2019 YEAR IN REVIEW

2019 will soon come to an end.  Time to look back at the training log and summarize the year...  but first a quick update on the last few days of training.

TRAINING UPDATE: 

Saturday I rode the stationary bike for 45 minutes.  With that ride I pushed my yearly time total to 75 hrs, 43 mins, 00 secs, narrowly eclipsing my 2018 total by 14 minutes and 24 seconds.

Then Sunday I ran an abbreviated long run of 8.10 miles.  Tried to take it easy and not over-stride and aggravate the hip injury... probably ran too fast but felt good the whole time:

8.10 miles

1:04:19

7:56 pace

8:08, 8:03, 8:09, 8:01, 8:00, 7:57 (into the wind), 7:54, 7:22 last mile.

Temps in the 50's so I could run in shorts and a t-shirt (In December!).  Harsh wind from West to East.  It's pretty much high wind every time I run this time of year.  Based on my standard routes, it mostly effects the ends of my runs where I'm running straight into the wind.  Makes me feel like I'm standing still.  I try to bear down and stay focused and build mental toughness during these stretches. The wind is pretty typical for the area and will continue til May so I guess I better learn to love it (like I did with hills).

INJURY UPDATE:

Got my symptoms pinpointed to the "rectus femoris".  Definitely a hip issue, probably from over-striding on my 15 mile run.  So far I've been able to run through it if I don't run too hard.  Doesn't bother me too much while running and seems to be slowly improving.  We'll see how stupid running a 5K tomorrow turns out to be.

RUNNING YEAR IN REVIEW:

•  801.6 miles for the year
• 110 hrs, 41 min, 40 seconds of running
• 165 total runs
• 4.86 miles per run
• 15.06 longest distance 
• 2:02:18 longest duration
• 6:20 fastest mile
• 20:25 fastest 5K
• 1st place in Age Group at goal race
• First trail race
• Max week 40.79 miles
• Max month 152.09
• 104208 estimated calories burned

Stationary Bike Update:

• 75:43:00 total time (00:14:24 more than 2018)
• 47940 estimated calories (7431 more than 2018)
• 90 rides  (23 less than 2018)
• 10.55 cal/min (1.61 cal/min more than 2018)
• 1:20:00 longest duration
• 808 most calories
• 12.975 most cal/min (30 minute minimum)
• 12.4 most cal/min (1 hr minimum)
• 384 most cal/min HR Control (37 more than 2018)
• 532.67 cal per rid (174 more than 2018)
• 0:50:29 average duration per ride (10:24 more than 2018)

Overall summary:

• 255 total workouts
• 152148 total calories burned
• 16638 avg steps per day on the year (minimum of 12500)
• 186:24:40 total hours working out (7.75 days)

Not a lot to say in summary except that I feel good about my progress but feel even better about the future.  Hoping to really bring it in 2020!

It's all in the hips

Last Sunday, I ran my longest run yet (15 miles) at a too fast pace (8:07) and now my hip flexors hurt... Seems like Deja vu... eerily similar pain to what derailed my Chicago marathon training 10 years ago.  The goal this time is to manage it better.  Strengthening, stretching, easy running, cross training and extra days off as needed... on the optimistic side, I've been able to run on it without too much discomfort and it does seem like it is getting better day by day... I'm finding it difficult to compromise on my half marathon training, but I need to remember to take the long view.

Now for a quick training update:

Monday:  45 easy minutes on the stationary bike

Tuesday:  4.11 very easy miles outside.  26:20, 8:49 pace

Wednesday: 7.03 fairly easy miles outside.  57:17, 8:09 pace... finished fast the last mile which dropped the average pace a bit... not sure how fast because my shitty Apple Watch/NRC app dropped yet another run

Thursday: 1 hour hard on the stationary bike. (12.4 calories a minute, a new 1 hour PR)…  just need 31 more minutes on the bike this year to break last years total duration of 75 hrs, 28 minutes, 36 seconds

Friday: 7.10 miles (1 hour) easy treadmill run.  1:00:01, 8:27 pace.  Hip felt good today after dynamic lung warmup and stretches.  Planned to do 5 miles but felt good so pushed it to 7 to get the 1 hour in.

Looking ahead I have a 5K scheduled next Tuesday (Dec 31) so I might move my long run to Saturday so I can have relatively fresh legs on Tuesday.  Should be a good gauge for my fitness.  I'd like to think I should be able to break 20 minutes by now, having trained 500+ miles since my previous 5K effort.  On the other hand I've been putting in a lot of miles (for me) lately, all at fairly easy effort so we'll see how well my body is ready to respond.  I'll be disappointed if I don't break 20 but I'd still give it a 50/50 shot.

2010 Chicago marathon RR

NOTE:  DUG THIS UP IN MY OLD DRAFTS AND WANTED TO GET IT OUT THERE... EVEN IF IT'S OVER 9 YEARS PAST DUE...

Well... It's been a while since I last posted; partly because I didn't really have much to post about, partly because I had been going through a personal struggle about whether or not to run the Chicago Marathon, but mostly because I knew my next post would be #100 and I wanted something significant to write about... And as luck would have it 10/10/10 provided me with the content I needed... so without further ado.

Rise of a Champion's 100th POST: How not to run the Chicago marathon race report.

Going into the weekend I hadn't run since 9/19/10 and hadn't run more than 8 miles since 7/18/10 so there was no denying I was sufficiently rested and tapered. I knew that the rest I got on Friday night would be the most important as far as being prepared on Sunday so I made sure that I drank plenty of beer at the minor league hockey game that night to ensure that I would have no trouble sleeping... Saturday morning I wake up and am prepared to eat my normal healthy breakfast of Kashi Cinnamon Harvest cereal but when I get to the fridge I discover , to my dismay, that we’re out of milk. No problem, I’ll go with plan B… a 5 slice bacon and 2 egg English muffin. The grease from the bacon provided an excellent relief from my hangover and I after quickly throwing some stuff into a bag I was ready to head out the door and start my two-hour drive to Chicago.

I arrived at my friend Symon’s house near Chicago just in time to catch the Illini whoop up on Penn State… of course no football experience would be complete without some good football food and some good football drink… Besides, Symons has been hard at work this summer becoming an accomplished amateur brewer and I felt obligated to sample his goods. Unfortunately he had been a little too hard at work and sampling his goods entailed drinking 7 or 8 brews (one of them containing a 10% alcohol content). Fortunately, beer is full of carbs so I rationalized my imbibing as carb-loading.

All, carbed up and psyched up from the Illini victory we ventured into the city to attend the expo and pick up our packets. When we arrived we cleverly decided to avoid the 19$ parking fee by parking on a side street on the opposite end of the expo instead of in the designated parking garage... surely the extra walking would be the perfect for loosening up the legs.

The expo was pretty much uneventful except for the "ridiculously thick yogurt"... I've always felt that thickness is by far the most important characteristic for a good yogurt and it was nice to see a company market their product to people like me...

After the expo we get back to the car and find that someone had broken Symon's passenger window so that they could steal his older model cell phone that he had forgotten on his seat.  Luckily for us a street cop was just walking by at the moment... we got the officers attention and he was nice enough to come over and make a call on his cell phone into the station to file a police report... however after about 2 minutes of being on hold he changed his mind and instead gave us vague directions to a nearby police station... can't really blame him though.  If I was a police officer and I had to walk a beat on the weekend I wouldn't want to do any actual work either.  Oh well, that was kind of a bummer but if you weigh the 19 dollars we saved on parking against the cost of a new car window and cell phone I'd say we broke about even.

After a quick stop by the Sprint store to pick up a new cell phone we headed back to Symon's house for a little more liquid carb loading a some more football before turning in for the night.

The next morning we rose early (4 am) so that Symon's could bottle up some additional beer for post marathon celebration and then we headed back into the city to meet up with our friends Will and Ervin (pictured on the right) who were competing in their first marathon.  

After meeting up with the rest of my friends we all head down and get into the Open start corral at around the 12 minute mile pace point.From here my plan was simple... I'd run with Will and Ervin for the first 13 or so miles...  then cut out and wait for them at the 22 mile point.  I figured with Will and Ervin's 12 minute mile pace I should be able to hang on for at least half the race despite the fact that I hadn't been training at all.

The gun goes off and we slowly start shuffling forward at a leisurely walk... in ... I spend this time reflecting on how different today could have been if I hadn't gotten injured.  It was nice to be with friends though, and it was nice be able to enjoy the atmosphere while being totally free from stress, pressure, and nerves...  On the other hand, if I had started in the B corral I had qualified for I could have been 30 minutes into the race by the time we finally reached the starting line!!!

We finally cross the starting and actually start running... the 12 minute pace is completely foreign to me; by far the slowest I've ever attempted to run.  At first I have trouble holding myself back, but I focus lagging back and not pushing the pace and gradually I fall into a rhythm. 

For the first 6 miles I just enjoy myself... Last year when I ran the marathon the only thing on my mind was pace and the only thing I focused on was the runners in the pace group directly in front of me...  This year I was actually able to look around and see the sights... The crowds were amazing and the surrounding runners were even more so.  I was simultaniously spectating and participating in the Chicago Marathon!  Somewhere soon after the 1 mile mark I saw a short Asian guy holding a sign that said "Only 24.6 miles to go" while consuming a donut.

We get to the 10K mark and we've already been running for 1:13:29...  It's 9:08 AM and the temperature and sun are steadily climbing.. This fact is exentuated as the guy in the polar bear costume who's been running in front of us for the last mile abruptly drops off to the side and removes his bear head to reveal a sweat drenched human face...  I make sure to take some extra water and gatoraid at the next stop. 

We continue on for a few more miles.  I'm still feeling pretty good.  I've been drinking plenty of fluids so I pull over and take a wiz at the next set of port-o-potties.  As I start up again I realize that I'm starting a bit stiff and a bit tired... Oh well... we were at mile 9 so I only had 4.1 more miles to go...  Symons and I decide to execute a new strategy at this point:  At each water stop we would speed up and get ahead of Will and Ervin by about 400 meters... then we would stop and walk until they caught up.  The increased pace proved a nice reprieve from the plodding of 12 minute miles and the walking breaks felt amazing... I hate to admit it but maybe Galloway is onto something?!?

Finally we reach the 13.1 point... time for Symons and I to drop out and cut a couple blocks over so that we can spectate at the 22 mile mark... except I'm still feeling pretty good except that my left foot is hurting a bit... so as Symons drops to the side I sponatiously decide that despite my better judgement I'm going to continue on... I figure at this pace I can at least make it to the 20 mile mark and then I can always run/walk it in to the finish...

As luck would have it I wouldn't even have to maintain the 12 minute mile pace...  Right around mile 14 Ervin's heart rate jumps into the 180s and he decides to walk for a bit until it slows down.  Meanwhile Will is starting to feel a slight cramp in his hamstring.  By now it's 11 AM and its really starting to get hot...  I take a moment to consider the fact that I'd probably already been finished right now if I had actually finished my training and ran the race competatively. 

By mile 16 the fun was over... Will and I had left Ervin behind as he tried to manage his hear rate. Will was cramping and beginning to wonder if his body was going to make it.  My left foot was beginning to really hurt.  Symons, the only sensable one amoung us, was presumably sitting in the shade somewhere around mile 22 leisurely waiting for us and enjoying the experience. 

Soon after mile 17 Will asks me "Only 8 more miles to go, right?"  (I was tracking distance by the quarter mile at this point with my Garmin, and he was beginning to lose the concept of distance and time)...  I didn't have the heart to tell him it was really 9...  By mile 20 we're doing more walking then running...

Then suddenly, Ervin comes jogging up to us from behind looking suprisingly refreshed... his face*******

***** Update to 2019:  this is where the race report abruptly drops off...  not sure where I was going on this.  Anyway, to wrap it up, we walked/ran the last 6 miles.  Somewhere along the way we saw Will's wife and took some pictures.  Looking at the splits it seems like we slightly picked up the pace at the end and I vaguely remember springing about full speed at the finish (like a jackass).

When we finally finished I remember my feet being really really sore being that I was right in the middle of a bad Plantar Fasciitis period that lasted for about 7 years... After that we went out to a Brazilian steakhouse and drank and eat all the calories back.

Final time was 5:50.  Even at the slowest pace we were at 15 minute miles so at least we were walking briskly.

The longest run yet (latest achievement)

Right now I'm both deep in the heart of half-marathon training as well as my latest running origin story.   The progress and self-achievement during the origin story phase of training is tantalizing.  It's like riding a wave... I'm just trying to enjoy the ride and hang on for as long as I can.  

My mind-frame around this training cycle has been more tempered than previous ventures into fitness.  I'm hoping that by maintaining a longer term view I can ride this wave all the way to the shore.   This half-marathon training cycle has been a good example.  At this point I really don't have a hard time goal in mind (although realistically I'd guess somewhere between 1:35 and 1:40).  My main goal for this training has been building miles and getting stronger and more resilient.  Mostly easyish miles with not too much fast pace work.  Mainly just using the half-marathon as a carrot to lead me to proper conditioning so that I can really start training once spring rolls around and really not planning on hitting peak fitness until July/August for some fast 5ks.

Right now summer is far away as we are officially into winter but go figure, yesterday was a beautiful day.  Great day for a long run outside.

15.06 miles

2:02:18 duration

8:07 pace

Just so good to run outside after 2 weeks!  Hit the first mile at 7:57 and then started to slow down.  8:15, 8:26, 8:15, 8:25, 8:27 for the next 5 miles.  At the 6 mile mark I had gotten through 2 podcasts and was ready to pick up the pace... lately I've been dabbling with some faster cadence running.  It's not clear if 180 strides per minute is really a magic number but some camps feel this way so I figured I'd try it a bit.  My natural cadence is definitely a bit slower but I don't know exactly what.  Anyway, to up my cadence I have some 180 bpm house music qued up in my watch and I decided to try that for the next 45 minutes of the run.  I hit play and picked up the turn over.

Picking up the turn over really picked up the pace (go figure)…  Mostly I felt pretty damn good, cruising along.  Definitely felt better then the first 6 miles...  

Mile 7:  7:53

Mile 8:  8:05

Mile 9:  7:52

mile 10: 8:00

mile 11: 8:00

after ~mile 11 the music was finally over and my heart rate was in the high 160s.  At this point my legs were getting tired and I was ready to ease up a bit so I put on my regular running playlist and tried to stay loose and keep my form good as I cruised in to the finish.

mile 12: 8:08

mile 13: 8:07 

mile 14: 8:05

mile 15: 7:51

Pushed the pace that last half mile for a strong finish.  I was exceptionally tired yesterday and took a couple hours to recover.  Then walked the kids to the park.  Didn't feel full energy but the walking definitely helped loosen things up.

This morning I'm still sore but talked myself into 45 easy minutes on the bike so I could chip away at the couple hours left of riding I have set for my yearly goal.

Hit some new training milestones:

• Added a mile to my farthest run
• Added 7:49 to my longest run
• took 17 seconds off my fastest half

Running with a head cold

Every morning for the last 4 days I've woken up and considered skipping my run and every morning I've wound up doing it anyway.  I bargain myself into doing 'reduced' mileage, and then once I get going I feel pretty good and wind up doing more than I bargained for.

Yesterday, 7.10 miles at 8:30 pace (1:00:21 duration).

Today, 5.5 miles, 8:22 pace. (46:00 duration).

Made it through my step back week with a total of 31.6 miles.  Plan to hit 40+ again next week as 2019 quickly comes to a close.

Seems like the easy running temporarily opens up the airways and clears out the sinuses and I feel pretty good for about an hour or so...  then the congestion returns and I'm back to feeling like crap.

Sick day part 2

The sickness continues...  really didn't want to get out of bed today.  really didn't want to run.  god I hate being sick! ...so I made myself a compromise and ran 4 miles on the treadmill.

Distance:  4.0
Duration: 31:41
Pace: 7:55

After an easy 1st mile I bumped the pace up to 8 min miles for the second mile.  Slowly worked my way down to 7:15 pace during the 3rd mile and then backed off to 7:47 pace for the final mile.

Incline was 1% to 1.5%.  1.5% seems like it feels the best with my stride, achieving the right balance of effort and power to make it feel natural.

Shortest run in about a month.  The effort never felt that hard but at the same time I still really struggle ever getting into a rhythm on the treadmill...  just need to make it a couple more months... *sigh*

On the bright side, the sickness hasn't affect my lungs (at least not yet).  Normally when I get sick it always winds up progressing to my lung and aggravating my exercise induced asthma...  instead, this is my second day in a row where I didn't even use my inhaler before the run.  Running seems to have really strengthened my lungs.

Sick day

that time of year has come once again where my snot nose little munchkins start constantly bringing home different varieties of sickness.  I've been lucky so far over the last month, as everyone else has gotten sick except for me... that luck ran out last night.  Stuffy head and sore throat and general malaise.

Despite it all I hit the treadmill for an easy 5 miles.

5 miles
41:39
8:20 pace

Started at 6.8 mph and worked up to 7.6 (7:54 pace).  Nothing special.  Just putting in work.

The great treadmill revival

I really, really, really wanted to get outside on Sunday for my long run.  Even as I acclimate to the treadmill, it's still nice to spend at least some of the week outside.  Due to my work schedule the only time I can get outside to run when it's light is on the weekends... and I'd need some serious additional light up gear if I ever venture to run in the dark lest I wind up road kill with the unlit country roads that make up the majority of my outdoor routes.

So Saturday night I lay out my tights and thermal long sleeve and have everything ready to go... Sunday morning I wake up early and get dressed, check the weather and... 13 degrees F!!!  Nope, not going to happen.  Oh well, this is exactly the reason I got a treadmill.

So after some mental readjustment and a change of cloths I get on the treadmill.

Now, the last couple runs I've done on the treadmill had ended prematurely due to the motor breaker tripping out.  After some research I was hoping the belt was just needing lubrication... Friday night I made some simple adjustments to the belt, vacuumed out the inner compartment, and applied silicon treadmill lubricant to the deck... so with fingers crossed I started out on a 10 miler.

I started the run at 6.8 MPH - 1% grade (8:49 pace).  2nd mile I bumped up to 7 mph (8:34 pace).  3rd mile I was up to 7.2 mph (8:20 pace)…  at this point treadmill was running fine and my HR was still under 140.

Mile 4, 7.4 MPH (8:06 pace).  Mile 5 7.5 MPH (8:00 pace).  Mile 6 7.7 MPH (7:48 pace).

HR was reaching 148 but still felt good and the legs were loosening up.  Treadmill seemed to be running even smoother than when I first started.

Time to push the next 3 miles.  Mile 7 8.1 MPH (7:24 pace), Mile 8 8.3 MPH (7:14 pace), Mile 9 started at 8.5 MPH (7:04 pace) at 8.5 miles I bumped it up to 8.7 MPH (6:54 pace) and held on for .75 miles...  HR up to 161 but felt like I could have continued to hold the pace for at least another mile.

The slowed down to 7:30 and then 8:00 pace to round out the 10th mile.

After the run I felt pretty good.  this is a step back week so I'm reducing mileage and only doing 10 miles for my long run.  After running 14 last week and 13 the week before, 10 seemed pretty manageable and I had good energy for the rest of the day.

Final stats:
10 miles
1:19:00
7:54 avg pace

54 more days until my goal 1/2 marathon as I continue to build fitness.

Another treadmill fail

Ran 5 miles at slow pace on the treadmill Thursday.

Then today planned to run 7+.  Didn't run too fast, starting at 8:57 pace and working up to 8:00 pace.  Into the 6th mile I bumped up the speed to 7:47 and the treadmill shutoff on me.

Instead of messing with it I headed straight out the door and ran a mile outside in 7:03.

Maintenance plan for the weekend:  Slightly loosen the belt, clean the belt, lube the belt... and hope for the best.

With the 7.27 miles I got in today I wound up with 40.79 for the week.  First 40+ week whoot, whoot.   That's coming off 38.3 from last week.

I'll say one thing about the treadmill... It really helps for keeping the pacing easy.  Despite the increased mileage my legs feel better than they have since I started running again.  Really hoping the treadmill holds together to get me through the winter.

TREADMILL WORKOUT FAIL

Woke up this morning with intent of running 3 X 1 Mile @ 6:40 pace with 1/4 mile recovery.

After a 2 mile warmup I bumped up the pace.  The pace felt ok but the belt of the treadmill kept stalling about every 10 steps.  Total pain but I kept at it and made it through the first mile.

After the recovery I started up again but about .65 miles into the 2nd interval the treadmill completely shut off.  Wound up tripping the internal breaker for whatever reason.

After a couple minutes I was able to get everything reset and finished up the workout running 4 X 2 minute hill intervals at 7:30 pace 5% grade with 1 minute 1% grade recoveries.

Seems like the treadmill is a fail for the fast stuff so I'm going to have to stick to slow and steady/hill workouts on the treadmill.  Seems like 7:30 is about the limit unless I can figure out how to tune the treadmill up.

The hill workout was successful though...  really felt the intensity.  was going to do 3 X 2 minutes but decided to push out the 4th one since I was feeling good.  Hard work but I don't think I overdid it.

Overall was able to get in 7 miles at an average pace of 7:48 with ~3 miles of mid-high intensity work mixed in.

7 is the new 3.

7.25 easy miles today on the treadmill.   Tried to vary my pace and incline to keep it somewhat interesting.  Still pretty much dread the treadmill but I found a groove the last couple miles.  Completed the run at 8:26 pace for an 1:01:10 total duration.

Mileage has steadily been building.  Hit 38.3 last week and aiming for 40+ this week before a step back week next week.

Lots and lots of slow base-building miles.  Really looking forward to the spring when I can get outside and start upping the intensity so I can see where my fitness is really at.

Going long

Another recent training PB yesterday with a long run of 14.02 miles.

Started out at 8:07 pace... Was running at a 8:15/8:16 near the end of the run and finished with a average pace of 8:10 after pushing mile 13 and 14. Mile 10 and 11 were straight into a strong wind and really tested my mental resolve. Really felt good for the whole run (minus the unpleasantness of the wind).

Unfortunately, my Apple Watch/Nike Run Club app crashed while saving the run data and it was completely lost.  I bought the apple watch because I thought it would be the best platform for GPS/music/podcast for a $200 price-tag.  However, the podcast app is clunky, I've had trouble transferring data between my iPhone and watch, and now it's lost several runs...  In retrospect I should have gotten a Garmin... I was never unhappy with my old forerunner 10 years ago and it seems like the newer models are nothing but improved...  maybe next year!

the training continues

After  2 days of cross training on the bike to recover from the hill climbing and descent at the Turkey trot I got back to running again.

Eased in with a Wednesday run on the treadmill with 5.52 mile at 8:09 pace.

Thursday was Thanksgiving.  Took advantage of the day off from work to get bundled up and get an outdoor run in.  It was cold and windy but still way better then the treadmill!  This turned out to be a pretty solid work out:

5.01 miles
37:01
7:25 pace

Very consistent run overall, 7:27, 7:31, 7:30, 7:24, and 7:05 last mile.

Friday I got back outside for 7.21 miles at 8:20 pace.  Really focused on keeping the pace easy and relaxed.

Felt good the next day and hit another hour on the bike.

Sunday (December 1st) got in my second half-marathon distance long run.

13.2 miles
1:49:31
8:18 pace

Started too fast with a 7:52, and 7:59 mile.  Kept slowing down after that running mile 7, 8, and 9 at 8:29, 8:41, 8:49 (into a cold strong wind)…  Picked it up at ran 8:13, 8:09, 8:03, 8:07 for the last 4 miles.  Sore and tired for the rest of the day but not bed-ridden can't keep my eyes open tired like I've felt in the past.

Biked on Monday.

6.31 easy treadmill miles on Tuesday at 8:45 pace.

Then 6.5 mile treadmill workout today.  Started at 8:49 pace and increased by .2 MPH every 1/4 mile for the first 2 miles.  Ran Mile 3 at 7:13 pace, Mile 4 at 7:03 pace, then eased back to 7:13 pace for mile 5.  Finished with 1.5 miles at 8:34 pace with addition varying incline between 1-3 degrees for a cooldown.

Wore my new Nike Zoom Fly 3's for the first time and they felt interesting.  A little wobbly on the heel but not uncomfortable.  At these point I have 3 pairs of new shoes I'm cycling.  Read some theories that alternating different shoes could help prevent repetitive movement injuries and it rings as plausible to me. With the Nike's, Hoka Bondi 6's, and my Brooks Ghosts, I have 3 shoes with significantly different feel to them.

Overall I'm feeling good.  A bit of ITB tightness and some sore knees but generally feeling better than I have for a long time.

1 minute, 9 seconds added to my "longest run".