Last Year

Running – 39 miles

This was Easter week last year and between the Human Race 8k and traveling home for Easter my Week 8 training was a little messed up.  I discovered how to create “blog bling” or the little picture of me in the address bar.  Being back in Indiana and having easy access to dirt trails made me long for trail running.  I think I’m at that point again this year, I think in part because it is a long wait for trails to clear and not be a complete muddy mess.  Even before the 100 push-up craze hit the blogosphere I was extolling the benefits of the push-up for all around physical fitness.  Last year’s Foto Friday was a terrible picture of me finishing at the Human Race.

Monday I ran the Metrodome 3.25 mile loop in 25 minutes.  It was a nice 42 outside with a wind chill of 38.  It had rained earlier in the morning, but didn’t while I was out.  I was sore from the Human Race but loosened up by the end of the run.

Tuesday was another great morning for a workout.  Today was 4 x800 meters in around 6:30 pace (or 3:15). It was 51 with a little wind and overcast.  I did the intervals on the Greenway, heading East.  My splits were 3:04, 3:04, 2:59, 3:00.  Obviously I was quite pleased to have all the intervals under goal pace – even with the wind.  This workout made me feel a lot better about where my running is.

Wednesday I did a nice easy run around Powderhorn.  This time I actually ran my old two lap route around the lake. it was 3.3 miles in 27 minutes. The temp was a nice 38 but the gusty winds brought the wind chill down to 14.  It was also flurrying and starting to stick – though it never accumulated.

Thursday was a nice day of rest!

Friday I went looking for a different place to run and decided to head to Wirth Beach and run around Theodore Wirth Park.  I haven’t run there very often and stuck mostly to the Grand Rounds Parkway before.  I could clearly see some of the trails and decided to take them.  I didn’t really know where they went or anything, but soon found a map that showed some general directions.  I was a little disappointed because I was on the paved trail section but they went North and caught the parkway and that’s what I decided to do.  After catching the parkway I was presented with a dirt trail option or staying on the paved trail – obviously I took the dirt path and eventually found myself back on the road – but not where I expected, nor did it have anything to offer besides sidewalk running so I turned around.  I retraced my steps and stayed on the parkway heading back south.  I got back to the beach area with about 10 minutes left so I kept running and found another little trail near the Bird Sanctuary and ran the dirt paths for a little bit.  It was a good run – didn’t really hit tempo pace but I pushed the pace when I could and felt solid with it. It ended up being 5.77 miles in 43 minutes on the sunny and windy morning – 24 with 14 wind chill.

Saturday we met at Jensen Lake in Lebanon Hills which was a great change of pace and scenery.  The plan was to run between 90 minutes and 2 hours but after arriving back at our cars after 90 minutes most of us were ready to be done.  We had logged a tough 12 miles on the rolling hills around the park.  It was a sunny and brisk morning in the mid-20’s when we started and into the 30’s by the end.  It took us about 94 minutes and I was feeling it more in my legs than anywhere else.  If you want a tough hill workout this is the place to go!  The trail was virtually ice free with some small remnants here and there.  One nice thing about the freezing temps was that the trail wasn’t muddy at all.

Sunday my foot was hurting last night so I opted to go for a swim again this morning.  I managed to get 400 yards out of the morning before becoming worn out.  I did a mixture of freestyle and using the kickboard.  It was nice to finish off with a sit in the hottub!!

Total Mileage:

Running – 29.6 miles

Swimming -400 yards

Biking – 7.8 miles

Last Year

After a tough week of training including to speed workouts I raced for the first time in 2008 and Minnesota at the Human Race 8k. I was pleased with my race so that was good.  I detailed the information provided from Ryan Shay’s autopsy and the tragedy of his death.   My wife and I have been long time supporters of the ONE Campaign and its efforts to end global poverty.  Last year Mesert Defer won the 3000m World Indoor Championships while wearing a ONE Campaign wristband.  Do you stretch or not? That seems to be an ongoing controversy. I didn’t provide any great insights but just some “expert” opinions. Finally, Foto Friday was some more memorabilia.

Mileage

Run: 34.0 Miles
Bike: 7.0 Miles

Monday was an easy 3.25 miles around the Metrodome loop in my new Mizuno shoes! It was 38 with a 35 wind chill, I wore shorts but was a little cold!  There was still plenty of ice around as the snow melt refroze overnight.  26:42. I biked to work and to SALT in the evening for about 10 miles total.

Tuesday was a 8x400m workout.  This time the Garmin functioned properly. It was 45 with a wind chill of 37 which made for pretty decent weather for an interval workout on the Greenway.  It took a little bit to warm-up.  The first 4 were into the wind and the final 4 was with the wind at my back.  The intervals were: 1:32, 1:35, 1:35, 1:31, 1:28, 1:29, 1:30, 1:26. I wasn’t really sore or anything but biking 7 miles (roundtrip) to work helped.

Wednesday I ran a new random route from my house towards Uptown making a square.  It was 3.2 miles in 26:41. It was 31 with no wind which is a nice change.  The sunrise on downtown was beautiful as I crossed over 35-W. I was a little  sore but nothing major and it worked out pretty well.  My foot felt good as well.

Thursday no running for me.

Friday was a rough tempo run.  I felt tired and a little sore when I set out and never really got into a good groove.  I think I hit tempo pace (maybe on a downhill) but couldn’t really sustain it.  It was 30 with a 23 wind chill and a fresh dusting of snow – which probably didn’t help much especially since it was the first day of spring!

Saturday a rare two days of rest in one week… I decided that given the fact that I’m still trying to fight off plantar fascitits, I should take the day off instead of an easy run.  I was on my feet for 3 hours Friday night and my leg was really hurting afterwards.  Ugh.

Sunday afternoon races are a little weird, you have all morning to relax but what to you do about food?  It ws a gorgeous day about 54 around the start.  There was a pretty strong headwind on the way out during the Human Race 8k.  So uphill and headwind aren’t a good combination and downhill and a tailwind when you are exhausted helps a little.  I ran 1:30 slower than last year in 33:02.  I got a cramp at about the 4 mile mark but the downhill helped!

Weekly Mileage

Running 21.7 miles

Biking 20.7 miles

Last Year

Last year was week 6 of training. It was a tough week with hills, 4 x 1200’s, and 2 x 20 minutes at 10k pace.  I joined the USATF’s stretching study – which I believe is still ongoing.  This week we had some air quality warnings which is related to a story about smog and the Olympics, which ended up being not too much of a worry.  I loved writing this post about running strategy and using the idea of baking cookies.  Foto Friday was a picture of my “Olympic Trials” number.

Mileage

Run: 34.0 Miles
Bike: 7.0 Miles

Monday was hard to wake up after the Daylight Savings switch on Sunday morning everything was dark again. I had been enjoying the sun on my runs.  The extra sun also made the motivation a little easier to get up! I did the 3.25 Metrodome loop in 27:30.  It was 27 with no wind.

Tuesday saw another human error operating my Garmin.  You’d like after over a year I’d remember how to use it!  Today I forgot to restart it after stopping it while waiting to cross a street.  So that’s a little frustrating but it could be worse!  I ran about 7 miles total in 57 minutes.  This included an 8 x hill workout on the hill next to the Franklin St bridge.  I ran the exit ramp hill (from West River Road).  It is approximately .16 miles or 257 meters.  The intervals were 1:10, 1:13, 1:11, 1:10, 1:09, 1:08, 1:09, 1:05 The temp was about 34 with a 29 wind chill and a slight drizzle for part of it.  I feel pleased and after I loosened up I felt pretty good.

Wednesday Well so much for the worst of winter being behind us.  It was -2 with -23 wind chill and fresh snow.  I ran 3 miles around Powderhorn with my Yaktrax.  They did really good and I didn’t really slip at all.  Some of the snow had drifted into several inches of powder but for the most part it was maybe 1/2 inch.  It took me 27 minutes to lumber around and get home.  The stiffness went away after the first 1/2 mile or so.  I also ran in my new Mizuno Wave Inspire 4 shoes.  Same brand and model just a different color!

Thursday was even colder than Weds so I was happy to take the morning off and enjoy sleeping in.  Although when I awoke I was actually really tired and groggy.  Oh well – sleep is good.

Friday was a sunny morning with temps rising but it was 22 with 19 wind chill for the start of my run.  I drove to Lake of the Isles and ran around it and Calhoun for my 45 minute tempo run. There were plenty of patches of ice still on the paths around the lakes, though I didn’t fall and they weren’t enough to have wanted the Yaktrax. I felt pretty good for the whole run and managed to lay down a good tempo section hitting 6:30 pace for about a mile.  I finished the 6 mile run right at 45 minutes and almost exactly back at my car!

Saturday was a beautiful morning for a run.  Sunny and 27 (ok could have been a little warmer) with no wind.  We met at the Longfellow Grille and took a new scenic route of Minneapolis.  Cutting across the heart of South Minneapolis via the Greenway, the short side of the Isles heading up into Kenwood on Mt Curve Ave and then under the Walker Art Center through the Sculpture Garden and then through Loring Park up Nicolet to the River and then across the Stone Arch Bridge and down the river back.  This made for almost 15 miles in 1:54:12.  I felt pretty good until we crossed the Stone Arch and then I started really feeling tired and by the time we got to Franklin Ave I had pretty much dropped off the group’s pace.  I struggled through and finished thanks to Kirk’s help.  Overall an enjoyable run!

Sunday my foot had been feeling pretty good all week and was a little stiff so I took it easy and went for a swim.  It was a little hard knowing that the temps were going to be in the 50’s but it was the prudent thing to do.  So I went to the YWCA and swam about 300 yards, sat in the hot tub, and did some stretching.  It felt really good.  The actual swimming part is tough!  I need to work on building my endurance – but I’d rather be running so we’ll see.

Weekly Total

Running – 34.2 miles

Swimming – 300 yards

Last Year

Run: 37.4 miles
Bike: 7 miles

At this time last year I was in the thick of Week 5 of training. I was still posting monthly highlights so you can go back and see all of February 2008‘s posts. It was only last week that I started running with the MDRA but this week I joined their USATF team (and USATF-MN).  Their first race was right around the corner and was the Human Race 8k, traditionally thought of as the first race of the spring season. Foto Friday was highlighting a race number from my alma mater.

Monday was a nice comfortable 3.25 miles on the Metrodome loop.  My heel felt fine and I tried to run on the snow and shoulders as much as possible.  The sun was up which was nice but it was still cold 5 above with -8 wind chill.  I did some core work and feel pretty good despite a little soreness from the weekend.

Tuesday when I setup my Garmin last week with the 7×400 interval session I went ahead and setup the 8×400 session as well.  I obviously didn’t do it right.  As I stepped out for the run I told the Garmin to give me that training session and set out.  I felt pretty good after warming up and stretching and started the 3rd interval.  I picked it up and ran… and ran… I looked at the Garmin and ran some more at the interval pace.  Then I realized something was wrong.  I was in the final cool down period, so the clock was just ticking down.  Frustrated I turned around, recovered, and started running home.  I couldn’t easily do the 400m workout anymore so instead I did more of a fartlek.  The Greenway has lots of bridges that cross it so I ran hard from one to the next, then easy, then hard changing pace at every bridge.  These weren’t long intervals but it made sense.  I stopped doing them with about 1.5 miles to go for the cool down.  My second user error had something to do with the watch stopping after the official workout session.  I should have restarted it, but I didn’t realize that until I got home and stopped it.  Instead of stopping it I actually turned it back on.  At least this way I got the overall workout time even though I had to calculate the workout distance from the turn around point.  So my 5.25 mile interval workout had some frustrations.  I iced when I got home though my heel felt pretty good. It was about 15 with a 3 above wind chill.   My two recorded intervals were both 1:33.  A little slow but I was also unsure of how hard to push given my slight injury.  The workout took 43:11. On the interval thing – when I set it up I never went back and changed the number of intervals and the default is 2, which is what I did!

Wednesday was a 3 mile recovery run.  I did a modified loop around Powderhorn because not all of the sidewalks were actually plowed.  It was 23 with a 13 wind chill so it felt pretty decent out for the 25 minutes that it took to run.  My legs hurt a little bit but not too much.  The pink sunrise made for a nice setting to run with.

Thursday it was nice to sleep in and take a break!

Friday I waited and ran around 11am which was  nice because it was sunny and 40!!  I ran in shorts along the Greenway for the tempo run.  I hit and sustained tempo pace for about a mile and actually felt pretty good doing it.   The snow melt made for some nice sized puddles. I started out the run trying to avoid them, but pretty much ended up having to just run through them but it was a nice day so who cares! It was 5.5 miles in 40 minutes.  My heel and knee still hurt a little but so I’ve been icing and trying to stretch more.  Here is a pic of my tempo pace (the bump in the tempo section is when I turned around):

Saturday we met at the Nokomis Community Center, not the Nokomis Country Club and ran along the Minnehaha Parkway and around Lake Harriet then back.  We changed the course a little bit on the way back to avoid all of the ice on the parkway.  The path was pretty intermittent with ice and wasn’t exactly pleasant to run on.  The roads were much better.  The total was 11.3 miles in almost exactly 90 minutes.  It was 28 with a 13 wind chill.  I started out being a little under dressed but it ended up being ok.  It is hard to dress appropriately as the temps vary up and down like this.

Sunday I ran an easy 3 miles from my house to pick up my car in Uptown.  We had gone to a party and then from there bussed to a concert downtown.  Stupidly I forgot to check when the last bus back to where our car was and we missed it. We were able to take the LRT and hop a bus home though.  So I ran over and picked it up.  I was a little tired and sore from yesterday’s run but once I warmed up it felt good.  It was 29 and 21 wind chill.  The sun was trying to come out although that never materialized.

Total Mileage

Running – 31.6 miles