Another Hour

It was in the mid 30's when I trotted out the front door this morning. My intention was to run for 65-70 minutes but I ran into "Ohio" and we chatted for way too long.  I had to hard step it back home just to get in an hour or running. I had a late morning meeting and so I was basically out of time. Thought briefly about going out again in the afternoon but realized that I would gain nada from it so I passed.

Slow with walk breaks

The rain disappeared and the overnight temps went down into the 30's. I went out before 9 am and ran 70 minutes with Galloway walking breaks peppering my efforts. This was the second day of back to back but my legs held up well. The walk breaks and the general slow pace seemed to preserve my energy level.  No complaints.

Stormy Weather

The rain had come back so I put off running until around 1 pm. I joined the club for breakfast though listening to the stories of how bad the weather was for Farwell. Dimitri had a terrible run coming in around 27 flat for 3.54 miles. He wondered what it was worth for a 5K equivalent. I took out my iPhone, dialed up the club website and looked it up.

"Low 23's," I said.

"You're too slow to train with me," I joked, "but don't worry, I'll help you."

It was raining when I finally did get out the door. I ran for an hour and in the meantime the rain stopped and the skies actually cleared up.

Thanksgiving Run

Thanksgiving day run with the club...NOT!

I woke up early and decided to run from the house and then head over to Carrows for breakfast. So I ran 65 minutes in sub 40 degrees (might have been closer to 35) but at least it was sunny and not very breezy.  I got over to the restaurant and found Jake sitting in Sue's old car in the parking lot. He didn't end up running with the club or running at all. Legs dead. May be "coaching firing time" again.

65 easy

It was raining this morning but I went out anyway well before 8 am. Did my usual combo of neighborhood and college routes. Not much wind so it was pleasant. Kept things easy running for 65 minutes.

Running with Charles

I got out the door in the morning trying to beat the rain but it caught up with me anyway about 27 minutes into the run. I did the neighborhood for a time but then headed over to the college where I collided with my friend Charles and so we hung together doing repeat super loops. I finally headed home while the weather continued to be intermittent. Rain, sun, clouds. More sun. More rain.

I cut the run off at 65 minutes.  My legs were okay but not as fresh as yesterday. Back to back days remain a challenge.

The Nines

I was lazy this morning so I slept in. I then went over to Carrows for breakfast with the club. A good crowd showed up including several of usual racers. The XC finals for the Pacific Association are on for tomorrow in Golden Gate Park. Rain is expected so it will be muddy and slippery on the course.

It was beginning to rain by the time I finally got out around 12:30 PM and pretty much was a sprinkler the whole 60 minutes. I was dressed to the nines so I really didn't suffer. I ran slowly as usual but my legs felt good so I just enjoyed the trip. It was my usual course. The track was empty because of the wet conditions. Given a normal winter this is what it is going to be like until spring.

21:55

Got up early and ran 12 minutes of "shakedown" around the neighborhood and over at Forbes Mill. Then Jake and I hooked up and ran a loop in just over 28 minutes. He was dead on his feet so I did the second loop alone. I pushed up to the top, running a steady and even effort. I hit the turnaround in 11:50 and thought that if I kept the same effort going down, that I would run in the mid to high 22's.  So I pushed the downhill sections figuring that this would give me a slight chance at sub 22 without slicing and dicing myself. I passed the last marker in the mid 19:30's and pressed the gas pedal down a bit to finish in 21:55.

Went to breakfast afterward. 

Galloway 4-1

I threw in Galloway from the start running 4 minutes and walking one. I stayed with this formula right through 50 minutes and then I shifted to 20 minutes of continuous running until the end.  The total time out on the roads was 70 minutes. My legs felt good  and strong but I kept the pace slow anyway. I had to make some change in my approach. I was beginning to get that beat up feeling again. My plan is to run continuously on Thursday and then shift back to 4-1 on the weekend. The goal now is to extend my time out on the roads but make the time spent out there the workout. Not the intensity.




No one our age is getting any faster at this point of the game. We're all just trying to hang on and maybe beat what we did last year.

Sissy Running

I ran a very slow 62 minutes on Sunday. It had no rhyme or reason but I was tired and lacking energy. In other words, flat lined.  I helped things along in the latter part of the run by throwing in some one minute walks (Galloway) and this did help. 4 minutes of running and one minute of running. After a few of these I did begin to feel better. I think that I am beginning to struggle with 4 days of running which has served me well since shifting to that sort of schedule almost twenty years ago.  More and more I think about three (3) day running weeks. I remember going through this when I went from 6-7 days of training to running every other day. Of course running every other day eventually became four days a week.

So either I go back to every other day (literally) or make one of the four days, half of what I run on the other days. But then I think to myself, is that worth anything? Just go to three. It is inevitable. Every other day has certain guidelines.

• Run every other day. 
• If you are happen to run back to back days either take two days off before or after.
• Run more on the days you do run.

Aging ain't for sissy's.

The HRM Again

I decided not to run until midday. I dropped of the XC stuff with Jake over at Lynbrook (now the season is really over) and was almost run over by hundreds of cars whipping around the parking lot. The cars vomited out parents and kids of all ages. Turned out it was Asian School. I dumped the stuff and got out of Dodge as quickly as I could. I drove over to the relative peace and tranquility of the Carrows' Parking lot for breakfast with some of my club members.

It warmed up nicely and was in the low 70's by the time I went out the door for my run. I wore the HRM to see where I was. I snapped it on and my resting was already at 70 after quaffing coffee and moving around quite a bit. That is a good number by the way. For some reason if I am fit my resting heart rate actually drops in the late afternoon. But 70 at noon is good. I went out and ran my usual college course. It took a long time for my HR to get up around 130. I wasn't pushing but I also wasn't plodding and tripping over myself.

I ran for a total of 68 minutes, picking up the last mile and getting my HR up around the mid 140's. I topped out around 148 (my theoretical 70% of max).

Route for 66

I upped my running minutes to 66 today. A slow climb back up into the 70's or so I hope. I tried to vary my route heading up the RR tracks to Rainbow, back through Jollyman Park and then a few laps around the college before heading home. 

 I am paying the price for stupid training (see past posts) and had to run very slowly (as in really, really slow). It is what it is. I run as slow as I can to avoid fatigue and pain. Dare I strap on the HRM and become dangerous again?
 


Jollyman Park

Compression Run

I ran 65 minutes yesterday morning. Nothing fast. I wore my compression tights because it was in the low 40's and I wanted to protect my legs. The run went okay. Nothing dramatic. I kept it slow and easy. No hamstring issues.

Basically running slow and now and then extending the duration seems to be the key to not getting injured.

Rain Man

A {{{mild}}} rain storm swept into the Bay Area. I got out around 8 am which was really 9 am because of the time change. It was another 55 minute jog with more than few bathroom stops. My energy level was better than yesterday but I was still sub-par. My guess is that I picked up some sort of minor flu bug. Nothing serious but enough to slow me down. As I was finishing the run my right hammie tightened (shades of August) and I had to slow down even further.

Should have mailed it in

I was out on the roads just before 8 am this morning. The warm weather of last week has cooled down nicely. Not too cold yet. But the run was not good. Multi bathroom stops, walk breaks and generally a body that was unresponsive. It would have been better if I had just mailed it in. I guess this is payback for feeling so good on Thursday (or not). In any case it was just a poor run. I got back to the house in 55 minutes and decided that going on for another 5 minutes was a waste of time.

After I got back home from breakfast I looked up "Bad Run". Of course I know it is not a phenomenon that I experience. I have had hundreds and hundreds of bad runs. Dozens of articles popped up. The bottom line is get over it and move on. Yeah, I knew that. I have been getting on for 42 years (of running).

After all, tomorrow is another day.

Surprising effort

Forbes Mill with Jake. I had to get up early, down some coffee and run a 5 minutes shakedown run. Then I drove over to Forbes. Jake and I ran the first loop in 27 flat. Way faster than the last several weeks. Sort of surprising in fact. On the second loop I went out slightly faster but did not push. I got to the top in just under 13 minutes and came back down to finish in 23:51. That was a surprise too. My hip was sensitive but didn't bother me. I stayed away from anything resembling torque. I kept it nice and steady.

Now, did I run this fast because I took it so damn easy on Tuesday or was it a combo of running hard twice last week  and then backing off? My guess is that it was the former. Easy running generally leads to faster efforts for me. That's because I am ass backwards training-wise.

56 minutes all told.

Pay the Price

My right leg was bothering me again on Monday. Probably pushed too hard last week. I figured I would have to recycle and rehab all over again. But Tuesday I ran 60 minutes with little or no problem. The lesson is engraved in my mind. Push now, pay now. So I can run but I have to keep it easy. Once a week seems not to be the issue but I went relatively hard two days last week and paid the price. It is hard to see that a 7:30 - 8:00 pace is hard but these days it is. Age grade it and it is a 5:30-6:00 pace back when I was in my early 30's.

This afternoon was my last XC meet as a coach fro 2010. It was the league finals at Crystal Springs. It was unusually warm for November. Temps climbed up towards 80 and some of the runners suffered. Finally a few collapsed and someone called the fire department. Then the police came and emergency response vehicles. Pretty soon there vehicles lined up all over the place. The last race of the day was canceled and the teams were sent home. Luckily the last race wasn't for CCS. That had already been decided. But still, there were some disappointed runners standing around with no place to go (except to the buses).

The results indicate that both the boys and girls made CCS. The head coach, Jake will motor on without me.

The Lynbrook camp

CHAMPS!

Giants win World Series behind Lincecum, Renteria