schedule maddness

I have had a scheduling nightmare this week and somehow have not got my runs in. I did a workout last night but besides that, absolutely no running since Sunday. I suppose it is not too bad as I plan to run the 10 miler Sunday along with a fairly long warm/cooldown to give a long run for the day. I guess I will either be quite fresh or quite stale.....we will find out Sunday. I am not planning on racing so much as training, I plan on about 9:30 pace but you never know, if I feel good and get in a groove I might run faster.

01/29/09

treadmill late evening workout.
2.5 miles at5% grade and 3.5 speed
2lb ankle weight and 3 lb hand weights.
working on balance, core muscles and strength

My weekend.

01/24/09
Saturday

When I woke up this morning I decided to hit the road for my long run. Usually I plan this on Sunday but I was anxious to get a run outside. It was actully quite warm by winter standards or so it seemed by the 28 degree reading on the thermometer.

I noticed a pretty heavy wind and decided (quite smartly) that I should probably dress a little warmer than the temp calls for. It was a good call as the wind chill was tough and I hit a head wind for over half the run.

I started fairly slow and was considering just an easy run, no hard effort. Problem is that I actually ended up doing a slow run at somewhat high higher effort than I planned.

I decided to go totally un prepared as far as nurousment is concerned as I felt it good to train fatigued. Perhaps get the muscles to begin to learn making fuel from lactose. I didn't eat or drink anything before I went and I sure felt it during the tough part of the run. Perhaps that is why there was a tough part?

The fisrt 3 miles went quite well as the wind was to my side and back during that time. I was intersted in how I would feel on the hills as I have been hill training on the tredmill quite a bit lately.

The first three hills didn't bother me much but also I wasn't running that fast as I was hugging 9:50 pace. Once I turned the corner on Sligo road, I hit a fierce head wind that did nothing but become worse and gust when I crossed the open areas.

In mile six I actully felt as though I wasn't hardly moving and if the wind suddenly stopped I would fall forwad to the ground. Then in mile seven/eight I hit the big long hill. Surprisingly I sped up halfway through the hill which convinced me that the hill training was affecting my run.

In the end of the eight mile run I tagged on another mile for good measure and actually pushed out a pretty decent kick proving that I had something lift in the tank.

Upon my return I noticed a huge and I mean huge ice build up on the roof of the el, so lucky me I got my x-training upper body workout after a quick cup of coffee and breakfast. I then spent 2 hours scraping the snow and breaking ice. I have some pretty tired arms now. I found that a roofing claw bar works the best as an ice breaking tool but a little too much tool for my rain gutters.


9.01 miles @ 1:26:17 (9:34 pace)
average HR 152 Max 167


01/25/09
Sunday

I decided to do an easy run inside today as I still had a chill in my bones from yesterdays romp on the roof with the Iceman. I figured it would be a good time to practice walk / run technique. I set the treadmill at 3.5 - 4 mph and a grade of 4%
This worked quite well and actully brought some life back into my lame muscles.

I worked up a pretty good sweat without pushing my mucsles too hard.


4.2 miles @ 50 minutes (11:54 pace)

hill workouts

Jan 22, 2009
Thursday

Ran hill workouts on treadmill
ran a 5k at 7% grade starting with a walk on 3 mph and speeding up until I reached
6 mph still at 7% grade.

It actually worked out quite well and I ended up will almost a hlf hour hill running
3.1 miles @ 29:52 9:37 average pace 7% grade
Splits:
10:45
9:10
7:46
Last .1= 7:21 kick.

I then put the grade up to 10% and 3.5 speed then fast walked a mile while working out with 3lb hand weights to work the core and upper body. This worked quite well as I was more out of breath and sweaty than the run.

Total hill workout 4.1 miles then a half mile cooldown.

Night run

Jan 20,

Finally got my butt out the door on a week night and enjoyed a brisk run with my son. We went to Cumberland and ran an old familiar route through town. A couple years ago we would hit main street and pop off a 3-5 mile run reguardless of the weather at least 3 nights a week.

This time is was a 3.3 loop that took us down main street to Tuttle road, around "the commons" back up Tuttle then down to Greeley and back. It is a fairly easy loop with only one hill that is relatively steep and about a half mile long.

The temp was 18 degrees and there was a fair amount of slush on the sides but averall a refreshing run. I haven't run it yet this year because my son has not been running much and I try not to run in slipery areas at night alone.

We hope to get one more night this week and perhaps add a mile or so to the route if we have time.


3.3 miles @ 29:27 (8:58 pace)
My spits: 8:56, 9:16 (hill), 8:58, 7:38
Felt real good.

It Snowed!

The roof on the "instant garage" next door shows the extent of this storm. Glad I decided to clean it off.



The Virgin soft snow made it near impossible to run, even on snow shoes.



Sunday morning I planned a long road run in prep for the cape 10 miler. After a long discussion, the general concensus was to run inside today. Well, Ok my wife wouldn't let me go out. She had this long spu about the recent surgery (last Wednesday)and not being healed enough....bla..bla... bla. and what if something happened... anyway in the interest of peace, I decided it would be much safer to run inside.

In the back of my mind though, I planned on getting out on snow shoes in the afternoon.

I figured if I was going to run inside, I would make it relatively dificult and spent a lot of time in the the 6-10% grade. By the time I ran 8 miles, I was pretty tuckered out.

In the afternoon I went out snow shoeing, Hey, I had to clean off the vehicles and the little garage roof next door as snow shoes were needed to get there. I went out back for a run first assuming I could sneak in a couple miles before cleaning off the roof and plowing the driveways.

I didn't do well as the fresh snow was so deep and there was no traffic on this trail. I got about a mile in and couldn't even run. My snow shoes sunk right down and I spent all my energy just lifing my legs.

8.28 mile treadmill 3.5% to 10% grade and 4-5 speed.
1 mile treadmill @ 10% grade (ugg)
.5 mile cooldown walk
1 mile snow shoe (kinda trying to run)

I called Saturday a cross training day as I drove to my Daughters with the big truck, my son and I loaded all her furnature then we drove to her new place and unloaded the stuff....it was quite a workout. I figure about 3 hours of solid weight training along with a lot of walking. My muscles sure felt it afterward.

Ready to ramp things up

Jan 12,

Another indoor run on the treadmill
5% grade 4.5-6 speed
tempo run starting at 9:14 pace and ending @ a 6:55 kick.
3/4 mile cooldown
Total milage 3.75

Jan 13,

Treadmill run 4 miles tempo starting at 10:00p ending with a kick @ 7:08 pace.
I followed the tempo run with a 10% hill 1 mile run at 4 mph then a 3/4 mile cooldown walk.
Total milage 5.75 miles

I will be taking a few days off as Wed I have surgery to remove the final 6 damaged teeth from the accident. They will be putting in a temp bridge of teeth and schedule the perminant implants withing a couple months. In the mean time I actually can smile for a change.......see photo at top.

My hope is to feel well enough this weekend to get in a long run. Now that this surgey is past me, I plan to ramp things up a bit and hopefully get in some quality runs.

slow week

Jan 7, 2009
Not much to report other than a dull 5 mile run on the treadmill
5% grade 4.5 mph
Did experience a very tight and bothersome right calf.


Jan 9 2009
Went to Rangeley and stayed at Bean's camp for the weekend.

Full moon




Lake shot (see that little island out there the one to the left?)



Our cabin taken from the lake.


I walked about 3/4 mile across the lake to an island with this Aframe camp on it. I'll bet it is real nice in the summer.



Leaving Sunday in snow storm.




The inside was warm and cozy.


Beautiful shot of the mountains.





I did get in a 3.5 mile snowshoe workout. It took me about an hour with a temp of 5 degrees. The cabin sure felt nice when I returned. The right calf and archilles was a bit sore though.

I can't say I had a very productive week for running but sometimes it is good to just take a break and relax. I did start a book Saturday morning and finished it Sunday night. I could have gone for a run when I got home Sunday afternoon....but I didn't.... perhaps it was good to rest the calf a bit.

I have a new camera!

01/03/08
Saturday

I planned a two hour trail run and brought my new camera which is a Nikon ( very thin and lightweight) ----Mental note....charge the battery first. I down loaded some pictures last friday and left it plugged into the computor assuming it would charge the battery (as most of my devices do) I found out I was wrong. So no pictures.

It was about 11 degrees when I left at 7 Am though it really didn't feel that cold. I planned a fairly difficult powerline run and felt the snowshoes were not needed.
I wore the Yaks and was quite glad I did when I found the beautiful but quite slippery rolling ice dams.

I wish the camera was working as these were so unique. Appearantly the water keeps freezing then running over the frozen area and freezing again. I call it rolling ice as it looks like the water thought it could make it across the existing ice without freezing....but didn't make it, so it builds up in layers.

Problem was that the powerlines were plagued with these ice patches and it really slowed down the pace. It was not too bad crossing these when the ground was fairly level but on the up and down grades it was much more tricky.

The first mile or so went well as there were snowmobile tracks and this made for somewhat level running. I wore the Northface gortex with gaters and Yaks. The gaters didn't work that well when I left the snowmoblie trail as the rear kept creaping up and allowing snow in.

The Yaks worked perfectly. They gave me plenty of traction on ice and didn't feel uncomfortable at all. The Northface did a great job of keeping my feet warm and dry and I seemed to have done a good job of wearing the right amount of layers for the temp.

One problem I encountered is after the first mile I hit areas where one snowmoblie had trecked a few days back and the ground was so uneven my feet were rolling all over the place. I knew for sure my ankles would be sore the next day....good thing about it is the workout I would receive.

Once I left the powerlines and hit some virgin trails, I was slowed by the 5 or 6 inches of loose snow. I didn't expect that as the powerlines were fairly packed. I explored a couple new trails and failed to find a trail I ran a few weeks ago (I was sure I would be able to find it) I didn't think running in the opposite direction would hamper finding this trail but it did. I will have to run the opposite way again and perhaps pay closer attention to landmarks.

I came across one trail that I think would have been a great loop to run but about one mile in I hit a tresspass with permission only sign. Now there was no phone number and no house nearby so permission was out of the question. Though it was appearant that this trail had been used recently, I turned around and backtracked.

This two hour run ended up taking 2:29:17 so longer than I planned. I was just enjoying it so much, the weather was perfect, my fueling was working well along with my energy level. Though my pace was a bit slower than I hoped, I did have to take into consideration the degree of difficulty as the terrain on the powerlines has extensive grade along with all the ice.

I averaged 13 minute pace but did accomplish 11 minutes in mile nine and ten then sub 9 in mile 11 with a kick in the range of 7:27 pace. I was quite pleased overall and felt quite strong during this run. I think it helped a lot that I went out on time instead of pace. It allowed me to enjoy my surrounding much more as I was in no hurry.

I was suprised at one point as a trail I was exploring ended up at the same graveyard my Dad was in so I stopped for a nice little visit. I usually don't go there in the winter as it is not plowed. I hope the other residents didn't mind.
My dad passed away when he was 53 years old, he always seemed to be between losing and gaining weight...A yo-yoer I guess.

My uncle who was two years older than my dad lays beside him and he died at 53 also. This is a critical year for me as I turn 53 in 4 days......The one thing I have going for me is the running and the other physical activities in my life. I remember my dad seeming old and feable the last couple years of his life......I don't feel that way at all.

Though I do tend to carry 10 of 15 uneeded pounds around with me, I am quite consistant and don't yo-yo up and down like my ancesters. I try to pay attention to what I eat and other than sweets, like chocolate, cake, cookies, breads, actually anything in the desert catagory.......yeah, that's where that 10 or 15 extra pounds come in....now that I write it out here I realize I could do a little better.

Anyway, Kind of getting sidetracked.


11 mile run X-country
2:29:17 13:35 pace.
av HR 139 max 163
Very enjoyable yet tiring run

Warm wimpy training

January 1
Thursday

I kept my promise to my wife and took her out to breakfast. We went to ColeFarms and I must say it was quite enjoyable. It has been a long time since we last went out for breakfast. The place was not busy at at and actually was a peaceful meal...I realized how much I love their home fries.

So, you have probably figured out that I didn't get out for a morning run. I hate that because I always have problems scheduling a run later in the day as other things arise (my personal priorities are not always top of the list, I really must get my wife out running.) The next thing you know it is nighttime and excuses tend to materialize out of thin air.

After breakfast we went to L L Beans, I wanted to look at snowshoes and she was just plain happy to be shopping. We had to park quite a ways away from the store and the cold shivering walk in that brisk wind convinced me to look at more adequate coats.

The one I usually wear is pretty warm but today it was struggling to keep me comfortable. I have been talking about a new coat but never seem to convince myself to buy one. Today I was encouraged by a shivering jaw to at least look.

I wanted something waterproof, breathable, extremely warm, not to heavy with plenty of pockets for all my stuff when out snowshoeing. What I had in mind was something a person might wear snowboarding or skiing.

I am so hard to buy for and spent a long time trying on coats, looking for the right color and convincing myself to spend the money. I changed my mind so many times. I found one I liked that they didn't have in my size, I found another in my size but an undesirable color.

Finally I found the right coat. Waterproof, breathable, good for 40 below, fairly light, plenty of pockets (including one with a special goggle wiping rag inside)and a color I could live with. I actually wanted gray or black but settled for a dark red (my wife pointed out that I would be more visible to the snowmobilers) It was exciting and I put the thing on immediately.

I was anxious to get home and throw on the snowshoes. This coat was going to be great! I didn't look at new snowshoes as I spent so much on the coat. I guess that will have to wait. I was anxious to get home and hit the trails out back, unfortunately we didn't land back at the house untill almost dark, there would be no snowshoeing today.

I don't have a problem straping on the headlamp and running in the dark, but my wife worries if I am out in the woods alone at night. I suppose I can understand as many things can happen. So, I hit the treadmill as I had to get some type of run in.

I decided to continue working on some form of training related to ultra trail racing. I ran the first 5K at a tempo pace starting at 9 minute pace and ending at 7 minute pace. A pretty good run and ending with an 8:35 average pace.

after the 5k I immediately ran an easy one mile @ 10 min pace, then a 20 minute walk/run on 10% grade and 3.5 mph. The hill training was a tough workout as the 3.5 speed is a perfect speed. Too fast to walk comfortably and too slow for a normal jog.
The transition from walk to run and back was awkward at best.

An easy cooldown jog and my brain was as satisfied as it could be for an indoor run.
I will have to wait till this weekend to test out my coat.


5K 4% grade and 5-7 speed (8:35 Pace 7 minute last mile.)
1 mile easy 5% grade(10:00 p)
1.25 mile hill training 10% grade(not sure of pace but was sweating pretty good)
.50 cooldown

5.85 total miles.