Winning Back What I Lost

630AM: Easy run on the TM. Little bit of stomach pain. Got back on the scale again and I was horrified- 190 lbs!  That means I put on nearly 25 lbs since September. Obviously, I'll be starting a diet post haste. In the meantime, I guess I'll look on the bright side and view it as a training tool, i.e., running with a 25 lb backpack.

625AM: 6.04M on the TM; half mile intervals @ 730/mi w/ half mile jogs.  I could have pushed it harder but I'm just trying to acclimate myself to a quicker pace before I get too carried away. 

Noon: Lunchtime run on the GB from Municipal Park.  Good run. Just under tempo effort: 7:50/mi avg. 

630AM: Light weight training (3 sets single leg curls & single leg presses) then slow progressive run on TM topping out @ 8:00/mi. 

Noon: Sunny and cool (40 degrees). Extended the Saturday long run to almost 12 miles. Developed some mild hip/groin soreness midway through and one of toenails was cutting into another toe. That's always a problem with my Kinvara's.  The toe box is very constricted and I have to be religious about cutting down my toenails when I wear these shoes.  Felt pretty good and I think I'm making some fitness gains. Steady pace between 8:20/mi to 8:35/mi pace the whole way.   

630AM: 3 sets of single leg extensions; Easy + .5M intervals @ 7:30/mi.  Headphones bit the dust.  I also noticed that my right shoe (Saucony Tangent 4's) had a bit more room in the toe box and when I stopped I discovered why. I had busted a 3 inch hole through the outside edge. I was able to squeeze just under 500 miles out of this pair. I ordered another pair last week from Amazon for $35 (discontinued)- so not a bad investment actually.   

630AM: 5+ miles of hill intervals on the TM.

Noon: Easy recovery jog from Muncipal Park to Ann Morrison Trail and back. Broke in new pair of Tangent 4's. Very tight fit around the arches when I put them on but they stretched out nicely. By the end of the run they almost felt broken in. 

Packing my own lunch these days to cut down on the calories. I'm usually pretty good about getting salads and/or removing the bun when I get something from the drive thru but this just removes all temptation and saves me a ton of $ all at once.  Goal is to lose 10 lbs a month which will put me under 150 for UVM. Considering I've never been lower than 165, that's pretty ambitious. Getting to the 170 mark has been fairly easy for me in the past but once I get there I tend to get complacent and eat anything, and alot of it.  I'll try not to repeat that mistake. I figure that I may never be able to run like an elite but at least I can train like one.  

630AM: 3 sets of single leg ext., single leg press and calf raises + 5+ miles really slow on the TM. Felt extremely tired this morning. My heart rate was way up for the first couple of miles so I dialed it back.  Goal is to get the weekly mileage to 50 this week so I need to avg 7 miles/day M-F and then go long on Saturday. 

630AM: Easy run on TM w/ 5 strides of 150m @ 7:30/mi.  

Noon: Ann Morrison Park to Muni Park Out & Back. Easy/moderate progression run. Worked on standing tall and breathing deep.

630AM: Usual weight training circuit on legs; Progression run on TM starting very easy and topping out at 7:47/mi pace.  Increased mileage has caused a flairing up of my ankle/heel pain.  I spend quite a bit of time stretching at work and at home just to get to where I feel good enough to run.  I'm at about 85-90% healthy right now.  It would be nice to eventually get to where I feel 100% again.  I'm sure dropping weight will help but this may just be my new normal. 

330PM: Got a nice nap around noon and then went for a LSR. Gradually pushing out the long run and the weekly mileage. Very pleasant temps for running (mid 40's) w/ a slight breeze.  Good week of training and diet.

6AM: Starting Pfitzinger's 18 week 55-70 mpw training plan in week 17 (only 17 wks til UVM).  General Aerobic Run: 8M + 10x100m strides @ 10k pace. 3+ miles was outside (to and from the gym) w/ the rest on a TM. 3 sets of single leg extensions & single leg presses.  Broke in a new pair of LunaRacer's. I think these are my favorite all around shoes. Very light and still cushy enough to not wear me out from the pounding my joints take from all the running I typically do on cement sidewalks. 

545AM: Medium long run. Easy pace. It was supposed to be 12M but nature called and I took a shortcut home. Will try to get a couple more tonight & do some light weight training at the club. 

630AM: Easy recovery run on the TM.

550AM: General Aerobic Run: More stomach issues. Had an emergency stop at a Jack in the Box in mile 7 and felt much better afterward. In fact, that pit stop was equal to :15/mi increase in pace w/ no increase in effort.  Flare up of the PF on the left hammie made this run even more challenging.

Noon: Short recovery run on GB from FF Memorial past Vets Pkwy and back. Sunny and mild temps near 50.

230PM: LSR- lots of sidewalks & stoplights. Didn't have time to drive down to the GB where I like to do my long runs in order to avoid the same. Stopped once 4 powerade. Didn't have any stomach issues which was a small victory.

1PM: Snow mixed with rain forced me inside on the TM. First hard workout in a long time. LT run: 3M warm; 4M @ current HM pace (7:13/mi); 2M easy. HM pace was all I could handle. If I had to run a HM right now there's no way I could hold it for 13 miles. It felt comfortably hard which is how it's supposed to feel.

I tried unsuccessfully to register for Robie Creek. Got all the way to the checkout on active.com and the system booted me. Tried to go back and register again but it filled up in 9 mins. Probably a good thing. I'm coaching my son's t-ball team and this would have been a conflict. Robie would be just for fun. The goal race remains UVM in June.

530AM:  Raining again, treadmill again. Very slow & easy medium long run.  This is week 2 of being back on the Pfitz plan and the mid-week medium long runs to supplement the weekend long runs are its hallmark.  It definitely helps build endurance and strength quickly. I've been pretty diligent about keeping a food diary this month. I've let myself partake of some of the V-day candy hanging around but the weight loss is starting to come at a rate of 2 lbs/week. I'd like to get it closer to 3 lbs/week as I ramp up the weekly mileage to 60-70 mpw.   

625AM: Easy recovery run. At the start of the run I felt pretty stiff and tired but ended the run w/ a couple of strong miles at or near 8:00/mi pace. 

530AM:  Easy Medium Long Run. Didn't notice that the GPS wasn't working until I was about 20 mins into the run so the Garmin summary doesn't match my total mileage.  Felt pretty strong today. Kept the HR down and concentrated on running tall and breathing easy. 

630AM: 3 sets of single leg extensions + single leg press + calf raises. Progression run on TM starting slow w/ the last 1M @ 7:30/mi pace.  I think I pulled something in my right hip during my stretching and strengthening routine at home last night. Feels like a sciatic nerve problem because its causing numbness down to my right calf.  Also, starting Day 3 of my detox from diet soda. So far I've refrained from tearing anyone's head off or kicking any small dogs. 

1230PM: Long Progression Run on the TM. I could have run outside but I didn't want to fight the gale force winds. 14M in 1hr 57 min then cool down. Finished strong with mile 14 at goal MP. First couple weeks of Pfitz program has me feeling much stronger than I did over the winter. Weight loss steady at 2lbs a week. Hopefully, at this rate I can be back to where I was fitness & weight-wise at UVM '11 by the end of March. That will give me April-May to improve over last years fitness.

6AM: General Aerobic Run w/ 10x 100m strides. Garmin Fit App inexplicably turned off during a half mile section.  Good run. Struggling to find the best combo of running gear in the cold. I always end up sweating which ends up chilling me but if I wear less clothing I'm just plain cold. I figure that I just need better moisture wicking underlayers.  200+ miles for February. First 200 mile month since August I think. 

530AM: Easy Medium Long Run. Cut it a mile short because I was pushing up against work.  Had one pit stop.  Almost didn't make it but thankfully the door to the public bathroom at a local park was open. Actually, when I got there it was closed but I looked at my iPhone and it said 5:58am. Took a flier and waited 2 mins and the time lock opened.  What a glorious sound that was. Like the opening of the giant vault at Fort Knox.

At the end of my run I followed my usual route along a paved walk/run path in my subdivision when I came across a German Shepherd w/ no leash.  Fortunately, I spotted him about 50 yds away and he spotted me.  I immediately froze hoping that its owner would come around the corner and sure enough she did.  The dog continued to stare me down as its owner hurried to put a leash on the animal.  The best part was as I resumed my run and continued past them, the owner tries to chat me up and play it off.  I gave her a polite hand wave and never took my eyes off the dog.  Memo to pet owners: No matter how well-behaved/trained you think your animal is, show some common courtesy and don't let your animal ramble about unleashed in public.

6AM: Easy Recovery Run on the TM + 3 sets of single leg extensions & single leg presses & calf raises. Hit last 1.5M at slow MP. Quick workout and now it's off to the airport. I'll be in Chicago the rest of the week.