Training in Montana

4 elliptihell miles. I'm thankful for warmups. I wasn't feeling it this morning and I thought I might stop after a mile or so, but SportsCenter was in my face on a 50" flatscreen so I kept going. Ended up feeling good after 1.5 miles so I took it to 4. Also, amazed that a 15 resistance is good but doesn't get my HR up, but a 16 resistance took me into the low 150s, which is what I wanted.

I can still feel my achilles a little bit when I walk around so I'll stick with the elliptical or bike for a while more.

Woke up this morning to go run a couple miles and I stopped after not very far. My left achilles was way too tight for me to be comfortable running on it. In all fairness to my achilles, I didn't warm it up or stretch it, and maybe it needs that. I never warm up or stretch as that's what my first slow mile is for. However, it left me pretty disappointed. I've been in a funk since I've not been running as I really miss my alone time out on the open country roads. Deer and elk hunting filled the void these past 5 weeks but that's ended now. I think my wife and kids are ready for me to feel like running again. I'm a huge Christmas grouch. Maybe in a few days. Until then, need to hit the elliptical and bike. If I can do the awesome spinning class I'll get the endorphins I need. I think it's on Thursday.

Cue Handel's Hallelujah Chorus. I ran. Maybe a bit too dramatic for only 2.5 miles, so I'll save that for my next 10 miler. I'll know I'm golden when I can run 10.

I took Kam's thinking into play and after doing the elliptical for 2.5 miles I tried the treadmill. It worked really well. I started at only a 5.0 and no pain (because I was warm) then after a bit bumped to a 5.5 for a while and ended at a 6.0. I did feel it a bit at 6.0 so that tells me I'm going to need to slowly ease back into running over a few weeks. Perfect for me as I have no planned races until late spring. Just glad to run without pain.

For my sake: Before leaving the house I did some calf stretches and some calf raises on the stairs. After working out did 3 x 20 sec calf stretches then 3 x 20 sec calf stretch on a block of wood, then did a few calf raises on the stairs. I need to do more warming up exercises even before getting on the elliptical as it's just super tight.

Didn't do any eccentric heel drops yesterday as I was too tired & busy, but the achilles felt much better this morning. Warmed up for 1 mile on the elliptical (no tightness) then did 3 miles on the treadmill. Started at 5.0, went to 5.5, then 6.0 for a while. At 6.0 I felt some tightness creeping back in, especially if I made too much up/down motion with my foot, so I bumped back down to 5.5 to finish up. Mentally it's tough to run that slowly but just running is enough. It also helped that the really cool WWII in HD was on the History channel. Amazing what our troops went through in that war. Hats off to our war heroes on this Pearl Harbor Day.

3 chilly miles this morning. Went fairly slowly. Achilles felt okay on the ups, great on the downs.

24 degrees with 15 mph wind = 11 degree wind chill. Wore the new neck gaiter plus a few other clothing choices. Felt very warm and sweaty at the end. Much better than cold and chilled.

3.5 treadmill miles. Walked a bit at 4.0, ran at 5.5 for a mile, then 6.0 for a mile or more, and 6.5 for the last 1/2 mile at least. At 6.5 felt a bit of a tug on the achilles but no pain.

The woman running on a treadmill behind me was the only Montanan to qualify for the Olympic Trials marathon. She's amazing. I've still never talked to her but I will someday. Seems like a super nice person but very shy.

4 miles! Longest I've run in a long time. Gorgeous morning, clear skies, yellow morning star in the East with the beginnings of sunrise. Cold, 21 degrees, but no wind so it was actually really nice (with the right clothing, of course). Best run I've had in a while with weather, legs, etc. And the legs are really sore from doing Boot Camp yesterday at noon. I ran it too fast the very last stretch before home. There's a really quick down and up dip and on the up I tried to push it like I normally do, but the achilles wasn't too happy about that. I tried to limit my range of motion on the up but clearly didn't do it. The last 1/2 mile to the house I had to slow it down quite a ways to stop the left achilles from screaming. After I stopped no pain, so life is good. Going to try and hit the noon spin class. I sleep better when I'm exhausted and I'm not able to run enough right now to exhaust myself.

Noon: Spin class, aka sweat fest 2012. Yikes that is a sweaty place! When the bandanna headband is soaked, AND dripping sweat, it was a sweat fest. I had a great realization that I need to do more of that to increase my heat tolerance. Plus, it's cross training, a fantastic cardio workout, and it's just kinda fun. But only with Chris, the good instructor. Others are too blah. Nice to be back as I hadn't been to spin class since March or so.

Noon Boot Camp class. It was a fantastic cardio & muscle workout as I felt beat all day and slept well that night. It's nice to feel sore in muscles I forgot that I had.

6 miles! Longest run in a long time. It was a tough 6 as my muscles are rebelling from doing Boot Camp Wed & Fri, and Spinning on Thursday. A great 3 days of tough workouts then a nice hour-long run. Due to the achilles I had to run really slowly and it was successful. Achilles felt good. 

At basketball tournament later on I did sets of eccentric heel drops. They seem to be working. 

4 treadmill miles this morning. My left calf is sooo sore from all the eccentric heel drops I did on Saturday. It must be working as I didn't feel any pain today and I ran 2 miles at 6.5.

Did 3 X 20 eccentric heel drops, 1 X 20 pushups, 1:00 plank.

3 miles outside on a brisk day. 29 degrees with a 20 mph wind = wind chill of 16. I was dressed warmly enough, so not bad. Glad I wore the neck gaiter. I took it nice and easy, no watch, and my left achilles felt pretty good. Walked up the steep hill.

Noon Boot Camp. Ran stairs & a lap after 2 stations, so not sure how far it was but at least 1/2 mile. Great workout. Pushed it a bit hard so towards the end I had to really slow things down or my heart was going to explode. I love the burn that comes the day or two after a hard Boot Camp workout. Having sore muscles makes me feel alive.

90 minutes of treadmill running at home. Didn't feel like spending that amount of time in 16 degree temps with 5 degree wind chill as that seems to always get me sick. I don't like being sick. Probably need me some new outdoor running attire, but it's tough to find that combo of warm enough but not too hot for long winter runs.

I found during this run that it's really difficult to play Black Ops 2 and run at a 6 mph pace. I tried, though. I also found that a 6.5 mph pace is too fast for my @#$##$!% achilles. It is feeling better than a few weeks ago, but really annoying that I can't just run normally. What's that? Be grateful for what I have as some people can't run at all? Okay, point taken. Now quit the voices in my head. They are distracting.

It was a 4 wringer headband day. Good long run. Longest time I've run in a long while. I plan to do more of that over the break as I'm taking the rest of the year off work.

9 am Christmas Eve Boot Camp. I didn't sweat a lot, but I hit my wall a few times. A bit of a concern happened during a time when she had us holding in a squat position for about 60 seconds. I was holding it as tight as I could and with about 10 seconds to go the left side of the top of my head got a surging pain. I held the squat then dropped to my knees for a bit and breathed in and out to get oxygen. Took a break for a bit then continued, but chilled out for the rest of the time and didn't push myself too hard. My wife Kaylene came with me and that was fun. I've never been to Boot Camp with her.

6 miles in 12 degree temps, but sunny. Cold but my upper body was plenty warm. Legs a bit cold but very little wind so nothing concerning. I had a hard time getting going and thought about turning around at 2 miles but I felt good once I hit that point so I kept going. I was able to hit some paces in the high 7s, which I haven't been able to do in 6 weeks or more due to the achilles. It felt pretty good today, so that makes me think the Boot Camp sessions are working.

AP: 9:05 

Merry Christmas FRB friends! 

3 treadmill miles at the Y. Felt pretty good. Ran most at 6.5, achilles was there but no pain per se.

Iced the achilles at night. Will try and do more of that. 

TM miles at home.

TM miles at the Hampton Inn in Denver. We're here with the whole crew to go to the Denver Broncos vs KC Chiefs game. Can't wait!

Woke up at 6:30 to get in a few miles on the hotel TM before driving 9 hours home. Glad I did as it felt good, and I ended the year right.