Snuck in 5

Was just about to get on the treadmill at 5:55 this morning... then my daughter woke up from her 12 hour "nap", so instead I tutored her in math for 50 minutes.  Still got on the treadmill at 6:55 and snuck in 5 miles before work.

5 miles

39:08

7:49 pace

Thought I'd just get in 4 but didn't want to stop.  Pushed the pace faster than I would have if I'd started at 5:55 but still kept the effort relatively easy overall.

Hope to do something more like a workout tomorrow.

Another 9 miles

ANOTHER 9 MILES

Cranked out another 9 on the treadmill today at relatively easy pace.  Started at 7 mph then bumped it up to 7.1 and then 7.2.  Held at 7.2 until about 6.5 miles and then bumped it up to 7.5 (8 min pace).  Ran 8 min pace for the rest of the run.

The first 5 or so miles were a bit of a struggle...  don't get me wrong, they were easy enough, but I just didn't quite feel comfortable.  By the end I was in the groove and could have kept going.  This was the second run in a row where the longer (and faster) I went, the easier it got.  I could have gone for 10 but I was running short on time and had to get to work.

TREADMILL RAMBLINGS

Overall, I've been getting more comfortable on the treadmill in general, while still getting outside on the weekends when the sun is up.  Seems like a good balance. It's always hard to transition to the treadmill in the winter, and also hard to transition back to the road in the spring.  Just a fight against inertia once you get accustomed to something... 

Being that this is year two of consistent training, I've found it a bit easier to transition... I know what to expect and have some data to reference  as well.

I pretty much ran on the treadmill from November 2019-March 2020.  I had a couple treadmill runs right at the end of October and by April I was just about exclusively on the road with just a couple treadmill runs sprinkled in...  Did not do any running on the treadmill what so ever from May-September.

Looks like I started a bit earlier this year with 7 treadmill runs in October.  I think this was a combination of the fact that I travelled to a tropical climate in October 2019, plus I run more mileage now so it's difficult to fit it in outside if I have to wait for the sun to come up.

WINTER 2019

Nov 2019      9/19 runs on the treadmill 47%

Dec 2019     14/21 67%

Jan 2020      19/24 79%

Feb 2020     14/19 74%

Mar 2020      8/25  32%  (I recall getting on the road in early March and then daylight savings screwing me back onto the treadmill)

TOTAL:  66/110 (60%)

WINTER 2020

Oct 2020     7/17   41%

Nov 2020    9/25   36%

So far, I've started utilizing the treadmill earlier this year, but have gotten outside more.  I didn't use to run on Saturdays so I should definitely see more road time this year if it doesn't get to icy (or cold) on the weekends.

FITTER AND FITTER

So after, 13+ miles on Sunday and 9 today Garmin says my reduced training load is causing me to peak.  Not sure about that... really, I'm just getting back to where I was over the summer from mostly easy miles, base training, and consistent long runs.  Hopefully, I'm actually have a bit more to go before I'm actually peaking.  Good positive reinforcement for me.  

Continued Improvement

I ran 47.78 miles last week.  Didn't really seem that special but it was also my 13th highest mileage week ever and it didn't feel particularly tough and I'm not particularly fatigued.  Just a confidence building nod to my bodies adaptation to mileage.

I started this week with another awesome long run.  Weather was in the low 30s heading out the door but there was hardly any wind and the sun was out, plus I bought a couple long sleeves running shirts and some more tights so I actually have the proper gear for once.  Unlike last week, I didn't plan to have a particularly fast long run... just figured I'd go out easy.  First 6 miles were 8:00, 7:52, 8:05, 8:09, 8:04, 8:07... just running by feel and it felt easy.  HR was in the low 140s.  Up until that point, everything felt okay but not great; just so so.  But after I loosened up a bit I started feeling better and better.  I pushed up the effort just a hair and ran 7:56 and 7:58 for mile 7 and 8.  Then 7:45 for mile 9 and 10.  HR was up to 148 by mile 9 but dropped back to 146 for mile 10.

After mile 10, something kind of strange happened.  Maybe runners high?  Maybe it was when I switched from podcasts to music?  Don't know but I kind of hit the flow state.  I ran mile 11 in 7:25 and my average HR dropped down to 144.  Mile 12 I started to really push and ran it in 7:07 with an average HR of 146.  Then mile 13 I really pushed and ran 6:50, with an average HR of 150.  I just kept running faster and faster and my heartrate barely moved and I was barely breathing hard at all.  I probably could have kept going except my legs were getting tired... now I kind of wish I'd pushed it to 14 or 15 miles.  In the end I wound up running:

13.13 miles

1:41:51

7:45 pace

Avg HR: 144

I'm sort of training for a half marathon in February, although I'm pretty certain it's not going to actually happen.  still good to have something to focus on for a training block, real or not.  Either way, I should be going into 2021 looking good.

Yearly Goal Update 

24 days left in 2020

1.  2020 miles run:  1915.41 miles to date.  Need 104.59 more for the year.  That comes out to 4.36 miles a day which is totally doable, as long as I don't get hurt.

2.  5000 Pull ups: 4714  (42 ahead of pace)… I've been killing the pull ups lately and I can notice the difference... I just feel stronger and more solid.  Shoulder joints are taking it better, my grip is improving... 286 more to go over 24 days is 12 a day for the rest of the year.  

3.  5000 Pushups/Bench:  4651 (21 behind pace)… Almost back on pace.  I whipped out 70 straight pushups this morning.  It's funny because I never felt like I was improving on these as much as I should.  Saturday for instance I did 40 and I was feeling it by the end and then suddenly I whipped out 70 this morning...  New obvious goal now is to be able to do 100 straight.  

4.  12500 Steps a day:  899 days straight

Final stretch of 2020

It's been a strange ride but I'm starting to feel good again...  not sure if I was sick, or if my fitness just peaked and was bound to decline, or if the drop in mileage really had such a significant impact.  All, I know is that for most of October through November, my running just didn't quite feel "right".  My pace was slower, my efforts were higher, my heartrates were elevated and even my easy runs never really felt comfortable.

• On Thanksgiving, I went for a hard 5 miler...  It was a benchmark run to match the 5 miles I ran on Thanksgiving 2019.  I wound up running 5 miles in 35:00 flat (actually just under 7 min miles per my watch).  I went out for the first mile in 6:30, then 6:58, 7:20. 7:29, and 6:44.  I pretty much died after the 6:30. My legs just didn't want to go so fast, but I was able to pick it up the last mile.  Allegedly my Avg HR was 152 which isn't even that high but I didn't feel like I could have gone much faster either.  The previous year I ran at 7:25 pace with an average HR of 159 so it was a good improvement... The run didn't feel good, in fact I felt like crap actually.  I sprinted at the end and wound up doubled over with my hands on my knees.  My neighbor was outside smoking a cigarette and she was seriously concerned if I was okay.  She asked a couple times if she needed to call someone...  she must think I'm crazy now... it sucked but it was also the first time I ran under 7 min pace since mid September, and I was happy to eek it out, even if it required a massive sprint finish.

• Skip ahead a couple days to Sunday, and I found myself out on a 13.5 mile long run, my longest run since August 23rd.  I went out easy but hit 8:08 pace and was consistent for the first 5 miles at 8:06. 8:03, 8:02, 8:04.  Mile 6, I hit a rhythm and went 7:53, 7:46,  7:52, 7:53 for mile 6, 7, 8, 9.  Then picked it up a bit more and went 7:32, 7:29, 7:31, 7:31 for the last 4 miles with 7:05 pace for the last .5.  Averaged a 146 HR for the run and felt pretty darn good.

• Ran 7 easy miles on the treadmill on Tuesday.  6 really easy miles at 8:25 pace on the treadmill with an average HR of 129 Wednesday.  Wednesday I felt really good about because my HR finally stayed low on an easy run...  Just nice for things to feel right again.  

• Today I woke up extra early and got a 10 miler in on the treadmill.  I started at 6.8 mph and bumped it up by .1 mph every .25 miles until I maxed out a 9.1 mph (6:35 pace).  I held 9.1 for about a mile and then eased back down.  It was some tough threshold work but totally doable.  I thought I'd be wiped out after that but wound up getting through the day fine.

Yearly Goal Update

28 days left in 2020.

1.  2020 (or 1560) miles run:  1891 miles to date.  Need 129 more for the year.

2.  5000 Pull ups: 4629 (11 ahead of pace)… I've averaged 31 pull ups a day for the last 18 days to catch up.  

3.  5000 Pushups/Bench:  4491 (126 behind pace)… Starting to catch up on this one too.  I haven't done any benching for a while... all push-ups.  

4.  50 hour stationary bike:  37:39 hours... I'm going to fail on this... no way around it.  Oh well.

5.  12500 Steps a day:  Still haven't broken this streak... 895 days and counting. 

40 mile week, finding my stride, and getting back on track

I ran my first 40 mile week since August last week and am already 20 miles into this week.  My loosely formulated plan to cut back a bit and then start base building again seems to be working out.

Peaking and the subsequent drop in fitness has been mentally hard for me to handle.  A couple months ago I was ripping 7 minute miles and now I'm closer to 8... and it's not like I ever stopped training, but dropping from 200+ miles a month to 100+ miles is quite a difference so I guess I just need to have faith that the process is working.

2 weeks ago on Sunday I ran 11.03 miles at 8:32 pace with a 148 avg HR. A few days ago on Sunday I ran 12.50 miles at 8:09 pace with 146 avg HR...  neither run was anything special when taken individually, but the comparative jump in fitness in just 2 weeks is encouraging.

I've ripped out 331 pull ups over the last 9 days and am quickly closing the gap on my goal pace.  

Today I dropped 7.5 miles on the treadmill at 8:30 pace.  I think that's the bread and butter type of run I need to be hitting as I build my base up.  I've been probably running a bit too fast for a lot of my runs, chasing the fitness I recently had.  

One day, I need to be more disciplined about my blogging/documentation for future Ethan's sake... For now I'll just ramble through it, much like my training :)

Yearly Goal Update

With 42 days left in 2020, its time to take a look at how I'm stacking up on my yearly goals.

1.  2020 (or 1560) miles run:  1801.93 to date (which is almost 1000 more than last year).    I've already met my original goal of 1560 miles i.e. 30 miles a week and am currently 13.73 miles ahead of pace for 2020 by the end of the year.

2.  5000 Pull ups: 4238 (188 behind pace)… I really fell off for a while between travelling and a motivation dip.   I think the rest was needed though and now I'm playing catchup.  Can still whip out sets of 15 pulls ups without much issue so I shouldn't have a problem catching back up if I can stick with it for the next week or two.

3.  5000 Pushups/Bench:  4151 (275 behind pace)… Even more behind on these but it's really easy to whip out 100 pushups in a day so I'm not worried about this at all.  Need to get back to benching at some point.  

4.  50 hour stationary bike:  37:39 hours... I'm pretty much giving up on this one.  At the beginning of the year I had planned to do more cross training but as my running mileage and goal increased, the biking took a hit.  I also figured I'd get hurt at some point which would lead to more biking.  That never materialized so I guess I could spin it that being under my biking goal is a good thing... when it really comes down to it, I prefer running so I'm not too concerned.

5.  12500 Steps a day:  Still haven't broken this streak... 881 days and counting.  Lately, the count has been a lot closer to 12500 then I'd prefer but with Covid  I'm pretty much stuck at my desk all day and with the weather getting cold. I'm outside a lot less.  Hopefully I can keep squeaking by until the end of the year.

OFF SEASON

Looks like I last posted about 2 months ago.  Don't worry, I'm still here.  I have just been having a bit of an off season.  After peaking in August thru mid September, my motivations starting waning.  My mileage dropped quite  a bit and I took some days off here and there and even a few days off in a row.  Never really quit running though.  Through it I started traveling for work again which messed with my consistency and then I got sick (not Covid), which eventually went into my lungs and totally slowed me down.  For a week or two I was jog/walking and out of breath.  Eventually I took some Prednisone and everything cleared back up.

Exiting August I had run 13 weeks of 40 to 50+ miles.  Entering September I ran 33, 21, 32, 22, 31, 23, 30, 27, 14... The last 2 weeks I've started picking it back up again, running 35 and then 37.  

I was amazed at how fast I got "out of shape".  Going out running suddenly felt tough again and my heart rate was back up near 150 for paces and efforts that had been in the 130s a couple months ago. 

Yesterday, I finally had a breakthrough run of sorts.  11.6 miles on the treadmill in 1:30:05.

I started at 7 MPH for the first mile, then bumped it up by .2 for each mile.  

Mile 1:  7  (8:34)

Mile 2: 7.2 (8:20)

Mile 3: 7.4 (8:06)

Mile 4: 7.6 (7:54)

Mile 5: 7.8 (7:42)

Mile 6: 8.0 (7:30)

Mile 7: 8.2 (7:19)

Mile 8: 8.4 (7:09)

Mile 9: 8.6 (6:59)

Mile 10: 8.0 (7:30)

Mile 11 and 11.5: 7 (8:34)

Getting under 7 for the 9th mile was a real effort... My HR approached 170 by the end but it didn't really "hurt" at least not in a bad way.  It felt smooth and natural.  

At this point offseason is over and I'm ready to start building my base back.  I hope to be able to run a half marathon in February but I have my doubts on if it will actually occur.  Without a tangible goal, I'll just keep training and building and hoping I can stay healthy so that when the time finally comes when I can use my fitness I will be ready.