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