Training in Montana

The wind gods heard my pleas and chilled out this morning. There was very little wind this morning and it was a nice break. I tried to run slower today and I achieved that by a bit, but my legs felt good. I am looking forward to testing them out. Just found a 10K or Half in March that I'll try and do, schedule permitting. That will be a nice test of fitness. I think I'll do the 10K as I don't have a time for that distance.

1X60 plank, bicycle, toe touches. 3X10 PT-type squats (groin still hurting).

AP: 8:11 

Noon: talked myself into doing Boot Camp. What was I thinking? It was a great workout but now I'm really tired and know I'll be sore tomorrow, and even more sore Friday. My new theory is that my groin problem happened because I stopped Boot Camp and I'm not doing enough exercises to strengthen the adductor muscles. I think I'll try Boot Camp once a week and see if that does the trick. All the squats and lunges today have to help. I couldn't do a few of the exercises because the groin hurt. What a pain. (Pun intended).

Slept in a few minutes so only time for 5 miles. I thought I'd be incredibly sore from yesterday's Boot Camp, but it will hit tomorrow. I felt pretty good on the run so I kept the pace up, although sometimes I didn't mean to - I was running much faster than I thought I was. I tell you, treadmill running really helped me with getting an efficient turnover. I'm sure I still have lots of areas for improvement that I could be coached on, but for being self taught I feel pretty good.

AP: 7:52 

My wife headed out today on a girl's weekend to the mountains so I stayed home from my run and helped her get ready. THAT is true love.

At lunch I went to Boot Camp. Pretty good session, kicked my butt. I haven't done a Friday Boot Camp for a long time as the last time I did Friday my Saturday long run really suffered. Seeing if my fitness has improved enough where I can handle a hard workout then run long. I'm shooting for 15 miles tomorrow. Anyone want to join me? 6 AM at my house. Dirt roads most of the way! Gorgeous views. 

I planned on 15, but I'm doing 15 next week for the Sherry Arnold Virtual Run (http://www.shutupandrun.net/2012/01/virtual-run-for-sherry-arnold-february.html). Hopefully the FRB community can support this. I'll put something on the discussion board - others who read this please share it on your blogs.

My legs are not so fresh anymore. After hitting Boot Camp on Wednesday & Friday my legs are beat. I knew it would wear me out but wanted to see how I'd do. I did just fine! Tired, but made it through. I took the hard route, up my Veyo-type hill. I stopped once before hitting the hill, stopped at the top of the hill, and stopped another mile after that to eat. I hit 6.55 miles in 1:01:36 and was hoping I'd be faster back home. Of course I was - the up was almost 1000 feet. Cruised nicely back home, except for one killer hill with 2.5 to go. It's my least favorite hill near me because it comes after a nice long downhill, then I go down again only to regain a bunch of elevation before I can go back down again. My breathing was very shallow - my throat was cold (it was in the low 20s) as I had unzipped my 3/4 zip shirt partway for heat. Guess I pushed it a bit too much up there, but in the cold I can handle it. That was my undoing in St. George was pushing it in the heat and my body said "Um...you haven't trained us for heat. Slow down dude." Anyhow, the cold is my friend.

Made it home and I was a sweaty sucker! Amazing how much sweat could accumulate in the low 20s. It was a gorgeous sunny morning so the sun on my black clothes probably kicked the internal temps up a bit. Anyhow, good overall run.

AP: 8:43. Splits at the link below.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/147140107 

Slept really poorly last night so didn't get up and run. Hit the Y at lunch time for Boot Camp. Pretty good upper body workout, some legs, not much cardio. The headband wasn't soaked, so I didn't do enough cardio...

6 miles this morning in a light snow with a breeze. Running with a headlight in the snow is a new experience for me and it was way too Star Wars-ish. Not as bad as driving at night in a snowstorm, but still made my eyes screwy. Pace was quite a bit slower, mainly due to tired legs. Add on a couple extra layers as it was 19 degrees, single digits with wind chill, and I felt like I was running with chains on. It was mainly boot camp fatigue, but in a good way. Hitting the  weights will help me out in the long run.

And a huge Happy Birthday to my sweet 6 year old girl, our youngest.

AP: 8:47 

6 miles in a windless 19 degrees. It was so nice! Wind would have made it miserable. Legs still a bit tired, pace quite a bit slower than last week, but muscles getting stronger.

My 6 year old daughter got her ears pierced last night. I had warned her ahead of time that it would hurt, but not to worry, and that she would cry, but the pain wouldn't last long. I have video of the first ear getting pierced and she got that look on her face of "What did YOU just do to me?" then started bawling. She was really close to not having the other ear done but I finally talked her into it, and it wasn't near as bad. A sweet experience.

AP: 8:42 

6 windy miles. I was happy to get a 1 day wind reprieve yesterday as today was 20+ mph. I first only had on tights and a couple shirts as 39 is balmy, but retreated inside to change and put on my windbreaker pants and jacket. They worked like a charm and each cost $10. Okay, the jacket I could do with getting a windbreaker that breathes, but it still does the trick, but the pants are excellent. I got a good night's sleep last night and I could tell, plus I wore fewer clothes and that seemed to up my pace. I bought some new shoes yesterday - trail version of my Brooks Adrenaline. They were comfortable and good stability. I figure I'll need them for my 50K in June. Overall, a good run.

AP: 8:24 

6 miles in cold and wind. The wind shifted so it was at my back heading out, which is odd. Sure helped my speed up the hill though. On the way back thankfully it shifted to be more sideways, but it was enough for me to put on my balaclava the last couple miles. Actually wasn't too bad out and I was dressed appropriately. I sweat like a horse inside my windbreaker, but better than having wind come through and chill me.

Tomorrow is the Virtual Run for Sherry Arnold and I'm hoping to do 15 miles in her honor but not sure how I'll fit it in around 4 basketball games. I'll do my best. 

AP: 8:14 

15 miles today for Sherry Arnold, the teacher/jogger who was killed in early January in Northeast Montana. Running for a cause was awesome - it made the miles fly by. The day started off at 3 degrees so I was glad I decided not to do an early morning run as we had a crazy day of 4 basketball games. I threw the clothes in the truck figuring I'd squeeze in 15 at some point. I had a large window in the afternoon and after putting some new podcasts on my mp3 player I headed out the door, delayed but determined. After 50 steps I turned around and grabbed my jacket - glad I did as it is so nice to come in warm the last couple miles. It had warmed to 24 degrees but overcast so I wasn't sure how to dress. I ended up wearing my tights under my wind pants and after 1 mile I was dying. I stopped, moved to the side of the country road, put my jacket on the 1" of snow and stood there in my stocking feet and removed the tights, just after a truck passed me. There are few cars on this road and of course I found one. Put the tights by a telephone pole and headed back out, feeling much better. On top I had a long sleeve tech shirt, a 1/4 zip lightweight pullover, and a heavier fleece 1/4 zip pullover, then a reflective orange vest with a Sherry Arnold bib pinned on front. It was a good choice on top - I was sort of chilly into the wind but not bad, and I knew I had the jacket in case. I took an easier route and it was a good choice. Still 800 feet of elevation over the course, so not a total walk in the park, but no killer hill so it didn't feel nearly as bad. I really enjoyed it. My niece had state swim meet so I called my Mom & Dad at about mile 6 to find out how it went and spoke to both of them for 10 minutes. That was fun - I don't normally talk to people on my runs. I'm primarily a solo runner. I don't mind running with others but have only done it 3 times. Not many people around! Speaking of not many around, on my 15 miles I was passed by how many cars? Wait for it. Wait for it. Four! I love living just outside of town.

Not sure what else to say, but prayers go out to the family of Sherry Arnold. She realized a lot of our worst nightmares, of going out on a morning run and never coming home. I hope and pray all the FRB folks have many years of safe running and cycling ahead of them.

AP: 9:00; total time 2:15

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/148898180

I slept poorly again last night (so weird - I sleep great all the time, but the last two Sunday nights I've slept awfully) so I slept in and headed to the Y at 11:30 for 6 TM miles. All the TM were full, mostly by walkers. Hmph. Really? Go walk elsewhere peeps! I hop on an elliptical just to do something, and notice a TM just behind and to the right is almost done. Stupidly I don't go ask her - I wait for her to get off. Just as she's getting off I grab my stuff, hop off, turn around, and some girl swooped in and stole the TM. Argh. I gave her a bit of the evil eye, got back on the elliptical, surveyed the other 11 TMs and decided they weren't going anywhere soon. Headed downstairs where 3 other TMs are holed up in a private area but they were all full. Hmph. Since Boot Camp now started in 20 minutes, I went to the indoor track (17 laps = 1 mile) and ran faster than normal to blow off some steam before BC - I think I got 1.5 miles during, probably another 1/2 during class. Wow, this was a killer class. My triceps got hit so hard I was unable to do more reps at a few stations, and my legs are wobbly from all the leg work. I judge my workouts based on the bandanna sweat level, and this was a dripper: sweat was dripping off the back of the bandanna, where it ties together. I'll be feeling this one all week, but I think I'll sleep great tonight.

6 TM miles, well at least I think so. Some bonehead tripped over the cord at around 2 miles and unplugged me. Maybe it was more than 2? I have no idea - hadn't been paying that much attention. The Y recently added TM to the workout room so that caused everything to shift and now my favorite row (the one with a fan on the wall) has the power cords exposed. It's happened twice now. Grrr. I complained downstairs and hopefully they'll fix it. Anyhow, that was annoying. Ran at 2% incline the whole way, the first few miles at 6.7 (after a short 5.5 warm up) and the next couple at 7.6, then the last half mile in the 8s and higher.

1X60 plank, 25 pushups. 

5 frosty miles this morning. Slept in a bit so couldn't go the full 6. My legs were very tight - Boot Camp on Monday really beat up my hammies and gluts so they felt a bit leaden. Powered through and finished fairly strong on the downhill.

BTW, went to the Dr. last week for my groin/adductor problem. He did an x-ray just to be sure, but it was "unremarkable" so he put me on Prednisone for a week to see if it's more muscular/inflammation and it appears to be working as it's not been nearly as tight when I start running, and I don't feel the twinge as often. It still hurts when I cough or sneeze, but not as bad as before. Not sure what my next steps are. I think he wants to do a CT scan or MRI next but the pain hasn't been bad enough to warrant an expense like that. Any thoughts?

AP: 8:33 

Went cross-country skiing with my wife and 13 YO son, who both had the day off so I took a PTO day to accompany them. Had a good time but my son isn't over a sickness he's had for the last month so we called it a day early and took him to the Dr. Also went and test drove a Toyota Tundra full size to replace my Chevy Silverado. Man, it was nice. A bit too rich for my blood so I'll buy some new tires, fix a few things on my Chevy, and save some dough before buying a new one. 

6 miles in mid 30s this morning with some light snow. Very nice. Did some easy cross-country skiing yesterday with my wife and son so the legs were fresh. They're still sore from Monday's beat down at Boot Camp but I could tell they were feeling better. On the way back I pushed it the last 2 miles especially, and kept my splits under 7. The last 1/2 mile I was gulping air, but was also at a 6:30 pace which is way faster than I normally can run. I'm hopeful that my next 5K race, whenever that might happen, I can post a sub 7 race. That would be cool.

Oddly, I couldn't get to my running blog last night or all day today until just now. Went into Crockett's blog and it opened then logged in from there. Don't know if something was wrong, but I need to donate $ or something to support the site as I was missing it all day! (Heard back from Sasha that the site did go down & he's been hard at work to get it up & running. Thanks! Donate $10 by clicking the PayPal button below.)

AP: 7:55

Splits: 9:16, 8:26, 9:08 (stopped to take out rocks in shoes), 7:18, 6:48, 6:34.

10 mile loop. I ran faster today than normal on my long runs and it felt good. It helped that yesterday I ended fast, so picking back up today felt normal. After the first mile it's downhill for the next 3 and I kept being surprised at how fast the watch said I was going - mid 7's. I kept it up till I hit the bottom of the hill, then I was surprised that even on a steady up I was right around 8:04 until the steep uphill started. In a marathon I want to do right around 8:00 so that's encouraging. Good run today, 

AP: 8:18 (a few miles of good uphill and a 2:15 walking break). Splits 8:56, 7:30, 7:37, 7:30, 8:57, 9:23, 9:34, 8:41, 7:38, 7:13. 

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/150505562 

6 TM miles plus a cool down at lunch time. Bought new a new singlet at Target, and found out about mile 5.75 that the seams in the armpit are a bad idea. Good to know before I take it out on a long run once it gets warmer. The run felt pretty good. No direct fan, but at least the Y turned up the volume on the FM transmitter on the History channel. Interesting show about the people who work at the White House. Currently there are 420 staffers with an annual budget of $60 million. Seriously? I think the Pres can handle a wee bit less than that.

AP: 8:11

1X60 plank, bicycles, toe touches. 25 pushups. Lost a few pounds sweating today.

6 miles this morning, 29 degrees, a fresh skiff of snow, and 10 mph SW winds. Not a bad morning as I got a nice tailwind coming home. Legs felt strong, glad I didn't do Boot Camp this week. Maybe every other week I'll go kill myself at BC and then have tired legs for a week. It has to help somehow.

AP: 8:04 

6 miles including hill repeats. Kam inspired me yesterday to do tempo/hill/etc. at least once per week. Hump day seems a good day for it. Just after my 2 mile mark there's a 1/4 mile downhill section that I only hit on my long runs, and it's a pain in the tail. Today I ran down the hill, then back up it 4 times. A couple times I did shorter repeats, which is probably a good strategy (Galloway recommends it) but at least twice I went all the way up, keeping good speed and sucking wind. Both of the full hill runs I hit the top doing about 7:30 pace and I feel really good about it. I timed my distance just right as I got in my 2 miles doing hills where I normally just get in 2 miles. After the hills I upped the tempo and finished the last two miles in 6:50 and 6:55. My last two are downhill, but anytime I can do them under 7 I feel really good about it. Boston, you're in my sights...

AP: 8:16 (had a 2-3 minute delay trying to figure out a blinking tail light and forgot to stop the watch) 

1X60 plank, 25 pushups. 

Slept in a few minutes today so cut back the run a bit. Skiff of snow once again, and a nice wind this morning. Thankfully the 60 mph gusts hit yesterday afternoon, so my morning runs went right between the storm. I like running with a skiff of snow as it's interesting to see what critters have been out in the past few hours. My legs were pretty tired after yesterday's hill & tempo run so I walked a few times. I was able to keep a pretty good pace and coming home kept it in the high 7s. Not bad.

For record's sake, the top of my left foot is hurting. It started yesterday at work but I wasn't sure if it was just my shoe. Turns out it isn't. Feels like the pain is about an inch above my big toe joint on the top of the foot. I could feel it on the run and wasn't horrible. Tightened up a bit between finishing & heading off to work. I'll try and ice bucket it tonight after the pinewood derby race (so glad for it to be over - only 2 more years & my 3 boys will be done!).

AP: 8:19

6 miles outside with a decent West wind. I was zapped today, not sure why. Maybe it was the late-night Cafe Rio pork burrito (one opened in Billings yesterday - yum!) or something, but I stopped and walked before hitting one mile, and felt like it at two miles but kept going. Running into the wind from mile 2 to 2.5 wasn't that fun either, but I survived it. Ended up with a decent pace but nothing spectacular.

I didn't get a chance to ice my foot last night and I can feel it with every step of the left foot. Thankfully I've outgrown the 2nd left foot. When I push off I feel a tightness at the top of my foot, in the middle, straight above the big toe. It's only a 2 on the 10 pt pain scale and it doesn't really hurt when I run, but I can feel it. It started on Wednesday so I don't know if running hill repeats and pushing off uphill tweaked a tendon or ligament or what. Should I run my 10 mile long run tomorrow or not? I should be able to ice it tonight. I'll probably run tomorrow, but not sure that's the best idea.

AP: 8:28 

I had a Boy Scout Merit Badge day today and I had to be there, but I wasn't going to be involved with the boys during the morning & afternoon sessions, so I planned to run in the morning. Someone didn't show up to teach Citizenship in the Nation and one my boys was in there so I started teaching it as I had the requirements on my iPod and thankfully someone who actually knew what they were talking about finished it off, but I was stuck in there until lunch. After lunch I had a BBall game to go to and after that I didn't have time. The weather turned awful with 40+ mph gusts so I bagged my long run. Argh! I hate having to miss my Saturday run. Oh well. Hopefully next week will go smoother.

6 miles in 12 degree temps but with no wind at all so it was actually pretty pleasant. Wore my fleece neck gaiter and I was comfortable. My left foot started feeling better yesterday, I'm guessing because I didn't run Saturday or Sunday. On my run I felt it on every step, and now today it's hurting more when I walk. Hmph. I asked a PT friend what it might be and he wasn't too optimistic. He said there's nothing at the top of the foot that typically hurts. It "might" be a ligament, but he leaned toward a possible stress fracture. Any thoughts from the peanut gallery?

AP: 8:16 

At lunch I couldn't resist the temptation to go to Boot Camp. Maybe every other Monday. It was brutal. It's always tough but definitely tougher the mornings I run my normal distance. Hopefully I won't be sore until Saturday like I was last time. 

Foot hurts after running & doing Boot Camp yesterday. Resting it for a while - not sure how long. I still haven't iced or anything, but activity definitely hurts it. After not running Saturday or Sunday it felt pretty good Monday morning, but I was almost limping to work today from my car. Not quite a limp, but I could feel it and it sort of hurt. Argh. How long do I rest it and/or at what point do I go see the Dr.? I need to do the elliptical - maybe tonight. Thanks Peg for the elliptical!

After reading about stress fractures on an Ortho website, I think I might have one. I scheduled an appointment with the Dr. today, well his PA as he wasn't available until Friday but she'll consult with him. I really hope it isn't this but it's been a week now with no change and if it's a SF then it will be 6-8 weeks of no running, and my 50K is 16 weeks from this Saturday, so that will give me only 8-10 weeks to ramp up. Boo. Hoping it's not a SF.