Workouts Going Good

I haven't posted in a few days, but I'm still working out hard.  I've missed a few planned workouts so I have the 'guilt' thing going on, but I have to keep telling myself that in the big picture it's not going to matter that much.  My streak ended at 14 days - just too much rain to get out of the house over the weekend.  California just isn't used to getting 2-4 inches of rain in a 12 hr period.  The ground is just too hard (or made of concrete) to let that kind of water soak in.  And add the 4-6 inches we got last week; and the ground is totally saturated - I'm sure we'll get some more mudslides later this week when the next cold front rolls in (thursday).

P90x is going pretty good - week one is over (yesterday) and Beth and I only missed about 2 hrs of workouts during the week. Half of that was the day off stretching workout they have.  Bodywise I'm sore all over, and actually during my long run Sunday I was barely able to move my arms due to the fatague in my back and shoulders.  Still that run was nice.



My long run was 6.8 miles of 'hilly' terrian around my house.  Other than my shoulders and back I felt ok.  My legs were a little tired, but I was able to fight through that and I finished the run very strong (9:43 pace).  That's pretty fast for me and puts me right at a sub 60 min 10k that is my goal for March.  Considering that I was trying to keep the pace rather slow I'm pleased with the results.  Once again I'm going to go back to my improvement that is related to P90x.  With only a ween my pocket, I can attest that the program has given my confidencein my ability.  I'm pushing myself to the brink during the program workouts so I now know just how hard  can push myself during a run.  I thought I knew this already, but I didn't.

Tonight's run was sandwiched between my back/arm workout and my ab workout.  I only ran 2.3 miles plus a small cool down.  I started out just taking it easy, but I felt so strong after about 5 mins, I cranked it up a notch.  Then I cranked it up another - and finished with a 20:10 or a 9:03 pace.  That's 5k race pace for me!  And I did this on a hilly course!  My form near the end of the run was good, and I felt really strong.  I'm guessing if I really tried I could break 20 mins on this course - before too long I'll be logging a sub 9 min mile and that will be a major goal reached for me.

I'm thinking tomorrow I'm goig to try to get out on my bike.  It's been a month since my last ride - so I want to get some miles logged in the saddle.  Maybe 12-15 miles would be good.  I haven't decided if I'm going to add a run with this, but I'll have to play it by ear.  We'll see how I feel after my P90x morning workout.

I'm still following my 10k training plan but it being followed VERY loosely.  I'm getting the mileage in and maybe I'm doing just a few more tempo runs and now quite enough slow mileage.  I'm adare of this, and will try to adjust over the next few weeks.  I've also made another adjustment to the plan.  This weekend calls out a 5k race.  I was going to do this becasue I wanted to attempt a PB at this distance, but another blogger, (Becca) is holding a virtual 10k run over the weekend (12th, 13, or the 14th) so I decided I'll enter this.  If you want to join up, you still can, just check out the link and be ready to report your 'race'.

This week will be most likely mimial with posting - I'm working on taxes this week and I HAVE to get this finished.  I started this weekend, and hopefully I'll finished in the next few days bt until then I might not post as much as I'd like to.

Finally I'd like to welcome my new followers/stalkers.  Thank you for dropping by and reading what I have to say.  Seeing new followers always encourages me to write more and to share more.  Please feel free to ask questions, I'll try to answer anything brought to my attention - what I'm doing right, and what I might have done wrong.  I've been running now on and off for 30 years so I do have a lot in my head that I'm trying to get out. :)

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Quick Update

I just wanted to drop in quickly (it's 10:30 pm on a friday night).  Currently streak is now 14 days.  Alex and I snuck out of the house during a downpour and got in 2.5 miles.  We ran it at a 9:05 pace which is right at my 5k race pace.  I feel pretty good right now just a little tired from getting up early doing the P90x program.

Speaking thereof - the program is going well.  I can already tell that I'm getting stronger.  A couple of moves that I couldn't do earlier in the week I pulled off this morning in the ab routine.  The more I see of this program, the more I would recommend it.  Even if you don't get the results (visual) they like to show off.  I can tell that by the end of the program I'll be so much stronger and ligher.  This week so far I've lost 4 lbs so I'm doing somethng right.

I'll post more this weekend about the actual workouts but I just wanted to get something in tonight since I hadn't posted since Wednesday.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

BTW I'm only 2.5 miles away from 200 miles for the year already. :)

P90x day 3

So day two went by without too much of a problem.  The program has us doing Plyometrics and that fit perfectly into my running routine.  I felt really good thoughout the workout that was 58 mins long.  This time  took it a little easier and paced myself better so I wouldn't burn out at the 30 min mark.  I could work harder, but for the first time though these programs I'm going to pace myself better. 

Last night I was supposed to go out and do a 4 miler, but I was pretty shot so I stayed in and watched my new favorite show: White Collar.  I love this show so far, if you haven't seen it I'd recommend it to anyone.  So I skipped my 4 miler but still I walked twice for over 2 miles so I kept my 'new' streak alive at 10 days.  HopefullyI can break the 19 days I set in Jan.

Physically I'm bone tired. not really muscle tired, but weary like I used to get in HS and College after a tough workout.  So I know I'm doing things right.  I think I did one too many tempo runs with Alex over the weekend, and that plus the P90x workouts are starting to tire me out.  I'm keeping an eye out for injury possibilities so I'm not worried about pushing myself too hard - in fact I'm sure I'm only about two thirds to my max right now.

This morning was Day 3 of the program - Shoulders & Arms, and Ab's.  The shoulders and arms section was 58 mins, so Beth and I ran out of time and will be completing the Ab section later this afternoon.  This morning's workout was good, I felt under control but not helpless like the first day - I think I'm getting used to getting up in the morning and getting that workout done.  Also even though I haven't done all the different workouts yet, I feel like I know what to expect and how hard I need to push myself.  I'm already itching to do these workouts next week so I can improve on them.

Tonight's run is going to be an easy 4 miler this  time.  I feel well enough physically that I don't think I'll have any problems getting out the door.  (That was my 'real' problem last night.)  Actually I need to get some slower miles in this week - too many runs were too fast recently and mentally I'm having issues.  A slow run will do wonders for me right now.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Epic Fail and a PB in one day.

So yesterday was kind of tough - Beth and I woke at 5:40 am to get our first P90x workout in.  Day 1 calls for 58 mins of Chest and Back work plus 16 mins of ab work.  "Hmmm, I can do this - it's like doing a 7-8 miler.  Shouldn't be too hard."  Well about 20 mins into the workout I was dripping sweat.  And mind you just not dripping, but pouring sweat and I wasn't even doing the moves all out or even that many reps.  Mostly due to the fact I have no upper body strength and any flexibility.  Needless to say, I was struggling big time by the 30 min mark.  After doing some seated flys, I stood up and get very dizzy and sick to my stomach - I excused myself to Beth and barely made my way upstairs to our bathroom when I stripped down and just lay down on our tiled bathroom floor.  In about 5 mins I was cooled down enough to get back down stairs but we didn't finish the workout until that evening.  I'm really not sure what prompted me to overheat like that, and in fact that's really only happened to me about 3-4 times in my whole life so I guess I just didn't pace myself correctly.

The limited visibility I've seen of this program though is great.  Changing up the workouts, moves and intensity are going to pay off big time later on down the line.  Some of the moves are easier but they then range to extremly difficult.  And you really can't cheat anywhere in the few workouts I've done so far.  (But even if you could, I'm not built like that....)  This changing around is not only found in the workouts, but also in the day-to-day planning.  It's like puting an easy day after speedwork, and then throwing in strides and tempo runs during the week.  The program has an edge to others out there because of this.  It reminds me of old soccer two-a-days back in the day......

The ab workout is really going to help me - I can't do all of the moves yet, but they are within reach and I expect within a few weeks I'll be doing at least a few reps of each one.  Once you get there, it's really just working form and reps.  But I have a feeling once I'm beginning to master the current moves, we'll be changing things up a little.....  (I think there's 10-15 different CD's.....)

So after that epic failure in even finishing my first workout, Alex and I went out for an easy recovery run after our quick 5 miler we did the night before (he had an off day from school - Finals were last week).  I decided I didn't want to do any hills so I took him to RSM lake and the one mile loop I've talked about before.  This course is the site of many PB's in the past, but today I just wanted to take it easy.



Alex and  went out pretty easy (for him) and we clocked a 9:24 first mile.  Funny I felt pretty good doing that, but I knew right then I'll be taking the rest of the runs this week at a much slower pace. More along the lines of a 9:50 mile.  Mile two was just as fast,  actually just a little faster - 9:01.  That put us at 18:25, and I still felt good even if my breathing was starting to come a little rougher.  My conversation with Alex pretty much dropped to nil at this point and I just let him chat away.  Every once in a while I'd answer a question with a yes, or no so he knew I wasn't going to drop dead on him (he knew about my failure that morning.)  Mile 3 we finished off  with a 8:56  for a three mile total of 27:11.  That was a PB and right at my 9:04 pace that I have for my 5k PB.  I felt pretty good and I wasn't really pressing to go any faster.  I think if I really wanted to I could shave about :30 seconds off this time without too much difficulty right now.  My 10k schedule does have a 5k practice race in two weeks so I'll try for a PB there.  It should be interesting and I'm starting to get anxious for a race now.

I'm off to clean the house, to bad I can't raise my arms above my shoulders........ At least from the waist down the house will get clean. :)

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Wonderful Weekend!

I can't believe how good this weekend was both for workouts and family!  Where should I start?  Let's see, I'll start with my running stuff - Friday I did 7.5 mile total, a bunch of that was fairly slow in fact Beth joined me for 2.3 miles!  She's going to try to get some running in an maybe run a race coming up.  It was nice getting out with her, we took Bogey, Cade in the stroller, Abby was on her razor with her friend from accross the street.  I enjoyed getting out of the house and spending time with Beth.  She always seems to handle running easily and she ended up doing the distance at a 12:06 pace.  Not bad for someone who doesn't really run. My main run on Friday was only 2.6 miles and most of that was downhill.  It didn't worry me though because Friday's are actually my rest day when it comes to my planning schedule, so getting in these miles were a bonus.  My legs feel pretty good and overall I feel strong.  Pace was a pretty quick 9:15 per mile so I'm very happy since the run itself didn't take too much effort.

Saturday was another good day - I picked up Alex from his Mother's and he wanted to run with me that night, so after giving him my old New Balance shoes, we went out he front door for an easy 5k.  This kid is fast, but having him there really helped me.  I was able to talk with him while we ran and the time flew by.  Before I knew it we were going up our last hill for the finish.  At that point Alex wanted to 'stretch his legs' and picked up the pace.  Me being his old man tried to limit him pulling away from me.  Over the final half mile he got about a :45 seconds on me and I fnished in 28:24 only :20 slower than my personal best.  WOW!  This run felt so easy paced for me so I know running with him will help me a ton.  Hopefully he'll stick with it.

Saturday is my week ending date so I put together a solid week - I ran everyday this past week and logged 38.2 miles doing it.  Beth and I ran, Alex and I ran, and Beth and I did the pretest on P90x.  (more on this later)  Overall it was a great week, I'm feeling really strong right now, and my workouts are going great!  I still can't believe that I'm pushing myself into new territory here.  I can't wait for P90x to get into full swing......

Sunday I did my long run for the week (5 miles).  Alex joined me again.  I thought maybe he was going to be tired from the night before, but the three miles didn't seem to bother him at all.  We did just over 5 miles at a 9:24 pace.  A little fast for me, but once again I felt good running with him, and he takes me out of my confort zone just a little.  Not so much that I'm struggling, but just enough to give me that 'next level' of training that I need.  Overall with our warm up and cool down we ended up logging 6.5 miles.  This Wednesday he's has his first track day; 9+ miles on a track!  They do 10 laps, 9 laps, 8 laps, etc.  What an introduction to track running!  No timing, but they have to finish before they go home.......  This season could be interesting for him, but after doing 5 miles with me, it shouldn't be a problem him as long as he paces himself.  BTW he logged a 6:15 mile for his PE final last week, I wonder what he could do with solid training?

Monthly totals: 179.9 miles, three new PB's, started weight training, did pretest for P90x.  Pretty solid month if I do say so.  Too bad for that three day rain stretch otherwise I might have had 30 days of straight running.

Family stuff this weekend was wonderful.  Beth had to put in some hours at the office, but once she was home we made the best of it.  Like I mentioned, she went running on Friday, and Saturday we had fun just hanging out together.  Sunday we took the family down to San Diego (about a 45 min drive) and spent about 2.5 hours on the Midway.  Yes the Aricraft Carrier Midway from WWII.  The carrier is now decommishioned and is a floating museum down in San Diego.  Beth's Uncle works as a tour guide / safety staff on the ship and gave us some free passes over Christmas.  We had a blast.  If you're in the area, I'd recommend this site to anyone even if you're not a big history buff.  This boat has such a rich histoy and was so vital to us winning the war in the Pacific, you can't help be feel in awe when you step aboard.  They are continusously opening new rooms so there is always something new to look at.

 Cade with his Monkey Leash

Eject! Eject!

Just one of several planes they have on display, this is INSIDE the Midway.

Go Navy!  Mr. Speedy himself.

Abby and Cade

Beth and Cade

Helicopter tansport - Alex knows it from Call Of Duty for XBox.  Scary thing is Abby and Cade knew it also.

The kids

Check out that anchor!  That only one of two in the bow.  Taken from the flight deck.

Downtown San Diego skyline - taken from the flight deck of the Midway.

 

Abby the Fighter Pilot

After a late lunch in Old Towne.

Keep Steppin'

Bob

Pacing

We all have our own pace - having over 30 years of running expirence (wow that's getting scary) I can pretty much nail my pace without looking at a watch.  It really doesn't matter if I am in or out of shape, I just know in my head how far I've gone and how far I am from finishing a run.  Some of you most likely are saying, "What's wrong with that?  I wish I could pace myself like that."  But really this ability can be counterproductive when I'm doing a tempo run or trying to push myself harder through some 'pick-ups' during a run.  I tend to hold a little back on these runs becuase I know in my head I'm on my target pace when it would be more productive to my running growth (ie improvement) to beat my target pace for that run.  Tempo runs are usually the thorn in my side. 

In addition I tend to improve in leaps, like my 2 mile PB from the other night when I don't make any assumptions on what my pace will be before a run.  That way I tend to push myself just a little harder than the pacing voice that is talking in my head. I just wonder if I didn't have this pacing ability would I be a better runner in the long run? 

A prime example of what I'm talking about is from my long run from about a week ago.  I estimated to Beth that I was going to take 2 hours to finish over at her parents house, 9.5 miles later and 1:59:14 (Yeah :46 second off from my estimate.)  I crossed the finish feeling pretty good.  My overall pace was crappy but maybe if I couldn't pace myself so well I could have improved on this time.  Would running this training run faster make me a better runner?  Personally, for this example since this was a new distance I was pleased with my time.  And that's when I have to be careful, I have to plan exactly how fast I want to push myself before I leave the house.

I'm currently on a 7 day running streak again.  If it hadn't been for the rain and my hip during this month I think I'd be looking at 28 straight days.  Still I have to be pleased with my month.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

BTW yesterday I mentioned I wanted to run my 4 mile training run at a 9:50 pace...... I did it at a 9:53 pace.  Pretty damm close.

Too Much Information

I've got a ton to update today so I'm sorry if I ramble more than usual on this post, but I just want to get it all in.  Therefore you get bullets today.....

• I was going through my log for this month and realized that my consecutive day streak is actually 19 days not 18.  That's huge because it actually 'breaks' my record of 18 days rather than just tying it.  I've made the correction on my sidebar to reflect this.
• Monthly mileage is now up over 150 miles and I'm going to finish this month/week off strong with another 20+ miles.  That will DESTROY my previous best month of 108.6 miles.  I feel so strong right now I think I can add to this next month.  We'll see how I feel doing the P90x program too.  Because of this I've only scheduled 100 mile month.  Anything beyond this will be good.
• Last night was my first scheduled interval training session - I had a small problem.  The local college track was closed (by 7:00 pm) so tried a local HS, that was closed also.  I ended up coming home and running a tempo 2 miler.  I hadn't run this course in a while and I DESTROYED my previous time of 19:02.  I clocked a 17:25 or a 8:43 per mile average with more to spare in my tank!  This is my fist recorded run over a mile where my average pace per mile has been under 9:00 mins!  The 19:02 was done in March of last year so I expected an improvement and a :90 second improvement is wonderful, I'm completely jazzed over my results.  With the increase in monthly mileage I expect to see this kind of improvement to continue throughout this year.  Maybe not this big of a jump, but I can always dream can't I?
• Weightlifting is going well - no real pains and I'm on my third week.  If I wasn't doing P90x, I'd up these workouts - but I'm going to use these just to say I got the workout in.  Weights never hurt anybody unless you drop them o your neck. (see USC)
• Tonight I have a 4 miler easy pace planned.  Nothing special just right around a 9:50 pace would be good.  My hammies are a little tired/sore but nothing too bad.  Tired in a good way - which is what I want.  I should take my running buddy, we'll see, it all depends when I actually get out the door for this run.

• This distance coupled with my two walks and my warm up and cool down I should log about 7 miles today.  The weather is nice enough for this to happen pretty easily.
• My overall progress this month has been amazing - even though I want to change my 10k RACE GOAL, I'm going to stick with a sub 60 min goal.  The race is 52 days off and with my 10k race last week (1:01:33 - race report) that I struggled with I think a 2 min improvement during this time frame is more than good.  Continuous Improvement I've always said.
• Finally after three tries I found my next pair of shoes - in fact I ran with them for the first time last night, and set a PB!  I'll log about 50 miles in them and then FINALLY give you my SHOE REVIEW - here's my last one.  Isn't it amazing how good a shoe feels and how bad a shoe can feel?
• I've added music to my blog - if it's too much let me know.  Hey Nicole thanks for reading, and I have to give No Doubt some play time.  OC band, good music......  ok the song is kind of wierd in this context.  If anyone wants to put in music requests drop me a comment and I'll try to add it to my list, that is if I like it.  If the load times are getting too long for the blog please me know also - I'll cut back on some sidebar items.
• Beth and I did our P90x pretest last night.  Not too difficult - I can tell I need work on core muscles and suprisingly my quads.  The conditioning part I don't think I'll have too much of a problem but either way, I can tell this is going to be an intense 90 days.  We're starting the actual program Sunday, but we'll most likely do the one of the Bonus workouts between now and Sunday.  I'm so looking forward to working out with Beth.  If we don't kill each other it will be fun!  Beth still won't admit that she sweats...... she glistens.  Yeah right.  I still can't look too closely at my 'before' pictures.  I think the reality is slowly seeping in.....

Keep Steppin'
Bob