Training in Montana

I was home with a sick girl yesterday so didn't get a chance to run. Got out this morning and did my 6 mile route. Started off faster than normal as I got started a bit late, and I felt good so kept up the pace. A 16 mph SW breeze so it hit me in the face quite a few times and running on country roads is great when there's no wind, but nothing to break up the wind when it's cruising. I was overdressed as the temp was 40 - could've worn shorts. Overall, a good run.

My 2012 goal is 1800 miles, which is just under 35 per week. I can do it running 6 days a week, which is another goal. If I average 5-6 miles 5 times a week then hit 10 miles for my long run I will get there. Hopefully this will help me get some big PRs and get closer to that elusive BQ time.

AP: 8:02 

Got to bed late last night so turned off my 5:30 alarm and got up at 6:15. Read scriptures for 10 minutes (NY Resolution) then headed out for a quick run. I need to convince my wife to go to bed earlier as it helps me do the same. She's working now & getting up an hour earlier than before so I figured she'd always be tired & hit the sack early now, but she's an election hound and stayed up watching the Iowa returns. Interesting stuff.

5.5 miles in shorts. Wish it weren't so windy, but the tailwind home was nice.

Did planks as we read scriptures as a family. 3 X 60. It's hard to read aloud while doing a plank, but I powered through. 

AP: 8:05. 

6 windy miles. Not too cold out - 30 but with a 10 mph wind. I'm so tired of the wind! Weather man says the wind is what's keeping the warm weather here. Bring on the cold and get rid of the wind! It's such a harder effort. It's making me stronger though, right? Did my normal 3 miles out and 3 miles back. I sure like running uphill on the out and downhill on the back. Makes me feel stronger.

1 X 60 plank while reading scriptures with the fam. 25 pushups. 

Anyone in Billings want to go for a 12 mile run tomorrow? Oh, that's right. I'm the only one in Billings on FRB. Sniff, sniff. I did get one other guy to join but he didn't even last a week.

AP: 8:16  

My 8 year old made a New Years Resolution to run 1 mile a week so I took him out 1/2 mile then came back home and dropped him off then headed out. Decided to do a tougher run today to get prepped for my 50K in June. No time like the present? Anyhow, headed down my road, which is a big downhill, then had to regain most of the elevation to get to the main road, then dropped back down the same elevation on the main road, then headed up again on a busier road, which leads to a long steady sustained climb on a loose gravel road. Footing stinks but it's a good road with good scenery. It was a tough run and as I did it in the afternoon my fueling was off. I should've eaten half a bagel before going as I was Jonesing for some carbs most of the way. Brought along a couple delicious English candies I got for Christmas plus my traditional jelly beans. Starburst dual flavor beans are awesome. Will have to buy me a few bags at Easter.

AP for 10 miles: 8:49. Splits 8:04, 9:22, 8:55, 7:50, 8:56, 9:33, 9:10, 9:38, 8:39, 8:07.

That was a tough run - a few hours later I was exhausted. Finished at 4:30 pm and jumped in the long hot shower as I was chilled. Then just hung out at home as I was absolutely tired. Not sure I'll do that one again for a while - ruined my evening. 

6 TM miles at the Y this morning. Felt pretty beat up after my Saturday run - lots of up and down - so took this one easy the first 4 miles. After a .5 warmup at 6.0 jogged at a 6.7 & 1% until 4 miles, then dropped the incline & upped speed to 7.6, at 5 miles bumped to an 8.6, and ended with a 1/4 mile at 6.0, and the last .10 at 5.0. It was a crowded TM section with 5 guys surrounding me, mostly older guys, and I felt stupid speeding up like that and in the mirrors saw them looking at my speed then at each other and making some comments. It's all good - I wasn't trying to one up someone, this is just how I like to end my workout. 5 minute cool down (1 minute at 4.5, then 4.0, etc.).

2 X 60 planks, 1 X 60 situp toe touches, 25 pushups. 

When I run at the Y in the mornings I also get dressed at the Y as my work is just across the street. Alas this morning I forgot my towel and most importantly my underwear. Hmph. Called my wife and figured out where to meet her, so I only got 2.5 miles in before I had to drive halfway across town and meet her, but it beat driving all the way home. Oh well. I might hit the Y at lunchtime to either do a weights class or finish my miles.

Morning: 6 TM miles at the Y. Remember my towel and undies. Yay! Progression run as normal, doing most of my miles at 6.7, then moving up from there after 4 miles.

1X60 plank, laying down toe touches, bicycles. 15 pushups. 3X10 curls and legs (trying to fix that tricky adductor muscle).

Lunch: Apparently I'm afflicted with demons as I had a better-than-normal workout this morning, but the Boot Camp bug bit me at 11:55 so I headed over and killed myself for the better part of an hour. Good workout. Lots of the NYR crowd has doubled it since I last went in December. My legs are going to be screaming tomorrow.

4 TM miles at the gym during lunch. You know, I don't mind the TM so much anymore. I keep getting sick when I run outside and I'm tired of the wind. In the gym I sweat a lot but other than that it's mostly positive. We've got new large TVs to watch, always something good to watch, and I can force myself to run a certain speed without having to glance at my watch to see if I'm keeping pace. I will get back outside next week but I'm kind of enjoying it.

Did most of my run at 7.1, bumped to 8.0 for 1/2 mile or so, then decided to mix in some speed work in the middle of a workout. Ran at 10.0 for a quarter mile, then rested at a 7.0 for .15 miles, then back to 8.0. The last quarter mile I did at a 10.2, maxing to a 12.2 for the last few strides. Man, I wish I could sustain that speed. It's fun to have that kind of turnover and I can't imagine doing that for an entire race but would love to. Maybe in my next life?

Did 1X60 plank during scriptures this morning and 25 pushups before my shower. After the TM I did 1X60 plank, L side plank, R side plank. Ah. Love shaking uncontrollably for the last 15 seconds. 

6 TM miles this morning at the Y. Had a fan next to me so that was nice. Got to watch HLN with Robin Meade. She's a good reporter.... And SportsCenter. And some show on the History channel about a shipwreck off Greece that's related to the Titanic sinking. Hmmm.... All very interesting. As for running, I did boot camp 2 days ago and now the soreness is in full swing. I did the first 4 miles at 6.7, then boosted it up a bit, ending with a sprint. Worried about being cold when I do my long run outside tomorrow. Guess I'll just have to overdress and wear the extra clothes around my waist. This little cold isn't much but I'd rather not get a cold with each long run. I have been taking my vitamins this week, finally on a daily regimen so we'll see if that makes a difference.

1X60 Plank, Bicycle, Lying down toe touches. 15 pushups. Glutes very sore from Wednesday's Boot Camp. 

8 outside miles this morning. Finally figured out to bring my windbreaker and tie it around my waist for the return trip home. Put it on with 2 miles to go and it was a life saver. It was nice to run the last mile or so warm with no chills. Here's to hoping that makes the difference in me getting another cold.

Decent run, fairly tired from the week & from muscle work at Boot Camp so I took a few walking breaks but felt good after 3 miles and no more walking. Would've gone further but I needed to finish roofing the shed we built this summer. Nearly got it done but rain out of nails. Rats. Guess I'll have to wait until another nearly perfect Saturday....

AP: 8:53

6 TM miles this morning. 

1X60 Planks, Bicycles, Toe Touches. 25 pushups. 3X10 curls & PT-style squats.

Just now signed up for my first trail run - the Bighorn 50K. Also booked a camp site at Dead Swede, which is at the top of the mountain. Really looking forward to this. A friend has done the 30K the past two years and says it's a great event. 

6 TM miles this afternoon. I really don't mind the treadmill anymore, but I'm sure that will end. When it's butt cold out I'm okay getting on there. I'm also worried about getting sick as it's happened quite a bit in the past 12 months after a long cold run.

My adductor (groin) muscle is getting worse and worse. After I warm up it's fine but it's taking longer and longer to warm up before I don't feel the twinge. Should probably go see a PT for some more help.

After warming up did a 6.7, then a 7.1, then 7.6, then 8.1, then 8.6, then bumped up and up until the end. I love doing that. I ran for 0.10 of a mile at 5:00 per mile pace. I CANNOT believe that people can run that fast for a mile, let alone an entire marathon. How cool.

AP: 8:20 

6 TM miles at lunch. Kept it at a 6.7 and 2% until mile 5, then up to 7.1 for 1/2 mile, 7.6, then finished last quarter mile at 12.1.

2 X 60 planks, 1 X 60 bicycles and toe touches.

AP:  8:55

6 TM miles very early at the Y. Haven't woken up this early to run since the marathon, but got in my run then headed back home to swap cars & get everyone off to school after shoveling my walk & a family I home teach. I normally forget about them but I'm doing a much better job. He's sick and may not make it to spring so I better serve while I can! He and his wife are awesome.

First 4 miles at 6.7 & 2%, then 7.1 for next mile, and bumped up every half mile and sprinted at 10.0 for last 0.10. Ran next to a woman I've seen at the Y before and she's getting ready for the New Orleans marathon in 7 weeks. I'm so jealous. Need to find me a money tree. 

6 TM miles this morning. Kept it slow and steady the whole time as it's Friday and I'm a bit tired. I am way less tired than last week, though, in which I did a Boot Camp session, so that's interesting. After warming up for 1/2 mile ran the rest at 6.7 and 2% incline. Felt good. Was hungry at about 2 miles but kept going and energy returned.

1X60 plank, 25 pushups. After showering I was getting dressed and was literally the only person in the locker room. Another guy came in and used the locker 3 away from me. What in the world? He must use that same locker every day, but dude - it's a locker room. Move.

10 TM miles this morning at the Y. Did the first 4 on a mill with no fan - the fuse was blown so wouldn't turn on. At 4 I went to a newly vacated one in the prized spot - right next to a fan, and my favorite mill. The next 6 went very well. Did most of the miles at a gentle 6.8 with 2% incline, and finished the last couple at 7.0 with 1% incline. The MP3 player died with 3 miles to go but thankfully with the new large TVs it's easy to read the closed captioning. I saw the plays of the week twice on SportsCenter and learned how to tell if people are lying based on their facial expressions. Bill Clinton, not lying at the '92 DNC, lying about "that woman". Susan Smith, lying about her children, Marion Jones lying about doping. Very interesting stuff.

In other news, it's warmed up significantly in Billings. We hit 42 (jumped from 11 at 7 am to 31 at 8 am. That's nice! Maybe the roads will clear off soon and I can run outside shortly, but no TM madness yet. Ran 42 or so miles this week, all in the mornings at the Y. Kinda liked it. 

6 TM miles. This is starting to be a bit too routine, just like the boring Deja Vu Bowl coming up in two weeks. I had to run to get rid of the angst from Romney losing South Carolina and both the Ravens and 49ers losing, plus my 13 yr old losing his game Saturday. What's up with all these losses in my life? :)

After a warmup of 1/2 mile I kept it nice and steady at 6.7 and 2% incline. I've got to get my groin muscle checked out. It hurts when I cough and there are lots of Google results for "groin hurts when I cough". Who knew? It could be a few different things but really all I want are some exercises to build up this muscle/tendon/whatever and get the pain to stop. It doesn't hurt once I warm up, but lately it's been hurting just sitting down. Annoying. 

Just like my morning cup of Joe, I ran 6 TM miles today. Except I don't drink coffee and I don't drink anything in the morning. But other than that, it's kind of enjoyable. Ran a bit faster today as I needed to make it to the Elementary Geography Bee where my 5th grader was a finalist. After a 1/2 mile warmup ran at 6.9 and 2%. After 4 miles bumped up to a 7.6, then an 8.1 at 5 miles and progressive on up until I ran the last 0.15 at 5:49 pace. That's fun.

My son made it to the final four (he answered one of two questions right, which six kids didn't do) but missed his third question so he sat down and my wife and I left to go to our jobs. A good morning.

Total running time 51:35, AP 8:35. 1X60 plank, bicycle, toe touches. 3X10 curls, squats.

Got to the Y a bit later than normal plus wanted to get in some other exercises so cut the run short.

1X60 plank, bicycles, toe touches. 3X10 curls & squats. 25 pushups.

My son's BBall practice was pushed to 7:30 start so I got up early for a run at home, something I haven't done in the morning for a few weeks. 27 degrees with 10 mph or so wind. Dressed fairly well for it - wore the windbreaker which is a cheap one so it doesn't breathe too much, but it does break wind (and so do I - frequently). Felt pretty good, nice to be on roads although treadmill is a bit easier. No undulation on the TM, just nice and steady. Heading out this afternoon for the Boy Scout Klondike Derby. It's always a good time. Planning on getting in 10 miles before lunch.

AP: 8:25 

6 warm miles in the wind this morning. The out was directly into the wind but because I couldn't get away for my long run on Saturday while at the Klondike, my legs were fresh. I was running about 45 seconds faster per mile than I expected to be running. After the turnaround the wind was at my back so I was able to go fairly quick with a lower effort.

1X60 plank & bicycle, 25 pushups.

AP: 8:07 

A big ARGHHHHHHH to the wind this morning. It was a sideways wind most of the way, but my route has me running every direction, so if it's windy it's a pain for long stretches. The West wind this a.m. got me right as I left the house, then for good long stretches. My longest stretch is North-South so at least it was only rocking my side, but still. A treadmill is much nicer than wind. That being said, having it at my back was nice. I went even faster today even though getting out of bed was tougher. I wasn't trying to go faster so it seems upping my mileage is really making a difference. I'm excited for some races this spring. I hope to do a 5K and 10K before my 50K, then will do a July half. I think I'll do the local marathon in September, even though it's on a Sunday and I don't normally run on Sundays. It's here in town, we have late church, and there won't be any travel costs involved. That being said, I'd like to do St. George again, and it's only 2 weeks after the local marathon. A friend of mine does both every year, but she's crazy. I guess if I get into St. George I'll do it again. It is an awesome race. Or should I bother trying to get into St. George and just save my travel money? Decisions, decisions.

By the way, 141 miles, my 2nd highest monthly total to date, and I wasn't training for anything and my longest run was 11 miles. I'm liking this. I would've had my highest total to date if not for the Scout event on Saturday, so I'm feeling good.

AP: 8:02