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

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

Nice Tempo Run

The last couple of days have been good.  My body has responded pretty well to running the 11.5 miler on Sunday.  Beth and I have done our P90x workouts, and they are getting a little easier (almost enjoyable).  I don't feel so tired doing them, an I'm seeing the benefits (still) during my runs.  The core workouts are helping me keep my form longer during my runs - overall I'm pleased with my results so far.

Tonight's run was a nice tempo run that I snuck in late tonight (after 10 pm).  And it didn't come until I had done my P90x workout.  The weather was nice, and I got in a quick tempo run 2.3 miles at a (9:12 pace) so overall I'm pleased.



The rest of this week I'm going to try to push myself a little harder and get in a few more miles so I can finish my month strong.  I need another 20 miles to hit my 100 mile goal and it's going to be tight for me to get there.  Even if I don't make it to 100 miles, the month isn't a total waste.  My overall mileage is looking solid, and steady; my body is reacting to the extra workouts pretty well; and I think next month I can even take my intensity level up another notch without hurting myself.

Keep Steppin'
bob

It Was a Good Day.

 

After a week of just being in the dumps - today was a good day.  It's 11:20 pm as I type this and I just got done adding up my time doing something active today:

Walking 1 hour
Running 40 mins
P90x 1 hour 15 mins
Softball 1 hour 10 mins
Totals: 4 hours and 5 mins <-- simply amazing!  I can't believe I actually put in a day like today.  Ice Cube just seemed to fit today.

My run tonight was supposed to be a very easy 2.3 miles - I stretched that out to 3.5 miles (with my cool down.) and I made the decision to scrap my plan - I'll finish my 10k training by feel and see if I can break the 60 min barrier in 30 days.  Pace for my run was a very slow 10:37 per mile, but my first mile was an 11:23 so I did lay down a good final two miles......



Softball was good even though we lost in the final inning.  I was 3-4 with a HR, 2 RBI's and 2 runs scored.  I'm sure the P90x is improving my power.  Normally I don't hit the ball that far, and in fact my only out was a deep flyout of left field.

P90x was tough today, plyometrics and abs today.  Slowly I'm getting better and I'm completing more and more of each move.  Weight is down about 5-8 lbs since we started and we're only on week 3 day 2.  I sweat like crazy during these workouts and I can feel me working muscle groups that I normally don't use, I can't wait until we reach day 30.

Alex called me tonight walking home from track practice - he was clocked running a 5:02 mile today by the Varisty Coach.  Dammit that's my PR.  He does three weeks of formal training and he hits my personal PR?  The kid is a natural -he's got another week to break the 5 min barrier and the coach will take him to the varisty open meet here in Orange County.  I'm not sure how I feel about that - he's never run in a pack before let alone a mile track pack.  Still as a sophmore, it would be a good expirence fr him......  We'll see what the kid can pull out next week at practice.  Either way I'm very proud of him.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Hitting the Pavement

Well I made it out he door today for a run - not a very far run nor a very fast run, but I did make it out the front door and I'll take that as a win.  The run itself wasn't very good - my conditioning has suffered and I wasn't used to running in the warmer weather (almost 80 degrees today).  Needless to say I went out a little too fast and crashed over the final mile.  Still I was able to put in a 30:07 time over a 5k so I'm pleased that I got out the door.

Abby is still not feeling well so she missed her second day of school this week - hopefully tomorrow she'll feel better.  She looks much better today so I'm 99% sure she'll get back to class :)  Both Beth and I have been struggling with headaches and low energy.  I'm thinking we're spreading ourselves a little thin.  Beth is getting really close to taking her test and as the study time picks up, the more tired she gets.  Right now I think she's dead asleep with Cade in his bed - I'm tempted to let her sleep tonight instead of us getting our P90x workout in.....  I'll play it by ear.

Tomorrow I'm going to get in a few more miles - I'm tempted on ditching the 10k plan and just go back to 'feel' - "Why?" You ask, well at this time the plan itself is putting a little too much pressure on me to get the runs in.  I think I'm going to go back to running by feel - getting out the door and changing a 3 miler into a 5 miler.  I'm ready for my 10k race coming up in 31 days so I'm not worried there but what I'm worried about is stressing out and not getting in a run because I don't want to go 5 miles instead of 4.

The other thing is I've been running too many fast miles with Alex - I've crushed too many PB's in the last few weeks and I think it's put a little strain on my body, so I'm going to step back a little on thse run with him.  Shoot he's running over 60 miles per week right not so a couple of slower miles with his old man isn't going to hurt him.  BTW he just ran a 5:10 mile the other day.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

I'm Behind my Schedule

Wow!  A ton has happened since my last post - I'm not suprised to see that it's been almost a week since I last wrote something.  Running has been minimal not for any particular reason, but just because life has been getting in the way.  It's kind of thrown a wrench in my 10k training plan, but what can I do except pick myself up and start working hard again.

What's been keeping me busy?  Well job interviews have been on my plate last week - I was expecting an offer sheet on Monday but it didn't come, instead I got a voicemail indicating that I was over qualified and the company was going another direction.  I've heard this three, four times in the past few weeks so it's getting a little frustrating.  I really liked this prospect, in fact, this was where I had my 9 person panel interview I mentioned last week that I thought well pretty well.  I'm wondering if I'm missing something in my presentation.  So I've been mentally reviewing my 'interviews' trying to see what I might be saying that is scaring off potential suitors.......

P90x has suffered a little also just because Beth and I have been short on time - she's picked up a few more hours at the office, and is also cramming for her Real Estate test later this month.  I've been struggling with finishing our taxes, which were fairly complex this year - mulitple homes, rentals, 401k transfers, unemployment, mulitiple 1099's, 1098's, home office, and a refi.  I'm so glad I finished tonight.  Still, we've only missed two days so far, and I on't see it getting any worse.

Abby's been sick over the last 48hrs with the flu, so that's taking up a little more time also.  Hopefully the rest of the house doesn't come down with it, but I'm not going to bet against it.  The poor girl pretty much slept the whole day away today.  Hopefully tomorrow she'll feel better.

The four-day weekend was jam-packed with stuff to do.  I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before but I Coach AYSO soccer also (Abby's team) we are just getting the Spring season started and had a full game scrimmge this past Saturday.  Since we'd only had once practice due to the weather, I was afraid we'd get crushed against this "particular" coach - you all not the type, just a little overzealous.  We my girls came out and listened to my instructions very well and we destroyed this guy's team., 6-3.  After our 'regulation time' was up we were leading 3-0 and he wanted to 'keep going' so I said "sure" - they scored a quick two goals but them my girls reponded.  I got a good feeling of what they can do and what I need to work on with them so overall it was a good practice session.  I love coaching, and this enables me to keep close to the game along with spending time with my daughter.

Damm - I still have to lose some of my beer gut...

Sunday, Valentines Day I took the family up to Big Bear - it's only two hours away and the kids had a blast playing in the snow.  It was their first time ever seeing snow in person, too bad they only lasted about an hour in it.....  So we made our way back home.  Still I think it would be nice to spend a whole weekend up there in the future.

Watch out!

Sledding fun

Keep Steppin'
Bob

I Love Having Free Time!

Well today I had an early AM interview.  This is the second with this company so I'm hopeful I'll get an offer from them early next week.  They pulled in the Big Guns this morning and I was in front of  9 person panel.  Shoot it's a small manufacturing company, I think that was their whole staff.  I'm not sure of this but it had to have been close.

Anyway, I was done within the hour and since Maas was watching the little tyke, and Abby was still in school I had the morning/early afternoon to myself.  The rain left on Tuesday so the weather was back to our normal Feburary weather; sunny, windy, and just a little chilly.  I came home, changed, grabbed Bogey and we headed down to our local harbor area.  The plan was to get some longer slow miles in just because I had the time.  7.5 miles later I dragged Bogey back to he car - he was spent.  If fact he's laying at my feet outside in the sun right now a I type this - dead alseep.  In all fairness I think that was the furthest he's gone at one time so far.  He held his own, but I'm thinking he'll sleep pretty good this afternoon.



I thought about bringing the camera for this run, but I really didn't want to hassle with it today - so I enjoyed the ocean air, sun and other people.  Very easily I clicked off 10 min miles without any effort.  My overall pace was 10:04 per mile and I'm a little suprised how easily that came.  Shoot I stopped for a potty brake around mile 3 and at mile 4 I was stopped for about a min waiting for a light.  So I could have easily dropped this into the 9:40 pace range if I really wanted to - but I'm fine with the effort today.  The water was a nice light green, and there were some small white caps from the breeze, just beautiful.  At one point I was running along Capo Beach (just south of the harbor) and some guy was feeding the seaguls from his upstretched hand.  There must have been over a thousand birds hovering about an arms length from this guy.  I wished I had the camera at that point, just so I could have shared the picture with my readers - maybe I'll try to recreate some day.

Once I finished I was famished - and locally here is a great lunch shop for sandwiches - Cultured Kitchen in San Clemente.  I've been going here since High School and I had the craving - after a quick jump in the car I arrive and find out they don't take Amex. - damm, that's all I carry these days.  So I setteled for Baja Surf Taco's instead.  I scarfed down my meal within seconds - I don't know if I even chewed.

P90x is stll going - and Beth and I are doing well with it.  We're on week 2 day 3 now and I'm completing more and more reps (correctly I might add).  We're having a little problem getting the time we need to do the whole hour to hour and a half workouts.  So sometimes we have to split up the workouts between the kids baths, nighttime, and early mornings.  Still we're getting the workouts in and it's not affecting my running workouts too much.  I still think I'm benefitting more doing the program than just running more.  Today was Arms and Back with Ab's, and even with this workout this morning I was able to do the 10:04 pace just a few hours later.  I have dropped my normal lifting routine for the time being - maybe Ill be able to pick this back up in a few weeks once my body gets a little stronger.

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I also play softball - I've taken about 6 months off recently, but tonight is our first game of the Spring schedule.  I play second base and its fun just getting out and playing with the guys.  We have a good group of guys and we've been playing together for about 10 years now so it's always nice seeing them after an extended period.  We should have fn tonight - hopefully we're back down in the "D" league....... 

The rest of my running schedule is week is looking fairly easy.  3-4 miles tomorrow, and then 2 easy miles on Saturdy before I take on Becca's Virtual 10k Challange.  Right now my PB stands at 1:01:33 that I did back on Jan 23rd, I think I'm going to shoot for something right around that time.  I'm not looking to break the 60 min barrier on this run, but I just might happen if I'm feeling good.  It mostly likely will be decided while Im out on the course.  These miles should put me right around 35 miles for the week, a nice solid week of running and workouts.  Only 38 dys left before my 10k Newport Beach race - I think I'll be ready.


Keep Steppin'
Bob

Workouts Going Good

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Quick Update

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

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

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

Keep Steppin'
Bob

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

P90x day 3

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

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

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

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

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

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Epic Fail and a PB in one day.

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

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

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

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



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

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

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Too Much Information

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

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

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

Keep Steppin'
Bob

P90X

Well Beth and I took our "Before" pictures last night - I can't post them.  Just too horrible - maybe I'll get over it once I've finished the program but for right now I can't stand looking at them.  Tonight we're doing the fitness test to see if we can even handle doing the program and most likely we'll start the actual progam over the weekend.  We're both pretty sure the fitness test won't pose any problems but I'm still worried.

We're pretty much going to follow the program except for maybe the supplements they sell.  Foodwise we're going to eat better and clear out the house over the next 30 days.  After 90 days if we like the results I'm sure we'll do it again.  I'm looking forward spending that extra hour working out with Beth but it's going to be hard on me getting up an hour earlier, I'm such a night owl.

I'll keep everyone posted on our/my progress. 

On top of this program I am continuing my running and weight program(s).  So I'm upping my daily workout time from approx 1 hour a day to 2 hours a day - I know this is going to get me tired but I want to see how far I can push myself here.  I have enough base work put in over the past couple years I should be able to handle it.  I think the hardest thing for me will be the change in diet.



Last night I snuck in a 5k at an very easy pace (10:26 per mile)  that's a little too slow, but because of the two previous days at the quicker pace I'm ok with this.  Also my running partner kept stopping and wanted to smell the grass.......  My legs did feel pretty tired last night and I was overdressed for the weather (windbreaker and gloves).  I most likely could have gotten away with just my sleeves and no gloves but I was being a wimp because of the slight drizzle.  Still it was a good run, I got out the front door and put in the miles where I could have just easily sat in front of the tv so I have to be pleased that I put in the effort.  I've run this particular course 14 times now and this run is the second slowest I've done, so that kind of tells me I did take it rather too easy.

Today is turning out to be fairly nice (forecast called for 40% chance of rain today), I honestly don't think we're going to get it.  That's good because I want to sneak out and get my first speedwork workout in.  I haven't done any speedwork in such a long time it's going to be interesting to see how my body reacts.  I'm just wondering if I'm going to survive. :)

Because of the rain I'm basically two workouts behind schedule but I'm not worried about this at all. I'll just make them up along the way since I'm planning on doing more mileage than what my plan calls for anyway.  Friday's are scheduled rest days and I love running Friday nights so I'm sure I'll make one day up this week.  My long day - Sunday this week is only 5 miles so rolling in the P90x program this weekend works out well also.  The weight training is coming along but I haven't really seen any results from this yet, hopefully by the end of March the work I'm putting in here will begin to pay off.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Hal Higdon's 10k Plan - Started!

Well I started my 'official' racing plan yesterday.  I'm looking forward to using a plan over the next few weeks - I can use a little structure in my training right now.  Even though the plan calls for some days off, I'm electing to use the off days as easy, short runs to add a little to my overall weekly mileage.

Yesterday I got in about 5 miles total which I thought was good because of the massive amounts of rain that fell for the most part of the day.  Around 5 pm the skies cleared and I was lucky enough to get in a run after Cade fell asleep around 9 pm.  It wasn't that cold so I didn't have to bundle up too much but I did wear my sleeves.  Pace wise I kept it pretty slow since I've put in some difficult runs last week.  My pace was actually a 9:35 per mile so it was about :10 seconds faster per mile than I had planned, but I'm ok with that.  I have to keep showing improvement right?  Actually I went and looked at my training log and noticied and the 9:35 pace on this course actually 'beats' a race time I had last January.  So I have to be pleased right?

We're still supposed to get rain throughout the week so I'm not sure what my runs are going to look like over this time.  Today I'm supposed to do another 3 miles easy - so I'm pretty sure I can squeeze this in sometime later today.  I may have to get wet but that won't be too bad.  I'm just going to play it by ear.

My streak is now 19 days which is my personal best.  I really would like to finish the month without taking a day off.  And actually I'm starting to eye going another 60 days from today.  Why 60 more days?  Well my 10k race is 60 days from today so I think that would be a good goal.  Physically I feel pretty good.  Last nigt's run went better than I expected, with just a little soreness overall nothing too bad.  Stretching this out another 60 days may be good for me mentally.  What I'm worried about is the interval training that starts nexrt week - how will I respond to that?  I'm not sure since I haven't done any of this kind of training since college.

A final note: Beth purchased P90x last night, she's wanted this program since before Thanksgiving.  I'm sure its a good program, but I'm not sure if I'm strong enough to do it.  Still Beth and I talked and we're going to try to do this together.  I think I'm going to take before, during and after picture and I'll keep everyone posted on my progress.

Keep Steppin'
Bob