3.5 miles - Easy

I think I overworked myself last week, so I've decided that this week will be an easy week. No runs longer than 5 miles, no speedwork or tempo runs. In fact, I'm not going to even time myself, just go out and run the distance and walk if I want to and enjoy the movement.

That being the case, today I did my 3.5 mile loop and did not push too hard. I had to stop four times - three times, briefly, for traffic (crossing Milwaukie Ave, 17th Ave, and Tacoma Street) and once for a drink from the water fountain at the north end of Westmoreland Park. The water stop was the longest and it was really only a brief stop of maybe 10-20 seconds, if that.

The weather the past week has been the suck - rainy and cold. But today it started out cold but got progressively sunnier and warmer as the day went on. By the time I went for a run, about 5:30 or so, it was plenty warm, even a little too warm with the humidity.

Overall it was a good run and I felt awesome afterward for being able to complete it so well. No music, just enjoying the exercise and air and the smiles of the pretty girls as I passed them...

7.0 BORING miles

Planned 7.0 miles today.

Raining outside. Hard. So I headed for the gym.

Ate a peanut butter and jelly bagel about 2-3 hours before running.

It was boring. And hard. It was basically a run/walk. I did make it to the halfway point having only taken 2 walk-breaks, though.

There was a bathroom break of about 15 minutes at the 4.9 mile mark (70% completed). I ate three Cliff Shot Blokz and drank a bunch of water. After I returned from the break I finished the remaining 2.1 miles at a jog/walk. Ugh. Legs felt like deadwood.

Then I did about 0.1 miles at a walking pace, stretched out, and I was done.

I did the miles. Not well, but I did them.

4.0 miles - speed work

Today was supposed to be for hill work, but due to the freakin' rain I instead headed to my gym where I attempted my usual speed work on the treadmill.

I probably overexerted myself last Tuesday with my rock-star performance, because the speed sections were difficult to maintain; I started with 4 minutes at an 8:34 pace, the next two were at an 8:49 pace, and the last one was 2 minutes at 8:49, 1 minute of walking at 3.5 miles per hour, then another minute at 8:49. Ugh.

The slow sections were all walking (3.5 mph, whatever the hell pace that is), with at least two breaks for water. Because of the warm temps and the rain, and because apparently my mutant power is the spontaneous generation of floodwater levels of sweat, I was both drenched and dehydrated.

I did my normal 1.0 mile of warmup and cooldown, at a simple 10:30 pace. The cooldown was after a brief 15-minute (heh) bathroom break.

3.0 miles - Easy (NOT!)

Last Friday, when I ran to work, I discovered myself running the middle portion of my run, after a warmup mile or so, at about a 9:18 pace, for 2.5 miles. Granted, it was flat and straight, on the Springwater Trail. But it still showed me that my mental limit of a 9:30 pace was... only in my mind.

On Sunday I had a long run and I didn't really push myself hard. Run slow to run fast, as they say - long runs are for building endurance over time, not speed. But tonight, I had a planned 3 mile run. And even though it was supposed to be an easy run, I wanted to see if I could duplicate Friday's burst of speed over 3 whole miles.

I decided to make use of the Springwater Trail; specifically the half-mile markers. The 3.5 mile marker is just north of where the trail crosses SE Spokane St., and runs down to the 1.0 mile marker just south of the Ross Island Bridge. I would only run 1.5 miles out then turn around and come back.

It was rainy but muggy and humid; it's been pouring rain for the past several days. I wore a short-sleeved shirt, shorts, my Brooks, and had my nano along for music (set on Shuffle but it picked a lot of Cake and Bad Religion which is OK by me).

It's over a mile walk to that starting point, and I only jogged a little bit, not even a quarter-mile, and stretched well, before beginning my speed drill.

My first half-mile startled me; I was just over four minutes! I kept pushing against the urge to slow down or stop and tried to stay focused and keep my posture and form in line. Breathing was difficult, but every time I felt myself struggling for air I just relaxed and tried not to think about breathing (harder than it may sound - I wanted the automatic function to take over).

I had my trusty Nike watch set to show split times, rather than total time, but even so I knew I was doing really well. I ran hard when I came into sight of the turnaround point and was able to keep a running pace when I did turnaround, rather than halting stride and walking. It was so difficult not to stop running and walk at the 2.0 mile point and again at the 2.5 mile point, where I gave in, briefly, and walked for about 10-15 seconds, before pushing again. Another burst of speed got me across the finish line.

And my total time was under 27 minutes! I believe that was the fastest 3 miles I have ever (unofficially) run. Here are my half-mile splits, with cumulative time:

1. 04:06.08
   
2. 04:28.62 (08:34.70)
   
3. 04:31.31 (13:06.01)
   
4. 04:43:59 (17:49.60)
   
5. 04:36.99 (22:26.59)
   
6. 04:32.20 (26:58.79)

I averaged an 8:59.6 pace! That's just incredible to me.

I look forward to my next good 5K time. Unfortunately, looking at the slate of races coming up this month, it doesn't look like I'm going to get a good chance to show my speed. The one 5K I'll be running, the Starlight Run, is going to be amazingly crowded; dodging all the other runners and walkers is going to take a toll and will likely slow me down in the first half, since I'm not an elite runner and don't merit being at the head of the pack. And the other two races I'm running are not conducive to personal bests; the Mt. Tabor 5K is steep up- and down-hill, and the Beat The Burnside is an 8K and is almost entirely downhill.

Maybe I can look at the schedule and squeeze in another 5K with a lighter attendance and a relatively flat course... I'm totally pumped to see if I can equal tonight's amazing, but not officially recorded, showing.

Long run - 7.0 miles

Wasn't sure what the weather would be today for my planned 7.0 mile run. The past few days have been warm, even hot. But the weather folks were predicting rain and cooler temperatures this weekend. I made plans to get up as early as possible to beat the heat.

Of course, then I ended up drinking and dancing all Saturday night, which meant that not only did not not get up early (dragged my self out of bed after 10 AM, which felt early) but I also nursed a mild hangover.

But thanks to my amazing capacity for alcohol, along with the miracles of 20th-century medicine, I soon overcame the headache and dehydration and was ready to head out the door. Temperatures were in the 60s, it was a bit cloudy and humid, but was still a good day for a run.

I did have music, a random selection from my nano, and wore my Brooks, a sleeveless red running shirt, shorts, and an American-flag-print bandanna on my head to keep the sweat out of my eyes.

I aimed for a slow easy pace, and used the first mile-plus (just until the water fountain in Westmoreland Park) to warm up. Stopped for water (11:04 mark, 'bout the same as last time), and then headed over the bridge into Eastmoreland and past Reed College. And up the hill to SE 39th Ave. Ugh.

However, I managed to make it all the way up the hill without stopping to walk, which gave me a good feeling, a feeling of having conquered that hill. Sadly, the rest of the route kinda/sorta kicked my ass, so the warm glow of accomplishment didn't last the whole loop.

All told, I stopped to walk or get water 12 times, which is better than I did the last time I tried this loop. I count that as an improvement, along with making it up the hill past Reed.

I did a several-block speedup along Halsey, just to push myself a bit. Didn't time myself or keep track of distance; did it just to shake up and wake up my legs.

I stopped for water and Shot Blokz at about the 51 minute mark.

Once on the Springwater Trail, I tested myself again by running a measured half-mile and timing myself. Did it in 0:04:50 (translates to a 9:40 pace) which felt pretty good for having run 6 miles prior to that! Don't ask what the next half-mile time was, though...

Total time today was 1:24:05, a little more than a minute longer than last time, dammit. Oh, well, focus on the positives: first hill, fewer stops total, still able to kick a decent pace towards the end if I needed to for a short distance.

Oh, and the most important positive: I finished. Yay, me!

5.5 miles - Run To Work

My goal for today was a tempo run, 5 miles total. Yesterday evening I realized that my run to work route, being 5.5 miles total, would work. Since I had to have a change of clothes waiting for me at work, I put together a pack of what I needed and dropped it off at my office (which also allowed me to have a delicious dinner downtown).

The weather Friday morning was cool and a bit humid, but no actual rain. Felt about perfect, actually (except for the humidity part but that's Oregon). I wore shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, along with a pack with my cell phone, debit card, bus pass and keys. I wore my nano and had it set to shuffle. It's loaded with my favorite exercising music and picked some great songs.

The idea of a tempo run is to warmup, then to maintain race pace or better for as long as possible, ideally at least 20-30 minutes. Since most of my route is helpfully marked off in half-mile increments for about 3.5 miles, and since my 5K race pace is 9:30 or so (on a great day), that meant that I should be doing about 4:45 half-miles.

After warming up on my way to the first milepost, and stretching out I headed out. The humidity caused a runny nose, which stayed with me the entire run. But my time for the first half-mile was 4:27! That was pretty fast for me. I pushed to try to maintain it, and I did manage to keep a 4:48 or better time for a total of 2.5 miles. For the record here are the times I recorded today:

1. 4:27
   
2. 4:39
   
3. 4:42
   
4. 4:39
   
5. 4:48

Unfortunately that's as far as my energy took me today. I jog/walked for the rest of the distance. But, still, 2.5 miles at an average pace of 9:18 is awesome for me.

Next time I run a tempo run, I'm going to aim for a 9:20 or better pace for 3 miles total. I know I can do it.

Speedwork - 4.5 miles total

Too hot to run outside. At least I thought so. Found out it was only in the mid-70s when I hit the gym, which would have been warm-ish-ly perfect. Oh, well, since I was planning on doing speedwork it was just easier to do it on the treadmill, rather than head out to the track.

Today, unusually, I wore my Fila running flats rather than the Brooks. I know, it's somewhat silly for a recreational 9:00-10:00 pace runner to be wearing go-faster shoes but it's more about putting me in the mental space to go faster, rather than eking out some tiny advantage over all the other elite runners. Plus, they're blind-a-fly-yellow and that's just fun, dammit.

The plan was: 4:00 at a "fast" speed, with a 2:00 slower speed (walking or jogging, since I haven't done speedwork in a while), repeated four times, for a total of 24 minutes of workout. That workout is sandwiched in between one mile slow-ish warmups and cooldowns.

I warmed up with a brisk walk for a minute or two, then adjusted it for a 10:00 pace. After 10 full minutes I wasn't at a mile so I finished the mile at about a 9:00 pace.

After getting some water, I was ready to begin. I guess. Have I mentioned I hate speedwork?

First fast section was run at an 8:34 pace (exactly 7.0 miles per hour). It went well but I became worried about doing that three more times. I slowed for the 2:00 section to a brisk walk for 30 seconds and then went to a 10:31 jog.

Second fast section was at the same pace and felt much harder to maintain. I was pouring sweat. I walked for a minute, then jogged for a minute, then got some more water.

Third fast section was run at an 8:57 pace (6.7 miles per hour), except for the last minute when I pushed it back up to 8:34. I stopped to get water, walked for the full 2:00 slow section... then walked another minute... another minute... got some more water... ugh.

Fourth fast section was run at an 8:57 pace... but only for two minutes. Legs felt sluggish and slow. I called those two minutes plus the preceding 2:00 my full 4:00 "fast" segment, feeling fully guilty for it, and then finished out my 2:00 "slow" section with about half walking and half 10:30 jogging.

Total distance covered during this part of the workout was 2.31 miles.

After a long-ish break in the bathroom and getting water, I came back to do my full mile cooldown, battling the inner Voice almost the entire time, but completing it. Started at 10:00 pace, slowed at about the halfway point to 10:31. When I had done that for 10 minutes, I had gone about 0.9 miles, so I pushed the pace up to 8:57 to finish off the mile briskly. Hard. Did I mention the hard? Ugh.

But I did do it. And if I keep including speedwork drills once a week or so I will improve. It's only a matter of doing it. These are just as important as the long runs and help me build up a faster turnover (which is the running term for how often my feet hit the ground) which is the one component of speed I can improve (the other is stride length and there's not much I can do about that).

Two week plan

My plan for the next two weeks is as follows:

• Mon: (last night) 3.0 miles (easy)
  
• Tue: rest
  
• Wed: 4.0 miles (speedwork)
  
• Thu: rest
  
• Fri: 5.0 miles (tempo)
  
• Sat: rest
  
• Sun: 7.0 miles (long)
  
• Mon: rest
  
• Tue: 3.0 miles (easy)
  
• Wed: rest
  
• Thu: 4.0 miles (hills)
  
• Fri: rest
  
• Sat: 7.0 miles (long)
  
• Sun: rest

That gives me 33 miles in two weeks, which seems light but what the hey.

No races coming up. I haven't been able to find a 10K close to Portland for the rest of the month, which is a bummer. I really wanted to do a 5K and a 10K every month for the rest of the season. There's one in West Linn (no link because it's a freakin' PDF that locks up my browser) called the Old River Ramble; it's on Sunday May 21st. If I decide to attend that one, then my last scheduled Saturday up there will be a rest day, and the race will be on the final Sunday, so not much change needed.

3.0 miles - gym

Too hot to run outside last night. If it's going to continue to be so hot, I should be running in the morning, or going to the gym. Last night I chose the gym.

I kept it dead-simple - 10:00 pace for the first two miles, then pushed up to a 9:31 pace for the last mile. Music was a random selection.

Thought about going another mile but I was already drenched in sweat (poor girl next to me) and didn't have a towel, plus I don't want to pile up too many miles early in the week because I'm going to do another long run next weekend.

Lake Run 2006

Sorry this update is so late!

The LakeRun 5K was Saturday morning. Weather was absolutely perfect, clear and just starting to get warm. There was quite the crowd; apparently over 800 finishers in the 5K alone; it's a popular event!

I ran with Max, and as I posted before, I was hoping for a personal best today. I came so close in my last race and felt I could do as well today.

I kept a steady pace for the first two miles, even through the mild uphill and downhills as we worked our way around the lake, although between the narrow lanes and the crowds of people I did a lot of weaving back and forth. Having to maneuver around folks was hard on my right heel, unfortunately.

Max stayed right with me almost the entire way. He fell behind a bit during the second mile, near the turnaround where the water stand was, but soon caught up to me. He panted at me as he did, "Hullo." Cheeky kid. Oh, so that's how it's going to be, huh?

Just past the 2 mile mark, there's a section that's slightly uphill, and then for at least the final half-mile or so it's downhill to the finish line. Ah, I remember this! This is why I was so fast last time. I let myself be pulled down the hill, picking up more and more speed, until I was going about 80% of my full-speed stomp. Again, Max stayed with me, mostly.

We came into sight of the finish line and I gasped my sighting to Max and we continued our headlong plunge down the hill. I was still annoyed at having to dodge so many slower-moving runners. We passed the 3 mile marker and Max kept going. I tried to, but was heaving and gasping for air and had to briefly stop. The Voice in my head, normally so negative, was urging me to run. I had no idea what my time was but didn't want to cost myself a good finishing time by pooping out within sight of the finish. I forced my legs to start moving again and crossed the finish line.

I didn't see Max finish but he was ahead of me. My dad was there, taking pictures, and when he saw me he called out. "What was your time?" he asked.

I had no idea and was exhausted and could hardly speak. "I'm too tired to think right now." I was, however, proud of Max for finishing ahead of me by several seconds.

For a brief few hours I thought my time (unofficially by my watch I showed 30:56 gun time, with about 31 seconds less than that for chip time) was again near my personal best. However, when I checked on it that afternoon, my personal best was 29:37, almost a minute faster.

According to the official results my chip time was 30:27, for a 9:48 pace. Max finished two seconds ahead of me and I believe that's a personal best for him. I'm so proud of him; if I can ever coax him into doing some regular training I think he'd be an awesome runner.

Long slow run - 5.0 miles

I know, I know, I kinda/sorta said I'd do hills or speedwork tonight. But I didn't. I did a long-ish, slow-ish run of 5 miles in my neighborhood instead.

My heel has been getting much better, and I've noticed it only seems to get worse when I start off... um... wrong. Wrong in this case means landing hard on my heel when I first start running. Tonight, when I was starting, I was extra careful to start off gently by leaning into the run and consciously trying to land on my toes. It worked, as even now, my heel is not sore at all. Focusing on my running form helped me immeasurably.

I timed my run but since this was my first time on this particular loop in a long time, I didn't remember where the half-mile or mile points were, so really all I got was my total time: 55:44 or thereabouts, or about a 10:54 pace. Like I said: slow. That time includes the many walking breaks I took, and the twice I stopped for water, and the several times I had to stop for a light or traffic, or even the one stop I did to say "hi" to a cute girl waiting at a bus stop (I stopped long enough to say "hi" and tell her that I thought she was beautiful, making her blush and thank me, before continuing on), so I'm totally OK with that time.

Not much to tell except that it seemed warm and humid tonight, and that even now my legs are tight and a little sore. Hopefully they'll relax and unwind tonight as I sit on the couch absorbed in "Lost".

Thursday and Friday are rest days. I plan on hitting the gym on Friday, though, but no running. And then, of course, the Lake Run 5K on Saturday with my nephew and running partner, Max.

4.0 mile run

My run tonight was significant. My route was my neighborhood 4 mile loop. Weather was a bit chilly (the Weather channel says it's 55 degrees but with the wind I swear it was colder than than 3 hours ago when I headed out), overcast and windy. I wore a long-sleeved running shirt and shorts. No music.

When I headed out my only goal was to finish the 4 miles, take it a bit easy on myself after my long 7 mile run on Saturday. I had the idea in the back of my mind to aim for negative splits - increasingly fast each mile. But I didn't have a specific time chosen.

I felt slow and creaky the first mile or more. My first mile was 10:01 which felt OK. Next mile was 10:02 but it included the worst hill (the one I use for hill work). I was just focusing on maintaining the momentum and not pushing too hard.

However, after that, I pushed a bit. I had the advantage of a slight downhill for next mile, winding through the streets and sidewalks. My breathing was a bit labored but I just tried to relax and drop my shoulders and not breathe heavier than I needed to. My feet, specifically my right foot and heel, felt great and not sore at all - all that hot/cold soaking has been helping.

I normally stop for water at the 3 mile mark - there's a water fountain that marks that milestone. I kept thinking that it's bad for me to stop there every time. It breaks my momentum and becomes a mental break point. I decided that I would mark my time but keep moving - there's another water fountain I can use if I need it another quarter-mile from there.

I marked my time at the 3 mile point but didn't even look at it. I kept running, slowing a little bit in pace to catch my breath but pushing again as soon as I could. It didn't feel blazingly fast but normally I have to stop to walk a bit during this leg. I didn't want to stop, though.

I did have to stop to cross SE Tacoma Street - stupid traffic. It was a relatively short break though. I did not mark the time I spent standing, nor did I stop my watch.

Legs felt heavy but I just kept them moving. From Tacoma to my finish line is only 4 blocks. I kept moving and in fact tried to pick up my pace even more. When I got within 2 blocks I pushed as hard as I could. It felt like about 80% of my flat-out run. I wasn't graceful and I was making a lot of noise!

But when I stopped my watch my total time for the 4 miles was 38:31.2! After my first two ~10:00 miles, I ran a 9:15.8 and a 9:11.6! I did it! Negative splits!

My average for the whole distance was 9:37.8, which is 16-17 seconds per mile faster than the last time I ran this course. It was an awesome run! I rocked!

Rest tonight and then some kind of speedwork or hillwork on Wednesday, then Thursday and Friday I'll take off in preparation for the Lake Run 5K on Saturday.

Forgotten run - 2.6 miles

I forgot to post about my run on Friday at lunchtime. Weather was good and warm, sunny. I headed out from my office around noon, navigated around the Cinco de Mayo festival, and ran one loop around the Waterfront. 2.6 miles per Google Earth. I tried to run hard, had to stop and walk several times, and ended up averaging a 10:00 pace. Oh, well, it was a total make-up run for missing my planned run on Thursday.

And afterward I felt sick to my stomach and even a little bit dizzy. Went away after I left work early and went home to sleep.

Been very tired and low-energy of late. I hope it will pass.

Second attempt at 7 miles

The weather was nice for a long run: cool, around 50 degrees, overcast. Slightly windy.

I headed out shortly after 9 AM. Was using 7-mile loop.

Short sleeves, shorts, Brooks (of course). A hat. No music.

First stop was at the water fountain at the north end of Westmoreland Park, around 11:00 in.

Kept track of how many times I stopped to walk: total 18. First five were before and during my climb up the first hill, up Woodstock to SE 39th Ave. Ugh. Why don't my legs want to keep moving? How can I get more fast-twitch muscle fibers? Or is it, after all, my lungs that are limiting me?

After the first 20 minutes, I tried to push myself into faster pace for 30 seconds or more at a time, just to push out the lactic acid in my legs. Did that about three times between the halfway point and the end.

Stopped for gels and water at around the 54:00 mark.

Total time was 1:22:57.3, making my average pace around 11:51. I'd like to compare my time this week to two weeks ago, but I didn't record the actual time. I think my pace last time averaged over 12 minutes but I have no documentation. Oh, well, next time.

No run tonight

I was supposed to run tonight but didn't.

I was nodding off on the bus ride home. When I got home I started to change into my running clothes but ended up taking my contacts out and laying down for a bit. When I woke up it was almost 7 PM, I was hungry, and my legs were sore - specifically my hamstrings for some dumb reason.

So instead of my semi-planned speedwork I went for a walk. Had 590 calories left for the day, so I got a Deluxe Cheeseburger (no mayo) from Mike's Drive-In (350 calories) and had an Oreo ice cream cookie for dessert (230 calories). Perfection.

Walked around my neighborhood, up to Moreland and back through Westmoreland Park. Lots of slow walking. Not speedwork.

Hoping I'm awake early enough to go running tomorrow before work. Or maybe I'll go running on my lunch break.

Short run - 3.0 miles

Short run tonight, in my neighborhood, just 3 miles. Weather was warm and sunny, but a bit windy. Wore shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. I did take my iPod nano, and played a bunch of stuff that makes me happy and energized, which helped keep me going.

My right foot is feeling much better, although still a bit sore, and I've been alternating cold and hot on it several times a day. It didn't bother me during the run at all.

I kept track of my time, and despite my allergies being slightly elevated lately I pushed myself a little bit - but still stopped a couple of times for a brief (30 second) walk or to get water at the 2 mile mark. I finished the 3 miles in 29:42, for about a 9:54 pace per mile. Felt good.

I haven't decided on a specific training schedule beyond

1. Run every other day
   
2. One "quality" workout (speed or hills) per week, alternating
   
3. One long run of 7 miles per week

So I'll keep up with those general guidelines for now. I'll probably do some kind of speedwork on this coming Thursday.

Next race will be the Lake Run 5K in about two weeks, hopefully with my nephew Max.