Week Recap (11 May 2008 - 17 May 2008) - 79 Miles

I was planning to cut back the mileage some this week, shooting for something close to 75, in an attempt to give my legs a break and help my workouts a bit. I did try to front load the mileage so that I could finish the week with a couple of easy days and keep the legs more fresh for Bay to Breakers. Eventually this turned out to be a pretty good week, I managed to run a good workout on Wednesday and felt good enough to keep the mileage close to 80.

Saturday, May 17, 2008 [6M]

Alameda - San Carlos. I got out around 1PM today, which probably wasn't the best time to run because of the heat but I didn't have too many options since I wanted to sleep in today and I had to go to the city in the afternoon to pick up my race packet for Bay to Breakers. I ran the usual loop backwards and stopped by the track at Carlmont high school for some strides before heading back home. I was taking it easy today and my legs felt fairly fresh, which hopefully bodes well for tomorrow's race.

Friday PM, May 16. 2008 [4M]

Foster City. I didn't really need any more mileage for the day so I wasn't set on going for a second run this afternoon. I had an appointment for a haircut at 6:30 and figured I would decide if I would run after that but by 5 I wasn't doing anything productive at work so I thought I might as well get in a run beforehand. Schmeck hasn't been slacking this week and I'll be going short tomorrow so I figured I might need this to stay ahead. There's not much to say about the run itself, it was just a casual loop in Foster City.

Friday AM, May 16, 2008 [8M]

Redwood Shores. I got out from Club O before noon and opted to put in my long run of the day. I was in at work early for a long meeting so I needed the break. It was in the high 80s today , a bit cooler than yesterday, but running in the middle of the day made it tougher. I have been doing a good job at staying hydrated, though, and I'm gradually rebuilding my heat tolerance. I was feeling decent this morning, clipping 6:40s most of the way. I ran some good strides afterwards but slacked a bit on stretching and headed straight for a cool shower.

Thursday, May 15, 2008 [10M]

Redwood Shores. I debated running at noon today, thinking of going for a 4-miler and adding another 8 in the afternoon, but seeing that the weather was in the mid 90s I figured it would best to avoid running in the middle of the day. I ended up working a bit late and didn't get started until 7:30 PM, which probably turned out to be a good thing as it was much cooler with the sun setting down. I wanted to take things easy today and started out at a casual pace but after the first couple of miles the run progressed in a somewhat unusual fashion. I was feeling good and started rolling at a brisk pace but after a few miles my legs started feeling crappy all of a sudden and for the last couple of miles I was kind of dragging myself back. I don't know what to attribute this roller coaster ride on, maybe I need some time to get used to running in the heat.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008 [12M]

5M decreasing pace. 5:51, 5:42, 5:28, 5:17, 5:01. Ordinarily I would have ran some intervals on the track today but since I'm running Bay to Breakers on Sunday and this will be the only workout of the week I opted for a decreasing pace 5-miler. I wanted to be a little more conservative today, start out at 6:00 as usual but only drop 15 seconds a mile. My last few workouts have been disappointing so I needed something to boost my confidence. I even ran the workout in my new Asics Hyperspeed 2 flats but that was mostly because I wanted to break in the shoes before Sunday's race. I drove out to Sequoia high school and started my warm-up around 6PM. The track was pretty crowded when I finished my warm-up so I took my time before starting the workout, stretching and running some strides. We had a rather sudden increase in temperature today, it was in the high 80s when I started the workout, about 20 degrees warmer than what it has been lately. I wet myself down before starting but that didn't really help things out much. I started out a bit faster than goal pace on the first mile, coming through in 1:25 and 2:52, even though it felt like I was jogging. I slowed down to the right pace for the last half and easily transitioned to the second mile. I ran even paced, comfortably hitting mid 85s. The third mile went by without much trouble, running remarkably even again and hitting 82s the whole way. I wanted to hit 78s for the 4th mile but wasn't as aggressive as I should have been and only managed 79s. I was hoping to dip under 5:00 for the last mile but I was only able to run 76s for the first 3 laps. I had something left, though, and managed to finish with a 71 for the last lap. I was pretty spent when I finished, partly because of the heat taking its toll. I jogged one lap on the infield then drank and poured some water over me and felt much better. I was feeling better than I expected on the cool-down and ended up going a bit longer than I was planning. Finished back at the track for some cool-down strides and stretching before heading back home to pour down the gatorade. I was pleased with how things turned out today, I was pretty much right on goal pace and running even pace on each mile. I was working hard at the end but I could have been a bit more aggressive in the last two miles, seeing how I was able to close fast at the end. I still need to work more on the mental aspect of my workouts but this was definitely a big improvement compared to my last few workouts. I ran fairly similar times to this workout (after adjusting for the shorter track), which I ran the week before my last half marathon, so if this means I'm in similar shape then I'll definitely take it.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008 [11M]

Run with the San Carlos Road Runners Club. I was planning to go out for a short run at noon but got dragged into a last minute meeting and by the time I got out it was too late to get a run in. We always do an 8 mile run on these group runs and I wanted to get some more mileage for the day so I got to San Carlos a bit earlier than usual and managed to put in about 3 miles before joining the group. Actually it wasn't much of a group today, just Doug and myself. Doug was feeling a bit tired today and I didn't mind having an easy day so we kept it casual the whole way. My right hip was hurting a bit so I had one more reason to take it easy. I've never had any issues with my hips before so I don't know if it's anything I should be worried about but at the moment it doesn't seem like it's anything serious.

Monday, May 12, 2008 [13M]

Hallmark Park - Brittan Ave. I came home early this afternoon and worked while waiting for UPS to deliver a package. If there's one thing I miss from living in a dorm is having a front desk to pick up my packages. I got the package around 5:30 and took off half an hour later. I took the usual route to Hallmark, ran one big loop on the cross country course, then got out on the streets and went all the way to Brittan Ave. I was feeling great today, started out with a nice climb to Hallmark and made it there a couple of minutes faster than usual. I got more into it on the xc course and put a good effort on the hills. I split a 6:45 for one of the miles on the course, which is decently fast considering how hilly the course is. It didn't really feel like I was pushing it, I was feeling strong going uphill and made sure I topped the hills well. I wound up back home in just under 1:30, which I would ordinarily be hesitant to round up but I think today I can fully justify it. I mentioned that I was thinking of cutting back the mileage a bit this week and it doesn't look like I started with such intentions but I'll probably take it easier towards the end of the week. After all I like to front load my weeks and I couldn't pass on the opportunity to get some decent mileage on a good day.

Sunday, May 11, 2008 [15M]

Rancho San Antonio. I wanted to get some good sleep today so I didn't wake up early to meet the guys at 8:15AM and slept in almost until 11. I drove out to Rancho San Antonio about an hour later and hit the trails by 12:30. I stayed on the lower trails a bit longer than usual, wanting to give my legs a good warm-up before going on any serious climbs. Seing how crappy I felt yesterday I wasn't sure what to expect but fortunately today I was feeling a lot better. I went up High Meadow trail for my first long climb and continued up to PG&E trail. I have avoided that the last few times I came over here, dreading the steep climb near the top and the downhill part on the way back, which always takes it out of my legs. After coming down I still had enough time to go up Upper Wildcat Canyon Trail, putting in another long climb. I came down High Meadow trail and headed back to the car, finishing the run in 1:47. I felt strong on the hills and was moving at a good pace the entire time, so 15 should be a fairly safe bet. It blows my mind how different I can feel from one day to the other. It's always good of course if the change is in the positive direction.

Week Recap (4 May 2008 - 10 May 2008) - 84 Miles

This was a good week mileage-wise but pretty disappointing in terms of workouts. I put in a nice long run on Sunday and had a few other solid 12-13 mile days. The workout on Wednesday didn't turn out as I was hoping, I finished the workout with some decent quarters but I was really out of it on the longer intervals. I was thinking that the problem was mostly mental but after Saturday's workout I started worrying that there might be something wrong physically. I don't know if the mileage is taking its toll but I think by now I shouldn't have any problems running just over 80 miles. I might bring the mileage down a bit next week and hopefully get out of this slump. I'm running Bay to Breakers on Sunday a week from now so it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep the legs a bit more rested.

Saturday, May 10, 2008 [10M]

5M decreasing pace at Sawyer Camp. 6:01, 5:41, 5:31, 5:39, 6:00. I was at Sawyer Camp around 1PM, started with a 2 mile warm-up and got right into the workout. The goal was once again to start at 6:00 and bring it down 20 seconds each mile but obviously I was no where near my goal. I pretty much nail the first half of the workout, which of course is the least important part. I was 3:01/3:00 for the first mile, 2:50/2:51 for the second was pretty much right on pace on the third, coming through the half in 2:41. Things went downhill from then on. I probably lost 2-3 seconds making the turn back at 2.5 miles, so the second half of the 3rd mile was probably 2:47-48. I was working a lot harder than I was expecting at that point, my legs feeling heavy but also working hard aerobically. I only managed to come through the half in 2:43 for the 4th mile and pretty much gave up on the workout after that. The last mile was fairly meaningless, I was just going through the motions and not putting any effort into it. Obviously a disappointing workout, making it two bad workouts in a row.

Friday, May 9, 2008 [10M]

Redwood Shores. I got out of Club O by 6PM, wanting to put in an easy 10. Although I ran slow, averaging just over 7:00 pace, I wouldn't call this run easy. My legs were feeling crappy and I was dragging myself for the last half of the run. I almost cut it short to 8 but eventually decided to go through with it.

Thursday, May 8, 2008 [12M]

Foster City. I was planning to get out for a short run at noon but couldn't get out of work so I ended up going longer in the afternoon. I was expecting the legs to be tired after yesterday's workout but I felt decent. I averaged 6:40 pace, running fairly even paced.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008 [12M]

2x1600, 4x800, 4x400. 5:04, 5:08, 2:22, 2:29, 2:25, 2:27, 68, 66, 66, 65. I drove out to Redwood city this afternoon and tried out the track at Sequoia high school for this workout. Carlmont high school is a lot more convenient but I I'd rather do workouts on a 400m track. I didn't get there until 6:30 PM so I didn't take much time to get the workout underway after the usual 2 mile warm-up. I was originally planning to run 5x1600 but I after the first two intervals I decided to switch to some shorter stuff. I got out slow on the first 1600, coming through the 400 in 77 and the 800 in 2:33. Picked things up a bit after that and ran mid 75s for the the last two laps. I got out faster on the second 1600, running 75s for the first 2 laps but slowing down to 79s for the last 2. I was really out of it mentally so after the second interval I figured that it wasn't worth trying to run any more 1600s. I wasn't very focused on the 800s either, I was slowing down too much on the second lap and my times were all over the place. I got out aggressively on the first one, came through in 69 and finished in a decent 2:22. I was out in 73 for the second one and didn't put much effort on the 2nd lap, slowing down to a 76. I was out in 71 on the 3rd but only managed a 2:25 then I was only able to get out in 73 for the last one but at least didn't slow down too much on the second lap. I managed to run some decent 400s and salvaged the workout a bit. I was getting out fairly aggressively, coming through 200 in 33 for the first one and 32 for the other three, and held it together to the line. I ran about 4 miles for cool-down but my legs were spent and I pretty much put in some junk miles.

Tuesday PM, May 6, 2008 [8M]

San Carlos Road Runners Club. I made it to San Carlos this evening and joined Doug, Brad and Bridget for the usual Tuesday night run. Doug took the lead in setting the pace and we were moving along well the whole time. We were probably around 7:00 on the way out and 6:40-6:50 on the way back.

Tuesday AM, May 6, 2008 [5M]

Foster City. I got out at noon for a quick 5. I was feeling pretty good, clipping 6:30s for the most part. I had enough time to ran some good strides afterwards and stretch before heading back to work.

Monday, May 5, 2008 [12M]

Sheep Camp - Ralston.

Sunday, May 4, 2008 [15M]

Huddart. I drove out to Edgewood and Canada Rd this morning and met with Doug and Brad at 8:15. We took the short way to Huddart, getting there in 20 minutes or so. As soon as we got there Brad and I broke off so it was just the two of us from then on. Brad only wanted to run 12-13 so we stayed at Huddart for a little less than an hour and headed back to the car. We got back in 1:37, and I added on another 10 minutes by myself along Canada Rd. It was nice to do a long run with some company, it's been a while. We were pretty much chatting the whole way and time flew by. It sure was nice to be done with Sunday long run by 10AM, a time when I'd normally be waking up.

Week Recap (27 Apr 2008 - 3 May 2008) - 80 Miles

One of my best weeks in a while. I finally managed to get the mileage back in the 80s and had a couple of good, hard efforts. I started the week with a 5K race on Sunday, which I ran as workout. My run was far from spectacular but considering I was sick for most of last week and still not fully recovered by Sunday, plus the race was on a pretty tough course, I came out feeling satisfied with the effort I put in. I ran some hill repeats on Thursday for my second workout of the week and even though I don't have an objective measure for the quality of that workout, I felt like I put in a solid effort. My legs are feeling fairly comfortable again with the higher mileage but I probably won't go much higher than this. All I want right now is to stay consistent and keeping putting in high quality workouts.

Saturday, May 3, 2008 [10M]

Laurelwood Park. I woke up before 10 this morning, surprisingly early for a Saturday. I must be getting old I guess. I wasted a few hours, though, and didn't get out until 1:30PM. I headed out to Laurelwood park, which I had never checked out before despite being only a couple of miles away from my place. It didn't seem like I was missing out much, though. The trails looked promising at first but turned out to be disappointing. I probably only spent about half an hour there, came out on Ralston Ave, near Hallmark Dr and headed back home through Water Dog Lake Park.