Week Recap (1 May 2011 - 7 May 2011) - 40 Miles

Sunday: 15M
Started the week off with a nice 15 miler. Headed out from home and to the Presidio up Arguello Blvd. Picked up the bay trail towards Lincoln Blvd, then continued along the Coastal trail and finally headed home through Golden Gate Park. Averaged right around 7:00 pace which is pretty decent for this loop since it includes a fair amount of rolling hills and some slow parts on the trails along the coast. Felt pretty good too, probably the best I've felt in a long run in quite a while.

Monday: 8M
Pretty slow run at golden gate park.

Tuesday: 0M
Day off.

Wednesday: 10M
Hill repeats, 2x up Hayes St, 4x back and forth on Divisadero. I decided to run some hill repeats, partly in preparation for Bay to Breakers. I started from home and made my way to the botton of Hayes St hill after a couple of miles. The B2B course includes a rather brutal climb up to the top of Hayes St by Alamo Square. This workout brought back memories of workouts we used to run up Summit Ave in Boston and it was surprising how similar Hayes St and the long side of Summit ave are. They are both close to half a mile with similar elevation gain. Hayes St starts out a bit more gradual though and is a lot steeper near the top, making it pretty hard to top well. I started my workout as soon as I crossed Laguna St and started working the hill well. I slowed down as I was getting closer to the top, as expected, but I managed to put in a good effort. My legs we already feeling it though and I wasn't looking forward to heading back down and running another repeat. Even the downhill part was rather brutal and I was running on tired legs on the second one, making it noticeably slower. I was feeling pretty tired for the rest of the workout and I didn't feel like I was running very fast but it was a somewhat decent effort. I was considering adding a couple more short repeats but opted for a longer cool-down instead. I even stopped by Kezar and ran some barefoot strides before heading back home.

Thursday - Friday: 0M

Saturday: 7M
10x400 with 200m rest: 75, 76, 73, 73, 73, 70, 69, 70, 69, 67. Some speedwork to close out the week. I wasn't expecting a very challenging workout since I was taking 200m of rest between intervals and my head wasn't entirely in it when I started. I came through in 36 on the first one but relaxed too much on the second half. The second one didn't go much better and I was a bit surprised to see a 38 turning to a 39 at the 200. At that point I starting getting worried that it was going to be a rough day and even thought about cutting the workout short if the next interval continued on the same trend. Fortunately I managed to get into a better rhythm from then on and pulled off a decent workout. The last half, especially, felt pretty good and it was good to see that I still have some kind of speed in my legs.

Zippy 5K

16:38

Splits: 5:17, 10:50 (5:33)

I had a range of goals heading into this race, ranging from conservative to very aggressive. On the more conservative end I wanted to run under 17:00, which would give me a seeded spot for Bay to Breakers. I knew of course that was a very soft goal and I thought something in the mid 16s would be more realistic. After my last workout, though, I started raising my expectations a bit and even entertained thoughts of running sub 16. And if I was gonna shoot for sub 16 I thought I might as well try to run faster than Schmeck's recent 15:52. In all seriousness, though, it was hard to know what to expect. I've been getting in better shape but I hadn't raced a 5K in ages and the biggest challenge was to get myself into a competitive mindset. After some thought I decided to shoot for a 5:10 opening mile and play it by ear from then on.

The race was at 8:30am and I got myself to Golden Gate Park around 7:15am so I had some time to spare. The weather wasn't great for sitting around, it had been raining overnight and everything around was wet. A few minutes before the start we got some more rain but it more or less died out by the time the gun went off. I was near the front at the start and stayed close to the leaders for the first few hundred meters. I knew of course that I had no business following those guys and I tried to settle to my goal pace. I didn't really have a good sense of pace and I kept trying to evaluate how I felt. I wasn't too excited to see a 5:17 at the mile mark as I wasn't too comfortable and I was hoping that I had perhaps gone out a bit too fast. I made an effort in the second mile to move up a bit and passed a few people but was a bit surprised to see a 5:33 split. It probably makes sense though as the second mile is the slowest of the course. There's a couple of short hills, some turns going around Stow Lake and not all that great footing. I ran this race 3 years ago and back then I had run a 15:34 with 4:50 and 5:10 for my first two splits. I can't really say that one should expect a 15-20 second deviation between the first two miles but I think it's safe to say at least that mile 2 is somewhat slower. I tried to push myself to finish strong but I wasn't really able to switch gears. I was sort of in no mans land, there was a group ahead of me but I wasn't able to gain on them much and I could hear some guy running behind me but I never got to see him either. I had a decent kick at the end and I finished feeling that I had more in the tank. I even went for an 8 mile cool-down afterwards and was feeling rather fresh.

I can't say that I was very pleased with my race although not terribly disappointed either. In the back of my head I was hoping to be close to 16:00 but maybe that was a bit overambitious. There's no doubt that I could have raced better but I can't beat myself up about it. I'm just starting to push myself in workouts and I can't say yet that I've managed to get outside my comfort zone. Even before my surgery I was training for a marathon and running longer races so for a long time I hadn't been in a competitive situation where I needed to be aggressive from the start. It's gonna take a while to get myself race sharp and saying there's quite a bit of rust to be busted would be a huge understatement. So I guess there are some positives to take away from this race; I am getting in better shape and I just need to stay motivated and keep at it.

Post Kaiser updates

I know that over the last couple of years it hasn't been my habit to post frequent updates, mostly because I haven't been running all that much and didn't feel motivated to write about my lack of training. Things have been getting better lately so hopefully that will be motivation for more frequent updates, although I'm not promising anything. We'll see how things progress from here I suppose. In any case, the latest thing I have to show is a 16:38 5K, at the Zippy 5K about a week ago. I'll write a race recap in another post so this one is intended to fill the gap between the Kaiser half and this 5K.

The Kaiser half took quite a bit out of me and I was pretty sore for about a week after. I didn't run for a couple of weeks in an effort to recover and before I knew it I was falling into the same pattern as before. Sign up for a race, get motivated for a while then go back to mediocre training after the race. Throughout February and March I was only running 2-3 times a week so about 25-30 miles. Things got better over the last month though, to a big extend because I finally got a gym membership at a gym pretty much right across from work. Being able to go for a run in the middle of the day has helped out a lot since I hate running in the mornings and getting the run out of the way early in the day is the best way to avoid skipping it. This way I managed to get my mileage closer to 50M/week and while I still have ways to go before I'm as competitive as before at least I'm now seeing myself heading in that direction.

Besides the increase in mileage, I'm starting to put in some better workouts as well. I had some good fartleks and tempos but what got me pumped the most was the last track workout I ran before Zippy. I ran 4x1600 the week before the race, trying to get a sense of what I should be shooting for. I was shooting for 5:20s to begin with and started out with a 5:21, followed with a 5:20. I felt a lot better than I expected and picked things up on the 3rd, hitting a 5:11. I still felt that I had more in me and tried to shoot for a sub 5 on the last one. I started out on pace, coming through in 74 and 2:29 but lost some focus on the 3rd lap and came through in 3:47. I made a bid for it on the last lap but came just a little short, rounding up the workout with a 5:00. It would have been nice to see a 4 on the watch but I was still pretty happy with the workout. In general I'm happy with the way my fitness is progressing and I'm getting excited about pushing myself more and racing at a more competitive level. Hopefully my motivation levels will remain as high moving forward.

Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon

A couple of months ago I ran the Kaiser half and started writing a race recap afterwards but somehow managed not to save most of it. I didn't feel like writing it again but I figured I should at least write a shorter version. The very short version is that I ended up running a rather painful 1:19:50, averaging ~5:50 pace for the first 7 miles before slowing down significantly for the last few miles. Here are my splits:
5:48, 11:34(5:46), 17:36(6:02), 23:37(6:01), 29:33(5:56), 35:11(5:38), 40:52(5:41), 46:54(6:02), 53:05(6:11), 59:36(6:30), 65:59(6:23), 1:12:39(6:40),1:19:50(7:11 for the last 1.1 mile)

Before getting into some more details about the race I should I guess mention what I've been up to since the last time I showed up signs of life on this blog. Last September, as I was getting ready for Alumni XC, I was starting to get a little more consistent in my training and I was hoping I would carry on and increase my volume even more afterwards. Unfortunately that hasn't happened and I was actually less consistent over the last few months. I've been good about running on weekends and in general I would run 8-10 miles on Saturday and follow that with a 13-16 mile long run on Sunday. Weekdays though were pretty much hit or miss and most weeks I would only manage to get out the door once or twice more. So I probably averaged something around 30-35 miles per week and wasn't running any workouts either.

A few weeks before Kaiser I started thinking that I needed something to motivate me and that's why I decided to sign up for the half. I knew I wasn't really in shape to run a half and I wasn't expecting much but thought it would be good to get in a race again, even if I would run it as a workout. When I signed up I was thinking that I'd probably start out running 6:30s and try to finish up the last few miles at a tempo effort. Two weeks before the half I ran my first workout since September and ran 3200-1600-4x800 in 11:16, 5:15, 2:32, 2:32, 2:31, 2:31. The following week I ran 5x1600 in 5:21, 5:21, 5:21, 5:25, 5:16. I was definitely surprised as I was running considerably faster than my last workouts without really having trained much in between.

After those workouts I wasn't sure what to shoot for and thought it would be best to start out somewhat conservatively, somewhere around 6:00, and push the last half if I felt good. That plan kind of went out the window once the race started and the adrenaline rush I got from racing again made the first couple of miles a little faster than what I wanted. I was feeling rather comfortable though so I just went with it. I settled a bit in miles 3-5 but got faster again on miles 6-7, thanks in part to a downhill section through the park. I was still feeling pretty good at mile 7 but soon things changed once we turned along Ocean beach. While I was still feeling fine aerobically, my legs started having trouble handling the pounding and soon I was in survival mode instead of racing. I struggled to keep myself moving and got passed by quite a few people, which was a bit disheartening, but at that point I wasn't thinking about racing and only wanted to get myself to the finish. I somehow managed to get to the finish line without completely falling apart but was pretty much wiped out. I walked straight to my car afterwards and headed home without doing any stretching or cool-down. It was definitely one of the most painful races I've ever run.

I had mixed feelings after the race but after thinking about it for a while I wound up feeling fairly good about it. I know it's hard to get excited about running almost 10 minutes slower than my PR but it's not too bad considering how much I've been running. In September I only managed to average just under 6:00 for 5 miles and now I was just over 6:00 for 13. I know the comparison between cross country and the roads is not exactly fair but still, that's quite an improvement in my book. So, a step in the right direction I suppose.

Reviving the blog

It's time to bring this blog back to life. I think the timing is good, right after competing at the Alumni cross country meet this past weekend, my my first race in 23 months. I'll follow up with a race report in another post but first there's some gaps I need to fill in.

First of all, the big question; where are am I at at the moment? The short answer; in good enough shape to run a 29:28 at Franklin Park. Training-wise I've been running around 45-50 miles for the past few weeks and even started running some track workouts about a month ago. The important thing is that the Achilles is feeling good but I'm still being a bit cautious and intensionally only running 5 days a week to give my foot some recovery time.

I know it seems like my recovery process has been pretty slow, especially if you consider that in my last post, which was over a year ago, I was raving about how I was starting to feel like a runner again. Back then I was thinking that it wouldn't be long before I'd be able to get back to some solid training so 20 months after the surgery it's obvious that things haven't exactly progressed as I was hoping to. I could definitely try to analyze everything that happened during all this time but that might take a while so I'll just try to sum things up in a hopefully not too long way.

Back in June 09 I was very happy with my training. I was riding 120-130 miles a week on my bike, even doing a couple of 60+ mile rides. In addition to that I was running 1-2 miles, 2-3 times a week, I was going for physical therapy 2 times a week and even had the occasional session on the elliptical. In general I was very motivated, feeling like I was in pretty good shape and excited about getting back to regular running.

Things took a different after my summer vacation in Cyprus. I didn't really do much for 3 weeks, which was pretty much what I was expecting as I wanted to enjoy my vacation and wasn't really in a position to worry about losing fitness. My summer laziness alone shouldn't have been a big deal but what got me into trouble was that I got a little impatient as soon as I returned to the Bay area. I had been very patient up to that point but suddenly I was really anxious to get back to running and pushed myself more than I should have. I was starting to feel good and thought I could both start running longer and faster at the same time, which I did without much trouble at first. Unfortunately my legs, particularly the calves, were still not strong enough and the faster pace put too much stress on the Achilles. One thing I started regretting about my laziness in Cyprus is that I neglected the stretching and strengthening exercises which I had been so diligently doing in physical therapy over the previous months. In retrospect that could have been one of the reasons of my setback as I lost some strength and flexibility and probably paid for it when I tried to run faster.

With the Achilles flaring up again I had no option but to take a break from running and shift my focus towards increasing my strength and flexibility. It was a frustrating thing to do as it felt like I was going back to where I was 4 months earlier. The frustration was followed by a significant decrease in my motivation levels. I did a decent job with my strengthening program and did as much walking/jogging as I had planned but besides that I didn't feel motivated at all to do any additional cross training. I could barely get myself to stay on the elliptical for more than half an hour and didn't manage to get any good bike rides either. Eventually I felt that I was so out of shape that I didn't see any reason to cross train. Two or three months later I slowly started getting back to running but I took things really easy this time, taking my time to progress from jogging at 10min pace to something I could actually call running.

It wasn't until late last year / beginning of this year that I was able to get back to putting in some decent runs. It wasn't exactly smooth sailing from then on but at least things were heading in the right direction. I was gradually able to handle longer runs but I couldn't get myself into a consistent training regiment. In part that was because I was being cautious and didn't want to ramp up mileage quickly. Also on a few occasions the Achilles would feel tight at the end of a run and I would give it some time off to make sure I wouldn't have another setback. These definitely sound like legitimate excuses but I can't say that I was giving this comeback my 100%. As much as I hate to say it I have to admit that at some point running was no longer my top priority. When you are only trying to run 3 or 4 times a week it doesn't seem like a big deal to skip a run and when you are not exactly in shape and don't have any real goals it's easy to let other things come in the way of running. It was kind of a weird situation overall and it took me a while to bounce out of it.

I can't really isolate a single turning point but I did get more consistent eventually, about 2 months ago. I guess the alumni meet gave me some motivation and seeing how Schmeck was falling behind in his training I started thinking I might have a shot at winning our bet. If it weren't for the alumni meet I would have probably waited a bit longer before starting track workouts and definitely wouldn't consider racing for a while longer. I think it helped though to start doing some faster stuff as I finally started feeling like I was getting more fit. In the end time kind of run out and Schmeck managed to come on top but I have to say I'm very pleased with the progress I made over the last couple of months.

That was kind of a long summary I admit. The last question I guess would be, what's next? Well, I haven't exactly figured that out yet. The important thing right now is to remain consistent and keep putting in more miles. I still need some time to get my base fitness back up to a good level so I probably won't get into any more races any time soon. We'll see, I'm playing things by ear for now. At least for the first time in quite a while, I'm being optimistic and getting excited about the future.

Once again, a runner

A monumental day! I think I can now call myself a runner again. Technically I have been "running" for the past 2 weeks but today I crossed the line from jogging to actual running. I had started doing some fast walking on the treadmill almost a month ago, gradually adding some intervals of light jogging until I managed to jog my first continuous mile 2 weeks ago. My jogging pace was only marginally faster than walking, though, I was walking at 12:30 - 13:00 pace and started jogging at just under 12:00 pace. For the past 2 weeks I have been jogging a mile every other day and gradually increased the pace but didn't really get much faster than 11:00 pace. I didn't have any issues with the Achilles but trying to get my legs moving again felt a bit awkward at first. Not surprising I guess after not having run a step in 4.5 months and still lacking strength in my legs. There was steady progress of course but no dramatic changes from one day to the next. The last few days I have been feeling stronger but I was still cautious and didn't try pushing myself much. Well, today I thought it was time to take a leap to the next level. It was a pretty good day overall, I managed to get myself out of bed early enough to ride my bike to work and had a really good ride on the way back. I'm either getting stronger or finally started figuring out how to climb hills on my bike as I was doing a really good job at it. I ended up back home around 8PM, finishing off a total of 32 miles on the bike, and despite having worked my quads quite a bit I was pumped about going for a run. As soon as I got home I switched out of my biking and into my running clothes and headed down to the treadmill for the usual mile. So far I had been doing some walking for a few minutes before starting my jog but this time I jumped right into it. I started at slightly faster than 10:00 pace for maybe a minute then brought it down to about 8:30. I kept it steady for a while and dropped down in the low 8s for the last couple of minutes. I felt like I could easily go faster but I thought it would be smarter not to get carried away. My legs are getting stronger and cardiovascularly I think I managed to keep myself in good shape. Sure, I still have ways to go but for the first time since the surgery I got a glimpse of how it feels to be running again. And what a great feeling that is. Never take that for granted.

4 Months

4 months have come and gone since the surgery and I'm staring to feel like my return to running is fast approaching. I know of course that I still have ways to go before I can get back to a regular running routine so perhaps I shouldn't be getting too far ahead of myself but it's good at least that I'm almost ready to take the next step. I met with Dr Oloff this week and he was happy with my progress, everything seems to be going according to schedule. I've been cleared to start doing some fast walking and gradually progress as tolerated to some light jogging. I got on the treadmill once this past week and walked a mile, starting at 20 minute pace and progressing down to about 13 min pace. A few times I tried to jog a couple of steps, just to see how it felt, and the result was rather encouraging. I didn't feel any pain but trying to run did feel a little awkward, which shouldn't be surprising I guess. I think my Achilles could tolerate some light running right now but I first need to build some more strength in my left leg, especially in the calf. I'm still not able to fully do a single leg calf raise on my left foot and I need to be strong enough to push myself off the ground before I can start running. Hopefully I'll get close enough by the end of this week but I'm definitely not gonna rush into it. I've waited long enough so far and I don't mind waiting a few more weeks to ensure that I don't have any setbacks. After all it's not like I'm gonna jump into running right away. I'll probably start with jogging a mile every other day and gradually build up the mileage and intensity. I'll continue to cross train until I get to the point where I'm running sufficient mileage, which of course won't be happening any time soon.

Speaking of cross training, this past week has been pretty solid. I started the week with a 29 mile bike ride on Sunday, got on the elliptical Monday-Tuesday and rode my bike to work the last 3 days of the week. Saturday was off as planned. In total I biked about 130 miles and spent a couple of hours on the elliptical. Here's the summary:

Sunday - 5/17
29 mile bike ride

Monday - 5/18
1:30 on elliptical

Tuesday - 5/19
Physical therapy
30:00 elliptical
1 mile fast walking, some jogging


Wednesday - 5/20
Biked to work
~32 miles


Thursday - 5/21
Biked to work in the morning, biked to PJCC for physical therapy, biked back to work and home in the afternoon. ~38 miles

Friday - 5/22
Biked to work
~32 miles

Saturday - 5/23
Off