2011 Training in Review

Started back running on January 16 after my extended sickness Senior year. Been lotsa highs, lotsa lows, & everything between. Ended the year on a 90 day running streak (10/2-12/31)! ~2166 miles in 350 days > Avg. ~6.2 miles/day & ~43.3 mpw

56 rest days (mainly due to sickness & injuries), 294 active days. Active day avg.: ~7.37 miles/day.

Probably more, because I counted a lot of timed running, even faster runs, as 7:30-8:00/mile. After getting my Garmin, I see this is probably an underestimate of my speeds.

Lowest: March w/ 91 miles Highest: July w/ 390 miles

Highest Wk: 07/28 -08/04 w/107 miles

New Year's Eve

9 miles treadmill 1% incline @ 9mph in 1:00:00
Pushups, core, flexibility.
Horrible GI issues/diarrhea kept me from going longer.Legs felt good. Congestion clearing up.
Hopefully I'll be back on the trails and roads. Supposed to be in the mid-teens several mornings this week. 

12/30

EZ 5.25 treadmill 1% incline @ 9mph in 35:00.
Core, flexibility, dynamics.
Legs feel good. Still got some congestion.

12/29

5 miles total TM @ 1% incline: 3 in 17:48; 2 mile cooldown in 13:20.Pushups, flexibility, dynamics.
A little dissatisfied with my 3 mile portion of the workout. Got a lil bit of congestion and stomach still a lil touchy. If it stays cold out and I stay a little sick, might run for several days on the treadmill. Was thinking about doing so anyway to save my joints.

12/28

EZ 5.33 miles on treadmill @ 1% incline in 35:30.
Core, dynamics.

12/27

Raining outside. Ran on treadmill.
Total: 7.162 miles treadmill in 45:00 @ 1%  incline w/ 5 mi progression in 30:35 (9-10.7mph) bumping up .1 mph every 1:50. Finished w/ CD @ 9 mph. Drills and pushups after finishing.

GI tract still giving issue. Weight upon waking down to 113.2. Pretty concerning.

12/26

6.58 miles in 45:00 Multi-terrain run (6:31, 6:33, 7:17, 6:15, 6:58, 7:08, 4:15)
Legs burned a little. Cold, hard frost, but felt good out. Going to have to slow down on my everyday runs, especially on so much rough, hilly terrain.
Tried eating a little differently, and GI problems have resurfaced and weight has dropped off to 113.6 in shorts upon waking. Going to have to get back on my diet.

12/25

6.5 miles in 45:00 Multi-terrain run Old out and back loop on road included. Finished on trails, fields, woods.
Hard, big hills. Good workout.
6:46, 6:29, 6:35, 7:28, 7:00, 6:59, 3:40. Cresting big hill on way back(miles 3 &4): ~9:30/mile pace.
Pushups after finishing.

12/24:

4.42 miles in 30:00 Multi-terrain run w/ some pickups @ ~5:30 pace 
Ran just a little bc weight was down (113.6 upon waking.) and I didn't wanna have to worry about it on Christmas.

12/23

6.46 miles in 45:56 Multi-terrain run.
Run felt pretty good, though I faded a little towards the end, though that was on some muddy trails.
Weight was down to 114 this morning, so I'm definitely gonna have to keep an eye out.
Last 2 days the hematologist and allergist have each given me pretty optimistic sounding advice, respectively.

12/22

6.2 Total Trails in 45:00: 3.3 in 24, stopped to talk to someone, 2.9 in 21:00. Rain held off.
Pushups, dynamics, flexibility.
Went to allergist yesterday and hematologist today. Lot more bloodwork in the forecast. Allergist yesterday told me he thought if I was kind to my pancreas dietetically then my health would be good to me. In other news, I've successfully not tracked my diet, while still eating what they told me, for the past 5 or 6 days, and my training seems to be going well and I haven't dropped any weight.

12/21

4.851 on TM @ 1% incline in 30:00. Raining outside.Jumping jacks, situps, flexibility, dynamics.
Just to keep myself from worrying about undereating and resetting my appetite, there's probably not gonna be much in the way of long or hard workouts the rest of the year.

It's Amazing!

OK. So for the first time in 4ever, the last 3 or 4 days, I've had NO IDEA how much I've eaten. I have just been cooking up huge portions and making me a good plate 4 times/day. I was SOOO anxious about undereating, but for the first time in forever I had a feeling of hunger before eating some rice, clams, and coconut oil postrun, went back for seconds for spaghetti, and now feel FULL.

12/20

6.75 miles EZ on treadmill @ 1% incline in 45:00. Pushups, situps, dynamics, flexibility.
Used the treadmill this morning to ensure the treadmill and my patience could hold out for the duration, as I will probably have to be using it quite a bit the next several days as it is supposed to be raining.

12/19

6.32 miles in 45:00 Multi-terrain run
Dynamics, sit-ups, flexibility.

12/18

6.23 miles in 45:05 multi-terrain run.Pushups, situps, dynamics, flexibility.
Kinda cold.

Intuitive Nutrition

Since back in the summer, when I first went to the dietician and had all my bloodwork done that showed so many problems, I have been tracking my diet very meticulously. In doing so, I have felt better, gained some weight, and was even able to do 10 straight weeks above 70 mpw, including a 100 mile/wk and a 107 mile/wk. However, as I've tried to eat a more natural diet, I've realized that tracking so meticulously in itself is NOT natural. I also feel all this involvement has taken power away from my natural mechanisms of satiety and hunger. Therefore, I am going to try to start to eat healthy whole food, worry less and less about QUANTITY, while keeping emphasis on QUANTITY. I know that I CAN'T AFFORD TO LOSE WEIGHT, so I'm going to really cut back my VOLUME until I reset my hunger. I know that I could avoid underfueling by just stuffing myself, but believe that that would defeat the purpose and would probably even exasperate some of my health problems. Therefore, I am going to focus on the 5k, doing lower volume than I had planned. This is one of my biggest New Year's (and Lifetime) Resolutions. Starting today, I am going to try and just listen to my body.

12/17

4.2 miles in 30:00 Multi-terrain run. Jumping jacks, dynamics, flexibility.
Trails a little tough. First mile was on roads in 6:46, but I slowed considerably once on mud and grass. Cold, wet, icy wind was blowing pretty hard.

12/16

6.2 miles in 45:20 Multi-terrain run.Pushups, dynamics, flexibility.
First time using Garmin. Very pleased. No more guesswork on mileage off-road.
Good to be back home on some old trails.

12/15

Jog to rec center for wu, easy 6.25 in 41:34 indoor, jog back for cd.
Pushups, dynamics, flexibility.Will be the last time I run in the rec. center for a LONG time as I am taking a semester back home online and some community college. I'll miss being able to run of the mornings on the track when it's still dark out and when weather is bad... at least we have a good treadmill in the basement.
School was on lockdown for a couple hours yesterday because of a nearby armed bank robbery. I was afraid I would miss my Biology exam, but luckily didn't.
History exam later today, packing, turning books in, cleaning room, checking out of dorm. Then it's Home, Sweet Home!

12/14

Jog to rec center for wu, easy 6.25 in 41:34 indoor, jog back for cd.
Pushups, dynamics, flexibility.
Biology exam later today.

12/13

Jog warmup to rec center, easy 6.25 in 41:31 indoor, jog back for cooldown.Jumping jacks, dynamics, flexibility.
2nd day of Finals today. Online Health exam @ 3:00 PM.

Jog to campus rec, 6.25 miles medium effort in 39:38 indoor, run back. Great-feeling workout.
Pushups, dynamic drills, flexibility.
First day of Finals. Political Science Exam starting in exactly 1 hour... Ready as I'll ever be haha.

12/11

60 minute run.Cold. <20^o F. Had ice/frost form on my facial hair and sweatshirt.
Jumping jacks, dynamics, flexibility.

12/10

90 minute run.Felt cold, but felt good.
Pushups, dynamic drills, flexibility.

12/06

Jog to campus rec, 5 miles EZ effort in 32:54 indoor, run back.
Jumping jacks, dynamics.
Last day of classes  & lecture for the semester!!!!

12/08

Jog to Campus Rec for warmup, easy 6.25 in 41:28 indoor, jog back for cooldown.Pushups, dynamic drills, flexibility. Might shoot some bball later.
My school, Western Carolina, almost beat Purdue last night! It's unfortunate I only got to see tidbits of the game because the Big Ten Network was experiencing "technical difficulties."

12/07

Jog warmup, easy 6.25 in 41:31 indoor, jog back for cooldown.
Jumping jacks, dynamics.

12/06

Jog to campus rec, 5 miles medium effort in 31:51 indoor, run back.
Fairly relaxed overall effort. Felt very good about my pace this morning, as it was very even, almost exactly 0:48 a lap. However, even though I've not done any exceptionally fast workouts the last couple days, I may back off the throttle sa little tomorrow.
Pushup day. Run followed by dynamic drills. Flexibility exercises later.

12/05:

Jog to campus rec, 5 miles medium effort in 31:46 indoor, run back.
Jumping jacks, dynamics, flexibility.

12/04

90 minute run
Push-ups, dynamics, flexibility.
Kinda upset carolina got beat in the final seconds... but it was nonetheless a heckuva game, and Kentucky's a good tem. The SEC championship was ugly, with LSU slaughtering Georgia 42-10.

12/03

75 minute run. Pretty cold. Run felt good.
Jumping jacks, flexibility, dynamics.
UNC vs. Kentucky today! Go Tar Heels!

12/02

Jog to campus rec, 5 miles EZ in 34:54 indoor, run back.
Pushups, dynamics, flexibility.

12/01

Jog to campus rec, 5 miles EZ @ 7:00 pace indoor, run back.Jumping jacks, flexibility, dynamic drills.
Body and running feeling great. Bloodwork, however, still showing anemia and very low WBC and neutrophils.

Getting stronger!

Since the beginning of the semester, when we did our first physical fitness test, to today, when we did our follow-up final, I have made progress, especially with push-ups. I guess the main downside is my weight is lower, but it must have been abnormally high for me last time for whatever reason. I guess it's something I'll have to continue to work on, as well as abdominal strength.
1st of yr: 41 pushups (70th percentile), 1-minute crunches: 40 (40th percentile), Resting Pulse: 35, Weight: 118  Height: 69" Cardio Endurance (Step Test): Excellent, Flexibility: Above Average

Now: 68 pushups (>90th percentile), 1-minute crunches: 45(50th percentile), Resting Pulse: 31, Weight: 115Height: 69" Cardio Endurance (Step Test): Excellent, Flexibility: Above Average

11/28

Jog to campus rec, 5 miles indoor in 30:41, run back. First 4 miles in 24:21.
Pushups, dynamics, flexibility.
One of my best workouts in a long while. On a real track or faster course w/o all the constant turning, would have been well under  6:00 pace.

11/29

Jog to campus rec, 5 miles EZ @ 7:00 pace indoor, run back.
Jumping jacks, dynamics.

11/28

Jog to campus rec, 4 miles indoor in 24:46 (6:09, 6:16, 6:15, 6:06), run back. Jumping jack day with dynamic drills.

11/27

7.1 mile n 54:49 on my old hard, hilly loop.Pushups, dynamics.
There is one one hill on this out and back where it's about 1/2 a mile each way where you can struggle to run @ 10-12 min/mile. I think this old loop of mine could be made into one of the hardest 12k courses imaginable. Last run back home b4 going back 2 school to finish out the semester.

11/26

5 miles: 4 mile TM 1% incline in 24:56 w/last mile in 5:40. ~1 mil cooldown outside. Pushups, jumping jacks, dynamics, flexibility.
Was gonna run another mile on the treadmill at top end speed, but the treadmill started bouncing or something weird so I just sped up more between miles 3.5-4 at called it quits. Don't really know what the issue was.

11/25

7+ miles on my old loop back home. Pushups & jumping jacks, dynamics, flexibility.
It's a hard, hilly run on a paved state access road. Lots of steep climbs. This is where I ran so many miles back in the summer, doing a double loop almost every morning, as well as pm runs, on my  way to some 100+ mile weeks. Rather cold this morning with a hard frost. Legs felt tight at first, but better as run progressed. Saw four doe in a field. As I ran by, they started to run parallel with me.

Thanksgiving '11

~40+ mins. ez run on trails, road, & thru fields back home.Frosty outside, legs a little stiff.
Pushups, dynamics.

11/23:

5 mile treadmill progression run @ 1% incline, progression from 9-11 mph, in 30:45.
Wasn't too hard.
Jumping jacks dynamic drills.
Glad to be back home for Thanksgiving break. Going to get more bloodwork today. Because of anemia, actually thinking about ditching all my brown rice for white, maybe grits instead of oatmeal, to further enhance iron absorption that the phytates in whole grains can inhibit.  Hope it doesn't screw with my blood sugar though. Also going to try to incorporate clams, other mollusks, liver, etc. into my diet as they are all low in fat (which I need for my pancreas issues) but very high in absorbable iron. Use Vitamin C with my high iron intake to promote absorption. I hate that I track and know that I get all my iron through diet, AND take a multivitamin, ANDan iron supplement, and still have to worry about this. But alas...

11/22

Jog to campus rec, 5 miles EZ indoor, run back.
Pushup day, dynamics.
Going back home today for Thanksgiving break.

11/21

Jog to campus rec, 4 miles indoor in 24:49, run back.
Jumping jacks (100, 150, 150), dynamics.
Felt pretty good on my run. On almost any other track or surface, it woulda been sub-6 pace, and I didn't even have to really push at all. Seeing my reflection in the windows at campus rec., I can see my dynamic drills have really enhanced my knee lift and kickback, especially my kickback.

11/20

60 minute run
Pushup day (50, 50+25, 50+25), dynamics, flexibility.
Wasn't super cold out this morning. Body feeling pretty dang good.
Started Eragon yesterday. If I like it well enough, I might read all 4 of the Inheritance books.

11/19

60 minute run w/ some pushes
Jumping jacks (100, 150, 150), dynamic drills, flexibility.
Just finished "Run: The Mind Body Method of Running By Feel." Really enjoyed the book, and it really gave me some ideas to incorporate into my own training when I start really training again. One of the biggest things, toward the end of the book, is adding some yoga poses for strength, flexibility, stability, stress-relief, and being more "in touch" with the body. That last part is really what the whole book is about, and I believe that's why a lot of the priciples would be great for my OCD self. 

11/18

Jog to campus rec, 4 miles indoor in 25:15, run back.
Pushup day, dynamic drills. Health class later.
Resting pulse at doctor's yesterday was 31. After a month of waiting for my appointment, and 3.5 hrs. between a waiting room and talking with a nurse practitioner, I found out the hematologist hadn't received most of my past tests, hadn't looked at the medical records he received, and that I have to get more tests ran and come back. Oh well I guess.

11/17

Jog to campus rec, 4 miles indoor in 25:22, run back.
Although I took yesterday easy, this run was a lil tough for some reason. Knees a little sore.
400 jumping jacks (100, 150, 150), dynamic drills.
Going to meet with hematologist today to further delve into bloodwork. Hopefully I can get some more answers and move forward. Would like to vamp my training volume back up as well, but told myself I will hold back for now.

11/16

Jog to campus rec, 4 miles EZ indoor, run back.
Wasn't even sore, tight, or tired this morning. Just decided to take it easy.
Pushup day, dynamic drills.

11/15

Jog to campus rec, 4 miles indoor in 25:15, run back.
Jumping jack day, dynamic drills. Gonna work on limbering my back up a little today, as it was kinda sore when I awoke.

A New Pursuit: Gaining body fat

We were talking about essential body fat today in health, which piqued my interest since the electronic machine wouldn’t read mine earlier when we did health testing. So I went to the fitness lab and they did the skin caliper test. The results were Biceps: 2mm, triceps: 3mm, Suprailiac: 3mm, and subscapular: 4mm. This gives me a %BF of 2.46%. This is barely enough for good health, and I therefore NEED to gain a little more bodyfat as I try to progress my running and my health.  I plan to just add some more calories to the diet prescribed by the doctors and nutritionist to do so.

11/14

Jog to campus rec, 4 miles indoor in 25:17, run back.
Pushups: (1X50, 6X25), dynamic drills.

11/13

60 minute run w/ a push near end.
4X100 jumping jacks, dynamic drills.

11/12

60 minute run @ ~19^o F… coldest so far.
Very cold run. My hip wasfeeling a lil' funky when i woke up but otherwise run and body seem to be doing rather well. Weight was down at 113 before my run in my shorts, which I can't really figure out because I have been running less and trying to eat a little extra. I have tried using EVOO instead of coconut oil this past week, so I'm hoping it doesn't have anything to do with my past lipase/fat indigestion issues. Gonna really carb up and have plenty of sodium today to see if it's just water weight and that remedies the problem. // I have pretty well decided that I am for sure going to go back home for next semester and
I am trying to get together a good plan when I start back hard again after exams. Going to make my plan where I can stay in pretty good shape all the time for anything 5k-HM using nonlinear periodization, focusing on the 10k. This would eliminate true phases of base, rest, sharpening and peaking. I will experiment with it and just see how it goes.
Pushup day, dynamic drills, flexibility.

11/11

Jog to campus rec, 4 miles EZ indoor (~7:15 pace), run back
4X100 Jumping jacks, dynamic drills.

11/10

Jog to campus rec, 3.125 miles on indoor in 19:20 (6:10, 6:16, 6:11 ,0:43), run back.
8X25 pushups, dynamic drills, flexibility.

11/09

Jog to campus rec, 3.125 miles on indoor in 19:35, run back.
4X100 Jumping Jacks, flexibility, dynamic drills.
Starting to think about a longterm rebuild at the start of the year.

11/08

Jog to campus rec, 3 mile treadmill progression @1% in 17:40, building to 10.2 mph over first 4 minutes, then to 11mph over remainder, run back. Wasn’t very difficult.
8X25 pushups, dynamics, flexibility.

11/07

Jog to campus rec, 3.125 miles on indoor in 19:26, run back (6:18, 6:15, 6:09, 0:44)
4X100 Jumping jacks, flexibility, dynamic drills.

11/06

60 minute run with pickups/pushes
8X25 pushups, dynamics & flexibility

11/05

60 minute steady state run. 30 degrees and VERY dense fog.
4X100 Jumping Jacks, flexibility, dynamic drills.

11/04

Jog to campus rec, 3.125 miles on indoor in 19:42, run back (6:23, 6:21, 6:16, 0:42)
8X25 pushups, dynamic drills, flexibility.

That  boot-shaped indoor track is sooo slow, sooo short, and has sooo many turns!

11/03

Run to campus rec warmup, 3 mile in 17:45 (1% incline treadmill proression run 9-11.3 mph), jog back for cooldown.
4X100 Jumping jacks, flexibility and dynamic drills.

11/02

Jog to campus rec, 3.125 miles on indoor in 19:47, run back.
Pushups, flexibility, and dynamic drills.

11/01

Jog to campus rec as warmup, 3.125 indoor in 19:54, run back.
4X100 Jumping jacks throughout day, dynamic and flexibility drills.
Doctor called last night and said WBC & neutrophils had risen somewhat, though were still quite low. She talked to the hematologist I am going to see later in the month, and he thought it looks more autoimmune than malignant based on my other symptoms and problems, and the fact that the counts are yo-yoing somewhat.

Halloween: 10/31/11

Jog to campus rec, 3.125 miles on indoor in 19:52, run back.
Pushups & dynamics to complement.
Looks like its gonna be my usual for awhile.

10/30/11

Just 30 minutes @ 24 degrees... coldest so far this fall
Jumping Jacks and Dynamic Drills

10/29/11

Just 30 minutes aerobic run.
Taking time to cut back really sucks lol.

10/28/11

Jog to campus rec, 3.125 miles on indoor in 20:10, run back.Jumping jacks and dynamic drills as complementary exercises.

As I await furhter investigation into my health situation and keeping volume low, I'm hoping I can keep my "normal" pace @ under 6:40 as I'm doing currently on the indoor track, and maintain that pace as I build mileage back up later.

10/27/11

jog wu, easy 3.125 indoor in 19:58 (splits of 6:33, 6:26, 6:16, last lap 0:43), jog back for cd. Would have ran faster, but it's hard to keep up speed on a 1/8 mile boot-shaped track.
Pushups, flexibility, and dynamic drills as complements today.

Went back to the doctor yesterday and they are setting me up with a hematologist/oncologist as well as the immunologist to look into my problems further. She thinks whatever is behind my low neutrophils led to a susceptible pancreas, immune system, and food allergies, which then in turn led to everything else. Also learned that I’m probably going to be on my diet for the rest of my life, and that I need to take extra sanitary precautions. Will be running very little mileage until I get this all straightened out, but will probably up the intensity. Also going to try to gain a couple extra security pounds as safety net in case of future bouts of illness.

10/26/11

Jog to campus rec, slow 6.25 indoor in 45:37, run back. Jumping jacks and dynamic drills as complementary exercises.Going to the doctor today about my bloodwork and to see if they have set me up with an immunologist. Don't know yet how my training will be affected.

10/25/11

Jog warmup, easy 7.5 indoor, run back.Pushups & dynamic drills throughout day to complement.

10/24/11

Jog to Campus Rec, 6.25 miles indoor in 43:55, run back.
Jumping jacks, dynamic drills.

10/23/11

60 minute run in the cold.Pushups and drills.

10/22/11

60 minute steady state run... VERY COLDDrills, jumping jacks, lunge matrix

10/21/11

AM: Jog warmupu, easy 6.25 indoor in 46:30, jog back for cooldown.
PM: 4.5 mi on TM @ 1% in 31:xx? in health class
Doing pushups throughout the day. Maybe some other upper body as well.
They got my bloodwork back in yesterday. The good news is my kidney, liver, pancreas, and blood lipid levels had all normalized. The bad news is my white blood, neutrophil, and hemoglobin counts have absolutely plummeted. They are going to try and set me up with an immunologist to see if maybe they can figure out what is behind all of this. For now, they told me not to change anything running-wise or dietetically, and stay with what the nutritionist had me on. She said since my levels have dropped after a decrease in running volume, she doesn't really believe that to be the issue. I am also already taking an iron supplement daily, on top of my multi.

10/20/11

Jog to rec. center for warmup, 7.5 in 54:30, run back/some dynamics for cooldown.

10/19/11

Jog warmup, easy 6.25 indoor in 44:52 (pushed somewhat last mile), jog back for cooldown.

10/18/11

60 minute run after having my bloodwork and coming back to school.
I really hope everything comes back alright. If not, maybe I can spend some of this time doing less running focusing on improving my health and getting my numbers right. I really think my diet has been great for my kidneys, liver, and pancreatic lipase, but no so much for my cholesterol (the huge amounts of coconut oil) or my trigs (the huge amounts of starch), but maybe all will be well.

10/17

Did my old 7+ mile loop back home before going back to college tomorrow...
getting my bloodwork redone in the morning so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

10/16

~4 miles trails, road, fields, etc.
As usual, I'm going to do additional calisthenics, strength, flexibility throughout the day. As I have decided to cut my volume and rebuild from the bottom, I will increase the workload of these non-running workouts as I try to build some more strength and speed.

10/15/11

~4 miles @ tempoish effort through grass/trails
Gonna try to spend the last several days of fall break to enjoy being @ home and visit family. I have about decided to completely start from the bottom again in terms of volume. I plan to add in a lot of pure speed and strength types of work, and gradually build my mileage back up. I honestly just want to regain a lot of the strength, power, and footspeed that I have lost in my bouts of sickness, as I used to be a very good sprinter and was very strong back when I had more of a bball focus all throughout HS. I feel that now that I have such increased aerobic capacity from those 80, 90, and 100+ mile weeks from back in the summer, increasing my speed and power will be a great aid in my ability to, hopefully, compete in college in the next couple years.

10/14/11

5 mile progression run in 33:2X on TM 1%. 20 minutes run outside after.
Started @ 8mph, upping speed by .1mph ever .25 miles, and every 0.1 miles over the last mile.
As I have said, I'm going to ease my way into faster and faster speeds to accustom my body. Although volume (~50s-low 60s mpw) & intensity are both quite ez, I feel that by slowly getting myself used to more intensity, the 100+ mile weeks from summer and my resting pulse of 35 will allow me to reach race shape over time. I want to be able to make the team perform collegiately in XC/track next year @ 5k, 8k, 10k, and 12k.

10/13/11

3 mile progression run on Treadmill 1% incline in 18:15. Followed by 30 minutes outside @ moderate pace.I plan on doing these treadmill proression runs, as I said in yesterday's post, to slowly familiarize my body with ever-increasing speeds. I know this mornings run wasn't very fast, but I want to ease into this. Also, these runs will usually be in a fasted state without a warmup first thing in the morning out of schedule demands. For this reason, the early pace will be quite pedestrian, as I began this morning @ 9mph (6:40 pace) and built up to 11 mph (5:27 pace) over the course of the run by bumping speed up 0.1mph about every 60 seconds.

10/12/11

Jog wu, easy 6.25 indoor in 45:54, jog back for cd.Going home for fall break today. While there, I am going to probably start using the treadmill @ 1% incline to do time trials as progression runs. I plan to hopefully familiarize myself to faster and faster paces over time by doing so.

October 11

Jog to campus rec, 7.5  miles, medium-easy in 53:56(last mile a lil faster in 6:26), jog back. Probably will do some strength work (free- or bodyweight) later after classes.
Back of leg feeling just a little bit better. I was going to finish the last mile a little faster than I did, but the irregular shape of the 1/8 mile track makes it hard to get any great stride as you are always leaning one way or another in and out of turns.

10/10/11

jog wu, easy 6.25 indoor in 46:26, jog back for cd
Back of my leg in behind my knee has been bothering me now for the last few days. Probably gonna keep it at a gentle effort on the indoor smooth track until I go home Wednesday for fall break.

10/09/11

60 minutes, mostly moderate in the grass/fine gravel trails, with a push towards the end.Good eight hours sleep. Weight was down a little under 115 before my run, so I'm gonna try having a little extra salt today, as I don't eat any processed food, to help retain more fluid. Was gonna take it real easy since yesterday was my longest run since the little leg thing. Once i got started though, my feet were wanting to move faster than I had planned on. I think it was a combination of running on a flatter, smoother surface, and the fact that it was quite as chilly and damp outside. It was a little dark at 6:30 when I started. Overall it felt like a good run, though not the true "recovery" run I had planned on.

10/08/11

~120 minute+ long runMy longest run since I injured my leg in early September. Felt good, but it was COOL. Didn't get started til 7, so it was barely starting to warm up by the end of the run. There was frost everywhere. It probably felt colder than it actually was because I did so much of my runing near a river. I explored some completely new routes and areas via some sideroads across the countryside. There were some pretty steep grades and climbs along the way. I tried pushing at the finish, but could never get to maximal speed. I contribute this to a combination of the temperature, the hills I had already ran, and the fact I already had some early morning tightness in the backs of my legs behind the knee. Strange to think I was running this much and MORE almost EVERY single morning back during summer. I do not see myself going back into the 100 mpw range or extending my long run back out any time soon. I really want to try out here at my college for XC and track next year, and am going to have to build up more footspeed and strength in my running.
Reading a good book btw: The Perfect Mile by Neal Bascomb. It's about the pursuit of the four-minute mile, especially by Landy, Bannister, and Wes Santee in the early 1950s.

10/07/11

jog wu, ez 10k indoors, jog cd

10/06/11

AM: jog wu, easy 7.5 indoor, jog cooldown back to dorm.PM: Some strength work

10/05/11

HARD 6.25 indoor @ CRC, sprint back… wish I had my watch on.

So there was this guy there who started running way after me, and I lapped him several times. On my last 2 miles, he started pouring it on, trying to race me, and, me being me, I made sure he didn't win lol. Six am is too early 2 be racing I have to admit.

10/04/11

AM: Jog to CRC, easy 7.5 indoor indoor in 54:49, jog back.
Little more of a headache this morning.
PM: Weight/strength/flexibility session

10/03/11

Jog 2 campus rec, 5 indoor in 33:53, sprint back
Headache has started to subside from incident on Friday.

10/01/11 Update

09/29: 6.5 miles
09/30: jog to rec, 5 in 35:00, sprint back PM: few drills, strength work
Received a head injury during health class yesterday and was left unconscious. Had to be taken to ER by ambulance and cannot run the next 2 days, so I'm gonna miss my only chances for long runs this week. Pobably going to skip the Half-Marathon next weekend, as I feel nowhere near adequately prepared. Just trying to be patient and will try to build my body and endurance back up for my long-term
goals: speed, strength, endurance, and happiness.

09/28/11

jog to campus rec, 5 smooth miles indoor in 36:23, long sprint back to dorm,
pushups throughout day

Legs felt pretty good on run... more so than I would have thought after doing the squats and lunges yesterday. My recovery seems to be doing well from day to day, most likely from the low volume of mileage I am currently putting in during the weekdays.

09/27/11

AM: 6.5 mile run
PM: Pushups, pullups, dips, bodyweight+barbell squats and lunges

09/26/11

jog to campus rec, 5 EZ on indoor track in 36:30, jog back before 8 am class.
Woke up really refreshed and legs felt great on my run, but have felt a little sluggish in the time after. I do think I'm going to stick with the low mileage for awhile during weekdays. At this point I am pretty certain that I am going to go ahead and run the HM on 10/08, though I am not expecting a great performance as I am just coming back from the injury. I feel it would at least give me an oppurtunity to get a feel for longer races, and would be a new experience. I'll just have to try to not kill myself running it and bear in mind that I have long-term goals that exceed the need to run fast in a little local road race.

09/25/11

90 minute run
Hopefully Saturday I'll be able to extend my long run back out to two hours... kinda funny calling that a "long run" as I was doing that and more every single morning upon waking back in the summer. Still feel as though I'm just getting my legs back under me after my 3 week hiatus due to injury. Thinking about doing my first HM in two weeks... may treat it more as a training run though since I'm just getting back. Probably going to keep running mileage low during weekdays for the remainder of the semester.
Sleep was good last night. Aside from being able to do longer runs, my favorite part about weekends in sleep! Never realized how much I loved it til I went from being an HS kid to 19 semester hour freshman. Amazed at the time Makau ran in Berlin though! The human body is an amazing thing. I just wonder how much lower we can physically take the 26.2M time. 4:4x pace is ridiculous!
Hate to see that my man Haile may never have a chance @ OLympic Gold in the Marathon. Would've been a fitting conclusion to possibly the greatest running career in history.

09/24/11

90 minute run. Did lots of pushups throughout the day as usual.
Longest run since injury. Felt pretty good and explored some new areas around my college. Got a good night's sleep of 8 hrs. after watching Green Lantern at the University Theatre... pretty good movie for 2 bucks.

Welcome

AM Workout: 5 mile EZ run on indoor track before class. Lots of pushups throughout the rest of the day.
I am just back running for one week after coming back from a 3-week hiatus due to a lower leg injury. This was after completing the following weekly mileage leading up: 59-70-77-84-100-85-107-76-70-70. As suggested by the sports medicine doctor I was seeing, I asked one of the athletic/track dept. staff to help me develop a program that involves development of strength, flexibility, and stability exercises. This will be supplemental as I build my running mileage back up. I am going to try to steadily put on a little bit of lean mass through exercise and diet.