A So Called Rest Day

So yesterday was a rest day for me.  No I didn't break my streak (12 days now), I just took it really easy.  A couple walks and an easy 2.3 mile run.  Because I have put so many miles in for 2010 so far I wanted to take it really easy today but I didn't want to just sit on my butt.  Once again we had beautiful weather so I got out the door for the 2 miler around 7:30 pm.  With just a smattering of cloud cover, I did a VERY easy 9:50 pace.  This is pretty much what I want for my easy paced runs right now.  Just a tad under 10 min miles and I'll recover nicely.



This morning I woke with an upset stomach coupled with a pretty bad headache.  I know I haven't written about my headaches before, but I suffer from them daily.  I manage the pain pretty well and usually within 5 mins of waking I can tell how bad its going to be.  I've done everything possible to have this condition checked out but about 10 years ago I decided that I'll always have them and I'll just deal with it.  Most of the time I can just pop a few excedrine and I'm fine but every once in a while they just lay me out.  I try not to complain to my wife because I'm sure she doesn't want to hear it, and there's nothing I can do about them so complaining won't help.

Anyway this morning I could tell right away that it was going to be a struggle, hopefully when I get my run in today, it will clear my head a little, but with the stomach ache on top of it I'm a little worried I'm comming down with a little bug.  We'll see how I feel tomorrow.

Today the plan is to get in a 4 miler with Bogey at about the same pace as yesterday's run (9:50).  That with the cool down and my walks to Abby's school should give me about 7 miles for the day which is exactly what I want.  On Wednesday (tomorrow) I already know I won't have any kids in the morning so I'm planning a duplicate of my cycling distance from last week (27 miles).  That ride took a lot out of my legs last week and I want to see a few things:

• Thursday and Friday last week were pretty tough - can I recover a little faster this time?
• The ride itself was pretty rough on my quads, can I do this ride on back-to-back without my body crashing during the ride?

I should have answers to these two questions by the end of the week.

On my last post I mentioned that I was concerned about getting in a 'long' run and a trial 10k before my 10k training schedule kicks into play - well another blogger Casey who writes Running After Violet is doing a virtual 10k run on the 23rd of this month so I signed up for it.  It fits my schedule pretty well and I'll still be able to get my attempt at 9-10 miles in this weekend.  So I get the best of both worlds....... :)  (BTW I don't think it's too late to sign up, come join us.)  So the plan is to do a 27 mile bike ride tomorrow and a 9-10 miler this Saturday, then the following Satuday I'll be attempting a PB at the 10k distance.....  Hmmmmm all the runs in-between are going to be VERY slow.  On top of this, I'm looking at my PB's yesteday thinking it would be nice to attempt a new PB at the 2 mile distance....... Maybe I can work this in next month.

I almost forgot to welcome my new followers!  Thank you for stopping by, leave comments, thoughts, questions - I'll most likely incorporate them into a post (or two).

Keep Steppin'
bob

Record Week

It's been a few days since I last posted, but I haven't been slacking.  If fact I logged a record 64.2 miles last week beating my previous best by about 15 miles.  Once again I'll point out that I include my cycling miles in these numbers, but I've always have.  Cycling made up 27 miles so I still had a very solid week.

Physically I'm a little tired now.  I have a 10 day streak going on and I do feel a little fatuged.  It's not too bad, but I've run a few of my last runs a little too fast.  Getting home tongight and checking out my log for my last few runs, I'm noticing that my pace is about :15 seconds faster per mile than I really want.  Now this doesn't sound like much, but over a 5 mile distance, and after 10 days the quicker miles do tend to sneek up on you.  This week I'm really going to try to cut back a little on my speed.  (I'm planning speedwork at the end of the month anyway.)

Sometime this week I'll be signing up for my planned 10k - my acutal traing schedule starts next Monday (the 18th) so I do have this week for a little 'freestyle' training.  I'm actually looking forward towards a structured 8 week schedule that includes some track work.  I haven't done any track running in about 15 years so that should be fun.

A couple other notes; first I'm closing in on a streak goal of 18 days.  If everything go to plan that will happen on the 18th.  Hard to believe that in the first 18 days of the new year I could reach one of my quartely goals.  Second, I may revise my 10k time goal.  Right now I'm just shooting for a sub 60 mins, but I'm going to have to put a stretch goal on that because in some of my tempo training runs I'm beating this time already.  Yesterday I ran 5.9 miles in 57:15 or a 9:43 pace on a tempo training run without really trying too hard.  A 10k race I should be able to beat this by about 3-4 mins.  To get a better feel for this I'm scheduling a 10k run this next weeked before I start my actual 10k training.  I want to see how close I'm actually to breaking that 60 min goal.  This will put a slight crim in my distance plans because I wanted to put in a long run of 9 miles (a personal best) this upcoming Sunday.  We'll just have to see how the week pans out.  Finally I've set a goal of a sub 2:15:00 for my half marathon in May.  I have no idea if I can do that - the 8 miler I did mid December really took a lot out of me.  And if I'm not going to run a 9 miler this week, my next scheduled 'longest run' won't occur until early March.  I'm sure I can finish that distance, but without attempting it I can't really get a good grasp on an accurate time.  Anyway, I'm going to focus on running a strong 10k first then I'll worry about the half distance.

Today the whole family dicided to hike up the dreaded ridgeline by my house.  It's a good hike and I had Cade on my back.  I've included a few pictures this time so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about;

Abby on the backside of the ridge

Our house second row back dead center (grey-blue 2 story)

Abby again on top of the ridge

Close-up of our house

Cade - always smiling.

Looking towards Big Bear (East) - just a little snow.

Our little model - her print ad for the Montage will be out next Christmas.

It's a great workout with a 40 lb kid on your back - I was sweating bad.

Finally I wanted to point out that I'm on pace to destroy my monthly record in distance; currently it stands at 108.6 that I did in September last year.  Right now as it stands I'm sitting at 81.6 miles for the month ad on pace to do 127 miles for the month.  Personally I'm pretty sure that I'm going to reach this number in fact I wouldn't be suprised to see a 160 mile month here.  I just want to be careful and make sure I don't hurt myself though.

Keep Steppin'

Bob

I Did 26+ Miles - Cycling

The title says it all - yesterday was a very nice day.  I got out and walked a few times and also found myself without any kids so I got the bike down and went for a ride.  Just a little over 26 miles logged and I feel pretty good.  My quads are a little tired but nothing too bad, and my lower bad feels good also.  I'm a little surprised at how well my body has handled the increase in mileage so far this week.

The couse in itself wasn't too difficult, but I just wanted something fun. I wanted t go out and just enjoy myself on my bike. That I did - but now my rear end is just a little sore :).  But the best part is, I finally got my bike out of the rafters, and rode it for the first time in about three months.  I really need to incorporate riding into my workouts more.  I can really tell that it would help my overall fitness, and it keeps my workouts interesting...

This morning my body feels pretty good, I didn't take the girls to school (I had an interview instead) but I do plan on picking them up and doing an easy 3 miler with Bogey later this evening.  So far for the month I've logged 60+ miles and I can envision myself doing over 200 miles if I get another bike ride in later in the month.




Other than the ride, I did get in a few walks, to and from school, dropping off and picking up the girls.  But by about 7 pm I was shot and was asleep within a few hours of that.

So far this month I haven't missed a day, and I'mgoing to see if I can keep this going thoughout the month.  I've always liked streaks and maybe I can get a good one going here with all the nice weather we're having. 

Finally welcome to my 'new' readers.  Please take some time to read their stuff - very helpful, inciteful, and entertaining.  Hopefully my readership continues to grow as I because faster and stronger.


Keep Steppin'
Bob

Another Good Run

I'm bound to have a 'bad/difficult' run soon.  I'm not sure when, but I'm overdue.  I've always said the bad runs are what make you a stronger, better runner and I'm actually looking for this run to come.  Last night was a pretty easy run I put in 3.4 miles at a 9:23 pace making this a tempo run for me.  On top of this I did another 2 miles walking in the morning and a 1 mile cool down after the tempo run.  My legs feel pretty good so far - a little tender in the calves but not too bad.



I'm very pleased with my start to the new year.  I've already logged 25 miles for the month and I'm feeling very strong.  I've run everyday of the new year so far and I can see this overall trend continuing throughout the whole month.  (I do expect to take a day off - I'm now sure when yet.) 

I've finally decided which 10k program I'm going to work towards for my 10k race in March.  January 18th is the program start date and I'll be loosely following Hal Higdon's 10k Intermediate Plan.  For those not familliar with this plan, it's and 8 week plan that involves strength training, tempo runs, cross training and some intervals.  The plan also calls for a 5k Race on week 4 - which I'll be doing alone.  I'll pretty much follow the plan except that I'll be adding a few extra miles hre and there.  My race Goal is still running a sub 60 min Race - since it is my first I don't want to burn myself out, because my main goal this year is my1st half that I've scheduled for May.  I'll keep everyone posted on my progress.

Kee Steppin'
Bob

5 Miler Today

Today marked the last day of Christmas vacation for the kids - they went out in style.  Abby went to the movies with Beth, Cade had a Birthday party to go to, and I got in 9 holes early this morning and a 5 mile run in tonight.

For golf , I played again with my Father-in-law along with my Brother-in-law.  I was 8 over after nine but I was 5 over on just two holes (small implosion).  My back felt really good afterwards with I was suprised, usually I'll have a pretty sore lower back after a round and that didn't happen today.

Tonight with clear crisp skies, Bogey and I made it out for a run.  I was going to keep it really short (2.3 miles) but once again I turned a different direction and before I knew it I had gone almost 5 miles with my cool down.  My pace was slightly slower than yesterday's (9:55 pace vrs a 9:49 pace) which I wanted so I'm pleased with the run and my effort.  I feel really strong right now and I plan on logging runs for the rest of the week.  We'll see how I feel on Friday :).



The night sky was beautiful today - clear and very bright as I watched the moon rise over the ridge to the east.  I love night like this, it's almost a religious expirence.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

My Running Partner is a Year Old Today.

So today is Bogey's Birthday. The big zero-one for him - and I don't think we could have picked out a better dog for our family.  He's good with the kids and loves to run with me.  He's still a little hyper but I keep reminding myself that he's still a puppy.  Abby has him trained with 'sit', 'shake', 'lay', and she's working on 'speak' and 'roll over'.  Running-wise he's been a good buddy on the pavement.  Only once this year have I run him into the ground but other than that, he's usually there step for step with me.  He's been really good on a leash while we run - shoot I've only stepped on him once.  I guess once it all it takes :)

Today for his Birthday the family took him to Hunnington Beach to the Dog Beach there.  For anyone who hasn't been there it's a nice open beach where you are allowed to take the dogs off their leashes.  Bogey loves it there - but it's about a 30 min drive so we don't go very often.

Running today went well, I did a total of 4 miles without any real difficulty.  Pace was around 9:45 and I felt really good considering it was 48 degrees.  Bogey went with me and we didn't see another soul the entire time which was kind of weird since it was still pretty early (8:30 pm).  The moon was coming up peeking through a thin band of clouds making it look really big and bright.  Very cool looking with the nearly full moon.  Tomorrow I'll hopefully get in another 3-4 miler since I'm off to a pretty good start for the year.



Keep Steppin'
Bob

A New Year Dawns.....

It's hard to believe that another year has passed, I'm a year older and my family is just a little more set in our ways.  The kids are growing so fast, and I can't believe that Beth and I first started dating over 10 years ago.  Where does the time go?  Maybe it's just because it the first of the year, and my Birthday was this past week, but I can't help but look back at the past - to try to learn from it.  What did this past year teach me?  How can I learn from my mistakes to be a better person?  A better husband? A better friend?  I think we all should take time out of our busy schedules and ask these questions of ourselves every once in awhile.  What do we all see in ourselves?  Shoot - I just got done watching the old 80's flick, Pump up the Volume with Christian Slater - can you tell?  And if you haven't seen this movie please do.



On to my run today.  I had only planned a 3 miler when I stepped out the front door this morning, but after a mile I went straight instead of turning, then right, left, etc....  before I knew it I had gone almost 6 miles at a 9:44 pace.  That's pretty good for me and a pretty good start for the year considering that I ran this 3 mins slower at the start of December.  It was such a beautiful morning here in Southern California today - a perfect way to start off the new year.  I have such high hopes for my running goals this year I can hardly sit still when I start thinking about them.  Right now I'm just going to focus in on my 10k I planned in March - really I want to break 60 mins here and I think that is totaly possible.  I'll be so happy if I do that since it will be my first official 10k since High School.  Today I was almost there - with another 300 miles or so under my belt I should be able to achieve this goal.

As promised, I wanted to give an update about my Brooks (see my review)  after 512 miles the shoes are holding up great.  I paid $59.99 for them which works out to be approx $.12 per mile so I think I got my money's worth out of them.  The outer edges are starting to wear a little but that's only because that's where my foot strikes hit first.  Beyond that I haven't noticed any other wear in the shoes and I think I can get another 100-200 miles out of them before I really have to shelve them.  I do have a gripe though, the place I purchased them through is no longer carrying the Brooks line.  Hmmm I wonder why?

Finally, as always I'd like to welcome my newest follower - runningBarefoot.  She has a good read over there even if I don't condone barefoot running, but to each their own.  If I have forgotten any other new followers I'm truely sorry, but please feel welcome!  I very much enjoy your feedback, and/or comments so don't be shy.  I'll try to make this as interesting as possible.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask them I'll most likely write about it (and my thoughts) if you want.

Keep Steppin'
Bob