Easy 7 miles - Waneka Loop - 1-9-2010

Just missed catching the Oatmeal 5K at Waneka by about 15 minutes...hoped to intersect with the leaders but needed to keep moving. Annoying again keeping the HR 145 or under, especially with a few little inclines. Stayed with the plan and kept the overall HR at 144 for the 7 miles. Did some strides for just under a mile after the prescribed 7. Felt ok overall. No pain later in the day..slight tightness in the right knee late in the run, but felt it would not have been an issue if I had continued the run. I guess twinges are just going to be there as I reach 40. Wonder how long it will take to improve the pace? Pace was consistent through most of the run until the last 3/4 mile which was mostly uphill.Easy 7 miles - Waneka Loop

Details here...

Saturday 10/10/2009

Mid-early run in the cold and snow. Headed out after KT got out of bed for an easy jaunt around the Mesa. Mostly just wanted to stay controlled to get a few miles in before the CCC crossing tomorrow morning. Still had that feeling of having to hold things back through most of the run. The Lunars felt ok today, but got some hot spots around the balls of my feet. I think the damn inserts are a little wide which results in them curling up around the bottom of the sole. Maybe I will do a little alteration on them next week to cut down the excess. I will make these things work one way or the other. At least I have about a 100 miles in them so far...

Looking forward to running the race tomorrow. Will probably head out controlled up to the top of Aquarius and then let things roll depending on how I feel. The stream crossing should be interesting in the cold for sure. Definitely running in shorts no matter how cold it is...would not want wet pants clinging to the legs to the finish.

6.01 miles at a pace of 8:03 for 48:28

Thursday 7-02-2009

Easy run along Lake Michigan. Felt a little tight this morning, but wanted to get a few in just the same. Felt smooth overall with some calve tightness in the last mile or so. Kept the HR around 142 with a max of 152.

Monday 6/29/2009

Easy run in the morning. Thought I would have been more soar or sluggish, but felt fairly good overall. 4.41miles in 37:19 for a 8:28 pace with a 148 avg HR.

Easy run at work in the heat - 5.50

9.04 pace in the heat, HR avg at 147 with a max of 162. Struggle to keep the HR low. Felt ok.

Moderate run from home - 5.04

Excellent run this morning from home. Intended on doing an easy one, but after about 3 miles I felt nice and loose so I picked it up for a bit. Did about 3/4 miles at around a 7minute pace and then finished out the last 1.20 around 7:18. Not a real hard effort as my HR was around 164 for the .75 and then 161 for the last mile (kind of downhill for this part of the run). The run average HR ended up around 151 which is very close to where I should be for an easy run.

A little sore in the calves and a slight tightness in one of my right achilles. This feels like a result of my tight calves from the hill climb last weekend and the tempo on Tuesday as well as my renewed focus on mid/fore foot landing. So, this is why I took it easy today. Day off tomorrow for sure. Will wait a week for another big hill effort.

I am looking forward to a nice long trail run on Sunday for Father's Day. I will be heading out early again so I can get back home before 9:30. Maybe will start at the Colton Trail Head and head out to the Springbrook trail to Vista and back. Will have to map this one out first so I don't over-extend myself...more to come.

Thursday - 4.63 - easy

Did a nice easy jog at work. HR average of only 145 with a max of 169 on one of the little inclines. Ran in the Precision 8's today with a focus on form. Time of 39:26 for about a 8:31 pace.



Felt good overall.



Will probably do some track work tomorrow; most likely 3 X 1 mile around 10k pace. We will see.

Easy run with Lily in the Jogger - 4.38miles

Easy run with Lily in the stroller. Easy on a Friday!

Started a BB09 training program yesterday with a coach. Focused mostly on drills and form. Heal-strike bad, mid-foot good. 90+ strikes per minute cadence, looking 15 feet out front with elbows driving straight back and hands near the chest. Amazing how much easier it is running with a shorter gait and a quick stride...

4.86 Home from Hospital

Felt great today. Knee is definitely getting better, just a few little "tweaks" here and there. Ironic today, really bad accident in front of the hospital on the way home. Would have had to exit via the Campus Drive exit which would have surely been backed way up...287 north was really bad. So, running home may have saved me time!

Anyway, really encouraged after today. May be able to do some tempo or intervals tomorrow morning. May do some hill repeats next week as well, but will ratchet back to 2-3 max and then make way up from there...as the article suggested of course.

Great article by MF on stride. Definitely a big interest of mine over the past year...almost an obsession for sure. Fascinated by the ability to mitigate injury through form. I guess this appeals to my ski racing and crew days where form is almost everything (well, strength and endurance are important as well). Really want to try those Lunaracers as the LunaTrainers definitely did not work for me. The weight of the things are amazing!

Great post by JOHN HALAMKA on Google Health. Fascinating technology, but so simple. Disruptive? Not sure.

4.98 to Work

Easy run to work. Terrible sleep the night before as we went to bed a bit late and O woke up not long after, was up for an hour or so. So, not in the best, most alert state for the run. Noticed that my legs were a little tired and my left knee kind of hurt early in the run. This evened out a bit, but might have been favoring the knee as my right one flared up a bit near the end. Really just sore with no acute pain, but annoying nonetheless. HR was much higher than it should have been given the pace. Was even a bit hot in my pants and shell. Weird weather.

4.77 Hospital to Home along Coal Creek

First run since the little knee "tweak" at Eldora on Saturday. Was going a bit fast down a narrow, groomed trail when I hit a slight knoll. Lost a little control as the stiff Volkl's unloaded out from under me. Saved the fall, but tweaked the back side/outside of my knee. No pop and was able to ski the next few hours without incident. However, on the way home had intended to do a Betasso loop or two. No dice, as each stride definitely hurt with a near feeling of the right knee giving out...or rather, it felt that way when it hurt during the stride. Anyway, iced and rested it since.

Today, after much worry about the potential for a prolonged injury, the knee felt ok. I could feel the tweak if I overstrided or landed with my knee straight, but as long as I ran with decent form and a slightly bent knee under my center of gravity the knee felt fine. I even did a stride down in the low 7's and it felt better if anything. So, it seems that there is no real acute injury and that whatever happened is on the mend. Even several hours after the run as I write this the knee does not feel tight or painful. So, no ACL tear for me...

Overally decent run at a reasonable pace given the slight uphill all the way up Coal Creek, through Old Town and to Home. Faster than I normally run this route...probably because there was not drastic head wind as I had feared.