Week 22 and May in Review, plus a return to the Rock Island Trail

First off, for some reason I had a chart for my stats from May 2010 in my blog from May 2010.  I didn't keep monthly mile stats before or after that so not sure why I did it then but now 10 year later I can compile that data from the 3 May's I have recorded STATs from.

At a snapshot I'm training harder and in better shape now then I was in 2010.  Also, I've come a looonnnngggg way since 2019 when I was first getting back into shape.

186.8 miles is less than last month by a few miles but still my 2nd highest month ever.  I plan to get in at least 192 miles in June (309k) so that will be a new high if I get through it.

Also, with 854 miles for the year I've exceeded last years mileage total of 805.83.

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For the week I ran 39.27 miles.  It was kind of a tough week.  I think the heat was partially to blame.  I took Monday and Tuesday off from running, ran short on Wednesday and Friday, and had a crap workout on Thursday.  Had a good run on Saturday and Sunday though so hopefully things are doing okay.

Had some pain in my left hip starting Thursday but it didn't really bug me over the weekend.  My left foot has been pretty sore too but also seems to be okay during runs.  Just going to monitor it and hope it quiets down.

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Sunday morning I started the week right with my first long run on the Rock Island Trail in 10 years.  The Rock Island Trail is a reclaimed ex-railroad line that is now a bike path.  Great for long runs since it's mostly flat, mostly shaded, no traffic, and soft underfoot.

I picked up the trail in Princeville and ran a brand new section I've never been on before.  It was my best long run in over a month.

13.28 miles
1:39:38 duration
7:30 pace

I started off at an "easy" pace of 7:55 for the first mile.  Then settled in a bit with 7:40, 7:44, 7:32, 7:41.  Weather was great and I was moving along through the woods feeling amazing.

I was running an out an back and as I was approaching the turn about I started picking up the pace slightly to 7:33.

At the turnabout I stopped for a quick whiz and then turned around and decided to pick up the pace a bit and negative split the run. 7:25, 7:24, 7:16, 7:31, 7:24, 7:23, 7:22...  pace was very steady minus the 7:16 7:31 deviations...  maybe some elevation in play there or maybe I just pushed to hard on the 7:16 and recovered with 7:31?   Was tired by the end but felt good and held form.

I think I'll probably be doing a lot more long runs on the trail, especially over the summer.  The shade is a wonderful thing.

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Yearly goal progress:

GOALS:

1.  1560 (or 2020) miles run:  854.37  for the year (202 miles ahead of pace of 1560 but and 10 miles ahead of 2020)...  if I don't get hurt 2020 is the goal... otherwise 705 miles to 1560.

2.  5000 Pull ups: 2083 (7 behind of pace) First time behind pace... I've been working these in but obviously not enough... kind of stagnating on this goal but still pretty much on pace.

3.  5000 Pushups/Bench:  2222 (132 ahead of pace)…back on the bench this morning... decided not to go up in weight even though its June.  Hit 175 X 10 reps twice plus some push ups...  175 is a good weight where its tough but not too tough... need to hit that more consistently for the month.  185 in July sounds like the plan.

4.  50 hour stationary bike:  23:18 hours... Got an hour in today finally after being lazy last week... took effort to get me on the bike but it was fine once I was riding.

5.  Diet: I was weighing lighter but now I'm weighing heavier... no reason to really think I've lost of gained real weight... sitting at 170.

6.  12500 Steps a day:  Going to hit 2 years straight later this month.

7. 10 races this year... probably not going to happen but I did sign up for a mileage challenge for June to support our local racing company.  The goal is to run 309k for the month (192.004 miles) in honor of our 309 area code... so I'll count that as the 2nd race of the year?

21 Weeks in

21 weeks into the year and I've already surpassed last year's mileage total (805.83 miles last year, 815.39 and counting this year). On top of that, I hit a new weekly mileage high of 52.09 last week (previous high was 51.23).

I didn't get out on Sunday's long run until after 11 and the summer weather was officially here.  Mid-High 80's with full sun made for a extra long 2 hr long run.  Definitely was feeling the heat, especially at the end as I wrapped up 13.57 miles at 8:41 pace.  I took Monday and Tuesday off to recover as I continue to work on keeping my training loads balanced and under control.

Yearly goal progress:

My yearly progress has been progressing a bit slower lately.  Definitely feeling the mid-year hump... hoping for a boost of extra motivation sooner or later.

GOALS:

1.  1560 (or 2020) miles run:  815.39  for the year (188.83 miles ahead of pace of 1560 and 4.08 miles ahead pace for 2020).

2.  5000 Pull ups: 2025 (16 ahead of pace)… I've really been slacking on these... mostly just need to remember to do them and I'll be fine.  

3.  5000 Pushups/Bench:  2140 (132 ahead of pace)… I haven't been benching but I did 100 pushups today... two sets of 25 and a 3rd of 50.

4.  50 hour stationary bike:  22:18 hours... didn't bike this week... shame on me. 

5.  Diet:  Hit a new low last week but binged all weekend... mostly feeling good and hope to keep losing weight even if it is at a slow pace.

6.  12500 Steps a day:  Of course

A new low

Not resulting from any particularly focused dietary action by myself, the numbers on the scale have been trending downward the last couple weeks.  I think the weight loss is a culmination of multiple factors:

• I've been balancing my meal timing a bit better 
• I have been controlling my portion size and not eating seconds at dinner
• I haven't been snacking quite as hard when I get home from work 
• I've cut back on the amount sweets and dessert  (i.e. one scoop of ice cream a few times a week vs a bowl every night)
• I haven't hit the vending machines for afternoon candy bars for a long while
• I've been running more miles than ever before and at a faster pace

Most of these factors have been not completely conscious... it seems that a lot of my cravings that used to drive some bad eating habits have subsided for the time.  The good thing about the fact that I'm not strictly dieting is that this should be somewhat sustainable for at least the medium term.  The key for me will be to continue the exercise and not get hurt.  

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Speaking of not getting hurt, I ran an "easy" 7 miles today at 7:35 pace... this is following my 6:53 effort yesterday.  I'm happy that that pace felt relatively easy (though definitely not recovery pace).  I'm happy that my body absorbed 9.3 miles at 6:53 pace and didn't feel totally beat the next day...  this was my 3rd time going sub 7 for a 15K workout and the first two times I was wiped out so I guess my body is adapting to the training (and the weight loss probably doesn't hurt either).

Todays run:

7.07 miles

53:40

7:35 pace

Another Blue Run

I've been tracking my most recent return to endurance sport on an Excel spreadsheet (nerd alert).  I have the spreadsheet color coated based on distance, duration, and pace.

For pace, anything under 8 minute per mile gets color coated yellow, under 7:30 is pink, and under 7:00 is blue...  I haven't gone under 6:30 but hopefully one day I will and it will be gold.  Under 6 would be green (maybe on a 5K race one day?!?).

My first blue run was last August at the Old Settlers day 5K (6:34 pace).  After that, I wound up dipping under 7:00 pace 4 other times last year... 2 times at races and twice during time trails.  The longest distance was 4 miles.

My first blue run this year was in February at a half marathon (6:56 pace).  I ran sub 7 again in March during a 5 mile fartlek workout and once more in April during a hard 15K (I was gassed).

Now it's May and I've done 3 blue runs so far... 6:51 for 15K two Thursdays ago, 6:50 for 7 miles last Friday, and 6:53 for 15K today...  today felt the easiest hurt the least of them all. Sub-7 minute pace is coming more and more naturally...  not easy, but doable.  

Todays run started at a quick but relaxed,7:07 first mile...  This was followed by a 6:58 and 6:57 2nd and 3rd mile... at this point HR was at 150 and I was feeling okay.  At the 3 mile turnaround point I could feel the speed increase and I struggled to hold on for a 6:50 4th mile.  I held for a 6:58 for an uphill 5th mile.  At this point I was starting to hurt more and my running partner was pulling away.  During Mile 6 the gap lengthened and I felt a little defeated until I hit the 6th mile split at 6:44.  I wanted to let up at this point but held on for a 7th mile uphill split of 6:59...

After the last hill, things got easier and I started to feel a good rhythm.  With a bit more push but a bit less pain I finished strong with a 6:43 and 6:46 8th and 9th mile and a 6:37 paced last .32.

Except for that first mile, all other splits were under 7!

Total stats for the run:

9.32 Miles
1:04:10
6:53 pace

Seems like progress!

Always good to see tangible progress!

On March 26 I ran 9.41 miles at a 7:27 pace... Average HR of 152.

Today, on pretty much the same course, 9.31 miles at 7:05 pace...  Average HR of 152.

Almost all the miles were right around 7:00 pace (+/- 3 sec) except for a 7:16 first mile (warming up)… a 7:20 5th mile (uphill) and a 7:20 7th mile (uphill).

7 minute pace is becoming very doable for me at a hard but not extreme effort.  I felt like I probably could have kept going for a couple more today which is always a positive way to finish a hard run.

Workout summary:

9.31 miles
1:05:55
7:05 pace

20 weeks of 2020

Another 40 mile week complete (40.06).  Looking at a bit of a mileage dip for the month, which is okay, as it will still probably be my 4th highest month ever. 

I've resigned myself to the fact that I won't be racing my goal 5K in August... and if somehow it becomes a possibility, I've at least abandoned the plan run 5K specific training in June and July. 

So, instead I signed up for a mileage challenge in June... need to run 309 km (192 miles) for the month.  This would tie what I ran in April (my highest mileage month).  I'll probably shoot for 200 miles to make it even and try to get a 60 mile week in there as well.  I'll keep the mileage building through July and then reassess...  If it looks like there will be racing in the fall, I'll cut back and do a bit of speed work in August,  race or time trial in September/October... they recover and start building again for 2021.  Eventually I need to break 20 in the 5K again... at this rate it might wind up happening in the middle of a training run.  

2021 is my target year at this point.  Build now... peak in 2021.

Yearly goal progress:

GOALS:

1.  1560 (or 2020) miles run:  764.1  for the year (171.64 miles ahead of pace of 1560 but 3.06 behind pace for 2020... another 40 mile week in the back has me creeping back toward my A+ goal).

2.  5000 Pull ups: 1921 (22 ahead of pace) No pull ups for a while and my vaccine last Monday really screwed things up.  Should be okay to pick it back up this week.  

3.  5000 Pushups/Bench:  2040 (141 ahead of pace)… I did nothing last week.  Nice to be ahead.  I'll hit it again very soon.

4.  50 hour stationary bike:  22:18 hours... Did a 38 minute workout last Thursday and a 46 minute workout this morning.  Today I kept the resistance lower (11) but upped the cadence (99).  I've been shirking on cadence but today felt good and easier on the muscles, which were tired from yesterdays long run.  

5.  Diet:  Due to social distancing, my kids and wife's dance classes have been on-hold but as things come back on-line we decided to have a family dance class instead.  I wasn't that enthused but decided to consider it x-training (plyometrics and stretching).  Dancing in front of a full mirror definitely opened my eyes that I have more pounds to shed... Not in a hurry to shed them but good to know I have future potential...  still think weight will be a big factor in getting faster.  On the other hand, I don't really feel like training hard and being hungry at the same time so dieting is still on hold.

6.  12500 Steps a day:  Barring something extremely unexpected coming up, I don't think I'm going to miss this one... I'll let you know if I do :)

WORK OUT FRIDAY

I guess biking for 40 minutes and running for 5K yesterday must not be too taxing of a day because I felt pretty good today.   Good enough for a hard run...

I hit the road fast and knocked off the first mile at an 6:56 (progressing from 7:20 to 6:40 as I warmed up).  I held 6:40 for the next mile, pushing on the 2 steep hills.  My legs burned a bit on the hills but I recovered okay and kept pace. Followed up with a second 6:40 mile.  HR averaged 163 over these two miles.

By mile 4 I was starting to hurt.  HR was up to 167/168 and I was breathing hard.  Finished up the mile at 6:46.

For the 5th and 6th mile I consciously let off the throttle a bit to run fast but relaxed.  HR dropped a few beats and I started to feel better.  7:01 and 7:03 for the splits.

Then finished strong with a 6:40 last mile... HR peaked at 171 as I sprinted at the finish.

Wrapped it up with a 1 mile cooldown at 8:30 pace.

Workout:

7.01 miles
0:47:51 duration

6:50 pace

Cooldown:

1.01 miles

0:8:36

8:27 pace

Looking now I feel very positive about this work.  I got in 20+ uninterrupted minutes at 6:40 pace which I'd conjecture is my threshold pace.  I ran at 7:00 pace and it felt relative easy (or at least sustainable). I finished strong.  And I'm not that tired.  It's been a fairly easy week thus far but I'm at 35 miles at 7:35 avg pace and will probably finish with at least 40 at sub 7:45 pace (assuming a 5 mile recovery effort tomorrow).  Plus I put in 01:48:00 hours on the bike.