Training in Montana

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.

3.7 Tempo miles on the TM due to me being a wimp. Weather changed back to cold and I wimped out on 5 degree temps with -10 wind chill. I should've run outside. Took me a while to find an open TM at the YMCA so ran a few warm up laps on the indoor track (17 laps per mile - yuck). Finally a TM opened up so I took it and ran a couple minutes, then a better one opened, so moved to that. Stayed on a 7.5 speed and started at 0 incline but after 7-8 minutes I bumped it to a 1.0 incline for the remainder. Moved to an 8.0 speed for the last mile, then 9.0 for the last 0.2 miles.

1:00 bicycles, 1:40 plank, 30 pushups

Ran 1.8 on the TM before a brutal hour-long cardio workout at Boot Camp. Consisted of leg lifts on a step, running with weights on shoulders, hopping over scaffolded taller steps, running 4 laps, squat pushups, squat shuffles down the court, hopping forward with the resistance band held by my partner, then a few minutes of crunches. Headband was soaked after this workout.

Did 5 "pickup" miles today. It's a new term for me, but I did my best based on the info my 30K training plan gave me. Ran a nice pace for about 2 miles, then ran hard for 100-200 Meters at a time, then walked and jogged until my HR dropped, then ran hard again. I don't have a GPS watch (yet - just ordered a Garmin 305 from Amazon) so I just ran from 1 sign on the road to another sign, but I think the distance was about right. Not sure how many pickups I did but I'd guess it was 4 or 5. Overall, a good workout. My right calf muscle has been sore lately - looking at an anatomy chart, looks like it's my inside soleus muscle. I need to find a good stretch for it. AP: 8:18, Avg HR: 153, Max HR: 176. 1 minute bicycles, 15 pushups.

Oh yeah - finally got my new shoes today. Brooks Adrenaline with "DNA". Ah - had forgotten what new shoes felt like. Nice cushioning. I think Brooks are my fav - had been using Asics just because they didn't have my size in stock last time I needed shoes, but I like Brooks a bit better.

Enjoyed Pad Thai at Taste of Asia with my buddy Blake. Yum. Nice 13 mile run tomorrow, should be outside hopefully.

Added an extra 1/2 mile to my run because I forgot my sunglasses when I left the house and ran back to get them. It was a foggy day but glad I had my glasses - keeps out the fog glare and the wind from my contacts. I normally like to roll out of bed on Saturday morning and do my long run, but my wife had something going on so instead I made french toast for the kids and started my run at 9:30 when she got back. Started out the run at 23 degrees and ended near 30 so my frozen mud road was not so frozen when I returned. I did my favorite 10 mile loop but added 3 miles onto it at the bottom of the hill - ran to the frontage road and back to get my extra mileage. A couple miles into the run I realized that I was doing a half marathon, which I've never offically run, so I pushed it a bit more than I would have to try and break 2 hours, just to see if I could. Adjusting my time for the extra .4 miles, I would have squeaked in just under 2 hours at 1:58:39, which is fantastic for me especially considering that miles 8-12 go up 600 feet elevation on a loose gravel road with some steep inclines that always leave me gasping for air.

This is the furthest I've run since the marathon in July and it felt really good. Right calf was really sore most of the day but is feeling better now. I'll soak it in ice water tonight then roll it. Overall, feeling really good about doing 29 miles this week - the most I've done since the marathon. I'd like to bump it to 40 miles per week over the next few months then hold it steady. We'll see how it goes.

AP 9:03, Avg HR 148, Max HR 167.