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

Summary - Month End May 2009

I'm a few days late posting this, but I've been busy with life stuff. Running is slacking, mostly because of how I'm feeling physically lately. Nothing really important just a little run down.

Last month's numbers looked pretty good - 41.6 miles for my final week and 99.6 mile for the month........Wait..........99.6? WTF?!? I did it again? How and I possibly get any closer to a 100 mile month? Oh well, anyway both are PB's for me so I can't complain and my overall mileage goal was only 77 miles so I made that also.

For June's goals I'm playing it rather safe - 79 total miles total, but I'm really trying to get ready for a 4th of July run right now. Other than that it's been quiet.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Month End April 2009

Well I kind of puttered out again at the end of this month. I must have an mental aversion in reaching 100 mines in a month. 97.5 was my miles logged.... A PB (but I didn't break the mythical 100 like I was hoping to.) After Friday came and went I was in a funk - mentally I didn't want to run because I knew I missed that 100 mile goal again. Isn't it funny how you 'play' mind games with yourself without really realizing it?

Still this past month was very good to me. I hit several PB (See the sidebar) and overall felt really strong physically and mentally up until the final days of the month. I've taken three days off now and feel ready to start this month. The 27th I'm planning to run my first official race of the year so I have about 3 weeks of hard training to put in - then I'll scale it back a little just so I'm sure my legs are fresh before the race. I'm not concerned about my conditioning, and I fully expect to set a PB at this race.

Goal wise, short term this month It's pretty thin. I want to hit 77 miles for the month and run a sub 30 min 5k in my race. I'm not going to 'tweak' either of these because I set them about 6 months ago and (hopefully) I'll accomplish both and I can look back over the past 6 months and feel good about my progress. Long term - I'm starting to look at late 2009 and early 2010. Pace wise I'm hoping to be in the mid to high 8 min mile pace for a 5k distance at that point. If I can do that I'll start planning my first half mary at that point. Mileage wise - I'm thinking I top out at around 130-140 miles per month. Beyond that I really don't have much more time in the day. I see some early runs on the weekends - I'll have to give up my 'sleeping in time.'

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Another Month Completed

I'm still working on my teasers that I listed the other day but I wanted to go over my month end numbers because I was so close but yet so far in some areas....

Last month I ran 89.8 miles. Yeah 89.8. What the hell is that? How could I not realize that I was so close to 90 miles and not go over it? Shoot 91.8 miles is my monthly PB - how did I not even stretch for that?

Oh Yeah - for some reason I decided to not run last week. Could that be why I didn't hit these numbers?

Still overall I'm not displeased with my effort during the month. Last year I only logged 30 miles for the month so I'm way ahead of last year's effort, and I feel really good physically compared to last year. My average pace was 11:23/mi so I'm slowly creeping that downwards also but still I'm at a comfortable pace for me. (That's down from the 12:08 I did last November.)

Looking ahead - I can see myself breaking the 100 mile barrier in the next few months pretty easily. Once I get there I plan to hold that mileage for about three months before I start any type of speedwork. I figure if I can do this the clock stuff will take care of itself (for this year at least.)

Even with the small disappointment with the monthly mileage, I still had three PB's this month. I ran my first 4-mile distance in 47:28 (11:40 training pace), I rode 21.6 miles this month and I set a new PB for the 2-mile distance: 19:02! So I can't hang my head.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Month End (December 2008) and Year End Summary

Well the race report that marked the 'Year End' for racing for me took forever to write. Sorry about that I hope you all enjoyed it. I'm just now getting to my monthly review and in this case my yearly review also. I'll start with just going over my December numbers then I'll take a brief look at 2008 at a whole.

My Monthly numbers look pretty good, my biggest problem was that I was really sporadic with my workouts. With the time off from work, and the bad, cold weather I didn't get out as much as I wanted. When the month was over I had only worked out 12 of the 31 days this month, and never more than 3-days in a row. Still I was able to accomplish a few milestones.

1. Ran a new PB 'long run' of 6.2 miles in 1:08:29 on 12/20/08. Not bad for the first time at this distance. I should be able to improve this time easily in the future.

2. Total miles per week PB at 39.5 miles done week ending 12/6/08.

3. Logged 67.7 miles for the months total - that's second only to November's total.

4. PB 3.1 mile run of 30:45 on 12/29/08.

So I'm happy with my progress this month other than the fact I didn't get out as much as I wanted. My original goal was to log about 75 miles which I came short of. Physically I feel pretty fresh. I can tell my next step of development should be made with more core work and leg strength. Conditioning is coming along nicely but these other two facets are holding me back at this point. I'm doing the work so we'll see what transpires in the first quarter of 2009.

My Yearly summary is a little different since I don't have a full year recorded and I only started this blog on Oct 13th 2008. So it's a little hard to see the overall picture just yet. The biggest thing is that I've really taken running back into my life. I've embraced it as an everyday item and I'm enjoying the time I spend getting better. On July 4th 2008 I clocked a 36:27 5k and have already taken almost 6 mins off that time. I feel stronger and better about myself, and my self confidence is starting to rise as my 5k times start to lower. Last year I logged over 400 miles (my goal was 365 miles) so overall I'm happy with the effort.

In the next few days I'll be setting some long-term goals for this year. I'm adjusting my goals a little and I really need to decide if I'm going to do some longer distance races this year and then put it down in writing.

Keep Steppin'

Bob

Month End Summary (November)

Well this is late in coming but I wanted to get it posted. The month was very good for me - a 5k under my belt in under my goal time was the crown of the month. But other than that, there were several other notable milestones.

I ran 24 out of the 30 days in the month, and a lot of times I did a afternoon then an evening so I'm very pleased with the effort I've put forth in being consistent.

I ran a 5k training run in 31:11 on 11/16. That was enjoyable - funny though I'm having difficulty remembering how the run felt (see my entry on Difficult Runs last month)

Logged a total of 91.8 miles for the month (a PB)

Ran a new PB long run of 5.48 miles in 54:48.

Finally I got back on my bike and rode 12.6 miles in the month. It's been over 6 months since I last rode so this was a nice accomplishment. I plan to include weekly Sunday rides from now on.

All in all a very solid month - health wise I struggled with a bad lower back and some pain in my left foot. The back is feeling much better, and the foot cramping comes and goes. I'm continuing to ice after runs to help in recovery.

I'm going to skip the xterra 5k trail run in December and schedule something in January (funds, plus I didn't get a chance to preview the course because of the rains last week.) I'm going to keep the link active because I'm very interested in starting some sort of trail running, and this race next year may be a good target point. NOTE: race is sold out.

Sometime in the next week I'm going to adjust my goals and include Jan's goals in my right sidebar so keep an eye out for that. One final note is I picked up my second follower, Thank you for reading (and sharing) with me. The extra motivation knowing someone is reading this is helpful on cold nights.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

Month End Summary (October 2008)

Well it's hard to believe that another month has past for this year already. In a blink of an eye I look up and see the year almost over and myself a year older. But really it's not that bad - my family is great! Alex seems to be doing well in his first year of High School, Abby if finally coming around after the move, and Cade is just classic! He's at an age where he really fun to watch.

In regards to my running this month, I feel pretty good. I logged quite a few mile for me and I seemed to get stronger as the month went along. I set some short-terms goals, and accomplished a few PB's so I really can't complain. Here are a few of the highlights:

1. Total miles for month (PB): 61.58

2. Avg Pace: 10:02 per mile

3. Total time on the road: 14:12.41 (PB)

4. 74% of days spent running (PB)

5. 14-day-in-a-row running streak (PB)

6. 1.81 miles per outing

Personally, I think I could have done more during the month even though I did log PB's in several areas. The 1.81 mile per run is kind of wimpy, but it did increase over September. I do need to be careful not to try to increase pace and distance too rapidly otherwise I'll burn myself out.

Looking ahead, I do want to try to continue building for Thanksgiving. My body feels pretty strong except for an ongoing case of heartburn. Lately it's been really bad and I'm not sure what to do. I've tried altering my diet a little, not do situps, drink more water, etc but nothing seems to work for relief. If it continues over the next few weeks, I'll have to schedule an appointment to get checked out.

Keep steppin'

Bob