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monday, may 07, 2012

Easy Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 35:37
Pace: 8:54

Comments: Work and necessary chores are simply crushing my training. I intended to get out and do a six miler on the trails this weekend but an effort to clean out my storage shed pretty much swallowed all my time. The result was a sore hamstrings and back and no miles whatsoever.

I got out later than I wanted today but finished the four miles I wanted to get. I'll try and get up early tomorrow and put in a six miler or so.

Conditions:

Hour: 11:00 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 88 degrees
Humidity: 10 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3

Injury update: Nada.

thursday, may 03, 2012

Tempo Run

Distance: 3:89 miles
Time: 31:17
Pace: 8:03

Comments: A much better effort than yesterday. I went out a good bit earlier so the temperatures were significantly cooler. To keep it even, I tried to hit the same pace I was using yesterday and hit it just about perfect.

The 18-day layoff has me feeling a bit sloppy but it seems the strength and conditioning hasn't eroded too terribly much. I'm thinking of hitting the South Mountain trail tomorrow and that will give me a better sense of where I am at.

Conditions:

Hour: 8:00 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 75 degrees
Humidity: 27 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3

Injury update: Nada.

wednesday, may 02, 2012

Easy Run

Distance: 2.5 miles
Time: 20:20
Pace: 8:08

Comments: Got out a little too late and it was way warmer than I expected. Add to that not eating well and that I fell into an overfast pace, this one got cut short.

It went alright, actually but just before the two mile mark I could tell I had pushed it too hard. I got my first taste of overheating which probably wasn't too much compared to the battles I'll face later but its not worth testing right now either.

Conditions:

Hour: 9:40 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 82 degrees
Humidity: 19 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3

Injury update: Nada.

monday, april 30, 2012

Easy Run

Distance: 4.01 miles
Time: 34:13
Pace: 8:32

Comments: Almost three weeks without a step faster than brisk walking pace. The culprit? A two-week business trip to Panama. I spent days going non-stop and there was hardly any time for running, if the heat and humidity would have permitted it, anyway.

So, now I'm back in the office it's time to get back on the pavement. Today was just a four-mile test run to see how my legs feel. Pretty good, actually. No issues whatsoever and I dropped right into my usual 8:30-or-so pace I was hitting at the start of the month.

Now I got out the door pretty early on this one; 5:33 to be exact. The temperature was certainly ideal at that time and I probably could have waited even later in the day to get the run in. But it won't be long until the Arizona heat makes pre-sunrise runs a necessity. So I might as well get used to the early wake up.

Conditions:

Hour: 5:30 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 66 degrees
Humidity: 35 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3

Injury update: Nada.

thursday, april 12, 2012

Easy Run

Distance: 4.76 miles
Time: 41:59
Pace: 8:49

Comments: This was as blah as I've felt for awhile but I got out on the pavement somehow. The whole run was a slog and I never got into it at all. On the upside, that didn't seem to hinder my ability to complete it at a reasonable pace.

I think some of my recent problems have been with diet -- I certainly haven't been eating as well as i should -- and possibly illness. I've been feeling like crap most of this week although not at the point of taking to my bed like when I get really slammed by the grippe.

Conditions:

Hour: 9:40 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 66 degrees
Humidity: 32 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3

Injury update: Nada.

monday, april 09, 2012

Easy Run

Distance: 5.25 miles
Time: 45:43
Pace: 8:43

Comments: Did not run a single step last week. A lot of it was getting extremely busy with my work projects and planning for this trip next week. A little bit of it was lassitude.

So I decided to just put in a straightforward five miler this morning. No looking at the Garmin, just run the distance. As a result, this one was pretty nondescript. I did wait a bit overlong to get out and, as a result, it was one of the warmer runs I've had this year. Need to get used to that.

Conditions:

Hour: 810:20 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 84 degrees
Humidity: 10 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3

Injury update: Nada.

sunday, april 01, 2012

Recovery Run

Distance: 4.01 miles
Time: 34:51
Pace: 8:42

Comments: OK. I admit it. I went and did this run mostly to get my weekly mileage up in the 20 mile range. That aside, it turned out to be a very nice post-race effort so I'm glad I took the opportunity to get out there.

My legs were really drained after the effort yesterday so I took it extremely easy in the afternoon and planned to approach this run as a complete "recovery" effort. No mile under 8:30 pace. And, as I promised, every time I found myself wanting to push it a little I made myself hold back even more.

As a result I had the rare experience of getting passed by another runner on my regular workout and it was a woman!. But the unusual nature of the incident had more to do with the typical lack of runners on the local sidewalks than gender. It was nice to give a wave and a "Howdy!" to another person out training, to be honest.

Conditions:

Hour: 8:00a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 64 degrees
Humidity: 40 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3

Injury update: My hip was sore after the race yesterday but seemed fine when I woke up. No problem at all during the run.

thursday, march 29, 2012

Tempo Run

Distance: 7.01 miles
Time: 58:39
Pace: 8:22

Comments: With the 10K on Saturday, I wanted to get the race distance down but at a reasonable enough pace that it wouldn't overtax my legs. Once again that "natural" pace for me right now seems to be almost exactly at 8:20. My earlier miles were a bit quicker and the later miles a bit less but none so far off the mark as to be concerning.

Again, I feel very strong and in control of my runs now. I've still got serious questions of my stamina but that will take a much longer time to get where I want to be. One positive sign was that I had plenty in the tank after mile five today, unlike Saturday where that's the point my run became a grind.

In fact, things went so well I tacked an extra mile on this run for the hell of it. A very good workout and an encouraging one as well.

Conditions:

Hour: 9:30 a.m.
Surface: Asphalt/Concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 73 degrees
Humidity: 22 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3

Injury update: Nada.

tuesday, march 27, 2012

Recovery Run

Distance: 4.01 miles
Time: 32:09
Pace: 8:01

Comments: I didn't intend on having a hard effort today since I wanted to give my legs a chance to recover from the tough effort over the weekend. But when I got out on the pavement, I sorta couldn't help myself.

I started out at a reasonable but quick pace and found myself speeding up by about ten seconds every mile after that. While I wasn't sure about the endurance side of things I felt strong and in control the whole way. And since it was just four miles, the stamina aspect wasn't a huge issue.

Conditions:

Hour: 7:45 a.m.
Surface: dirt
Weather: clear
Temperature: 45 degrees
Humidity: 68 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Western Canal, Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Adidas Supernova Sequence 3

Injury update: Nada.

sunday, march 25, 2012

Long Run

Distance: 10.0 miles
Time: 1:33:33
Pace: 9:21

Comments: This one was not pleasant by any stretch of the imagination. Since I skipped my mid-week workouts I was far under my weekly total of 20 miles and I did eight long last week. So taking a stab at ten seemed a reasonable goal. Seemed being the operative word there.

I started out pretty good but kinda suspected it would be a battle from the start. My legs really hadn't recovered from the trail run on Friday and I haven't been eating as well as I should either. Still, I figured battling through it would be good for my mental conditioning.

On the way out I kept every mile under 9 minute pace. I felt pretty strong but felt the conditioning was suspect. That proved true at the turnaround. I slowed down almost a half minute every mile on the way back. By mile seven I was stuck in that ugly shuffle step of the fatigued runner and just couldn't break it.

The last two miles were simply brutal. The fact the temperatures were pushing 80 degrees by that point didn't help matters. I got through it and now there is a benchmark for my long runs but, ugh, not a fun day at all.

Conditions:

Hour: 10:30 a.m.
Surface: dirt
Weather: partly cloudy
Temperature: 75 degrees
Humidity: 24 percent
Wind: 3 mph
Location: Western Canal, Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Adidas Supernova Sequence 3

Injury update: Nothing.

friday, march 23, 2012

Trail Run

Distance: 6.00 miles
Time: 58:47
Pace: 9:47 m/mi

Comments: WHOO HOO!!! Did the loop in under an hour! It's the best I've run it in more than a year and a half! Success!

I had a pretty bad week for some reason and really had zero motivation to run. Not exactly sure why but I ended up taking a three-day break. Instead of trying a normal mid-week workout, I decided to hit the South Mountain trail today and try and miss the weekend crush. That turned out to be a good call. There weren't too many folks out on the trail and everyone with their dogs had them on the leash.

I felt reasonably good going up the first portion (I guess the race two weeks ago is paying off) and decided to try the tough ascent of National Trail this time. It throws a 400 foot rise at you in the space of a little less than one mile. Brutal.

I got through it OK but, more importantly, it didn't completely wipe out my legs so I was able to concentrate on my pace for the descent. I got to the final mile and realized that I could beat the 60 minute mark if I kept under 9 minutes or so and blasted out an 8:01. A very good run and very encouraging.

Conditions:

Hour: 9:30 a.m.
Surface: dirt
Weather: clear
Temperature: 65 degrees
Humidity: 41 percent
Wind: gusty on the ridge
Location: National Trail & Mormon Trail, South Mountain Park, Phoenix, Arizona
Shoes: Nike Zoom Waffle Racer IV

Injury update: Nada.

monday, march 19, 2012

Recovery Run

Distance: 4.06 miles
Time: 36:15
Pace: 8:55

Comments: The cold front that moved in made it really nice to run this morning, so much so it was difficult to keep my pace down to easy/recovery pace. I finally settled on about 9 min/mi even though that's probably more stress on my legs than I need to have at this point.

The run went well and I used the workout to kind of monitor for any possible achy points that could become injury issues down the road. Lots of itty bitty things but, overall, everything seems in good shape. Might be time to get a new pair of shoes, though.

Conditions:

Hour: 9:30 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: partly cloudy
Temperature: 52 degrees
Humidity: 54 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Adidas Supernova Sequence 3

Injury update: Right hip is still a bit sore.