Back On Track

I woke up this morning bright and early at 5:30 am and hit the gym. I completed a 45 minute weight workout which was a bit tough as I could feel a little fatigue still, but I got through it.

After that I ran a 3 miler (3/1) for 31:52 a good effort considering how bad I felt the last two days.

Tomorrow I will do an hour of cardio and post my weekly weight results. I expect to have lost a bit of weight from being sick. Not sure if that is good or bad.

Getting Better

Well I'm starting to feel a bit better still kind of groggy but definitely on the upswing. This week is suppose to be an easy week in preparation for a 5k test run on Saturday so missing the workouts may actually give me the much needed rest to perform at my true peak (as long as I'm still not sick).

I'm going to take today's workout off and try to put in an easy 3 miler tomorrow a long with a 45 minutes weight session as I have not done any weight training since last Thursday.

Still Sick

Nothing new to report accept that I still feel like crap. I even had to skip my 3 miler & weight training today. A total bummer...I figure its better to rest and get well then to strain self and have a bad workout (or worst injure myself).

Off to pop more advil (cough cough sneeze sneeze...puke)

Great I Have A Cold

My Son was sick all weekend with an ear infection (he is 15 months old) and it seems he has given me a present as I have come down with a cold. It came out of no where as I didn't feel bad at all until I woke up this morning.
Anyhow I'm glad it hit on Monday as I should be well rested for the real work at the end of the week.
Today is a rest day and that is what I'm doing as I am very soar from yesterdays 10 miler (still buzzing about it).

10-MILESTONE REACHED!

Today I felt good before my run so I decided to go for the Big 10. I knew it was a bit far for me but I pushed through. I ran with my hydration belt and think it was a big help on keeping me fresh as I drank all 4 bottles of liquid. My final time was.

1:54:00

Average Pace: 11:24 (5.3 mph)

I took an ice bath and have pains all over my legs but it was worth it. No running until Tuesday night now as I think I need some extra rest.

Beer In Mexico

Thank You Kenny Chesney. I didn't actually have any beer rather it was a song that came on my headphones right before my fifth and final mile of a five mile run today. Here are my splits

1. 10:09
2. 10:31
3. 10:10
4. 10:21
5. 8:26!!!

Avg Speed: 6 mph
Avg Pace 9:55

Yes a New RECORD MILE FOR ME!!! on the hardest of all 5 miles none the less.

It appears those 3/1 miles have been paying off. 8-9 miles tomorrow I can't wait :)

My First Pair Of Running Shoes

Today is a rest day so I decided I would chat about my shoes. I purchased a pair of New Balance 755s from the local new balance store back in January. Since then I have compiled about 160 miles on them. I was diagnosed as an Extremely High Arched (they tried selling me insoles) underpronator. A good shoe for me would be Highly Cushioned and built for performance since I planned on running up to 25 miles a week (still working towards that goal). Although the salesperson wasn't the brightest as he suggested a "motion controlled" shoe. which made no sense to me as that is for overpronators. Also I was fitted with wide (2E) and I'm not sure this was correct either as I have a bit of play in my shoes.

Fortunate for me I read my copy of Runner's World that month and they had a full review on this particular model and the 755's seemed to be my match. So I purchased them and I have been 95% satisfied as they are much better then anything I ever had in the past (gym shoes are not running shoes).

I read a post on RW forums about someone giving up there first pair of shoes as if they had bonded with them. I must admit I'm not that connected to my shoes but I do concede that it will be a milestone the day that first pair is retired. Like the first race you can never have another first so my shoes will serve me well in retirement as "beach runners" and "casual Friday attire". I've yet to decide if I will toss them after that or not. Some how I doubt it..but those that follow will surely be deposited in some landfill.

Today was also weigh in day...the good news is I didn't gain weight the bad news is I didn't lose any either. 177.0 exactly!

Lightspeed Calculator Now Open To The Public.

I have decided to release my prediction tool & other running calculators to the public.

I used these to calculate my paces and speeds on the treadmill more then anything.

The prediction calculator is a combination of other known models other then the USA model as I call it which I created. It bases the prediction on current USA records and percentage of performance. Average them all together and you get the turtle prediction model.

Enjoy!!

UPDATE: Use Windows Internet Explorer as other browsers don't work correctly. Thanks Mike for reporting this. I will work on getting it fixed soon.

Long Run Treats

Well I thought about buying some "sport beans" for my long weekend runs as I find myself out running almost an hour on Saturdays and about an hour and a half on Sundays. Basically for all I can tell is a little sugar every half an hour can give you a little push. Sport beans are somewhat expensive so I have decided to buy an 99 cent bag of candy orange slices and eat one every 2-3 miles. It will give me a reward as I love these things and avoid them since I'm trying to lose weight. They have about 65 calories a piece in them so 3 or 4 a long run ain't going to kill me.

This mornings workout consisted of 3.0 miles at a 3/1 pace. I finished in 31.17 seconds so that was a pace of 10:30ish (I'm to lazy to look it up right now). All in all a great morning workout. Tomorrow is a day of 45-60 minute elliptical (easy day for me).

The Water Boy Is Me

As the Florida Heat sets its sights on another hot summer I decided to bite the bullet and go buy a hydration belt. I don't want the heat to deter me so I got the four-bottle model Nathan Speed 4 with two pockets (small in front and a big one in the back) which includes enough room for a cell phone and some food (gel, beans, etc) if needed. I figure if I'm going to be running long runs in the "sunshine" state I best be prepared. I'm going to try it out this weekend I will let you know how I like it.

This mornings workout was an interval workout. I must say these things are real killers I had 7 intervals scheduled at a 8.0 mph speed for 400m then I would jog to 70% HR (at around 4.5 mph). In the end I ran 3.25 miles in 32:04 that equates to around a 9:50 mile (or 6.1 mph). I must admit the last two intervals were painful...but in a good way.

Tomorrow is weights and easy 3 mile run. I'm planning on running it at a real easy pace as I want to be strong for the weekend.

No Headphones = Fast Workout

I went to the gym this morning to pound out 3 miles and realized I forgot my headphones. The dreadmill would be twice the torture without them. I decided I would push a bit harder then usual to get it over with. my first 1 mile I kept it as around 5.4 mph the next mile I bumped up to 6.1 mph the third and final mile I increased .1 every minute until 2 minutes to go when I cranked it up to 8.0 mph. In the end I had ran 3.0 miles in 29:03 hooray! Playing mind games got me through this workout 4 - 5 minutes faster then I usually plow through it.

Avg Pace: 9:41

Tomorrow is interval day. I'm looking forward to these! (I must be doing them wrong because nobody looks forward to these..lol)

Super Bowl Monday

111th Boston Marathon is here and I for one am glad to be slow (joking) (lol..not that I would ever qualify anyhow). The weather calls for Rain showers and windy (36 mph) with 99% humidity, 47 F (feels like 37). Basically the worst imaginable conditions. For those who worked hard all year and BQ (qualified) you will certainly have a story for the ages as it looks like the Hellish 111th will go down in the books as one of the toughest.

Meanwhile I can wait to get home tonight and watch it on TV, this is the first time I actually cared enough about a running event to put it on. I usually would catch occasional Ironman events (those people are crazy), But this is a first for me to watch a running event on TV. I am bold enough to make a prediction.

A Kenyan will WIN!!

As for running today is a rest day.

Good luck all Boston Runners.

Lucky Number Seven

Today was the LSD (long slow distance) run and I was suppose to do 8 (actually 6 originally) . But today was different as I was actually racing someone...THE WEATHER!! I took off this morning in hurry to get my mile in it turned out my sense of urgency pushed me for a "Fast 7". Which is great considering yesterdays crash.

Distance: 7 miles

1. 11:04
2. 11:00
3. 11:39 (strong wind)
4. 10:49
5. 10:42
6. 10:42
7. 10:24

Total: 1:16:34
Avg Speed: 5.4 mph
Avg Pace: 10:55

This was a very fast LSD...I'm very proud of it and I average under 11:00 (barely). A Great Run.

The only downside would be that due to a lot of wind and humidity I had to run harder then usual. I average a 77% HR very high for me..but still within the range. Maybe I just have not been pushing hard enough...time will tell.

Oh BTW why I call this the lucky seven is I ran by my house at mile seven and it started to rain. I was able to duck out early and not get wet very lucky.

Lesson In Cooking

Well it was bound to happen a bad run. I didn't get out early enough and the sun was already out in full force (and 85% humidity). I was going to do a 4 mile fast run. But today instead of running at an 85% HR I thought I would just set the watch to 9:00 min - 10 min miles and just run in that zone.

A complete disaster I ran way to fast and maxed out my HR the sun didn't help either and I was sweating buckets about a 1/3 mile in. I think I ran the first mile in like 9:20 and crashed during the second mile pushing in around 9:44 ...I was overheated and quite frankly my heart just wasn't in it. I was beat so I stopped and went home. 4 m fast became 2 m CRASH!

I figured its better to save myself for my long 8 miler tomorrow instead of exhausting myself on a futile run. I'm going back to training by HR percent as that way has worked best for me and it always chooses the right pace no matter what the conditions (hellish heat).