Saturday, March 22, 2008

Week Recap (16 Mar 2008 - 22 Mar 2008) - 46 Miles

Everything went according to plan this week as far as mileage and I felt good on all my runs so I couldn't really be asking for more. I even returned to Water Dog Lake park for my first run on trails, since my injury, putting my foot through a good test. I haven't felt any pain since I started running so I'm confident that I've put this injury behind me. I cut down my physical therapy sessions to 2 a week and I think another week of those should be enough. I don't have any definite plan for the rest of the season since I had to throw all plans out the window after getting injured. I'll keep building up the mileage for now, maybe start doing some workouts in a couple of weeks and take things from there.

Saturday, March 22, 2008 [5M]

Alameda-San Carlos. I was out before noon today, pretty early for a Saturday, for a short run to finish off the week. My legs were sore from yesterday's run but I was still moving at a decent pace, around 6:45 for the most part.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Friday, March 21, 2008 [7M]

Water Dog Lake Park. I left work at 6:30 this afternoon, got back home and headed out up Ralston almost right away. I had more than enough time to put in a few miles at Water Dog Lake Park before it got dark. The regular loop in the park is close to 8 miles but I wanted to cut it a bit shorter so instead of going around the lake I cut across before and went straight up to John Brooks trail. The drawback of taking the shortcut was having to go up a steep trail instead of going up a gradual incline and of course there were a lot more rolling hills once I got up to John Brooks trail so my legs took a bit of a beating. I missed running on trails, though, so despite having to work on the climbs I was excited to be out there again.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Thursday, March 20, 2008 [8M]

San Mateo. I got out of Club O by 7:30PM and started in rather typical fashion, crossing over to Foster City and heading along Marina Lagoon. Once I got to Hillsdale Blvd, though, I decided to get more adventurous so I went across 101 and found my way back through random streets in San Mateo. I was only planning to go 6-7 today but it took me a bit longer than I expected to get back. I didn't quite get lost but I ended up at a few dead-end streets while going through residential areas. I wound up back after a little over 52 minutes, which is probably shorter than 8 but most likely closer to 8 than 7.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Wednesday, March 19, 2008 [7M]

Foster City. I was out of PJCC at 6:30PM, as it has become the norm for the days I go in for physical therapy. I wasn't very creative in coming up with the route today, just headed straight to Marina Lagoon and ran around Foster City along the Bay Trail.


Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Tuesday, March 18, 2008 [6M]

Redwood Shores. I was out of Club O by 6:30 PM, back to one of the usual loops. I started out at a rather brisk pace, trying to pass another group of people who were running along the trail. I didn't slow down afterwards and I was right around 6:30 pace for the entire run. It felt good to be running at a decent pace again without even pushing it. I did the usual stretching and core routine and decided to do some lifting as well. I have been doing a lot of strengthening for my foot and ankle but haven't really done any lifting in a long time. I didn't have much trouble bench pressing 3x6 with plates which shows that I don't need to do much to maintain my upper body strength. I was a bit pathetic on pullups, though, but then again that has never been one of my strong points.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Foster City [6M]

I got out of PJCC at 6:30PM and headed towards Marina Lagoon in a somewhat adventurous way. My creativity ran out once I got there so I stayed on the usual trail for the biggest part of the run. My quads were pretty sore from yesterday's run and I took things easy to begin with. I started feeling better once the run progressed and split a 6:35 for my last mile along the trail. I was probably running in the 6:40s-6:50s for the most part. Spent another half hour stretching, working the core and doing some more strengthening.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Alameda - 20th Ave [7M]

I slept in this morning and didn't have time to run before going out on a day trip to Carmel with Panos and Andreas. We spent the day chilling by the ocean and I didn't get back home until after 8PM. I didn't waste much time getting out for a run, knowing how much less motivated I'd be if I sat on the couch for an hour. I took an unusual route to Alameda, heading up Middle Rd and Notre Dame Ave. I usually avoid this route because I don't like starting my run going uphill for over a mile. I haven't run this in a while of course and I guess I forgot how hilly it is. I'll need some time to get used to running hills again but I didn't fare too bad on this one. Once I got to Alameda and started going downhill my legs felt a lot better and I was moving at a decent pace for the rest of the run. I averaged right around 6:50 for the whole run, probably starting out at slower than 7:00 for the first mile and running in the 6:40s the rest of the way.