Week in the Rearview Mirror: April 29 - May 5, 2012

While this was a really good week in many respects, it was also a weird week. Since I started back from fat and out of shape almost a year ago, I've tracked all the activities I've done in a spreadsheet (for me, that's just part of the fun :-)). For the prior 49 weeks, I have ALWAYS engaged in at least 2 different forms of exercise during my Sunday - Saturday weeks. But not this last week...it was exclusively running. No, it's not my new direction or anything...I suspect it just worked out that way by accident.

On Sunday I was in Oklahoma City with my wife to run her first Half Marathon, and that was a lot of fun. It was interesting to be around that many people out running (easily in excess of 20,000 people), and one of the rare times I actually get to run with my wife. Our schedules and habits (not to mention the 6 year old at home) tend to separate us from working out at the same time, especially since we have no immediate family in the area, so this was a treat. I just stayed with her at her own pace, and was there for moral support and company. It made the whole run a pleasant experience, and I hope to be able to do it again soon. She didn't accomplish everything she wanted to with the effort, but she did finish in a pretty decent time (I believe it was 2:24:35), and was in the upper 31% of all the women in her age group, the upper 39% of ALL the women in the race, and the upper 49% of ALL the finishers regardless of age or gender, so I think she did fine.

Even though this wasn't a major physical effort for me, my body still wanted the day off afterwards, as the knees and ankles felt a bit creaky. As such, I didn't substitute any other activity, but just let my body catch up. After three 6 milers in a row in the middle of the week, things once again felt a bit strained, so I took Friday off and didn't substitute anything else on that day either.

Saturday morning's run after that rest was a real surprise, and nothing short of amazing to me. I went on a new out-and-back route out of my neighborhood, and was quite surprised at mile 4 to hear RunKeeper say that I was averaging 8:23 per mile up to that point. It really didn't feel hard at all, just flowing along. That sort of acted like an encouragement to finish it off well, so I started to pick up the pace, really pushing (although not all out) in the final mile. I surprised myself by completing the 6.07 mile run in 50:05 at an 8:15 pace...the fastest pace I've run at that distance in decades.

As a bonus to that, Saturday's run also put me at a new weekly training mileage high of 38.46 miles ! :-)

Here is what last week looked like...

Day	Activity	Distance (in miles)	Avg. Heart Rate	Max Heart Rate
Sunday	Running	13.34	---	---
Monday	Rest Day	----	---	---
Tuesday	Running	6.24	158	225
Wednesday	Running	6.68	140	154
Thursday	Running	6.13	141	163
Friday	Rest Day	----	---	---
Saturday	Running	6.07	147	167

These are my time and distance totals for the week:

Activity	Time Total	Distance Total (in miles)
Running	6:01:14	38.46
--------------	--------------	--------------
Overall Total	6:01:14	38.46

       

       

Day	Activity	Sets	Reps	Recovery Interval
Sunday	Rest Day	---	---	---
Monday	Rest Day	----	---	---
Tuesday	Dips	5	5	3:00
	Pushups	2	20	1:00
Wednesday	Pullups	4	10	3:00
Thursday	Dips	3	10	3:00
Friday	Rest Day	----	---	---
Saturday	Pullups	20	5	2:00

The introduction of full body weight Dips meant that I eased back (more like almost completely off) of the pushups. I have a power rack in the garage that I primarily use for my pullups, but I also have some dipping handle attachments. So, although this video HERE shows someone doing them with a set of dipping handles attached to a wall, it does demonstrate the form I'm using while doing them for this month's 100X challenge. I've found that they are working my chest and shoulders as much as my arms due to the need to balance as well as to get down to the bottom of the movement where the upper arms are parallel to the floor. It had been a while since I've done them (once again...many years), so it is taking a while to get in the groove.

I have a marathon that I'm considering that occurs in early - mid October, and although I haven't actually made the commitment yet (not signed up), I do plan to start to slowly steer my training in that general direction. At that time of year, there will still be a REALLY good chance of the temperatures starting in the 70's and progressing into the 80's towards the end, so I plan on using the Texas summer to properly acclimate myself to running longer distances in the heat. Since I haven't completed a run longer than about 13.5 miles since the marathon at the end of February, I plan on doing one on Sunday to start to get back in the groove.

Happy Running Everyone !!!

Week in the Rearview Mirror: April 15 - April 21, 2012

I believe I've finally overcome the left calf issues that developed after my first marathon on February 26th. Of course, it would be unfair to say that I gave it plenty of time to heal by staying off it for a couple of weeks, so it undoubtedly makes sense that it took 7 weeks to completely heal.

Once again this week, I wore my heart monitor for most of my workouts, and I believe I'm getting a feel for what "my numbers" really are at this point. Nearly every run this week just seemed to flow and be easy from a perceived exertion perspective, and it sure it nice. I kept most of the runs this week fairly steady from a pace perspective, with only one of them having a "surge" for the last 1/4 mile. Mainly just a week of nice, comfortable running.

I also completed the cycling goal I set for myself earlier this month, by passing the 2000 mile mark on my bike within the first 11 months I've owned it. It has been a GREAT bike thus far, although it really isn't anything special. I've had good luck with it, and will hopefully NOT bring that luck to end by saying that I'm yet to have a breakdown of any kind, including a flat, with no wrecks (at least not the moving kind...I did comically fall over twice last summer by coming to a full stop before I un-clipped at least one foot...not recommended if you want to keep your ego intact :-)).

Here is what last week looked like...

Day	Activity	Distance (in miles)	Avg. Heart Rate	Max Heart Rate
Sunday	Running	6.07	148	165
Monday	Walking	4.54	---	---
Tuesday	Running	6.07	154	196
Wednesday	Running	6.54	150	199
Thursday	Cycling	23.24	121	164
Friday	Running	6.15	157	210
Saturday	Running	6.41	157	203
	Cycling	20.03	137	173

These are my time and distance totals for the week:

Activity	Time Total	Distance Total (in miles)
Running	4:32:59	31.24
Walking	1:01:38	4.54
Cycling	2:44:20	43.27
--------------	--------------	--------------
Overall Total	8:18:57	79.05

In cross-training, I worked in two days of both pullups and pushups. This week increased the pullups a bit, and increased quite a bit on the pushups. Both pushups sessions were the same, with 20 sets of 10 and a 45 second rest interval. I increased the rest interval to 5 minutes for the pullups, and did 5 sets of 10 one time, and 5 sets of 10 plus one set of 6 the other. Once again, no Yoga this week...just not on "the list". I also did a few less crunches this week as well, with only three days doing 25 per day.

After examining the feedback from my heart monitor, I think my actual maximum heart rate is a lot closer to 200 than what I thought it might be earlier, so that will be my calculated maximum until I know differently. While it hasn't sustained at that level for longer than 30 seconds or so, it was more than just a spike on a chart. This puts my average heart rate for all the runs this week right in the middle of in Zone 3, with the cycling all being in Zone 2.

Happy Running Everyone !!!

Week in the Rearview Mirror: April 8 - April 14, 2012

This was really a good week, with the calf continuing to improve slowly (almost completely healed), and nothing but a bit of an ache in the knee area when I went a bit too hard....nothing a day of rest didn't resolve. For most of the runs this week, I wore my heart monitor, so I have some new numbers to play with. I also tried to pick up the pace at the end of most of my runs (from the last mile, to the last 1/4 mile). It was nice just trying different things, and having a pleasant week overall. I don't really have a race lined up as a goal, although I would like to get to 2000 miles on my bike by the end of the month (only 62 miles to go). That would all be in 11 months.

Here is what last week looked like...

Day	Activity	Distance (in miles)	Avg. Heart Rate	Max Heart Rate
Sunday	Cycling	25.12	125	153
Monday	Running	6.01	153	172
	Walking	0.60	119	129
Tuesday	Walking	3.40	---	---
	Walking	1.00	---	---
	Walking	1.72	---	---
Wednesday	Running	13.13	145	156
	Walking	1.00	---	---
Thursday	Cycling	15.51	117	138
	Walking	1.51	---	---
	Walking	1.77	---	---
Friday	Cycling	30.17	123	147
Saturday	Running	6.06	149	174
	Walking	1.02	148	165

These are my time and distance totals for the week:

Activity	Time Total	Distance Total (in miles)
Running	3:48:56	25.20
Walking	3:06:47	12.02
Cycling	4:35:44	70.80
--------------	--------------	--------------
Overall Total	11:31:27	108.02

In cross-training, I worked in two days of pullups and one of pushups, with one Kettlebell workout. This week increased the pullups a bit, but dipped a bit on the pushups...I'll need to remedy that in the weeks ahead. I did 150 total pushups and averaged 37 pullups per session.

A FAIL on the Yoga this week...just didn't have it in my priority list. Weird that I did that, since I almost always enjoy the classes.

I stuck with the 25 strict crunches per day as a part of the 100X challenge, with one day having 100. I really do need to ensure that this continues to be a part of each week, at least at some level. If I can ever get the layer of "covering" (a.k.a. 5 or so pounds of stubborn fat) off my mid-section, it would be nice if there was some defined muscle in there. Of course, it will have to just magically disappear if I stay with my current eating habits, which includes multiple trips to Yogurtland with toppings like crushed Heath Bar, shaved coconut, and Ghirardelli syrup.

So far this month, I haven't done a single minute of planks, and I can honestly say I don't miss it a bit. I need to do them, since my lower back always felt it the day after, but I'm SO not a fan.

Although I've had a few "anomaly" readings on my heart rate, I believe my maximum is still right at (or close to) 174. I have yet to sustain it at that level though, I've only seen it slowly rise to that level during the sprint at the end of a run, which makes me think it might be a tad higher. I just don't believe that my max is 220 minus my age (which would be 167 for me)....I think its a bit higher, so I'll use 174 for now...but I'm probably just splitting hairs if I'm within 7 beats.

I'm still not sure what my running pace would be in Zone 3 though (or below), since that would only be 132-139. Probably nothing more than a brisk walk. I seem to average a high Zone 1 to mid Zone 2 for my cycling workouts, and Zone 4's for my runs. I may not stick with tracking the heart rate for a long time, but it is interesting for now, and I may find that tracking it from time to time will be interesting.

Happy Running Everyone !!!

Week in the Rearview Mirror: April 1 - April 7, 2012

All things considered, I recovered very quickly from the race (given that it was just 12 miles...makes a big difference), and other than just some tightness in my left calf that continues, things went very well.

Here is what last week looked like...

Day	Activity	Distance (in miles)
Sunday	Running	12.13
Monday	Rest Day	-----
Tuesday	Cycling	22.73
	Walking	1.70
Wednesday	Walking	1.04
	Running	4.03
	Walking	0.63
	Walking	3.88
Thursday	Running	9.09
Friday	Cycling	22.10
	Cycling	9.01
Saturday	Walking	1.01
	Running	6.10

These are my time and distance totals for the week:

Activity	Time Total	Distance Total (in miles)
Running	4:59:23	31.35
Walking	2:00:45	8.26
Cycling	3:28:55	53.84
--------------	--------------	--------------
Overall Total	10:29:03	93.45

In cross-training, I worked in two days each of pullups and pushups, with one Kettlebell workout. This week had just slightly more work in it than the week before, since I averaged 152 total pushups and 30 pullups per session. I also moved up to 25 pounds and 5 repetitions for the Turkish Get-ups (doing the right then the left until I've done 5 for each side with no rest between).

With my wife doing another long run on Saturday morning, and scheduling conflicts arising, I didn't attend Yoga class this week. I did a "bit" better on the stretching and Yoga at home, but need to get back to it being a daily thing. I also added 25 strict crunches per day to the mix as a part of the 100X challenge, so that is thrown in there as well.

On my run on Saturday I was able to really step it up in the last 1/2 mile of my run to start getting used to periodically running a bit faster. It was tough since I'm somewhat used to sprinting right at the end of a race, but completely unused to picking up the speed for more that a tenth of a mile or so. It was a 6.1 mile run, with the first five miles looking like this:

Mile	Pace
1	9:27
2	9:21
3	9:23
4	9:17
5	9:15

At about 5.6 miles I started to up the pace, and got to a 7:49 pace by 5.7, dropped back to a 8:12 pace by 5.8, then peaking at a 6:13 pace right at 6.0. The last mile's overall average was 8:29, with the final tenth at a 7:19 pace.

 I was actually trying to see if I could max out my heart rate to see where the real limit was, but since my heart rate was still climbing during this entire time (from 156 @ 5.5 miles to 174 @ the end), I don't believe that is the true maximum. Also, I felt like I could have probably gone further at that pace (a little), or perhaps have gone a bit faster to finish it off. I just have no real desire to hurt myself doing this, so I want to ease into it.

Years ago, I pulled a hamstring trying to outrun my Golden Retriever in the park one afternoon when she was about four months old. She never even looked like she was trying...just had this silly grin on her face the entire time she was "fast-trotting" and looking over at me.  When I both felt and heard the snap and went down like an Indy car wreck, she thought I wanted to play and started licking me in the face and rolling around on me. It probably "looked" like fun, but it took weeks to be able to walk straight again. I won't be going "top speed" anytime soon. :-)

However, this week I'd like to see if I can't spend a bit more time in the sub-8:30 pace to see what that feels like....perhaps a mile or more, but we'll just play it by ear.

Happy Running Everyone !!!

Week in the Rearview Mirror: March 18 - 24, 2012

This was a pretty good week all in all. I followed my slow build-back plan, keeping the run distance low early in the week and inserting the rest days as planned. By the weekend I was able to string some 6 mile run days together, and the left calf continues to improve. The right instep issue has resolved as  nearly as I can tell.

As such, I'll be moving forward with my plan to participate in the A2A Marathon this coming Sunday. As I stated in a comment earlier, a wiser person might still choose to sit this marathon out and let the healing process complete, but I'm just not that wise...I really want to do this, so I'll roll the dice. Will I get hurt doing this, at least to some degree...probably so. However, I will definitely modify my post-marathon recovery plan this time to include a lot more rest days, and a much more gentle return.

My running plan between now and the marathon looks like this:

Day	Activity / Distance
Tuesday	6 miles
Wednesday	6 miles
Thursday	Rest
Friday	4 miles (Walking)
Saturday	Rest
Sunday	Marathon

So, unless the mid-week runs produce an issue that seems serious, the game is on.Here is what last week looked like...

Day	Activity	Distance (in miles)
Sunday	Walking	1.02
	Running	4.02
	Walking	1.05
Monday	Rest Day
Tuesday	Walking	1.00
	Running	4.00
Wednesday	Walking	1.10
	Running	4.10
	Walking	1.10
Thursday	Rest Day
Friday	Walking	1.03
	Running	6.14
Saturday	Running	6.19
	Walking	0.50

These are my time and distance totals for the week:

Activity	Time Total	Distance Total (in miles)
Running	3:40:27	24.45
Walking	1:40:29	6.80
Overall Total	5:20:56	31.25

In cross-training, both the pushups and pullups are progressing nicely. I'll stop the upper body work by Wednesday to ensure I'm not sore for the marathon, but the numbers are improving. I'm mixing up the reps and sets each time, but I averaged 111 total pushups (9 sets on average) and 31 pullups (6 sets on average) per session last week (3 sessions each on different days).

As far as the March planks challenge is concerned, I completed that on Thursday of this week, to a total of 101. Doing 15 minutes of those in a day (with a 45 second recovery between 1 minute planks) still really works my lower back. I'm not a big fan of this, but I'll keep it in the rotation just for core strength purposes.

I also did three kettlebell workouts this week...a first for me. It seems that everything I do from the cross training perspective works me in a slightly different way, and the kettlebells were no different. You can read more about my experience with them here.

I only went to Yoga on Thursday this week due to a scheduling conflict. My wife is building up for her first half-marathon (which I plan to run with her) on April 29th, and she needed me to watch the little one so she could do a long run on Saturday morning before it got too warm. She successfully completed 13.21 miles in 2:17:49 unsupported for her first attempt at the full half-marathon distance, and I'm quite proud of her. It was also her first time running with a fuel belt with full water bottles, and her first time eating on the run (GU). She managed to run every step of the way, and although she was tired, she came through it beautifully.

Happy Running Everyone !!!

Week in the Rearview Mirror: February 5 - February 11, 2012

I've got to admit, I could really get used to a long string of good weeks...it just makes it that much more fun to be active. On the first of February I did something to sort of "bruise" my right instep, and it has slowly gotten better since then. I'm stretching the calf a good bit which seems to help, and sticking to the shoes that have more cushioning which also seems to help. I realize that isn't very scientific since I'm changing two variables at once, but I want to ensure that this is resolved before the marathon on the 26th. The runs themselves have been pain-free, and the weather has been nice for running, so no complaints there.

Here is what last week looked like...

Day	Activity	Distance (in miles)
Sunday	Elliptical	1.59
	Running	4.31
Monday	Rest Day
Tuesday	Walking	1.02
	Running	6.35
	Walking	0.41
Wednesday	Elliptical	1.58
	Running	4.41
Thursday	Rest Day
Friday	Walking	1.02
	Running	4.40
Saturday	Elliptical	1.62
	Running	4.63

These are my time and distance totals for the week:

Activity	Time Total	Distance Total (in miles)
Running	3:36:13	24.10
Walking	0:34:13	2.45
Elliptical	1:00:00	4.79
Overall Total	5:10:26	31.34

Only 12 days till the Cowtown Marathon, and other than the (now very minor) instep discomfort, I'm feeling healthy and ready.

On Saturday afternoon, my wife and I took a course map of the marathon and did the drive over to Fort Worth to see what it looked like in person. There is a portion of the run that occurs on a biking / running trail starting at about mile 18.5, so we didn't get to drive all of it. However, what we did see was "interesting" and not exactly what I had pictured in my mind. The elevation profile looks something like this (from the marathon's website)...

You can tell that there are quite a few rolling hills throughout the course, but I didn't realize just how "rolling" it really was. With few exceptions (at least in the first 18+ miles), if one isn't climbing a hill, one is coming down one, so this will be a run that will have more than a few gear changes in it. In some respects this should break up the effort somewhat so that it isn't just an extended pounding so that is good. In other respects, some of these hills go up for anywhere from 1/10th of a mile to nearly 3/4 of a mile.

Knowing how the course goes won't necessarily make it any easier physically, but I believe it will help me mentally since I won't be constantly surprised (dismayed) when I round another corner to face yet another significant uphill section. The key for me will be to switch gears effectively, and NOT try to power up the hills. My goal is to attempt to maintain my cadence (or get close), while shortening and lengthening my stride as the topography allows.

The February pushup challenge (400 in the month of February) continues to go well. I started with a set of 20 each day, and I've progressed through 3 sets of 10 with a 45 second recovery to starting 4 sets of 10 with a 45 second recovery this morning (Monday). I've also been doing 2 sets of 5 pullups with a 45 second recovery every other day. Those are significantly tougher for me, so I'll have to bring those numbers up much more slowly.

Although I missed a couple of days during the week last week, in general the stretching and strengthening exercises continue to go well. I'm slowing gaining increased flexibility, and it is keeping the stiffness and pain away on the runs so it is well worth the 30 minutes or so of effort.

I think I'm going to try out my first Yoga class this week, so that should be interesting. I have no idea what to wear or how it will go, but I plan on that being my "thing" for the New 2 U Cross Training Challenge for this month. I plan to call today and see what to expect, and will post about it once I do it. Wish me luck...with my flexibility and coordination, it should be entertaining for everyone (but me of course ;-).

Happy Running Everyone !!!