I ran another 65 minutes this morning. I added in some 30-40 meter strides and tried several short hills strides but my left hip bothered me. I took some advil and set up an appointment with Bill Tarr (my chiropractor) for Friday morning. I am guessing I am out of alignment. I always think at first that it is something else but it usually is related to back problems.
The weather was decent. No heavy rain today while I was out. I just made it back when the rain drops started to fall.
Some mild mouth sores. I have to be careful. Haven't been sleeping really well since I took this full time contract job. The first few weeks were tough but recently work has less busy. But here I am all ready to leave. I know what it is. I just don't want to do this anymore. No flying for the past two weeks. I will go back when the job is over (I control this. I have to find my replacement).
Isn't being a millionaire enough? I guess not. As Po Bronson basically said in one of his books: Works defines us for so long and then when it comes time to leave, we don't.
I think that the path out is choked over with thick bushes and clinging vines that grab at us as we try to get through. It's so safe not to try.
I hate being safe.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Monday, February 27, 2006
Wind and Rain
Wind and rain hit the valley hard today. I went out anyway and ran for about 65 minutes in the morning. Despite the rain it wasn't that cold so I didn't wear tights but just a Gortex jacket and a hat.
At work every time I walked by the lobby and looked outside it was still coming down hard. In the old days I would have been out running at lunch time but these days it just isn't worth it.
I am home now in the evening and it is still blowing hard whipping trees around. This is supposed to be the worst of it. Right now I plan to run again in the morning. No big rush to get in so I should have time.
At work every time I walked by the lobby and looked outside it was still coming down hard. In the old days I would have been out running at lunch time but these days it just isn't worth it.
I am home now in the evening and it is still blowing hard whipping trees around. This is supposed to be the worst of it. Right now I plan to run again in the morning. No big rush to get in so I should have time.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Another dump week?
Friday I ran 5 easy miles. My legs still felt the effects of Wednesday night's workout.
Saturday I ran 7 miles and felt great during the 3 mile warmup so I seem to be recovering.
Next week looks a bit grim. Two day offsite at Seascape for an executive staff meeting and rain and wind coming in. It may be tough to get my runs in but then I can always do another dump week and return to normal the week after.
Next Saturday is the 2 x 1.46 mile campus loop workout. I haven't done it in years but in the past whatever I did the combined two loops in plus about a minute equaled my 5K potential. It may be a good test especially if my legs are rested.
Saturday I ran 7 miles and felt great during the 3 mile warmup so I seem to be recovering.
Next week looks a bit grim. Two day offsite at Seascape for an executive staff meeting and rain and wind coming in. It may be tough to get my runs in but then I can always do another dump week and return to normal the week after.
Next Saturday is the 2 x 1.46 mile campus loop workout. I haven't done it in years but in the past whatever I did the combined two loops in plus about a minute equaled my 5K potential. It may be a good test especially if my legs are rested.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
6 x 800 Round two
I ran 4 miles this morning. Slow..slow....slow.
In the late afternoon I warmed up around West Valley College, did some striders on the track and ran 6 x 800 beginning every 6 minutes. It was cool but not too cold. Probably in the mid 50's as the sun set.
I ran 3:09 - 3:09 - 3:08 for the first three trying for even splits. Then I decided to switch to running the first lap slower and pushing the second lap.
The next 3 were 3:06 - 3:04 - 3:00. It was much easier this way and I ran a 3:06 average overall. I felt strong but had to basically go it alone. The two fastest runners were 10-20 seconds ahead of me and except for some now and then company, I basically ran alone.
9 mile day but who's counting.
In the late afternoon I warmed up around West Valley College, did some striders on the track and ran 6 x 800 beginning every 6 minutes. It was cool but not too cold. Probably in the mid 50's as the sun set.
I ran 3:09 - 3:09 - 3:08 for the first three trying for even splits. Then I decided to switch to running the first lap slower and pushing the second lap.
The next 3 were 3:06 - 3:04 - 3:00. It was much easier this way and I ran a 3:06 average overall. I felt strong but had to basically go it alone. The two fastest runners were 10-20 seconds ahead of me and except for some now and then company, I basically ran alone.
9 mile day but who's counting.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Long Run
It was still cool in the morning so even though I went out around 8:30 I dressed up with tights, long sleeves, wool cap and a double layer of gloves. Probably a bit of a pansy but I do what I have to just to get out the door.
I ran a very slow and easy 85-90 minutes. I wore the HRM but it stayed low most of the time rarely going above 140. On my way home I stopped by De Anza track and ran some easy striders but the rest of the workout was simply burning calories.
The weather felt like it was in the mid 40's. Luckily there was no wind so it stayed comfortable. I would guess that the down week was good because my legs felt fine as on Saturday.
Now I have to get serious again and go run 6 x 800 on Wednesday afternoon. The last time I ran them in 3:08 average which was a bit too fast. I won't try to run slower but I will be realistic. I am not a 6:16 per mile 5K runner. Maybe later on but not now.
I ran a very slow and easy 85-90 minutes. I wore the HRM but it stayed low most of the time rarely going above 140. On my way home I stopped by De Anza track and ran some easy striders but the rest of the workout was simply burning calories.
The weather felt like it was in the mid 40's. Luckily there was no wind so it stayed comfortable. I would guess that the down week was good because my legs felt fine as on Saturday.
Now I have to get serious again and go run 6 x 800 on Wednesday afternoon. The last time I ran them in 3:08 average which was a bit too fast. I won't try to run slower but I will be realistic. I am not a 6:16 per mile 5K runner. Maybe later on but not now.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Colder Than Heck
The weather has turned very cold. Snow on the mountains down to 2-3,000 feet.
I thought I might run hard today but as I drove over to West Valley College my car's outside temp guage read 36 degrees. I ended up running somewhere between 6-7 miles easy while the club ran the Valentine's Day relay.
So another dump week is in the record book. If done successfully a dump week feels like I am detaching from running. Almost as if I am not a runner but have become more of a sometime jogger. Also my legs begin to feel really decent. As I ran yesterday my legs felt great.....Rested.
The danger is that I need to remain attached to hit my goals. So next week, starting Monday, I have to get serious again. Or maybe I should realize that taking a down week is serious. Damn serious.
Or I risk becoming just another casualty in the cadre of dead legged runners.
My barber, Mary told me yesterday that she was shocked to hear I was going to be 61.
You don't look any different than when i started to cut your hair.
Mary, that was 1986. I was 41.
OK, you have a few more grey hairs and a few wrinkles. But that running must really work.
You look the same.
I think not but it was nice of her to say it.
So a nice dye job and a few botox injections and maybe I can pass for a man in my 40's but how do I ever run the same times I could in my 40's? Even my late 40's. Run in ythe 17's for 5K and be dominant as a 61 year old runner. Few could touch me.
I know, call Dwight. Run 80-100 mpw. Take a myriad of supplements and do all sorts of strengthening exercises and recovery techniques. Become obssessed again.
I thought I might run hard today but as I drove over to West Valley College my car's outside temp guage read 36 degrees. I ended up running somewhere between 6-7 miles easy while the club ran the Valentine's Day relay.
So another dump week is in the record book. If done successfully a dump week feels like I am detaching from running. Almost as if I am not a runner but have become more of a sometime jogger. Also my legs begin to feel really decent. As I ran yesterday my legs felt great.....Rested.
The danger is that I need to remain attached to hit my goals. So next week, starting Monday, I have to get serious again. Or maybe I should realize that taking a down week is serious. Damn serious.
Or I risk becoming just another casualty in the cadre of dead legged runners.
My barber, Mary told me yesterday that she was shocked to hear I was going to be 61.
You don't look any different than when i started to cut your hair.
Mary, that was 1986. I was 41.
OK, you have a few more grey hairs and a few wrinkles. But that running must really work.
You look the same.
I think not but it was nice of her to say it.
So a nice dye job and a few botox injections and maybe I can pass for a man in my 40's but how do I ever run the same times I could in my 40's? Even my late 40's. Run in ythe 17's for 5K and be dominant as a 61 year old runner. Few could touch me.
I know, call Dwight. Run 80-100 mpw. Take a myriad of supplements and do all sorts of strengthening exercises and recovery techniques. Become obssessed again.
Friday, February 17, 2006
Dump week
I had planned to really do very little running this week. It seems to help having a total "dump" week every 3-4 weeks to help with recovery. Basically I jjst cut my normal miles back by about 50% or more.
3 miles on Tuesday and 4 miles yesterday. It fit in with "hell" week at work basically consisting of more power point slides, comp commitee meetings and 8K filings.
I may run 3-4 miles this morning.
Saturday I will either run a club race or go run a time trial of some sorts.
3 miles on Tuesday and 4 miles yesterday. It fit in with "hell" week at work basically consisting of more power point slides, comp commitee meetings and 8K filings.
I may run 3-4 miles this morning.
Saturday I will either run a club race or go run a time trial of some sorts.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Engine Off landing
I ran 7 miles (give or take) this morning. Wore the HRM for the first time in weeks. I kept the pace nice and easy.
Surprisingly my legs felt good even after the 8 miler yesterday so in the middle of the run I went to De Anza track and did 6 hill bounds up that little hill near the finish line.
In the early afternoon I went to Air Accord and flew with Kuzo. We did slow flight over the south valley for about an hour and then came back to RHV to do 5-6 landings. We were over UTC which is about 10 miles out and I did my usual
"Reid Hillview Tower, this is 757 Uniform Foxtrot over UTC with Zulu. Staying in the pattern." That meant I wanted to land and then take off again and do the pattern and land again and repeat and repeat.....
The traffic controller did not respond. Suddenly we could hear his conversation with another pilot about how many passengers he had aboard and could he make the runway. Turns out his engine had failed (ugh). Then the controller said that the airport was closed. Kuzo told me to do a 180 and head back down the valley. After a few minutes we began to hear traffic resuming at thw airport so we headed back. At that point Kuzo told me that based on the call letters, that the plane was Sundowner from Air Accord.
I told him that we would just head back and we could forget the landings and do them another day. I knew he was worried about the plane and the passengers. It was strange. I wasn't thinking about flying anymore but was just focused on getting the plane in and on the ground.
As we closed in on the airport we could see traffic backed up on Story Road and we also spotted the plane, intact with no fire or smoke. The pilot had made it down but short of the runway.
As we came in over East Ridge Shopping Center I was a bit high but I cut the throttle and we came down nicely and seeing white over red I knew that we were OK. The plane settled easily and I just rounded out and flared almost perfectly. I had nailed the landing!
Kuzo turned to me.
"Great landing", he said.
We taxi'd back to air accord and Yuzo came out to tell us that everyone was OK. The plane was intact. They would just have to tow it back in and figure out what happended. (Found out later on that the pilot had run out of fuel and had not switched to the second tank...hmmmm. This is the second time this has happened in NorCal in the past two months.)
As for me, I realized that because I thinking of the other plane and the whether everyone was OK, I had defocused on my own fears. I mean, I was landing with power under almost perfect conditions. It put it all in perspective (at least for that moment and that time).
Surprisingly my legs felt good even after the 8 miler yesterday so in the middle of the run I went to De Anza track and did 6 hill bounds up that little hill near the finish line.
In the early afternoon I went to Air Accord and flew with Kuzo. We did slow flight over the south valley for about an hour and then came back to RHV to do 5-6 landings. We were over UTC which is about 10 miles out and I did my usual
"Reid Hillview Tower, this is 757 Uniform Foxtrot over UTC with Zulu. Staying in the pattern." That meant I wanted to land and then take off again and do the pattern and land again and repeat and repeat.....
The traffic controller did not respond. Suddenly we could hear his conversation with another pilot about how many passengers he had aboard and could he make the runway. Turns out his engine had failed (ugh). Then the controller said that the airport was closed. Kuzo told me to do a 180 and head back down the valley. After a few minutes we began to hear traffic resuming at thw airport so we headed back. At that point Kuzo told me that based on the call letters, that the plane was Sundowner from Air Accord.
I told him that we would just head back and we could forget the landings and do them another day. I knew he was worried about the plane and the passengers. It was strange. I wasn't thinking about flying anymore but was just focused on getting the plane in and on the ground.
As we closed in on the airport we could see traffic backed up on Story Road and we also spotted the plane, intact with no fire or smoke. The pilot had made it down but short of the runway.
As we came in over East Ridge Shopping Center I was a bit high but I cut the throttle and we came down nicely and seeing white over red I knew that we were OK. The plane settled easily and I just rounded out and flared almost perfectly. I had nailed the landing!
Kuzo turned to me.
"Great landing", he said.
We taxi'd back to air accord and Yuzo came out to tell us that everyone was OK. The plane was intact. They would just have to tow it back in and figure out what happended. (Found out later on that the pilot had run out of fuel and had not switched to the second tank...hmmmm. This is the second time this has happened in NorCal in the past two months.)
As for me, I realized that because I thinking of the other plane and the whether everyone was OK, I had defocused on my own fears. I mean, I was landing with power under almost perfect conditions. It put it all in perspective (at least for that moment and that time).
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Took two days off
I celebrated my Wednesday night workout by taking the next two days off.
Today I ran the 3 mile warmup and then the 4.68 mile club run.
Surprisingly I felt fairly strong. I half expected to feel tired and dragged out.
I believe I am getting stronger. I will run on Sunday too but keep the pace very easy.
Next week will be a down week which means I will cut my miles big time and if the conditions are ok I may run a 3200 meter time trial on the track next Saturday. The goal would be to run 6:30-35 pace and feel as if I could have gone on.
That or I will run the Valentines Day 5.4 miler and see how strong I am.
I won't push the 400's Wednesday evening.
Today I ran the 3 mile warmup and then the 4.68 mile club run.
Surprisingly I felt fairly strong. I half expected to feel tired and dragged out.
I believe I am getting stronger. I will run on Sunday too but keep the pace very easy.
Next week will be a down week which means I will cut my miles big time and if the conditions are ok I may run a 3200 meter time trial on the track next Saturday. The goal would be to run 6:30-35 pace and feel as if I could have gone on.
That or I will run the Valentines Day 5.4 miler and see how strong I am.
I won't push the 400's Wednesday evening.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
3 x 1600
When I started this whole thing eight-nine weeks ago my goal was to run 3 x 1600 in 6:30 or under. The reason I chose this as my goal was because it is a 20 minute 5K level interval workout.
http://misweb.cbi.msstate.edu/~rpearson/tables/intervals/int064.html
Late this afternoon I did just that and then some.
I ran 3 x 1600 in a 6:23 average.
6:22
6:27
6:19
Once again Dimitri gave up his dance class, came down from Palo Alto and paced me through the workout. It was almost perfect conditions. The day had been warm and almost spring-like and as the sun set it cooled down nicely but was still t-shirt and shorts type of weather.
I felt good throughout despite two days of back to back hammering at work. I almost decided not to come at all but then I realized that my body was trained now and I could just get into the zone and "walk" my way through the workout.
It wasn't quite that easy but work tensions melted away nicely by the end of the first 1600 and from that point on all I was focused on was hitting my splits.
Dimitri played me like a violin not letting me go out too fast on the first two laps of each rep and then gradually increasing the tempo so that we came in under our goal.
As we came down the last stretch on the last 1600 I said to him, "Damn I feel good!"
Next week is back to 12 x 400 and I will mostly be on my own as I climb the ladder again.
http://misweb.cbi.msstate.edu/~rpearson/tables/intervals/int064.html
Late this afternoon I did just that and then some.
I ran 3 x 1600 in a 6:23 average.
6:22
6:27
6:19
Once again Dimitri gave up his dance class, came down from Palo Alto and paced me through the workout. It was almost perfect conditions. The day had been warm and almost spring-like and as the sun set it cooled down nicely but was still t-shirt and shorts type of weather.
I felt good throughout despite two days of back to back hammering at work. I almost decided not to come at all but then I realized that my body was trained now and I could just get into the zone and "walk" my way through the workout.
It wasn't quite that easy but work tensions melted away nicely by the end of the first 1600 and from that point on all I was focused on was hitting my splits.
Dimitri played me like a violin not letting me go out too fast on the first two laps of each rep and then gradually increasing the tempo so that we came in under our goal.
As we came down the last stretch on the last 1600 I said to him, "Damn I feel good!"
Next week is back to 12 x 400 and I will mostly be on my own as I climb the ladder again.
Monday, February 06, 2006
Running and Ghosting
I ran 5 miles twice today. Very easy both runs. Legs felt OK.
10 miles total of calorie burning exercise. The morning run was cold and clear. The lunch run was almost like spring. Close to 70 degrees.
Work: The usual stuff. One meeting after another. The bases are still loaded. How am I going to get out of this jam? Screw it. This is what I live for, supposedly. I am ghosting along at warp speed.
There's a grounder down the line at first...!
Behind the bag........!
10 miles total of calorie burning exercise. The morning run was cold and clear. The lunch run was almost like spring. Close to 70 degrees.
Work: The usual stuff. One meeting after another. The bases are still loaded. How am I going to get out of this jam? Screw it. This is what I live for, supposedly. I am ghosting along at warp speed.
There's a grounder down the line at first...!
Behind the bag........!
Sunday, February 05, 2006
4 BIG THINGS
I flew patterns both Saturday and Sunday and frankly my whole game was off. My patterns were not tight and I seemed to be all over the pace altitude-wise.
Today I took off with the trim tab all the way up which made it very tough to even get off the ground. Rob took the plane and got us off the ground as we adjusted the tap to take off position.
I seemed to be regressing.
Why?
I think it because I am breaking by big rule of life. I am trying to do 4 big things at once and I am best when I am only doing 3. What are BIG things.
In my case it was (until recently)
I was working as a consultant but only part time.
Now I have added in that 4th BIG element. Fulltime work.
After a full week of work I was just plain tired and my flying showed the effects. Right now it (flying) is the new BIG thing and requires the most focus.
As drove home I realized, as I already had begun to suspect, that work would be no problem with family and running if I was not flying. But I am not going to stop flying. So since part of my job is to find a full time HR Exec, that is going to become my major focus beginning Monday. That way I can exit work as I presently know it (5 days a week, oh my!). I hope by sometime in March.
Otherwise I would have to put flying on hiatus or cut it back to one day a week. It's not a choice. Eventually family, work, flying and running will all be adversely effected and I am not at a point in my life where I want to juggle an overloaded schedule.
Today I took off with the trim tab all the way up which made it very tough to even get off the ground. Rob took the plane and got us off the ground as we adjusted the tap to take off position.
I seemed to be regressing.
Why?
I think it because I am breaking by big rule of life. I am trying to do 4 big things at once and I am best when I am only doing 3. What are BIG things.
In my case it was (until recently)
- Flying
- Running
- Family (family, friends, house etc etc)
I was working as a consultant but only part time.
Now I have added in that 4th BIG element. Fulltime work.
After a full week of work I was just plain tired and my flying showed the effects. Right now it (flying) is the new BIG thing and requires the most focus.
As drove home I realized, as I already had begun to suspect, that work would be no problem with family and running if I was not flying. But I am not going to stop flying. So since part of my job is to find a full time HR Exec, that is going to become my major focus beginning Monday. That way I can exit work as I presently know it (5 days a week, oh my!). I hope by sometime in March.
Otherwise I would have to put flying on hiatus or cut it back to one day a week. It's not a choice. Eventually family, work, flying and running will all be adversely effected and I am not at a point in my life where I want to juggle an overloaded schedule.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Enough Said
Friday I ran 5 miles a slow as molasses
Saturday I ran about 8 miles with some 30 meter strides (bounding) on the track. During the club 3 mile warmup run I stayed right with the leaders and my legs felt strong.
Enough said.
Saturday I ran about 8 miles with some 30 meter strides (bounding) on the track. During the club 3 mile warmup run I stayed right with the leaders and my legs felt strong.
Enough said.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
One More Step
I went to the wednesday evening track workout.
4 x 1200 meters starting every 9 minutes. My good friend Dimitri came down from Palo Alto to pace me. The weather was threatening to raim but all it did was drizzle. There was a headwind coming down the final stretch of each lap.
4:52
4:51
4:47
4:40
The workout went very well. As usual I was isolated with the fast runners 20-30 seconds in front of me and smaller slower group well behind. If it hadn't been for Dimitri I would have had to run solo fighting that wind each lap. But he told me to just stay behind him or on his shoulder and he set the pace.
On the last one I hissed at him to pick up the pace with about a lap and half to go and then faster still on the last 400 so that it felt like the end of a 5K race.
I felt great. Strong throughout. 87 second last lap.
If all goes well next week, I will run 3 x 1600 in 6:30 or faster. Then I will begin to climb the ladder again the week after.
12 x 400
6 x 800
4 x 1200
3 x 1600
4 x 1200 meters starting every 9 minutes. My good friend Dimitri came down from Palo Alto to pace me. The weather was threatening to raim but all it did was drizzle. There was a headwind coming down the final stretch of each lap.
4:52
4:51
4:47
4:40
The workout went very well. As usual I was isolated with the fast runners 20-30 seconds in front of me and smaller slower group well behind. If it hadn't been for Dimitri I would have had to run solo fighting that wind each lap. But he told me to just stay behind him or on his shoulder and he set the pace.
On the last one I hissed at him to pick up the pace with about a lap and half to go and then faster still on the last 400 so that it felt like the end of a 5K race.
I felt great. Strong throughout. 87 second last lap.
If all goes well next week, I will run 3 x 1600 in 6:30 or faster. Then I will begin to climb the ladder again the week after.
12 x 400
6 x 800
4 x 1200
3 x 1600
Rap at 5:19 AM
Was woken at 5:19 AM to the sound of rap music blasting from a passing car.
Now I clown around, when I hang around, with the Undergroundbut when I'm with the Mafia we DROPPIN YAAnd if you're a hoe then I'll be knockin ya, baby why notYou shouldn't jock me cause I'm popularThe group with the glock, I love to pop the gunCoppers get shot, they shouldn't try to stop the Mafia2Pac'll pack a person, pump the trunkI'm bumpin G-Funk, but you can call it what you wantHow many times I gotta tell ya, don't ignore meEither be my hoe or hit the do', you're nothin for me (see ya!)That's why I love to go on tour GScores of whores behind the door, a nigga's naughtyNow, I'm sippin on a fortySo you can call it what you want just pass the blunt and kick it Money
Whoa....I don't mind rap but at 5:19 AM it was way too much. Rolled around in bed for about 30 minutes trying to fall bacK to sleep but finally gave up and went and made coffee.
Then drank coffee.
Then staggered out for a 4 mile run. 4 x 1200 tonight.
Good flying day yesterday. 5 landings and one practice go around. Still not pretty but I almost have it now. Flared well 3 times but then let the yoke go forward at the very end and three pointed it. BUMP! I need to stay focused all the way through. At least I can line up well and adjust speed and altitude. EastRidge Shopping Cneter no longer looks like it is coming through the propeller. I actually found myself aiming for my landing spot.
Now I clown around, when I hang around, with the Undergroundbut when I'm with the Mafia we DROPPIN YAAnd if you're a hoe then I'll be knockin ya, baby why notYou shouldn't jock me cause I'm popularThe group with the glock, I love to pop the gunCoppers get shot, they shouldn't try to stop the Mafia2Pac'll pack a person, pump the trunkI'm bumpin G-Funk, but you can call it what you wantHow many times I gotta tell ya, don't ignore meEither be my hoe or hit the do', you're nothin for me (see ya!)That's why I love to go on tour GScores of whores behind the door, a nigga's naughtyNow, I'm sippin on a fortySo you can call it what you want just pass the blunt and kick it Money
Whoa....I don't mind rap but at 5:19 AM it was way too much. Rolled around in bed for about 30 minutes trying to fall bacK to sleep but finally gave up and went and made coffee.
Then drank coffee.
Then staggered out for a 4 mile run. 4 x 1200 tonight.
Good flying day yesterday. 5 landings and one practice go around. Still not pretty but I almost have it now. Flared well 3 times but then let the yoke go forward at the very end and three pointed it. BUMP! I need to stay focused all the way through. At least I can line up well and adjust speed and altitude. EastRidge Shopping Cneter no longer looks like it is coming through the propeller. I actually found myself aiming for my landing spot.
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