Week 5 1/27 thru 2/2

MON. :  6 mi easy at the gym

TUES. : 1 hour on the bike trainer, plus an ab workout.

WED. : 8 mi. Senior Night at the track, just George & I were there. I planned to do 200/400/600/800/1200/1600, but I could barely hold on for the 12, so I cut the mile up to 800/400/200/200 to turn the ladder into a pyramid. I kept the recovery a short, easy. 200s except a 400 after the 12. I ran the last 2s hard, but in control. Good workout. 
            46/1:33/2:18/3:09/4:47/3:12/1:35/38//39

THU. :  8 mi. My brain kept saying tempo, my body was arguing for a recovery run. My body won. 

FRI. : 7 mi on the dreadmill. I hate the dreadmill, but I was meeting Roma at the gym, so I figured, what the hell, might as well go for it. I did the tempo I was planning to do yesterday. Have I said I hate the dreadmill? At least it keeps you on pace. I did 5 miles in about 34 minutes, with the last 3 just under 20:00, and the last 2 minutes at an all out for me 5:48 pace. Pretty sure I could hit a mid/low 19 min 5k at my current fitness level. With 19:18 being my PR, I'm feeling pretty good about where I'm at right now. 

SAT. : 0.  Ankles were friggin sore from the treadmill. Listen to the body before it screams at you. Planning a good long run for tomorrow. 

SUN. :   18 hard, hilly miles, fast for me. With Patrick Pezzati and others. Tough 1 1/2 mile hill at mile 6. Good quality long run. 

TOTAL FOR THE WEEK: -  47mi.  

TOTAL FOR THE YEAR: - 203 mi.
WEEKLY AVERAGE: 40 mi.   (Holy Shit)
DAYS RUNNING IN 2014: 22 out of 33 days. 

Week 4 1/20 thru 1/26

MON. : 6 mi recovery run. Slow & easy on the snow covered Buckland hills. Hip / back felt good. 

TUES. : 7.5 mi Buckland hills. Medium effort. I could still see most of my frozen footprints from last night. 

WED. : 7 mi Wednesday workout. I got there late and only had time for a 3 lap warmup, the others were already well into their workout. I needed something quick & easy, so I did 4X 200/200/400, all with a 200 rest. It went pretty well, the first round I was still kinda warming up. 
          48/47/1:31   44/42/1:28   43/43/1:28   42/42/1:25
Short workout, but it was better than I would have done on my own. Consistency counts. 

THU. :  1 hour on the bike. Planned to run, but I napped a bit after work and I couldn't psych myself up to head out in the dark. Good workout though. I did 6 X 1:30 repeats, and my thighs we're screaming by the time I was done. 

FRI. : 7 mi Bray loop.  Massage for recovery. Then beer.  No ibuprophen needed.

SAT. : 8.5 mi Bray loop and with the dogs. Lots of snow. 

SUN. :   17 mi. Lots of snow on the ground, friggin cold, solo(except 1 mile with the dogs), hills. Did I mention cold? Just a light breeze and my face felt like it was going to freeze. Luckily I was smart enough to wear three layers where it's most important. Solid effort for the day, 9:30 pace notwithstanding.  Over 50 for the week, 6 days running plus one day on the bike trainer,  and I feel good. 

TOTAL FOR THE WEEK: - 53 mi.  

TOTAL FOR THE YEAR: - 156 mi.
WEEKLY AVERAGE: 39 mi.   
DAYS RUNNING IN 2014: 17 out of 26 days. 

Week 3 1/13 thru 1/19

MON. : 7 mi, Hilly, icy, recovery run

TUES. : Rain, rain, go away.  1 hr on the bike.

WED. : 8 mi. First Wednesday Workout with the Keenyans
            400/200/400/200/400/200/200/400
            1:24/42/1:28/42/1:31/41/43/1:22
Felt ok about the workout.  I was a little hungover from too much tequila the night before.  I was having a hard time with the 400s, but I was able to hold the 200s steady.  I took a little extra rest before the last rep, and was able to put in a solid effort for me.  Greg and Andy really hammered their workout.  Good to get back on track, literally and figuratively.

THU. :  

FRI. : 8 mi, Bray loop, hills.

SAT. : 8 mi. A few extra screws in my shoes and a lot of unexpected snow = a lot of fun and 8 1/2 miles for Meg. Wish you could've been here. But of course, you were. We're all running you home. #Megsmiles. 

SUN. :   15 mi.  Hip / back were sore for most of the run. Pace was not realistic because of the conditions. Slippery snow and hills. By mile 10 or so I started to feel a little better, and ran the last 4 miles HARD. Down Old Buckland Road, up/down Crittenden,  then up Bray. Good run. 

TOTAL FOR THE WEEK: - 46 mi.  

TOTAL FOR THE YEAR: - 103 mi.

Week 2. Bump in the road.

MON. : -0- in Burlington

TUES. : -0- in Burlington

WED. : 2 mi. Super Icy.  1 hr on the bike trainer doing intervals.

THU. :  

FRI. : 2 mi. icy.

SAT. : 

SUN. : 18 mi. in Keene with the Sunday Group.  Slow, nice run.   

TOTAL FOR THE WEEK: - 22 mi.  

TOTAL FOR THE YEAR: - 57 mi.

2014 Begins...

MON. : - 

TUES. : - 

WED. : - 10 mi. w/ 43 min tough New Year's 10K

THU. : - 

FRI. : - 9 mi. Bray Loop (hills)

SAT. : - 

SUN. : - 16 mi.  Big Bray Loop (hills). Ran 2nd half HARD.

TOTAL FOR THE WEEK: - 35 mi.  

TOTAL FOR THE YEAR: - 35 mi.

New Year, New Me… Again

Well, running-wise, it was a kinda tough year for me, but all in all, no real complaints.  I struggled with a few nagging injuries, but nothing major.  I struggled with motivation, but was able to begin to turn it around.  Work and life often squeezed out my time for running. No shit, what else is new? Still, I managed 1600+ miles.   So, with just a little bit of tweaking,  I think I can have a good 2014.

What am I looking forward to and working for this year?  All my previous goals are still in tact: sub 19 5k, sub 40 10k, sub 1:30 1/2 marathon, and 3:10 full.  2000+ mile for the year. Pisgah 50k in 5 hours. I think they are all still attainable, maybe not all this year, but certainly in my 50s.  And how am I supposed to accomplish these goals, you ask?

     1.  Run more. (no shit)
     2.  Focus on recovery to stay injury free.
     3.  Write about it.  (more than 4 times per year)
     4.  Wednesday Workouts, at least 3 times per month.
     5.  Plan goal races at least 2 months in advance.
     6.  Allow for failure and success, but keep an eye on the future.
     7.  Keep moving forward.
     8.  Stay focused and keep things simple.
     9.  Keep all plans to 5 steps or less.

Damn. Well, good to get that first little failure out of the way.
Onward!

7/1 thru 7/7

MON. : - 7 mi. Hills

TUES. : - 7 mi. Hills
WED. : - 3 mi. Trails
THU. : - 8 mi. w/ 26:25 4 on the 4th
FRI. : -
SAT. : - 3 mi, easy
SUN. : - 16 mi. Hills, super hot.
TOTAL FOR THE WEEK: - 44 mi.  

Pretty good week in the heat. 4 on the 4th was my slowest in a few years, but based on how much I've been running lately, and the heat, I was pleased. That race needs to start at 7:30.

The biggest highlight for me in the last couple of months was the Walter Childs Memorial Marathon. My slowest marathon in the last six or so (3:26).  But with no real training, and only deciding to run it on the Thursday before the race, I was able to re-qualify for Boston. Plus, with only about 75 runners, it is the ONLY time I will EVER be ably to say "Top Ten" in a marathon. And I won my age group. Not too bad for a three day training cycle.

My summer goals are simple: Run and do a weekly recap. 
All my previous goals are still intact.  Sub 19:00 5k, sub 1:30 half marathon, and a sub 2:00 Pisgah 23k, sub 3:10 marathon. 
If I can maintain my summer goal, one or more of the others may fall too.

Yearly Update

A few highlights/lowlights from the year after Boston.

Hot summer.
Good running in the summer.
Half Marathon PR (1:30:49).
Missed goal by :50.
Turned 50.
Ran Pisgah 50k. Slow time. Awesome race.
Fall.  Nice.
5k PR (19:18)
Missed goal by :19.
New Job. High school is way more of a pain in the ass the second time around.
Can't find the time or motivation to run more than once a week.
Winter.  Cold.  Sucks.
Shitty 'running' in the winter.
Lots of medical shit.
Glaucoma. Yea! Not the other shit they thought it might be.
Running improves.
Riding the bike trainer most mornings before school.
Trying to eat better.  Low on the food chain.  Less sugar.
Beer is good.
Sierra Nevada is great, and is water from my homeland.
Some fantastic snow days running. Maybe teaching isn't that bad.
Signed up for the Zermatt Marathon. 1900m elevation gain, finishing at the base of the Matterhorn.
Spring is not here yet.
Gonna be at the track on Wednesday.

Boston Report

It was HOT.
It SUCKED.
Right on Hereford. Left on Boylston.
I didn't DIE.

Photo Update

I happened to show a friend at work the photo of the double amputee running Boston, and she said I should try to find out who he is, and send him the picture.  Well, I did a little investigating, searching the Mobility Impaired list for Boston, and it turns out, he's Richard Whitehead.  He ran that year at 3:02, and has since set the World Record at 2:45, and 1:14 for the half.
That is one tough dude.