Quick weight/core workout followed by run.

I felt really good this morning.  I think it is the best I have felt for about 4 months.  I didn't go long but my legs just felt good.  It was encouraging!

AP:  8:18

Run and ride this morning.

Did hill repeats with each repeat lasting about 50 seconds or so. 

Felt good and is a good starting point for some hill repeats.  First time I have done this for a while.

Bike ride felt good after the run.

AM:  Had a good run this morning.  It was nice and cool.  I felt good running but not as fresh as Monday.  I think the hills were a little taxing on me yesterday.  Tried to keep is nice and comfortable.  AP:  8:30

PM:  1,600 yard swim.  It always feels good to get in the pool and get a good swim in.

Bike and run today.  The run was really slow because I did a mile with my little boy and another mile on my own.  It was good to go slow after the bike ride.  Did some core with weights also this morning.

Had to catch an early flight this morning so I had to keep the run short.  

I considered not running today because I was up really early and few back from northern California and it was rainy, windy, and cold.  But later in the day the sun broke through, the wind calmed down, and the rain stopped so I went for it.  It was nice and cool with perfect running weather.  My legs felt a lot better today and after 8 miles I could have easily gone another 3-4 before my legs would have felt tired.  That's a good sign for me.  

AP:  8:26

Stretching, rolling, and recovery day.

I've decided to take Sunday to review my week on the blog for my future reference.  Overall had a good week.  The goal was 25-26 this week and I hit it.  The hill work was good and overall my body has been responding well to running again.  I was able to get some biking and swimming in this week also which will become part of my weekly routine to help with strength, muscle imbalances, and burnout.  It's going to get cold here so riding will be more challenging but I will just have to dress really warm.  

Overall I was happy with the week and plan on increasing my running mileage by about 5 miles next week.  Once I hit 30-35 I will keep it there for a few week and slowly increase to 40-45.

This run has lots of hills but it keeps me away from the main roads where I have to run on the sidewalk.  I've been trying to run in places where I don't have to run on cement.

My left leg was tight this morning.  Not sure why it will not loosen up but I can still run with it.  It just gets a little harder to really get the lets moving when I try to run faster.  Foot felt good until I hit the 5 mile mark.  At 5 miles I stopped and stretched for a minute.  Came home and iced/rolled the foot and feels fine tonight.

Did 6 hills this morning which was 1 more than last week.  It was really tough and the last one about killed me.  Basically 3/4 mile to the hill, 6 hills, and about a .4 mile run back.

When I finished I got on the bike and did a 10 mile ride in the cold.  There were times I though my face would freeze off.  Felt really good after the ride.

Around 12 I did a 1,500 yard swim at the pool.  Felt really good to get in the pool.

It sure feels good to be back running.  I can't be thankful enough to be finally feeling good and running consistantly again.  I'll take every day of this I can.

I could tell my legs were tired from my speed/hill work yesterday.  It was only 3 miles but the fast pace up the hills really take a toll on the legs.  Kept it at a slow pace (8:50) to let the legs recover.

After the run I spent some time doing core work and a little weight lifting.

Always fun to try new shoes.  I only did 3 miles but they felt good.  Todays run was a run to try to increase VO2 max.  It's something I read so I thought I would try.  

1 mile warmup

1.6 miles: 30 seconds at or slightly below my VO2 max / 30 seconds at 50% VO2 max

.5 mile cooldown

First speedwork I have done for a long time (AP: 7:26).  Felt really good to run with some speed.  

Shoes felt good.  I think I will like them.

After the run I did a 10.1 mile ride.  Still enjoying the ride.

My legs felt really good this morning.  Maybe the best I have felt since I started back to running.  Kept things comfortable though, even though I wanted to go a little faster.  AP:  8:16

Around 12 I did my swim.  Felt really good with the swim also.  My arms never felt tired.  I was able to go a little faster today with an average lap time of 2:03/100 yards.

10 mile run followed by 15 mile bike ride.  

It was a little too cold early this morning to ride so I decided to get the run in first.  I also thought my legs would like the run first.

Felt really good this morning on both.  I have really been working on my foot strike.  I think I was too much on the balls of my feet and that contributed to my fasciitis issue.  Really working on a midfoot strike and using the glutes to propel myself forward.

Stretching, rolling, and recovery day.

Week in review:

I had a really good week.  It feels so good to be able to run again and feel like an athlete.  I feel more confident every week with my foot.  I have really focused on taking care of my body with nightly stretching and rolling and I think it has made a difference.  My left leg is not nearly as tight and I can definately feel where the tightness comes from when I roll.  I've really been working on that area to loosen things up and it has helped.

I started wearing my HR monitor again so I can track where I am with my running.  The first 2 runs I was around 141-144 BPM which I think is a little high.  I also have noticed, especially with swimming, I have an issue with CO2 buildup really fast so it messes up my breathing sometimes.  I am researching that right now because I think if I can get my breathing under control I will be able to increase my speed.  It's not anything I have thought about until this week and after a little research I learned that it's something I need to work on.

Along with my running I got in 3 rides for a total of 35 miles and 2 swims for a total of 3,100 yards.

Overall I am thrilled with the week and my progreass.  The goal for next week will be 35+ miles with a long run of 12 miles with the same amount of biking and swimming.  Once I get to that point I will maintain for a while and focus on breathing, form, and speed.

Nice run.  Left leg was a little tight this morning in the hamstring area but this went away after about 1 mile.  About 1 mile I did at tempo and let the legs go a little.

AP:  8:06

Did an afternoon swim.  My body just didn't feel like it could run this morning.  Foot was a little achey and overall I had no energy.  I didn't sleep well because my ear is driving me crazy so I just didn't have it in me.  The swim was really nice though.

In the evening I did a core workout with weights.

AM:  Body felt better this morning though I did not sleep well last night either.  Mixed in a little tempo with my run.  Ended up doing a little more than I expected.

PM:  Core workout with weights

10 mile bike ride before class.

After class I did my run.  Legs took a little while to warm up and feel good.  

1 mile warmup, 2 miles 30 seconds at 80% VO2 max (guessing) and 30 seconds 60% VO2 max (guessing again).  Basically I went at about as hard as I could for 30 seconds and then recovered slightly slower.  1 mile cooldown.  I was pretty spent after this one especially because of the bike before the run.

I was planning on 6 this morning but once I got going I extended it to 7.  Not that I felt that good, it was more about just time on my feet.  My legs felt really tight this morning.  I think the bike and the speed work really took a toll on my legs yesterday.  After a mile or 2 the legs started waking up a little more.

After the run I did a quick core workoiut with some weights.

About 2 hours after that I went and did my swim.  It felt really good to swim this morning.  I always enjoy the swim.  I'm still not fast, but I really do enjoy it.

I started this running telling myself that I would most likely be cutting it short because it was around 9:30 and I wasn't sure I wanted to run for 2 hours.  I decided to make the first part of the run where I am the farthest from me house as long as possible and then take it from there.  When I got by my house I found some water and had a granola bar and that gave me the energy to make it 12.  I didn't run fast I just tried to keep it a consistant 9 minute mile.  

AP:  8:59

Ave HR:  143 bpm

Weekly Report:

My goal this week was to hit the 35 mile mark and I accomplished that so I'm pleased with the week.  I have not felt run down like I did so many times when I was injured and did 35 mile weeks.  Overall the legs have felt good.  Of course they have been tired and some runs took a little more than others, but that is to be expected.  I didn't sleep well most nights this week but I still only missed 1 day of running.  

I rode once this week and I guess this is the one low point of the week.  The day I was going to ride I just didn't have the energy to do it early in the morning.  On Saturday I got started late so I only got a run in.  The goal this week is 3 rides and between 35-40 miles.

My two swims felt great.  I was able to swim 4,000 yards this week which is something I have not done for a long time.  I'm really trying to make it a goal to get at least 2 swims in a week.  

I also got in 3 evening workouts with the weights.  This is something I need to continue to improve.  It's a really important part of staying healthy with all the running/biking/swimming I do.  It is sometimes hard to find the time in the morning to do it so I need to get better about getting 3-4 workouts in a week at night.

I have still been faithful about my stretching and rolling every night and have really tried to roll the foot multiple times a day just to keep it healthy.  I think the stretching and rolling has helped with my legs feeling more alive and reduced my stiffness.

This week I am shooting for about the same running and swimming time but an increase in the miles on the bike.  I am also going to get out on some trails this week and start doing 1-2 trail runs a week.  I've been holding off because of the foot and the terrible experience I had on the trails in Flagstaff (I'll never forget that pain) but I think I am ready.

Overall I'm really happy with the week and how my body is responding.  Looking forward to another solid week and to some really good Thanksgiving Day food with my family!

6 easy miles this morning.  I was a little tired this morning and my legs felt it.  There was a little downhill on the run so when I came to that I sped things up a little but nothing too fast.

AM:  1 mile warmup, 1.5 miles speedwork, .6 mile cooldown.  I'm slowly trying to build some speedwork into my weeks.

After the run I did about 20 minutes of core/weights

Lunch:  Swim.  Felt really good with the swim today.  

I have been wanting to get back out on the trails for a while and I finally got there today.  Did about a mile to get to the trail and then about 2.5 miles on the trails out and 2.5 back with another mile to the house.  It is a different workout for sure but it was something that my legs needed.  Foot didn't have any pain on the uneven surface.  I wanted to ride after the run but I got an emergency call and had to take care of a patient.  I plan on getting in a ride tomorrow after my run.

I decided to do a time trial today and call it my Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot.  I'm itching to race again so this was the closest thing to a race I could do.  I did a .6 mile warmup which was all uphill and once I got to the placed I wanted to start I stopped and stretched for a minute and then headed out.  I picked a route that was mainly slightly downhill with a little uphill.  It also had a place to turn around at about mile 2.5.  At the beginning I wasn't sure I was going to be able to keep the pace I wanted but after about a half mile I settled in and felt pretty good for about 2.5 miles.  At the turnaround it was uphill with a headwind and by that time I was spent.  My foot was a little tight so I stopped for about 10 seconds and stretched.  I stopped my watch so I guess I wasn't as fast as my watch said, but I'm going to not count my stop.  I finished as strong I could and ended up doing my 5k in 18:47 with an AP of 6:03.  I walked for a minute or so and then slowly ran it in which was another .8 mile.  

This was the first time I have really tried to run a 5k at a fast pace for a long time.  I wanted to see where my fitness was.  This was actually my fastest 5k so I was happy with how things went.  I decided I am going to do this the last Thursday of every month to track how my fitness progresses.  

I wanted to ride after but I felt like I needed to stay home and spend the day with my family.  So that's what I did.

Nice and easty 6 this morning.  I wanted to work the legs out after the run yesterday.  Everything was slow.  No soreness and legs felt pretty good today.  I didn't get a ride in again.  I think next week will have to be the week I start riding again.  It's been cold so I don't want to ride early in the morning.  It's just so much easier to run.

AP:  8:59

Long run day.  I have been lazy this Thanksgiving break so I didn't get going until about 8:40 this morning.  Overall I felt good throughout the run and could have easily done another 2-3 but I am keeping my long runs no longer than 12-13 for a while.  This will allow me to build a base and gradually increase my mileage to try to stay healthy.

I always look forward to Sunday to rest!

Weekly Report:

I had a really good week of running but I didn't get on the bike at all this week.  With it being the Holiday I slept in a little every day and by the time I finished my run I felt like I needed to spend the time with my family.  Getting out of my morning routine threw me off the bike this week but life will return to normal this week.  

I ran 39 miles this week which is the most I have logged for a long time.  The foot feels good.  There are times where I wonder if it is starting to get irritated again but I have had zero pain with the foot.  It's just the feeling of tighness that always concerns me.  My running this week will be less because I think it would be good to have a recovery week.  My plan is 25 miles this week with a little more swimming and biking.   

I was only able to get in 1 swim this week because the pools were closed for the Holiday.  I felt really good with the swim and I want to get in 3 swims this week.

My core work also suffered this week with only 1 day of core work.  That will also be improved this week.

Overall the week was excellent as it relates to running.  I did a time trial "turkey trot" and had my fastest 5k time ever and felt good and healthy on all my other runs.  I am so thankful that I am back to being healthy.  It was so difficult to do anything when I was having my foot pain.  I'm doing all I can do make sure it doesn't come back.  Just very thankful for the ability to run and be healthy!

AM:  4 mile run nice and easy.  AP:  8:48

Afternoon:  Swim.  I felt really good swimming today.  I had my fastest pace in a LONG time!