Staycation Week

I'm psyched to see so much activity on the blog in my off-week.  I completely unplugged starting on 8/15 and didn't log-in again/open a computer until this morning with the exception of 15 mintes to pay some bills last Wednesday.  That said, I had a pretty good week of exercise.  I'm doing a mini-tri (400 yard swim, 5.3 mile mountain bike trail ride and a 2.3 mile trail run) on 9/7 so you'll notice some more activities creeping into my regimen.

Sunday 8/17
This day marked a big shift for me -- I left New Balance and purchased a pair of Mizuno running shoes.  I'd not been psyched with my NB 1222s (they've been replaced in the NB lineup by the 1223s) but I ran on them a long time and ran them into the ground.  I'd loved the 1221 but felt it was time a for a change so I didn't just make the jump to the 1223.  I purchased the Wave Inspire 4 They are light and fit great and offer moderate support.  My older sneakers had been giving more support but my visit to Marathon Sports and a gait assessment revealed that the mechanics of my footfall are solid.  My over-pronation is only moderate and the fact that my shins are slightly bowed outward helps to  minimize the pronation.  I'm happy with the shoes.

I did a short swim of about 110 yards to test out the muscles and see how it would feel to swim a bunch.  Cardio-vascularly speaking it was fine, but my muscles -- esp. the deltoids -- were screaming.

Monday 8/18
I tested out my new shoes and took a 36 minute run.  The shoes felt good and I felt good.

Tuesday 8/19
We belong to a pond about 15 minutes from home and there is a triathlon training group meeting there prior to the tri which will take place on the pond and in the reserve.  We started with a 400 hundred yard swim (the tri distance) and then transitioned to a 30 minute trail run.  The swim was hard on the muscles but I never felt in danger of drowning.  I threw in a couple laps of breast stroke to rest the afflicted freestyle muscles.

I thoroughly enjoyed the run.  I went with a group of folks who were going for 3+ miles and we kept a nice pace.  I was near the front of my group and loving the trail run -- it's so much more vivid than the roads because you've got to be really aware of the ground etc.  It was fun and I felt good.

Wednesday  8/20
Rest Day

Thursday 8/21
I ran by myself for 31 minutes on the trails.  My pace was problematic and my HR monitor wasn't working great -- it wasn't recording my date for nearly half the run, though it was on.  Anyway, the run, alone in the woods, was cool but I was lucky to make it back and not get lost.  I'm not actually sure how I actually navigated my way back to the return trail but I did.  I mention my pace because on the group run I felt good and felt like I was back to my old self.  This run made me question my fitness level again and I'm not sure what's up.

After returning from my run I did a 450 yard swim.  I did only two lengths of of breat stroke and 8 of freestlye.  I felt stronger and tighter in the shoulders and chest and feel good about the swimming.  I added in an extra length for good measure -- just to over-distance a bit so on the day of the tri I won't be crying at 375 yards . . .

Friday 8/22
Museum of Science butterfly room and dinner with friends.  I managed to undo some of my good work during the week with Dark and Stormies and a cigar!

Saturday 8/23
I did a 450 yard swim again.  I felt even stronger and more confident after this one -- it took about 17 minutes.  I'll not be setting any world records but I'm enjoying the swimming.

Sunday 8/24
I headed out Sunday AM and did a 40:47 minute road run.  I'm not sure of the distance, it's somewhere in the range of 5 miles.  I did my out and back on which I usually take Child Two but I ended up going further.  I got to my normal turning point at 18:50 and so went a bit further out.  I went out in 20:43 and back in 20:04.  This is where the pacing thing got weird.  In the middle of the out-leg I focused on my stride and my push-off.  I felt as if I were gliding.  On the way back I felt slow and gassed.  I don't know what's up.  I feel as if I'm trying to bite off more than I can chew right now and putting pressure on each run to get back in better form even though I know that I can't do that.  It's odd, running is sort of up and down for me right now and that may be why I'm enjoying the swimming so much. 

Tomorrow, 8/26 I'm doing a swim bike workout at the pond and am psyched -- I got new off-road tires and invested in toe clips.  I'll be outside tonight and practicing on those.

Mmmmm....Gear....

S'up, boys.

Got new running shoes today.

Went to Jackrabbit's, on 14th Street. Had my gait analyzed.

Wearin' em now.

Cool.

Numb Hands

Time: 30.57
Avg HR: 149
Peak HR: 175
Calories: 478
Distance: 3.8
Start Time: 6:49 AM
Training Effect: 3.7
Temp: 40 F
Date: 9/13/07

Today was the coldest morning in a long time -- I put on a long sleeve top and wished I'd had a bit more insulation . . . before I start saying things like "winter's coming . . . blah blah blah . . . " let me just say that it's supposed to warm up again at the end of the week and then get chilly again. My hands were pretty numb today at the end of my trot, and, actually, feeling and normal movement didn't return until after my shower -- my joints were stiff from the cold. I had a little forgetfulness today: I was running along, thinking that I'd do my 4 mile loop but I got the cut-through street wrong (how many times have I run that route?). As I made my turn I was surprised at how quickly I arrived at the street -- that's because it was the wrong street, two blocks short of where I wanted to turn. I guess I wasn't fully awake yet. Another thing about today's run was that pebbles kept getting stuck in my treads, right on the ball of my foot and I had to stop a couple of times to scuff my shoe bottoms on the curbs to free the pebble.

Back At It

Time: 32.17
Avg HR: 153
Peak HR: 174
Calories: 464
Distance: 4.02
Start Time: 6:19 AM
Training Effect: 3.81
Temp: August morning chilly
Date: 8/22/07

Well, I got back at it this AM with a rather brisk trot -- both in terms of pace and temperature. August mornings, such as today's, always remind me of being a kid and working trees -- the mornings near the end of summer were always chilly. I like it. It's a good way to prep for fall, less sun, and more cold. It's amazing how fast the summer has gone. It doesn't seem like that long ago that we were celebrating the return of warm weather . . .

I felt pretty good but I did feel a bit of a drop-off from my hiatus. I'm not sure it's related to the time off, per se, but more likely the result of my mysterious cold/allergy bout. I'm still mighty congested, and this AM was the first in the last 6 that I actually felt up to running. I needed to get out regardless though because I definitely felt laziness sliding back into me -- it's nice to sleep in, it's nice to have an extra 40 minutes in the AMs . . . be gone laziness! Run! Run! Run!

I put on new shoes today for the first time in years, literally. I got the next gen of my New Balance 1221s, the NB 1222. They seem pretty good, but the lacing system is a bit different than the 1221s, and I wasn't able to get them as tight, in the right places, as I wanted to -- that will come with breaking-in though. My other shoes were so old, that NB is actually up to the 1223 -- I got these at the NB outlet. I loved the 1221s and am sad to see them go.

Monday Quickie

Time: 26:20
Avg HR: NA
Peak HR: NA
Distance: 3.3
Start Time: 7:00 AM
Training Effect: NA
Temp: 62
Date: 6/11/07

Familial commitments kept me busy all weekend so no running got done. I got back on the trail this AM -- a Monday run is an accomplishment for me. I couldn't find my HR belt so have no data beyond time and temp today. I almost bailed when Mrs. Agricola snuggled in after I got Child Two back down for a bit at 6:09. I rolled out of bed at 6:40, futzed around looking for the HR belt and finally just went out and ran.

This may be totally psychological on my part, but I actually felt better without the HR monitor working and I went relatively hard and felt pretty good. Another thing I've been thinking is that I need new shoes. My shoes are literally 34 months old. With my hiatuses from running I've not been on top of my footwear situation. I think that's a big reason my legs feel shot.

Running Rule: When the under-sole is beginning to show through the outer sole, it's time for new running kicks.