Its the end of the month

244.44 miles at an average pace of 7:53 in April for a new monthly total record.

Finished up the month with a solid 9.11 at 7:39 pace.  Started out a bit fast and faded a bit closer to the end.  I wasn't trying to push today.  Felt fine but still recovering a bit from Wednesdays efforts.

I'm hoping for a super solid May with slightly reduced mileage but increased intensity and maybe I'll even eat right... big aspirations for the future :)

5 in the rain

Got about 1 mile into my planned 7 mile recovery run today and it started raining.  It was 50 degrees out so not too cold but not worth suffering through on a recovery run.  I cut my loop short and did 5.  I was proud of myself since sometimes I don't think I take it easy enough. The 5 was uneventful but felt really good.  I wasn't pushing at all, but legs didn't seem overly impacted from yesterday's effort.  HR averaged 131.  Felt like pretty much a day off and Strava's relative effort metric agrees.  

Run of the year

We're about 1/3rd of the way through 2021.  This years training has been going pretty well, as I continue to build on the base I built in 2020.  At this point I've been running for about 2 years now, continually improving the whole time.  So far, I've managed to do it without getting myself injured which I'm still amazed about.  Sometimes I feel like I'm riding the cutting edge but I've tried to be conscious on how I'm feeling and take it easy when I need to.  

Looking back to 2019 when I first was getting started you can see how cautious I was (a big divergence from my 4 month couch to Marathon stunt I pulled in 2009 that ultimately wrecked me).  If you add up the mileage from April and May of 2019 it winds up equaling just about the same amount of mileage as I ran last week...  I remember how sore I used to be back then too.  My calves were always tight and my shins ached for the first 6 months.  At the time, anything under 8 min pace was tempo and 7:17 was 5K pace. 

All this build up leading to today, where I had a bit of a breakthrough run that also meets my current, arbitrary requirements for a run of the year (needs to be fast and at least 8 miles in length).

It was a bit hot and humid for the year at 66 degrees an 99% humidity.  A little hotter than ideal but not terrible either, in fact I wound up getting a good, purifying, sweat going and my leg muscles were happy that they didn't have to warm up.  The air was thick with moisture and I could feel it as I breathed.

I started out at a good pace, running by feel and not quite knowing what to expect.  By the time I was up the first climb to the .5 mile mark I could tell the pace was going to be fast.  I was going at a sub 6:40 pace and feeling pretty good; my legs, fresher than they've felt in a while.  I hit that first mile split at 6:35.  I didn't see this as sustainable but I figured I'd hold on as long as I felt good.  I ran the rolling hills of the 2nd mile focusing on staying relaxed and hit the 2nd mile in 6:33.  The third mile had a few steep hills.  I shortened up my stride and focused on working my arms.  I could feel in in my legs and my HR climbed but I held pace at 6:35.  Mile 4 was unremarkable as I focused on maintaining pace while staying relaxed to the halfway point, splitting at 6:37.  Mile 5 is when I really started to hurt as my HR reached the high 160s.  167/168 seems to be the point where the effort really kicks in.  I was running into the wind at this point and while it wasn't that windy it was enough to effect my efforts with my pace slipping to 6:43.  Mile 6 started with a long steep climb.  I focused on my form and powered through.  At this point I was hurting and I fought to maintain the effort level as the pace slowed a bit.  I finished mile 6 with my slowest split of 6:48.  

With 2 miles left I was in the home stretch and I bore down some more.  Doing the mental math I knew I had to keep the pace at 6:45 or faster for the last 2 to keep the overall pace under 6:40.  I was able to pick it up a bit over mile 7 hitting it in 6:42.  The last mile I was starting to feel it in my lower back and I could tell my form was going to shit.  I tried to stand tall and keep it together, knowing that I only had a mile to go.  With .5 left I was picking up the pace again and ultimately finished with my fastest mile of the day (slightly) at 6:32.

Final Stats:

8.0 miles

53:07

6:38 average pace

Getting into the 6:3X for a training run was one of my goals for the year so I'm pumped to have hit it.  I figured it was attainable but considering my pervious fastest 8 miler was at 6:51 pace, this was quite a jump.  Lots of extra mileage and a few tempo runs, plus the weather I guess.  Best part of it all was that my stomach didn't cramp up or bother me for the rest of the day.  

I more or less peaked last May and then held steady through summer (though hard to know for sure due to the heat).  33 days til my 10K goal race.  Hopefully I keep improving through May.  I was previously planning on stepping back the mileage and increasing the quality, but the last few runs I've had have been hitting major performance milestones (either in how fast I've gone or how low my HR is on easy days) which make me think that a couple more high mileage weeks might serve me better.

Weekend of Performance

Last weeks Saturday tempo run, a 5K in 20:16 (6:29 pace).

This weeks Saturday tempo run, 4 miles in 25:02 (6:15 pace)… big improvement with the major factor being that last week I came into the run after already being active all day (including a previous run and mowing the lawn), while this weeks was relatively fresh.  The other factor was just some mental adaptation to the harder pace... the adaptation continued with this run.

The run was in the rain.   I almost backed out but it was just sprinkling and the temp was in the upper 50s so I decided to give it a go.  I went out hard, hitting the first uphill mile in 6:14.  The hardest mile was the second as I got into the steep hills and I slowed down to 6:29.  At this point I was struggling but now that I was out of the hills things started to feel easier and I was able to maintain the effort and started to feel better and more relaxed as I started to get "used" to the harder pace.  I hit mile 3 in 6:16 and the 5K mark at about 19:40.  From there I picked up the pace a bit and finished with a 6:02 last mile, feeling relatively good.

Sunday I headed out for a 15 mile long run.  Another great run.  One of the best times of year with perfect temperature, little wind, and shining sun.  I kept the first 8 miles in the 7:50s more or less, then started picking it up running miles 9, 10, 11, and 12 at around 7:45... then 7:25, 7:00, 6:29 for the last 3 miles, relaxed the whole time and never hurting...  and what's even better is that I can pump out a solid long run these days and then feel good enough in the afternoon to play basketball with the kids and go on hikes without feeling worn out.

Monday I took the day off (I'm kind of working on a 13 day on 1 day off cycle right now).

Then today an easy 8 miles at 8:19 pace.   Didn't feel great today but nothing wrong exactly.  Just not as comfortable as I'd like and my right IT band and hip was a bit flared.  Only disappointing because I took yesterday off but sometimes the off day makes me "rusty" so hopefully I'll feel revived tomorrow. 

2021 GOALS PROGRESS UPDATE:

1. 10,000 pushups:  5013 on pace for 15639.  Halfway to 10000 probably not going to make 20000 hope to stick with it all year and keep building strength.

2. 7500 10,000 pulls ups: 3403 on pace for 10616... Always squeezing these in as I rush out the door.  If I could do a few after work it might help the whole process.

3. 26 Hours on the Bike:  I'm at 18:16 and not planning on much biking for a while... shouldn't be a big deal getting to my goal anyway.

4. 2021 miles:  822.37 miles for the year and now on pace for 2565.  I've been killing the mileage lately hitting a all time high of 63.72 miles last week while also running a couple of my best sessions in a while.  I've average 57 miles per week over the last 5 weeks, have a record streak of 5 straight weeks over 50 miles, and I'm actually finally adapting to the mileage, not being so tired and achy all the time.

Today was a good day

8 really easy miles on the road today.  The weather is back to normal and I was able to run at 8:27 average pace while keeping my HR under 130.  I would say this was this easiest 8 miles on the road has ever felt. I'm at 56+ miles on the week with a day to go.  Should set a new weekly mileage record easily tomorrow.  

I've started dabbling with running 7 days a week, and it seems possible.  My one concern is that in my quest for increased mileage I haven't really been getting enough workouts in... I keep telling myself that I'll build the base and then do workouts but I keep opting to continue building the base.  Partly an issue of running by feel and not having a true plan... and with all the mileage I never really "feel" like I should run hard. 

Despite it all, I feel like what I'm doing is working so far so I'll keep at it.  I do plan to run hard tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes.

Staying the course

Finished up my 4th 50+ week in a row with 52.25... the more often you achieve the less exciting it gets but I keep reminding myself its the consistency that truly matters.

I'm already 22+ miles into the next week after running 16.54 miles on Sunday.  It probably one of my best runs of the year, not necessarily in terms of performance but of enjoyment.  The weather was perfect.  50 degrees and sunny with a slight breeze.  I was loving it.  Ran mostly easy with my HR in the low 140s but still averaged 7:51 for the day.  Started out at ~7:48 pace for the first 8 miles, then slowed down to 8:00 pace for the next few, not because I was tired but more because I wanted to enjoy myself and not push.  finished the last 2.5 miles strong at 7:40 pace.  Got in over 2 hours of running (2:10:03).  Finished up the day with a hike with my kids and wound up with a personal record of 40,881 steps on the day.

Today, I ran 5.57 miles at recovery pace instead of biking.  Plan on loading up the miles in April then dropping them a bit to focus on quality in prep of a 10K at the end of May.

Saturday I ran a double.  3.5 miles in the morning on the treadmill at 8:47 pace.   Then took the kids to soccer mowed the lawn and then went out for a 20 minute tempo run (3.12 miles at 6:29 average pace). I took off hard the first mile and hit 6:37 pace, HR was in the 160s but my legs were fatigued.  I had to talk myself into keeping going, especially through the hills, hitting the 2nd mile in 6:41.  The third mile was the easiest... not sure if I finally found my rhythm or if because the last .5 is slightly down hill but I ran it in 6:15...   Sprinted at the end for .12 to make it a 5K and finished in ~20:15... followed that up with an extra 2.25 miles at 7:25 pace which felt easy relative to the 6:29 pace.

Also last week at 9.11 miler at 7:45 pace (easy to medium effort) and a 30 minute bike ride followed up by a 4.75 mile run.  

2021 GOALS PROGRESS UPDATE:

1. 10,000 pushups:  4895 on pace for 16096.  80 straight pushups with good form today.

2. 7500 10,000 pulls ups: 32909/on pace for 10818...  Keeping up

3. 26 Hours on the Bike:  Got my brick in last week but ran on Monday instead of biking.  Now that the weather is nice and I'm running more the biking is once again taking a back seat.

4. 2021 miles:  774.775 for the year and now on pace for 2547

Best one yet

What a difference a day off makes?!?  

Ran my fastest overall pace for the 8.33 miles at 6:51 and felt way better than last week doing it.  Plenty left in the tank at the end.  Partly it might have been pacing as most of the miles were at least a few seconds slower before dropping the pace and kicking it in for the last 1.33 miles.

Just felt better overall though and was never straining and the heart rate kept lower the first 3 miles which were generally comparable... but even the last .33 which was approaching 5K pace, felt controlled and easy.  HR at the end of today's run was a bit questionable but what can you do?

Still some stomach pain after today's run but not as bad as last week. Plan on taking it mostly easy this week for a down week to recover a bit.  Then a few more weeks of hard training as I prep for a 10K.

 

2021 GOALS PROGRESS UPDATE:

1. 10,000 pushups:  4557 on pace for 16148.  More gains on the bench and hit 3 X 10 @ 185lbs.

2. 7500 10,000 pulls ups:  3109/on pace for 11017...  Got in 152 over the weekend including 120 on Saturday.  Definitely felt it in my core.

3. 26 Hours on the Bike:  Took Monday off... it was needed.  Might try to get a brick in tomorrow or Thursday.

4. 2021 miles:  707.25 for the year and now on pace for 2500.

Everyone needs a day off

After 104 days of aerobic exercise in a row, I'm officially taking a day off.  My hips are getting too angry at me.

I did hit the bench for 5 sets including 3 X 10 at 185.  First time hitting 185 three times with 10 reps.  I've just been feeling a hell of a lot stronger recently.  Partly just consistency and partly some additional work and focus.

Had a rainy weekend on the treadmill.  Kind of sucks to be on the treadmill now that its warm but on the other end I didn't really mind it for some reason.  Got 10 in on Saturday and 15 on Sunday, all at an easy pace.

A not so fun run

I pushed myself harder than typical this morning.  8.33 mile at 6:53 average pace on "the course".  Started out with a 7:27 first mile but then hit the rest under 7:00.  Best 4 miles were 6:35, 6:43, 6:46, 6:47... hit 6:52 on mile 5 and 6:47 on mile 7. Pushed it on the hills and really got the heart rate up.  Was in the mid 160s pushing to 170 for the last 4 miles.  By the end of the run I didn't have that extra gear and got dropped by my training partner.  

Final Stats:

8.33 miles

57:23

6:53 pace

The end result was my 3rd fastest run over 8 miles ever, but my most painful run this year.  I wasn't exactly fresh coming off my Master's distance PR of 17 miles and my all time PR of weekly mileage but my legs felt okay.  No real pain and just slight fatigue on the hills.  

Big issue though was the post run stomach pain and cramping.  It's been a while since I experienced that... no Bueno.  Kind of puts a damper on an otherwise good experience.  I haven't dealt with this since last year and almost forgot it's a thing.  It doesn't happen every time but when it does, it really sucks.   I really have to push myself for an sustained amount of time to experience it... but when I do it sucks!

The other big news was that I hit day 100 in a row of work outs:   17 days just on the bike, 75 days just running, and 8 brick days.  105 hours and 33 minutes

Another Killer Weekend

Considering all the mileage I've been putting in I felt pretty good going into the weekend.  I wanted to get in a decent effort aerobic run on Saturday so I started off quicker than typical with a 7:29 mile and followed those up with 7:23, 7:22, 7:19, 7:20...  and then I hit the winds.  14-20 MPH head on.  7:30, 7:42, 7:30 for the last 3 miles with my HR in the 150s.  I really hate that wind... Working harder, yet slowing down at the same time is not fun.  Finished up with 8.08 miles at 7:26 pace (1:00:03 duration)… 

...I spent the afternoon putting in my anchor system of a basketball hoop.  Involved digging a 3 foot X 16X16 inch hole, acquiring and mixing nine 80 lbs bags of concrete, and setting it all up.  I could feel it in my core mixing the concrete and in my back moving the bags.  It felt good thought, I felt strong.  The pullups and pushups are having a tangible effect on my functional fitness.  After that I went for a 4 mile hike at Wildlife Prairie Park.

I also bought a pair of 60 lb weights at a sports store.  They had a 50, 65, and 70 as well but 60s were the only ones they had in a set... not sure who comes in and buys only one dumbbell?

Sunday, I went long.  The longest since my last marathon training cycle in 2010.  17.11 miles at a 7:40 pace.  I went to the Rock Island trail for the first time this year to take advantage of the softer surface, the shade, and to avoid the wind a bit.  The trail was in good shape and the weather was perfect in the low 50s.  

My plan was to run the first half fairly easy and then pick it up a bit on the way back.  I pretty much kept my HR under 140 for the first 9 miles.  I had decided I wanted to try fueling on this run so I brought along a couple gels and carried a Gatorade for the first 4.5 miles.  When I stopped to set down the Gatorade I also took my shirt off as I was getting a bit hot.  A few sips of Gatorade and I continued on.  

I pretty much cruised for the first 9 miles.  It was a beautiful day, my legs felt good, and I was really enjoying myself.  I took my first gel at mile 8 (just over 1 hour in) at which point I happened to spot an iPhone on the side of the trail so I picked it up and put it on a post in the middle of the trail so someone could find it more easily. Pretty sure it belonged to a couple with a  stroller I had seen earlier on my run.

Close to the 9 mile point I got to the city of Wyoming.  The water fountain was still out of commission because of Covid but I got a drink from a sink in the bathroom and then started heading back.  At this point I started picking up the pace just a tad, letting my HR climb into the mid 140s.  I took another gel at mile 12, this one with caffeine... I didn't stop for this one and consumed it on the run holding the gel package in my hand after it was consumed.  got a bit sticky which was a nuisance.  Mile 13 was where I had left my shirt and Gatorade.  I put my shirt back on and finished the Gatorade.  Then it was time for the push to the finish.  I kept dialing it in the last 3 miles for a 7:25, 7:12, 6:51with my HR getting into the mid 160s.  I felt strong finishing and probably could have gone another mile.  I think the fueling, especially the caffeine made a difference.  After the run I was bushed though. I got home and took a power nap and started to feel better.  I went out for another 4 mile hike which was a slog but still enjoyable.

Comparing this run to my last 17 mile run 10 months ago really reveals the improvements in aerobic conditioning.  The ability to cruise in the 130 HR range is almost like a new found skill... even last years "easy" running was not nearly as easy even though I'm running about 40 seconds per mile faster now... running fast is fun but sometimes I wonder if I really have an ultrarunner mentality.  I could see trying a 50 miler some day.

2021 GOALS PROGRESS UPDATE:

1. 10,000 pushups:  4342 on pace for 16682.

2. 7500 10,000 pulls ups:  2832/on pace for 10880...  A tough weekend that lacked pull ups.  Meant to do a lot and did none.  I've been pretty motivated for strength training lately so hope to keep on that kick.

3. 26 Hours on the Bike: Now at 17:46.  After last week off, I got my 30+ minutes in today.  Felt easy enough.

4. 2021 miles:  643.56... 117 miles ahead of pace and currently on pace for 2472 miles for the year. Hit a new mileage high of 60.25 last week (2nd time over 60).  

 

Low HR PR?!?

Is a low HR PR really a thing?  Not sure, but if it is I think I got it.

I ran 7 miles today at a 8:47 pace and averaged 126 on the heart rate.  I don't really remember being under 130 before and certainly not holding it that low for over an hour but I did today.  

It was almost "hard" to run that slow.  I really focused on being relaxed and could actually drop my HR a couple beats with that focus... something I never really worked on before but kind of cool.

My legs feel pretty good now too... might have finally figured out what a recover run is :)

At this point my IT band niggles are pretty much gone and I'm not feeling any real concerns.  My left groin has been a bit tight the last couple days when I start running but doesn't bother me otherwise and seems to loosen up after the first mile.  

We'll see what the weekend has in store.

An April Fool

I woke up today not exactly feeling it.  I seriously considered taking a day off.  Instead I got on the treadmill and started running at 7 mph pace.  After a mile I bumped it up to 7.5 mph pace.  7 miles in I bumped it to 7.7 mph.  9 miles in I decided to go for 10.  I ran a couple 10 milers mid week back in December but this is the first time since that.  Plenty of 9 milers but there's something about double digits.

Final stats: 

10 miles

1:19:18 

7:55 pace

I didn't get off the treadmill til close to 7:30 so it didn't provide much time to get any pushups or pull ups in.  I did get in a single set of 24 pulls ups on my way out the door though.  I'm not 100% sure but I'm going to call this a new PR.

Looking out the window, it was light by around 6:15 this morning.   A couple more days of cold and then it should warm up and then I should be off the treadmills for about good by next week.