Today I Run

OBJECTIVE

4 - 6 miles : easy

ACHIEVED

5.13 mi. @ 9:03/mi.

5:25 AM 76° 88% 7 mph

Rolled out five plus miles this morning ... Day 2 of the new training plan. Having posted the week's schedule at the beginning of the week was good because it had me thinking about today's run throughout the day yesterday. When it came time to go this morning, I felt okay and mentally seemed prepared too. Not that today's run was a big, major effort. I just seemed better prepared.

I took the York Minster Loop from the house. I haven't run that specific route for quite some time. My legs seemed heavy at different times during the run. I don't think I've fully recovered from the marathon yet. Theoretically by sometime next week, the marathon should be out of my system. Today's slow pace never challenged my cardio.

There's no such thing as wasted miles under the approach to training so this was a good run to get in the books. Tomorrow will be the first test as I include a touch of speed into a longer run. I'm already looking forward to it.

PRE RUN

Clif bar & water

POST RUN

oatmeal w/skim milk, multivitamin @ water

OBJECTIVE
8 miles w/ 5x2 minutes @ CV pace (7:15), jog 2 minutes between

ACHIEVED
8.03 miles w/5x2 min. (see pace detail below), jog 2 min. between

6:15 AM 78° 81% 7 mph

This really was a peculiar run. I haven't done one like this before ... that I recall. After looking forward to this run, I actually had some dread going into it. But it turned out fine.

Today is Cameron's first day out of school so I didn't have to get up at a particular time. Normally that wouldn't matter and I'd just get up early like always but I actually slept in a bit today. I went to the YMCA to start my run. I like the 8-mile route that starts there since over half of it is off the streets on a paved trail.

I'm not exactly sure how fast the run is supposed to be when not running the speed portion so I really eased into this one. My legs felt a little fatigued but loosened up as I went along.

After about 2.5 miles, I hit the trail and that's where I had decided the faster portion of the run would begin. I'm sure I looked like a dork since I had my Garmin GPS on my left wrist and my Timex Ironman on my right but I wanted the Ironman to run repeating 2:00 intervals with an audible indicator. The sound on my Garmin is hit and miss so I didn't want to rely on it.

I banged out the first 2 minutes and was surprised by my comfort with the pace. I was a bit worried that this may be a trick since I still had 4 more to go. I slowed for a 2:00 jog then hit it again. The pace again felt fine. This repeated then it was time to turn around. I jogged a little extra only because I didn't want to turn around during a speed portion. After the turn, I run then jogged for two more segments. Then it was three miles back to the Y.

I wondered if I somehow miscalculated the pace of my speed segments. They seemed too easy this morning. Well, I think the beauty of this type of run hit me as I was working my way back to the Y. The speed part seemed to catch up with me. And even though I wasn't running an aggressive pace at all. I could feel the 10 minutes of blasters (for lack of a better word) that I had done. I'm curious to see if I feel the same next week.

8.03 mi. @ 8:38/mi.

2.45 mi. @ 8:53/mi.
2:02 min.@ 7:09/mi.
2:00 min. recovery
2:00 min.@ 7:11/mi.
2:00 min. recovery
2:00 min.@ 6:55/mi.
3:03 min. recovery
2:00 min.@ 6:47/mi.
2:00 min. recovery
2:03 min.@ 6:39/mi.
1:58 min. recovery
3:02 mi. @ 8:44/mi.


PRE RUN
Clif bar & water


POST RUN
water, multivitamin, oatmeal w/skim milk

OBJECTIVE

4 - 6 miles : EZ pace (8:34 - 8:54)

ACHIEVED

5.12 mi. @ 8:45/mi.

5:33 AM

I managed to find the pace this morning. It actually felt pretty good. I'm somewhat surprised that I'm feeling as good as I do so far with daily running. (We'll see how the last couple miles of tomorrow's longer run goes!)

I took the York Minster loop again (same as Tuesday). There seemed to be a bit more traffic than usual this morning.

I feel much better having a target pace.

I'm visiting the doctor this morning for an evaluation of my knee / IT band issue. I'm hopeful that he's not going to shut me down.

Tomorrow is a 10-mile run that it looks like I'll be doing on my own very early.

PRE RUN

1/2 Rice Krispie treat & water

POST RUN

other 1/2 Rice Krispie treat, multivitamin, water & oatmeal w/skim milk

OBJECTIVE

10 mi. w/last 2 mi. @ marathon pace (MP = 7:55)

ACHIEVED

10.04 mi. @ 8:39/mi. [last 2 mi. - 7:52/7:35)

5:46 AM 79° 82% 7 mph

It was tough to get going this morning but I'm glad I did. It turned out to be a good run. I went from the Y on a solo trip. I took it out slow and tried to hold the mile pace around 8:45-8:50. The morning was warm and humid. At the turn around point, I stopped at a convenience store for a Gatorade. My knee felt a little loose but I think part of that was mental now that I have a diagnosis. With about 4 miles to go, I started seeing people from the ChampionsFit group in their way out. This was helpful in that it sparked my pace at a time when I may have fallen off some.

By the time I hit 8 miles, I really wasn't sure if I would be able to slice a minute off the pace to finish strong over the final 2 miles. But once I got going, it felt good. It's the concept Jonathan has talked about before. Basically that it can be harder to go slow than it is to go faster. It's hard to explain but it held true for me today. The last two miles felt good and I was able to hit my planned for paces.

9:13/8:49/8:46/8:49/8:49/8:45/8:51/9:03/7:52/7:35

Tinman has set my EZ pace at 8:24 - 8:54 for now. My CV pace is 6:40 and my MP is 7:55.

It looks like I'll just stick with the same weekly plan I followed this week over the next 4 weeks while I'm doing rehab. That way I keep my longest run to 10 miles (in line with Dr. Cianca's orders) but still get 34 miles each week. Assuming I get a clean bill of health in 4 weeks (how's that for optimism?), I'll have a decent base to build on for my sole goal - the 2008 St. George marathon on October 4.

PRE RUN

apple juice

POST RUN

SlimFast

Later, oatmeal w/skim milk; water & multivitamin

OBJECTIVE
3 miles : slow

ACHIEVED
3.03 mi. @ 8:34/mi.

5:11 AM 79° 79% 5 mph

Stretched out over an easy three miles this morning. The run was uneventful except at the end of two miles my left IT band flared up in a big way! Oddly, the pain subsided shortly after it started. That hasn't happened before. My legs felt good and my cardio felt untested this morning. I was a bit faster than I wanted to be but I think that's due to yesterday's rest and an eagerness to get the week's running underway.

Tomorrow is 4-6 miles. I'm thinking I'll go 6.

PRE RUN
water

POST RUN
SlimFast, multivitamin, GrapeNuts w/skim milk

OBJECTIVE
4 - 6 mi. EZ (8:24 - 8:54)

ACHIEVED
6.15 mi. @ 8:48/mi.

5:09 AM 76° 87% 3 mph

Started out too slow and ended too fast today. I wanted to be around 8:50/mi. for the run which I did but the range was a bit wider than I had hoped. I wasn't running fast at the end to make the time. I was feeling pretty good and just let the pace come to me. I took the Wimbeldon Forest Loop which seemed to have a lot of traffic this morning for some reason.

Two thoughts occurred to me this morning. First, my current training approach seems better than my past ones. Previously, while only running 3 times a week, I felt like I was always "racing mentally". It wasn't that I was necessarily running fast but in my mind I was always trying to hit a certain time. In the current approach there are 4 runs each week where I'm either running "slow" or "easy". Pace isn't critical here only the miles are. It's the concept of "getting faster by training slower". Hopefully I feel the same way in a few months as the mileage piles up.

The other thought was prompted by a Runners' World article. This is going to sound odd but there have been several times over the past year+ of running when I get in the shower, there has been a strong odor of ammonia. At first, I thought maybe Paige had just cleaned the shower that day. Later, I wondered if somehow my running clothes were transferring residual laundry detergent into my skin. Failing to reach a viable explanation, I just disregarded it even though I still noticed it after runs occasionally. Well, there's an answer. So I'm taking this to be an indication that I didn't have enough carbohydrates to burn as fuel during the run AND I didn't drink enough to flush the nitrogen byproduct the "normal" way.

PRE RUN
apple juice & 1 mini powdered donut

POST RUN
SlimFast, multivitamin, @ oatmeal w/skim milk

OBJECTIVE

8 mi. w/5x2 min.@CV (6:40) & 2 min. active recovery (non speed miles @ EZ pace 8:24 - 8:54/mi.)

ACHIEVED

8.02 mi. @ 8:29/mi. - broken down as follows:

2.43 mi. @ 8:50/mi.

2:03 @ 6:52/mi.

1:56 recovery

2:02 @ 6:32/mi.

1:57 recovery

2:00 @ 6:30/mi.

2:59 recovery

2:00 @ 6:27/mi.

1:59 recovery

1:59 @ 6:24/mi.

2:03 recovery

3.00 @ 8:31/mi.

5:26AM

Good run this morning. It felt like the pace for the speed sections was better dialed in than last week. I missed the split on the first rep but once I got going I was under for the remaining 4 reps. I wondered how this was going to impact my 3-mile return but I was able to increasingly pick up the pace to finish the run. I seemed to notice a pronounced recovery over the last 3 miles. This made me wonder about my heart rate. I haven't ever monitored my heart rate during training but something was going on this morning over the final 3 miles that I think could only be quantified by a heart rate monitor. What I suspect happened is the speed sections took my heart rate up and the recovery sections were too short - by design - to fully recover. By the time I finished my fifth speed section, I needed time for my heart rate to come down. As I continued running at a slower pace, my heart rate dropped. As my heart rate dropped, I felt better and was able to gradually pick up the pace to the finish without going into oxygen deficit or overtaxing my heart. That's my theory. As I've said before, I'm not a doctor or a scientist but that doesn't stop me from spouting physiological theory about myself or the human body in general. I'm sure someone has already figured all of this out. I just need to find the source and read up on it.

Slow 3 miles tomorrow.

PRE RUN

Clif bar & water

POST RUN

SlimFast

Later, Kahsi GoLean cereal w/skim milk, apple juice & multivitamin

OBJECTIVE

3 miles : SLOW

ACHIEVED

3.03 mi @ 9:01/mi.

73° 89% 0 mph

This was a day that I easily could have missed my run. The justification that today called for a short, slow run flashed through my head when I woke up. It wouldn't be a big deal if I blew it off .... But I "flipped the script" on myself thinking, "if it's such a short, slow run - what's the big deal? Just get it done."

My legs were sore or tired ??? this morning ... I'm not exactly sure which. Yesterday was a Big Workout but I stretched well after the run. I did end up sitting in the bleachers for four hours through Cameron's doubleheader last doubleheader last night. Maybe I just tightened up during that stretch ... ???

Anyway rolled out the three miles. I started slowly then found myself picking it up about midway. I was getting faster than I wanted to be so I pulled it back and just eased it home. I wanted to be around 8:54-9:00/mi. For some reason, I've got it in my head that if I'm slower than 9:17/mi. the miles are being wasted and fall into the junk category. I'm not sure that's a true-ism but I think I read about the concept somewhere along the line.

Looking at 5 miles tomorrow.

PRE RUN

nothing

POST RUN

water, multivitamin, Honey Nut Cheerios w/skim milk

OBJECTIVE
5 mi. : EZ (8:24-54)

ACHIEVED
5.12 mi. @ 8:26/mi.

≈5:15 AM 77° 88% 0 mph

My legs are still sore and tight. I had hoped the condition was going to be short lived. It's not a big problem; just made it hard to get going this morning.

My Garmin pulled its mysterious "LOW BATTERY" routine again this morning. It hasn't done that for several weeks. So no GPS tracks for today's run. However, yesterday I received a new heart rate monitor that I ordered. So I had a toy to employ during the run. I didn't spend much time with it last night so I barely know how to use it. At this point, I can say it seems capable of many things. But there are only 4 buttons and if you punch them in the right sequence, you'll get the desired output. Let me just say that I haven't figured out how to play Wagner's Flight of the Valkyries with four notes yet!

Strapped on the monitor, hit start and ran. It was actually good not knowing my pace today. I should probably take this approach more often. When I'm doing easy or slow runs, I try not to look at my Garmin but it's habitual and I think I still focus on it a bit too much. Well, not having the Garmin today made the point as I caught myself looking at the heart rate monitor.

I ran the York Minster Loop so I know where the mile breaks are. I checked the monitor at those points and knew that I was around 8:45-50/mi. and just tried to hold it there.

The miles rolled by. I think I'm getting better at pushing my mental focal point out farther. Other than that the run was uneventful. The sun is coming up earlier and it gets lighter earlier now as we approach the longest day of the year next week.

I have my first physical therapy session this afternoon. I'm a bit apprehensive about it but I suspect it will turn out fine.

Tomorrow's run is 10 miles. I'll have to start early. Cameron has a baseball game at 10 on the other side of town.

Oh, about failed to mention my average heart rate for the run was 144. Not sure what that means since I have nothing to compare it to ....


PRE RUN
water

POST RUN
SlimFast, water, multivitamin @ GrapeNuts w/skim milk

OBJECTIVE

10 mi. w/8 mi. @ 8:24-54/mi. & last 2 mi. @ 7:55/mi.

ACHIEVED

8.92 mi. (9:16/9:01/8:42/8:48/8:39/7:59/7:48/7:41/7:06 [.92 mi])

5:28 AM 72° 94% 0 mph

This run obviously didn't go as planned! Here's the explanation. Cameron had a doubleheader in Katy starting at 10 AM. Katy's an hour drive from the house and of course the players have to be there an hour early. This made for a less than leisurely morning. I checked the Spring Runners board last night and saw they were planning a 6 AM run. "They" being Bob Bond and anyone who chose to join him. Their plan was for 8 or 10 miles. That was too late of a start for me so I planned to drive to the 10-mile run turnaround point and start early enough to catch them when they started their run. Other than the fact I got a bit of a late start, everything was generally on schedule. I figured if I ran into them before I made it the their starting point, I'd just run with them and add on to the end of my run for 10 miles.

You can see from my splits, I was on schedule pace-wise over the first 4 miles. I met up with a huge group of ChampionsFit runners at the gate leaving the Y property so I just missed their start by about 300 yards. I'll call that perfect timing. Bob Bond was in the group along with a couple other Spring Runners. Bob broke with a couple other guys while I was still making my way through the group and talking with Stan (???). I caught Bob. He was talking to another guy I hadn't met. We stayed together and chatted as we pulled away from the group. Bob just ran the San Diego marathon two weeks ago. So we talked about his run there, about my physical condition, etc. I feel the pace is fast but I figured it was just relative to my slow start. Finally I can't deny the urge to look at my Garmin and we're clipping along under 8:00/mi. At that point, I decided to hold on as look as I could and just end the run when I got back to the car. Bob dropped off a little over 3 miles into his run. That left Sean and me. He talked small talk and maintained the pace. I didn't feel extremely pushed at the pace but I was working. I think this may have been an easy pace for Sean. I started connecting the dots of who this guy was. I fairly certain he's Sean Easton, the Head Coach of the ChampionsFit Green Group (8:30 pace and faster). His wife ran with us on a Saturday a month or two ago. Anyway once we made it to Spring Cypress Road where my car was. Sean took a couple minutes to show me a yoga-style stretch for my IT bands. Interesting that I hadn't seen this one before .... It seems to work. He suggested doing each leg for 5 minutes a night. I figure it's worth a try.

So that's how my run ended up shorter and faster than planned.

PRE RUN

ginger snaps & water

POST RUN

SlimFast

OBJECTIVE
8 mi. w/5x2 min. @ CV (6:40/mi.) & 2 min. jog

ACHIEVED
8.01 mi. @ 8:30/mi. broken down as follows:
2.42 mi. @ 8:55/mi.
2:00 min. @ 6:15/mi.
1:59 jog
2:00 min. @ 6:21/mi.
1:59 jog
2:00 min. @ 6:17/mi.
2:26 jog
2:00 min. @ 6:21/mi.
2:00 jog
2:00 min. @ 6:16/mi.
2:00 jog
2.99 mi. @ 8:43/mi.

5:33 AM 72° 86% 2 mph

It was a good run this morning. This was my third mid-week Big Workout and, although they seem ominous as they approach, I ultimately enjoy the workout - especially when it's over!

I was supposed to hit 6:40/mi. on my 2 minute bursts but felt good from the first one so I just stayed with the faster pace. I was trying to get farther down the bayou path than I did last week. I thought this might present difficulty for me over the 3 miles back to the car. But, just like last week, after starting slowly I was able to pick up the pace the entire distance. Obviously, 8:43/mile isn't a fast pace but it's in the range I want to be at (8:24-54).

I'm going to strive to eat and drink properly throughout the day and get plenty of sleep tonight. Tomorrow's run is a slow 3-miler.

On fastrunningblog.com, Josse commented yesterday that I might have an iron deficiency. I plan to start supplementing to see if it helps with my overall fatigue.

PRE RUN
water & Accelerade

POST RUN
Accelerade & SlimFast
Later, GrapeNuts w/skim milk

OBJECTIVE

3 mi. : SLOW (>8:54/mi.)

ACHIEVED

4.02 mi. @ 9:13/mi.

5:10 AM 73° 94% 0 mph

Took this one slow and easy as prescribed. Had a bit of muscle soreness in my legs from yesterday. Added a mile ... for good measure.

PRE RUN

nothing

POST RUN

SlimFast, multivitamin, 65 mg Iron, & oatmeal w/skim milk

OBJECTIVE

4 - 6 mi. EZ (8:24-54/mi.)

ACHIEVED

≈6.12 mi.@ 8:37/mi. (52:47)

≈5:40 AM 72° 92% 0 mph

Nice 6-miler to celebrate the summer solstice. Early in the run I was thinking this must for a big week for pagans. I think yesterday was a full moon and today is summer solstice. It seems like I should be running a race at Stonehenge today!

My Garmin pulled the always-aggravating "LOW BATTERY" routine again this morning so I pulled out the trusty Timex IronMan to accompany me. I ran the Wimbledon Forest Loop so I have a good idea that the distance is 6.10 - 6.15 miles. I felt fine today. My IT band hasn't been a problem for a while now (knock on wood!). My legs seemed a little "tired" but not really a big deal.

I started about 30 minutes later than usual today since I'm taking the day off work. Which is really good at this point. However, Paige is having surgery this afternoon so that's not so exciting. Hopefully it's a smooth out-patient procedure with a quick recovery - as currently anticipated.

Tomorrow's run is 10 miles. I'm not sure who, if anyone, I'll be running with yet. It's somewhat dependent on how Paige is doing.

PRE RUN

Accelerade

POST RUN

SlimFast, multivitamin @ Kashi GoLean cereal w/skim milk

OBJECTIVE

10 mi. w/8 @ EZ (8:24-54/mi.) & last 2@ MP (7:55/mi.)

ACHIEVED

10.02 mi. w/8@8:20/mi. & 2@7:41/mi.

5:47 AM 71° 92% 0 mph

Good run this morning. I started from Spring Cypress a little late. Eased on down the bayou path. I was feeling pretty good. Pace was around 8:30/mi. Didn't make it all the way to the Y - 1 1/2 mile short - before meeting up with Bob Bond, Sean Easton, Sean's friend, and a guy named Seth. I met them on Jones Road and anytime Sean's in the group the pace is going to be hot ... at least for met. I wasn't with them for long before Sean had us under 8:00/mi.

We got back on the bayou trail and went to the 8-mile turn around for Bob. Bob and I turned back. The others continued on. I ran with Bob along the trail back to the end of the path. Bob continued back to the Y. I took a water break (thank you, ChampionsFit!) then headed back on the trail for the third time. With 2 miles remaining, I picked it back up looking for 7:55/mi. I was feeling good. I was pushing but it wasn't uncomfortable. I made each of the last two miles in 7:41/mi. which I was pleased with.

It seems I'm making slow, incremental progress. I need to decide on next week's training schedule. I start physical therapy on Tuesday and go back on Thursday. I have a hunch Dani is really going to "put it to me" and she'll be able to tell I've been running more and faster than she suggested. At this point, I'm willing to let those chips fall where they may ....

PRE RUN

Accelerade

POST RUN

SlimFast; potato, egg & cheese breakfast taco

Later, Life cereal w/skim milk

OBJECTIVE
6 mi. EZ (8:24-54/mi.)

ACHIEVED
6.30 mi.@ 8:50/mi.

5:22 AM 71° 95% 0 mph

Ninety-five percent humidity that's crazy! The air definitely had a "thickness" to it this morning.

My legs were heavy and I really didn't ever feel like I got going. I also suspect myself of subconsciously holding back since I have no idea what's in store for me at this morning's PT session. The only thing I've heard over and over is that Dani, my therapist, isn't "warm and fuzzy". She even said something to that effect when we met ... and seemed proud of it. That's fine with me - so long as her methods work and are able to get me back on track.

I spent much of this morning's run thinking over a memo that I have to write for the CEO. Although the topic is highly technical, I had the good fortunate of sitting through Dr. Dave Stewart's class at BYU that was exactly on point. The problem for me is that the class was thirteen years ago! At least it's a good base to work from. I'm enjoying the fact that I'm slightly ahead of the high-paid consultants on this topic. Of course they have national experts to drawn upon when necessary. Okay ... enough work talk on my running blog! ... although maybe that's what slowed me down this morning ....

I've got to hustle off to PT. I'll post more about that experience later.

PRE RUN
Accelerade

POST RUN
water, multivitamin @ oatmeal w/skim milk

OBJECTIVE
8 mi. including 5 x 2 min.@ 6:40/mi. & 2 min. active recovery

ACHIEVED
8 mi. @ 8:30/mi. including
2.42 mi.@ 8:50/mi.
2:02 min.@ 6:44/mi.
1:58 min.
2:00 min.@ 6:23/mi.
1:59 min.
2:00 min.@ 6:30/mi.
2:00 min.
1:59 min.@ 6:35/mi.
1:59 min.
2:04 min.@ 6:29/mi.
1:56 min.
1:59 min.@ 6:38/mi.
1:59 min.
2.56 mi.@ 8:51/mi.

5:34 AM 73° 92% 0 mph

Yes, I added an extra rep on my Big Workout today. It wasn't because I was feeling great. Probably more just to spite my physical therapist! Yes, I know that's childish.

Also, when I've done my Wednesday Big Workout over the past three weeks, I've extended my active recovery by about a minute. I've only done this because I end up about a quarter of a mile short of the turnaround point for the run and I haven't wanted to make the turnaround in the middle of a fast rep. Well, today I just started my fourth rep on schedule and made the turnaround in the middle of the rep. ... not good for speed but I still ended up at 6:35/mi. pace.

After the set of speed work, the run back was tough. It was all I could do to hold on to the pace. I think it was a combination of the extra speed rep, no extended rest between the third and fourth rep, and PT yesterday. But I made it.

Yesterday's PT session seemed pretty good. I was late due to my having to stop on the way to buy compression shorts. I forgot mine at home. Great way to start a working relationship, right? Dani greeted me by asking about my running. I told her 37 miles last week. She wanted to know when I rested. "Sunday." "That's not enough. You need to rest every other day. I know you have a race coming up but you have to compromise. Did you do any speed work?" I lied. "No - just miles." She turned me over to Pilar, who honestly looked like she was about 16 years old. But she seemed to know what she was doing. She took me through the following:

calf stretch
Figure 4
calf raises 2-leg then 1-leg
clam - (tie an elastic band around both legs, lay (or is it lie) on side, lift top leg)
bridge
bridge w/calfs on ball
bridge w/heels on ball 2-leg then 1-leg
leg press 2-leg then 1-leg

My form on the one-leg press especially the left leg was naturally bad. Dani came over and pointed it out. She cleaned up my form and said, "This is what we need to work on." She explained that while running the knee goes out of position or alignment so quickly then back in that it may be imperceptible. Running reinforces the bad form. So it looks like I'm in for a break-him-down, build-him-up approach to clean up my form. I'm supposed to do clams at home then go back on Thurday.

I've got a slow 4 miles tomorrow and PT again.

PRE RUN
Accelerade

POST RUN
Accelerade
Later, water mulitvitamin & 5-gain oatmeal w/flax seed, turbinado & skim milk

OBJECTIVE
4 mi. SLOW

ACHIEVED
4.02 mi.@ 8:48/mi.

6:29 AM 73° 94% 0 mph

I got a late start this morning. I was up in time but got sidetracked while checking my work email before the run.

Finally broke away. I expected a slow one today which was fine because that's what the plan called for. My legs started getting sore yesterday at work while sitting for long stretches. I surmise it's delayed onset muscle soreness from my PT on Tuesday (Dani, my therapist, tipped me off to that when I met with her today.). Of course the difference with starting later is that it's light at the beginning of the run. I don't necessarily like it that way for some reason. Maybe in a perverse sense it seems like I'm more dedicated if I'm running while it's still dark ....

With sore legs and a planned slow run, I was surprised I was under 8:30/mi. for the first 2 miles while running a natural pace and not looking at my watch. I reigned it in over the last half of the run. I don't understand the physiology of running slow on recovery days but I know that's the way it's supposed to be done. I've also read that the aerobic benefit of running slow miles is almost the same as running fast miles. Anyway, as I pondered this and wondered about it, I slowed down.

After driving to the office and spending some time there, I broke away for physical therapy. I liked having Dani to myself this time. She's tough and really forces me to use proper form. Which is good for me ... but it's hard. Generally had more of the same with bands and the large ball; working the glutes, quads and hamstrings. Some of the positions don't look that tough but once you get going there's a tremendous burn. Hoping that all of this is helping. She's not at all happy with my running schedule. She wants me to rest every other day and reduce mileage. ... I'm still not listening.

PRE RUN
water

POST RUN
chocolate milk, multivitamin & oatmeal w/flax seed, turbinado & skim milk

OBJECTIVE

10 mi. w/8 mi.@ 8:24-54/mi. & last 2 mi.@ 7:55/mi

ACHIEVED

10.35 mi.@ 8:34/mi. w/8:43/mi. & last 2 mi.@ approx. 8:26/mi.

5:20 AM 73° 94% 2 mph

I got the miles in this morning but it didn't go exactly as planned. I started from Spring Cypress headed toward the Y. The Spring Running Club and ChampionsFit were starting from the Y at 6:00. My plan was to meet them there like a have the last couple Saturdays. My legs were sore at the outset but loosened very gradually as I worked my way to the bayou and down the trail in the dark. My pace was a little slower than I wanted over the first 3 miles but I was anticipating meeting Sean and Bob who would push it faster than I wanted on the way back. Miles 4 and 5 I was at the high end of the range I wanted to be in.

When I got to the Y, no one was lined up to run. Rather than be about a half mile short of 10 miles when I got back to the car, I decided to make a loop of the soccer fields while waiting for the large running group to appear. While I was early in my loop, the group materialized at the "start line" and disappeared. I finished my loop and started reeling in runners. The group came back to me pretty quickly. I pushed my pace as I passed the other CF runners some called out "hello's" and encouraged me to catch the "fast guys". It took me a while to catch Bob, Seth, Stan, and an unidentified woman who's training for the Portland marathon. When I saw that Sean wasn't with them, I knew the pace wouldn't be as "hot". We chatted as we worked our way back up the trail.

With 2 miles to go ... it was time for my pickup. But I didn't. For some stupid reason, I felt obligated to stay with the group. I'm a bit mad at myself now for not taking off. Once we got to Eldridge, I had planned to break off since the group was going to go through the neighborhood to get an even 5 miles before doubling back. Bob persuaded me to stay with the group through the neighborhoods and end up coming out the backside close to my car. Okay ... I agreed. Figuring it wasn't that big of a deal. Well, Stan and Bob then proceeded to disagree about the right course through the neighborhood. This slowed as down and really frustrated me. This went on for much longer than it should have. Now I really wished I had just picked up over the last 2 miles on the path and turned up Eldridge to my car. Needless to say my last two miles were slower than planned.

Once back at the car, I took time to stretch really good. I did figure 4 on the ground and the yoga position Sean showed me a couple weeks ago. While in the parking lot, I noticed a HUGE bird sitting on a power line. I walked over for a closer look. It didn't fly. I wished I had me camera for a picture. I want back to the car for my phone which, like most phones, has a poor-excuse-for-camera built into it. I took 4 or 5 pictures then took my phone back to the car and started stretching some more. Still watching the bird, I noticed a blue jay kept swooping at it like mosquito. The big bird didn't flinch. Suddenly out of no where another HUGE bird came flying in and landed on the wire next to the other one. This one was bigger than the first! The first bird flapped its wings and made some noise until the second moved down the wire about 50 yards. When that bird flew it's wingspan seemed like it was 6 feet! I was amazed at the size of the birds. When it flew, I saw color around its head and beak. All the time, I'm wondering what kind of bird is this. I was thinking it must be some kind of vulture. After seeing the head and color, I was thinking maybe it's a California condor. I looked up wikipedia and the California condor is critically endangered and its range doesn't extend to Texas (although it used to). So I'm back to wondering what kind of bird I saw. I think the smaller one was a female and the larger, more colored a male. ... a couple of vultures knowing where a tired runner was going to finish a long run for the day ....

PRE RUN

Accelerade

POST RUN

Accelerade

Later, chocolate milk, multivitamin & Kashi GoLean cereal w/skim milk

OBJECTIVE
3-4 mi. SLOW

ACHIEVED
4.06 mi.@ 8:55/mi.

5:38 AM 73° 89% 0 mph


PRE RUN
water

POST RUN
chocolate milk, multivitamin, water, 5 grain hot cereal w/turbinado, flax seed & skim milk