Is it me or is it windier than hell this year already? Even the easy runs are starting to become a pain. Another good reason to get out in the morning - before the winds start to kick in.

Yesterday was a fun 7-mile tempo run (= 1.5 mi warmup, 4.5 mi at 8 mi./min, 1 mi cooldown). I managed to squeeze this one in at lunch, which is becoming extremely rare these days. I like the idea of running at that time, but I just can't seem to do it that often. My body's hunger usually beats out the desire to run. Come to think of it, the earlier in the day I run, the better my body actually performs. So when do I usually run? Towards the end of the day in the early evening. Go figure. I think that's why I'm going for the 20-miler in the super early morning tomorrow. Before I realize what I'm doing, I'll be halfway done already.

Hopefully, my next entry will discuss the glory of my 20-miler.

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Sure Would Help If I Did This More Often

As the title indicates, I really need to update this more often. I think it would help me clear out some thoughts and not have to worry about rehashing everything I did for the last week or so. Ok, I'm over it.

Anyway, I think I lost an update somewhere in there so I'm gonna pretend that a week didn't happen. So last week, I ended up doing a 15-miler on Sunday morning and it felt great. I ran only 6 miles total on Friday and Saturday and I was glad. My legs actually felt fresh for once on Saturday morning. Ended up doing the run entirely on the pavement - a first for me lately since I've been running mostly on fire roads and dirt trails. I actually wanted to continue, but due to time constraints (life, kids, wife, church), I had to stop. I almost forgot...I did the whole run without water. A bit stupid but it was a nice test to see how the body would handle it. I figured it was cool enough that it wouldn't be much of a problem and my house was close enough that I could make a detour and get a drink if I needed it. In the end, I was fine.

So far this week:

Monday: Ran easy 4-mile recovery
Tuesday: Quality run- 2 mile warmup + 3 rounds of (1200 @ 8min/mi, 1' rec, 400 @ 7min/mi, 3' rec) + 2 mile cooldown)

Planned for today (Wed): 6 miles easy with the dog

Tomorrow will be a tempo run and then the big 20+ miler on Saturday for the last loooong run until the 50k. Can't wait to start tapering.

Overall, health is good, weight is ok (not really losing much because I eat and drink too much).

Congratulations to all the Boston Marathon runners - especially Silly Lillie with her new PR of 3:17:45!

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Holy Hot Weekends!

This last weekend brought on the first official hot days of the year. (Somewhere around the low 90's). I know this isn't hot for Stockton (CA) in the summer time, but the body just wasn't ready for that right now. Of course, my planned long run just happened to fall on Saturday. My plan was to get out for a 20 mile run and then fall in the pool and die afterward. Well, I didn't get out early enough and my wife took the coveted morning workout spot (which left me with watching the kids). When I finally got around to attempting my run, it was already in the afternoon and the sun was way too hot. Long story short, I made it 12 miles before my fluids ran out and I just couldn't see how pushing it in the heat was going to do me any good. (Better to under-train than die). Ended up coming home and going right to the pool. Normally, 68 degrees is too cold for me, but it felt great. (I'll try the 20-miler next week)

Rest of my runs: (BTW...if anyone is actually reading this, I noticed that my dates last post were completely messed up at the end of the list)
Wed. 4/9 - Hills - Ran 8 total miles including the following hill sequence:
(2) 4% for 90" - 3' recovery run
(2) 6% for 60" - 2' recovery run
(2) 8% for 30" - 1' recovery run
1 extra minute of recovery run
(2) 6% for 60" - 2' recovery run
(2) 8% for 30" - 1' recovery run
(2) 8% for 90" - 3' recovery run
(2) 6% for 60" - 2' recovery run
(2) 8% for 30" - 1' recovery run
(hills were at 8:30 pace; warmup,recovery & cooldown at 9:30 pace)

Thu. 4/10 - 3 mile jog with the dog and softball night
Fri 4/11 - Swam 3 miles at the gym (legs needed an extra day off of running)
Sat 4/12 - Long run - Planned for 20 but the heat said 12. Pace: 9:45/mi (and melting)
Sun 4/13 - Easy 3 miles recovery

Planned for today: Quality --> 400M @ 5k (30" recovery); 800M @ 10k (90"); 1200M @ 10k (2'); 1600M @ 10k (3'); 1200M @ 10k (2'); 800M @ 10k (90"); 400M @ 5k (30"); 2 mi WU and 2 mi CD.

I was supposed to volunteer at the Diablo 50 miler this weekend but ended up having to cancel due to my wife's grandma being extremely ill. We ended up spending part of Saturday at the hospital visiting her. She is ok now but family definitely comes first before volunteering.

5 weeks to go until Ohlone!

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Still On Track (Knock on Wood)

This is week 11 of the official 16-week training program. It's been about a month now since my calf tried to die on me. I'm happy to say that's it been holding up nicely. (Begin anti-jinxing ceremony now). Since my last post, I've had some very nice workouts including another PR for run distance - 17.3 miles. Here is a recap...

Fri. Mar 28 - Long run day - Ended up pushing my 3.5 year old in the jogger for 10 miles instead of a 12-mile run. I'm not sure how smart this was. Turned out to be a grueling little run. (50 lb kid). Very happy afterwards and sore.

Sat. Mar. 29 - Easy 4-miles on the treadmill
Sun. 3/30 - Off
Mon. 3/31 - Quality Running - 8 miles including -> 4 x 1600 meters @ 10k race pace (~ 7.4 min/mi) with 3-minute rec
Tues. 4/1 -Easy 5 miles
Wed. 4/2 - Tempo run for 8 miles (~ 8 min/mi)
Thursday 4/3 - Off
Friday 4/4 - Long run - 17.37 miles (PR for distance). It did take me 2.5 hours but very happy the body held up.
Saturday 4/5 - Easy 3 miles
Sunday 4/6 - Golf - walked 18 holes (i.e. no cart)
Mon. 3/31 - Some Quality running - 7 miles total including -> 8 x 800 @ 10k race pace (~ 8 min/mi). My dog Miles did this with me and was beat. He tends to drink all my water.
Tues. 4/1 - Easy 5 miles with the dog

Today I have a tempo run scheduled for 7 miles. I'll probably do some hill work on the treadmill instead (Stockton is very flat). Time to start getting the legs ready for hills.

After a day off on Thursday, Friday is another long run day and I'm planning on cranking out 19 - 20 miles. Scary.

I'll be volunteering at the Mt Diablo 50-Mile run this weekend to get a taste of racing and to see some of the amazing runners I've been reading about.

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