Trying to Get Back to Respectable

Okay so it has been how long?  Way to long!  I have been trying to get back on the healthy eating track and now I am trying to get back to running.  My foot has its ups and downs now that I have the foot rocker, I try to use that as often as possible and it seems to be helping.  I went to a health fair on Saturday and talked with the owner of a local running shop and he said that he runs through it.  He also made some suggestions for shoes so I bought a brand new pair.  It is a pair of those minimal shoes, they are the Saucony Kinvara. 

I took them for a spin today and foot felt pretty good.  I decided to do every other day at about 2 miles.  I think this coupled with the foot rocker should help some.

Let's do this!

Pretty good run.  Foot held up.  I keep taking the rocker to work with me.  It is something easy to do while sitting at the desk.  I hope that everything keeps feeling like this.  Hope the foot improves some but it isn't bad, so I will take it!

About 9:05 pace.

Snow yesterday so I was not able to get out, so I went today.  Pace was slower than the other day but there was snow all over the road and it was somewhere around 8 degrees, maybe colder.  I haven't been that cold on a run since the good old college days.

Getting ready for the Giants 5k in 2 weeks.  Plan is to not do to much extra but put in a few miles each day.  Felt good today, ran it in 8:34 pace.  Not to bad considering I haven't run over 4 miles in 12-24 months.

Soccer Night.

Tonight I ran this run in 39:14, roughly 8:12 per mile.  That is significantly better then this run last week. I did have a few days off but this is just to get me going again.  6 days left until the race.  I am ready for this.

It was a little laboring today, it is getting warmer.  I ran about 8:45 pace.  Not to bad, I am thinking that getting myself back into training shape won't be so bad.  I really missed the running.

Soccer Night

This was a 7:28 per mile pace which is exceptional.  I was training/running about 8:30 to 9:00 per mile pace the last few weeks.  My first mile was 7:07, second mile 7:38, and then the last 1.1 miles was 8:25 (roughly 7:39 per mile pace).  I think that for not racing/running hard in two years this was an exceptional time. I look forward to gaining back my fitness (which I am not sure how much I lost), and lowering my time.  I think I will race on July 21st which will be a good test of how I am training.  I also plan on increasing some of my miles. 

For as bad as I have been feeling the past two years, this makes me feel hope and I needed that.  Since vacation, Court and I have changed our attitudes and have been doing more with our life.  I think that is paying off in my running too.  I think today was a major turning point for me and a much needed one. 

Not a bad night after a race.  The wind was out and it was cool.  Very enjoyable pace and run.

Felt good.  It was cooler out then the Giants 5k so I think that helped.  The race was pretty flat.  I had a little problem getting out of the gate but I ran the first mile in 7:07.  The second mile was done at about 7:20 or so.  Glad I ran it, I think the next one will be in August!

Last week there were a bunch of storms which dampered my runs.  While I would normally run in the rain, there was lightning and thunder and tornados.  I didnt feel like being blown away so I decided against training.  I did start to collect my thoughts though and should be debuting in my new training plan either tomorrow or next week.  Lots of fitness is the goal.  Running, core, and strength.  With the Garmin that Court got me for my birthday, I have a renewed desire to run for better times.  I know right now that I have always run for time, but I am going to start being competitive with some of my old times.  I am feeling like this could be a good thing!

Not too shabby today.  I ran it in 25:03, so that is good.  Tomorrow is tempo run, that should be challenging.  I am excited for a good hard workout.

TEMPO RUN 1 COMPLETE!!!!  1 mile warm up @ 8:30, 2 miles @ 7:25, and then 1 cool down @ 9:00.  The 2 miles tempo was supposed to be 7:30, so I was a little faster.  What a shame, having a better day than you expected.  Glad I got it done, didn't think I would after I tweaked my back last night but it helped make it feel a little better.  I hope I can make it through the 5 miler tomorrow.

15 miles for the week!!!  That is a first in a long long time.  Rough run today, but that is what I get for moving a tempo run to the day before a long run.  The back tweek played a big part in it too.  Oh well it is done and wasn't too slow (9:02 pace).  I will get it back.  Feeling pretty good though.

Not a great time today; humid, had the dog; just trying to get the 3 miles.  Tomorrow will be better.

Decent run.  Another day of running all over the place trying to hit my mileage.  It was fun, saw some different things and stayed out of the sun most of the time.  I ran it in about 8:28 which is pretty good.  Not complaining about today's run.  Good thing I have off tomorrow, my legs aren't used to this many days of running in a row, but tomorrow is football practice so I will be getting exercise.

Tempo Run #2 of training.  This one was better than last.  I ran warm up 1 mile in 8:30 then I ran mile 2 &3 at 7:19.5 and then 1 mile cool down at 9:00.  Last week was 7:25 per mile during the tempo portion of the run and I was having back pain.  I feel like this week was slow compared to last week but I will take a better time.  Getting excited for the Steeler 5k in a few weeks.

It was a good solid distance run. I am feeling good.  I think the average per mile was about 8:15 or so.  It felt good, it was strong.  Getting better every day.

I ran this in 23:00 flat which is 7:40 per mile pace.  I tried to push myself on a day after a long run to see what I had in the tank.  Tomorrow I will try to take my time.  Paces are looking okay but I want to get back down to training at about 7-7:30 training pace.  Not complaining just stating a goal of mine.  I am happy with everything the way it is.  The run today is definitely being felt in my foot, I will stretch it tonight.  Good day!

Good run today. 8:15 per mile.  Feeling better then yesterday.  Really getting into the swing of things.  Hope I can keep this up.

I ran a mile warmup, 2 miles at about 14:40 or so, and then 1 mile cool down.

Ran this in 8:09 pace.  This was a successful run.  Felt great and stayed consistent.

Good run, comfortable pace.  Ran it in 8:06 per mile pace.

I had football practice prior to my run so I did not do a proper warmup/cool down,  I wanted to get home.  Ran the 2 mile Tempo Run in about 6:59 per mile.  Went out too fast on the first mile because I just couldn't hang for the second.

Started slow but ended all 4 miles with an 8:04 per mile pace.  Good pace for the miles. I am feeling like this training plan has been filled with quality.  Getting ready to make my next plan.

This was a great trip.  The race itself was neat, but it did not compare to the rest of the weekend.  I got to meet Wes and his family which was really cool meeting someone that has been a driving force in my training for the last year or so.  We had the best tour guides in Pittsburgh and we saw some incredible things.  There were fireworks after the Pitt game, we got to see a bunch of colleges, the beautiful city of Pittsburgh, and the Incline.  It was a wonderful time.

Started a new training plan.  I am looking to do the Run for the Diamonds on Thanksgiving and then a Half Marathon in State College on December 2nd.  This should get me prepared for my newxt training program that will let me finally run a marathon.  I am hoping to complete the Pittsburgh Marathon next May!!!  Time to get this done.

I felt good through the run.  I tried to shorten my stride towards the middle of the run and noticed that I slowed down and my hips began to hurt.  After reading the No Meat Athlete program that I bought, they suggested that the way to stay injury free was to get 180 strides per minute and when I shortened it, I was coming in about 150 per minute but it didn't feel natural and made my body uncomfortable.  I think I will try to keep the stride at my natural stride and see how it goes through this training plan.

Okay, since I don't give updates every day, I guess I should give an update now because I have some time.  Everything is feeling pretty good.  During some of my runs lately, I have noticed that if I change my posture and shorten my strides, I am getting rid of the pain.  In the same vein the posture change has also decreased my time.  I find that I am picking up speed by elongating my body.  I am not going to complain at this point because it helped two of my more recent problems (speed and injury).  The pacing has been about 7:30-8 for slower runs and then speed it is about 7-7:30 per mile.  The speed work could be a little better but at this point, I am not going to complain about it.

Overall, I think I think I should be good to go for both the Run for the Diamonds and the Half Marathon in December.

Today was an interval training day.  I wanted to hit about 7-7:30 pace but instead I went about 5:56-6:20 pace.  The intervals are below:

1:33.7 
1:33.1 
1:33.9 
1:32.3
1:30.1 
1:29.1

I did slow quarter mile repeats in between each interval.  This was a nice idea when I have been used to waiting until the next interval.  The Garmin was fantastic for doing intervals.  I give many many kudos to the wife for a great birthday gift.

This was supposed to be a race but I was A.) not paying to run a race and B.) not going to find a race. 

I ran this in the usual place I do my runs so it was familiar but it was definitely the best choice.  I ran it in 21:51.  This is good but I feel like I could do better.  The best thing about this is that I have a reasonable baseline to use for the rest of this training and somewhere along the line I will need to do a good race before the end of the year to get a baseline for marathon training.  I think I will do the New Year's Eve 5k at the YMCA.

Tried to get this one done nice and quick so that we could go to the fair and get X-Mas shopping done.  I ran on the road right outside my house and my foot didn't like it too much. I don't know if it was the rolling hills or the slope of the roadway.  I know where I need to run and that is not right outside the house.  I will need to find a good place for the rest of fair week. 

Things are going well so I cannot complain too much!

33:54

45:22

Long run for the week and it took me 1:09.53.  This is an average of 7:45 per mile.  I know that I haven't been updating regularly and I regret it.  I haven't been able to focus on anything because of the constant attention I need to give to so many things.  I am happy to say that I am finishing the majority of my runs.  This week I got hurt playing football so I was not able to complete my Thursday and Friday runs.  I felt my hip pulling during my run but it started to feel better during the run.  My other hip began to bother me and so did some spots in my legs.  I think today was just an off day which is unfortunate when it was a long run but I got through it and felt good for the rest of the day.  I am feeling like I should do well in the Run for the Diamonds and in the Half Marathon.  I think I have things together. 

Not quite sure the time, I think it was something like 8:15 per mile pace. Felt like an awful run, but you need to have these every once in a while.

Calf is still irritated. 1:33 for the run.

Got it done.  Calf is still giving me problems but still plan to Run for the Diamonds next Thursday.  My per mile pace keeps slowing down after mle 4.  Not cool!

Run for the Diamonds day!  This is the third time I ran it and quite possibly the best feeling one.  It was not my best time but the half marathon training set me up for success in the race.  I dropped it into a low gear on the hill and coasted up at about an 8:30 or 8:45 pace (need to plug the Garmin in to check paces).  After the big hill, I used the down hills to drop my time.  I was seeing miles under 7 minutes, which is not something I cannot accomplish but the downhill helped significantly. 

The weather was great, a little chilly but by the end of the race in the 50's.  I think that if I was not dealing with the head cold or the recent calf injuries, I would have been much closer to my PR on the course.  Not going to complain, great day and a great run.  Hopefully, I can prepare for next year and get a PR. 

This race was something else.  After the Run for the Diamonds, I thought I had hills in control.  WRONG!!!!!  This course was very hilly and the last mile was an average 2% climb with some points being 5%.  That last section was rough and really killed my time.  I haven't uploaded the Garmin yet but I expect to see my miles slow down significantly after mile 10.  For miles 1-9, I suspect I was running around 7:30-7:45 per mile pace if not faster.   

While it was a beautiful day, it was not a good race for me.  The time was my worst of a half marathon and in the end I think I hurt my foot more than what it was from the RFTD.  I went to the doctor Tuesday and he sent me for X-Rays, possible stress fracture.  The shoes are getting replaced and now I am off from running for a few weeks to see if it gets better.  Exercise bike, here I come!!!!  Low impact but high cardio for the next few weeks.  Maybe I will even do some strength training (probably should so I can make things better and stronger).

10 miles on the bike. 

10 miles on the bike.

15 miles on the bike.

10 miles on the bike.

10 miles on the bike.