Pavement is the place for me

A big goose egg to start the year. Not exactly the start I wanted. A drive home from my parents took the entire day right out from under me. Tomorrow has miles waiting for me though.

First run of the new year. Broke out the windpants for this one as the windchill was pretty low. Run went well just around the neighborhood. Seemed longer than I remember after not running here for a few weeks.

AM 5 miles - Got on the treadmill this morning. Wanted to get a double in today to make up for Monday. Treadmill gets the job done. Better than running the same run twice though. My subdivision is essentially blocked in by a main road that is busy, curvy, and has no edges. So I'm pretty much trapped here. So when I say the same run, it would literally be the same run, over and over again. I'm getting used to it though.

 PM 8 miles - Two neighborhood loops. Got up the Huge Hill twice which was somewhat challenging. The HH is a great motivator though because I know how fast I'll feel coming down, and that carries through the rest of the run. Not as cold as yesterday so no headband or windpants today.
 

A nice 2 1/2 loops through the neighborhood today. I wouldn't exactly call them easy miles since I worked in a few accelerations. The run felt great today though. I think it was mostly due to the weather being warmer than it has been.

Went way too fast for a recovery day. I guess I was just feeling good.

Long run at the soccer complex. It's long and boring doing laps a little over a mile, but it's close and there are only a few cars to contend with. It's much better than the neighborhood which is a little longer, but no sidewalks. Felt good to get this one under the belt. Now time to ice the knees.

Recovery Run avoiding the HH. Legs are a little achy today, but nothing too bad. First mile was the worst and by the fourth I was back to normal. My toenails have been pretty messed up since I started running again, not sure if it's the shoes or just miles. Either way I tried out some new shoes tonight and they felt pretty good. A little heavier than I'm used to but have a lot more cushion. Hopefully that will help with the blisters/toenail situation as well as wearing new socks.

 Tomorrow I get to work the concession booth at the ball game. Ah the privileges of coaching are already reaping rewards. : )

Still not recovered from the long run. I didn't really expect to be, but the legs are feeling better. Maybe after another easy day tomorrow they'll be back to normal. Had to get the miles done pretty quickly, but it's nice that the sun is setting later. I can get my 8-10 in without having to worry about being in the dark too long. Normal route in the neighborhood, but only took the HH once. That really got the legs burning right away.

Legs still not recovered, but mostly the left calf was tight and sore. The run was good though and everything feels like it is getting back to normal strength. Had to stop once to pet some local dogs that live in a cul de sac, one of the 9 along my loop around the neighborhood. Yeah it took a while before I got to used to turning around every 800 meters or less. Volunteering went well at the bball game last night and I got to meet a few of my track kids before we have our official track meeting night next week.

Really rainy this morning, but it dried up just in time for my run. Another 8, this time worked in two trips up the HH. A good sign for my level of recovery. Was a very good run, but felt a lot faster than what I was actually going. Left quad was a little tight during the run, and the calf was tight too, but not while running. I massaged it a little before I got out and I think that helped. Last few miles just flew by. An odd day at school with a few students gone made the day kind of boring. I was glad to get out the door when I got home.

Another 8, same deal all this week. Today's run was much more fluid and the miles were paced a lot more evenly than my few previous runs. A beautiful day and slightly cooler so I got some nice fresh air in my lungs today. That reminds me that I see an awful lot of people smoking as I run by. I wonder if they hate me or admire me, it's hard to say really. I do know that if I see a cigarette  butt I go out of my way if necessary to run over it.

3 am, then another 5 about a half hour later. Had some technical problems where the miles weren't showing during the 3. Got it worked out and put in 5 more.

A pretty sad day as far as getting anything done. Took a nap in the afternoon and got up later than I wanted to. But I still had enough time to run before it got dark, so another 6 miles ensued. Much faster pace today than anything in previous weeks. A good sign because effort wise it was the same. I've been working on getting a good push off and I think that is helping me spend the same amount of energy for better time. Hopefully I am right.



 

Tried a new church today. It was smaller than I'm used to, but I met a few people and they were pretty cool. One in particular is in charge of the basketball league. I used to be a bball freak, now I'm more of a running freak, but I like to dabble. So I went ahead and put my name on the list. I also attended an open gym, which was eye opening. I am pretty out of shape for that sport compared to the 10x1 minute sprints I used to do. I guess the only thing that mattered was if I was in better shape than the other team, and I assume I was since I got quite a few steals and layups in. So, 45 minutes full court. I'll be super lenient and call it a fast mile.

6 miles around the hood as soon as I got back. A little slower, but I had a hip jolt yesterday which made the joint a little sore. Hopefully it will be back to normal and won't be a hindrance as I am preparing to schedule in strength.

Core exercises have been lacking. I really need to crack down on those.

I am sooo sore from basketball yesterday. I could hardly get out of bed this morning. I may have to start doing some weight lifting because my back is the worst. All in all I've been sorer?, but the run was only a little more difficult because of it. Colder air has moved back in so no more 50 degree days for a while.

Still pretty sore from basketball Sunday. I'll probably feel a lot better tomorrow, but today the left leg was on strike. I felt like I was running with clamps on my calf and my hamstring. The first few miles were pretty much fighting with myself on whether I should take a day off, but after flying down the huge hill twice I guess the leg gave in to my demands. The rest of the run from 5 miles out wasn't bad at all. It got colder as the sunset, but nothing major, still 33 degrees.

Met with the other track coach for an informational meeting. Kids seemed excited at the prospect of a another young coach (i'm actually a year older than my co-coach). I only hope that the excitement isn't at my expense.

My left leg is still sore and tight. I tried to run on it but it just didn't feel good. I decided to cut the run short a few miles and rest because it wasn't feeling good at all.

I think basketball last weekend was a big factor in the calf/ham soreness that I've had. I tried to rub it out last night and that helped the extension during the run today, but I could still feel some stuff that needed rest in there. So just another 6 miles, hams were pretty shot by the end. Went a little faster just to see if the pain would come back after a few miles. It never did, but as before everything felt pretty tight. I'll keep stretching and massaging and cutting miles until the tightness is gone.

A nice controlled run today. Nothing special to note, same old stuff with recovery. Slowly but surely I should be back to normal.

Nice one tonight. Forgot to switch out my sensor to my new shoes since the old ones are retired now. That mean't driving back home from the soccer complex to get it. Wasn't happy about that, but made the best of it. Because of that I ended up running almost to dark, kind of nice to be out of the nieghborhood though. It also improved my time since I wasn't having to turn around 10 times a mile. It's a nice 1.1 mile loop with rolling hills and a larger hill that's a good 150-200 meters long. A little colder today, reminded me of my runs in Ohio during Christmas break. The best part about tonight was everything is working like normal again. Not sore and no tightness that I can remember.

 

basketball today. We didn't win unfortunately. I think we shot about 6% from the field. The worst part was my ankle was acting up, and now it hurts when i push inward. That made the sharp left turns in the neighborhood pretty painful today. I had to run slightly on the heel and slow down a bit. It started to go away by the end of the run, and didn't affect the straightaways so that was good. I feel better than I did last week and made sure to take it easy on the run, so hopefully I won't be sore the rest of the week. Figured an hour of basketball with only 2 min. substitution would count for 2 fast miles.

Moved the long run back a day because of bball. Went out to the soccer complex and did a bunch of figure 8's instead of the normal loop. That made it a lot less repetitive. Pretty decent run other than already being extremely sore and tight from basketball. Hams were killer on the inclines. Also some forefoot pain happened around 17 and through the end. Couldn't jog the cooldown very well and just walked because of it. Hopefully it was just from the pounding and not from the shoes. They only have a few miles on them, so they may not be broken in all the way. Had a slight ankle twist/sprain yesterday, but it seems to already be recovering as there was only a minute amount of pain on a few turns. Hopefully taking it easy the rest of week will work out a lot of the problems.

Treadmill tonight. It was too slick outside to do any running. A co-worker saw her nieghbor, a police officer, trip this morning. He broke his collar bone and messed up his shoulder. I really don't need that happening. Today every school was closed, except of course for ours. We still had in-service. I guess they didn't care too much about teacher welfare eh? At least everyone was safe, but it took me an extra half hour to get to work.

No real pains today, which is kind of a feat in itself. We are already delayed 2 hours tomorrow, so I might get a run in before school, but I'll probably sleep in instead.
 

Normal loop. Ankle much better without no pain, but I was still taking it super easy on the turns. It was almost like I forgot how to turn left because I sort of studder stepped to keep from having to twist it and put pressure on it. I'm sure that will wear off after a few more runs. Looking good for some more intense training later this week.

Soccer complex. Neighborhood just got way too old. No motivation, so I changed scenery. A nice 8 miles felt really good. It was extremely cold with the wind. I had to change the course and run it reverse. One stretch where the wind was the worst is wide open, the other stretch going the same way on the opposite is partially blocked by hill. So by running in reverse I sacrificed a larger hill for breaking the wind. Made the run much better and more bearable. Miles went by soon enough, and I saw many other runners quit way before I did, and they started after me. Looking forward to warmer weather, but getting my money's worth while it's here.

Didn't run today. It was a long day with special olympics at the ice rink. I was in charge of timing the races, so i was out on the ice for most of the day. Hopefully a good rest day will give my legs a nice break.

Back to business. Normal loops with one hill acceleration toward the end. Feeling better from the rest, but there is still some soreness/tightness in the left calf. Hopefully that will go away. I'd feel a lot better about running more miles if it did. Bball again tomorrow. Not really excited about it now, but I will be once I get there and warm up.

Bball went good today. Well sort of. A lot of guys didn't show, I mean like all but me and the leader of the team. So yeah, we had all draft picks. Fortunately one of our draft picks was 6'7" and dominated when he was in. We got out to an early lead, but then he went out and they came back by 16 points before the half. I was doing well with very few turnovers, but shooting wasn't up to par today. I shot a lot, and missed a lot. But I made a few! Toward the end of the game I got to shoot some free throws and made them all, and just happened to expand the lead enough to have secured the victory. Yeah for winning.

 The run wasn't as triumphant. Legs were dead from bball, but I got the miles in. It started off nice and smooth, but by the end I was ready to stop. The legs were just pounding by then. So a good day sort of. Looking forward to being able to run and bball without them affecting each other though.
 

A very nice run in 50 degree weather. Not sure if it was the weather or just feeling good, but the legs were sooooo fresh today. They haven't felt that way for a while. It's very surprising considering I played basketball and ran yesterday. Normally I am sore, but today everything felt fine other than a few hints in the back. Nothing major though which is very nice. There are still some niggles left though. My left ankle is still tender on turns. Sometimes there is a hint of pain on sharper turns especially. The right toe joint has throbbing and searing pain at times, mostly when not running. Other than those two things everything is else seems to be in working order. I am looking forward to another run like todays.

 

Had some thunderstorms tonight. Got some use out of the treadmill. Not exciting by any means but I passed the time by counting steps. Sounds easier than it is. Felt decent. Had some pain in the toe joint afterwards.

Great day for a run. Nice and sunny with a little wind and not too cold. Hill sprints worked into my loop for a total of 11 miles. Repeats of 6 x 400m up the HH at near top speed with normal running back down. Whole thing felt great, started repeats at 7 miles, then ran a few miles after.

Normal loop to keep the legs moving. A little pain in the toe at first, but quit after a mile.

I forgot to mention that I've been battling congestion in my chest and nose the past two or three days. It hasn't been bad though luckily. I can still do everything fine, even running. The problem today is has turned into a pretty bad cough. Took tonight off to give myself some extra rest so hopefully I can pull back on track tomorrow. Long run has moved to Sunday luckily, so that will give another extra day to recover before it.

Felt good to get back out after a day off yesterday. Still coughing and congested, but felt fine running.

went out to eat with new church friends after the service. Ended up raining, although I was dead tired and took a nap anyway. Another needed rest day to fight off the congestion.

Headache started at the end of the day before school accompanied by congested coughing and sneezing. Got worse when I got home. Weather has been horrible, changing 20 degrees this way and that, supposed to be 70 tomorrow. Not helping the situation. Still coughing, but the headache was getting worse. Took a nap at 7:30 on the floor, got up at 10:30. Went back to sleep in the bed. Got up at 3, still had a headache. Tossed and turned and groaned till 5. Took some medicine, 15 minutes later threw up (may have been from bad cottage cheese, it tasted a little weird at dinner). Felt better and went back to sleep on the floor.

A little catching up while it's 70 degrees outside. Ran a while tonight. Still had some pretty rough coughs throughout the run, but for the most part everything felt good. First 3 miles was like a death walk. Calves were so tight and wouldn't budge till 5-6 miles. Felt a little better this morning after all the craziness last night, and after eating a good lunch I felt really good. The warm weather probably helped lift my spirits a little, although it was still overcast. Soccer Complex tonight, 10 miles one way, then 3 the other. Ball of foot pain was quite noticeable, on both feet. I'm thinking of getting some inserts or new shoes with better forefoot cushion.

Normal loop. A few hill sprints on the HH. No pain during the run. Crossing my fingers.

 Track practice starts next week. I'm not sure how it will affect running, but it should be fun.
 

Normal loop. Right knee was a little stiff. Toenails still giving me problems. They don't seem to be healing at all. Newer shoes also caused some new blisters to develop. Run felt fine. Pace was brisk despite feeling easy.

 Was going to run a 10k next weekend. Already signed up and everything, but forgot about a coaches seminar that starts Friday and goes through Saturday. I'm pretty positive it's next weekend, but maybe I am wrong and will get lucky somehow. Oh well, not much I can do about it now.

Bah. So much for running injury free. I really thought I was doing well, but I must have done something wrong. I'm still not sure exactly what that was. Too many miles after a hill day? Overstretching? or the adjustment I made to my shoes yesterday? I don't know for sure, but yesterday everything was fine with the tendons in my hamstring. Today they were sore and felt really tight. I loosened my shoe yesterday at the top because it was too tight the day before and had bruised. It must have been a little too loose and my foot moved around putting pressure on tendons that normally can take care of themselves. Just additional stress I figure.

 The good thing is I still am able to run. I know that's probably not the best thing to do, but it doesn't hurt, it's just tight. I went out tonight hoping that it would warm up and it did, but still is tight. I'll try and evaluate again tomorrow if a rest is in store. Basketball Sunday doesn't help matters any, but at this point a little more time is needed to see if this is an injury worth worrying about.

Rested the hamstring.

Left ham muscle tight today from basketball. Another day for rest because I don't want to pull it, plus it will give the right ham extra rest. It's feeling much better though.

First track practice. Ran with the distance guys. I was SO SORE! from yesterday at basketball and not running for 2 days. The lactic acid buildup just made my legs feel like stone, especially the calves. I could hardly run, but I kept up with them. I'd say we were well into 6 minute pace, although we did have 2 stops for traffic lights. 2 laps warmup and 2 cooldown for an even mile.

Another 5 with the crew. We ran a slightly different route today, but still the same old rolling hills. It even included a cut through a backyard. Pretty sweet. Got to know a few of the guys a little better too. It was a good run, but at about 4 miles my right tendon started tightening up, so I had to slow down. Not sure what to do about it at this point, but I'm thinking I may need a few slower runs to give it some recovery. It feels better, but whatever I did to it last week sure is causing problems. Guess it's better to play it safe, but don't really feel like it so close to my goal race at the end of March.
 

short run with the track team. Stayed to the back because of the issues. Left calf was the guy today. I took my pod today and figured we were running faster than a 6:30 mile average pace. That would explain most of the problems with my calves. Another factor would be the newer shoes and between those two and the tightness already, I'd say it's a wonder I'm still able to walk.

Feeling better though, will start running more after practice.
 

A nice out and back tonight. I really have no idea where the guys are going when we run. Most of the time I'm just struggling to keep up. Tonight the legs were tight starting off. By mile 2 they were getting better, and it felt like the pace had slowed a few seconds. We eventually got up a hill, and I looked at my ipod to see 3 miles. So we were halfway through our 6 mile run. So we abruptly turned back at the top of the hill, as the front guys didn't want to cross the street for some crazy reason (we would have to get to that side eventually). So off we go back to the school. This course was simple, and it didn't take much for me to memorize it, other than the short trip through the woods. Luckily I noticed it was by a school sign, so it was fairly easy to spot.

 I was in the middle of the pack most of the time, but at 3.5 I just felt like we were going slow, and for the first time in about week, I felt good. The legs suddenly started turning over fast as usual. They have been feeling like they were dragging along and that the strides were much to long. So off I went, passing the front guys and taking off all alone. This felt even better because now I could control the pace, slow and quicken as I needed to get into a groove. Most of the guys stayed with me, but I didn't realize it because they had crossed the street behind me. I checked over my shoulder a few times, and finally saw them over there. Then I sprinted across when I saw a chance and got back with a couple of them. They stayed with me most of the way. My legs were definitely burning, but breathing wise I could have went all day. Overall that was a great run and I really got back into the stride that I was missing. It felt a lot more efficient and smooth, and therefore fast. Three lap cooldown on the track. Ave pace around 6:30


 

Attended a track coach seminar in Chatanooga this weekend. It lasts until 4 or 5 on Saturday. There is no time to run, because lectures happen from 5-9 tonight. Just another rest day. I suppose I could run at 9, but that is without any food since we won't be taking a break to eat. Looks to be pretty fun though.

Six miles as soon as I got home from the seminar, which was very informative. I think the best part was getting some contacts I can go to for advice.

Six miles wasn't too slow, 6:55, but I was working a lot on the things that were talked about over the weekend and I felt a lot better about how I've been training and running. Probably the two things I need to really work are drills and core workouts. If I can get those in I would feel a lot better about not being injured and improving my efficiency.

 Church basketball tomorrow and probably a run on the tread since it looks like thunderstorms. Monday I get to do my long run, thanks to the principal giving my area the day off instead of an inservice. I'm so grateful to her. She even brought down some track shirts for me "just to get me started." She was the coach a few years ago when our school was winning state championships. Very, very nice to have someone like that around.

 

Basketball today. Ugh, we lost by 14. That was actually better because we were down by more than 30 at one point. I was the only one playing defense today, so I ran a lot, a whole lot. I stole it a lot too. We would have been slaughtered if I would have come today. Injuries today were a jammed middle finger on the last play, and a pulled tricep right before halftime. I massaged and it loosened up, but was tight the rest of the game. It feels fine tonight though. Other than icing the swollen finger, no big deal.

 Was going to run on the tread since it was pouring out, but figured if I do my long run in the morning, I can put in slower miles later in the day. This week looks horrid weather wise, Windy, and then Rainy until next Monday. Lets hope the weather guys are wrong.
 

I went exploring for my long run down by the school today. I stayed on sidewalks, ran by creeks, uphills, downhills, up a whole friggin lot more hills into the wind, and then did...you guessed it, more hills into the 12mph wind. I wanted to go farther, but my strength had waned and the bowl of cereal I had for breakfast wasn't going to cut it anymore. So I just stopped at 18 and called it a day. It hasn't been the best last few weeks, so a longer run today really made me feel great. At least until I drove home and realized how sore I was not only from bball yesterday, but now hill running on top.

No real injuries, although the pain in the toe is still there. I think it is called "turf toe" and happens from running on hard surfaces like astro-turf. I run on pavement, all the better eh. It was a minimal hindrance most of the run, but with all the time I've been taking off it's now worrying me that it isn't going to go away soon. Should be back on track this week. I found a new giant hill to run, so that will be a heck of a lot of fun thursday or friday.

I had typed up 3 paragraphs, but waited to hit submit and lost it all. So here's the short version.

At the track with one of the guys who's been having knee pain. 3 miles. Ran a little more with another guy, then by myself. Conditions were super windy and a wierd sunny/cold mixture. If you wore something long you'd burn, but at the same time if you didn't you'd freeze. I went for freeze.

Still having toe pain and right tendon tightness. I can feel the tightness especially when the knee is flexed and bent back. Also have some pretty good back pain on the right side, which has been around a week or so, the same time as the tendon stuff. Not sure what got pulled, but it's probably from basketball. Turf toe hurts even when sitting, and was earlier tonight.

Met a guy at the track who recently ran a 2:39 marathon. I'm hoping to keep in contact with him and hopefully he'll be able to give me advice now and then. He might even start coming to a few of the practices.

Did a mile with the guys. Just not feeling it lately.

Day off of school due to illness. Still not feeling great. Hopefully will be re-energized and pickup my normal training again. I think a lot of it has to do with my routine changing due to coaching and being sick.

Rainy today, but I ran anyways. It wasn't too bad, mostly just a sort of mist. Luckily April bought me a windbreaker last weekend and that helped keep me dry. I didn't really have anything like that, so I was grateful. Did hillwork since that has been lacking. I would have liked to make it an easy day, but I've got to crack down since raceday is right around the corner. I did three on a series of large hills. Then I did a few more as I ran back to the school. I was going to go with the guys, but I decided I needed the freedom to do my own route. They were only going 5-6, and I wanted to stay out at least an hour. I sort of got lost which actually helped because I ended up running farther than I probably would have. No ipod so I was running blind, but it was free and fun. Smartly enough, I did bring my watch, so I was able to know how long I'd been out. Worked on running drills today.

 

Morning run around the neighborhood. Normal loop only once up the HH. Felt kind of faster than normal, but was pretty relaxed most of the time.8 miles

Late run at the soccer complex. Very nice and consistent, nothing over 7:00 pace, which will be my ideal goal for March. Felt relatively easy, I was pushing too. The hills were the only time I got slightly winded, but by the peak I was recovered and ready for the next mile. Practiced running tall, and that helped greatly. Wore my zooms, but still had the turf toe pain. It's such a nuisance, but I'm willing to deal with it for another month since it hasn't grown worse.8 miles

We lost our basketball game by 3 points today. I was actually happy with the results. We were actually ahead by 6 the first half. I had numerous steals and jumpballs, and made over half of my three point shots. I had a lot of fun. At one point a guy on the other team said "that guy is everywhere". I like getting in their heads. If I were taller I could have played college ball. Actually that's not a very good reason. I probably would have played regardless, but I ended up in art school. I'm glad it worked out that way. I love art and it has given me many opportunites and opened my eyes to things in the world I wouldn't have noticed.

 So the game was fun although we lost. After that I went on the treadmill for 6 miles at a normal pace. Not really pushing, just a steady state run to get some miles in for today. This week will start the guys workouts at track. I think I've got them doing 1200's tuesday, and 400's thursday. Not real sure I'm about to check over the schedule in a minute. Tommorow is an easy day, I'll probably run with the guys, then head off on my own.

My goal this week is to run everyday. For me that means putting up 8 a day since that is where I feel like I've worked out. I hope to push that up past 10 as often as possible. Also in that respect I hope to get in some doubles. That means waking up early. I'm not an early riser. I enjoy getting up early, but normally it results in lack of sleep since I'm a light sleeper and have trouble falling to sleep. Hopefully I'll get into a groove. I'm working now on just getting to bed at a consistent time, then once a routine begins I'll work in running.
 

Normal loop. Another run below 7. Starting to crack down a little on the time. There was a lot of effort to run that fast, but at the same time I was a little tired already from yesterday. Took the HH twice, which made the pace a little deceptive.

Ran with some of the kids who needed a decent pace for their 1000's today. Got home and was exhausted from not getting enough sleep last night/woken up early. Passed out on the couch. Colder tomorrow than it has been all winter here.

Cold today. Couldn't get warmed up. Wearing shorts probably didn't help but oh well. Was doing fine until the last 800 meters when the pug decided to come after me. At first I tried to stop and pet, then said forget it and just left it in the dust. I was too cold  and it was too close to the end of run to deal with crap. Unfortunately I half pulled my right ham a little. Luckily it just tightened up and I don't think anything too bad happened. I'll massage it tonight, but I think it's fine because it didn't fuss on the cooldown. I need to build more patience.

The guys did repeat quarters tonight. I was happy for the most part, there were a few stragglers though.

8 hill sprints was what I mustered today. Pretty nice workout, I was really breathing. Ran 3 miles, then 5 miles worth of ups and downs on the hill. Finished up with 2 miles as the sun was setting. It was colder again today, but not as bad as yesterday. Right ham was a little tight for the first 2 sprints. It sort of felt like something was loose in there. It went away and I felt a lot better about the rest of the workout. One more increase in my long run left, then I'll start doing some speedwork and tapering. I'm not happy that I missed hill workouts due to being sick though. I wanted to be able to do at least 14 by this point. I probably could have, but it would have been too much. I still need to conserve a little for this Saturday's run, since I'm going at least 22 and hopefully a little farther.

Did hill sprints yesterday, tomorrow doing a long run, so a day off.

Long run. Up middlebrook pike and back. Through various subdivisions, out by walmart, under the tunnel and then did the whole thing again on the way back. Felt good till 20, then knees starting feeling it and shortly after all hell broke loose. Still recovered and finished strong the last two miles, running a mile from my car, then turning around to finish up. Was planning for 24, but figured I'd just go the distance to see if I could. This long run was much better as there are less hills than on my last long run, but had a headwind both ways somehow. I would have liked to fuel a little more during the run as I only stopped by the car once, but I did the best I could on that matter.

Definitely felt awful afterward. The legs were just completely tired and almost felt the tightness similar to if they were cramping, but it was just exhaustion. Didn't eat anything afterward. Normally when I do that I can't keep it down. That's the last thing I wanted, so only liquids and it worked well. Ice bath for 15 minutes and a short nap before going out to eat. Pigged out at Olive Garden and felt a whole lot better, then we went to smoothie king and I felt even better than before, almost crazy enough to do it again sometime. Definitely a tough run, but as it now less than a month before my half, I'm feeling very confident that I will do well.

Good day today.

6 miles this morning.

Afternoon basketball. I warmed up after church while April was in a meeting- so when I came for the game I was already on fire. We won!! finally! I led the team in scoring, I think I had 30 points or so (they ran out of room in the scoring column).

6 miles later at the soccer complex.

Beautiful 70 degree day, just a little windy. Track guys went on a 7 miler as tomorrow was going to be their workout, but it is supposed to rain. That normally doesn't stop us from working out, but since Wednesday and Friday will likely be beautiful we opted to push the workout back. Next week is our first meet, a practice meet. Already~! We had the honor of having the old track coach who is now the principal of the school work with our hurdlers tonight. She coached back in the day when our school was winning state championships in track, so yeah she knows a lot more than me....for now. Anyway she was excellent. I took one of the sprinter groups and worked them out.

 Stopped by the soccer complex on the way home. I always wear running gear to practice, just in case, so I was ready to go. It was already late since we had the old coach there and took extra time, so I knew I would have to get my run in now before the sun set. It started off pretty bad. I'm still pretty fatigued from the 26 Saturday and the 12 plus basketball Sunday. But all the same by 5 miles I was in the groove and the legs flowed forth a nice comfortable pace. I was well within my limits and it was a good easy day for me. This was especially so once the sun did go down as I got cooled off, probably half the reason the last part of the run felt great.

6 on the sweatmill. Track workout planned tomorrow, will try to get 6 more in the morning.

Ran with the girls, well I started with them at least. That saved some time after practice. Both girls and guys were doing 1200's. My workout was 800's. This was perfect because the guys time themselves (one has a nice watch). I don't wear a watch, but I do use a nice timer. So when the girls started their 1200, I did my 800 and was able to see my time and still have over a lap before they finished, perfect.

I stayed conservative, although I did my bring my cross country waffles to run in. I'm glad I did, I used a lot of muscle that seems to be just sitting around. It turns out running 50 miles or more a week is pretty much geared at one thing- aerobic capacity. I was breathing on the 800's for sure, but recovery was less than half the time it took to run them. I still took the full time because these weren't supposed to be anaerobic. Only 6, although I think my original plan 4 months ago of 10 was a bit much. But on the other hand I missed 2 crucial weeks of hill training, so I guess it wasn't out of reach. The legs just weren't used to the spikes and the speed. Within the next few weeks I'll adjust by doing 1 hard workout, then a medium workout later in the week in my spikes.

1 mile warmup and cooldown, then 6 steady-state around the neighborhood with 2 trips up HH.

5 miles with the guys. Pretty slow, I stayed back because I was sore from the workout yesterday. Another 5 on the way home. Nothing else to note other than the tightness/soreness in calves and hams. That's to be expected after wearing spikes for the first time in nearly a decade.

6 on the sweatmill. Was the only coach at track practice today. I had 4 different workouts going between the distance and the sprinters. Not really the ideal situation, but I saw some pretty good work going on. We should do okay at our practice meet on Tuesday. That will be a good indicator of future workouts for our team.

Wanted to run later so I could help April cook tonight. Hopefully I'll finally get a morning run in tomorrow, but it will be tough as it is supposed to be cold and snowy. I have been waking up an hour early, but then I fall back asleep. I guess its a step in the right direction.

didn't get a run in today unfortunately.

Basketball today was fun. We lost due to the other team shooting 100% from beyond the arch for nearly the whole game. I mean that literally, they missed one out of 15. Regardless we played hard till the end, but couldn't close the gap (even though we were up by 5 at the half).

injuries today- hip slammed, nice bruise to match the other hip.

knee bruise? this is what sucks the most, because I don't know how I obtained this pain.

Took a nap after bball and when I woke up there a was a pain in my knee. It must have got hit sometime during the game, but I didn't feel anything. It made tonights run painful, especially at the beginning. I pushed through and it felt a little better, but it is still nagging me even now. Hopefully tomorrow it'll feel better and I can do my workout on the track.
 

Knee hurt ALL day long. I couldn't walk stairs and could barely walk normally the whole day. Took a motrin after school and a half hour later the pain was miraculously gone. Got home 3 hours later and still no pain. Went for a 10 mile run, no pain... Still no pain. My ankles were sore from yesterday and the hams and calves weren't too happy either. I wore my free's yesterday and they can have that effect, especially when I pushed the first 5k of yesterday's run. Looks like the knee is okay since I was having pain in other places and not there. Still, I didn't run my workout tonight at the track like I had wanted to. It would have been nice, but it just wasn't worth it - even though the knee was feeling good I wanted to make sure.

Track meet tonight, no running. Had some decent performances, but were just not in good enough shape yet. 4:46/48/58 milers and a long jumper who went 19.10" from a foot or two behind the line on his first jump come to mind. Actually the meet went pretty smooth, we just didn't get to eat anything so I was starving when I got home and didn't feel like running after I just ate, plus it was 9:00 and I needed to get some sleep.

Workout at the track since I didn't get to do it Monday. Pretty good, about the same as last week though. 1200,800,800,400,800,800. Was breathing pretty good. I wish I could have gotten more climbing work done last month, it's really set me back in my sprint capabilities. Darn sickness. Feeling good but I'm still not positive if I will be able to get to my gold goal for the race yet. I'll know by my last fast workout the week before. The good news is I'll be able to keep my speedwork another month for a 10k I ran last year. It will be fun to compare times.
 

Pushed a little harder than I should have on this one, but it felt good. Extremely sore from yesterday's workout, must have been some serious bootylock yesterday. Calves and hams weren't too refreshed either. Luckily I know that sore muscles and rest equals improved speed.

nice run around the hood. Pugs chased me for 50m, so I got a nice acceleration in before they died. I had hoped they would go a little farther, but they died. Oh well, hams are tight but everything else is good to go for tomorrows long run of 15-17. Last one before the half and I'll be running the course itself for this one. Should work out well.

ran with the marathon group on their long run on the first half of the course this morning. Felt really easy compared to my normal long, as this was much shorter and a little slower, but still got some good work in. Tough course overall, lots of hills that I remembered are pretty tough. It was nice to talk with a few people as I ran, one woman happened to have won the marathon two years ago. We had a group of four or five that just kind of stuck together, with me and her out front leading. I was glad to have the others there as I had no clue where I was going and there was nobody in front of us. It was a beautiful morning with some sun, although the forecast was for thunderstorms. It ended up raining, but not until everyone was gone.

Half marathoners were supposed to do 10 today. That is way to low for me, so when we got back to the start at 13 the marathoners slowed down like they were done. I kept going and then they kind of questioned if they should go 15 like the run was going to be. I was just like, this is my last long run, I'm going the extra- and they all went too. No major problems, hams are still kind of sore/tight, but everything else was good.

5 miles in the morning. Legs a little sore from yesterday.

7 miles at the soccer complex. Somehow this was a fast run even though legs weren't feeling good, last mile was fastest and felt effortless. This was very close to goal pace. Can't wait for rested legs.
 

Took it easy today at the soccer complex. Legs are really worn out, but I still want to do a workout tomorrow. Hopefully a good stretch and some massaging will at least get them part of the way there. I don't think I'm going to do any speedwork. I have plenty of speed, it's strength that I need, so probably a hill workout.

nice run tonight in some strong wind. Good overall pace. Didn't get the hill work in that I had planned on because legs still weren't fully recovered. They felt really good though and I should be able to get the workout in tomorrow morning.

Hill sprints. Whoa today was crazy. I was hoping to get in 8 quality hills sprints, it was more like 3, then died for 5 more. First I started off with 6 miles at steady pace. The largest hill I have to overcome in the half is well, at the half. So I wanted to simulate that run by putting my hills in after running for a while- approximately 6.5 miles. I was already breathing pretty good by the time I got back to the HH after 2 laps around the hood. That usually doesn't matter, because once I start hiking up and up, my body reacts to that and I don't even feel tired anymore.

The first sprint was the fastest, strongest, and toughest. The wind today was not good- 23-25 mph and coming right at my body all the way up. I was just about blown off the road once and probably looked like I was running drunk swerving like I was. Not only that, but it started to rain. So now I got rain pelting me in the face, wind blowing me around, and of course the giant hill I'm wanting to sprint up 8 times consecutively. whew.

So the first 3 were just me against God. I was so hyped up and it just felt like he was trying to break me. I didn't let it happen. Not today. 6 would have been good enough. I was dead after the first 3, I mean I felt like I was crawling up. So I did one more just to say I did more than I thought I could. Tough, tough workout, but I'll be much stronger because of it. Bring on the half marathon in half-decent weather.
 

Easy 5 this morning with 2 hill trudges. Got the heart rate up in the morning, which is pretty much my goal for the next two weeks. Left knee was a little fun, I sort of had a "clicking" thing going on. It felt like the tendon was a step behind. So when I extended it sort of made a twang like it was rolling over another tendon? Not sure how to describe it. I attribute it to the calf raises I did last night. I haven't been doing those like I wanted to, but I guess you have to start somewhere.

6 rather tough miles at the soccer complex tonight. Kind of just grinded them out since the legs were a little tired from yesterdays workout. No soreness though which is good because it leaves Saturday open for some final speedwork.

5 AM miles as per spring break this week. Kind of nice to be able to run in the morning without sacrificing sleep.

6 PM miles. Pretty weak run tonight at the complex. Just didn't have anything in the tank for this one. Breathing was fine, legs were toast. Speedwork tomorrow morning and then rest, rest, rest. Race is at 7 on march 30.
 

workout at the track today. One mile warmup and drills. Then 1 mile with 600 recovery, 800 w 1200 recovery, and a final 800, then a mile cooldown. Felt good on all 3, especially the last one. By good I mean I was hurting. Didn't want to do much as I don't need to mess anything with a week to go till the race.

6 miles at the soccer complex. Started off well enough, the pace felt pedestrian after today's speedwork. Ran the last lap pretty fast because I was feeling good, so add another one on for fast miles today. There was a guy with a knox marathon shirt, we exchanged words as we ran by which was kind of funny since I ran by him 6 times. I say "I" ran by him because I was going a lot faster. It was good though, he's running the half next week as well. I'm feeling very confident. I've been running since October and have put in some good work. I know I'll PR, the only question is by how much. 

Quick mile in the morning. Spent time with April and her family for Easter.

Sweatmill for 5 miles. Weather was kind of bad, snowed most of the day, but that wasn't what kept me inside. It was an inservice day today and it just took everything out of me. Not that it was particularly hard, it was just all over the place with no real schedule. I usually get out of my groove when things like that change. Should be better the rest of this week. Probably do a longer run tomorrow, maybe an easy 10.

around the hood. Tough since last night used different muscles on the treadmill- and I probably worked a little too much. But oh well I still have plenty of time to rest.

hill sprints with the kids. they were doing 12, but I only did 7 since I didn't want to do too much. Felt pretty good though. They finished their workout back at the track, and I finished mine after I got home, Just another 6 miles at comfortably fast pace.

Race in the morning.

Race report to come. Computer tied up with April all day....

So I did some light running out into the course and it felt okay. Not great by any means. I should have warmed up a little more, but I was anxious. I looked around. This was oddly familiar. Dark dreary skies, puddles, I just wait for the downpour of rain. But before I knew it they were saying their words and getting ready for the start. I took a stance, left foot out in front of the right and my knees slightly bent. I looked down, then over at the guy with the gun. When he raised it, I looked out. Bam, and there we go flying up the first hill. Little did I know how much I would regret that first mile.

We are going fast, but I was feeling pretty good. I had no idea what our time was. Up a hill and my legs are turning over, down another hill and then out on a loop down to the river. I'm watching people ahead of me, and I can see Michael Wardian- the guy who ran out in front of the likes of Ryan Hall, Brian Sell, and Ritz for the first miles of the Olympic Trials. I had saw him in warmup and almost talked to him, then I didn't worry about it. Mile one marker ahead- 25,26,27,28......WHAT 28 I thought. It was 6. Ahhhh. For all holiness again with a fast first mile (for me). I wanted to go out in 6:50, then decrease pace. Oh well I thought, everyone else out in front of me will die. But the damage was done. My legs began to turn into burning vessels of pain and before you know it I'm struggling just to run at any pace, let alone comfortably. I can attribute some of this to the hill sprints wednesday- but it was just faster than I had trained. I normally start off slow, then increase; and this was the exact opposite. I truly believe this first mile cost me a minute or possibly more in terms of time.

So I just gutted out the first 5 miles. Up hills just kept on coming, and even at 3 miles, the hills were tough. Little hills, big hills, long hills, you name it and there were hills. At 6 miles I FINally started feeling somewhat under control. The pace had drifted slightly and there were lots of downhills that I could coast on. I always excel here because of the downhills I trained on- I always got faster after them and so it was today. At 6 miles I see the 10k timer and it reads just under 42 minutes. Good- but not anywhere near the 40 I had envinsioned. So I doubled it- I could run next 6 miles just as fast as the first-That puts me at 84 with a mile to go, meaning I would have to kill the last mile to make it. And so right then I knew the race was still on.

Mile 7. Good old mile 7. This is where the dreaded hill of death is. The one I walked last year. I see a curly hair guy I've had my sights on for 2 miles and I track him. Halfway up the first hill I'm within yards, and by the second hill I've passed him at the top. He's breathing hard, I'm not, but my legs are screaming for mercy. I can feel my left quad just pulsing and wanting to rip apart, calves aren't much better but it's the whole leg, from the ankle up. My right foot is numb. The turf toe shows its head again and the thing is lifeless and hurts on impact. Stupid turf toe. I ignore it and think about the next 3 miles. They will have to be fast- this is the flat part of the course. Another hill ahead, two more hills, a steep hill, and then some rolling hills. I'm flying with three guys. They pass me, I pass them. I'm stronger and smoother than them, but my legs are destroyed. 10 miles. 3 more to go.

The next mile I track down 3 guys I see ahead and soon enough pass two of them- the third I would never catch. I follow him up the next series of hills at mile 11- where I believe I walked for a few steps last year. I stayed smooth but I'm pretty much spent- just running on guts at this point. I know there is only two miles left, but I can't go any faster- or at least my legs tell me that. Stupid legs why are you so unprepared! I000 miles and still you don't cooperate. I see the 12 mile mark. Two guys are ahead of me and I go for them, down we go, almost there. I think I can catch them. I prepare to turn right to head towards the stadium- but we don't, we go straight. Right into a huge friggin hill. For pete's sake another friggin hill right at the end. And it's not small, it's long and steep. Little did I know the stadium is right at the top (we didn't run this route two weeks ago as I was with full marathoners). I struggle to catch the two guys, but I can't, I can but my body says no. I get inside the stadium and see 1:30, I book it, but it's too late as I have only 50 yards. I just try to finish with the best time possible.

Sub 1:30 evades me by 27 seconds. I think if I had just started off slower I would have worked my way into a good pace, then been able to really kick the last few miles. But thats what I would have done, and not how it went down. Thats the kind of things you learn. Or least should have learned because it happened last year too. But last year was a beginners mistake, this year I should have known better. I am happy with the race this year. I made huge improvements and the best part is I still felt out of shape, haha. That means theres room for huge improvements again next year. I basically started training in mid-October, so if I continue to be consistent I'm sure I can make it happen.

average 6:54, improved 1:35 from last year
total time 1:30:26, improved 20:27 from last year

 On a side note I played basketball at church after all this. I took a nap afterward, got up and went to play in our tournament. I willed my team almost to victory scoring 35 points with 8 three pointers, 6 rebounds, numerous steals and assists..not a bad day for a 5'8" guy. We lost by 6 points 68-74. It was almost as awesome as this mornings race, considering I did run a hard race right before playing. I hope the guys continue to play as it fun to get together on Sundays.

Two with April, then finished out the rest after she was done.

Still sore, took it easy

Still tight and sore, mostly the quads. 3 miles at soccer complex.

Running seemed counterproductive, took some full rest.

track meet tonight, so I'm not sure if I'll get to run or not.

got home at 11pm, not worth running just to say I did, plus I was on my feet from 4-10:30.

6 miles normal loop with HH x2, not skipping this hill on any more runs, even on easy days.

5 miles this morning, hood loop with hills.

8 miles tonight at the soccer complex. These felt controlled and nice. It is getting warmer and I'm not looking forward to the 90 degree May days. I guess it's already time to get acclimated again.

4 miles this morning before school. Yay for me. I actually got up.

5 miles with the track kids VG to Boring. This was a fun run, I really miss running with the guys. I hope to take more days like this with them. I actually felt good on this run, even though I had my boots on- ehem my 12 oz shoes.

I'll probably run another 3 or 4 tonight, it is hot out today. - 3 more miles, feeling pretty tired. I sprinted the last 100 meters against one of our track kids-LOL. -he always finishes first : )

track meet tomorrow, not sure about mileage. Would like to do some hills wed or thurs. Long run will probably be Sunday or Saturday night- track meet saturday too.

hood loop and 3/4 this morning before school for 5 miles. Track meet tonight- I think we won- although the host school kept most of it's best runners out- there is a bigger meet for both of us this weekend. Would have liked to run tonight, but thats just the way things go.

6 miles this morning on two hood loops. Pushed it on the hill.

7 miles tonight, soccer complex. Much hotter than it has been, so I went out an hour before sunset, which set up some nice shade from the surrounding trees. It made the breeze cool instead of stifling on the south side and got me re-energized for the open areas of the course. Quads were sore today. Obviously this is from the increase in daily mileage and the fact I don't skip hills anymore in addition to pushing to maintain faster pace on hills. I really like running twice a day, and am already getting used to it. I get so much more running in, and I almost feel better than with one run. The waking up part is still tough, but its fine. I'm just not looking forward to it being darker each morning because I don't want to get hit by a car-(no sidewalks). Looks like its time to pick up some reflective tape.

Once I've been running a steady 4 huge hills a day for 2-3 weeks I'll throw in specific hill work and by then it'll be May and time to throw in speed too. Should make for a good 10k training. I haven't set any goals for that race, I'm sure I'll PR so I'm thinking an age placement would be fun-  top 5? (last year I was 12th)

Ran the last mile and a half tonight at a strong pace getting really nice pushoff, actually felt fast in my clodhoppers.

6 am hood loop x2.

7 at the soccer complex. Muscles slightly fatigued, but soreness in the quads is all but gone. These night runs start off slow because of the heat, then get faster as I go. Felt great and picked it up the last mile and a half. Scared the heck out of a lady when I passed her on the left. She had no idea I was coming- I would yell something, but it just gets monotonous when you're on a 1 mile loop and pass people 9-10 times. Plus even when you do say something they jump out of the way like you are a bus or something.

am- 6 miles hood loop x2.

pm- went out to eat and shopping, could have ran at 11, but didn't want to ruin my sleep.

8 miles this morning, hood loop x2.5 (3 hills)

track meet this afternoon.

11 miles tonight at the soccer complex. Went pretty well after the first 3 were out of the way. Felt a little weak around 6- probably from the sunburn today (yup forgot sunscreen). I remembered, but it was already too late, plus I ran in the morning too, so it all added up. Fortunately it's not too bad. Hills tonight were good, mostly from it cooling down. I ended up running in the dark for the most part of the run. It worked out since right now I'm used to running in colder weather- and at 47 degrees with a 15 mph wind I didn't sweat much and felt fast enough.

pm-hood loop 3+. Good pace. A lot colder today- about 42-44 degrees and a little windy. It's supposed to cool down even more and maybe a chance for snow in the morning. So much for the 80 degrees on Friday. It won't last long though- apparently there is usually a freeze around April 10th, so it's normal. Soon enough it'll be hot and I'll be able to complain about that. Didn't run this morning- but at least I only have to make up 2 miles since I got in 10 today- (the goal being 12 a day)
 

6 am on the treadmill. Cold outside and not motivated to run in it- went to the treadmill.

6 pm hood loop x2. Braved the cold this time, but had to shed a jacket within a mile. After that it was a good run other than my foot hurting starting from around 4 miles. It may have swelled up from the cold and caused some bruising from my shoes. It hurts at top most point of the foot about midway down where a bone juts out so I assume that is what happened.

6 miles this morning on hood loop. Foot still hurt. I'm not sure if it's bruised or not yet- I'm still assessing. It definitely hurts to run, although I'm used to running with pain. It hurt walking around today. I'm really leaning towards it being bruised. I may have stubbed my toe and it caused the joint to swell- because it is around the big toe-foot joint connection area. Will just have to wait it out and hope it's nothing serious.

no miles tonight because of the track meet. I thought about jogging, but you just never know when someone has a question or the next gun will go off. I try to contain myself and remember that I'm there for the kids and not my own running. But it's still tough to watch. We did well, but I'm looking forward to having my own team as now I share the team with another coach. That's absolutely fine, but theres an issue of control there that I have taken the backseat to just because the other coach has been there longer. It works out in the end- I just want to train my own group the way I see fit- from the ground up.

Man this days seems to have just been dragged along by an ox.

am- 6 miles hood loop x2. Foot bruise still hurt on impact. Ignored it since it was slightly better than yesterdays pain. Parts of this run were nice. Didn't mind running in the cold this morning. 

pm- 10 miles soccer complex. While monotonous this run is usually varied. Pace was slowest around 3-4 miles. I didn't get a good cooldown this morning and that resulted in pooling of lactic acid and a crappy first few miles tonight. I felt like I was jogging/walking those first few miles. After 4 I started feeling good and a short time later had found my usual stride. Just kept going- keeping track of miles by how many times I crossed the black pavement line. I actually ran back to my car and had just over 9 miles, so I ran around the parking lot for an even 10. That was fun since it's mostly flat there and I did a few accelerations that felt pretty nice. Foot hurt the first few and around the last mile, inbetween it didn't bother me.

6 am hood x2. Foot still hurt, left foot as well between second and third toes. Must be my shoes.

7 pm soccer complex. Toughest run pain wise. Both feet were hurting and the left one was bad. Right foot pain was there but not as prominent as the left. Iced both tonight, but I am switching shoes tomorrow to see if that takes the pressure off the spots that are hurting.

am hood x2. Different shoes helped. 6 miles

pm soccer. This run felt good. Both runs today felt 100x better. Just goes to show you how much "running" shoes aren't really built for running. Stride was a million times better today and therefore the toes didn't hurt as bad. The right one seems to be the worst now, although I think it too will go away after a few days. 9 miles

afternoon run at soccer complex. Nothing special, around a long run pace. Stopped at 10 miles. Could have done 12 like I wanted to, but with the toe hurting I'd figured best to stop while I was ahead. Toe is swelled, but is feeling easier to walk on.

long-ish run, 13 miles. Not the normal loop today!!!?!!

Visited April's family today and ran there. So nice to have a change of scenery. There is a greenway with mostly paved or cement trails that runs through a woods in the suburbs. Unfortunately it isn't too long so once out of the woods you head towards a walmart. The cool thing about that part is that you go under the roads through tunnels, so that is pretty sweet. I like running through tunnels. From there headed up middlebrook which is quite challenging due to the hills. Ran through a large church's parking lot and that was kind of fun, then started to head back around 6 miles and took the same path back. Ran a little extra before I got back to the house on an out and back road.

Toe pain was minimal, but still there. Not sure what to do other than ice it at this point. I'll keep an eye on it and if it seems to be getting worse I'll take some time off. For now I just think the vessels are bruised/broken and need time to repair.

day off to hopefully give the toe some rest.

14 miles at the soccer complex. Nice run, too bad I developed a nice blister. Middle toe still sore, but not a hindrance to running.

track meet tonight, not able to run. Didn't get home till 11.

Nice run this morning 7 miles, toe pain pretty much gone.

Only ran a mile tonight at the track meet. Didn't have time to run between any other events. Kind of felt bad even for that mile. Driving to Ohio in the morning, but I think I should be able to get a run in before I go.

 This week has been way too crazy to run high miles. I guess it kind of worked out for the toe situations because they are pretty much good to go. Probably wait till the end of next week for any anaerobic or hill work outs.

 

Another few days off. Not really much I can do about it lately- track meet all night again, then April's birthday was Saturday. This week I should be able to keep on track. Last year after the school year stopped I pretty much quit running- the change in schedule always messes things up. This year I know it shouldn't be an issue, but the past two weeks have been pretty tough. The train should be back on the tracks now.

Am- soccer complex 7 miles at comfortable pace. Bruise on the rib hurts on the downhills, but the toe is feeling much better- hasn't hurt at all really, but if I push on it a little bit I can still feel some pain. Trying to avoid injuring it further- a few low weeks definitely can't hurt.

 12 miles soccer complex.

A few miles on the track. These were not fun as the track just seems too soft. Ran on the pavement along the outside lane for the last mile.

Decided to stop the nonsense short and run when i got home. Back to the soccer complex for 9 miles. 

2 hills on the HH. Not a bad run overall, felt good to get a taste of anaerobic in.

got out too late for a longer run. This morning the cat woke me up at 4 and I didn't feel like getting up when the alarm went off. I'll probably do a tempo tomorrow night.

7 miles, easy.
 

crazy night, no running

sectional track meet. Had some nice performances, more kids than I thought made it into state. We were really close on a lot of races. Times of note were our 4x8 boys- 2:01,2:03,2:07, and 2:00. We actually slowed down at the end since we only needed to place 4th to qualify. Still those are good times except for our "worst" leg. He just isn't quite there yet. Qualified in the pole vault.

In the mile our girl qualified with a 5:20. I had talked to her mom earlier and said she would probably do better in the mile than the 2 mile. She disagreed, but we had her running both anyways. 7th in the 2 mile, 3rd in the mile. Not that I'm an expert, but I know my kids pretty well now. Our 800 girl ran a 2:20 which is good, but she had already run the 4x8 and something else before that. At this point she could qualify in any event- I would put her in the mile, but our other girl is equal in it and not as much in the 8. Our hurdler girl qualified with a PR and our 800 guy ran an easy 3rd place finish in 1:58- his PR is 1:57, but he had already run the 4x8.

We have a young team, and the girls who are doing well are only sophs/juniors so next year is looking good. We had a lot of 5th place finishes too so there is plenty of talent, but we still lack sprinters who can compete.

So that was my day from 5 a.m. to now with 4 hours of riding the bus. Unfortunately there was no time as I was the babysitter- taking the kids to the mall and out to eat after the meet, while the other coach drove themself and didn't have anything to do with the kids. Not that I'm complaining, today I felt closer to my team than ever before. I think they have a lot more respect for me because I am there for them. The only bad thing about track is that it takes away from my running, but it is fun and I enjoy just being in the atmosphere of track meets.

Nice morning, but didn't get to run in it. Yesterday's all day meet took a lot more than I thought out of me, plus I got to sleep late. So I got up and just didn't have much energy to run, went back to sleep after reading for a little bit.

This afternoon I got a run in at the soccer complex. Things didn't exactly go as planned, partially to the heat and the other part to bad pacing. I started off to what seemed slow, but it was faster than I needed to be- I had planned on warming up for a few miles then running a tempo. The warm up mile turned out to be a tempo itself as I had not run for a few days and just felt too good to go slow. So I just turned the first part into a tempo. This was a hard 3.5 and I was half dead after that little bit. Legs and lungs were hurting already. I figured I could go farther but it just wasn't worth it. I took some water- which I brought along with ice luckily and then got back into my cooldown miles. These were just as hard as the tempo and I had to take another water stop halfway through before finishing up with a little acceleration.

This one was definitely up there on the toughness scale, but I attribute it to the afternoon heat with low humidity. It was just stifling compared to my normal. I guess it's good though and I'll start getting used to it the more I get out in the heat of the day.

Afterwards I helped April move half our front yard to the back yard. It took just about all I had just to stand up and my breathing was heavy whenever I had to shovel even a small amount. I felt sort of light headed too and it wasn't till after dinner a few hours later that I started feeling normal again. I suppose that means I put in good effort, but it made me feel weak and I'm not too excited about that feeling.

easy run, although considering the wind and the two HH's it wasn't easy at all. Was breathing hard to maintain normal pace. I think I'm lacking consistent training the past few weeks and a longer long run. Other than that the left ham was sore today. Seemed to be muscle or tendon in the middle of the left leg. I could sort of feel it working yesterday as my footfall was a little weird on the left foot. I may have been overcompensating and worked it too much. I think it's fine though.

Planning a long run T, Thursday or Friday hills, and Sunday a few timed miles with easy running before and after.

Best run in a while. Did a mile at the track while the kids going to state did their workouts. The track really made my calves and everything feel it- even after just a mile. I will have to start doing more work there.

The other 9 miles was at home- started off backwards so I would only have to do the hill twice. This worked quite well as I had a few miles before tackling it. This run felt very relaxed and smooth, but at the same time relatively fast. It probably felt that way because of the first two things. Either way it was nice and I haven't had a run where I felt good the whole way in a while.

super-migrane attack, night off.

Soccer complex after school, then at home. Legs turned over nicely for me.

A fast mile at the track, with cooldown/warmup miles.

 Took it rather easy today- more fast tomorrow.
 

4 hill sprints in the morning with 7 miles of running.

8 miles at the soccer complex. 

5 recovery on the treadmill. We have a gym membership and this treadmill is very nice compared to the one i bought this winter. Looking forward to using the pool and weights to get stronger.

two fast 10ks, with a short rest inbetween. Felt fast and was good to get the heart rate up. If I can do two pretty much back to back, one on Saturday morning shouldn't be a problem.

bleah. This week is always the worst. Last week of school, finals, finishing up, getting contract stuff ready, planning for the state meet, going to the meet, spending all day at the meet, etc. It just didn't work out for me.

After driving back last night at 11 pm, which was one of the worst trips I've ever taken, I got some food and went to sleep. I really wish this race was next week, but it doesn't really matter since the state meet took all my training away so I guess it's fine. I would have liked to get some more sleep though.

State Meet went well btw. 1600 girl 7th, 800 girl 4th, and 4x8 boys 6th with an alternate. Alot of stuff happened that was bad, but it's over so I'm not going to worry about posting that.

 Todays race went as good as can be expected. Training has been lacking as of late, mostly due to track, but all the same I could be in better shape. Started off well. A 5:52 first mile was good and felt pretty easy, 12:06 at 2 miles. I knew I would never hold that pace though. Not in the shape I'm in. I'm just not ready yet.

So I pushed through to mile 4 (25something). At that point I thought I was going to die and was just fighting to breathe and maintain pace. At 5 I heard 31:30 or something and knew I could pull of a sub-40. So I started increasing pace. I had a guy right with me, and in the end he got me, but I gave him a run for his money. It was nice though because we pushed each other. I sprinted to the finish, but there wasn't much left. All in all it was a great run. I think I could have went a little faster, but I'm happy with the effort. A few of my track kids ran a 37 and a 38. I'll be able to check exact times tomorrow.

 Whoohoo! School is out, track is over and I'm freeeeee.

treadmill at the gym

Didn't run today, but I did workout at the gym. All kinds of stuff, and I overdid it hardcore.

leg extensions 3 sets x10 @90lbs.
standing bicep dumbells 3x10 @18
incline benchpress 1x10 @45, @65, @75, then back down
seated squat press 3x10 @ 130,150, and 170
shoulder press 3x10 @70
calf raises 3x10-15 @125
lower back reverse push 3x10 @85

ugh and ugh, so hot. Almost 90 degrees, but I figured some jogging would suffice.

the second ugh is the time I've taken off from running seems to have solved a few issues, but it's hard getting back on track. The hip flexor still is doing something wierd. I was really hoping rest would get rid of that, but it seems I may need to get it checked out. I did just take 2 weeks off so I'll see what happens in the next few days. 

Just a quick run to get the blood flowing. I felt alright, but I think the lack of sleep is holding me back. Now that schools out I do all kinds of stuff during the day, but haven't got a good routine down so I stay up reading. My mind just wants to work during the summer I guess. I'll have to force myself to sleep tonight so I can run in the morning again.

I plan on working out or running more tonight 

3 again, medium-high effort. Once I get acclimated to the heat again I should be able to start running farther. Thunderstorms keep moving in everynight with lightning, so unfortunately I haven't been able to run then. I will probably end up on the treadmill since it is supposed to thunderstorm again. I think it has something to do with the mountains, because the mornings are beautiful.

3 tonight. medium effort. Sun was down and it was "cooler". Miles felt fine. Still had the "bruised" hip feeling. Not too worried about it though because it is very faint. Miles will start adding up soon now. 

Another 6 tonight a few hours after dinner. Felt really good- the body started to remember to run but am definitely a step and half slower.

Looked like it was going to storm this morning but didn't. Looks to be real nice the upcoming week with a cooldown to 84 degrees.

spent the morning at aprils granparents for fathers day, then the afternoon at her aunt's. We didn't eat till 7 so I am going to try and get out to run a little after 8.

7 miles. Hip pain is very noticeable now. If it doesn't get better by the end of this week it looks like I'll have to visit the doctor. It feels like some kind of bruising, but it feels like it is on or just beneath the hip bone (the round part along the side were the waistline is.) We'll see, but I'm not very optimstic as I took 3 weeks off and it didn't help. Perhaps it is something else like my form that could be causing it. It hurts most when the foot passes beneath me, which makes sense as that is when the most pressure is absorbed by the hip.
 

Hip felt better this morning, but still hurts. 3 miles went by rather slow. Hope to get another run in later.

Hit the gym right after dinner

basketball 20 min.
70 lbs 3x12 leg extensions
130-150-170-190 x12 sitting squat
70 lb 10x2 deltoid pull downs
70 lb 10x3 shoulder raises
ab crunches 90lbs 10x2, twisting abs 30lbs 10x2

4 miles, a little more tired from the workout, but stride felt good (although short) and definitely kept it at a medium pace. Hip felt better again, even more so when i worked on running tall.

Ate dinner late because of April's schedule, didn't get to run today. Right calf was cramping anyway so maybe it was a good thing.

am- 6 miles. Nice easy pace but medium effort. A lot cooler this morning which was nice, high only 80 today. Great day for running!

pm- 7 miles. Can't say enough about how good this one felt. Much cooler around 70-72 degrees or so and a slight breeze. I just couldn't have asked for better conditions. FINALLY felt the legs getting some spring back, turnover felt 10x more efficient and faster. A good day for a double. 

6miles am. Pretty much a death march. I don't know what it is about the mornings, but I just can't seem to feel good running in them. Either way I stuck it out and got in the full run. Part of this may also be attributed the HH as I have to go up it twice- i guess it's better than 3x. The other part of it may have been due to needing some water as my throat was sooo dry. I'll have to start leaving an ice bottle by the road or something.

utter fail tonight with 2 miles that I wouldn't even call slow jogging. Made some bad food choices today (odd cause usually I do well) anyway ended up with major stomach cramps and a bowl full of jelly feeling. Had to stop at 2.5 because I was going to throw up or worse. Sad cuz 2.5 doesn't count as 3 for me. Very disappointed in myself, but you live and you learn right?

Ran smart this morning and conserved all energy for the hill trips. Actually ran farther than my normal 2 loops so I got 8 miles in! My farthest run since time off. I really needed it too. This morning conditions were great though. Really light cloud cover with the sun barely poking through made for a bright, but cool day. There was also a light breeze which felt good and made you feel like you were going faster than what you probably were. Hip seems to be fine as long as I keep everything straight so I'm not too worried about it for right now. I must have been favoring my right side somehow, but I seem to be correcting it.

7 miles tonight. Looked like rain, but only felt a few sprinkles. Good run didn't feel like I overexerted or anything. Hip stuff was a little more noticeable- I even thought of a new theory that it might be all the turns I take. Not sure, but I sure have enough theories...

4 miles in the afternoon heat. Didn't last too long in that.

 7 miles around sunset. Ran the cul-de-sacs in reverse and the hip felt better. That may have been what caused the problem originally. Actually finished with a half mile pickup which felt great.
 

5 miles in the heat. A nice 85 degrees. The only way I was able to do it was looking forward to the shaded areas. Probably should have went 6 miles, but i thought I might get another short run in later and use it as an easier day.

Good start today with 6 miles around the hood. Finished with a little pickup the last mile. Ended tired, but a good tired.

8 miles tonight in a surreal environment. Well for the most part. There were huge nimbus clouds above that were carrying a storm behind them. It was fun to watch them change color from white to red then dark, each time I came around the loop at the complex. The contrast was awesome. A clear blue sky with a few clouds, then a huge upburst of puffy whites and underneath all that in the distance I could see the sheets of rain falling on the mountains under dark blue storm clouds. Occasionally I would even see a few flashes of lighting. It made the run interesting and relaxing at the same time. I kept wondering if the storm would head my way, but it never did.

It also helped that this was a late run and I ran until almost 10. Cool weather made it seem like I was CHEATING! I hardly felt like I had ran a mile other than my legs were getting sore, mostly in the shins. A good run.
 

single HH loop. Pretty tough in the heat this time- not necessarily hot, but the sun just seems to melt my stamina. Said Hi to the neighbors during my pain.

Was not thinking I guess and forgot to click my ipod on this run. Surely felt like 6 miles because the left calf was hurting- it has been the past few days i think i may have wrote a note somewhere. Thought it would go away, but is still sore in there. I don't think it's anything serious, but worth keeping an eye on just in case. Miles felt good other than that.

Calf a little better today. Seems if i turn right on the roundabouts i get right hip pain, and if I go left I get left calf pain. Not sure which is lesser of two evils here. Either way it was a good run since it was ~70 degrees and sunny with a few hints of shade here and there. You can't really beat that. Moderate effort.

6 miles just before sunset. Left calf really hurt on this one, with a little right hip for flavor at the beginning. Hopefully some ice will help. Run felt great other than that. Moderate breathing and legs felt fine too. 

day off to hopefully help the calf out.

Just 4 miles today. Ipod wasn't working correctly, didn't log but .45 of my 5 miles and I'm not sure why. Maybe it was the heat or sweat or something as it was 90 degrees. So that equaled an 88 minute per mile pace. Now that is grandma style. So anyway kind of taking the rest of the day off. Calf is nearly back to normal so another easy day isn't going to hurt anything.

Day off hoping to get the legs some extra rest.

BUGS... GROSS! I was slapping and brushing and flinging bugs off the entire run tonight. Most of them were dead because of the sweat, which made it even more gross. When I got home I still had 5 bugs on my neck, and one in my ear. They are sort of like ants, but with wings- kind of like little sweat bee's. Great run though, felt nice and fresh the whole time- turns out the past few days off have helped the calf as it didn't cause too much problem. Hip was about the same as usual.

6 miles this morning. Calf was hurting slightly but not too bad. Kind of cooler morning and definitely windy so I didn't sweat profusely. Good run.

4 miles tonight. Right Calf/shin pain was too great and I had to cut the run short. I'm very disappointed that it was so bad as I have been taking it rather easy lately. Icing it now.
 

Thought I was clear for takeoff the first mile. No pain. Then it slowly built and by the third mile it was hurting each step. Took an ice bath and will be icing again tonight. The pain is a few inches down the Tibia where it meets the calf muscle, kind of inbetween there. It only hurts when running- so I'll be taking it easy on the miles and if it still continues I'll be in the pool.

resting the leg

just a test run today. Way too hot to really get anything substantial. Started storming when I got home. - hip still feels bruised, but the calf is fine now.