Training - 26 Miles

I can't believe how fast time is flying!  Training is going very well, and I'm starting to string together some decent distances right now.  Since July 4th I'd been tossing around in my head about doing my own 'little' dualthlon.  Run - Bike - Run (3.1 Mile - 20 Mile - 3.1 Mile)  Well this weekend I did it.  The final 5k really hurt and I'd forgotten how difficult it is to transition into running after being on a bike for an hour, but I did finish the whole thing only having to walk a few mins over the final 2 miles.

I was kind of stupid to start this endeavor at 1:00 pm on Saturday in 82 degree heat, but I dressed for the occasion and drank plenty in the transitions and while I was out on the course.  I'm kind of surprised on how easy it was to complete the distance (just not very fast), and I'm starting to believe that I'm going to be able to finish my half marathon in September without walking.

My other workout have been pretty good also - my long run last week was 8.23 miles at a 10:23 pace.  The run itself wasn't too difficult, I did get a blister on my left pinkie toe for the first time in over 10 years..... While I was out on the course I'm guessing I could have run over 10 miles without stopping so I was happy with the workout, but my recovery afterwards really surprised me.  I ran my long run on Monday night and on Wednesday night I was still really sore.  I wasn't prepared for my body to be so slow in recovering from that effort, so I'll have to keep that in mind.

Abby and Cade in the rain.

Coming up this week I most likely will take it pretty easy.  I'm tossing around another 8 miler in  my head most likely toward the end of the week, depending on how my body reacts to my 'big' weekend this week. If I recover nicely I'm pretty sure I throw in an 8-10 miler, but if not, I'll most likely put some miles in on the bike and try to take it fairly easy.  I'm still looking at about 6 weeks before my run so I have plenty of time to get some long runs in, but the more I get in, the better my confedience will be when I toe the line on Sept 11th.

On my smaller runs/walks of 1-3 miles I've been searching out the local hills in the area to trek up.  I'm doing pretty well with this so I'll continue this practice unless my legs really need a break.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

5+ Miles Tonight - Feeling Good

Well, I've actually started working towards my half marathon today.  I ran 4 miles at a 10 min pace and then another 1.5 miles at around a 12-13 min pace.  The 10 min pace felt really good and I'm guessing I could have run another hour at this pace without too much difficulty which is a good sign since just a few weeks ago I was worried about my conditioning.

My long runs this training period (approx 8 weeks) will start at 6 miles working up to an 11-12 miler a few weeks before my race.  I'm going to start looking for a water belt this week so I don't have to worry about looping close to home on these longer run.

I'm going to through in some hill workouts hopefully about once a week also since this race is very heavy in hills.  I think this work will also help with my overall strength.

Training mileage should top out around 60-70 miles per week, with July mileage coming close to 200 miles for the month.  We'll see how this goes over the next few weeks, and I'll adjust if I have to.

I'll leave you with a few pictures of my Fourth of July......

Dana Point Harbor, Ca.

Beth and Cade

The Family

Not a bad group

Squirrel time

Eating out of Abby's hand - fearless.

I should get this guy to run with me over teh next few months....

Cade and Alex getting into it

Cade showing off his Ninja moves - getting the best of his older brother.

Out for a night sail to watch the fireworks.

Keep Steppin'

Bob

Race Report - Freedom Run at the Ranch 2010

I was actually writing a pre-race entry, but didn't finish it before I ran the race yesterday, so I've scrapped it and I'm writing this now.....

Yesterday was my Fourth of July 5k and I'm, very pleased with my results. I wasn't quite sure what to expect going into this - I knew training-wise I could finish the distance fairly easily, but I wasn't sure in what time since my pacing has been all over the place during training runs running up to this race.



A couple of posts ago - I set up the following race goals:

Goal A : Run a sub 28:30 min
Goal B : Run a sub 29 min
Goal C : Run a sub 30 min

Looking at this, you can tell my apprehension going into the run - a 1:30 spread over 3 miles?  I wasn't sure what pace I could hold.

Raceday:  I woke at 6:00 am for a 7:15 race start feeling pretty good - usually my 39-year-old body needs about 10-20 mins to warm up just so I can walk normally - too many years of killing it growing up.  But yesterday I was feeling good after only laying awake in bed for about 5 mins.  A good sign.

My house is exactly a mile from the start, so I used that to warmup and I felt pretty good once I stepped out of the door.  I brought my ipod to run with, which I normally don't do for races, but I wanted to try something new - I was going to line up at the very back of the field and run my way through the pack - don't you love chip timing? 

Up at the start, the race area was pretty good and organized.  Over the past few years, this race has really grown and I haven't seen too many issues with this growth.  Afterwards I found out that 762 people were running the 5k, and I'm guessing about 400 ran the 10k (I haven't checked yet).  That's pretty amazing since 2008 had 550 runners in the 5k race.  So it's good to see a race grow like this especially since this run is in my back yard.

After all the pre-race hoopla, I shed my sweatshirt and lined up at the very back of the pack.  Behind all of the kids, strollers, walkers, etc.  Sitting at the back I started talking with this guy who you could just tell was very fast - tall, lean, and wearing racing flats in bright orange.  This guy was about 6'3" and maybe 150 lbs kind of freakish if you ask me, but still a nice guy.  After about 2 mins from the gun start, I made my way to the start line and was able to run right from the first step.

I felt really good over the first mile, going out just a little too fast though - I think I clocked a sub 9:00 min mile, just because I know the course really well (I was surprised by not seeing mile markers out along the course.)  Running traffic was minimal, over the first mile - even though I did have to step off the street a few times in order to pass some slower people.  Still, the choice to start dead last was turning out to be a good idea.

Mile two is pretty much all up hill, not a huge incline, but just enough to become a pain especially when the rise kicks it up a notch over the last 400 meters, but I was pretty much able to hold a good pace over this mile.  I'm guessing my mile time here was about a 9:30 - not too sure because I really didn't look and was going on perceived effort at this point - I was still passing slower runners at this point, but started to notice that some runners were 'hanging' at my pace.  In fact I had several people come up to me after the race to 'Thank me" for setting a quicker pace than they were used to up that hill.  That was a nice side affect for starting last - shoot all I wanted was space to run at the start. :)

The final 1.1 miles were all basically down and flat, setting this course up for a very fast finish.  The winner ran this in 15:47.  Oh the joys of being 19 again......  Anyway, I was still feeling pretty good, but my quads were getting tired from the effort of the uphill, and all I could think of was, "How are you ever going to finish a half marathon you wuss."  Slowly I picked up my pace and passed a few more people on the down hill - but there was this one stroller dude I just couldn't catch until we hit the final flat.  I did sneak a glance at my watch when I hit the flat knowing I was about 3 mins from the finish if I was running a 10 min mile - 25:52 - right there I kicked it up another notch, then at the final turn with 400 meters to go, another notch.  My lungs were hurting, and my legs were burning but it was too late to stop now - I could see the 'official' clock counting down 29:40, :41, :42 - dammit "I'm going to break 30:00 on that clock" and put myself into another gear.  I crossed the line in 29:54 - for an 27:59!  What a nice PR!  :05 seconds faster than my Birthday Race run back in December.

Overall I'm pleased with my effort, time and ability to improve here.  I mean who wouldn't be happy with a PR?  Still I was able to take a few other items from this run:

1. I now know I have a few more gears left in my legs - I really haven't tried to use them since I hurt my hamstrings about 6 years ago.  I know if I really tried to do some speedwork, the speed it still there.
2. Conditioning came back pretty quickly (4 weeks) after taking about 8 weeks off.  Still I need to maintain the 120 mile monthly base if I was to continue to improve.
3. I need to kick up my workouts, to prepare for my half marathon that's in September - this is going to be brutal, but I'm looking forward to it.
4. Finally, I know I can run this course in 24 mins if I trained hard enough of it.  I can 'feel' it in my body right now.  In fact give me two years and I'll hit 21 mins.....  (yeah that an 8 min improvement, I know, but it's there.)  Shoot I've improved 8 mins in the last two years now and I know I'm not even halfway to the ends of my ability.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

I'm a Quiet Runner

I was thinking during my run this evening - I'm basically a very quiet runner who has a blog.  I usually run by myself, and even though I nod at other runners on my route, I usually don't strike up a conversation with my fellow runners.  I'm not rude or anything, I just tend to use my running time for quiet introspect rather than a social outing.

Now there has been times where I've started a conversation with other runners in corrals, on the path, etc.  And as I look back, I've enjoyed these conversations for the insights I get from other runners.  I think that is why I enjoy reading blogs so much.  Just knowing there are other people out there running, and struggling over a three miler helps keep my training on track.

Today's run was on a difficult course, I took it easy but effort-wise I felt like I should have clocked a faster time (32:21)  Yesterday I took the day off killing my streak - really thee wasn't a reason for the day off, it just turned out that way.  Six day and counting until my race.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Damm Computer - Running is Getting Done

I haven't been posting that much because my computer is acting up again - I've lost my drivers for sound and I can't download any pictures - I'm going to have to do a complete overhaul on it but really don't want to take the time or spend the money on it right now - so I've just left the computer sitting on my desk running at about 60%. 

Other than not being able to post pictures to my blog, I have been running quite a bit.  I'm currently at 120 miles for the month and on-pace to finish this month at about 140 miles.  My 5k race (the first race this year)) is in a week, and I'm starting to look forward to racing again.  I don't have very high goals for this race other than to just enjoy myself.  Cycling on my off days is really helping me get my conditioning back quick - I feel pretty good running after a cycling day.  I'm currently on a 11-day streak right now, and I feel pretty strong so I'm pleased with my progress this month.

Goal wise for my race next week, I've been kind of wishy-washy on.  I'm really not too sure what to set for myself.  I've thought about it quite a bit because I hate going into a race without any specific targets.  So this morning I decided to take a look at some of my past 5k training runs:

6.26.2010 Run 3.1 Mile - Tempo 3.1 Mi - 28:59 / 9:21
6.24.2010 Run 3.1 Mile - Easy 3.1 Mi - 31:11 / 10:04
6.21.2010 Run 3.1 Mile -  Easy 3.1 Mi - 30:30 / 9:51
6.7.2010 Run 3.19 Mile  -  Easy 3.19 Mi - 31:43 / 9:57
4.25.2010 Run 3.1 Mile  -  Easy 3.1 Mi - 29:29 / 9:31
4.7.2010 Run 3.1 Mile  -  Easy 3.1 Mi - 29:20 / 9:28

Looking at this I think I can set up the following:

Goal A : Run a sub 28:30 min
Goal B : Run a sub 29 min
Goal C : Run a sub 30 min

Last July 4th I ran this in 28:27 with some solid 80 mile months going into the race - this year I took off April and May basically but I did have a great June so I'm guessing I could have about the same results.  BTW my PB for this distance?  I ran on 12/30/09 - 28:04..... on this exact course by myself.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

4.5 Miles Tonight - Feeling Good!

Well I get in another good run tonight - 4.5 miles total with 3 miles coming at a tempo pace (9:30).  Overall I still feel pretty good.  During my slower cool down mile, my legs started to tighten up but nothing too bad.  The weather here in So Cal had been perfect over the past few days and that has made my runs even more enjoyable.

Tomorrow I think I'm going to try to sneak in a nice bike ride just to switch things up a little.  Hopefully I'll be able to break away to do this - if not I'll stick with my night run maybe another 3 miler is in the works....

With tonight's run I'm currently on a 7-day running streak and I'm no-pace to log 106 miles for the month.  I was going through my goals for he month last night and realized that I wanted to complete 120 miles for the month so I'm going to have to step it up just a little if I'm going to reach this goal.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

So Little Time So Much To Do....... 4th of July Race Coming Up.

The weeks are just flying by for me right now.  I can't believe the 4th of July is just around the corner.  My workouts are going well - and I'm on pace to log 100 miles this month and I feel pretty good right now.  Tonight I'm planning an easy 3.1 miles with a little cool down - something around 32 mins would be fine - hopefully I can keep my pace that slow so I don't fry myself with a tempo run.

I missed my cycling day this weekend - I didn't get a chance to work on my bike until Saturday - once I get my tire fixed and my bike cleaned up, it was getting too late and I couldn't get out of the house.  My next ride is going to have to be something short because I put on a new tire that I haven't ridden on in about 4 years - it's a softer 'racing' tire and the tread is marginal so I want to stay close to the house to make sure the small cuts aren't going to cause a blowout. 

Running is coming along - I've lost a ton of conditioning and I'm really going to have to pick up my workouts over the next few weeks.  After the 4th I'm going to start picking up long runs every week, I'd like to have an 11-12 mile run under my belt before the half marathon on Sept 11th.  Currently I'm having mental issues going beyond 3 miles at a sub10 min mile, so somehow I'm going to have to work through this - hopefully a breakthrough will happen sometime before July 4th.

My racing plan is to run July 4th at the Ladera Ranch 5k.  I've run this race several times now, and even though the course isn't that difficult I'm not quote sure what to expect.  Currently I'm shooting for a sub 30 (again) but I'm not sure if that is doable because of my lack of preparation.  The starting line is about 2 miles from my house, so I'll use that as a warmup again this year so it makes things easy since I don't have to worry about driving and finding parking, etc....  The run itself is really fun with a good turnout and nice streets to run though.  The final miles is almost all downhill, so it sets itself up for some quick times.

My next race is my half marathon that is scheduled for Sept 11th at Camp Pendleton.  This race I'm really worried about.  My neighbor signed me up for this because I keep talking about running a half but keep chickening out at the last moment.  The course itself looks like it might be painful - run on firebreak roads here in Southern California at our local marine base - the trail is called Heartbreak Ridge......

 With 1280 feet of climbing I'm worried about this.  My long 9.5 mile run that I ran back in January this year only had 983 feet of elevation change.  It's going to be brutal - and I'm guessing a 'Death March' over the final few miles.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Running / Softball and its Getting Late

I know I wanted to write some about my upcoming races, but it's already 11:30 pm and I'm pretty tired as I type this.  So the telling of the race plans is going to have to be put on hold for a day or two.

Today I got in another 2.2 mile run with the same old .3 mile cool down.  I ran fairly well and felt pretty good.  In fact, over the final mile I really slowed down on purpose because I didn't want to have two tempo (sub 10 min miles) on back to back days.  Granted the sub 10 min mile is pretty slow, but I feel pretty good overall, and I want to get in 4 miles tomorrow night.

This weekend looks like a 4 miler on Friday, a 16 mile bike ride on Saturday, and hopefully either a 20 mile bike ride or 5-6 mile run on Sunday - just depends on what the family has planned though.  If all goes to plan I'll have a eight day running streak going and I'll be feeling pretty good about my gearing-up for a 4th of July race I have planned.

I played softball tonight with my long standing Thursday night team - we're playing much better recently.   Actually we've won 4 straight and 5 out of the last 6.  I might have mentioned before, but I play second base for the team, and lately I've found my fielding range.  Somehow I'm getting really good 'reads' off the bad and I'm getting to balls that I couldn't have even dreamed of getting to last year.  Shoot tonight I almost made a play on a grounder that went to the left of our pitcher and left of second base.  If I hadn't hesistated as the ball passed the pitcher I could have dove for it and most likely made a play on the ball.  Still I made 6 of the first 9 putouts in a low scoring game.  Season ending game is next week - if we win we get second place, not bad for starting out loosing the first 4 games.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Geocaching

Today was my 'off' day so I tried my hand at geocaching.  For those who don't know about this - in a nutshell it's like taking a hike looking for hidden treasure.  All you need is a GPS (or iphone) to get started.  I downloaded the free started app to my iphone and was suprised to find over 300+ geocaches within 8 miles of my house - kind of surprising if I do say so myself.  Anyway I thought it would be fun to go looking for my first one with Abby - about 2 miles later and 2 cashes we returned home.  It's fun to do and I got to spend some time with my little girl.  The next time I go out I'll capture some pictures and share them.

Last night I got in 2.2 miles with a .3 mile cool down.  I ran it pretty close to a tempo pace I would have had about two months ago, so my conditioning is coming back - I struggled throughout but I'm happy I was able to cover the distance at a fairly good pace without walking.

I'm still failing in getting up at 5:30 am.  Tomorrow I HAVE to get up so I can get a run in because tomorrow night is softball, and I won't have the chance to run at night.

Physically I feel pretty good - the scale is p*ssing me off, why did I stop running/working out for that month and a half?  Any why did I eat like a pig?  It's frustrating when I think about it.

Tomorrow I'll write a little about my upcoming races - I have two planned........

Keep Steppin'
Bob

3.1 Miles Today

I snuck in 3.1 miles this afternoon so today wasn't a complete loss.  I ran my Mission Viejo lake course which is fairly difficult with hills:



There's almost 900 ft in elevation change on this course so I'm pleased with my 31:43 time (9:57 pace).  Considerating my first two mile splits were at a 9:44 pace, I feel pretty good.  Conditioning is way off and I'm fighting pretty much over the whole distance, but I can tell I'm getting better again.

This morning I had planned to get up at 6 am to sneek in a 2.3 mile run, but I failed getting out of bed.  I did get up 6:30 so I got into work earlier - but still I failed in my morning plan.  Tomorrow I want to get out the door for 2.3 miles at 5:45 am.  We'll see......

Physically I feel good - legs are tired and sore and I'm really tired - I'd be asleep now but I've been spending this evening playing with my new iphone.  Before I knew it, it was 11 pm.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Nice Workouts

Sometimes I feel like jumping - so luckily I have my daughter to do it for me since my vertical is now only 3".

Today was a day I felt like jumping - this morning I got ot on my bike and finished 20 miles in 1:18:00 and I felt really good.  Tonight's run was just under three miles and I struggled almos every step of the way.  Still I was able to finish the course so I'm happy with the effort.

I have to send a shout out to my neighbors - Brian and Laura.  Thank's for signing me up for the half marathon - I'll write more about it later, but I wanted to say thank you.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Redediction Time

Once again it's been a while since I last posted - I slowly settling in to my new job and I'm starting to get out on the road again.  My workout are slowly coming along, but today marks my rededication to two-a-days.  I'm focusing in on my July 4th run now and I want to get in a solid four months in before.

So for the next few weeks - everyday I'll be blogging about my workout's - come be a part on my 4-week journey.  Signup for a July 4th race and and for the next few weeks leave your comments on my blog :)

Good Luck,
Keep Steppin'
Bob

Wow! Time Flies....

It's been a while since I've posted anything and honestly I've felt guilty for not posting over the past few weeks.  It's not that I don't want to, it's just because I've been so busy I didn't feel like spending the time putting everything I'm going though down on my blog.

I haven't been doing much running lately, I took on a new job and for the past two weeks it's pretty much taken over all of my time.  I'm slowly getting used to the time and effort and I'm ready to get back to my daily running.  In fact, I'm looking forward to getting out and hitting the pavement again.

Tonight I finally got out and did an easy 5k with my partner Bogey.  He was happy to get out and stretch his legs also so we both enjoyed ourselves.  Now he's knocked out on the couch and I'm watching "Ball of Fury" on Comedy Central.

It's had to believe that the month is almost over - my numbers are going to look pretty sad, but maybe I can have a good week and close the month out on a good note.

I'll leave you with a few pics from the past few weeks:

Cade in Papa's Spa

This is what I've been doing instead of running

Easter Morning

Love that smile :)

My running partner getting all dressed up

Cade playing with water

Newport Beach, Ca. Pier

Abby in Newport

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Massive Fail

I've written about difficult runs before and yesterday's run falls directly into this catagory.  The plan was to run 6.8 easy miles (9:50 pace) with Alex.  But as soon as we stepped out the door I knew I was going to be in trouble.  All of us runners know that feeling - no energy, heavy legs, shortness of breath.  Every step was like I was laboring from the get-go.  Now I'm never one to make excuses but I was pretty tired from the day before, I didn't hydrate myself properly during the day prior to the run, and we did run at 4:00 pm in 80 degree weather which I'm not used to doing.  I'm justifying the poor run in my head to these issues.  Otherwise I might not ever get out and run again :)

On a side note - I accepted a job offer yesterday and I start Monday.  Mostly because we're trying to free up some time for Beth so she can start using her Real Estate licence that she earned last month.  She's currently interviewing for positions with all the 'big' agencies and I expect her to land a position here very soon.  Because she won't be pulling a steady salary, I needed to make sure that I got something with a steady paycheck to pay the bills.  I'm still doing the stock market stuff - and I'm doing pretty well this year ($4k in profits - off $14 initial investment).  But this isn't enough to live off of, and I do want to re-invest about 50% in order to grow this liquid funds account.  My IRA account is flat this year so I'm good there also.

Getting back to running - I'm feeling really tired lately, almost sugglish but I'm guessing that I'm just being a little lazy lately.  I'm not sure why, but I am trying to push through this to keep my mileage up.  Last year during these 'phases' I'd take two-three weeks off and it really affcted my results throughout the year.  This is the first time this year that I've run accross this problem so I'm battling right now.

Tonight I'm hopig for an easy 3 miler to see how I'm feeling.  I have to remember just last week I was hitting new PB's.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Not Much Going On

I haven't been running that much lately.  The kids are off on Spring Break and I've been kind of busy lately, so I've missed a few runs as of late.  I'm not worried, P90x is going well and I'm sure I'll pick up my workouts later this week.

Easer was fun, the kids had a great easter egg hunt and we spent the afternoon at my in-laws.  I have a ton of pictures and as soon as I get them downloaded I'll throw some of them up here to share.

I did get another 20 mile bike ride in over the weekend that felt really good. I recovered much quicker from this ride than the one I did the week before.  Hopefully I can work in this 20 miler every Saturday from here on out.  It really helps my hips and keeps my conditioning level up so an off day.

Monthly Totals were solid:

• Total Miles for March: 117.1 
• Miles for 2010:  423.9
• 4 mile PB: 37:34
• 10k PR: 57:25
• Ran 2 out of 31 days

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Special Day :)

Today is Beth and I's 9th anniversary.  So instead of writing about my running exploits I'm going to spend a little time talking about my wedding ("Because this is my blog and I can do what I want to." *spoken in the voice of Eric Cartman*)

For some reason nine years ago Beth agreed to marry me.  Maybe it was because we just found out Abby was on the way, but I'd like to believe that didn't have any bearing on her decision to marry me.  We didn't have ANYTHING.  Seriously, I'm not kidding - I had nothing, no money, no car, barely making child support payments, my parents weren't talking to me, etc.....  When I look back, I'm never quite sure what Beth saw in me......  Thanks Honey for believing in me ;)

Beth and I got married in Las Vegas - now before you say "How Corny."  Let me tell you we did it proper.  Married in a small ceremony on top of the Effiel Tower at the Paris Hotel with Her family there - it was a very nice morning with bright skies and crisp air.  I could tell so many stories about this weekend like the one about Beth's hair, Christopher's (my nephew) "All done" sign language, or my golf outing wih my father-in-law, but rather I want to spend some time talking about my better half Beth today.  Anyone who has been reading my blog knows that she is my world and everything I am and will be is because of her.  She has such a kind heart and always thinks about me before she does anything - I couldn't ask for a better spouse. 

Abby and Beth

Beth at Abby's Birthday (at our Condo)

Cade's Birth

Beth and I got married, and to this day what I remember the most (other than saying our vows on top of that God awful tower) was her face, in particular her eyes.  They looked at me with such hope, happiness, and joy.  I can always get lost in her eyes, but on this day they were more alive than usual.  The twinkling in them was just a little bit more, the life reflected in them just a little more clear.  Maybe it was just me reading more into what I saw, but I truely believe that what I saw was real.  Right then I knew I was making the right decision and that she was the perfect person to spend the rest of my life with.  Now nine years down the road - I love her more today then I did that day.  I'm always suprisied how strong my feelings for her are even when we are fighting (which is rare).  Her eyes still shine, and I love seeing her grow as a person.  The times we have spent together have been magical - Cabo, Hawaii, Palm Springs, Yosemite, San Fransisco, house buying (twice), sailing, the kid's births and birthdays, etc are all imprinted in my mind and I'd never exchange these expirences with her for anything else.

Mother's Day 2006 - Beth's sister and Mother

Up in LA

Angel Game

Not sure where we were - but I love her in this picture.

Even though nine years is a good chunk of time - I'm greedy to spend another nine plus years with here.  Sharing our lives together has been wonderful, exciting, and fulfilling.  I love looking at her sleeping face the last thing at night and waking to her face first thing in the morning. 

Beth and her sister

Beth's Birthday 2009

Yosemite 2009

Beth and Abby Yosemite 2009

Beth's side of the Family 2009

Love this Pic!

Abby's soccer game 2010

Abby's photo shoot at the Montage 2009

Abby's photo shoot at the Montage 2009

Thank you Beth for sticking with me - for loving me - for sharing your life with me.  You have made me the happiest husband on this whole earth.

Taken off the coast of Dana Point when we laid Big Papa to rest.

Keep Steppin'
bob

A Nice 4 Miler.......

So yesterday was a very good day to workout.  I didn't get started until pretty late just because I couldn't break away.  After dinner I took Bogey out for a walk 2.3 miles and 40 mins later we came back home and it was pushing 7:00 pm.

P90x was next once we got the kids setteled down to bed - by 8:30 Beth and I were working up a sweat (actually Beth doesn't really sweat, but I do enough for both of us.)  And we both felt pretty wiped after about 60 mins of Kempo.  Since we skipped the ab workout the day before we threw that 15 min workout in also.

Right after P90x I went out again for a run this time.  I had planned a 5k but I felt pretty good and since I had mentioned going for a 4 mile PB a few posts back I changed routes about 4 mins in to attempt a 4 mile PB.  My PB was set last year (4/18/09) at 42:47 so I knew I was going to set a new one.  (I really need to run this distance more.)  Plannng on the fly I wanted to run 9:40 mile pace and I knew this was totally within my grasp since I just ran a 9:14 mile pace for my 10k race last week.



MIle 1 was run in 9:55 - but I always start out a little slow on this course so I wasn't worried.  I slowly started to pick up my pace and I felt really good despite P90x earlier.  Mile 2 came in around 9:00 flat.  A little too fast but I did feel good and my legs felt pretty strong.  Core muscles felt strong also and I was able to get better movement throughout my hips which for me is has been uncommon these days.  As I get stronger in my midsection I've become less stiff while I'm running.  Mile 3 was uphill quite a bit and I was able to log another sub 10 min mile (I'm not sure what he actual time was here other than the face I was under 28 mins at tis point.) Mile 4 is all downhill and I finished off with a 37:34 total time.  9:14 pace!  I DESTROYED my year old PB by 5 mins!  I'm guessing I could have shaved another :30 - :40 seconds off this if I was really trying.

Total workout time:
Walking: 40 mins
P90x: 75 mins
Running/Cool down: 42 mins

Total Time:  2 hrs  37 mins

I'm very pleased with my runs recently - mileage is up, and my body is recovering very nicely between these efforts.  I' setting PB's almost everyother run right now and I feel like I'm still improving with plenty of room to grow.  I'm not sure how much more I'm goig to improve but for now I'm very happy with the results, workouts, and training runs.

I still haven't signed up for my half marathon, but I should get that completed sometime this week.  I know  can finish the distance, and I do have some 'goals' set this far out.  2:15:00 is my main goal with a stretch of 2:10:00.  I'd love to be closer to 2:05:00 but I'm not there just yet.  Still a 2:15:00 for my first half is a good goal right now and I can always improve on this at a later date.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Weekend Gone

Well another weekend has past and I had a very good couple of days in my workouts. I'm already on a 12-day running streak and I'm not sure how that happened. I'm just trying to get out everyday and do something - it really doens't matter right not other than getting out the front door. If I do that the rest seems to come naturally.

Friday was an easy day for me with only a couple of walks logged - Cade joined me both outings and we almost logged 5 miles for the day. I was a little sore from Thursday night softball - I dove for a ball to my left and have a bruise on my hip that really ugly.

Saturday I meant to get up early and go for a bike ride (13 miles) but it was so cold I decided to stay in bed for a few more hours and had to push back my ride until the lat afternoon. Why? Well I had to coach Abby's soccer game at noon (they won 2-1) and then drive up to Asuza Pacific University (an hour north into LA) to watch Alex run the mile. Once Alex and I got home I had about an hour of time to get out on the bike. I snuck in a 20 miler in 1:13 so I was very pleased. Tired but pleased.

Alex's School at the Meet

Of course I got to the Meet just a little late....Again.

Today (Sunday) Alex and I ran an easy 10k together - it was a little too fast for me and my body was really tired from the day before but we did finish with a 9:34 pace so I'm good. Now after sitting a couple hours I find myself very sore from the waist down. As it worked out, Beth and I took the day off from P90x so I have a chance to recover a little.



Currently I'm sitting at 104.9 miles for the month with three days left. I'm hoping for about 15 more mies to finish the month off strong. That would put me at my second highest monthly total over the past two years (the highest being January of this year). With momentum building for April.


Keep Steppin'
Bob

10K Race Pictures and a Breakthrough

I don't run a ton of races just because I don't want to spend a ton of money each year, but over the past 30 years I've run my fairshare of them. This is the first time I've run a race where I've had more than three picture taken. I don't think I've ever taken so many bad pictures of myself in one 'sitting'. I really need to work on paying attention to where the cameras are.

For your viewing/laughing pleasure.....

brightroom event photography

Nothing to write home about - and there's nothing there that I want to buy - but I though I'd share them with you.

Yesterday's run I had to cut back to a 2.23 mile run because of time restrictions. (I had to pick Abby up from school.) After dropping Cade off at the in-laws I had about 30 mins of free time that I decided to use to sneek in a brief afternoon run. So I grabbed my iPod and had Bogey join me and headed out the door.



I thought I'd be more sore than I was due to my effort on Sunday - but that has seemed to have worn off now and I felt pretty good starting off. Four mins into the run I was just cruising and I was almost pulling Bogey along to keep pace. I've been flirting with a sub 9:00 min pace for about a month now (on a mulitple mile(s) run) and I could tell today was the day that I was going to breakthough this barrier - first mile in and I was at an 8:30 mile. The final 1.2 miles are all uphill but I thought I could hold on and gut one out so I could get my sub 20 mins on this run. Suprisingly the pain really didn't come on the hill and I finished the run pulling Bogey across the line in 19:12 or a 8:37 pace. (This marks the first time I've run this course at a sub 20 mins.)

I'm pleased and suprised to see such a big jump in pace improvement in such a short amount of time. I think I could have held this pace for another mile if the course had been flat. Could I really be getting close to a sub 27 min 5k? Shoot my PB is 28:04 right now - but my current pacing would suggest that I'm getting close. I think I might have to change my easy run pace down to 9:30-9:35 per mile down from 9:45-9:50, I'll see how I react to that pace later on in the week.

Final thought/gripe. I've mentioned above that I really don't do too many races (1-4 per year) but I have been racig for a while. Chip timing has to be the best improvement in racing for the back-of-the-packer since the invention of the wheel and I've run about 20 races using these chips but single-use chips? That's what I had for my last race. I'd like to think that us runners are a little more in-tune with waste and our enviroment to really condone this type of waste. What's wrong with the old reusuable chips? I have no problem waiting for a race helper to cut my chip off after a race. Wasting the zipties are bad enough but the whole chip? Has anyone else see this one-and-done chip before? Mine was made by ChampionChip and I'm not too sure if this is a trend or still uncommon. I asked the Race Director at the site if they were going to collect the chips and she said the company was supposed to have a truck - but it never showed (at least up to an hour after I had finished the race)

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Sliding into Half Marathon Training

Well my 10k is over and done with and I'm not going to take any time off - I have 8 weeks until the Half marathon and I'm diving right into training for it. Once again I'm going to set-up my own training schedule with a long run topping out at around 12 miles. I'm planning on having 6 weeks of solid training with 1-2 weeks taper time. Hopefully I'll max out at approx 30 miles per week.

During the run-up to my 10k I did set a consecutive day streak of 25-days that I'd barely mentioned. That 25-day streak was actually a yearly goal that I had set back in January so I'm very pleased with being able to set this. I broke the on-going streak totally by accident; some reason I had thought that I had run that day but I never got out the door. Interesting that my brain had thought I had run..... I'm currently on an 8-day streak ad feeling pretty good. My lower calves are still a little sore from my effort off the 10k but it's nothing I can't handle.

With the Half getting close now, I'm getting a little nervous. I know I'll enjoy the run itself but it's the training going up to it that has me a little uptight. Since this is my first in about 20 something years - I want to enjoy myself, but to do this I need to make sure I train without taking a week or two off like I did going into my 10k.

Today's run is going to be an easy 3-4 miler around the house before Abby get's home from school - I'm dropping Cade off at Maas' house around noon because Abby and I have soccer practice this afternoon before Beth gets home from work. With my warmup/cooldown and walking I should log about 5-6 miles for the day which is good for me right now. Saturday this week I'm going to try to sneek in a ride in the morning, and Sunday will be my long run (scheduled for 6.2 miles this week). Overall I'm expecting about 25 miles this week (before my biking), with the biking thrown in I'm hoping for a 35-40 mile week. We'll see where I'm at on Sunday.

P90x is going pretty good. Beth and I took a few days off going into my 10k, but we're back at it. I'm getting stronger it seems almost everyday fomr this program. I feel like my shoulders are getting wider and I have more defined muscle groups now. I'm noticing my legs, stomach, and arms now. Nothing is 'popping' out but I'm slowly getting there. Weight-wise I'm almost always under the 200 lbs mark and my lowest has been 196.5 which is about 6 lbs off since we've started the program.

Final note today comes from my logbook. Since I just set a new PR for my 10k distance, I was looking at my other PR's. I do have several standing that are over 3-4 months old but one particular sticks out and that's my 4 mile PR. I set it back in April of last year with a 10:31 average pace. I'm going to destroy this PR very soon (shoot maybe today.) After this the next oldest is my mile time of 8:15 that I set last September. I'm going to have to make a serious bid at breaking this sometime BEFORE my scheduled Half. To be honest, if I set a 4 mile PR this week - I'll squeeze in this attempt most likely during the first week in April. I think I could shave off about 5-10 seconds off this PR right now under the right circumstances.

Keep Steppin'
bob

Newport Beach, Ca. Spirit Run 10k 2010 Race Report

Well I've been missing in action for a while now - mostly because I'm lazy sometimes when it comes to my writing.  My last post indicated I was going to do my shoe review - I didn't get it done and felt bad so I haven't written.  I still plan to get this shoe review done, but in the meantime I did run my 10k race and wanted to report on it.

Sunday March 21st.

Newport Beach, California is about 30 mins from my house using backroads.  Registration opened at 6:00am and my race started at 7:00 so I planned to get to the course around 6:15 just so I'd have enough time to get my packet, and get ready to run.  Once again my plan was to run a sub 58:04 that I'd revised down from the sub 60 min goal that I'd set earlier this year.

I felt confident in my breaking my set goal even though over the past two weeks I've taken it pretty easy concerning my running (19 and 10 weekly miles respectively).  I knew my legs were fresh and that's what I really wanted going in.  I knew the distance was going to be fairly easy and a 9:30 pace was easily in my grasp.  All I had to do is go out and grab it.

I woke up around 5:30 am and pulled out my black Nike shorts and my black sleeveless nike shirt (my favorite).  Lateley here it's been 80 degrees during the day so I figured it was going to be hot again, yeah I didn't check the weather report and it would hurt me before the race began.  As I drove towards the coast I hit a pretty dense fog bank hugging the coast.  Keeping the temperatures in the low 50's.  Luckily I had a sweatshirt in my car so I threw it on until right before the race started so I wouldn't freeze to death.

After sheeding my sweatshirt, I lined up in the very back of the crowd and chatted with a nice guy (I think his name was Jeff or Greg, I'm horrible with names.)  Anyway I gather he signed up for the race that morning and was planning to run a sub 60 min race.  I told him I was shooting for the same as I eyeballed his half marathon shirt from San Fransico.  Too bad I didn't get a longer chance to talk to the guy - very nice and seemed to enjoy running as much as I do.  After a great rendition of the Star Spangled Banner we were set to go.  No gun, just a verbal "Ready, Set, Go" got us off the line.  Jeff (or Greg) took off much faster than I and slowly pulled away from me and melted into the crowd.  I settled into my pace and realized right away that this run was going to be pretty easy.  I felt really good and the past two weeks of taking it easy left my legs feeling strong.   The first mile was mostly a slight uphill climbing about 100 feet in a half mile, much easier than any of my training courses.

The group around me was very quiet as we headed out onto the course so I turned on my ipod and put myself into cruise control.  Starting as the very last person enabled me to start passing people right away, and that felt really good as I logged a 9:04 first mile.  Still feeling good I put in a 9:10 second mile on a flat plateau.  My third mile was a 9:05 on a slight downhill and I was still feeling really good still at this point.  My breathing was steady and I was running at the back of a small pack - just dangling off the back end like a rubberband.  Still I wasn't paniced because I knew these people were running a 9:00 pace which was ahead of my race goal pace.  My three mile time was a 27:22 and I'm sure I would have destroyed a 5k PR if I was running a 5k race on this day.



Mile 4 was a little more difficult.  Running uphill again on the second loop of the course, I clocked a 9:27 still without too muc difficulty.  At this point I was really enjoying myself and started picking off more runners who had started to fade.  As I hit the 4 mile marker I look to my left and realized that I was passing Jeff (or Greg).  He was chatting with a 50+ old lady and were slowing down dramically after reaching the top of the hill.  I passed them pretty easily and put him in my back pocket.  I was still bouncing off the backend of the 9:00 group pretty much all by myself once I passed these two, and on the plateau mile 5 I really kind of blew it.  A small kink in my armor and a mental lapse left me with a 9:29 mile.  I should have realized that half of the group about 100 yards in front of me was slowing down.  (The group of runners that were 'hoping' to run a sub 9 min pace.)  I failed to notice this slowing until I checked my mile split and most likely lost 10-20 seconds at this point.  Physically I could have run this mile around 9:10 without too much difficulty, but I failed to notice my slowed pace and it cost me.

The final 1.2 miles are basically downhill and after seeing my split at mile 5, I wanted to pick up my pace a little.  Pretty quickly I closed the gap on about 10 runners who were in front of me and passed the gassed runners - I still was hanging off the remainder of the 9:00 min pace group that had started to thin out.  Some falling back others surging forward.  Even though my pace had quickened I wasn't passing very many people at this point.  The road was wide with very few runners.  Right before I hit mile 6 with a split of 8:54 I was passed by Jeff (or Greg) - where did he come from?  Up to this point only 3-4 people had passed me without coming back to me.  And once I had passed them the second time they didn't come up to me again.  Greg (or Jeff) passed me flying, and once I'd taken a breath and gathered myself he had extened a 50 yard lead on me and had passed another three people.  The rubberband was about to snap between us if I didn't try to follow.  Gritting my teeth slowly I picked up my pace and was suprised to see my body respond.  It wasn't like in the old days where I could go from 1st to 5th in .5 seconds, but I was able to 'crank' up the pace.  Faster and faster I picked it up, just like an old heavy thunderbird on straight road.  Jeff (or Greg) was slowly coming back towards me as I closed the gap.  I cleared out the runners between us and he was only 20-30 yards in front of me with about 400 yard to go.  With the small crowd cheering us on I kept increasing my pace gaining momentum as the distance closed.  By the time we hit the line I was on his back shoulder and I looked at the clock 57:xx!  I didn't know the exact time, but I'd broken the 58 min barrier and set a new PR!

Crossing the finish, Greg turned around and was surprised to see me grinning ear-to-ear.  "Nice run" he gasped.  Patting him on the back I responded with, "Thanks for bringing me home.  You helped me set a new personal best."  Without saying anything else we drifted apart and I didn't see him again.

I had to wait until they posted the official results later that night, and my watch was right on with a 57:25!  A PR by :39 seconds and I could have done more if I hadn't messed up on mile 5.  Still I as very happy with my results.

Official Stats:
Overall: 172nd out of 295
Age: 17th out of 21
Sex: 100th out of 132

Actually I'm suprised with these stats - It sure felt like I passed more males and people in my age group.  But it's my time that I'm happy with.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Healing....

Well I've been takng it easy over the past few days, my toe feels better and the swelling is almost gone, but my thumb that I hurt at soccer last week is still tender to the touch.  I'm guessing that since this is the 'worst' pain I have than I'm good.  I dd do something to my right foot though, it almost feels like a strained arch.  Last night I woke up from a dead sleep with a massive cramp in my foot.  This is the first time in a while cramping has bothered me - I'll have to pay a little more attention to my diet over the next few days.

 Later this week I'm going to write my review on my new shoes - I'll start writing the review tonight but I don't think I can get it finished so look for it most likely on Friday.  What shoe did I pick?  Post a guess (make and model) and as a prize I'll link your blog to mine :)

Running hasn't really happened over the past few days - I'm getting in my daily walks and Beth and I are doing our P90x stuff but the running is just not there.  Tonight I am planning to get in an easy 2-3 miler just to test out my feet.  I'm only 11 days out from my 10k now and I do want to ge in a few more runs before the race just to keep my legs loose.  Other than my little aches and pains I do feel good - I feel pretty rested and relaxed so I'm hoping I'll actually 'run' in the past few days.  This time period includes a bad toe, rain, and a distance PB so I'm happy over my accomplishment.  Hopefully I'll be able to extend this PB (streak) upwards towards 30-days.

Somehow over the past 6-months I've become a blog addict - I'm now following over 120 blogs and trying to keep up with reading them all.  I don't comment a ton but I do get to read them all (most of the time), usually when I'm watching my Lakers on tv.  Please keep writing I lover reading about your running adventures.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Two Thumbs and a Big Toe Down!

Wednesday last week I dislocated my right thumb trying to grab a soccer ball in the air with one hand.  I was coaching Abby's team and had just finished instructing the girls to shoot low and into the corners when Abby stepped up and shot high and towards my head - I reached up and just swiped at the ball trying to catch it with one hand.  Needless to say I closed my hand too quickly and my thumb decided to pop out of joint near my palm.  Without attracting too much attention, I just grabbed my hand and pulled it back into place.  For about two days it was so sore I couldn't open any type of jar if you had asked me to.  Real manly I know.

That brings us to Saturday, Beth had put Cade into our shower (we have one of the handheld showerheads) when he likes to play with the water and all of our soap/shampoo containers.  I was downstairs getting ready for Abby's first soccer game and all of the sudden Cade starts screaming bloody murder.  My first instinct was that he had moved the water handle to 'scalding', and yes we do have a scalding setting on our shower, but that's another story.  I come flying up our stairs - jump the baby gate at the bottom, and started taking stairs 2-3 at a time.  Now our stairs have two turns in them doubling back on themselves, after making the two left turns I was approaching the final three steps with Cade's screaming coming from the bathroom - Beth flew past me in the hallway just above and I went to grab the top bannister as I jumbed the final stairs.  Well I missed the bannister and jammed by left thumb into the railing.  Being off balanced I then drove my left big toe into the riser of the very top step.  Still I didn't really feel anything and rushed into the bathroom where Beth was reaching into the shower to turn the water off.  Cade had slipped, and the showerhead was flinging around the shower scaring him.  Once I realized he was ok I felt the pain in my thumb..... damm another sprain - I'm not going to get anothing open anything now.....  Oddly my toe didn't start to feel bad until we got to Abby's game - when I got home I stripped off my shoes and socks to find a nice swollen and blue big toe.

Needless to say I didn't get my long run in this weekend and I'm still hobbling around on my foot - both of my thumbs are sore (actually I'm not typing with them just yet) so I'm not planning to run until most likely Wednesday.  I'm not too worried about my 10k coming up - it's far enough away that I should be fine.  I'm already ready for it and I'm looking forward to the expirence.

I was still able to get in a couple of walks with Bogey this weekend - nothing big but it did keep my streak alive for the time being.  My streak is now 20 days which is a new personal best for me.  Hopefully I can keep it going - my toe is starting to feel a little better today so that's not going to be the issue if I do ed the streak.  It's will be my laziness raising it's head if the streak gets broken.

Other than that not much to report - I struggled through P90x this weekend (due to my 'injuries') and tonight is day 30.  So we'll have to do all of our measurements tonight to see if anything has changed.  I'm a little nervous to see the numbers just beacuse I don't want to be disappointed if they aren't that I'm expecting.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Took a Day Off

Yesterday I took the day off pretty much.  My legs were just a little too sore and I was just a little too lazy.  Still it wasn't a total loss - I walked the girls to school, and Beth and I did our P90x program for the day.  So today instead of talking about what I did, I wanted to take some time totalk about my monthly plans and beyond.

This month I've set just a few goals:

• Run / Walk / Cycle 110 miles for the month
• Break 58:00 for my 10k Race on March 21st
• Create a new PB for distance - longer than 11.45 miles
• Cycle 15 miles for the month
• Break my running streak of 19 days

Beyond this, I'm still working towards my half marathon in May with my goal of 2:15:00.  Training I'm going to do my own plan - I've been running long enough to put it together, nothing too formal but something to push me along.  Most likely I'll have a long run of 13+ miles sometime between my 10k and the half.  I know that most plans don't have a long run that long, but I really want to know what my body will do at that distance. 

P90x is getting close to our 30-day mark now and I'm starting to see subtle changes, nothing drastic, but enough to keep the program going.  I still can't say enough about the core strength though, It's making me faster for sure.

My running streak is now 15 days and going strong - I'm going to shoot for breaking 19 days in a row (a new PB).  Hopefully yesterday was my 'down' day and I'll be able to string together a good 7-10 days now.  This morning my legs feel pretty refreshed.  Either way, from here on out to my race every run is going to be very easy.  I want to be strong on race day  (16 days away) in order to give me a chance at that PB.

Keep Steppin'
Bob
 

Another Day Closer

I'm kind of flying up to my 10k Race date now, it's suprising how fast it's approaching now only 18 days until the event.  The question I now have to face is; "Am I going to change my race goal since I've already run a sub 60 min 19k now."  After thinking about it yesterday and today I think I am going to revise this goal.

So here it is: 58:00 is now my goal.  I'll be happy with anything under 60 mins though, but I think I can do this.  Everything from here on out is going to be longer slower miles, no tempo runs period.  I just want to keep running up to my race date and take it easy on my legs in the meantime. 

Speaking of taking it easy, I'm currently on a 14-day running streak again and my legs are a little tired right now with the P90x workouts included.  Still I want to continue on my current streak and see if I can beat my PB of 19 days here.  Conditioning wise I'm ok, it's my shins that are tired, no shin splints, just tired legs.  So I'm watching how they feel here over the next few days - if they don't recover like I think they will I'll dial down my effort this weekend.

P90x is still going well - last night Kempo felt good even if Beth was kidding me that I was getting to into it.  I eally like that workout - it seems to work everyting for me, and I feel so good after doing it.  Right now almost every muscle in my body is sore to some extent - from my arches in my feet to my shoulders.  Very slowly I'm noticing a new 'cut' somewhere on my body, today it was a new muscle in my shins that are more defined (I'm guessing that's why my shins are so sore).  My weight loss has basically stopped this week (196 lbs) but I'm getting stronger in my core and that's all I'm really looking for right now.

Last night's run was really easy 2.23 miles with Bogey just to get out and get my legs loose.  We ran it at a 10:19 pace so I kept itreally slow, maybe a little too slow since I was shooting for a 10:00 pace.  Tonight my goal is the same run, just nice and easy.



Total workout time yesterday:
Walking: 60 min
Running: 30 min
P90x: 60 min

Total: 150 mins <--  I'll take this anyday since I consder this was an 'easy' day now.
Total Miles: 5.5 miles (approx)

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Month End / Another New PB

My, has the time flown by this past week.  Everything is going well, P90x is coming along, and my running workouts are getting better and better.  Last week I logged 36.3 miles and I'm feeling good about the quality of my workouts.  This morning I'm a little sore, but I'll get into that a little later.  I'm looking back and I relly can't believe that a week has past since I last posted something, I'm really going to try to post more often because I go a week and I have WAY too much to share/write about that I can't get in all in a single post.

Wednesday and Thursday of last week were uneventful, I got my workouts in: nice and slow.  Other than that not much happened.  Thursday night is my softball night and I played ok, not great, but I was pleased with my effort.  My range at second base is getting a little better and I feel lighter on my feet.  I got to a couple balls that last year I wouldn't even had a chance at.

Friday was mellow also.  I picked up Alex at his mother's and he spent the weekend.  Late Friday night Beth and I went out and met up with some of Beth's friends for a night out on the town (It ws Beth's friend's birthday party.)  We spent the evening having ddrinks in Laguna Beach and didn't makeit home until after 1 am.  Needless to say the next day we were dragging.  I was by far the oldest in the group and Beth and I were the only ones to have kids - let alone a 15 year old son.  It made me feel a little worn down :)

Saturday the weather was ADD.  First it was pouring, then sunny, then rain, then windy, etc.....  Alex and I snuck out of the house around 3:00 pm to get in a easy run (10:00 min pace).  Alex has been battling an intestinal 'issue' over the past few days so I left him around the 2.5 mile mark to let him walk the short way home as I added more distance to cover a 10k.  I finished the 10k in 1:02:04 that included a long traffic light and some walking with Alex before we split up.  During the run the sun was out, I got drenched, and then I had water misting off of me when I finished.  Directly after the 10k I went out again with Bogey for a easy 1 mile run just to keep loose.



P90x is coming along well Beth and I are now on week 4 day 2 (today).  This it the week we mix workouts up.  So we're learing new moves and last night's workout really did a number on me.  I'm sore from my lower chest to my toes, and I didn't even get a really good workout in because I was watching a lot to learn the different moves.  Next time I'm sure I'll be dead.  Tonight is Kempo which we've already done so I'm going to use tonight's workout as a recovery workout.

Yesterday's run was epic.  I did the exact same course as Saturday (10k) at a tempo pace just to see what I could do since I'm within 30 days of my race.  At this point I hadn't done my P90x workout, and I was feeling pretty good.  Mile 1 went by in 9:40 which is basically all uphill so I was suprised since effort wise it felt pretty easy.  Mile 2 included a min stop at a major intersection and I still clocked a 10:15 mile so I knew I was doing well.  After that I didn't look at my watch until I was about 1.3 miles from the finish.  Surprisingly my watch read 45:00 even when I glanced at it.  Right then I knew I was going to destroy my PB at this distance - and I really have to give props to the P90x program again.  All the core work and lateral movements are really helping me to keep my form during my 'longer' runs.  Since I'm keeping my form, I'm faster and able to recover quicker.  Therefore I'm logging longer more frequent runs that are beginning to come at quicker paces as I get even stronger.  I have a long way to go, but I'mreally seeing the progress so far this year.  Anyway I finished the 10k with a 3 min PB; 58:12.  And I did this without really trying.

My montly number were pretty good.  105.9 miles, and I'm currently on a 13 day running streak.  If this was a 'normal month' in regards to the number of days I most likely would have 114 miles logged (30 day moving average)



PB-wise I did set three this month.  My 3-mile PB on the first of the month: 27:11 (9:04 pace), my 10k PB: 58:12 (9:22 pace), and my new distance PB of 11.45 miles.  I'm very pleased with my effort and results and I can't wait to see my progress at the end of March.

Keep Steppin'
Bob