What Goes Up

...must come down.

And up.

And down.

And up...

I headed to the trailhead about 11 this morning, and as soon as I got in the car, I was beset with hunger, my breakfast having been incinerated quickly in the two hours since breakfast. Half an hour later, waist deep in my hill repeat workout, my heart rate up past 170, I was thankful that I was unable to find food in the car. In all likelihood, had I been able to locate some snack, I would've seen it on the hills I was running.

All in all, I ran 9 hill repeats, on a pretty steep hill in Griffith Park. This was done on rubbery legs from last night's 5 miler and leg workout.

I feel like I'm finally getting in shape, (knock wood), but I'm a bit worried about Big Sur coming up.

Sore

Today was an easy 5 miler and a leg workout afterwards. My hamstrings are pretty tight, and my hips are pretty sore.

Catching Up

I'm sore. Every morning I wake up, my first few steps are stiff and painful. I'm guessing everyone who trains for marathons or hell, just pushes themselves out of their comfort zone with their training, suffers the same fate. Joggers, not so much.

Sunday I did a light workout, I biked a mile or so just to warm up, then did some chest and a little arm workout (Little being the operative word. I just can't seem to get them any bigger. I am, for better or for worse, completely built like a runner now). Monday, I did an easy 6 miler that I finished at the gym, then did leg work and some core. I always walk like a cowboy after that. Tuesday, brought me "Slow Death" 12 times. That's one minute VERY hard, one minute recovery, 12 times. I did the repeats on the treadmill, and ran 9 of the repeats at level 10 which worked out to a 6:00/mile pace. I then finished up with a 1/2 mile cool down, stretched, and walked home.

Today is an easy 5 miler, with no watch, and then more legs and core.

Dr. Scholl's Modeling Contract

I hope you weren't eating while you read this.  If so, I apologize for the nasty photo of my feet. Hell, even if you're not eating, I should apologize.   If you can believe it, my sister has even worse looking feet... and she's not even a runner.  She's got these talons... gross.  However, in her defense, she also doesn't have black toenails on each foot.  

Morton's Toe is when the second toe is longer than the big toe.  It causes the person with it to toe off on the second toe.  Sometimes it might rub on the front of the shoe, or it just fires constantly, flexing, hundreds of time during a run and irritating the nail.  It's hereditary, and when you run, it usually brings on this condition:

NASTY!

Actually, this isn't nearly as bad as it gets.  I've got photos of my feet after marathons where the toes are black, and there are blood blisters as well.  Why does one have photos of their messed up feet? I guess it's just a silly badge of honor thing between me and a buddy of mine.  A "check-out-these-hamburger-feet" kind of thing.  The remedy for such a problem involves a safety pin, the tip heated up over a flame, and then screwed into the nail, being careful not to totally pierce the nail bed underneath.  The heated pin melts the nail, and the pin leaves a little hole in it to lessen the pressure and release the blood that's trapped under the nail.  I should probably do this today, as the one on my right foot is especially sensitive after yesterday's 10 mile time trial run.

Speaking of which, it looked like this:

10 miles

1:17:07

1056 calories

Average 7:43/mile

Heart rate 168/bpm

It was a negative split run, so I was happy about that.  The first half of the run I ran in 39:29 and averaged 7:54/mile and the second half I ran in 37:37 and averaged 7:31/mile.  

All things considered, the cold I caught and the last two weeks off I had, I felt pretty good about this run, but it also showed me how much work I've got ahead of me before Big Sur in two months time.

Welcome Back!

"Hey, Red, where ya been? We've missed you.  C'mere for a second... I wanna talk to you."  

And then,

WAMMO!  

I had basically taken 2 weeks off for that cold I had caught.  I could've come back sooner, but honestly, with all the crap thats going around, (seems like people are hacking, sneezing and looking like crap everywhere I go these days), I just wanted to make sure I got rid of the damn thing.  So, I slowly worked my way into this past week.  Over the weekend, I had a short, light workout at the gym.  Monday, I did upper body and stomach, again, at the gym, only worked out for like 40 minutes, tops.  Then, tuesday came and brought with it, the first REAL running workout I'd had in two weeks.  It was my 800's workout.  1/2 mile repeats, run at 7:00/mile pace, or faster.  I might also add, it's the last workout I did before I caught The Cold.  

Surprisingly enough, I felt pretty damn good, in fact, I felt better running it this time than I did two weeks ago when I ran it... I guess it was because I had that cold.  I finished the run with a leg workout:  squats, leg extensions, leg curls, and walking lunges.  And then, for some stupid, inexplicable reason, (probably "in the interest of time"), I didn't stretch.  How stupid AM I? 

Due to scheduling conflicts and permeating soreness south of the equator, I blew off wednesday's easy 6 miler, but ran thursday's 4 mile negative split on the treadmill at the gym, and followed it up with more leg weights... and then, AGAIN, neglected any semblance of a REAL stretching routine afterwards.  Needless to say, my back is pretty tight today, and I deserve all the pain I'm in right now.  Every ounce of it.  Stupidity.  Plain and simple.  I'm headed out the door in a few minutes for my 10 mile time trial.  I'm sure it will be an adventure.  

A Cold...Still

I haven't worked out in nearly a week.  Turns out it was a cold, and I gave it to my wife.  I'm feeling so much better today, but I'm seeing a lot of sick people at the grocery store, on auditions, etc., I just want to make sure I shake this damn thing before I get back to running hard again.  I'll probably go to the gym for some bicycle riding tomorrow, and slowly work back into it over the weekend, provided, of course, that I continue to feel better.  Perhaps next week monday I'll get back on the schedule.

Ya Gotta Love Them Sinuses

Yup, it's been a few days.  On Monday I rode about 3 miles on the recumbent bike, and finished with weights on my upper body.  (still no evident progress on that, but it hasn't been too long) On Tuesday, with a scratchy throat, I ran 1/2 mile repeats, 5 times at about 7:00/mi to 6:40/mi.  I then finished up the workout with squats, hamstring curls, leg extensions and 40 walking lunges.  

I then went home, ate dinner, and proceeded to watch my sinuses implode.  I was up all night.  It was not pretty.  I'm not sure if it's a cold or not.  I'm not sure if it even matters.  I've lost the last few workouts.  I'll probably wait until next week to pick the workouts back up.  It sucks, but if I AM sick, and it's not just sinusitis, then I want to make sure I am well before I pick the workouts back up.  (sigh)  

New Skips

I haven't posted in a few days.  

Thursday, I ran 7 miles on the treadmill, and finished with leg work and abs, friday brought an easy 5 miler and upper body work.  Saturday was a rest day, which brings us to yesterday's long run.

It was a 15 miler on the road in new shoes.  I gotta tell ya, I felt pretty good, with no problems from the sinuses or stomach.  I forgot to turn my watch on after a stop at a stoplight, and missed close to a mile, so in reality, it was closer to a 16 miler.  

I finished the day with a Superbowl party, lots of guacamole, wings, dips, beer, and cookies.