Long Run

Another Saturday, another long run. This time around, I had a heck of a time getting out of bed. I ended up getting out the door at 6:30, which actually worked to my benefit. With the cool air, the sun didn't make it too hot, and I was able to leave the headlamp at home. I like the headlamp, I use it while backpacking, but when running it tends to bounce more than I'd like.

For breakfast prior to the run, I had two packages of Kashi GoLean hot cereal and a small apple. I had wanted a banana, but we were out of them. When I got back I ate a PB&J sanwich.

Same route as last week, the difference being A) I was fresher, and B) it wasn't raining. Holy cow, that was bad. It sprinkled a little bit around the 7-mile mark, but nothing like last week.

Last night I went to Fleet Feet to buy a couple more pairs of socks so I wouldn't be out of luck if the laundry hadn't been done. While there, I decided to check out some new energy gel, and found Accel Gel. Not only is it energy gel with lots of carbohydrates, but this brand also has protein. They claimed it was for recovery while working out, so I figured I'd give it a try.

I ate the Accel Gel at the midpoint, which unlike Powerbar Gel or even Gu, had a honey-like texture. I had the vanilla flavor, which didn't taste too bad.


A few hours after my run I did have a lot of gas. I'm not sure if it was the Accel Gel or the Kashi, but those were the only things I ate differently this morning. OK, onto the splits.



Splits
Mile 1: 9:30.28
Mile 2: 9:21.43
Mile 3: 9:26.08
Mile 4: 10:35.50
Mile 5: 10:29.08
Mile 6: 9:48.52
Mile 7: 10:25.20
Mile 8: 9:55.80
Mile 9: 10:09.76
Mile 10: 10:00.48
Mile 11: 10:29.85
Mile 12: 10:23.15
Mile 13: 11:25.19
Mile 14: 11:07.62
.03 Mile: :17.48

For splits, originally I was going to go for negative splits, with the idea that I'd do about 9:30 miles until halfway, and then push myself towards 9 by the end. Obviously that didn't work out, partly because I was vlogging midstream and had to stop a bit here and there to get the camera out. I did manage to keep around 10:00, give or take some.

The last few miles were a little slower, but I managed to finish without being completely exhausted.



Once back, I ate my sandwich, drank my Powerade Zero, and spent time with the kids. I played Mario Kart with my son, took a nap, then later, drove to Roseville to check out Whole Foods. Great store, I was quite impressed. We didn't buy a whole lot, but had a good time.

14.03 miles, 2:23.46, 1775 calories burned. About 8 dogs along the way: 3 lapdogs chasing me at the beginning, 3 dogs loose but on a walk with the owner at around 7.5 miles, and at the last approach down my street, a small lapdog and a huge rottweiler. None were trying to bite.

Weekday Run

What?!?! A second blog entry for the day?!?! Eh, who cares.

Another lunchtime run with Tim. This time, I decided to push it a little bit and see what he could handle. Whoops! I shouldn't have done that, and now I feel bad for him. He pooped out around 3 miles and we ended up walking quite a bit. We started back up again a few times, but we walked more than I would have liked. In the end though we were only a few minutes slower than the last time around.

To his credit, he didn't stop to walk until after 5k.



Splits
Mile 1: 8:46.45
Mile 2: 9:36.43
Mile 3: 10:08.18
Mile 4: 13:46.72
Mile 5: 14:40.87
.34 mi: 6:00.28



5.34 miles, 1:02:59, 618 calories burned, 11:47/mi average pace.

Long run in the morning! 14 miles, my goal is to run about 9:30/mi the first half, 9:00/mi the second half.

I just got back from my lunchtime run. Tim wanted to run with me, so I told him that's fine, but we're going 5.35 miles. I let him set the pace, and this time he actually kept to it, thank goodness. That boy can be worrisome...

Prior to running, it finally happened: my left big toenail came off. FINALLY! It first turned black on my first big hike last summer, back in June. 4 months, geez. :)

Anyway, our average pace was 11:29, but it was anything but systematic. He slowed down a lot at the end. We walked the last .35, he said he wanted to make it to 5 miles without stopping. I slowed down and at one point walked a bit to let him catch up.



Mile 1: 9:51.45
Mile 2: 10:46.37
Mile 3: 10:59.68
Mile 4: 11:20.33
Mile 5: 12:18.75
.35 mi: 6:13.51 (walking)



1:01.30, 663 calories burned, including the walk at the end. Average HR: 133.

I think I know the answer to these musings, but why is my running so uneven? Sometimes it goes REALLY well, while other times it goes REALLY bad, and there doesn't seem to be any in-between. I know a lot of factors weigh in, like how much rest I have, how I'm eating, my mood, the weather, the phases of the moon, the stock exchange, but really. I mean, I understand I'm going to have good days and bad days, and I accept it. But look at these examples.

Last Monday was a GREAT run. 5.35 miles, average 9 min/mile. Tuesday was a gym day, Wednesday Tim wanted to run with me so I slowed down for him and only ran 2.39, making it an easy run. Thursday, the same way only a bit farther, so we ran 3.16 miles. Friday was all mine, so I did 5.34, but I ended up going out too fast at the start and petered out by 4 miles. I ended up walking part of it, and finished with 9:51/mi.

Then Saturday. Saturday was HORRIBLE! Now the weather had a lot to do with that one what with the rain and all, but still. I walked quite a lot of it and ended up with a 12:43 average pace, taking almost 3 hours to finish 14 miles. Sunday was off.

Why the long tirade? Today...

Today, I decided I'd just let it happen. I also told myself that if my pace was going well, I'd alter my route and do ~6 miles instead of my normal ~5. I felt AMAZINGLY well. Almost too well, if you get what I'm saying. The weather was next to perfect, 59 degrees and overcast the whole time. As I came over the freeway I felt wonderful, so extended the route to 6.19 miles. Check out these splits:



Mile 1: 9:01.54
Mile 2: 8:39.15
Mile 3: 8:27.80
Mile 4: 8:53.27
Mile 5: 9:07.93
Mile 6: 8:52.87
.19 mi: 1:29.51 (7:50/mi)
Total: 54:32.07, 8:48/mi average

So why such a difference? Was it the rest day that did it? I'm happy I did so well today, but man, things are inconsistent.



Actually, I do know what the problem was. It was fatigue, pure and simple. Gotta be careful there.

This morning was my weekly long run. It was raining, but not too badly so I decided to go out anyway. I wore my running shoes, running socks, running shorts, and a long-sleeve compression shirt with my lightweight waterproof REI jacket.

The jacket ended up making me way too hot. It's not designed for warmth, but mainly as a rain shell, and insulates better than you would think. At 2 miles in, I stopped to unzip the pits, but by 4 miles I was just drenched.

This would continue to be the case and feel worse as time went on. With the hood on my head, it reminded me of pulling the covers over your head in bed, which then makes your head a toaster oven.

As a result, I slowed way down, and ended up on my feet a lot longer than I would have been normally. In fact at quite a few places, I ended up walking. Also, at my turnaround point I had to use the restroom and had to find one, made a loop around Northgate and down Live Oak Highway to a mini market that ended up not having the facilities. The next one down did, and the person working there was nice enough to let me use it. By routing around this way, I ended up adding mileage so by the end, it was 14.09 miles total. It's the farthest I've ever run, but at least a mile of it was walking. I burned about 1700 calories. Also, my average heart rate was down due to the walking, at 132bpm.

Here are the splits:

Mile 1: 9:53.92
Mile 2: 9:21.45
Mile 3: 10:38.83
Mile 4: 11:05.96
Mile 5: 14:47.23
Mile 6: 9:40.42
Mile 7: 11:00.69
Mile 8: 16:09.46
Mile 9: 10:36.87
Mile 10: 11:53.30
Mile 11: 13:31.46
Mile 12: 17:45.64
Mile 13: 15:58.90
Mile 14: 15:56.20
Mile 15: 10:03 (partial .07 mile)



After entering my run into Trihard, I found out that I ran 30.3 miles this week, making this my highest-mileage week I've ever done. With the M-F 5-milers and Saturday long runs, I can see this becoming my average.

When I started today's run I expected it to be great. It was cloudy, sprinkling here and there, but overall a nice day. It didn't quite turn out the way I planned. I started out going way too fast (8:27/mi), which hurt me in the end. By 4 miles, I had to walk for about 1/8 of a mile. The rest of the run was a lot slower.

Splits were:

Mile 1: 8:24.78
Mile 2: 8:42.48
Mile 3: 9:21.95
Mile 4: 10:45.92
Mile 5: 11:48.02
Mile 6: 10:26 (.35 mile)

Total Time: 52:37.74, Distance: 5.35 miles, Calories Burned: 665, Pace: 9:51



Tomorrow's my long run. Fun, fun, fun!

I introduced my coworker to the wonderful world of running this afternoon. We ran 2 1/2 miles; I think he was a bit too gung ho, as he told me to set a pace and he'd try to keep up. I kept it around 10 min/mi, and he kept it up but was really showing his difficulties at about a mile and a half. I kept offering to slow down or to walk, but he would have none of it. He was surprised when we rounded the corner back towards home, saying whoa, we're almost there? I said yeah, we hit two miles a bit ago. Then he ran as fast as he could to the finish. The end pace was around 8:30. It was fun, now he wants to do three.

So in the end I burned 300 calories, which isn't too bad. Not as many as I normally do, but I'll still take 'em.

My normal weekday route, 5.35 miles. After the great Saturday long run, I decided to have a great Monday. I just decided to keep my pace around 9.00/mi, and set out to maintain it. I came close.

Mile 1: 8:42
Mile 2: 8:48
Mile 3: 9:04
Mile 4: 8:59
Mile 5: 9:19

Average Pace: 9:00/mi (woo!)
Average HR: 164bpm (boo!)
Calories Burned: 672

Today I ran 5.35 miles again. My usual route, although I was a bit faster overall. I think though that I need to slow down in the earlier miles so I can be a bit faster in the later ones. Here's the splits:

Mile 1: 9:13
Mile 2: 9:18
Mile 3: 9:39
Mile 4: 10:07
Mile 5: 10:19
Average: 9:43/mi
Total Time: 52:03
Calories Burned: 675

And that's another thing. The Garmin's HRM isn't varying much run to run, so I'm starting to think it's still only going by time & distance. What I should do is wear it and drive 5 miles at 5mph and see what it reads then. Heh.

Well, this is interesting.

Saturday morning, I did the 13.3 miles.

Sunday I did nothing, I barely walked to the bathroom all day, and watched a lot of TV.

Today I ran 5 miles. I felt GREAT! I was expecting to still be a little sore, maybe a little slower, but nope. My heart rate was where it needed to be, I was faster than I was the previous week, and I'm in a great mood now.

Why did I feel so much better? Was it being exhausted after my Saturday run, and then the rest? I'm happy it's this way, but it's totally unexpected.

I also changed the settings on the Garmin to auto-lap every mile, so I now have my splits down (times for each individual mile):

Mile 1, 9:39
Mile 2, 9:50
Mile 3, 10:33
Mile 4, 10:09
Mile 5, 9:49
Mile 6*, 9:22

Mile 6 was only .35 of a mile. 5.35 miles, 53:15, 9:57/mi average. 673 calories burned.

Today was my lunchtime 5-miler (well, 5.34 miles). I thought I had complained about my heart rate here last week, but it looks like I didn't.

I'd noticed that lately my heart rate was a lot higher than it's been. Whereas before I was 154 to 156 average, lately it's been more like 166 to 170 (my max HR is 182). I was getting a bit worried about it.

On today's run I decided to slow down and instead of running for time or pace, run for heart rate. I tried to keep around 156, which is in the aerobic zone for me.

When I got back, I plugged the GPS into the computer and checked the data. My average was 159, which while not "there", it was a lot closer than 170. Then I compared it to my other runs, and come to find out the reason my heart rate was so high is I was pushing myself a lot more than I should.

What a strange thing. On a running forum I lurk in (can't bring myself to post at this point), they keep telling people, slow down if you're not in the aerobic zone. Over and over, slow down, slow down. Now, comparing the data, there's really no mystery as to why my heart rate was so high: I had to slow down!

The last time I ran this route I did it with 9:33/mi average, and finished at 51:05. My average heart rate was 170 with a max of 207! This time with purposely slowing down, it was 10:19/mi, 159bpm average, and my max was 187. That's quite a difference, and I feel SO much better afterwards.

So lesson learned, I guess. 55:06, 10:19/mi, 677 calories burned.

Yesterday would have been my running day, but of course I went and forgot my gym bag. This may be an excuse, but I'm sorry, I'm not running in work shoes, dockers, and a polo shirt. But that's just me.

So today instead of the gym, I ran. Lots of wind, too, gusts are like 25 to 30 mph. It turned out pretty well, 5.33 miles, 52:40, average 9:52/mi (6.1 mph). 675 calories burned.

Today was another great run! Once again traffic wasn't cooperative. It has to be my timing coming up and going down the overpasses, but I always end up with 20 cars going onto the freeway whenever I need to cross! So I have to stop for sometimes 30 seconds or more for them, it sucks. At any rate, my pace was exactly the same as the other day, and my time was one second faster. And to top it off, I didn't feel like I did yesterday, which is great, hehe.

Most interestingly, the HRM and the GPS were IDENTICAL for calories burned: 690. I have no idea how that happened, the GPS is time & distance only. I suppose it's accurate at this point.

So anyway, 5.5 miles, 52 minutes, 690 calories burned.

It's AMAZING what a little cooler weather can do. Today it was a cool 63 degrees during my run, very abnormal for 10:30 on an early September day. For example, last week it was 80 when I went out. At any rate, I had the best run I've had in WEEKS.

Everything was better. My breathing was great, I wasn't fatigued, I felt like I could go on forever. The weather was awesome, my pace, while not my best, certainly was better than it's been. Well, you've heard me whining that my average has been more like 11 min/mile lately.

My pace was 9:42! That's the best it's been since before my bout with chest congestion, which was a few months ago now. Seriously, I did 5.25 miles in 52 minutes. And afterwards? I feel great!

While not accurate (I wasn't wearing the strap today), the GPS estimates 690 calories burned.

Anyway, I'm glad it was a nice day today.

Today at lunch I ran 4.5 miles. It was supposed to be a tempo run, and I did run as fast as I could for most of it. It just wasn't near as fast as it was supposed to be. I think my "goal" is 8:27/min., but overall it was more like 11:20. In part it was because I walked about 2/10 of a mile, but even if I'd run the entire thing it would have been 10:00.

I could blame the heat, the water getting hot in my bottle quickly, the fact that I was running without gel. In the end though, it was mostly a lack of effort on my part. And you know what, that's ok. I was comfortable running today, compared to last Thursday when I had to stop after a mile and a half.

So anyway, I ran 4.5 miles in 52 minutes and burned 601 calories.

I just realized I didn't post yesterday's workout. Silly me.

Yesterday's Workout, 3 circuits, 3 sets of 5
Warmup
* Overhead Squat
* Squat
* Good Morning
* Barbell Lunge
* Romanian Deadlift
* Bent-over Row

Workout, 2-exercise supersets
* 1A: Dumbbell Alternating Lunge, 30lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 6
* 1B: Squat, 155lbs, 3 sets of 6
* 2A: Incline Dumbbell Fly, 30lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 6
* 2B: Incline Dumbbell Bench Press, 30lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 6
* 3A: Rear Lateral Raise, 20lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 6
* 3B: Bent-Over Row, 85lbs, 3 sets of 6

Calories burned: 179

Now, today. Today's different, it was... intervals, yay!

* 2 mi warmup @ 10:35/mi, 21:18
* 4x800m, 2 min rest jog @ 10:00/mi in between
- 1: 8:32/mi, 4:16
- 2: 8:50/mi, 4:24
- 3: 8:59/mi, 4:29
- 3: 11:00/mi, 5:30 (I had to stop for about 20 seconds, traffic wasn't kind)
* 3/4 mi cooldown @ 11:30/mi, 8:19

Mileage: 5.38mi
~Pace: 10:27/mi
Time: 56:21
Calories burned: 695

It was an outside running day. 65 degrees, not too bad (not near as bad as yesterday afternoon anyway). 1:03:29, 6 miles, 608 calories burned.

Well everyone, I think you'd be proud of me.

I just ran 6.25 miles.

On the treadmill.

It actually wasn't too bad. It wasn't my treadmill, thank God. There's no way on earth I could have run for 53 minutes on my own treadmill. But anyway, I did do it, and even have a blister to show for it.

With the blister thing, I know better. I have hiking socks, I should have running socks. Time to go to the store.

Treadmill run, 7mph, 0% incline, 53:31:97, 6.25 miles, 601 calories burned

Greg

I started on the long road to building endurance while jogging today. They say you should increase your mileage by no more than 10% per week to avoid injury, so today was my 10%.

Before today my longest jog was 5 miles, today I went 5.5. The 5-mile mark was my best time actually, at 49:04. I finished out 5.5 miles in 53:51.

570 calories burned.

Well the proof has arrived... they finally posted pictures from the 5k Zoo Zoom I participated in the weekend before last. So now I have proof that I actually ran! They didn't get me crossing the finish line though.


The guy in the cap is the one I was using as an idea of my pace. I ended up finishing before he did. So for the kids' sake, here's my son.


And my daughter. :)