UPS drops the ball

I had a nice recovery run this morning; 7+ miles 49 minutes easy, had to make one bathroom stop but those are the pitfalls of early morning runs.

I had planned on testing out some new gear at the pool after work, but UPS decided to screw up their delivery for the second consecutive day. Instead of swimming, I spent an hour on the phone with a UPS supervisor trying to fix their blunders. Fed-Ex only from here on out.

Hot and Cold

I've been in a nice routine of taking Monday completely off, and never felt like my body was responding to the rest until today. After work today I headed over to the high school for the usual Tuesday Cal Coast workout, probably the last hard one before Carlsbad. Today's workout was 1600, 5 x 800. I felt absolutely awesome warming up, and even better doing strides before the workout started. Cush was late and not warmed up for the mile so it was mostly a solo effort (I did have some company behind for the first 800 meters). I started clicking off 69's like they were nothing. I am finally seeing the upper body strength and aerobic work from the last three weeks show itself as I could finally use my arms to cruise to a 4:37. It was by far the easiest 4:37 I have run in years, and I wasn't even breathing hard after. I jogged about 300 meters and prepped for the 800s.

As soon as we took off on the first 800, any energy my legs had completely disappeared. Aerobically I was feeling fine, but it felt like someone took a baseball bat to my hamstrings and beat them like a pinata. I rolled through the first two intervals in 2:21 and 2:20, not strenuous by any means, but lacking the drive I felt on the mile, and I was definitely straining with each stride. I took a full 3 minute recover after each, but wasn't getting any life back in the legs. I muscled through another 2:20 on the 3rd 800, running the last turn and straightaway on pure strength, driving completely from my quads and arms, as my hamstrings felt like jello. I had already decided that the 4th 800 would be my last regardless, but after 100 meters my hamstrings felt like they were about to snap so I stepped off the track, threw on my warm-up pants, and took off on a 3 mile warm-down.

Eight miles on the day, some good things, some bad. After Carlsbad or Alcatraz I'll have to get back in the gym and do some squats so my hamstrings can handle the higher mileage. I also need to work on my flexibility. I have been icing on and off the whole night so hopefully the jog tomorrow morning isn't too bad.

Solid end to a solid week

Woke up and headed straight to the Marian Bergeson Aquatic Center to use the high school pool. It was my first time training there on a weekend, and unfortunately it's $3 for public use. There were actually about 20 people there this morning so I was lucky to get my own lane. Did my usual drills once again, the commenced with the 400's. My shoulders are incredibly sore from all the swimming this week, easily the most I have done in a week. The first couple 400's were 6:15, 6:20, and then the third slowed to 6:35 mostly from muscle fatigue. I resumed the drills and then bounced into a few 200 intervals, and played some pool golf, but did not go very low. 2000 meters on the day, and 6000 for the week.

I drove home, threw on the running shoes and took off on an 8-mile run with Katie and Drew in tow on roller blades. We left around 10 a.m., on a beautiful March day, about 75 and sunny, with crystal clear views of Catalina. Decided it would be best to head south to Crystal Cove to enjoy the view. We made it down to Crystal Cove promenade and flipped to come back home. Average for the run was about about 6:20 and picked it up a bit over the last 10 minutes below 6 minute pace. Total mileage for the week was 46 in six days of running. This is definitely the strongest I've felt in months.

Brick

I have 5 weeks until Alcatraz which means I have 4 weekends to do bricks, starting with a bike/run today. I met Michael at 8 a.m. at Peet's Coffee to do a hard ride straight into a tempo run. We went out up San Joaquin Hills Road, took a left down Newport Coast, through Turtle Rock, down Laguna Canyon and up PCH. I wasn't incredibly economical with the ride, because I wanted to hammer all the hills in preparation for San Fran. Total ride was 31 hilly miles averaging 19 m.p.h.

I took about 5 minutes to hang my bike, throw on some running shoes and start off on my run. Drew tagged along with me on roller blades, and carried a water bottle for support. I took a warm up mile down to Back Bay Road and rolled right into my tempo run. The goal was to go a controlled 5 miles at 5:40 pace (desired triathlon and marathon pace). I hit the first three miles dead on at 5:39, 5:38, 5:40, which felt really easy so I dropped the last two miles to 5:33 and 5:25, then cooled down one mile back to the house.

I had a quick bowl of fresh oatmeal and assorted fruit, then darted off to Yogaworks for Power Yoga with Mom and Drew. I used this more for stretching but it still kicked my rear-end. The low point was falling on my face while doing the crow pose. It was still a heck of a workout and a solid training day.

Happy Friday

43 minutes easy this morning, or about 6+ miles. Did an out-and-back south on PCH to the Crystal Cove bike path. First mile was probably 8 min pace then settled into 6:45-7:00. Only had to dodge one car today. Resting up for a bike/run brick tomorrow.

An easy 10 and then some...

A few weeks ago Coach Sumner pulled me aside at the track and said he found me a training partner for Chicago, someone who is looking to run 2:40. In pops Karen Barlow, an Aussie, who had just won the New Orleans Marathon in a relatively easy 2:45 and also won the Surf City Half in 1:18. I was caught slightly off guard because I do not know many sub 2:45 female marathoners in Newport Beach. Karen is not a full-time training partner, but it’s a good fit for both of us because she uses our run as her tempo and it helps me get my long, easy, rhythm runs back to the low six minute range. Apologies to a few Yale and CDM ladies but she is by far the fastest female I have run with.

I met Karen at the track at 6:15 a.m. for her tempo/my easy run (I only say easy because it’s conversational pace for me, but it’s not that easy). She was looking to do a 10 mile tempo, with about 14 for the day, but that is too much for me during the middle of a week, especially when I have to rush to work afterwards. I have also been nursing tight calves and hamstrings, and am closely monitoring my hip flexor from Tuesday (iced three times last night). We had previously worked out a plan where we warm up two miles together then run the first 8 miles of her tempo together before I peel off and head to work. It was a perfect 57 degrees when we started from the high school and headed down the bike path towards Irvine for five miles, then did an about-face and came back the same route. It is a monotonous route but great for this workout because there is a narrow dirt path adjacent to the bike path that is easy on my joints.

Karen wears the Garmin Forerunner 405, a great watch if you are not on a budget, ($350) which spits out mile splits, elevation gain/loss, average speed, calories burned, and heart rate. Then the computer spits these out in a nice display for personal records. Normally I would not pay attention to splits on an easy run, but we were cruising along nicely. The last eight miles I ran with Karen were: 6:12, 6:24, 6:23, 6:22, 6:19, 6:14, 6:22, and 6:32. The last mile was straight up hill so we didn’t slow down as much as it looks and Karen averaged 6:10 over the next two. No residual pain in the hip or legs, but I didn’t have time to ice after the run.

After work, I went to the pool with Drew and Blake. I did my usual drills, then 2 x 200 yards at a comfortable pace. Then Blake and I did 4 x 25 yard sprints, with a 25 yard breaststroke recovery. After this we went into 4 x 50 yard sprints, which beat the crap out of me, and I started cramping a bit in my arms. I cooled down with 3 x 200 yard easy and called it a day—1500 yards in the pool. I’m feeling pretty good considering all the work put in today. I think the pool actually got the blood flowing from this morning’s run. Now I’m about to go chow down on some sushi.

Don't eat at Chaparosa Grill

I wanted to try something new for lunch instead of the usual walk over to Fashion Island. Ate lunch at Chaparosa Grill at the District in Tustin. Do not go there. I had a cup of New England clam chowder and a Reuben. The clam chowder was not very chowdery and I didn't see any clam in it. The Reuben--and it's hard to mess up a Reuben--was terrible. The corned beef was drowned out by grease and a sorry excuse for thousand island/Russian dressing. All in all, I give the restaurant a D+. The plus was for pleasant outdoor seating. I will never eat there again.

Why do I bring this up? If you eat crap food, you'll have a crap run. Clam chowder and a Reuben isn't necessarily great pre-run food even at its finest, but I've had much worse and been fine. I ran an easy 7 miles south on PCH down towards the Crystal Cove bike path averaging about 6:35-6:45. Had to make three bathroom stops on the run. Fortunately I felt it coming and Crystal Cove has public restrooms every 1/4 mile. Moral of the story, do not eat at Chaparosa Grill, ever.

2010 progression

1/9/10 - SoCal Half Marathon/5k - 15:41
2/7/10 - Surf City Half Marathon - 1:13:15
3/13/10 - Solvang Century 100m Bike Ride
3/21/10 - Spirit Run 10k/5k - 33:41/16:00

Weekly mileage progression since Surf City Half: 28, 32, 28, 35, 47
Current plan is to Hover around 40-50 on 6 days per week of running through the end of April.

Upcoming Races:
4/11/10 - Carlsbad 5000
5/2/10 - Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon
5/22/10 - OC Duathlon
6/13/10 - Magic Shoe 5000
6/19/10 - Camp Pendleton Mud Run
7/4/10 - Surf City 5k
7/16/10 - Allianz Games (Budapest) 1500/5000
10/10/10 - Chicago Marathon

Interval Workout - Still feeling yesterday

Went to the track to do the usual Tuesday night Cal Coast Workout. Got there 45 minutes early to make sure I loosened up my calf, which was still cramping. I was actually gimping around the office most of the day so running may have been a stupid idea. My running shoes immediately relieved most of the pressure on my upper calves. I guess this is why you should not run in Allen Edmonds. Kept the warm-ups on longer than usual to keep warm and after 3 miles of jogging on the grass, 20 minutes of stretching and lots of strides, managed to loosen up enough to run without a noticeable limp.

Workout today was a 2000, then 6x500. I was going to take it very slow but as soon as I got going, running 70s still just felt very comfortable. Ran basically 70-71 for each lap and finished with a very controlled 5:54. We took about 3:30 recovery after before the 500's. I told myself I would take it easy on the 500's, but some younger guys jumped in with us and tried to push the pace, so while I was hoping to hit the 400 no faster than 68, my ego got in the way and we started at 66. My 500's were 85, 84, 83, 82, 81, with about 2:30-3:00 rest in between each one. After the 4th interval my left hip flexor started getting very warm and felt like it was starting to pull so I tried to keep myself smooth. I knew I probably shouldn't have even started the last interval, but I was stupid and did. Came through 200 in 30, which felt easy except each stride became one closer to a snapped hip flexor and no running for 2 weeks so I eased off after 200 and dropped. Ran two miles on grass afterward and felt a little better by the time I drove home. Overall, good workout, 8 mile day. Calves and hamstrings are feeling this workout and yesterday's swim and I'm icing like crazy.

Food: I had a large burrito at Chipotle grill (no beans) for lunch without horrendous consequences. Still, probably will not do this again before a track workout.

"Off Day"

I'm trying not to run more than six consecutive days until my body re-adjusts to the mileage increase, and because I'd rather have 5-6 quality running days in a week as opposed to 7 lower mileage/slow days. The body was feeling good this morning but I decided to stick with no running and maybe double tomorrow. Instead, I took myself to the pool to build some swim endurance.

I hadn't been in the pool since Wednesday, so I decided to get at least an hour's worth of work in. I warmed up with a few easy laps, doing some of the drills Julie taught me. Up until now I haven't been doing more than a mile at a time. I set out to do 5 x 400 yard repeats. I didn't have an official clock on them but they were all between 6:00 - 6:30. I definitely felt stronger as I went along and was feeling pumped about the workout. With 200 to go on the last repeat, I kicked it into overdrive and swam as fast as I could. Big mistake.

As soon as I finished, I tried to pop myself out of the pool, and my forearms, wrists, and right calf all cramped up. Fortunately, this was about my 100th calf cramp and I know how to breathe these out (take deep, hard breaths, and don't freak out). I downed my water as fast as possible and managed to pry myself out of the pool. Then I tried to stand up from a sitting position and my hamstrings cramped up, probably still feeling yesterday's races. I waddled over to the showers and managed to get under some hot water which helped loosen me up enough to get to the car and drive home. I drank about a half gallon of water when I got home and all is well except for some residual soreness in my right calf. Offset this by the four Arnold Palmers I had at dinner and we are back to square one. Icing the legs on and off for the next couple hours. I'll probably wake up early tomorrow and do an easy jog to get the blood flowing.

No long-term damage, 2400 yards in the pool between warm-up and cool-down. Solid day.

Progress

I logged 15k of races today and am feeling pretty good considering the times. The Newport Beach Spirit Run holds a special place in my heart. It's the first road race I ever ran (age 6), and it's one of four hometown road races. I used to only run the 5k, but given my long term goals and small incentive, I opted to run both races for the 2nd consecutive year. The top 5 in each race gets a free 1-hour massage at Spa Gregories, and the top 3 combined finishers get a free one hour massage. Simply put, goal for the day was 3 free massages.

The 10k went off at 7:00. Christian Cushing-Murray, my Cal-Coast training partner (and 3:55 miler, 14:29 5k last weekend) decided to pop into the 10k, so thoughts of winning the combined 15k went out the window. It's hard for me to run early in the morning because I'm so tight. I usually make sure to be up and moving at least 2 hours before races, but "slept in" until 5:30. I took a 20 minute hot shower to loosen up my legs, which worked perfectly, had a banana for breakfast, and jogged to Fashion Island at 6:30. I normally start the warm-up 50 minutes before a race, but wanted to minimize the warm-up since I knew it would be a high-mileage day.

It was 55 and overcast at the start (perfect), and the sun hadn't come up yet. The pace car driver must have not had her morning latte because the field passed her 10 seconds into the race, then she accelerated and nearly took out the early leader. Went out like I wanted to: 5:30, 5:18, 5:15, 5:39, 5:35, 5:14, 70 (ave 5:25). Ended up getting second behind Cush, who conveniently stopped at the one mile mark to pee in a bush, caught me at 3 miles, then blew by up the hill during mile 4. Regardless, it was a good effort, slightly slower than last year, but much more controlled. I jogged about 10-12 minutes while I tried to keep my legs warm during the 30 minute rest.

Slightly warmer for the 5k start, Cush took it out at a respectable pace, and my legs were too heavy to keep pace past 1 mile. I ended up running the last 1.5 with another Cal Coast runner, who predictably out-kicked me during the last 100m. Splits were 5:11, 5:15, 4:57, 37 for 16:00. Overall, my combined time is only 1 second faster than last year, but I felt much stronger, and am feeling pretty recovered as I write this. Logged 13 miles for the day. Total for the week is 46 miles (6 days of running + 3 pool sessions), easily my highest week in 2010.

Next race is Carlsbad 5000 on April 11.