Friday, May 25, 2012

speed work 1

Today was a speed work day!

One aspect of my upcoming training will be speed workouts. I will do track workouts that include 400s 800s miles and so on with jogging in between. Today's run was done using hills to add a bit of difficulty. I decided halfway through that i need something like a speedy high school girl or something like that to really push me on these runs. I guess the high school part isn't needed but I heard about a 4:47 miler in the catholic league and i feel like training with her would help.....true motivation not losing to younger women. Pretty impressive stuff. I would love to crank out one or two under 5 mins miles in about 2 more months.

Today's workout was 800s. I ran one 800 fast then jogged one. I ran three  at 5:50 pace with three 800s at 10 min pace in between. Good times indeed. I think without hills i would have gone much fast. I also would love some running partners....possibly this weekend??

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

first three honks of the year!

It felt hot today. It was only 70 and very sunny.....but it felt HOT. I thusly ran shirtless of course.

While running i did collect three honks (always a fun game to play). Most of the honks i assume are angry people yelling at me to put on a shirt....but as a guy you always hope that at least one of those honks was from a beautiful woman ahahah. Anyways I wanted to bust out 6 but my legs were shot from yesterday and the hills. I pounded out a solid 5. I ran slower than my desired 7:15 pace

My miles were as follows.....7:15, 7:14, 7:20, 7:45, 7:31. I really rode the struggle bus for that last mile.


On a side note I really miss running with people....i need to get back to that. I hope to do so soon!

5/22 Back from the hiatus!

Well I am back. I think it was sort of a two week break with sporadic running sessions, but it is now time to get serious. I have a month until the real training begins and i need to make sure I am ready for it!

Today was a great run to be honest. I need to make sure that my race pace ideas are not too fast. So today i decided i would test it out on my hilliest course. 4 miles at 6:52 was the plan. I took off and honestly i struggled keeping the steady pace. I hope that soon I will get it a bit better, but my body really seemed to want to run either 7 minutes or 630. The hills really made it hard to judge my overall pace because uphill i would go my slower pace and down I would go to the faster pace. It always seemed to balance out, however, i was worried it would not on the back end of the run which caused me to go a bit too fast.

I was not really comfy with this run which worries me a bit. I also have not been running consistently so that may be a slight issue as well. I passed one of my bosses on the run which was interesting.....since i was on my lunch break. I had to charge the hill to pass him which probably made me look like a dick. If i get fired ill know why ;D

Anyways, long live running!!!

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

weekend running

So I really need to improve on weekend running....because its essential, but for some reason I am awful at it.


Anyways woo back on track running. Today was a run/workout day. Only 4 weeks ish till i start my true marathon training schedule. That sure came up quickly. Today was just a simple three miles. One easy mile to start me off. The next two were tough/fast. It was nice to run on a flat course again. I worked out with my brother which basically means I killed myself in a sort of masochistic way. Good times indeed even if it was just "an easy day" for him.


The times I posted were as follows:
mile 1= 8:05
mile 2= 6:32
mile 3= 6:13

I am really feeling good about the speed I am able to maintain even in a regular workout. A 5k would probably be a nice speed test as well, but it is about time to start doing miles....lets do this!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Misty, the mystery girl

First note of today.....do not eat two doughnuts before a run....no matter how good/delicious they look.

     Hello again everyone! Well what a change a day makes. Since yesterday went a bit poorly I changed it up. 4 miles at an attempted 7:30 was the idea for the day.  The course was hilly yet again, but the temperature was quite perfect. The course looked amazing as a slight mist rose from the road due to the recently fallen rain mixing with the heat of the setting sun. Just picture that one....yes just as pretty as it sounds! Anyways the run went well. It was one of those runs that is mad hilly, but feels like you are running downhill for 90 percent of it (which was not possible since it was a there and back run). Great feeling and I even progressively ran faster which was a nice feeling.

     On a side note I should talk about misty, aka the name i gave to this random mystery girl. I was thinking of calling her blue since I have seen her the past two days wearing the same blue shirt, but blue sounds too sad. Yesterday she parked next to me before the run. As i stretched she took off. I eventually caught her, but i realized she was moving at a really solid pace. I was worried when I died at the end yesterday that she would catch me. When we passed there and back yesterday she was very pleasant with her wave and smile and all of that jazz. I was impressed. Reminded me of my RP runner girls. Anyways as I reached mile 1.8 today there she was.....different path...different course....though same general location and time. She was walking this time, but when she saw me she took off even though we were running in the opposite directions. Good times. If i see her again I plan on having a conversation with her and possibly running with her because it was an odd twist of fate.  It is always kind of fun to make up stories in your head of the people you pass or are being passed by as you run. Sort of a mind game to help keep you going.

The run today was as follows...7:31....7:31.....7:15.....7:07. I was happy and feel fresh after running. I have noticed that I have been really dehydrated even though my water level intake has been steady. I blame this on the weekend. This may also explain my tid bit of heavy leg syndrome I have been experiencing. We shall see when I hopefully do some speed ness with the ladies of grosse pointe tomorrow.

READY SET BREAK!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Knowing Your Body

     To start it off.......i apologize leslie kathleen and mel for failing the 5am run yet again this morning. I suck...moving on. I was going to label this story......EPIC FAIL or something along those lines....but in all honesty it was probably a good run.

     First of all yesterday was my recovery from the weekend of fun. I "ran" a whole 2 miles at a slow pace just to get some of the toxins out of my body and attempt to come back to life. Today was planned to be a bit different. I was ready to run my hills in using a speedy pace. I tried to do so, but i failed. I started off feeling good. I passed quite a few joggers/walkers/ and even a biker on the trail. I was moving well and feeling good which was shown by going a bit too fast at points. I finally hit the point where i realized I was only halfway done. My calves began to lock up and my Achilles really began to hurt and feel tight. Due to running for too many years now I know what is run through sort of pain and what pain is oh crap not good stop pain/tightness. I decided to walk twice .07 miles twice on the way back (5 mile total run). I stretched out a bit and just tried to relax the calves a bit. I felt bad because I was keeping up with what I wanted, but i realized i just wasn't ready to handle that type of run yet. It is important for a runner to learn what you can push through to become a better runner and when it is needed to stop. Stopping does not mean a runner is weak as long as it doesn't become a normality! If it does it is time to switch up your training schedule.

     The plan was 5 mile hills get faster each mile. Started out wanting a 7:15 and 5 seconds each mile faster. I started semi decently...7:11, 7:05, 7:02 last two miles were low eights not counting walking time. The hills, both up and down, really hurt me after the first half. I am not sure why that was since I have run that so many times in the past. I started to panic not wanting people to pass me after I started walking which is how i ended up finishing with ok times. It is really silly that is the case, but i think the speed needs to stop for right now. I am going too fast too soon. I need to get used to being on my feet a bit more before i push it that hard.

Friday, May 4, 2012

290 reps with amanda russel

Well I decided that since I am about to embark on an oh so fun / possibly deathly bachelor party weekend I had quite a few things to do. (who seriously packs before the last 20 minutes!) Anyways I decided to change it up a bit for today. In honor of my dear friend ruthie I did a fun lil cross training excercise. Unlike the great syphus workout which is done with a sexy man....i did a short workout with a good looking woman....amanda russel.

This is the workout.....
http://www.youtube.com/user/AmandaRussell?ob=0

I hope you enjoy! 290 reps and i was gasping after just thirty of the squat jumps! Its a party. Fingers crossed that I survive. We will see if i can sneak in a saturday run!

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Attack of the Zipper Bugs!

     Well today was a day of firsts! (for the season) It was the first "hot" day of my running season....85 with 60% humidity. That also meant it was the first SHIRTLESS RUNNING DAY! Always an exciting day for me since I do so love my shirtless running days. The other first of the day was the first adventure running day! I feel that running is something that should be very enjoyable. Since this is the case I like to take one day every so often to just have a bit of a wild adventure. I turn down a path I have never seen before....head into woods or some other forbidden looking area and just take a look around. I feel it is a way to just refresh the mind a bit while still doing your workout.

      Today's adventure was on the outskirts of kensington park. Of course I decided to run on a very hilly course on a very hot day in which i was already dehydrated. As i took off down my normal route I noticed I was plodding....my legs and arms were weak from my overdoing it workout the day before. At the one mile marker I saw a dirt road I had never ventured on. I said why not and decided it would be good for my legs to get some good ole' fashioned dirt road action. As i turned down I noticed it was a camp site sort of ordeal that looked pretty beat up. Of course there was a monster hill I had to run up. About two thirds of the way up it i jumped onto the side bike path which was a poor idea. The tiny path was like quicksand and basically stopped me in my tracks. I decided to take a break since I was hotter than the dickens and tired and just exhausted from life lately. I took a look around and what a site to behold. There were little fishing creeks....a very ghetto amphitheatre in which plays looked like they could be performed and numerous tables and sites all over. My favorite little trinket was the little watering nozzle like the ones in the old west movies. It was a pump and so I decided to pump it to see if water came out. After a few tries without succeeding I decided to keep on trying and eventually freezing cold water came gushing out. I wanted a sip, but decided against it. Instead I covered my back and body in order to make it glisten from something other than sweat.

     I turned back around and walked to the point at which I stopped before. As I walked I finally stopped and realized I was being a bit irritated by this noise I kept hearing coming from the tall grass. The noise sounded like someone zipping an old zipper in an almost violent fashion. At first i realized it had to be some sort of dangerous animal. Then I that maybe katydids, but I have those at my own house and know they sound much different. These darn buggers seriously followed me the whole way back to the point where I was waiting for them to jump out of the brush and go ninja on my tired runner booty. I digress....... This time all I had to do was go down hill. My body wanted to do no such thing. I moved along slowly and counted down as the 1/4 mile markers passed by. That is when i finally saw another runner on the path. As they approached I noticed my body feel better and my pace picked up. After they went by i felt somewhat rejuvenated. I was really baffled by this phenomenon, but have noticed it at times before. I am not sure if i am just that overly uberly competitive or if it was just nice to not be alone and just the mere presence of another person lifted my spirits and made me forget the heat if not just for a moment. (probably opinion #1) In any case.....woo for adventure runs!!!!


(PS tomorrow or tonight I plan on writing an informative tidbit. I will be adding these sporadically when i discuss runs like these with little actual running substance)

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Mindless Running

Ah what a day it has been! Today I jumped back into the winter running mode just for old times sake. I decided to go to the gym today after missing my morning meeting with the lovely GP Ladies. I stood in front of sports center, ramped the dreadmill up to 8min/mile and just jogged for 40 mins. It actually got pretty toasty in that gym and a got a good sweat in! Plus it was nice not looking at my watch and just knowing i was keeping a steady pace while catching up on the days sports news stories. I then decided it was not enough to just run. I had a bit too much juice left in me. I did a solid 15 minute ab workout along with 30 minutes of weight lifting.

I really find that an occasional gym workout is good for the body. I know that I feel much stronger and able to keep my form/pace better when my muscles are not getting as weak. I do not think it is something that needs to be overdone. I never want to become one of those awesome buff guys that kisses their arms and oggles their own bodies in the mirror after deadlifting a million pounds. I guess what I am saying is hooray for crosstraining!!

day late and dollar short

Today I had planned on an easy three. Well I was up early-ish and did so. I felt so much better than I thought I would! (great sign). I definitely could have done more but I am trying to stick with my planned schedule so that I do not get hurt! Since this was an easy run of three miles I am not going to break it down like I normally do. I was a day late writing this recap because it was "one of those days". I am curious though, after my run I had a few "life" things happen. I felt like i needed a run after! I didnt because two runs in a day would probably be overdoing it.....but boy would it have been a nice thing to do! Does anyone else feel that a run can really turn your day around???