The Heat Is On!!!!!

The heat is on! It cleared 100 yesterday. It looks like it will be in the 90's today.

I got out early jog-walking for 15 minutes with Amber. I then went over to WVC and ran slowly covering 65 minutes overall. The club ran short-six. It was an excruciating experience for most of them. Think death march! Danny was still talking about the heat during breakfast in the air-conditioned confines of Carrows an hour later.

16 FLAT!!!!!

Tuesday:



AM: I ran 45 minutes early at an easy pace. Putting in place a 4 day running plan to revive my legs. It was overcast and cool. Almost fall-like. Traffic increasing as schools begin to sequentially open up for the term. The plan is to get my ass over to Saratoga track this evening and run some striders and hook up with Danny (who by the way is the identifiable hero of Saratoga cross country). Everyone knows his name. It almost Cheers-like.

PM: Met Danny at the track. The weather felt hot and sticky. Not used to it. I have been a morning runner for months now. The track was crowded. The football team was working out and then Pop Warner showed up. These guys were all over the inside lanes. Danny almost collided with one player on his last rep. I ran around 30 minutes with 4 x 100 in 17-17-16-16 (drafting off Danny's 200's). Last one was 16 flat! Slight flare in the right groin. I need to be careful. The speed is there but the body needs to catch up. Iced when I got home.

75 minute day.

Thursday:

I was supposed to meet Jake at Forbes at 8 am but my car wouldn't start. I ended calling my auto service (CSAA) and had to wait for them to show. God, they were prompt. The problem was my battery so I bought a new one (installed by them on the spot). Then I drove up to Forbes, had coffee with Jake and Wally before heading off for a 60 minute painfully slow run. My legs are still sore from Tuesday. Things held together and I got the run in before the heat descended on Bay Area. I am definitely paying the price for the fast 100's.

DOMS-R-US

Time to change (again)

D is gone to Toronto so I drove to WVC and ran 50 minutes with 6 x 100 meter strides. I averaged 18 seconds. The club was running the infamous 36 x 200 meter 3 man relay. I checked in to find that 4 club runners, including me, had pulled their calf's in the past year so we're sort of a club within a club. Two of my colleagues wrap their calf muscles with an ace bandage. Several asked me how my achilles was doing (except it wasn't my achilles that took half of last year out, it was my calf).

Small turnout. The Pacific Association Cross Country season just began so many of the "studs" were over in Santa Cruz running the first of the series. It crossed my mind that I should consider running the series but then I reminded myself that {{{focus}}} will be critical for me to run a fast mile next year.

Sunday:

50 minutes. Legs tired. Stopped several times. Didn't really want to be out there today. It is time to cut back to a four and maybe even on occasion, three day training week. 5 days a week or even three in a row just beats me up no matter how slow the pace is.

Time to change again.

A couple of sounds bites from the past and present at Sun:

I ran into Smita, my old buddy from Sun. We hadn't talked in a year or more. It was good to catch up.

I also ran into another colleague who is still as Sun and is positioned to make the Oracle transition. He told me that he was in a meeting the other day and "Larry" called in on the phone to tell the group the direction they should be taking. After pontificating he left them with these words.

"Either you make it happen or your replacements will!"

Good Larry?

Evil Larry?

As for Sun.....

They're coming!

Adventures in Legs

Tuesday:

My legs felt better this morning. Not great but better than Sunday. I ran an easy 50 minutes. Not much going on. Traffic was light but I know it will go nuclear in the next several weeks as the local schools go back on line.

I am really thinking about going back to every other day running (or 4 days a week). I would rather run further the days I do run versus more days. I am a bit beat up. I hate to change anything because I have had steady improvement but I think I am running into the proverbial wall.


My heroine, Maggie Vessey went down yesterday in the semi's at Berlin. Looked like she was sleep walking through her heat. She ended up dead last. I am going to have to find another big blond to follow. :-(

Wednesday:

Ran 60 minutes this morning. Very quiet preschool year track. Almost empty of walkers and runners. Some of my college routes are cut off by construction going on. These temporary fences suddenly go up so I have to run other routes.

Legs OK but I am tired. Slight headaches during the day. I think I am over trained. Hard to believe because I seem to do so little but whatever it is, it is too much for right now. I have some nice momentum. Don't want to crater it. I will adjust. I have been thinking about 4 days a week and that may be the move that is necessary. I haven't been doubling but I may have to once or twice a week. I haven't run at lunch for months. As the weather cools I may go back to the Baylands.

Friday:

I took off with some trepidation. My right achilles was slightly sore last night even though it had not bothered me at all in recent memory. I taped and iced. The run turned out to be the usual. I slow jogged 60 minutes. My legs felt OK (as in O-K). No achilles problems. A tiny bit of tightness in my upper right calf right behind and just below the knee. I will need to be careful about that. Will The adventures in legs ever end?

4:31.9

Saturday:

Goal workout was 1200 meters in 4:30-33.

The place was Prospect High School. This might be the last run there for a while. WVC track is back open so I will drift back there for the time being.

Warmed up with D for a total of about 25 minutes including some strides. Then we ran a shake out 400 in 92. I admitted to feeling sluggish (or sluggo). I asked that we go out a bit slower and ramp up the pace as we ran.

The first lap was 94. I can't say it was easy. I wasn't totally into it. At 600 meters I thought to myself that if I was going to be a miler, I needed to run the planned workout regardless and tough it out. D had already decided that we had to pick up the second lap if we were going to hit out target time range. He told me later that he had decided to run a 90 and just hoped I would still be there.

We came through in a scintillating 3:04 and I was still there. Not maxed out but my quads were feeling it even though my breathing was fine. Down the backstretch I said to D that I was there which meant I didn't know if I could go any faster. Turns out I could. With 200 to go the pace quickened and I just went with it. I figured that I was fighting to get under 4:36 which is what we ran the last time we did this workout.

When we flashed across the line the time read 4:32. Actually 4:31.9 but who's counting. I was glad to get away with a workout inside my target range. I jogged down for 12 minutes and was surprised that my legs actually felt OK.

Bottom line. Breathing fine. Legs tired. I believe the 1000's last week plus the 60 minute run the next day ran me down a bit. I need to be more discreet.


Sunday:

A very slow (S-L-O-W) 60 minute run. I was the slowest guy on the track. I would like to say this was by design but really it was just because.

Because why?

Because my legs were tired.

work...WORK...WORK!

Tuesday:

Oh God, I woke up way too early. Too much on my mind (work...work...work).

4:30 AM. That vacant, empty time of summer twilight.* The sky just beginning to lighten in the west. I sneaked back under the covers, hiding. Maybe I would fall back.

No deal! I rolled out of bed around 5:15 (with a groan) after an unsuccessful attempt to fall back to sleep. Started the coffee and laid out on the couch. Amber came over and nuzzled me. The wonder dog, all 13 1/2 years of her was awake! I finally went out for a run at 6:30 having shaken myself awake. I jogged for 50 minutes coming back by the house at 25 minutes to get Sue some hot water and close the windows. By the time I finished the 2nd 25 minutes and walked back in the front door she was brewing coffee for herself. The rich, pure smell filled the house.

Showered and took Amber out for a walk.

*The diffused light from the sky during the early evening or early morning when the sun is below the horizon and its light is refracted by the earth's atmosphere.

Wednesday:

Good night sleep. Didn't want to get up (just beat the alarm). Had a mug of coffee and then went out and ran a sluggish 55 minutes of slow..slow including big loops at the college. I guess it's the day after syndrome. My legs felt OK yesterday but less so today. I did get stronger as the run went on. Low energy in the beginning and decent energy as things progressed. Amber didn't get her walk :-( and she gave me sad, guilty looks.

Thursday:

I drove over to Forbes Mill this morning. I hadn't been over there in months. Construction City going on near the parking lot and around the high school. My normal path was blocked so I had to take a circuitous route to get to the track and decided to take the "secret" trail back to Forbes. I finished off running a Dammit up and back for a total of 50 minutes.

Legs tired. No snap. Aggravated by early morning heat. A prelude to and warning of a 90 degree day.

Decided not to over analyze why I am tired. I just is.

Good "Enough" to Great

I read an interesting article on breakthroughs. I realize that even though I very committed to breaking 6 minutes for the mile (Good enough) , what I really want is a higher level of performance (Breakthrough). I will need to do some mind-work along with my regular training to get there. I am faced with doing more intelligent running, like it or not. But it won't mean much if I don't work on my systems of belief.

Gung Ho!

2 x 1000

Saturday

We ran over at Prospect High Track. Soccer players practicing. Runners on the track. A bit crowded for my taste.

Between running at home and on the track I did 25 minutes of slow jogging followed by striders.

The workout was 2 x 1000. Goal was 3:48-52. D lead perfectly and we did the first one in 3:47. It wasn't easy though. We didn't do the shakedown 400 and as usual it took me several laps to warm to the pace.

Walked 600 and then did another one. Got distracted by kids playing in the fast lanes between 400 and 500 meters. They barely moved out of the way. But it came back to haunt us when they were back there on the next lap. No track-sense. Parents did nothing to corral them and I lost my cool and my focus. We were able to get back on pace over the last 400 and run another 3:47. I felt better but still, the workout was tough. I checked. It was statistically slightly better than the 800's I ran last week.

Warmed down for 40 minute total.

D wants to shoot for sub 4:30 for the 1200 meter time trial next week. So coming through close to 3:00-3:02 and pushing that 3rd lap. I would be happy with 4:33 or under.

Sunday

Shel and I drove up to GG park and ran a DSE race. I jogged a very easy, sore legged 25 minutes before the race. I kept Shel company during the 5K which we ran in 29 minutes and change. Afterward, we ran back to the car. 60 minutes all in all.

Exciting highlights included the following:

Two young gals ripping by me on my 25 minute pre-race warm up.

Hearing some guy in black shorts tell his girlfriend that they were running slower than a ten minute pace. I was behind them at the time.

Catching and passing two young, tall gals in the last mile only to be caught by a woman we see all the time at these events who chants reaffirmation phrases to herself.

Way to go


Feeling good

Let's get going (as she unintentionally cuts me off..but then I am running as a bandit and don't plan on coming anywhere near the finish line).

Hum Drum Week and Maggie Vessey

Tuesday: Another call-in meeting. I couldn't stand it so I ran ahead of time. 50 minutes of easy jogging (I am a jogger!). I was lucky. I woke up early and quaffed some coffee and bolted out the door. Walked Amber afterward.

Wednesday: Another early morning run. 55 minutes under the stark calm of a a slate tinged overcast sky. I ran the usual route. Over to the track, big loops and then back adding on a bit extra to net 5 more minutes. The tall guy was down on the tartan blowing down 7:20-7:30 miles. He kept lapping me over and over. he on the inside lane, me on the outside lane and adding in the par course hill. But still.....

Thursday: I walked Amber (skies still very gray). I then went out and ran the usual route. The funny thing is that it started to drizzle heavily enough that I had to take off my sun glasses. They had beaded up and were choked with droplets. Anyway, 55 minutes. Legs felt sluggish. Short, tiny Asian girl moved away from me as I circled the track. Makes me once again think if every other day would be smarter. But then....I keep improving. Don't screw with it. It's not about these runs. It's about Saturday.

Went to the last All Comers of the season last evening to watch the action. Maggie Vessey, tops in the 800 in the world, showed up to run, coasting to a high 53 second 400 as a tune up for the 800 that will take place shortly in Berlin. She is world class looking. Tall, blond, slender but not skinny. Stood out. Striking.

McKayla Plank was there too. What ever happened to the Fast Woman rising star of 3-4 years ago? I meant to say hello but didn't. I know her but not that well. She didn't look like that gazelle of several years ago. Could be again with the right coach. Someone told me that she is injured.

Paying the price

I paid the price of Saturday's workout on Sunday morning. I ran 60 minutes very slowly. Legs were heavy but at least they were not sore. A very unremarkable run. I am sure Galloway would have rightly had me running 3 minutes and walking 1. It probably would have been smarter. There is a method to his jogger madness.

Sunday's are often the toughest workout of the week. It should be Saturday but I am usually well rested so outside of the pace, the reps are done on fresh legs.

The day after. That's the one.

2:58-2:55

Prospect High workout.

Goal was to run 2 x 800 in 2:58-3:00. Warmed up 25 minutes and did some striders. Then we (D, Jake and I) ran a shakeout 400 in 93. We walked a 400 and then launched into our first 800. As usual it was a slight struggle to get used to the pace (I am always sluggish at first) but we came through in 90 intact and ran the last lap in 88 for a 2:58!

We walked a lap and then did the second 800. D later told me that we came through 400 in 88 which was amazing because Jake (running one lap) was right with us. His fastest of the year. I had to admit that I felt very good. I guess was I was all shaked out. We ran the last lap in 87 for a 2:55!!!!

I warmed down with D for 10 minutes.

We averaged on the high side of 2:56.

Talked to Missy after the warmdown. She has become the typical devoted soccer mom except that her kids swim. She turns 40 later this year. If she trains she could be a force in her age group.

Gigantic group at breakfast. Took over the back room in Carrows.