Bonus: My commute

Here's what I bike to work every day. Past the two guys doing tai chi, through Stanford campus, up embarcadero onto the alma bike path, through downtown palo alto past the panhandler in front of Whole Foods, then onto the bike path to Menlo Park. Quite pleasant, and only 5 lights.
Distance: 2.97 miles
Total time: 17:32
Avg Pace: 5:54 min/mile

David out (again)

Day 97: 3 miles

I did the front part of the Dish, so a little hilly today.

Was feeling a bit slow. Perhaps the smoke over the weekend is affecting me, perhaps I should drink more water, or perhaps it was just one of those days.

Distance: 3.07 miles
Total Time: 23:13
Avg Pace: 7:34 min/mile

David out

Day 99: Rest Day 98: 3 miles

Business as usual. A bit smoky, so a relaxed maintenance run.

David out

Day 100: Rest

Feeling fine after my first long run. Nothing strenuous planned for this weekend.

David out

Day 101: 9 miles (long)

Did my long run early this week. I ran around the Arastradero Preserve, just like I used to do with Varick. Ah, memories. No problems with smoke today, fortunately.

Total Distance: 9.96 miles
Total Time: 1:13
Avg Pace: 7:24 min/mile

Equipment: I tried the 6 flask fuel belt today. Only brought 4 along (8 oz water, 8 oz Cytomax) and so had weight balance issues. Love the size, though, and the carrying capacity
Nutrition Before : Ate a powerbar 15 minutes before the run. Wish I had eaten it earlier; sat like a rock for about 4 miles.
Nutrition During: Cytomax, unfortunately, is evocative of soap. I either need to make it stronger (or wash my flasks better?) I drank about 12 oz of fluid


Comments: Legs felt a little tired near the end, though no single part felt sore or injured. In other words, doing good (ungrammatical, yes I know) on my first real run in training.

Now time to cool down by biking to work~!

David out

Day 102: 3 miles

Now extra smoky. The wildfires are making it very unpleasant to be outside, so today's workout was on a treadmill (courtesy of Willow Garage)

Distance: 3 miles
Time: 23:40
Pace: 7.9 mph

Stay safe and healthy, folks

David out

Day 103: 4 miles

Did the chip trail and part of campus today. Felt a bit sluggish at first; perhaps a banana and 1 glass of water is insufficient. No icing required

Distance: 4.1o miles
Total Time: 31:23
Avg Pace: 7:39

David Out

Day 104: Rest

Name says it all. All systems are go.

David out

Day 105: Long (recovery) run 5 miles

After that beating Jeff and I took yesterday, we decided to take a slower recovery run. My left knee is a little stiff/sore, but it held up ok through today. Ice and ibuprofen, and a real rest day tomorrow.

Route: Arastradero bike path, around Gunn, and back on Motivation Hill for good measure

Guest: Jeff (Hi Jeff!)
Distance: 5.44 mi
Total Time: 48 minutes
Avg Pace: 8:49

Day 106: Cross training

Here's how I cross train: a 16 mile hike at Fall Creek (near Santa Cruz)

It started out hellaciously hot, but we carried plenty of water and we were fine. Not as scenic as I would have hoped, but a great workout and a great way to spend a Saturday.

Total Elapsed time: 7 hours
Park entrance
Beware of GIGANTIC HORSE AND RIDERS. Or very small bears.
Massive trees.
...and beat up old tankers. Moonshine, anyone?

A canine companion joined us after warning us off his property.



Barrel mill. Don't ask.
Big Ben
Here's some perspective.

Long run tomorrow!

David out

Day 107: Rest

Overtraining = injury. Today I cleaned the kitchen before biking to work.

No satellite data. Sorry!

Day 108: Pool

Cross training with the team today at the pool.

Warmup
300 choice
200 kick
200 catchup

6 x 100 2:00
1 x 100 recovery
4 x 100 1:55

It felt good to be back in the pool. Just wish I didn't have to bike off to work early; will stick in longer next week

Day 109: 3 miles

Track workout today, so I'll spare you the satellite data

My targets:
800 m I pace (3:02)
1600 m T pace (6:38)

2 x 800 (2:40-2:50)
1 x 1600 (6:30)
2x800 (2:55)

Felt good. Better on the 800's, but that's what I get for being mid distance in HS

David out

Day 110: 4 miles

Distance:4.35
Total Time: 31:36.59
Avg Pace: 7:15

A brisk 4 mile run around Gunn High School and back. Ankle feels a lot better

Day 111: 3 miles

Total distance: 3.00 mi
Total Time: 23:14.87
Avg Pace: 7:44 /mi

I ran what the running club calls "Motivation Hill" today. My right ankle felt a bit stiff 0.5 miles in, but once it warmed up it felt fine. Commencing with icing. Otherwise, felt great.

David out

Day 112: Rest day

Hello, world!

This blog will be my training log for the Sacramento Cowtown Marathon on Sunday, October 5 2008. In other words, 112 days and counting down.

You'll be following my progress thanks to my spiffy new GPS watch, the Garmin Forerunner 205. It can track distance, time, pace, and spit out info into Google Earth. See?

Here I am meandering around my apartment complex, staring at my watch like an idiot.

For those of you who are curious, I'm following Hal Higdon's novice marathon plan. I'll be subbing in an extra cross training workout instead of one day of rest, as well as adding some speed work in. Per week, that adds up to between 15-40 miles. Each week, I'll do 2 runs on my own, 1 track workout with the tri team, 1 swim, 1 bike, 1 day of rest, and 1 long run with Alice (Hi Alice!). I'm counting on my tri season to give me a strong enough base to not injure myself. I've only raced 5, 8 and 12 Ks so far, so a marathon will be quite interesting. I've been out on 16 mile training runs before, so I'm not too apprehensive.

For those Jack Daniels fans out there (not the whiskey) my VDot is 52, which I think is spot on. This ostensibly translates to a 3:04 marathon (gulp), but my goal is to FINISH. If I can beat 4:00, I'll be quite happy.

Nutrition: Cytomax, powerbars, and gu or shotbloks.

Feel free to post encouragement or constructive criticism! Potshots and ad hominem attacks are fine, as long as I know where you live.

David out. Training starts tomorrow!