Frustration

My post (well, during is when I first noticed it) BtB lower right hamstring injury is back.

I had the same run this morning that I had two weeks ago to the day: felt fine at the start; started to hurt after 20 minutes or so; at the halfway point of my run (equidistant turning around or forging ahead) the pain was significant enough to contemplate stopping; after 38 minutes, I stopped running and walked home.

last time 3 days rest did the trick--temporarily it now seems. This time I'll try a week, and a massage.

The Weekend Runs...

.....totaled 19.5K. I ran 8K on Saturday and 11.5K on Sunday. My Sunday run was back at the Island. Laps were:

12:57 Ave. HR 149

12:10 110

12:14 112

11:56 117

12:04 117

These laps are conservatively measured (by pace, HR and dead-rekoning) 2.3K.

My running totals have been a bit choppy as a result of race taper and recovery. I'm looking forward to the "build up" process. I like it. I have 7 weeks of training in advance of the Maine M/2. Other than a little bit of weekend travel to manage around (like this coming weekend) there should be no disruptions.

Gym Day

227.4

RHR = 40

I haven't blogged about my gym days but I quite like the workouts and feel that they help to keep my healthy and happy (I'm happiest when I work out every day but I break down if I run every day).

My current pattern is 3 days per week of gym workouts, 4 days per week of running. My gym workouts focus on (after a thorough rowing machine warm-up) core strength and stretching and alternately (1 day per week) back, chest, and shoulder strengthening. So a lot of crunches and planks and back extensions and hip something somethings (I use a big inflated ball and roll it around) followed by push-ups or pull-ups or shoulder presses. All interspersed with stretching. The whole thing takes about 45 minutes. My back pain is gone (knock on wood) and I feel the workout somewhat mitigates the muscle atrophy that comes with aging.

Anyway, after wrestling with the what do I do in the winter question, my current thinking is that I can keep doing what I'm doing--switch my midweek runs to the treadmill and run both days on the weekend, after the sun is up.

Strange Stuff.....

......or maybe just a function of humidity, hills, and heartrate.

227.8

RHR = 40

Ran two laps of the Back Cove path today. It's 3.55 miles around so the total run was 11.5K. The total run was 56:56.

We ran the first lap in 29:45, my heart rate was 108 on average. The second lap was interesting: I ran 27:10, which is 7:39 per mile. My race pace at BtB was 7:24. 15 seconds slower per mile than 10K race pace should be a solid anaerobic threshold pace (actually, a bit too fast) but my heartrate averaged only 128, a good 10 beats below threshold rate, during this lap. The conditions were perfect today--cool and breezy and the course is almost flat. BtB was hot, humid, and hilly. I was rested (although I was rested before BtB as well). But the run felt easy today, and my HR data backed up the "easy" feeling.

Why? Do the heat and the hills make that much of a difference?

227.2

RHR = 40

5K with hills; 27:04.

Back to the Island

224.8

Ran 3 laps (6.9K) in 38:18. Started gently (14 minutes) then ran a couple of 12 minute laps. The workout felt pretty good, the soak in the ocean afterwards was even better.

A Fresh Start...

......kind of.

227.4

I'm off to test my leg at Mackworth Island. Each lap is 1.5 miles, I'll start slowly and see how far I get. The leg feels fine in all non-running activities.

I'm excited about training for a Half Marathon. It may be the ideal race distance. An M/2 is a serious endurance test without the need for all the gels and nutrician concerns associated with a marathon.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

I ran 4 laps (9.3K total) with no hamstring pain. I'll try it again tomorrow. Mackworth is great, the day is lovely and the wade in the ocean post-run is a treat.

Hit the Road, Fatboy!

230.2 (the fatboy reference)

Phase II transition starts today. More milage, more consistency, more food and drink discipline. I'll run my regular 10K route this morning.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A Problem:

I have an (minor, I hope) injury. During the last mile of the race my right lower hamstring started to hurt. In addition, my left hip started hurting. The hip thing comes and goes. The hamstring is new, I think (I believe it was my other hamstring that I injured in 2005). All the pain seemed to be gone until I ran this morning. The hamstring injury became disabling and I had to stop and walk home. I ran 37:28, let's call it 7K. I may or may not run tomorrow, I'll see how it feels.

Boston

I went to Boston last week with Ed and his son, Tike. Sam also went. Our plan was to watch the Sox but we didn't have tickets. We finally paid a lot to get seats for Tike and Sam. We watched the game from a couple of bars, including Bukowski's tavern. The Sox are undefeated when I get a drink at Bukowski's on game day. Bukowski's has a tremendous beer selection but I opted for the spin (above), knowing that I was comitted to whichever beer the wheel landed on. I spun something called "WWJD". The J in question is Jesus, not Jenna Bush, so I drank a glass of wine, not jello shots.

it was a good day. The Sox won.

Beyond Beach to Beacon

Relaxing after the race with friends and training partners Scott and Sam. We're on my rooftop deck, the haze that was the source of the humidity is evident in the background.

Future key workouts will be a Wednesday morning alternately threshold and upper end aerobic, and an endurance building long run on Saturday mornings. Other running days will be Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.

I need to lose more weight, get faster, and stay healthy. Is that asking too much?

The Race

227.0

You won't find me in the lead pack. I was about 20 minutes behind these guys.

I ran 45:54, continuing my trend of running slower than I thought I could run. I like the race and the day though, and will make it an annual event.

It was humid, a condition I really struggle with, and the hills also hurt me. I should train on the course next year.

I wanted to avergae 7:15 miles. I ran:

7:00 (nice downhill start)

7:21 ( predominantly a steady, gradual, uphill mile)

7:14 (back on target. I passed 5K in 22:26 or so.)

7:29 (and hurting. Uh-oh)

7:24 (some nice downhill stretches although this mile finishes up in what is foreshadowing for a nasty series of hills during mile 6)

8:02 (nasty. ugly.)

1:26 (After the dreadful hill entering the stretch in the park is great)

Now on to other things. Most immediately: The Maine M/2 on the first weekend in October. Serious training for this starts on Wednesday morning (8/8).

Closing In On Race Day

224.8

A nice pre-race workout yesterday: 3 miles on the track. The first mile was low end aerobic, during the second, we ran the straights briskly (striders) and jogged the curves, the third mile was an aerobic warm down.

Off to the gym for some stretching and core work.