Week 8 - A welcome decrease in mileage

Feb 19 – 25

Total Miles:  14 miles

Weight:  217.6

Life had gotten in the way early this week.  I had missed my first morning run so far.  Frankly, I was shocked that I had made it that long.   I had worked 20 straight days at that point, and my daughter has not been sleeping well.  Good news is that I don’t sleep well to begin with and I can live with that, it only becomes an issue when I sleep worse than my normal state of bad. Thankfully my wife is awesome and let me get that run in that evening.  Punxsutawney Phil apparently missed the mark this year because it was 67 degrees last night when I hit the road.  It was one of the rare times that I was glad to have the jogging stroller because I was able to clip one of those “Off” mosquito repellent fans to it.  Although our winter has not been bad there were multiple nights with freezing temps so you would think that mosquitoes would not be an issue.  They were near the creek overpass, but the repellent did its job.

The 4 mile run on Tuesday made me really happy that my mileage tapered off this week.  I have noticed that I am sore more frequently, and I have gotten a side stitch in my last three runs that is hard to shake.  Hopefully a lighter week will help cure some of those ills.

Thankfully Wednesday was only 2 miles because Thursday was killer.  My legs have been sore all week and I decided Thursday that I was going to go out slow and increase over the 4 miles.  I went out at 14:00 min/mi, which was painful.  I am having a hard time pacing myself as it just feels to get out and go as fast as you can.  I finished up with a 12:00 min/mile pace overall.  I may make that a once a week venture, just to keep the lungs and muscles working.

My long run for the week was only 4 miles, but it felt like it was much longer than that.  It was super cold and there was not a lot of moisture in the air to help with breathing.  (I retract my earlier statement about Phil.  Maybe he got it right.)  In addition this run had hills, and lots of them.  I was able to run it under a 11:00 minute pace for the whole time, but I am not sure at what cost.  I am having a pain on the outside of my right knee.  I’m hoping that it is nothing and with a little rest it will take care of itself.  We’ll see…

Week 7 - It would be OK to let me be "Wind Aided" for a run or two

February 12 - 18

Total Miles: 16.62

Weight – 215.2

The treadmill runs were not bad this week, although I had to run on the one treadmill in the gym that is akin to running on a surface harder than concrete.  I don’t know how this is possible, but that treadmill is killer on the legs and I found myself dropping my speed and changing my stride to try to lessen the impact.  By doing that of course, I felt beat at the end of the runs. (Which was not good since they the first runs of the week.)

The long run was exhausting even though I scaled back from last week (6.12 miles rather than 7 miles).  Why the odd distance you ask?  Well I was planning on running it as a 10k, but lost track of time, looked down and saw that I had gone too far.  Oh well.

It was absolutely freezing (first time this winter that I had to break out a running jacket and gloves) and there was a headwind in three of the four directions.  How is that even possible?  I have determined that much like when you BBQ and no matter where you stand the wind blows smoke in your face, it also does the same thing when you are running in cold winds.  I am not running an official race here, it would not be so bad to be “wind aided” for a change.  To add to the freezing weather, I was also pushing my son in the jogging stroller.  Add his 40 pounds and then the 5 pounds of sweatshirt, coat and blankets to the mix and every uphill (and downhill for that matter) was that much tougher.  At least he got a good nap out of it though.  He had the windscreen pulled down and the blankets pulled up over his head.  By mile 2 he was out and did not wake up until we got back to the house.

It’s roughly a month and week to go until the Sac Town 10.  I should be well under the 2 hour 30 min max finish time barring some unforeseen pull or side stitch (I got a side stitch on mile 4 on Saturday and I had to slow almost to a walk to get it to go away).  I’m trying not to look too far ahead, but if I can get to April without any injury, I may schedule a half marathon sometime in June or July.  We’ll see.

Week 6 - Calibration is important

Feb 5 - Feb 11

Total Mileage: 17 miles

Weight – 218.6

I now wonder just how many miles I have actually been running during training.  After my 6 mile run last week, I could not help but think that I trust the foot pod to be 100% calibrated.  I had calibrated it to my Saucony’s when I first got it, but have never gone back after I switched to Vibrams.  I hit the high school track for a one mile run on Wed night and found out that it was off. Not way off, but far enough that it would definitely add up. (It was about .25 miles off on the 6 mile run.  I ran 6.25 and it told me only 6.)

I have re-calibrated and am ready to move forward.  I could just spring for a Garmin with GPS and eliminate the need for the foot pod altogether, but I am not ready to drop $250 – $300 on a running watch (yet). 

My three runs on the treadmill went well.  I was tired on the Tuesday run, but by Thursday I was feeling good.  I was slated for a 5 mile run on Saturday, but ended up going 7 instead.  I was not planning on going that far, but I had things on my mind and it just felt good to get out and go.  I did 2 things that I told myself that I would not do:

1)      I moved farther away from the training plan and extended the long run before I should be.

2)      I ran on Johnston Rd and Camino Tassajara in Pleasanton.

My mother in law lives out on Johnston Rd (for the time being - - If you know someone in the market for a large property out in the middle of nowhere, let me know) and for the longest time I could not believe that people would walk that road.  There is no shoulder and to either side there is either a ditch or a creek.  Good news is that there is barb wire fencing about 6 feet down the side to keep you from falling all the way into the creek.  Camino Tassajara is no better.  There is a sliver of a bike lane and cars are ignoring the speed limit.  (I’ll admit that I do to when driving it).  However the area is very pretty with all of the trees and there is no telling how many opportunities I’ll get before her house sells.  I strapped on the Camel Back, took my life into my hands and hit the road. 

There are a lot of horses out there and there were two that jogged along the fence line as I ran out, and were waiting to jog back with me when I made the loop to head back to the house.  Pretty cool.  I did have to go off road at one point and the dirt was either so compact it was worse than concrete, or so soft that you sank.  I hit a place that was a little bit of both and rolled an ankle.  It’s a little sore still, but I don’t think it’s anything to bad.  We’ll see tomorrow. 

I should have planned the route better, and I definitely will next time.  The last 2 miles were uphill.  Not good at the time, but like anything else it will help in the long run.  I was able to run the first 5 miles under 12 min, and the 6^th was just over 12 min.  We won’t talk about mile 7…

In other news, my wife’s cousin talked me into running the SacTown 10 in April (April 1st no less….and the ten miles will not be a joke), and I have signed up for the SF Giants ½ marathon in September.  I was hoping to run one before then, but I could not pass up the opportunity.  They sell out every year and finishing the run on the field is to good to pass up.  I have begun contemplating a slide into home, but there is that sane voice (although how sane are you since you are paying to run 13.2 miles) that is telling me not to do something sooo stupid.

Now I just have to stay healthy, stay inside myself and not over do it.  Easier said then done.

Week 5 - Why the hell not?

Jan 29 - Feb 4, 2012

Total Mileage - 15 miles

Weight - 216.0

Body Fat Percentage - 20%

I turned 31 on Friday (thankfully a day off from running) and to celebrate today I ran 6 miles.  That was 2 more than I was supposed to; but I got going and my legs were feeling pretty good, my heart rate was not near the max so I figured that I'd go for it.  I am pretty confident that I ran further than 6 miles (stupid foot pod, I definitely need to re-calibrate it) but I am not at the point where I am springing for a Garmin with GPS.  I only had one mile over 12 minutes (12:04 and that was mile four) and finished pretty strong.  I know that I need to be careful and not break too far from the training program, but it felt fantastic to just get out and go.  Thankfully without a stroller this time, there is no way I would have been able to go that far pushing extra weight.

On a side note, I am down 8.5 lbs and have dropped about 4.5% body fat in the first month.  I know that those numbers are going to be hard to duplicate in the next month, but lets go for it.  Like the title says: Why the Hell Not?

Week 4 - Running with one arm sucks

Jan 22 - Jan 28

Total Distance - 12 miles

Weight - 216.4

Got in and saw the ortho about my shoulder.  Good news is that it the initial diagnosis is a shoulder sprain.  Bad news is that there is nothing that you can do for it, just don't go lifting heavy things.  I am fine as long as I don't reach down, or move my shoulder in a downward motion.  I have pretty much figured out a running motion, but it is really hard running and focusing on not moving your arm a certain way, but life will go on.

This is the first week where I stepped it up to four runs.  Right now I am feeling a little fatigued, but not as bad as I thought.  Truth be told my legs hurt worse from being on a ladder all afternoon (stupid leaky window) then they did after today's run. 

I ran the same 4 mile loop that I ran last week, only this time I was pushing my son in a stroller.  I ran a few minutes slower and could definitely tell that pushing an extra thirty plus pounds had an effect.  I am glad that I have two days to recover from this week.

I continued to focus on pacing this week and aside from today's run I ran the others very consistently.  Now just to keep running with out injuries. (I forgot my shin split straps for a run this week, but for the first time in a long time, no harm came from it.)

Promising week overall, now I just need to build off it.

Week 3 - Apparently lessons from elementary school PE still ring true

January 15 - 21

Total Distance - 10.25 miles

Weight - 217.0

One of the first things the PE teacher said when we ran on Fridays was "Pace Yourself."  Apparently this advice holds just as much weight now as it did then.  I had realized that I was going out really fast and had been comparing my first mile of each run to the day before.  This week I set a goal to be around 11:30 for each mile knowing (er...hoping) that I will be able to decrease the average over time.  I had a good week and stayed right around this pace.  I extended my long run for the week to 4.25 miles (not much I know, but we all have to start somewhere).

I also have decided on a goal shift for total distance.  I will now be focusing on a half rather than a whole marathon.  Crazy hours at work, two kids, etc.  I was beginning to feel "over train" coming on and it has become apparent that I need to build up by base more before I go for the gusto.  The goal is to run a half in July / August then see where things go.

Week 2 is in the books

Jan 8 - Jan 14

Mileage - 9.1 miles

Weight - 220.4

Well I am officially part of the great American health care machine. I have now seen the MD, have been sent for X-rays and will be seeing a specialist. Yea! (In pure sarcastic tones)

I almost have no range of motion in my arm, and as soon as I put any rotation into my shoulder a sharp shooting pain goes right into the bicep. I guess that I will have to hang up my dream of being a MLB relief pitcher. Possibly tendinitis, possibly a small tear to the rotator cuff, or possibly option C: anything else.

I have figured out a way to run and keep my arm from getting the shooting pain. I imagine that it looks awkward but I do not want to have to take time off. Pain is just weakness transitioning to awesomeness…right…

One run on the treadmill and 2 outside this week.  My run today was rough.  After the run yesterday I decided to switch from the Vibrams to my Sauconys to see if I can relive some of the stress on my calves.  Nope.  I tried a trail that I have not been on before.  Which was all well and good until I got to the part where there were multiple hills.  Not the best idea when you do not really have use of one arm to help push, and your legs are already tired.  Oh well, live and learn.  I plan on trying to move it up to 4 runs next week to see if my legs can handle it.