Sunday - 12/19
After a long day of shopping it was nice to hit the trail for some quick milage. I originally planned on Tom's Thumb today, but got too busy in the morning and ran out of time.
12 miles 1:36 The last 25 minutes were in the dark coming back out of Dreamy Draw. It felt good and I held a steady pace start to finish.
Monday - 12/20
16 miles 2:21 on the outskirts of Dreamy Draw - Coming back up from 22nd Street and Lincoln was a little brutal.
Tuesday - 12/21
8 miles 1:10 on the treadmill with no incline. I followed that up with some light lifting; 5 x 25 leg presses, 5 x 25 leg extensions and then body weight squats on the bosu ball 5 x 25. It's raining slightly so I'm looking forward to another great run in Dreamy Draw in the morning!
Wednesday - 12/22
16 miles 2:29 in Dreamy Draw - my legs were tired from the weights on Tuesday.
Thursday - 12/23
10 miles 1:19 The weather was great! The ground was soaked from last night's rain with lots of gnarly mud puddles...such a nice change.
Friday - 12/24
Tough hour in Dreamy Draw, felt like I had 50pd bags of concrete on each leg. Plus, I just wasn't focused on the task at hand.
Saturday - 12/25
Merry Christmas!
Weekly total - roughly 66 miles. Starting Sunday I'm going to start keeping a better a log of my total time, distance, pace and heart rate. I got a sweet training watch for Christmas!
New Commuter
Pic by K. McDaniel
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
New Week
Sunday - 12/12
After a rough time last week I'm going to start this week off a little slow as I'm noticing slight tendinitis in my right knee. I went out this morning while everyone was still sleeping and turned over 13 miles in 1:30.
Monday - 12/13
Woke up early and planned to run before taking my uncle to the airport, however I was not feeling well at all. Not sure why, but as the day went on I felt better.
Tuesday - 12/14
Still not feeling well in the mornings. 2nd straight day I've gotten up with a slight fever and sore throat. I think running in the poor air pollution the last few weeks may have caught up to me.
Wednesday - 12/15
8 miles this morning - All 8 on the treadmill at 10% incline - My first 5 I was able to stay at a 8.45 pace but with the lack of training over the last week and half I could't maintain the pace. The last 3 ended up being over 9 minutes per mile.
Thursday - 12/16
Not much today - Had to be at work early but I got in a quick hour on the canal behind the condo. Looking forward too Dreamy Draw in the morning, hopefully it's still rainy and overcast.
Friday - 12/17
Great weather today, cool and a little rainy. Got to run through mud puddles which made the run this morning fun, as that almost never happens in AZ.
8 miles 1:10 - knees felt pretty good, just a little sore on the downhills but not enough to effect my stride or footwork.
Saturday - 12/18
Kerry is leaving for Ohio later this afternoon to see her family for a week, so I took the morning to hang out with her. Gotta keep my priorities! Stay warm baby!
Hit the treadmill this evening for 6 miles at 4% incline (45 minutes) - Heading up Tom's Thumb in the morning -
After a rough time last week I'm going to start this week off a little slow as I'm noticing slight tendinitis in my right knee. I went out this morning while everyone was still sleeping and turned over 13 miles in 1:30.
Monday - 12/13
Woke up early and planned to run before taking my uncle to the airport, however I was not feeling well at all. Not sure why, but as the day went on I felt better.
Tuesday - 12/14
Still not feeling well in the mornings. 2nd straight day I've gotten up with a slight fever and sore throat. I think running in the poor air pollution the last few weeks may have caught up to me.
Wednesday - 12/15
8 miles this morning - All 8 on the treadmill at 10% incline - My first 5 I was able to stay at a 8.45 pace but with the lack of training over the last week and half I could't maintain the pace. The last 3 ended up being over 9 minutes per mile.
Thursday - 12/16
Not much today - Had to be at work early but I got in a quick hour on the canal behind the condo. Looking forward too Dreamy Draw in the morning, hopefully it's still rainy and overcast.
Friday - 12/17
Great weather today, cool and a little rainy. Got to run through mud puddles which made the run this morning fun, as that almost never happens in AZ.
8 miles 1:10 - knees felt pretty good, just a little sore on the downhills but not enough to effect my stride or footwork.
Saturday - 12/18
Kerry is leaving for Ohio later this afternoon to see her family for a week, so I took the morning to hang out with her. Gotta keep my priorities! Stay warm baby!
Hit the treadmill this evening for 6 miles at 4% incline (45 minutes) - Heading up Tom's Thumb in the morning -
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Tough Week
Monday - 12/6
On the treadmill today to work on my overall leg strength. Primarily stuck with intervals (.800's at 15% grade and 7.30 pace). This pace is much faster than what I need it for right now but it's really helping with my overall strength. After doing this workout I find that it makes climbing long gradual hills much easier and my overall pace doesn't slow.
Tuesday - 12/7
Lots of core work today. My knees were very sore and I tried to run a light 3-5 miles on the canal, but they wouldn't let me.
Wednesday - 12/8
Core work again today. I had to be at work early and didn't have time to get a run in this morning. Planned on a quick evening run however, I didn't get off till well after dark.
Thursday - 12/9
Unfortunately, I had core work again today. This is turning out to be a hard week at work with lots of hours being in early and not getting off till 9 or 9:30 each night.
Friday - 12/10
Core work and squats. Not much time this morning had to make an airport trip to pick up my uncle who's in town for the weekend.
Saturday - 12/11
Oh, I was supposed to run today... oops
On the treadmill today to work on my overall leg strength. Primarily stuck with intervals (.800's at 15% grade and 7.30 pace). This pace is much faster than what I need it for right now but it's really helping with my overall strength. After doing this workout I find that it makes climbing long gradual hills much easier and my overall pace doesn't slow.
Tuesday - 12/7
Lots of core work today. My knees were very sore and I tried to run a light 3-5 miles on the canal, but they wouldn't let me.
Wednesday - 12/8
Core work again today. I had to be at work early and didn't have time to get a run in this morning. Planned on a quick evening run however, I didn't get off till well after dark.
Thursday - 12/9
Unfortunately, I had core work again today. This is turning out to be a hard week at work with lots of hours being in early and not getting off till 9 or 9:30 each night.
Friday - 12/10
Core work and squats. Not much time this morning had to make an airport trip to pick up my uncle who's in town for the weekend.
Saturday - 12/11
Oh, I was supposed to run today... oops
Sunday, December 5, 2010
End of Week Update
* Thursday 12/2 -
Just a quick 10 miler today right at 1:30. Thursdays will always tend to be on the short side of my mileage because it's an early work day. I may start adding interval work in the evening when I get off, not for speed necessarily, but to help with my leg strength. Something along the lines of 800's or 1600's at 15% incline and 7:30 pace for the 800's and 7:45 for the 1600's. I'll keep you posted.
* Friday 12/3 -
After a quick run on Thursday I was looking to get into a nice rhythm today and cruise 15-18 steady miles. Unfortunately, the high air pollution that blanketed the Phoenix area had other ideas for me. I ended up with only 13 miles as my lungs burned, eyes watered and nose ran in the horrible air quality. Not only that, but I was a little behind my norm at 1:59.
I'm looking forward to both of my long runs this weekend to make up for the poor mileage the past couple days.
*Saturday 12/4 -
Today I found the rhythm I was looking for on Friday, as I ran for a smooth, but painful 2:18 up and down Dreamy Draw. My knees took a beating as much of my down-hill runs were on nothing but rock! That's why linking up back to back long runs in the Draw are tough, it's like running in a constant rock garden. However, I do think it's actually going to play to my advantage when it comes race time...it's hard to get any rougher than what I train on everyday.
*Sunday 12/5
It's funny, this is the second day that I've pulled into the Dreamy Draw parking area and it's been completely full. However, for the entire 2:03 I was out on the trail, I think I saw only 6 people. I wish I ran into more people on the trail; it makes it easier to stay motivated. Pretty good milage today though, no PR's, but a comfortable pace. Monday, I'll be on the bike for 50 or so miles to give my knees a rest. They definitely ache this evening.
Just a quick 10 miler today right at 1:30. Thursdays will always tend to be on the short side of my mileage because it's an early work day. I may start adding interval work in the evening when I get off, not for speed necessarily, but to help with my leg strength. Something along the lines of 800's or 1600's at 15% incline and 7:30 pace for the 800's and 7:45 for the 1600's. I'll keep you posted.
* Friday 12/3 -
After a quick run on Thursday I was looking to get into a nice rhythm today and cruise 15-18 steady miles. Unfortunately, the high air pollution that blanketed the Phoenix area had other ideas for me. I ended up with only 13 miles as my lungs burned, eyes watered and nose ran in the horrible air quality. Not only that, but I was a little behind my norm at 1:59.
I'm looking forward to both of my long runs this weekend to make up for the poor mileage the past couple days.
*Saturday 12/4 -
Today I found the rhythm I was looking for on Friday, as I ran for a smooth, but painful 2:18 up and down Dreamy Draw. My knees took a beating as much of my down-hill runs were on nothing but rock! That's why linking up back to back long runs in the Draw are tough, it's like running in a constant rock garden. However, I do think it's actually going to play to my advantage when it comes race time...it's hard to get any rougher than what I train on everyday.
*Sunday 12/5
It's funny, this is the second day that I've pulled into the Dreamy Draw parking area and it's been completely full. However, for the entire 2:03 I was out on the trail, I think I saw only 6 people. I wish I ran into more people on the trail; it makes it easier to stay motivated. Pretty good milage today though, no PR's, but a comfortable pace. Monday, I'll be on the bike for 50 or so miles to give my knees a rest. They definitely ache this evening.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
I'm All In
After several months of looking at different ultra races and being put on wait lists, I finally got into the Jemez 50 miler in Los Alamos, NM. Great news right? Well, it just so happens that my first 50 mile race is also one of the hardest 50 milers around. With 4 significant climbs, it's going to be a brute. The good news is that I have another 5 full months of training before tackling that mother.
I have set a very ambitious goal of not only finishing my first ultra, but finishing in the top 5 and posting a time of under 8 hours and 45 minutes. Not a great time for a 50 miler; however, on that course...I can live with it.
After running several marathons and many trail races, I wanted a new kind of pain. The pain that only comes from running "retarded" distances. Over the last 6 months or so I've been training for my first ultra, I just didn't know which one. I have built up a very strong base and can knock out a hilly 30 miles in just over 4 hours or run back to back to back marathons and still walk without swearing too much on day 4.
As I begin to get serious about my training, I wanted to create a blog so my very supportive family, friends and wonderful girlfriend can keep tabs on me and bust my balls if I half-ass a day or two. Hopefully, I'll earn some followers and fellow runners' insights as I go. I'm looking forward to making my regular posts to not only share my experiences, pains, and what-the-....-was-I-thinking moments, but to log my workouts and track my training progress.
Off to bed before another early desert run.
I have set a very ambitious goal of not only finishing my first ultra, but finishing in the top 5 and posting a time of under 8 hours and 45 minutes. Not a great time for a 50 miler; however, on that course...I can live with it.
After running several marathons and many trail races, I wanted a new kind of pain. The pain that only comes from running "retarded" distances. Over the last 6 months or so I've been training for my first ultra, I just didn't know which one. I have built up a very strong base and can knock out a hilly 30 miles in just over 4 hours or run back to back to back marathons and still walk without swearing too much on day 4.
As I begin to get serious about my training, I wanted to create a blog so my very supportive family, friends and wonderful girlfriend can keep tabs on me and bust my balls if I half-ass a day or two. Hopefully, I'll earn some followers and fellow runners' insights as I go. I'm looking forward to making my regular posts to not only share my experiences, pains, and what-the-....-was-I-thinking moments, but to log my workouts and track my training progress.
Off to bed before another early desert run.
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