Thursday, January 31, 2008

End of The Day

I just got in a nice 3 at the end of my work day. I hadn't planned on going after yesterday's drudgery but tossed my gear into my car anyway. I listened to my body and it said go for it. It was nice and the scenery was great -- I went out pretty hard, and thoroughly enjoyed it. My contract in Newburyport ends tomorrow, so it will be a while before I run up here again.

Lunch Run

I got in a nice five miler today at lunch. It felt good to get out on a nice day after freezing rain yesterday and mixed precipitation on tap for tomorrow.

Nothing more to add. Just posting to keep up the momentum that Agricola is driving.

Let's get this blog crankin'!

(Yes, I am a dork, but you all know that.)

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Lessons Learned

1. Don't eat Indian food the day before a run.
2. Hydrate better when working from home
3. Don't bookend 4 runs (21 miles) with 5 milers pushing Child Two in the Stroller.

I'm working from home today so grabbed a 5 miler at lunch. It was pure misery. I had no rhythm, no stride and never got comfortable I got in the miles but I'm going to reconsider tomorrow's three I need to pace myself more perhaps because today's performance was sub-par.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Chilly Three

I got out this AM for the required three. It was actually a bit more than three and a bit less than my typical 3.3 -- I stopped at the bottom of my street and then walked off the run to my front door. I did the 3.2 in ~28. It was a good little trot, if chilly, and I felt good after my 8 miler on Sunday. I'm not sure why I stopped where I did, it felt strange, but I figure that I'm going to stick to the plan as much possible and see what happens. I've posted my training log on the web, and I'll update each day that I run so that you can see my progress.

(I loaded the spreadsheet onto Google Docs and then published it to the web -- it's pretty cool functionality and just one more example of the "social" web. There's nothing personal in the spreadsheet so it's not too weird, I don't think. Plus, it's sort of like research for my day job. It will update automatically and you can even get an RSS feed for the thing. The open platform will someday replace the desktop application, I think.)

Speaking of technology, I don't have any data because I lost my HR chest belt right around the time I got hurt -- I found the strap, but I can't find the business end of the thing so I'm taking a very casual approach to the timing and data stuff. I might suck it up though and invest in a new one -- I really like having the data and the log of my runs. I lost the first HR belt I ever owned and did invest in a new one. It seems that I lose the first version of each belt that I buy, and then replace it. That's a good habit . . . 5 miles tomorrow!

Monday, January 28, 2008

Big Weekend

I did 5.2 on Saturday with Child Two in the jogging stroller. I had him bundled up and had the rain shield down to keep the wind off of him so I couldn't completely hear all of his patter but he kept up an almost continuous stream of commentary for the whole run. We went later in the day and he kept saying how it was getting dark, and it was nighttime. It was fun. There were a couple of stops to adjust his Froggy Friend and his blanket and I covered the distance in 49 minutes. Not blazing, but not bad either, and thee was a point along the route where I really felt the joy of running. We were on long, straight, flat, quiet road -- running basically down the middle -- and I wasn't thinking about much except the great sense of motion and movement I was feeling at that time.

Sunday was a different matter. I went out in a pretty stiff snowfall and did 8.1 in a glacial 88 minutes. Traction was lousy, visibility was lousy in parts as I ran into the wind and the route I picked was hilly. I walked every 1.5 miles or so and swigged my water and I brought a light snack of pretzels and yogurt-raisins and this helped my energy, though I have to admit that right now this distance is a bit longer than I feel ready for. I don't know how much to factor conditions into this pace, but they definitely impacted me. Never the less, I got out and did it to it. I had hoped to be covering 20 miles/week for a month prior to training but now I'm finding myself ramping up training mileage and training for a marathon at the same time. Not optimal, and not my usual method, but I figure the best way to get fit is to push and go long.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Weekend 5

Just a quick post to jot down my 5 miler this weekend. I went at about 3:30 yesterday, and it was a beautiful time of the day.

Missed my first long run of my schedule today, but I'm cutting myself some slack. After all, I only just realized I was on the schedule. Next weekend I'll be sure to get back on the long run kick. Until then, it'll be about the weekday quick jaunts.

Friday, January 25, 2008

It's On

Agricola's post inspired me to get out at lunch today. I did about 5 miles, and it's a good thing. I also broke out my marathon training schedule and realized that my 18 week program started on Monday! Yikes. Here we go boys!

Feeling It

I took a run at work yesterday -- I went out at 4:10 PM and ran for about 32 minutes and covered 4 miles so I hit what I think is a pretty decent 8 minute mile which surprised me. What I was happiest about was that my pace picked up on the second half which is always my goal on an out and back. It wasn't totally comfortable but it was a good discomfort -- I was breathing hard but it was a good hard and it was familiar. Yesterday's run was a good, confidence builder and I"m looking forward to the next run. Today is ankle stretching and rotation.

On a related note I woke up early on Wednesday and Thursday -- 6 AM -- and I'm feeling good about getting back on the morning running train. It's all about habituation, and it's time to re-habituate to earlier waking and running.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Running with Friends

We had friends up from Hingham this weekend, one of whom is a newly converted (and strong) runner. She was determined to run two of the three days, and I was happy to oblige -- more to catch up on the friendship than for any particular running ambition, although I am gearing up to officially start training. The two runs were on scenic back roads and at a solid pace. As is usually the case when running with a friend, the miles melted away while we reminisced and talked shop about running, training and life in general. They were great runs that left me wanting more. If the sentiment sticks, you'll read about it here later this week.

The numbers from what I just realized was an extremely active three days off:
3 days
2 runs
10 miles
8 minute pace
5 snowboard runs
1 hockey goal
4 beers
1 martini (2 olives)
1 Pats victory

A solid weekend, for sure.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Long Road

I went out today. It was painful, not painful for the ankle per se, though there was some pain in the joint, but from a conditioning standpoint. I've lost a lot of fitness. I ran about 4.2 and did it in about 36 minutes. It was a pretty good pace but my CV isn't up to it right now. It seems to me that my legs remember how they want to run, but my heart and lungs don't. It's kind of disheartening, but I've just go to embrace the process -- seems like I've been saying that frequently since November . . . oh well. One thing that's helped my ankle has been some self-administered PT -- I'm flexing it and extending it, rotating it from left to right and right to left. This has resulted in more flexibility and less pain. Embrace the process. Embrace the process. Embrace the process. And the cold -- it was chilly today, but nice.

GO PATS!

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Run

Ok, I did it. Yesterday, I went out for a 5K run. It wasn't in any plan, but it was such a beautiful day, and I had my gear in the car, so I finally got a first run of the year in. The run was uneventful. Mainly, I just observed my body, felt the rust, and realized it will take a little doing to get the wheels rolling again.

I will say this. LDT helped get me on the road, provided an incentive. Writing and reading along here does motivate. The thing's working. Kudo's to Agricola for starting the dialogue.

Cool Site

I found a cool site today: Map My Run.com.

I know that we have Google pedometer linked here, and it's very cool, but this one is nice too. Map my Run is quite a bit more slickly built atop the Google Maps API. You can leave notes on the route that appear when you print, mark things like water, toilets etc. you can also share the route, search other folk's routes and one of the coolest things of all is the elevation feature. Enjoy.

I was supposed to have run today but was lazy. I have a lunch meeting today so I can't go at lunch -- too bad. I've go to go tomorrow, regardless, so it will be up before the light and on the roads, hopefully. I'm really struggling with the winter morning runs. I was hoping they'd be easier, but the ankle injury set me back and it's tough to get out there right now . . . I need to build some momentum.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Bike and erg

Hi all,

Long time no post and I actually got out to the gym the other day. Bike and erg for a 1/2 hour. Felt good, but my ankle is still swollen. Can you believe it? 3 months! Need to ice and then get back and continue working. Good post Agricola. Just keep on moving. It doesn't matter - keep on trucking. Happy New Year to all!

Rarities

So this post contains a bevy of rarities.

I actually went out and ran two days after a prior run -- I went on Sunday as well.
I went running on my lunch break.
I went running in Newburyport, towards Plum Island -- I've never done that.
I saw huge hawk in a tree right near the Plum Island Airport.

I went out on Sunday for a 32 minute run. I told myself I'm not going to publish a post unless I go again on Tuesday -- the once/week running post is silly. I set my alarm for 6 AM and turned it off at 5:52 AM -- Child Two called out and woke me.
I tried to get up at 6:20 but it was dark . . . I wimped out. However, the weather is outrageously balmy today, pushing 60 F, so I threw my gear in my bag and went for it.

Sunday's run (3.7 in 32:16) was better than today's (3.5-4.0 in 30:25, I'm not sure where I turned around) which was hard. Maybe it was the warmth. Maybe I was bonking a bit because I was hungry. Maybe I'm just not in great shape right now. One thing running has taught me is humility -- there is no replacement for miles not run and you've got to work your way back. The ankle hurt pretty good at the beginning but feels OK right now. It's really something I need to monitor.

The view on this run was lovely -- I ran along the Joppa Flats at the mouth of the Merrimack River and the water was glass flat and a beautiful winter blue. The flats teemed with sea birds and geese and it was really great.

Newburyport, MA from space