Training in Montana

Sick and in bed all week long! Felt really sluggish with my run on Monday, and later that afternoon I figured out why. Got hit with the flu bug so had body aches, fever, chills, and general malaise. I've now got a congested chest and still tire easily so getting back into running is going to take a while. Yuck! And I was feeling so invincible...

Finally got back to running after being sick for a week. Still have lots of rattle in my chest but it felt good to run. Did slow running/walking on the indoor track, then picked it up to a nice jog and sprinted 1 lap (100 yds). Back to walking and slow running, then picked it up for 10 minutes or so and ended with 1 more sprinted lap. Chest felt better after running - counter intuitive to what I expected.

Also played some church basketball last night and felt good. Can run the floor much better than I could the past 5 years. Amazing what consistent exercise can do for a person....

Ran on the treadmill at the Y, longest distance since being sick. Definitely feeling effects of being sick/laying off running. Wasn't sure I could keep going - felt a bit light headed, a bit out of sorts, but kept the speed at a modest 6.3 and felt better after a mile or so. Left it at 6.3 for 3.1 miles, then boosted to a 7.0 until 4.3 then hit the cool down button. Felt good, very little coughing (although I'm sure it was too much for my gym mates). I know I'm not contagious, just getting rid of residual lung goo.... :)

TM at the Y. Took the Scouts to Stake Merit Badge Day then left them for a while and went to my son's basketball game then hit the Y. I'm still not 100% better so planned on only running 3 miles but was feeling pretty good, so thought I'd do 4, then 5, then ended up doing 6. Figured I might as well get in a 10K as it is my long run Saturday. Should've gotten in 8.7 today but I'm happy I was able to do what I did. Sure hope I can shake this crud.

Not sure of exact distance but the treadmills were full, so ran on the indoor track where 17 times around = 1 mile. I ran for 30 minutes and kept a pretty steady pace. HR was avg about 155 but got into the 160s so I know I was running decently fast for me. The chest is still tight and burns when the HR is up so I'm looking forward to this gunk leaving me soon. Glad I was able to get in a run - did a Valentine's Day lunch with my wife so missed on my normal Noon run, but left work early and got in a rare after work run.

Beautiful run outside in the high 50s with a little wind. Up a hill and back down, run felt great, but it was a push to keep up the tempo - lungs very tight & burning with HR in the high 150s to the 160s.

After stretching did 1:00 bicycles, 1:05 plank, and 15 L/R side plank elbow touches.

Ran about a mile at Boot Camp today, which was nice. Did lots of cardio and then a bit of legs, a bit of arms. Good workout but not too overdone. I'd missed it for 3 weeks. I love going to it as I feel so alive afterwards, even if that means my muscles are so sore I can't move. At least I know I'm alive!

Had a great run outdoors today! We've had lots of melting the past week with temps in the 50s and today's temps in the 30s was perfect. Mostly clear sidewalks, only a couple icy spots, and I was able to run a good solid 8 minute or so pace. Looking forward to bonus time as I plan to finally buy me a Garmin GPS watch. I'd like to know my splits and HR during certain speeds and soon I will. I was waiting to buy one to see if my new hobby will stick. After 15 months of running I think I might be hooked.

1 minute bicycles, 1 minute plank, 15 L/R side plank elbow touches. Sore abs from Boot Camp yesterday. Need to increase my plank time but that is one tough thing to do.

Ran my favorite 10 mile loop today. 3 degrees, 7 mph breeze, overcast, and perfect roads. It was actually a really nice run. Looked a bit silly with my camo balaclava for most of the run but it did the trick of keeping the freeze off my chin and nose. The camo mittens looked awesome too. I was worried about my layering but it ended up perfect. On bottom wore a pair of wicking thermals as a base, blue tights over that and finished with basketball warmups. Legs and butt were warm enough during the run. On top had a running shirt, then a fleece zip up, then a wicking zip up, topped with a running jacket I picked up on clearance at Old Navy. On the head wore my awesome hankie headband with a fleece cap topped with the awesome balaclava. Run took 94 minutes HR avg 150 max 173 elevation 600 feet or so. Started with 1 mile of dirt road (from my house), 4 miles of road (elevation drop), 3 1/2 gravel road (all the elevation gain), 1/2 mile of road back to my 1 mile of dirt to home. My new Vasque trail run shoes are doing well. Need to get a new pair of road shoes but waiting for tax return to buy them. Mine aren't dead yet. Overall, I was surprised when I got home that it was only 4 degrees. I was soaked with sweat so figured it had warmed up. Turned out my layering strategy worked.

Running uphill on snowy sidewalks is a bit like running on a sandy beach, but it was nice being outside. It was 15 degrees out with windchills of 0 so I layered up well, and probably could have done without a layer. Ran my normal 4 mile out and back and oddly I didn't see anyone out running today. Wimps.

AP 8:49, avg HR 156, max 171. Much slower than I thought I was going, so the snow must've affected me. Or I'm just slow (think it's the latter).

Ran outside again today. Nice day, 30 or so, but a bit messy with snow melting and cars splashing me. Enjoyed being outside. 1 minute bicycles, 1 minute plank, 25 pushups.

Played 1 hour of basketball at night. Instead of 3 showers for the day I let the sweat dry and slept great. It was a 9 PM game then had to stop at Wally-World to buy some spray paint for this week's pinewood derby. Was amped up for the night so got to bed late. The pinewood derby and me - we're not friends. I hate it on an annual basis. Only 4 more years to go! I can't wait.

Ran 0.8 miles on the TM before Boot Camp, then we did a ton of running. It was a great sweaty workout. You know you're sweating good when your bandana headband is dripping sweat from it's tails. Pretty decent abs work and a few other muscle groups but mainly it was cardio.

4 TM miles due to -20 wind chills outside. Got a great workout. Did the hills program for the first time and it is a killer! Only ran at a 6 MPH pace for most of it but the incline baselined at a 1.5 and topped out at 7.8 for 1 minute intervals. Last 5 minutes went to 0 incline and 7.5 MPH pace, then bumped to 8.3 for 1 minute, and last minute on 10.0, then 5 minutes cool down. I think I'll start doing more programs like hills or intervals when I have to run the TM although that should be ending shortly with the advent of Spring... possibly.

Avg HR 156, max 179 (yikes!)

1:15 bicycles, 1:00 plank, 30 pushups.

I need to start doing something on Fridays as I take a complete rest day so I can go out to lunch, which I'm doing today.

However, I did 30 pushups at home last night, and 30 pushups this morning while the shower was getting hot (we have an instant hot water heater and it takes a while). 30 is definitely my max right now, but just a few months ago it was 15. I'd love to get up to 60 eventually, but that seems like Mt. Everest at the moment.

11.2 TM miles due to waking up to -8 F this morning + wind chill. That's the longest distance I've ever done on a treadmill and it was rough. Didn't get a TM near a fan or up front near the TVs so had to suffer through monotony listening to a local sports show, which is pretty pathetic. I much prefer national sports talk. Ran most of it at 6.5 MPH, started with a 2 incline but that was a bit much for my typical long runs, so bumped it down to .5 then to 0 for the last 9 or so. After 5 or so I bumped up the speed to 6.8, then at mile 9 bumped up to 7.5 MPH for 1 mile and finished the last mile at 8.5 MPH. HR monitor freaked out on me- think the watch needs a new battery - so not sure of avg or max HR but it was in the 170s on that last mile. Didn't use body glide as I didn't realize how much I'd sweat. I was soaked and the nipples are a bit raw. Won't make that mistake again. Overall, good workout. Hopefully won't have to do that again as the below zeros should be well gone now.

Did 1 minute bicycles, 1:15 plank, 15 pushups.

Ran my regular "4" mile route. 39 degrees with 20 mph gusts. Sidewalks mostly clear. Run felt good. AP 8:26, avg HR 150, max 165.

1:30 bicycles, 1:00 plank, 15 pushups.