Saturday, April 12, 2008 [7M]

Alameda - Brittan. I was originally planning on having a workout either yesterday or today and hadn't ruled it out completely until I got up this morning. I got some good sleep last night and was feeling a lot more rested compared to the last few days but I still opted to skip the workout and just finish off the week with a short run. I was out around 1PM, which wasn't the best idea considering it was about 85 degrees out. I wouldn't ordinarily worry consider this too hot but I haven't run in the heat in a while and didn't have the time to adjust since the weather jumped 20 degrees in 2 days. I did a good job staying hydrated before the run and didn't really run that long to have any trouble. My legs were feeling decent today and I was moving at a good pace for most of the run. I even decided to push the last couple of miles a bit and probably got down in the low 6s . I averaged around 6:30 for the whole run, making this one of the best runs of the week.

Friday, April 11, 2008 [9M]

Hallmark Park. I came back home from work and didn't waste much time getting out, hitting the streets by 6PM. The weather got a lot warmer all of a sudden, probably still in the mid 70s during my run. I did the usual route through Water Dog Lake Park, went across Hallmark Park to Hallmark Dr and looped back to Water Dog Lake. At the beginning of the run I thought about staying on the streets in order to avoid hills, since my legs are still suffering, but I finally opted for running on soft surfaces. Once I hit the first hills I started having second thoughts about my decision but I had already committed myself to it. The climb up Lake Rd was pretty slow but once I got to the top I was feeling better and the way back was almost decent.

Thursday, April 10, 2008 [10M]

Redwood Shores. I was feeling tired all day and was expecting this to be another tough run. I don't know if I set myself up for a bad run that way but things went pretty much as expected. I didn't feel as bad as yesterday but still shuffling through at slower than 7:00 pace. I was planning to lift afterwards but didn't have the energy for it once I finished my run so I just stretched briefly and headed home.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008 [11M]

Coyote Point from PJCC. I left work early and was at PJCC by 4PM for my last physical therapy session. I was only there for about half an hour since there wasn't that much to go over. I did some basic stretching and strengthening with the trainer and then talked a bit about things I can do by myself from now on. I was out from PJCC around 4:30 and headed towards Coyote Point along the bay trail. I was feeling really tired today and this turned out to be a very slow and painful run. I was fighting a strong wind on the way out, making it even harder to move at a decent pace, and my legs kept feeling worse on the way back so I was dragging the whole way.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008 [10M]

Anaerobic Threshold run. I decided to give one of Coach Taylor's new workouts a try since it seemed to fit what I'm doing right now. The goal of the workout is to run 40 seconds slower than mile PR for as long as you can but for my first one I wanted to be somewhat more conservative and was shooting to run 5:10-5:20 pace. I was back home from work and on my way to Carlmont High School by 7PM. I got pretty much right into it, starting out with a 78 for the first lap and continuing with 80s and 81s. It was windy again so I was content with running 5:20s. I didn't manage to hold on to that pace for too long, though, and after coming through the half in 2:45 with my legs feeling like trash I decided to stop after the second mile, which I finished in 5:31. I jogged a couple of laps and decided to add on 4 quarters to the workout. I know it doesn't make that much sense as a workout but I felt that 2 miles on the track would hardly qualify as a workout and wanted to put in something more. My legs were pretty tired and I wasn't putting that much effort into the quarters, just getting out reasonably fast and maintaining the pace. I ran 68, 70, 69 and 72, which is far from spectacular but not a complete loss cause given the circumstances. I jogged a few more laps on the infield afterwards and took the long route home to add on some slow mileage. After running another horrible workout I'm starting to wonder I would have been better off sticking to base mileage for another week or two before starting any hard efforts. It feels a bit strange, though, that I can comfortably clip 6:20s on long runs but I can't run a minute faster for more than two miles. It's actually sad if you consider that a couple of months ago I averaged 5:25s for a half marathon. I was planning to run another workout this week but I think I'll wait to see how I feel by the end of the week and play things by ear.

Monday, April 7, 2008 [10M]

Foster City. I was out of Club O by 6 PM for the usual 10 mile loop on the neighboring peninsula. It was probably not the best choice for a run since it was a very windy day and running along the bay turned out to be rather frustrating. Things were better for the last half of the run, after I turned in on Foster City Blvd. It felt like I was running slow, mostly because I had a hard time running into the wind, but I wound up back at Club O after 67:45, which is under 6:40 pace for this loop, so not too shabby. I'm back to running strides on a daily basis, although I still don't feel very fast. Lifted afterwards before calling it a day.

Sunday, April 6, 2008 [13M]

Huddart to Wunderlich. I drove out to the corner of Purissima Creek Redwoods and Huddart Park around 2PM and went for an out and back on the trail to Wunderlich Park. I made it to Wunderlich in about 47 minutes, discovered that there's an entrance to El Corte de Madera Creek on the other side of Skyline Blvd and added a couple of minutes checking it out before heading back. I was a bit faster on the way back, getting back to the car in 45 minutes. I was feeling pretty good the whole way, just cruising and enjoying every minute of the run. It's definitely good to be back to long runs like this one.

Week Recap (30 Mar 2008 - 5 Apr 2008) - 58 Miles

I was shooting for around 60 miles this week and ended up pretty close, running only on the first 6 days. I thought about going for a short run on Saturday but opted to go for a bike ride instead. It was probably a good idea to give my legs some recovery time especially after the crappy workout on Friday. I think I'm on the right track as far as getting back to decent mileage and hopefully my legs will be able to handle some faster stuff soon.

Saturday, April 5, 2008 [0M]

20M bike ride. Since I was already close to my goal mileage for the week I thought I would benefit more from taking a day off running and doing some biking instead. This was my first long ride with my new bike and I looked more like a biker this time since I also invested in some bike shorts. I bought some bike shoes as well but I need to replace my pedals before I can use them so I was once again riding with my running shoes. I headed up Ralston Ave to Canada Rd, continued all the way to Woodside Rd and looped back down El Camino. I pretty much sucked at going uphill and the climb up Ralston was rather brutal. I'm still trying to figure out which gear to use for different inclines so I was shifting a lot and probably wasting a lot of energy. Once I got to flat surfaces on Canada Rd I got into a good rhythm and put in a good effort. There were a lot of other bikers along Canada and naturally I got competitive and was mostly kept passing people. It felt a bit strange though, since I couldn't just blow by people like I do when I'm running but had to work to get by and then had to make sure I wouldn't slow down after I was ahead. It was entertaining, though, especially since I looked a lot more amateurish compared to everyone else. I find it a bit strange that everyone riding a road bike is dressed up like a professional cyclist whereas I rarely see anyone running in running shorts. after having invested quite a bit of money to get a nice bike you might as well get all the necessary gear. I'm sure I have a lot more to learn about biking.

Friday, April 4, 2008 [10M]

4M decreasing pace. 5:51, 5:47, 5:38, 5:38.

I came back home work this afternoon and headed out to Carlmont High School around 6PM. The track is right around 2 miles away from my place, which is perfect for the pre-workout warm-up. Once I got to the track and started getting ready for my workout I realized to my surprise that the track is only about 390m per lap. I only ran here once before and it was at night so I didn't realize that the track is short. I would estimate that the 5M tempo I ran was about 7-9 seconds slower than I thought per mile, which makes it far less impressive but still not a bad workout I guess. The plan today was to run another decreasing pace 5-miler, starting at 6:00 and dropping 15 seconds per mile. As a sidenote I'll mention that I asked the MIT guys last week why they call this workout the "Kenyan" but I didn't get any compelling arguments so I'll stick to my less creative but accurate name. To make up for the short track I ran the workout in lane 3, which was 402-403m per lap, so a second or two slower per 1600. I got out a bit too fast on the first one, coming through the first lap in 85. I slowed down a bit for the rest of the mile but I was still 1-2 seconds faster than goal pace on each lap. I didn't have to pick it up too much for the second mile and was almost right on. Going into the 3rd mile things started looking bad. Aerobically I wasn't working hard at all but my legs were feeling heavy. I didn't put the effort needed to increase the pace, expecting the transition to 5:30 pace to be easy. I was 3-4 seconds slow on the first lap, brought it down a bit for the next couple of laps but still slower than goal pace. By the end of the 3rd mile my legs were dead and couldn't move any faster. Coming through the half for the 4th mile in 2:50 I decided that adding a 5th mile wasn't worth it. I added a couple of laps around the track and ran a pretty slow cool-down to get back home. This definitely wasn't the workout I was expecting, I thought I would at least be able to get down to 5:15 somewhat easily but I couldn't even break 5:30. I want look into this too much, though, the first workout after coming back from an injury is always tough. Mentally I wasn't into it at all and even though I think I have the aerobic fitness, my legs still need some more miles before I can start running fast again.

Thursday, April 3, 2008 [10M]

Out and back to Bair Island. I left the office before 6 PM, which hasn't happened in a long time, with the exception of days I was going for physical therapy. This is one of my least frequent runs since the route to Bair Island is rather boring, pretty much 4 miles along 101. To make things even worse, Bair Island has been closed for a few months now, which takes away of the option of adding a few miles on soft surfaces. It is at least a break from the usual routes so I don't mind throwing it in every now and then. The run actually turned out to be a pretty good, I was in the mid 6:30s on the way out and cruising in the mid 6:20s on the way back.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008 [9M]

Foster City. I was out of Club O by 6:45 this afternoon, which seemed early since there's still so much daylight at that time. I was planning to go for 8 miles but once I crossed over to Foster City I realized that I didn't have a standard 8 mile route around there. I tried for a while to come up with a new route but eventually I decided to go for my standard 9 mile one. It felt like I was running a bit slow at first but I was probably faster than I thought since I averaged around 6:35-6:40 pace. I split 7:00 for one of the miles along the bay trail but that mile always seems to be about 10 seconds long and I was running into a strong headwind. I was down to 6:27 along Marina lagoon without a noticeable increase in effort so there probably wasn't too much variation in my pace. I ran some decent strides outside Club O afterwards and added some lifting. I mostly did a lower body workout, doing lunges, leg curls and calf raises. I skipped the bench and did one set of pull-ups but couldn't motivate myself to do any more. In unrelated news, I have to mention seeing a guy running with the full winter gear, pants, gloves, hat and a wind breaker. I don't even know how many layers he was wearing underneath but he seemed pretty buffed up. I could at least justify this during the winter, even though I made it through without having to wear anything more than shorts and a short sleeve T-shirt, but today was in the mid 50s and sunny so seeing someone with so much clothing was completely ridiculous.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008 [9M]

Hallmark Park. I opted to run from home this afternoon and I was out by 6:45 PM. It's definitely nice to have the option of getting a run on trails on a weekday. I made my way to Hallmark through Water Dog Lake Park, taking it easy on the way up Lake Rd. I didn't add any extra mileage in Hallmark park, beyond the standard route to Hallmark Dr, and just headed back going through Water Dog Lake again. Wound up home in 58:44, which might be a bit short but I think it can be rounded up.

Monday, March 31, 2008 [10M]

Redwood Shores. I wasn't very excited about getting back to work today after an almost 4 day long vacation. I called it a day by 6PM and headed out from Club O shortly after. Easy 10-miler without anything exciting to report.

Sunday, March 30, 2008 [10M]

Balboa Park. I was up around 9 this morning, somewhat more leisurely than the last couple of days. We were on the road back to San Francisco by 9:30, making a stop at Balboa park along the way to get the run out of the way. I ran with Rachel for most of the run, which kept me from running too fast. We were still running at a decent pace, more or less what I would be running on a casual Sunday. We started near the natural history museum and wandered near by at first without finding any good places to run. After a while we found some trails east of the park and spent some time there before heading back. I dropped Rachel off after 58 minutes and added on another couple of miles to make it 10. It turned out to be a rather enjoyable run overall, to a great extend thanks to having someone to run with. It was good thing we got the run out of the way so I didn't have to run after what turned out to be a really long trip.

Week Recap (23 Mar 2008 - 29 Mar 2008) - 50 Miles

Another good week, continuing the gradual mileage build up. The mileage increase from last week wasn't anything spectacular but I only ran 6 days so all my runs were decently long. What I'm most excited about is how good I've been feeling on all my runs. It feels more like I've tapered and not so much like I'm coming back from an injury. All my runs were comfortable aerobically, even the ones which were somewhat fast. My legs are easily handling this mileage and I only felt some soreness after some of my hillier runs. I was thinking of waiting another week or two before starting any workouts but since I've been feeling good I might do something this coming week to test my fitness a bit.

Saturday, March 29, 2008 [8M]

Point Loma Nazarene. Started the day with a big breakfast with Alisha's parents then went over to Point Loma Nazarene University to watch the track meet. Jake and I headed out for a run some time during the meet. We ran out of the campus, ended up near the ocean after wondering around for a while and ran along the coast back to the campus. We had to climb a steep hill to get back to the track but that was the only part where I had to put some effort into the run. The rest of the run was pretty casual, we were chatting the whole time and enjoying the nice view along the coast. We finished with some strides on the track, watched the rest of the meet and spent the evening hanging out with the team.

Friday, March 28, 2008 [10M]

Claremont. I was up around 7:30 AM so that I could join the team for their 8:30 practice at Claremont McKenna College. I started with everyone in the mid-distance/distance group, running around somewhat familiar areas since we came here for the spring trip 3 years ago. Everyone was doing a meet warm-up so I was with most of the group for the first 3 miles, continued with Jacokes to 5 and added another 5 by myself. I was feeling surprisingly good for a run this early in the morning, which I'll attribute to having someone to run with, even for part of the run. The pace wasn't very fast but decent while running with the guys, then I picked things up a bit the rest of the way. I was back at the track in 65 minutes and added a lap around the track to make rounding up to 10 more justifiable. I was running 6:00 pace for that lap and it wasn't much faster than what I had been running for most of the run so this was definitely a solid 10. I even ran some strides on the infield, which felt decently fast despite not having run any for almost 2 months. As much as I hate running in the mornings, I have to admit that getting the run out of the way early was very satisfying and allowed me to enjoy the rest of my vacation day. Rachel and I drove down to Coronado after practice and met Jake for a Mexican feast. We spent a few hours at the beach afterwards, dared to take a quick dip in the cold-whirlpool-like ocean and chilled in Coronado before going back to Jake's place for dinner with the rest of the team.

Thursday, March 27, 2008 [0M]

I tried to get up at 7AM to go for a run, since I knew this would be a long day, but like many other times that didn't happen. I had an appointment with Dr Oloff at 9 and after hitting snooze for an hour I gave up on the morning run. I was supposed to get an evaluation for custom made orthotics today but after a brief discussion Dr Oloff opted against it. I haven't had any problems since I started running and figured that I shouldn't changed my biomechanics unless something starts hurting again. I went back home after my appointment and did some work before heading to the city to meet Rachel. We drove down to LA to join the MIT track team on their annual spring trip. It took a while longer than I expected to get there, thanks to the LA traffic, and we didn't get to Claremont until 8PM. We went straight to dinner with the team and decided at that point to forgo the run, since I wasn't in the mood for a late night run. I don't like coming up with excuses for not running but at least I can argue that a day off wasn't a big deal, since I haven't had one in the last 10 days and I'm still building up the mileage.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008 [7M]

Water Dog Lake Park. I finally bought a bike yesterday and rode it to work today, getting a total of 3 miles on the bike. I got what I think is a good deal on a used 2007 Trek 1000 SL, which was barely used by its previous owner. Considering that the best bike I've ever owned was an $80 mountain bike from Target, this was definitely a huge step up. Since this is still a running blog (and I don't have any plans to follow Brewer's path), I won't go to any more details about the bike. So, on to today's run, I was out from home by 6:30 PM, heading to Water Dog Lake Park. I ran the old regular loop this time, going up Lake Rd trail and picking up John Brooks trail. I've always called this an 8 mile loop, knowing that it was short but thinking it was at least long enough to round up, since most times it took me about 55-56 minutes to run the loop. I was back in 53:15 today, which made me start questioning if I can justify rounding up. I was only running fast for the last couple of miles of the run, which were on the roads, but I'm sure I averaged slower than 7:00 pace for the rest of the run. In any case, I think I'll switch to counting this as a long 7 rather than a short 8.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008 [8M]

Redwood Shores. I was out of Club O before 6 PM and went on the full Redwood Shores loop again after a long time. I was running at a brisk pace the whole time, averaging right around 6:30 fairly even paced. This was arguably my best run since I started running again. I was feeling great and cruising comfortably the whole way.

Monday, March 24, 2008 [7M]

Foster City. I left work early today as I had to be in for physical therapy at 3:30 PM. I'm only going in once this week and I'll have one more appointment in a couple of weeks to get one last evaluation when I'll be back to somewhat higher mileage. I was out of PJCC by 4:30, going on a standard loop on the bay trail. It was pretty windy along the bay, which drew a ridiculously big crowd of kite surfers. There were also a few wind surfers but apparently that's not as cool anymore. I'm curious what kind of job are all these people doing that allows them to be out in the sea so early in the afternoon on a weekday. I guess it speaks volumes about Californians (and yes, I know I should have been at work at that time but I think going for physical therapy is a legitimate excuse). Anyway, the rest of the run was rather uneventful. I split 6:25s for the last couple of miles on the trail but I had the wind on my back and was probably a bit slower earlier on. I was expecting this loop to be close to 8 but I was back in just over 49 minutes so there's no way this gets rounded up.

Sunday, March 23, 2008 [10M]

Edgewood to Huddart. I drove out to the corner of Edgewood Rd and Canada Rd around 2PM and ran the usual loop to Huddart through Woodside. Even though I wouldn't quite call this a long run it felt like I was back to the usual Sunday routine and it was exciting to be back on one of my favorite trails. My quads still felt pretty sore from Friday's run, which made Huddart not the best option for today's run but I guess I have to get used to running hills again and there's no easy way around it. At least this route starts out with about 4 miles on flat surfaces which helped my legs loosen up a bit before going over any hills. I wasn't very aggressive on the climbs but I was managing them fine. The downhill parts, though, hurt quite a bit, especially some of the steeper ones towards the end. All in all though, it was an enjoyable run. I haven't been to Huddart for a while and the last few times it was "cold" and rainy, which made it a pretty lonely place, whereas today there were quite a few people out there. I almost had a head on encounter with a galloping horse but fortunately the rider noticed me early enough to hit the breaks. It may sound weird but I missed writing about things like this in my log. You definitely can't get this kind of action on an elliptical.

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 [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 [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 [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 [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.

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.

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.

Week Recap (03/09/08 - 03/015/08) - 31 Miles

It's good to finally have some mileage to write about, even though it's not much. I'm being as conservative as I've ever been in building up but I'm definitely happy with my progress. I have been running pain-free and generally feeling good on my runs. It was my intention to supplement my runs with some cross training but didn't really do much of that. It was harder to find the motivation to get on the elliptical, the stationary bike or in the pool after putting in 5 or 6 miles. I'm still going for physical therapy 3 times a week and spending quite a bit of time every day for stretching and strengthening so I can't say that I'm not doing enough. Next week my goal is to get the mileage in the 40s and if all goes well I'll be back to decent mileage soon.

~25 Mile bike ride

I met with Nestor this morning and we hit the roads with our bikes. I'm still contemplating buying my own bike but for today I had to settle with Nestor's older bike. He has turned into a triathlete so he had the $1200 bike plus all the necessary gear, like bike shorts and shoes. I, on the other hand, was wearing basketball shorts, running shoes and a cotton T-shirt and riding a hybrid bike. I guess if there's an equivalent to a jogger for cycling that's what I looked like. We started from Nestor's place and headed to the bay trail behind Shoreline, bringing back memories on from the summer I spent in the bay area 3 years ago. We continued along the bay to Embarcadero, continued towards Stanford, making a brief stop at a bike shop so that I could have a look at some bikes. We went on to Junipero Serra Blvd afterwards and looped back to Mountain View. I'm not sure exactly how long the loop was but I won't bother measuring it. We were out for just under 2 hours and probably spent about 1:40-1:45 on the bikes. The pace was decent but comfortable for the most part with the occasional burst of speed every now and then. It didn't take me long to realize how much difference the bike makes as it was fairly obvious that I was working harder than Nestor to maintain the same pace. Fortunately I'm in much better so I didn't have trouble keeping up. It was a pretty good ride overall and made me start thinking about getting a bike more seriously. I don't intend on becoming a biker but it's definitely a great form of cross training. I think I could motivate myself more easily to go on a 2 hour bike ride instead of getting on the elliptical for half an hour.

Foster City [6M]

Another exploratory run in Foster City. I tried to run along one of the lagoons at first but I kept running into backyards and had to get back on the streets. I ended up wandering through residential areas for a while before getting back to the more familiar territory along Marina Lagoon. I was only shooting for 5 miles but wound up back after almost 43 minutes so definitely a solid 6. I decided to add on some cross training and jumped on the elliptical as soon as I got back to PJCC. I only managed to stay on for 15 minutes but I think putting any amount of time for cross training after a 6 mile run is a win. I got off when the two high school girls who were on the ellipticals next to me started discussing how "it's a proven fact" that running with an ipod makes you faster. I was doing my best to ignore their conversation the entire time but that last comment just pushed me over the edge.

Alameda - San Carlos [5M]

I wound up working late and didn't leave the office until 9PM. I opted to go home instead of Club O so that I wouldn't have to rush to finish everything by 10. I didn't waste much time and headed out for one of my usual loops. My legs started feeling the increase in mileage a bit but nothing too bad really. I was comfortably running 6:50s for most of the run.

Foster City [5M]

I started around 6:30 PM after my physical therapy session and went on a somewhat random loop around Foster City. Just over 36 minutes for the loop, which probably makes up for yesterday being a bit short.

Redwood Shores [5M]

I was out of Club O at 8PM, getting a bit of a late start again. I was out for 32:30 so the loop was probably a bit short but not by much as I was moving at a decent pace. Stretching and some strengthening exercise afterwards.

5 Mile loop for PJCC

I headed out from PJCC at 6:30 PM, after spending the usual hour for physical therapy. I picked up the bay trail, ran along to Mariners Island Blvd and looped back to PJCC. Wound up back after 38:30 so a bit longer than 5.

Holly St - Ralston - 5 Miles

I headed out from home around 1PM on another glorious day. I went down El Camino, crossed to Redwood shores along Holly St and came back on Ralston. I felt great again, averaging just under 6:50 pace. I should probably be taking it easier but I can't blame myself for getting a little too excited.

Week Recap (03/02/08 - 03/08/08) - 12 Miles

Making a return to running after a long break is always exciting news. I didn't run much of course but it's definitely good to be able to put in some mileage. My runs were pain free but I plan on taking my time to build up again and continue physical therapy for another couple of weeks. What was most encouraging was how good I felt on my runs. Unlike other times I took a month long break, I'm not feeling out of shape. I feel that I managed to maintain some fitness by cross training and I'll just need some time for my legs get used to the pounding again.

Alameda - Notre Dame Ave - 4 Miles

I headed out from home around 2PM in beautiful, sunny, 60+ degree weather, nice enough to be out shirtless. I don't really need any more motivation to run these days but with weather like this I was even more excited. I took the usual route up Ralston and went north on Alameda. The climb up Alameda was a bit of a challenge and I took my time going up but after that I was moving along at a good pace. Averaged right around 7:00 pace, feeling pretty good the whole time.

4 Miles + 20 min on elliptical

I left work early today as I had a 4PM appointment for physical therapy. I spent about an hour there as usual and got out for a run in Foster City. I forgot to bring my running shorts and had to run in the basketball shorts I wear while in the gym. I wasn't running very fast for the most part so I pretty much looked like the average jogger. Eventually it will all turn around, though. I was planning to put in 3 miles but underestimated the loop I ran and ended up going a bit longer. I went up in the gym afterwards and hopped on the elliptical for about 20 minutes, then spent some more time stretching and working the core.

2 Miles

I didn't get to Club O until almost 9PM and had to rush things a bit. I went out for a 2 mile loop in Foster City, my first outdoors run in over a month. It seemed weird to be going out for only a couple of miles but it was good to be out there. I was feeling good, no pain on my foot and only some minor soreness in the Achilles. I was planning to add on some cross training afterwards but since I didn't have much time I opted to do some stretching and lifting instead.

Elliptical + 1 mile run

I went in for physical therapy at 5:30 PM, and got on the elliptical after about an hour. I stayed on for just over 40 minutes and switched to a treadmill for a little over a mile. I was thinking of running a couple of miles but my Achilles felt a bit sore and I figured I'd rather play it safe. I don't think it's anything to worry about, though, I have been doing a lot of strengthening exercises for the foot and ankle area so some soreness is not very surprising.

Spin bike + 1 mile of running!

In the exciting news of the day was my return to running after an almost month long hiatus. I was thinking of waiting until tomorrow to start running again but I've been feeling good for some time so I figured there wasn't really any reason to wait another day. I didn't have time to do much today as I stayed at work late again and didn't get to Club O until after 9. I hopped on the spin bike for 20-25 minutes, stretched briefly and jumped on the treadmill. Of course I would hardly call a mile on the treadmill, at just under 8:00 pace, a run but it's a good start after a long break. I pretty much just wanted to see how my foot will feel and was glad that I didn't feel any pain. I'm planning on taking things slowly so I'll probably stick to a couple miles a day for this week and play it by ear from then on. I was planning to do some more cross training after running but I only had 10 minutes or so before Club O closed so I just headed back home. I spent some time at home stretching, doing some strengthening stuff and working the core while watching some champions league football (aka soccer).

Physical therapy, aquajogging, swimming

I had a physical therapy appointment at 5:30 and spent about 45 minutes there, first with the trainers and then doing some strengthening exercises. I went down to the pool afterwards for some aquajogging. The pool went from 4 feet deep to 5 1/2 so it was deep enough for me to float for about half its length. Not perfect but slightly better than Club O. It also helped to have a floatation belt which reduced the impact at the shallower end. I switched to swimming after a while and spent a total of about an hour in the pool. I probably aquajogged for 40-45 minutes and swam for 15-20.

5-6 mile walk

The weather was even nicer today, sunny as usual and in the high 60s, and I thought I'd do a bit of walking like yesterday and go to Club O for some biking or swimming. First I walked by a bike store close to my place to have a look at a few bikes and even took one for a short test ride. I never rode a road bike before and was amazed at how smooth it felt. The test ride made me want to get a bike soon but I'm still not sure if I want to spend $700 to get one. After leaving the bike store I took a long route to Club O. It ended up being a bit longer than I thought and I didn't have much time since I was planning to go to the city for dinner later so I eventually I didn't stop by Club O and just headed back home.

6 mile walk + spin bike

After being sidelined for over 3 weeks it's needless to say that I've missed running. Today, with weather in the mid 60s and sunny, I felt the need to be out there more than ever. I was originally planning to go to Club O for cross training and I figured I might as well walk over instead of driving, which would be about a 3 mile walk round trip. I don't normally enjoy walking but today I really wanted to be outside and decided to extend my walk to Foster City. I ended up back at Club O after about an hour and got on the spin bike for about 20-25 minutes. I was going to jump in the pool afterwards but all lanes were taken and I just spent some time stretching before heading back home.

Day off

I wanted to leave early today, since I've worked more than enough this week, but a few things came up and I ended up staying until 6:30. I was planning to go to a Bay area alumni mixer at 6:30 and since I was already late I opted out of cross training and just headed to Palo Alto.

Elliptical

I got caught up at work again and didn't leave until 9PM. Club O closes at 10 so I was only able to stay on the elliptical for 35 minutes. I kept it pretty fast, though, so I got a decent workout. I went home right away and spent some time stretching and doing some strengthening exercises while watching Lost.

Elliptical at PJCC

I went back for another physical therapy session at 5:30 this afternoon. The plan is to have these sessions 3 times a week for 4 weeks so it will be a regular thing for a while. Today I got a deep tissue massage on my foot and did some strengthening stuff for about an hour before getting on the elliptical. The physical therapy clinic is in the Peninsula Jewish Community Center, which has a nice gym I can use. It's good that I have access to it and didn't have to drive back to Club O. I had a good session on the elliptical, managing to stay on for 65-70 minutes. I was moving along well and was happy with both the duration and the intensity. I was at PJCC for about 2.5 hours, not a bad day overall.

Spin Bike + Pool run

I've been a bit busy at work lately and not leaving the office until late. I can usually get a lot more work done after 6PM when there's nobody around and since I'm not spending an hour and a half running afterwards I don't mind going over to Club O a bit late. I started a little before 8 today and hopped on a spin bike first for 25-30 minutes. The spin bike is pretty much like a road bike with a base, no electronics, timers or anything and with just a knob to set the resistance. It felt a lot smoother than the other stationary bikes but maybe to some extend it's because I'm getting more accustomed to biking. I stretched for a while afterwards then got in the pool and did some running. for about 25 minutes. I could have stayed longer but I was starving and they were also about to close the pool.

Quick session on the elliptical

I had my first physical therapy appointment at 3PM and had to leave work early. I spent a couple of hours there, first getting an evaluation and then doing some strengthening exercises. I went back home afterwards and sat down to get some work done. I had a conference call at 10PM and ended up working until 9 to wrap up a couple of things. I took a break and went by Club O for a quick session on the elliptical. I was only able to put in 30 minutes but I kept the intensity high the whole time. I was pretty much hammering for the last half and felt like I got a good workout, even though it wasn't very long.

An hour on the elliptical

I woke up somewhat early today and spent a few hours watching the presidential elections in Cyprus. I wasn't excited about cross training and wasted some more time afterwards before convincing myself to head out to Club O. I went on the elliptical and managed to keep myself on it for about an hour. I caved in and used my ipod to get my mind to make cross training more tolerable. Not my proudest moment but what can I say, desperate times need desperate measures.

Week Recap (02/17/08 - 02/23/08) - 0 Miles

Another 0 mile week, which unfortunately won't be the last one. I have been out for about 2.5 weeks now and after the MRI Dr Oloff suggested I take about a month off. I certainly wasn't happy to hear that as I was hoping to get back to running soon. My foot actually feels a lot better and I can barely notice any pain. If I hadn't paid the doctor a visit I would have probably tried to run already. I'll hold off for another couple of weeks, though, to play it safe. I haven't been very consistent with cross training and had a hard time staying motivated. Ironically my motivation levels are inversely proportional to the time I have to spent cross training. I definitely need to put in more effort now in order to maintain some fitness. Hopefully things will go better next week.

Bike Shopping

I drove out to the city this morning and spent the day going to bike shops with Rachel. I can't stand cross training so I'm thinking of switching to biking for a while. I'm completely clueless when it comes to bikes, since the only ones I ever owned were of the cheapest kind you could possibly get and only served the purpose of getting me around. I wasn't looking to get a bike today but picked up some good information. I want to get a somewhat nicer bike but I don't know how much I'll be using it when I start running again so maybe my best bet is to look for a used one out of craigslist.

Lazy again

I was too lazy again to do anything and went straight home after work.

MRI Results

I went back to Dr Oloff today to follow up after my MRI. The MRI showed inflammation of the peroneal longus and peroneal brevis tendons, which was probably the primary cause of the pain. There's also a stress reaction on my cuboid bone and a lot of fluid accumulated near my ankle. Even though I can barely feel any pain by now the doctor suggested I take another couple of weeks off to make sure that the stress reaction doesn't turn into a stress fracture. I will also replace Ibuprofen with prescription anti-inflammatories and start physical therapy. I stayed at work late again this evening, leaving the office around 8PM, and almost headed straight home. I convinced myself eventually to go for some cross training and tried out the stationary bike. I had a hard time finding the motivation, though, and was frustrated knowing that I'll have to take another two weeks of this. I got fed up after only 15 minutes but at least I spent some more time stretching and working the core.

Nothing

I stayed at work until 9PM today and wasn't in the mood for cross training afterwards.

Elliptical + Pool

I got on the elliptical today but got bored after 20 minutes and went down in the pool for another 20 minutes.

Pool

Went to the pool again after work and spent about 45 minutes. It felt like a decent workout.

Pool

I drove out to Club O around 2PM and spent about 40 minutes in the pool. I was running in the pool for the most part but mixed it up with some swimming. Going back and forth in a pool gets old quickly.

Hackathon

Spent all day hacking an Open Social app with Panayiotis.

MRI

I left work at 5 PM and drove to Atherton for my MRI. It will take a few days to get the results and my follow-up appointment with Dr Oloff is not until Thursday. The whole thing is dragging on for quite a while. I almost feel like I can start running again and I'm tempted to give it a try soon. I guess I'll stick to cross training for a few more days and play it by ear from then on.

Pool run

I had to get on a conference call with our team in India at 9:30PM and ended up working on a presentation until 8:30. I headed over to Club O to get a quick workout and spent some time in the pool. I would hardly call this a workout but it was a much needed break from work. The pool was only 3.5 feet deep so I couldn't do deep water aquajogging like I've done in the past. I was able to run in the pool, which is still a good workout and doesn't put much pressure on my foot. I mixed it up with some swimming to break the monotony of running back and forth in the pool.

Cross training

After staying completely inactive for a week I finally decided to do some cross training. I wanted to get in the pool but I forgot to bring my swim suite so I settled for the stationary bike. I opted for the bike over the elliptical as I thought that would put less pressure on my foot. My legs are definitely not used to biking and were starting to hurt even though I couldn't get my heart rate over 130. I only biked for 20 minutes or so then spent some time stretching and doing some ab work.

Appointment with Dr Oloff

I finally had an appointment with Dr Oloff but I didn't really get a diagnosis. The two most likely possibilities is that I have a cuboid stress fracture or a tendon tear. X-Rays didn't show much so I'm going for an MRI on Friday, which should give clearer results. I'll follow up with Dr. Oloff after I get the results next week and he suggested I don't run at all until then so I might have to take at least another week off. I really doubt that it's a stress fracture as I would probably still be hurting a lot but I'll play it safe and wait a bit longer until I start running again.

I'm starting to feel better and I was thinking of doing some cross training but I wasn't very motivated after work. I went back home somewhat early and went with Panos to Ausiello's for a loaded burger and some beer.

More Optimistic - 0 Miles

My foot's condition may not be improving as fast as I would have liked but at least there is some progress from day to day. I can now walk without limping at all and the pain is a lot less noticeable. I still need more time off but I think I should at least be able to start doing some cross training soon. Hopefully it won't be too long until I can start running again.

0 Miles

Not much to write about really. I've been trying not to move around much and put weight on my foot so I ended up just sitting home for most of the day. I don't think I can do any cross training either (not that I would go to Club O on a weekend to cross train anyway) and it feels really weird to be so inactive all day.

I was feeling somewhat better today but it wasn't a dramatic improvement. I don't have much trouble moving my foot around but putting any weight on it is still painful. The symptoms make me worry that this might be a stress fracture but I don't have any previous experience to compare. I couldn't get an appointment with Dr Oloff until Tuesday so I 'll have to wait a few more days for a diagnosis. I doubt I'll feel good enough to run by then anyway.

Still Hurting - 0 Miles

It's always a sad day when I head to work in the morning without taking any running clothes with me. The pain in my foot was not very different than yesterday when I woke up but it was somewhat inconsistent throughout the day. At times I almost felt no pain at all and I was walking normally but then I'd get a burst of pain and go back to walking like a cripple. I was taking some Advil so I don't know if I was actually feeling better of the Vitamin I kicked in from time to time and masked the pain.

Waking up broken - 0 Miles

I had an unpleasant surprise when I woke up this morning and took my first step out of bed. I felt a sharp pain near my left ankle and almost fell down from the shock. At first it almost felt likeI had rolled my ankle but the pain wasn't really localized in one spot. The pain was mostly just below my ankle and spreading a bit on the outer part of my foot. It was an excruciating pain and even standing on my feet without moving was painful. I had trouble walking around and running of course was impossible. It really blows my mind how suddenly this injury came up, since there weren't any warning signs, even after yesterday's run. I'll have to wait and see how this turns out in the next few days but I'm worried that something might be broken.

Foster City - 12 Miles

Stayed at work late this evening and didn't get started until almost 7:30. Put in easy 12, in a similar fashion as yesterday. Legs were feeling better than yesterday but still a bit tired and not wanting to move fast.

Redwood Shores - 12 Miles

I was feeling the effects of yesterday's race and needed an easy day. I was actually expecting to be a little more sore but only my quads were feeling somewhat fatigued. I didn't get enough sleep last night to make up for waking up early yesterday so I was generally a bit tired and not in the best mood for running. It wasn't a very exciting run but I put in the miles, though.

Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon, 1:11:00, 4th place - 17 Miles

Splits: 5:33, 10:59 (5:26), 16:43 (5:43), 22:13 (5:30), 27:37 (5:23), 32:46 (5:08), 38:03 (5:17), 43:16 (5:13), 48:28 (5:11), 53:48 (5:19), 1:05:05 (11:16), 1:11:00 (5:55 for the last 1.1 which is 5:22 pace)

Today's race was scheduled to start at 8AM so I got up at 4 to eat something then went back to bed for another hour before waking up for good. I barely got any sleep as I was tossing and turning in bed last night for quite a while. I was at the course by 6:30 and had plenty of time to take the shuttle to the start, pickup my bib number and do the usual preparations before going for a warm-up. With 15 minutes to the start I switched to my flats and jogged towards the start for some strides. I opted to run the race with my Zoom Streak XC flats, which in retrospect wasn't the best idea. I've only wore these shoes up to 10K and I kind of knew they would be too lightweight to wear for a half but I still decided to give them a shot instead of running in my trainers. I didn't really have too much trouble in the race but my feet were a bit sore at the end. I think I should invest on another racing shoe, though, if I want to keep running these longer races. I managed to get myself to the front of the starting line and got a clean start to the race. After seeing last year's results I was expecting a decent sized group to be up front but after the first few hundred meters it seemed like the field wasn't as competitive this year. I was in 8th place, running by myself and looking to start out at 5:30 pace, a couple of guys up front started at around 5:00 pace and everyone else was spread around in between. I was fairly confident that I could hold on to 5:30 pace the whole way, which would give me a time just over 1:12, but didn't want to go out any faster. My more ambitious goal was to run faster than 1:10:55, which is what Alexandros Kalogerogiannis ran last week to win the Cyprus Half Marathon National Championship. I was just off my goal pace at the mile and picked it up a bit to move up to the guy in 7th place. I got up to him by mile 2 and we ran together for less than a mile before I broke away. I moved up another place in the next mile, despite the slow 3rd mile, which I can attribute to having to run into a strong headwind for a big part of it. After I moved into 6th place I could see a group of 3 guys about 40 seconds ahead of me but it seemed like I was closing the gap. It was a big gap, though, so I was in no mans land for quite a while. Eventually I passed one of the guys who had fallen off, just as we turned onto Great Highway around mile 7. We had to do almost a 3 mile out-and-back along this long stretch, which at least meant I could see the other guys ahead of me, giving me a target to work on. We had the wind on our back on the way out, which helped me get rolling. I found a good rhythm and felt like I was turning the legs over very smoothly. I moved into 4th place shortly after the 9 mile mark, just before the turning point. With a little over 3 miles to go I had my eyes on 3rd place, who still had a decent lead but definitely not out of reach. We had to run into a 20 mph headwind on the way back, though, and my legs were starting to feel tired so I didn't really make up any ground between miles 10-12. I started digging deeper and working harder in the last mile and finally started closing in. I had my ugly face in full display and finished strong but I still came up short and finished a couple of seconds behind. It would sound better if I had shaved off another second and dipped under 1:11 but I was definitely happy with this race. The half marathon is ways different than anything else I've raced in the past and I'm still approaching it somewhat conservatively and trying to learn how to race it. I must say, though, that I'm getting increasingly more confident about my capabilities in the longer distances. I haven't done any specific preparation for this race, haven't cut back mileage at all and the weather was far from ideal so there's definitely a lot more room for improvement.

Kaiser Half Results

http://results.active.com/pages/displayNonGru.jsp?pubID=1&rsID=59202

Week Recap - 90 Miles

I got a huge head start to the week thanks to getting lost on Sunday's run. I was expecting that 21-miler to take its toll on my legs but it didn't seem to affect me. I had a solid workout on Wednesday and put in consistent mileage the rest of the week. I could have easily pushed the mileage closer to 100 by putting in a morning run or two but I just can't manage to get myself early enough out of bed. I don't have much trouble running 12-13 miles every afternoon but it would be nice to afford a short day every now and then.

Alameda to Brittan Ave - 8 Miles

I'm racing the Kaiser Half tomorrow so I only went for a short one today to keep the legs a bit fresh. Nice and easy run, just cruising comfortably in a light rain.

Redwood Shores - 12 Miles

I was out of Club O by 5PM and managed to put in most of the run before it got dark. I don't remember the last time I ran this loop while there was still daylight out. I kept things easy, running 6:45s pretty much the whole way.

Hallmark Park-Brittan Ave - 11 Miles

I was planning to run this morning but I was too lazy once again. I had an appointment for an eye exam at 10:30AM and I had to be wearing my contacts for at least 3 hours so I got up at 7:30 to put them on. I was thinking of going out for a run then but I went back to bed instead and ended up lying there for a couple of hours. I wasn't sleeping but I couldn't drag myself out even for a short run. I left work early in the afternoon and worked from home for a couple of hours before getting out at 5:45 for another run in the rain. I ran to Hallmark park through Water Dog Lake park then continued on the streets to Brittan Ave. We've been getting quite a bit of rain lately, which I generally don't mind but finishing most runs with wet and muddy shoes is getting a bit annoying.
January Miles: 373

5M decreasing pace @ Carlmont High School - 13 Miles

6:08, 5:39, 5:17, 5:02, 4:47. *See note below

Thanks to CWong I found out that there's a track at Carlmont High School, just 2 miles away from my place. I drove out there after work for another shot at the decreasing pace 5 miler. I could have run over there for my warm-up but I wanted to check out the track first and make sure I could run my workout there. The track looked a bit unusual, it only had 6 lanes and had really long straights, sort of like an outdoor version of the MIT paper clip indoor track. I got into the workout right away after the usual 2 mile warm-up. My legs were feeling a bit heavy on the warm-up and I was a bit worried that the workout would end up being similar to last week's. At least the weather was pretty much perfect, no rain or wind like the last few days, and temperatures in the cool high 40s. I tried not to get out too fast on the first mile and ended up a bit on the slow side. I was almost right on for the second one and this time I didn't have trouble picking it up for the 3rd mile. I hit the first lap in 78 and at that point I knew this was going to be a good workout. The 3rd mile felt really smooth and almost effortless and again I had no trouble switching gears for the 4th mile. I came through the half in 2:31 and kept an even pace for the whole mile. I managed to pick things up even more for the last mile and ran 73s for the first 3 laps. I had an extra gear in the last lap and I was moving on the backstretch but I reminded myself that this wasn't a race so I kept things under control. I still managed to bring it in with a 68 last lap, finishing a very solid workout. I was feeling great after the workout and didn't mind going for a 6 mile cool-down to get some extra mileage in. I was really excited about how things turned out today and got a huge confidence booster. I've been doubting my fitness lately so it's good to see that the mileage is paying off. My last 5K was probably only a few seconds off my time at Alumni and this was at the end of a 5 mile workout, in trainers and running all by myself. Rolling week has climbed up to 97, all in singles.

* After visiting the track again I realized that it's not actually 400m long but about 390m. I did some calculations to figure out what my actual mile splits would be. I'm more interested in how I finished the workout so I'm extrapolating backwards. The workout comes out to be 200m shorter than 5M so I'm breaking it down as follows:
First 1400m at 6:17 pace
Next 4 miles: 5:50, 5:26, 5:10, 4:54.

Foster City - 12 Miles

I started at a more reasonable hour today, getting out of Club O by 6PM. I was feeling crappy for most of the run and running slower than 7:00 pace. Maybe the effects of that 21-miler showed up a day late and I exacerbated things a bit with yesterday's run. My right shin was also acting up, making things even more uncomfortable. I felt somewhat better in the last 3 miles or so and was down to 6:45 along Marina Lagoon but even then it felt like I was running sub 6:30 pace.

Bair Island - Redwood Shores - 13 Miles

I stayed at work until 7:30 this evening, trying to get some piece of code to work. At least I was successful and got out in a good mood so I didn't mind getting a late start to my run. I was expecting the legs to be tired after yesterday's run but they felt surprisingly fresh. I thought that I would need to make this a short, recovery run but I had no trouble putting in good mileage at a decent pace. I was in the 6:40s for most of the run, getting down in the 6:30s in the last few miles.

Lake Chabot Regional Park - 21 Miles

It's been a while since I had an adventurous run so I guess it was bound to happen. I slept in this morning and watched highlights of the Boston Indoor games when I got up, which wasn't over until 2PM. I drove out to Lake Chabot afterwards, the first time I've ever went on a run on East Bay. It was about a 35 minute drive and I didn't start my run until 3. There's a 12.5 mile loop going around the Lake and I figured I would run that and add on a few more miles to make it 16. I went out on the west side of the lake first and followed Goldenrod trail, which I thought would take me all the way around. I realized later that after about 5 miles I should have made a turn onto another trail. Instead I continued on the same trail and for a long time I thought I was heading the right way. I even decided to add on an extra 3.5 miles by doing an out and back on another trail, instead of adding on at the end of the loop. I finally figured out that something went wrong about an hour and a half into the run when I reached the end of Goldenrod trail and had only the option of heading back. I turned around and kept trying to figure out where I could have possibly taken a wrong turn. I was hoping that I wouldn't be too far off the right trail since I knew how long this run would end up if I just went back the same way. I got the bad news when I came across some guy and asked him what would be the shortest way to get back to the lake. His reaction was priceless. He kept saying that the lake was really far away and was shocked that I was trying to run there. I didn't even tell him that I had already been running for about 13 miles. It was a bit shocking to realize that this would turn out to be a 20+ mile run and I had another 7 or 8 to go. It was starting to get dark but fortunately I made it back in time before it was completely dark. I hadn't eat much all day, just a cup of coffee, some yogurt and a granola bar so I was getting pretty hungry. I thought my legs would give up after all these miles on hilly terrain but I held on fine, making it back to the car in 2.5 hours. I actually managed to keep a decent pace the entire time and I think calling this 21 isn't too far fetched, making this my longest run ever. Until I realized that I had gone the wrong way I was really enjoying the run. The trail was paved for about the first two miles but was pretty nice after that. It was a bit muddy but nothing too bad. There was a good amount of hills but only a few steep ones and mostly rolling. The park connects to the north with Antony Chabot park, which connects to Redwood Regional park so there's a lot more miles of trails in the area to explore.

Week Recap - 90 Miles

I managed to keep the mileage at 90 for another week, running everything in singles again. I've been meaning to start running doubles but my few attempts to get up early in the morning were not successful and I've been busy at work to get any runs in the middle of the day. The tempo on Wednesday wasn't as fast as I was hoping but at least I put in a hard effort. It's good that I've been keeping the mileage consistently high but I need to start getting in some more quality workouts. I haven't come up with a definite plan for my season yet, which makes it harder to plan my training. I've been thinking about running another indoor race but since that will involve some traveling (either up in Boston for Valentine's or in Washington for one of the UW meets) I doubt I'll make the trip unless I'm confident that I can run fast.

Weekend run with K-Stars - 13 Miles

I got up at 7:30 this morning, drove out to Rachel's place and we ran together to the K-Stars group meeting spot. It was a relatively small group, apparently smaller than usual because it was supposed to be raining. After waiting a few minutes for people to gather we headed out towards Golden Gate Park. I was with a group of 5-6 people at first but after a couple of miles I broke away with one other guy. He's training for the Boston marathon and today he was running a tempo, which was 6x6:00 at 6:40 pace with a minute of recovery in between. Not exactly a workout for me but still a decent pace for a morning run. We did an out and back on the trail along Ocean Beach and came back to Crepes on Cole for brunch. Not a bad run this morning, it's always good to have a break from the monotony of running by myself. Hanging out with the group afterwards was also fun and we ended up staying there for a couple of hours.

Marina Lagoon-Redwood Shores - 14 Miles

I came up with a new loop from work today. I went out E Hillsdale Blvd along Marina Lagoon, crossed over 101 and headed back towards Holly St. I cross over 101 again and picked up the Redwood Shores loop back to Oracle. It was raining a good amount the entire time and it wasn't long before I was completely soaked. It wasn't cold, though, so I was actually enjoying it. It turned out to be a pretty good run, feeling good and running 6:40s for the most part.

Foster City - 11 Miles

I had plans to watch the "Spirit of the Marathon" movie at 7:30 PM and didn't manage to leave the office until 5:30 so I had to rush things a bit. I started out at a brisk pace and kept it that way for the entire run. I was down to 6:30 for one of the miles along the bay trail and I was at 6:18 along Marina lagoon, with the rest of the run probably somewhere in that range. I skipped the loop around Golf Links, making the run about a mile shorter than usual. I didn't run any strides and stretched for only a couple of minutes before heading out to the movie theater. The movie was targeted more towards recreational runners and people who consider running a marathon as a lifetime achievement but it was still interesting to watch.

5M decreasing pace @ College of San Mateo - 10 Miles

6:01, 5:40, 5:26, 5:15, 5:11.
I left work at 6PM and drove out to College of San Mateo. I did some searching with google maps to find another track in the area besides Stanford and noticed one at CSM. It was annoying to have to go around the barriers at Stanford, plus it always seems to be crowded. I had no idea what to expect at CSM, I didn't even know if I'd be able to run there, but it turned out to be a nice track. There were nothing blocking the lanes and I was there all by myself. There weren't any lights on the track but it was decently illuminated from lights around the campus. The campus is up a hill and one side of the track is overlooking the area around San Mateo bridge, which was arguably the best view I've ever seen from a track. There was some traffic on the way there and I had to drive around campus for a while to find the track so by the time I started my warm-up it was getting close to 7. It was a bit chilly by that time, low 40s and raining lightly, but not too bad weather for a workout. I ran a couple of miles around campus, stopped for a short bathroom break at the end and started the workout right away. The plan was to start at 6:00 and bring it down 20 seconds each mile. I was right on for the first two miles but I wasn't able to transition to 5:20 very smoothly. I wasn't breathing hard at the end of the 3rd mile but my legs were feeling tired and heavy. I started working hard on the last two miles but I couldn't get the legs moving very fast and was way off my goal pace. I wasn't really expecting to get down to 4:40 by the end but I wanted to get close to 5:00 for the 4th mile and try to go sub 5 for the last one. It was a bit disappointing that I wasn't nearly as fast as I wanted but at least the effort was good. I guess it's not surprising that my legs were so tired with all the hilly runs I've done lately, plus I'm still trying to adjust to handling workouts while keeping the mileage high.

Redwood Shores - 13 Miles

I stayed at work a bit late today and didn't get started until 7PM. I was pretty hungry by the time I started the run and I was thinking of cutting it to 10 but as soon as I got going I didn't mind putting in some extra miles. My legs definitely appreciated not having to go over any hills for a change. I probably started at close to 7:00 pace, got down in the 6:40s for most of the run and finished with a couple of faster miles.

Edgewood to Huddart - 13 Miles

I could have probably used a run on flat surfaces as my legs were pretty sore from yesterday but since we had the day off from work I figured I should take advantage of it and get in another run on trails. I took my time getting out of the house today and didn't get to Edgewood until 3:30PM. I took the usual route to Huddart through Woodside, added on a few miles at Huddart and headed back. The trails were a bit muddy since it was raining since last night, making the climbs a little more challenging. For the most part I was running slow and wasn't really working the hills. I only got moving a bit in the last few miles, which were mostly downhill.

Monte Bello Open Space Preserve - 16 Miles

I was hesitant before to come over to Monte Bello Preserve since it looked pretty hilly but today I finally decided to give it a shot. I started out on the White Oak trail, then continued on Canyon trail which gradually went downhill. I stayed on that trail until Upper Stevens Creek park, then took Grizzly Flat trail to Skyline Blvd. Ironically the Grizzly Flat trail was the steepest trail of the run and was a pretty brutal climb. Once I got to Skyline I decided not to head back but cross over to the Bay Area Ridge trail instead. I made my way back to Monte Bello and added on some mileage there before heading back. As I was expecting this turned out to be a very hilly run, with some long steep climbs. There were almost no flat parts on the run and by the end my legs were pretty trashed. I wound up back to my car after 2 hours but there's no way I can call this anything longer than 16.

Week Recap - 90 Miles

Pretty solid week mileage-wise, the highest I've ever run in singles. My legs were sore from the Alumni meet for the first few days of the week so I didn't even consider running any workouts early in the week. I thought of running a workout on Saturday but opted out of it eventually. Probably wasn't a bad idea to let the legs recover and just build up the mileage again.

San Andreas Trail to Sweeney Ridge - 14 Miles

I stayed up late last night, waiting to see Marcos Baghdatis play in the Australian Open. The game was supposed to start around 2:30AM but it was delayed for a few hours so I slept for a while and got up just before 6AM. It ended up being a long game and it wasn't over until almost 10AM. Too bad Baghdatis lost as he almost pulled off an amazing come back. I tried to get back to bed after that but I only managed to sleep for another hour or so. I was considering running a decreasing pace 5 miler today but I was feeling a bit tired and not getting much sleep didn't help either so I opted against it. I drove out to the north end of Sawyer Camp and ran to San Andreas Trail down a a short dirt trail. San Andreas Trail is paved and pretty similar to Sawyer Camp in setting. It's only a couple of miles long so after that I continued on the streets towards Sweeney Ridge. I was expecting to find some trails there but I could only access a paved road going uphill. I was already 30 minutes in and I was only planning to run 10-12 miles but once I started going up I wanted to see what would be at the top of the hill. It was a good climb, almost a couple of miles long but it was worth it when I got to the top. The view was pretty amazing, I could see the ocean on the west, the bay area on the east and South San Francisco on the north. I stopped for a while to enjoy the view then headed back the same way. I took me just over 50 minutes to get to the top of the hill and was about 5 minutes faster on the way back. I was moving at a decent pace so I think it's safe to call it 14.

12 Miles

Hallmark Park. I came back from work around 5PM and didn't waste much time before getting out. I ran to Hallmark Park through Water Dog Lake Park and had enough time to put a few miles on the xc course before heading back down Ralston Ave. I was expecting that it would get dark by the time I got to the course but I was actually able to spend about 35 minutes there without much trouble. It's nice to see that days are starting to get longer.

Alumni Meet

Alumni Meet. Ran the mile in 4:25.54 for 4th and the 5K in 15:46.01 for 5th. Ran the usual 2 mile warm-up loop with Schmeck and put in a good number of strides before the race. I wasn't feeling great but not too bad either. I got a decent start to the race and settled somewhere in the middle of the pack. The pace was slow and we came through 400 in 67 but that was about as uncomfortable as I've ever felt on that pace. The pace stayed roughly the same for the next quarter and I was around 2:13-2:14 at the 800. The pace picked up a bit going into the 3rd quarter but my head wasn't in the race and I fell back. I think I was at 3:22 at 1200, about 10m behind the front group. I got my second wind going into the last 400 and moved a lot on the backstretch. Moving into the homestretch with a lap to go I went by Schmeck and Paul and moved to second place. I started closing on Jake who had a decent lead and managed to close the gap a bit on the backstretch. As I was rounding the last turn I started realizing that I wasn't closing the gap fast enough and then my legs started giving up on me. Schmeck and Paul passed me in the last 20m or so and at that point it was impossible to respond. My legs were really tired after the mile and coming back in the 5K turned out to be a lot tougher than I expected. I knew I was in trouble about 800m into the race and managed to stay with Schmeck and Yermie only for the first 2K, coming through I think in 6:08. It all went downhill from there. I made an effort to move up again when Jacokes passed me but I let him go after a while. Chris Wong went by as well shortly after and I didn't even put up a fight. For the last half of the race I was pretty much just trying to get myself to the finish and not really racing. I was completely wiped out at the end of it and struggled to put in a 2 mile cool-down with Schmeck. Overall a rather disappointing day, especially since I didn't score a single point. The mile was decent time-wise, considering I haven't run one in a long time, but my racing was pretty bad and I should have at least managed to get second place. I've never doubled back in a 5K after a mile so I'm not sure how to judge this but obviously it wasn't a good race.

2002 Cyprus Spring Nationals "Ta Matseia" - 1500m

2000 Cyprus Junior Track and Field Nationals - 4x400m

2000 Cyprus Junior Track and Field Nationals - 800m