Tuesday Tempo Run (7 miles - 59:32 - 8:30 min/mi)

Today had a multi-stage tempo run in store for me. I ran the standard ten minute one mile warm up. Then I ran 3 miles at my 10K pace (7:47 min/mi) followed by a quick recovery walk and then 2 miles at roughly my marathon pace (ranging from 9:13 to 8:49 min/mi). Another quick walk led to a last mile at my 5K pace (7:13 to 7:03 min/mi).

It felt good to attempt to run fast. I am still feeling a bit sluggish, but its coming along. I can feel the strength of my will returning. Ack, I am traveling soon and it will take me 3 days to reach my destination. I am going to have to run tomorrow morning if I am going to get any runs in at all until Saturday.

Sunday Long Run (20 mi - 3:13:48 - 9:40 min/mi)

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Sunday Long Run

The plan was to run the standard one mile warm-up followed by 19 miles this morning. I was supposed to run 13 miles at an easy pace then pick it up to goal marathon pace for the last six miles. Well, I totally forgot about the warm-up mile and ran 14 miles with my goal easy pace of 9:40 min/mi. I ran in 45 minute spurts. At the end of each segment I walked and ate a GU gel and drank some water. I completed the 14 miles in 2:12:00 a 9:25 min/mi pace. I then tried to pick up the pace to goal marathon pace. Mile 15 went by in 8:44. Mile 16 in 8:52.

I'd be happy with a 8:50 min/mi marathon pace. That would be a 3:51:26 marathon and a PR for me by 7 minutes. However, I could not hold the pace and started to run/walk the rest of the way home. I finished the run in 3:13:48, a 9:40 min/mi pace. Not bad given its my longest run since October 10th (my last marathon), but I need to get it together for the next marathon. Twenty mile runs (or thereabouts) used to leave me a bit of pain, but now I can run them, stretch and get on with my day.

Saturday Easy Run (5 miles - 47:34 - 9:31 min/mi)

Saturday Easy Run (5 miles - 47:34 - 9:31 min/mi)

I did my easy run today on my basement treadmill. I wanted to run outside, but circumstance would not allow that today. I put the five miles in like its my job and set my sights on tomorrow's 20 mile long run.

I picked up a box of GU Tri-Berry Energy Gels from REI today with hopes that they will make my long run tomorrow manageable. I haven't run 20 miles since October's marathon. I remember that the Tri-Berry flavor was my favorite from the samplings I have taken in the past. My plan is to run 14 miles at an easy pace and run the last six at my goal marathon pace.

All this running is about training for my marathons this year, but I have yet to sign up for one. I was going to run the 49th annual Washington's Birthday Marathon this year, but might not be able to make that one due to another commitment. I think I might volunteer, which would be my first race volunteering effort and could be fun. I am registered for the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run on April 11 and really want to do the SunTrust National Marathon on March 20. I really need a coach to prescribe for me a training plan to transition from this plan I am on that gets me ready for the marathon and one for the ten mile run.

Friday Elliptical Training

I didn't feel like running today after dinner at Ruby Tuesdays with the family so I used the elliptical in my bedroom while my wife watch the DVR'd Oprah show on texting and driving.

I did a variable intensity 30 minute routine and completed 1912 revolutions, which is according to my elliptical formula is 1.7 miles.

(((18 * 3.14159265) / 12) * 1 912) / 5 280 = 1.70645601

People don't text and drive, preferably don't talk on the cell phone and drive. As Holly Robinson Peete said,

"Honk if you love Jesus, text if you want to meet him."

Thursday On/Off Run (3.59 miles in 30 minutes)

I just ran a 30 minute program alternating 30 seconds at an easy pace and 30 seconds at a pace 30 20 seconds faster than my 5K pace. I alternated between 6 mph and 8 mph most of the time an occasionally let the easy pace drop to 5 mph and even 4 mph and the high end at 9 mph and 10 mph.

My average pace over the 3.59 miles I completed in 30 minutes was 8:21 min/mi.

Wednesday Easy Run (6 miles @ 8:45 min/mi)

New leadership position at work has been draining me. I swear my pace has slowed since this "promotion." I jumped on the treadmill tonight after spaghetti with the family and have realized something. Never eat spaghetti before running. I could feel it trying to come back up throughout the whole run. I can't believe that some people carbo load with that stuff the day before a race.

I am truly beginning to believe that my shoe's cushioning has broken down and that this might be the real cause of my slowdown. I have logged 700 plus miles on these shoes and need a new pair. I am going to use my per diem from my upcoming business trip to buy some new ones even if I have to eat Oodles of Noodles.

6 miles in 52:34 a 8:45 min/mi pace.

Tuesday Marathon Pace Run

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Tuesday Marathon Pace Run

Awesome day to run outside. I squeezed in an hour and fifteen minute run before I had to get the kids today. I was supposed to run my standard warm up followed by 1 mile at an easy pace followed by 8 miles at goal marathon race pace. I knew that I couldn't fit that in before school let out so I just ran from my front door around my old running path. It felt so good to get off of that treadmill and just go for a while.

Extra credit
I am now starting week four of the hundred pushup challenge. I did 32 consecutive pushups on the last set after a hard effort.

Sunday Long Run (10.2 miles in 1:40:00)

I prepared today to run my long distance run for 17 miles with the last 5 at marathon pace, but a cold rain drove me inside to the treadmill once again. A highly unmotivated week of running couldn't have ended worse.

I loaded up my iPod with George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones and began the long trek. A Game of Thrones was promised to be a good book and so far it is delivering. When looking for an image to put on today's blog entry I stumble up the fact that it is going to be a feature film this year. Coincidence I think.

At 9 miles in I decided to end the run when the time counter on my treadmill flipped after 99:59 I just couldn't do anymore. I have several times done double digit miles on the treadmill having flipped the timer. My treadmill abruptly shuts done and waits for you to restart it again when that happens. I've gotten a little wise to this and remember to not be sprinting at the time because it is highly dangerous. So, I completed 10.2 miles in 100 minutes today. I really don't feel bad about it because I might just need the break anyways.

Congratulations to Shalane Flanagan on her 1:09:11 half marathon win today at Houston. With her targeting the marathon soon we could be seeing an American win in one of the majors soon.

Friday Easy Run (6 miles - 58:46 - 9:47 min/mi)

Scheduled an easy run for 6 miles. Even though it was a nice day for once this Winter I couldn't run outside. So, I jumped on the treadmill to get this over with and boy was it hard. I barely had enough willpower to finish the run. Since my enthusiasm is low right now I need to start thinking about how to recharge. Not ready to take break yet, but considering it.

Thursday "on/off" training (4.75 miles @ 8:29 min/mi)

Running "on/offs" today. 30 minutes of running alternating 30 seconds at 20 seconds faster than 5K speed and an easy pace for 30 seconds. Doing this on the treadmill turned out to be pretty fun. Fooling around with the buttons took some of the monotony away.

With the standard warm up this run took 40:22 seconds for a distance of 4.75 miles. I alternated between 9 mph (6:40 min/mi) and 6 mph (10:00 min/mi) paces with some variance on the slow speed.

Fun workout. I think my soreness is over with, but I am courting an injury by not replacing these shoes 500 plus miles have been run in them.

Wednesday Easy Run (6 miles @ 9:00 min/mi)

Treadmill run tonight. I scheduled a 6 mile run with 4 accelerations in the workout, but as I ran I forgot to do the accelerations. Actually, I was really tired and couldn't wait to get the run over with. My groin pull is still a bit tender so the easy pace was set to 9 min/mi (actually 6.7 mph).

Total run: 6 miles in 54:02

I am still working on the hundred pushups workout plan. I am in week 3 and my last exhaustion test was 36 consecutive "good" pushups. I am definitely starting to see more definition in my chest muscles.

Its funny, I quit my gym again this year because it is expensive and I just didn't use it very often. Yet I am working out consistently and seeing the body shaping that I desire. I may have thrown away thousands on gym memberships over the years because I probably in the best shape I've ever been in and don't need the gym.

I tried to write my first haiku ever tonight. I know it sucks but here goes:
On basement treadmill. He runs swiftly to achieve. Goals in the future.

Good night!

Tuesday Interval Training (6 x 1600m @ 10K pace)

After eating tacos and losing a game of Sorry! to my 6 year old I plodded downstairs to put in my interval training run for the evening. The run consisted of my standard one mile warmup and was followed by 6 one mile repeats with 400m jogs in between each. The goal was run each repeat at 10K pace but my groin yelled at me when I ran at a 7:30 min/mi pace so I backed off to a 8:34 min/mi pace for the first two before daring to run 8:13 min/mi for the final 4 miles.

The total mileage for tonight was 9 miles at an average pace (including warm up and cool down) of 9:04 min/mi. The groin pull from this weekend's football game caused my to alter my stride some so I actually strained my left knee and right calf muscle. This soreness has already gone away, but I am going to keep the speed down a little this week.

Sunday Long Run (10 miles - 1:29:34 - 8:56 min/mi pace)

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Sunday Long Run (10 miles - 1:29:34 - 8:56 min/mi pace)

Awesome day today. My wife and kids joined me for the first time during one of my runs. We traveled to my new favorite running spot the WB&A Trail and let the kids ride their bikes for about a half mile while my wife, dog and I chased casually after them. I saw them back to the car so they could go off running errands and I began my run in earnest.

Today's run was a 7 mile marathon pace run. I missed yesterday's 4 mile easy pace run due to having a seriously sore groin from trying to effectively play defense in my playoff flag football game. Flag football had been in hiatus due to bad weather and my muscles controlling lateral movement have not been getting regular use. This is an argument for cross training.

Getting back to the run... I ran my standard slow, one mile warm-up and tried to pick up the pace. I felt my groin strain with every stride in the first few miles and since the trail had intermittent patches of heavy snow and ice I knew the marathon pace was not my goal - getting home healthy was. I ran the entire WB&A Trail for the first time (it is 5.5 miles long). On the way home I found that I would not be able to get back home within my projected miles, but didn't care as I could make up for some of yesterday's lost miles. I wasn't committed to running to failure, so as I got tired in the last few miles I allowed the pace to drop and even walked some.

The average pace for my seven mile marathon pace segment was 8:34 min/mi.

Training retrospective thus far

I have been doing my longer runs without fueling, only occasionally carrying Gatorade and/or water. I have been telling myself that I am doing this to train my body not to rely on fuel for longer periods of time, but really its because I hate to spend money and I have gone to a store to buy training supplements. I also need to get new shoes. My Buckeye Outdoors account has been bugging me about my own projected maximum mileage for over 150 miles. My right forefoot stone bruise is an indicator that the cushioning is breaking down.

Thursday 2 x 2000/800/400 meter repeats

Some stay dry and others feel the pain

Total miles/time/pace - 6.0 miles/51:22/8:33

Tonight I had to run 2 x 2000/800/400 meter repeats on the treadmill. Run 2000 meters at 10K pace, 800 meters at 5K pace and 400 meters at 10 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace, with no rest between distances. Jog for 800 meters between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging.

I did the 10K pace at 8.0 mph (7:30 min/mi). My 5K pace was 8.5 mph (7:03 min/mi) and that mettle testing final 400 meters was run at 8.7 mph (6:53 min/mi). The 2 miles that compose the repeats resulted in a 7:17 min/mi pace. Two sets of that really caused me to ask a lot of my resolve to run fast. I did it, I felt good about it.

Tuesday tempo run (10 mi @ 8:43)

Today is my oldest son's 9th birthday. Happy birthday Caleb! After enjoying a wonderful dinner of his favorites and then taking him to get a video game of his choice I jumped on the treadmill to pound out a 7 mile tempo run at my goal marathon pace.

The plan was to start my run with the standard warmup - a mile run at a 10 min/mi pace. I ran the next mile at an easy pace of 6.7 mph (8:57 min/mi). The next 7 miles were to be run at my projected marathon pace. I still don't know what pace I think I'll run at the next marathon, so I just ran 8 min/mi paces stopping to trot at 4 mph for 100 meters after every mile. This resulted in a 7 mile tempo pace of 8:21 min/mi, which I think will be acceptable in the marathon (a 3:38:46 finish time). Finally I finish the last mile at a very easy pace. The total mileage and time was 10 miles in 1:27:14.

Now it is time for bed. Good night.

A Frozen Long Run (14.01 mi @ 9:09 min/mi)

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Frozen Long Run

Planned to do a 15 mile run today. It was a windy 18 degree morning and I ran about 8.2 miles until I got to the neighborhood Starbucks and stopped to slurp down a Tazo® Chai Tea Latte before trekking back home. I really froze on the second half of the run as I was running directly into the wind and had to lean and put my head down to keep going. I actually ran about 2.5 miles with my left hand in my pocket to avert the frost bite I was feeling.

At mile 12 I ran into a serious hill climb of about 150 ft in a quarter mile. I will have to remember this hill for when I need to do hill training in the future. It really kicked my butt, I had to walk a lot in the last two miles on the way home. Home was at 14 miles and I did not feel like extending the run for another mile so I ended early.

Good first long run of the new year.

First run of the 2010 (5 mi @ 8:31 min/mi)

My first run of the new year was a scheduled easy pace run of 5 miles. I was aprehensive at first because my thigh chaffing episode from Tuesday is still a little painful. Thanks to Chris Russell of RunRunLive who has characterize this little malady as "chub rub" in his recent Twitter to me.

I got down to running on the treadmill after a morning of swim classes with the kids and reading a few pages from this month's technology book, Enterprise Service Bus: Theory and Practice. Easy pace for me is characterized by the McMillan Running Calculator as 8:50 to 9:20 min/mi based on my 10K time of 46:27. I set the treadmill to 7 mph because I like whole numbers and did a slight pickup to 8 mph to finish strong the last 400m. This gave me a time of 42:35 an average pace of 8:31 min/mi.

The chaffing didn't bother so much so I think I will give the scheduled 15 mile long run tomorrow a shot. I have got to remember to fuel right because I haven't run that far since the marathon two months ago. I just downloaded a new podcast SportsCast with Spidey and the Henchman so I'll give that a listen during the run.

Happy running!