Slow Intervals

Back to low key running. 2 x 5 miles!

I ran 5 this morning at 70% but slowed down when I realized that I was still recovering from my so called mammoth session on Monday. In the evening I went out and joined the club. The track was closed so we ran 4 x .66. I did a short 3 mile warmup and then ran each of the reps not exceeding 70% on tyhe HRM. It was warm so I really trailed the rest of the pack who all were running hard. We started every 8 minutes so I had a bit of recovery. I guess I could call them slow intervals. My legs felt OK.

This is it going forward. I will test myself with some AT runs now and then but that's it until I see something that says I can run faster. I seem to undo myself all the time. I will try not to follow that path.

Day Off

I am taking today off without guilt. My legs will thank me for it on Wednesday (or so I hope).
I figure if I can run 90-100 minutes every other day I can begin to get "there". My Monday longer run could end up going longer but I may only do that every other week rather than weekly. I am not sure it is good for me to do anything hard week after week because it tends to beat me up.

I am going to refocus on my morning 5 miler (a true 5 miles now that I was able to measure the course more accurately). So the times will be much slower than before but at least I will know what I am running.

The other key workout will be an every 3-4 week 2 mile trial run. This will be tough because unless my friend Dimitri is there, I will be doing this alone. It has to be run at 95% effort which means that whatever I do in this run should indicate what I can do in a flat 5K.

97 minutes

I took off in the morning and ran 97 minutes, my longest run time-wise in years. I felt better as the run progressed. It was Sunny and breezy. Low to mid 60's. I ate an obscenely large bowl of oatmeal with a box of raisens thrown in as a post race meal. 139 pounds post run. Lowest in a while. 134 on my old 5 pounds lighter scale.

Now if I don't pay attention to anyone elses advice or try to fool myself into think "You can do it!" I will take Tuesday off.

And no, I am not going to do the 3 miles of AT plan that I sketched out several days ago. If I took time to think about it, would I have done well running that sort of program when I was at my best? 2-3 mile runs at 5:30-5:40 pace every other day with maybe 15-20 mpw total. The answer lies in the fact that it was mileage that made me whatever runner I was and not all the tempo and speedwork that I could imagine. It may not be big miles anymore but that's the gal that I "brung" to the dance.

Easy 5 miler

I ran 5 miles his morning. Had no problem staying with the lead pack on the 3 warmup (a small victory). I then another several miles at an easy jog.

Legs felt OK.

Sunday is a rest day. Monday I will do mileage again.

Jake showed up at breakfast hammered from a 7:45 pace 3 miler trial run. I recommended we get a hammer out and tap his legs "all over" for a few minutes to finish the job.

Danny still looks fat. I would say he is carrying around at least 10 pounds of extra lard. I didn't say anything. I didn't want Madelyn all over me with her talons out. That gets tiring. Talkinmg about fat.

Dimitri and I talked vegetarian diets and also Bob Rea's 2-3 mile a day training that still lets him run in the 36-37 minute 10K range in his mid 50's. It seems that he warms up on his exercycle for 15 minutes and then goes out and runs 2-3 miles at 10K tempo pace. He does this about 6 days a week. 15-20 miles a week max.

Long run? Sure, when he races 10K. Otherwise that is it.

I wonder what I would do on that sort of training. Of course I would run tempo every other day maybe 3 days a week.

Monday: 1 mile easy, 2-3 miles tempo
Tuesday: 2-3 miles easy
Wednesday: Same as Monday
Thursday: off
Friday 2-3 miles easy
Saturday: 1 mile easy, 2-3 mile tempo.
Sunday: 2-3 miles easy or switch this with Saturday if racing on Sunday.

Tempo would be about a 7:10-7:20 pace.

Hmmmmm. Something to think about.

Double 5's

God this is boring. I sound like an endless tape of myself.

After taking Thursday off I ran 5 in the morning and 5 again at lunch time. My legs and body just felt better. The afternoon was session was high wind to Jamaica with some real gusts but I altered my course and slithered down behind some 3 story condo's and whatever else I had to do, to not get blown around too much.

Work as I know it is almost over. Two quick hours today passing the torch to Doug. It's basically done and I am back to auxillary consultant attached to King's Scouts or something like that. Somesone at the office said I looked too happy.

Day Off

A real day off. Well hardly. I was ready not to run. That always scares me. When I am beginning to get fried (as in being burned out) the first sign is a significant desire not to run and that was what was beginning to happening to me. I just need to pay attention. As a friend recently wrote to me.

Not recovering? Well that doesn't work.

I can write up all the neat little schedule I want on scraps of paper or on my computer and it doesn't make a difference. When I begin to go down, I GO DOWN.

Ok, well I will begin to trudge up the mountain again and feel good about my running.

Tough Day

Very tough day. The 5 miles in the morning wasn't too bad but the late afternoon aerobic fartlek work was a drag. I felt beat up even though I kept things to a reasonable pace. It might have been the fact that I haven't been sleeping too well or it might be a combo of that and running 3 days (9-6-11) in a row. I last feltgood monday. Took last Friday off, ran Saturday, took Sunday off, ran Monday. Then Tuesday was a drag and Wednesday too.

The rules don't change. Usually if I feel badly in my workouts, I pretty well know that I am slipping back. It's the question I asked last week (was it?).

Would I just be better off sticking with bigger days running and more days off?
The sleep problems are not work related. I am not tossing and turning about that anymore. I think it may be over-training. Even that 5th day of running seems too much. I could make the 5th day very short but then I have to ask why do it.

So quietly I will slip back to 3 big days, one lessor day and give myself more days off. At least for now. I can do 35-40 and deal with higher miles later on.

6 miles

Ran the usual recovery run this morning. 6 miles in "slow as I could". Watch said 54 minutes and change.

My legs felt OK but there was no magic there. Just a slog. Weather was breezy with sun and clouds.

The track was being used by an exercise class. When I ran by them it seemed as if I were running a 6 minute pace but it was a funny illusion. If I had their age with my will, I would be on fire. I don't know if that is what I could describe my training as these days. Maybe determined is a better word.

Tomorrow is aerobic fartlek.

82 Minutes

Easy paced 82 minute morning run today. Perfect conditions. Cool and slightly breezy.

I kept my HRM in the 130-140 range.

Felt a bit sluggish at first maybe from the trip to Seattle this weekend. I seemed to feel stronger as the run progressed.

Saturday in Seattle

60 minute run along the Burke-Gillman Trail on Saturday morning. I felt good throughout.

55 degrees & overcast.

Plenty of ghosts of a faster Rich running there in the 1980's. Cyclist speeding by. No warning. They zip by and if you don't hear them and step to the inside, it's over. No "I am on your left".... or "cyclist coming up".

Aerobic Fartkek & the next day

Wednesday I ran 4 slow miles in the morning and came back in the afternoon and ran another 5 plus miles doing aerobic fartlek. 2 miles easy, 3 x 4 minutes at 85%: 2 minutes at 75%, 1.5 miles warmdown. The afternoon session was cooler than last week by 15 degrees.

9 miles day (give or take).

Today (Thursday) I ran an easy 5 miler in the AM.

Of course, as usual, I felt tired. I still think I would do better if I ran 4 days a week. I guess it's the idea of running more days that is attractive not the actual doing it. I may shift back to 4 BIG days and run still 40 mpw and hang in there. I just feel better.

I don't have to decide now. I will think on it like I always do.

5 Miles

My legs felt better MUCH today. I jogged a very easy 5 miles in the morning. That was it. Dump week. Could have done more but forced myself not to.

A Day Off

Nice heat wave yesterday. The evening was particularly nasty. High clouds came in and just seem to sit over the bay area sealing in the heat. We barbequed flank steak last night and let the air conditioner run while we ate dinner. After the sun set (I think it set....I couldn't actually see it) We turned off the air and opened up all the windows. But the air outside was still warm. Balmy is too kind a word. Didn't sleep well even with the fan blowing right on me.

Sue and I both had stomach troubles this weekend. Maybe a touch of something going around.

God my life is exciting.

I thought of running today but have decided to pass. Will wait until Tuesday and go out before or after work.

This is the proverbial dump week so I am not too worried about how much I run this week. Then back up for 3 weeks at 40 and then another dump week. That will take me into mid June and if I feel decent I will go up to 45 and stay there for 3-4 weeks.

5 Miles: Tired Legs

5 miles in the morning. Legs tired. No more to be said.

9 miles

I woke up this morning with stomach problems and wondered if I should run. I decided to go anyway figuring that there were bathrooms on campus and I could always tour the "johns" if need be. Pit stops are often part of running like it or not.

I ran 9 miles as planned and found that I got stronger as the run went on. This is a good sign. 5 miles on Sunday and I am at 40 again. Then a dump week.

5 miler

Easy 5 miler this morning while it was till cool.

This is a real variation from what I have been doing over the past ten years. Yesterday was hard day. 11 miles with aerobic fartlek. Sunday was an AT run. Under the old regime I would have taken the next day off. yet on monday I ran 2 x 5 miles and then 5 miles again today.

In each case my legs seemed fine.

I am not saying this is the way I will be doing to going forward, just that I am testing myself to see if I can handle it now and then and improve.

Aerobic Fartlek

I ran an easy 5 miles in the morning. It was already comfortable out so I had a pretty good idea of what the afternoon would be like.

In the afternoon it was hovering around 90 degrees when I started my aerobic fartlek workout. Just a new twist to speedwork. I did a 2 mile warmup and ran for about 20 minutes alternating 3 minutes of 85% of max on the HRM and 2 minutes at roughly 75%. I repeated this 4 times.

I followed this with another 2 miles of easy jogging. Then I drank all the water I could get my hands on.

No idea of pace. Just effort and the heat.

Once I am no longer interim VP of HR and don't always have to be someplace in the mornings, I will shift this type of workout to the mornings on hot days. I am ready to let this job go. More than ready to shift to a new role.

Anway: 11 mile day.

Running The Day After

The usual 10 miles day. 6 miles in the morning and 4 more at lunch.
I ran each session slow. Maybe a 9 pace with a 130-140 HR. The morning was cool but the afternoon run was in the low to mid 70's.

My legs felt OK (a few sores spots but nothing that bothered me too much) after Sunday's AT effort. Usually I take the day off but I felt compelled to stay with my program and see if I could handle it. Still, I will be careful. I will take Tuesday off and run again Wednesday.

I am trying for another 40 mile week.

61 and I am still running.

AT Run

On Saturday I was headed out to the club workout to run and I banged my left hip againt the drivers side view mirror.

BAM!

A painful electric jolt went down my spine.

I seemed to have knocked my back out. I tried to jog but it was way too painful and so i went back in the house, took some advil and lay down on the couch with an ice pack stuck to my lower back. After about 20 minutes I decided to go on to the club workout. My intention wasn't to run the workout but just get in a 3 mile jog. Once I got there I stood around chatting. After about 30 minutes I took a test jog and my back no longer hurt.

I strapped on my HRM and jogged several miles around the campus.My back held.

I iced several more times during the day and also took some more advil.

On Sunday morning I swung out of bed with no pain at all. I decided to drive up to the DSE club 40th anniversary 5K and run it at as a 90% AT test run. The out and back course ran along the Marina Green out out into the Presidio but along the bay. I found myself feeling very good. No back problems at all. I didn't try to drive my HR up but just let it come upon its own. At the first mile it was around 170-72 and by two miles it was at 175-76. Coming back it heated up a bit with the wind at my back and the HRM finally got up 179-180. I just kept it smooth and ran in at 21:08. I was pretty much alone the last mile so no vapor trails to follow.

Given that the course is accurate, this was my best AT run in about 4 years. I was pretty much separated from several runners who normally run in the 22's for 5K so I knew I had run better to the pack then usual.

With the warm up and warm down I was close to 40 miles for the week. Most of it was run at a painfully slow pace.

Sub optimal to slow seems to bring the best results so that will be my course for now.

Double 4's

Forced myself to run 2 x 4 miles. I felt better than that but I am careening towards 40 mpw and would like not to overdo it (or am I already overdoing it?).
I ran both runs as slow as I could stand it. I kept my HR down at 130 throughout the morning and noontime run. It was cool weather and that helped.

If all goes well this will be another 5 day running week. Work is beginning to lighten up and I am finally feeling relaxed. I am in the strategic withdrawal phase of being the interim VP of HR. Now I am the departing, interim VP of HR.

The plan is to run Sunday's 5K Dolphin Race (40th anniversary) at AT pace.

39:11

I ran 5 miles this morning at 65-70% and covered the same course I ran last week in 39:56 but this time I ran it in 39:11. Definite improvement!

In the afternoon (it was 8-10 degrees cooler than last week) I ran 7 more miles and felt fairly strong throughout. Last week I was stiff and sore but this time i felt strong.

All in all, a 12 mile day. Whoa! 24 miles this week so far. I am allowing myself to feel better. I hope that makes sense. I am taking Metabol as a recovery drink. It seems to work. I am back to using the HRM almost daily. It tells me to slow down.

The key is to get faster given various terrain and weather conditions but at the same target heart rates.

Epiphany (in a low key)

The warmup is here. It was in the 70's today but felt hotter.

I ran my usual double covering 7 miles this morning before work and another 5 miles at lunch. This all must have a purpose (lol) because once again with my HRM in tow, I was the slowest man in theBaylands with all sorts of runners zipping by me at breakneck speeds. I was obstinate about keeping my HR down in the 130's in both runs and you know what that is like if it warm.

So what did I accomplish? More miles and more calories burned. Of course also that weekly ephiphany that I usually don't pay attention to. I don't get faster by the same path other runners normally take. In one year (Zippy's to Zippy's) filled at various times with more miles, threshold runs and intervals I have added 47 seconds to my 5K time. That speak volumes. if I was an investment I would be doing well.

Anyway, food for thought.