Thursday, January 26, 2012

Broad Street Training, Week 1

Monday, January 16th:

5:15 am, 17 degrees, 60%, 0-5mph.  Cherry Hill West Track.  Nike Dual Fusion ST 2.

2m warm up, 5x(200-200-400) w/EDR, 2m cool down.
Goal splits: 38 38 77
Actual splits: 38 39 77, 38 37 76, 38 38 77, 38 38 77, 38 38 75

Was almost numb to the cold weather.  My lower back and left knee became tight as the workout progressed, but still managed to hit almost every split.  The 400s were so much more difficult than the 200s, although I was able to hold form on the straightaways well.  Ran the last 400 pretty close to all-out.  Took the warm up and cool down nice and easy.  Would have been nice to do this workout when I was more awake, but you do what you gotta do in the winter time.  Solid first workout of the season.

Tuesday, January 17th:

5:15 am, 38 degrees, 90%, 0-10mph.  Maple Shade Loop - Neighborhood.  New Balance 890.

6m easy

Felt surprisingly fresh after yesterday's workout and yesterday's marathon workday (11.5 hours!).  Did notice some very mild left knee soreness the last mile or so.  Not painful, doesn't seem IT band related, but will monitor.  Otherwise, felt great.

Wednesday, January 18th:

5:15 am, 43 degrees, 50%, 10-25mph.  Hialeah-Kilmer-Hialeah.  Nike Structure Triax 15 Shield.

8m recovery ~ 8:05-10 pace

Little tired this morning, and the gusty winds surely didn't help.  Wasn't too bad most of the run, but the last 1.5m was rough.

5:30 pm, 33 degrees, 40%, 5-10mph.  Church-Cole-Maple.  Nike Pegasus 28.

4m easy

Not nearly as windy as this morning, a little stop and go with traffic lights, but overall easy and relaxed.

Thursday, January 19th:

4:45 am, 20 degrees, 50%, calm.  Neighborhood.  Nike Dual Fusion ST 2.

2m wu, 6x1mT w/1:00 recovery jogs, 1.5m cd
Goal: 6:00-:05 mile
Actual Splits: 6:00 02 02 01 00 5:59

First mile felt fast, but I really settled in after the second rep.  Surprised how quickly I was able to recover between reps.  Way smoother than expected, especially for such an early AM session.

Friday, January 20th:

5:10 am, 35 degrees, 60%, 5-10 mph.  Maple Shade Loop (M).  Nike Structure Triax 15 Shield.

6m easy

Felt surprisingly good at the start of the run - no real lingering soreness or stiffness from yesterday.  However, about 20 minutes into the run, I felt my left knee slowly becoming "numb" - like the IT Band right above the joint starting to act up again.  Didn't get much worse as the run progressed, but will surely have to monitor.  Will try to resume some of my strengthening exercises/foam rolling/yoga again to see if that helps.  May have to cut back on some of the heavy mileage I have been doing.  Otherwise, the run felt fine.

2:30 pm, 31 degrees, 30%, 5-10 mph.  Tavistock.  New Balance 890.

4m recovery ~ 8:00 pace

Did some one-legged deep squats this morning, which helped relieve the IT band tension.  I think the source of the impingement is a weak gluteus/piriformis.  Will work on strengthening the area once the symptoms go away.  Running very slowly this afternoon really helped.  The IT band never really flared, and I was surprised I averaged about 8:00 pace - felt like I was jogging 8:30-:45.  Will definitely start to go slower on my easy days until the symptoms go away.  The true test will be to see how it holds up for tomorrow's long run.

Saturday, January 21st:

7:45 am, 29 degrees, 60%, 5-15mph.  Moorestown.  Nike Structure Triax 15 Shield.

14m easy ~ 8:25 average (9:15-7:32), last 4m sub 7:50
2 inches of frozen snow/slush, periods of sleet

Absolutely miserable conditions - thank God for Rich, Colleen, and Ralph who joined in the fun for part or all of the run.  Left knee acted up again from about miles 3-9; seriously considered ending the run at 9 miles.  Magically, everything felt fine the last 4 miles at the faster pace, so I am not sure what to make of it.  Hopefully I will get some gift certificate money to the massage therapist for my upcoming birthday, because I definitely think I need more work on my leg.  Will also try to continue the one-legged squats as they seem to help relieve the tension/friction.  May decide to take an unplanned day off tomorrow if I feel I need it, especially since the weather isn't supposed to be any better.  Ultimately, may need to cut back on doubles/miles/both if this continues.

Sunday, January 22nd:

8:00 am, 20 degrees, 60%, calm.  Haddonfield.  Nike Pegasus 28.

6m easy ~ 7:40 average

Some patches of bad footing from the ice/snow left over from yesterday, but overall felt much better than yesterday.  Felt really strong from miles 4-6.  Very, very mild left leg symptoms - I think I just need to continue strengthening that leg.  It definitely doesn't seem to be getting worse, so that's a plus.  I think I can continue running on it for now unless it becomes painful.  Getting 12 hours of sleep last night helped also. :)

Weekly Total: 67 miles

Monster week with no days off.  Felt surprisingly good on most days and the workouts went well.  Weather was crumby, but I can't really complain.  It's been pretty mild so far this winter.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Winter Base Training, Week 6

Monday, January 9th:

5:45 am, 32 degrees, 60%, calm.  Maple Shade Loop (M).  Nike Structure Triax 15 Shield.

6m easy, including 4x strides after

Slow death march this morning.  Had absolutely zero energy.  First two miles really slow, warmed up after that, but just wasn't feeling it.  Strides after the run felt okay.  Still some mild tightness in right groin.

Tuesday, January 10th:

5:30 pm, 43 degrees, 50%, 5-10mph.  Merchantville Loop.  Nike Dual Fusion ST 2.

5 miles moderate

Fully recovered from yesterday.  Very strong yet light on my feet today.  Stride felt longer with a greater push off.

Wednesday, January 11th:

5:10 am, 30 degrees, 80%, calm.  Kilmer-Hialeah.  Nike Structure Triax 15 Shield.

7m easy

Little tight, especially right groin.  Took it slow, but was really able to open up the last 1/2m or so.

8:15 pm, 44 degrees, 60%, 5-15mph.  Neighborhood.  Nike Dual Fusion ST 2.

3m steady

Always seem to feel better at night.  Even when it is drizzly cold rain.

Thursday, January 12th:

2:30 pm, 47 degrees, 95%, 0-5mph.  Started at Kilmer-Hia-CHW-Hia-Kilmer.  Nike Pegasus 28.

7m easy (BOF) - 7:34 average

Parked at Frankie's school and ran for the amount of time I could before she got out of school.  Turned out to be a nice easy 7 miler through the mist and fog.

Friday, January 13th:

4:00 am, 50 degrees, 80%, 10-20mph.  Maple Shade Loop (S).  Nike Structure Triax 15 Shield.

5m recovery - including 4x strides after

Couldn't sleep, so I figured I would get some recovery miles in before the temperature dives and the winds pick up this morning.  Amazingly, I felt the best I have all week.  Calm, peaceful, easy.  Strides felt fantastic.  Maybe I should sleep less more often. :)

1:30 pm, 35 degrees, 45%, 10-30mph (w/50mph gusts).  Haddonfield.  Adidas Marathon 10B

6m progression (BOF) - 7:28 (7:58-:07)

Incredibly gusty afternoon.  Was trying to run just a consistent easy pace, but I unintentionally got faster as the run progressed.  Last mile included triple hill, which I did try to run hard, but I was surprised at the end of the run how fast overall I ran in bad conditions.  While I ran a little faster than I probably should have, I am taking it as a positive sign that I really am ready to begin workouts next week.

Saturday, January 14th:

7:30 am, 30 degrees, 50%, 0-15mph.  Moorestown-Cinnaminson.  Nike Structure Triax 15 Shield.

13m easy - ~7:24/mi per Tom's Garmin

Conversational, very comfortable.  Run flew by.  John took us to a loop around Cinnaminson High School trails that had a few nice climbs.  Relaxed and strong the whole way.

Sunday, January 15th:

Day off.  Refreshing to spend an entire Sunday with the family.

Weekly Total: 52 miles

Very happy with my base fitness right now.  Amazed how quickly it all came back after the layoff and down time.  Able to bounce back from double days and long runs quickly.  Strides felt comfortable.  Excited to begin workouts next week

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Winter Base Training, Week 5

Monday, January 2nd:

6:30 am, 38 degrees, 30%, 10-35mph.  Valley Run-Kilmer-Valley Run.  Nike Structure Triax 15 Shield.

9m steady

Yesterday afternoon, ran in shorts, was sweating profusely afterward, and celebrated with a Gatorade and two pretzel dogs with cheese.  This morning, ran in Under Armour from head to toe, gortex shoes, fought wind burn, and celebrated with hot chocolate and pancakes.  Go figure!  Jokes aside, strong effort in tough conditions, picked up the tempo last two miles (~7:30 pace), and stayed mentally strong with good form.  What doesn't kill you...

Tuesday, January 3rd:

6:00 pm, 25 degrees, 30%, 10-20mph.  Maple Shade Loop (S).  Nike Pegasus 28.

5m easy - including 4x strides at end of run

Brrr!  Some how, felt great after 2 miles and strides felt awesome.  Looking forward to my day off tomorrow if only to have respite from the Arctic Blast.

Wednesday, January 4th:

Day off.   Nine days in a row.  Perfect timing with the cold weather.


Thursday, January 5th:

3:45 pm, 37 degrees, 50%, 10mph.  Reverse Merchantville Loop.  Nike Structure Triax 15 Shield.

6m easy - included 5x :20 second strides after the run

Little rusty in the beginning of the run after my off day, but felt great last 2 miles and very fast on the strides - probably 3k pace.  After the first (surprise) coating of snow this morning, I am definitely looking forward to the warm-up this weekend!

Friday, January 6th:

5:00 am, 30 degrees, 75%, 0-5mph.  Valley Run-Cherry Hill Blvd Loop.  Nike Structure Triax 15 Shield.

6m easy

Felt incredibly strong from the start.  I think the post-workout strides are giving me more power in my pushoff, as the effort keeps getting easier and easier.

1:45 pm, 53 degrees, 50%, 10-20mph.  Merchantville Loop (S).  Nike Dual Fusion ST 2.

4m moderate (BOF) - 7:24 average

A smooth, controlled effort - despite the gusty conditions.  Happy to see the sun and warmer temps, though, after the last couple days!

Saturday, January 7th:

5:45 am, 37 degrees, 70%, 0-5mph.  Garden State - Tavistock (L+) - Garden State.  Nike Structure Triax 15 Shield.

12m steady (BOF) - 7:47 average (8:22 7:50 39 51 44 41 47 42 45 42 46 33)

Ran on feel, stayed controlled, worked Tavistock Hills a little, and maintained a very consistent, steady pace.  Increased the tempo ever so slightly the last mile just to open up a bit, but finished feeling very strong.

Sunday, January 8th:

6:30 am, 35 degrees, 65%, calm.  Brake's house - 3 Town Tour.  Nike Pegasus 28.

9m recovery pace ~ 8:15 average

Finally having some company was a welcome relief!  Wasn't looking forward to another solo 8-9 mile run after yesterday's 12, and running with Oleg and Kevin at a casual, conversational pace was just what my body needed.


2:30 pm, 48 degrees, 40%, 5-15mph.  Neighborhood.  Nike Dual Fusion ST 2.

4m steady

Right groin was tight for about 1/2m, legs felt incredibly loose and nimble after that.  Beautiful sunny afternoon.

Weekly Total: 55 miles

The miles are coming back nicely.  Just realized I ran 25 miles the last two days of the week.  Beautiful.