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.  

Progressing & Pressing

This morning, I "enjoyed" a 6 mile progressive run followed with upper body weightlifting.  I ran on the treadmill, with a 0.5 % incline (to simulate the wind resistance of running outside) and these are the splits:

8:26/mi

8:06/mi

7:53/mi

7:47/mi

7:41/mi

I split the last mile into two halves and ran them as such:

7:35/1/2 mile

7:30/1/2 mile

I then did 3 sets of shoulder presses, lat pulldowns, shoulder raises,  tricep extensions and core exercises.  

Changing Gears

My coach has got me changing gears a bit.  My marathon is in April and starting this week, I'll be doing twice-a-days, (or longer once-a-days) by running and then finishing up at the gym, lifting weights.  The marathon I'm running in  April is in Big Sur, and it's run along the coast.  It will be hilly, and windy, so I've got to prepare for those two big factors.  Today was my first day doing the running/lifting thing.  I've done it before in the past, just never on a super-regular basis.  I find that running and weightlifting are two entirely different entities and they both tire my ass out in different ways.  It feels as though the two work against each other, so it will take me some time to get used to them.  Today's deal looked something like this:

An easy 5.23 miles in 44:05 

Averaged 8:26/mi and 151 bpm heart rate

Then I finished things off with some core exercises, decline bench press, fly machine, and some curls.  

Strong 16

What a difference a week makes.

Today I ran 16 miles on the trail and felt really strong.  It looked like this:

16 miles in 2:36

Averaged 9:47/mile 150 beats per minute heart rate

1672 calories

I don't know why I felt so good.  I went to bed late last night after a performance, felt tired this morning, forgot most of the food I was supposed to bring on the run.  I just don't get it.  I ended up eating a mocha cliff shot gel, two really stale pretzels that I found in my Camelbak, and a couple of Powerade gel blocks.  

My favorite part of the run was when I tripped on a rock with less than 100 yards to go.  I landed on my knee, and rolled.  It wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.  I guess it might be time to consider getting rid of the hair on my legs again.  (sigh)

Yesterday & Today

Yesterday:  I ran 8, 1/4 mile repeats on the treadmill at 6:56/mile with walking break between them.  I felt pretty good.  I felt strong enough to run two of the repeats back-to-back as a 1/2 mile repeat.  (A good song came on and I felt inspired.)  I finished the nearly 3 mile workout and then did some squats,  walking lunges and core strengthening.  My coach told me that next month's workout schedule will have a lot of leg weight lifting in it, and core work as well, and I wanted to get the jump on it.  My legs are sore today.  And my ass.  

Today:  A 7 mile easy run that I did in the sprinkling rain.  I ran it in 56:44 and averaged 8:05/mile and 147 bpm heart rate.  I don't know why I felt strong today, it defies logic really when you consider how sore my legs are after yesterday's workout.  I didn't question it too much but instead picked up the pace since I was feeling good.  Tomorrow's a rest day, saturday too, since I perform saturday night.  Sunday, it's a 16 mile trail run.  Wish me luck.

Nothing Negative About That Split

On such a historic day, filled with excitement, trepidation, and expectations, with the world watching the U.S.,  I feel rather idiotic writing how my 5 mile negative split run.  I'm not a good enough writer to capture what a moment this morning was.  Nor am I in the slight bit embarrassed when I confess that watching our 44th President take the Oath of Office, I shed more than a few tears.  

Moving on.

Perhaps it was the morning's celebrations, maybe I just got some much needed rest, or perhaps it was because I finally ponied up the dough for the Big Sur Marathon,  but I felt fresh as a daisy out there today.  It looked like this: 

5.01 miles

Lap 1:  19:59  Av:  7:59/mi  264 calories burned

Lap 2:  18:52 Av:  7:33/mi  270 calories burned 

Delusional

So the other day I emailed my online running coach about a 50K that I found out here, being run in mountains in March.  A 50K.  In March.  That's about 31 miles... and I was thinking, "yeah, I could do that".  Sure, it would be something big to tackle, but I've never shied away from a challenge.  My coach reminded me that I basically had 5 weeks to get ready for it, and that in that time, my long run would be going from 16 miles to a 25 miler 2 weeks before the event.  I mulled that information over in my brain a few days and was still feeling like it could happen.

And then the funny part of the story comes.

On sunday I ran my 10 Mile Time Trial.  It was not pretty.  In fact, it was the kind of run where you swear that  you're smoking a pack of Camels in your sleep, or you're running with corn syrup in your lungs, or that you're running in water...  well, you get the idea.  

I felt like complete and utter SHIT.  I was less than one mile into it when I knew I just didn't have it.  Not only did I not have it, I felt like I never had it to begin with.  I was suckin' wind, my eyes were watering from something in the air and felt like they were gonna pop out of my skull. Sometimes I'll go on a run, and feel like crap, only to warm up, and end up having a good, (sometimes great) run.  Sunday, was not like that.  

31 miles in 5 weeks?  It would actually be funny if it wasn't so sad...

Posting... finally

It's a been a few days since I posted anything.  I had an easy 5 mile run on thursday which I did on the treadmill at the gym.  I finished that workout with a few weights, then friday I did weights as well.  Today I was supposed to run a 10 mile time trial, but because I perform tonight, I'm pushing it until tomorrow morning.  I squeeze it in before watching football.

Slow Death

Yup, that's the name of today's workout.  1/2 mile warm up, then 1 minute VERY hard, 1 minute recovery, 10 times.  I did it first thing this morning, right outta the gate, on a treadmill at the gym.  I gotta tell ya, it felt pretty good.  I was running the repeats @ 6"18/mile and when I finished I felt like I could've/should've been running them faster.  Ah well, there's always next time, right?

Runnin' With ZZ Top

"New (shorts), new shoes, and I don't know where I am going to..."

You remember that song by the bearded boys back in the 80's? That pretty much summed up my long run yesterday.  I decided to run something new yesterday, in a new pair of running shorts and new trail shoes.   I consulted my trail running book, picked a new trail to run, and I was off. 

Things didn't start very well for me.  Upon turning on my gps enabled running watch at the trail head, I was warned that the battery was low.  Frustrating, "but really", I thought, "how low could it be?" I had just charged it days earlier.  Turns out, it could be, and was, very low.  It was so low in fact, that  it couldn't find any satellites and died within the first 1/4 mile of my run.  "Well screw it", I thought.  I tried to focus on the relaxing aspect of not being tethered to an electronic device telling me all about how slow I was running, how my heart rate was sky rocketing, and how the incline was killing me.  I put a positive spin on it, and kept on running.

The trail, yeah, let's get into that a little... it was kind of brutal.  It let me warm up for like 1/2 a mile, (I guess) and then it had a pretty steep grade going up hill.  It had dirt steps, for God's sake!  I had written some notes down on  piece of paper, telling me where to turn at which mile, landmarks at mile whatever, things like that.  Well, when your gps is down, you've got no idea how far you're going.  Hell, I didn't even have any idea of how LONG I had been running.  All this is to say, the inevitable came to be:  I got lost.  Now lost makes it sound like I was stumbling around babbling like an idiot, scratching my head and saying "oh shit, now where do I go?"  It wasn't quite like that.  It was more like I saw a trail thought it looked right, and went that way.  About an hour (maybe) later, I came to a trail hub where I did know where I was. That was good.  I continued on my way fighting the wind every step of the way.  All in all, that run really kicked my ass.  I'm guessing I ran somewhere around 11-14 miles.  It was a beautiful run, and I'll be certain to do it again in the future.  

An Easy One

Just got in from my easy 1 hour run.  I covered almost 7 miles, (6.81 to be precise) in 58:34. That's an average of 8:45/mile, and 130 bpm heart rate.  The shnoz? Yeah, pretty much more of the same.

Progressing

Today was a Progressive Run- 4 miles long.  Starting at 8:00/mile with each successive mile run faster than the last.  It looked something like this:

Mile 1:  7:54/mile

Mile 2:  7:43/mile

Mile 3:  7:34/mile

Mile 4:  7:20/mile

Total:  30:54

It felt good to do a little speed work but, again, my sinuses were really giving me grief.  

13 Miles on the Road

Yesterday's 13 miler went all right.  I averaged about 8:10/mile.  I had a problem with my sinuses, even though I took a benadryl beforehand.  I was pretty sore afterwards, and the ice bath helped some of that.  The roads beat me up more than the trails do.  Today, I'm resting and the sinuses are giving me grief AGAIN.  It's tough to get into shape when I can't eat properly and refuel after my workouts. Frustrating.