Day 66: 7 miles

Did the back of the Dish today.

2 things of note:

1. Picked up a new Stanford branded underarmor heat gear sleeveless jersey yesterday. It will be my racing jersey (for once, I want a giant STANFORD on a piece of clothing) It was a bit tight today and clingy once it got sweaty, but it seemed to do a good job in dissipating heat. Check.
2. I tried some cytomax pre-formance (liquid carbs + protein!) along with my banana today. Wasn't too impressed. My legs felt a bit heavy (perhaps because of yesterday?) ; my theory is that I didn't drink enough water with it. It's on probation; I'm gonna eat a powerbar for Sunday

Distance: 7.24
Time: 50:35
Avg Pace: 6:59 (just squeaked by 7 minutes!)

and that's my last major run before my 1/2

David out

Day 67: 3 miles (track)

Track workout today felt pretty easy, to be honest (mostly due to the
fact that we ran 2/3 of it at T pace, allowing for conversation)

1 minute rest between everything

2x1600 T pace (6:36, 6:40)
2x800 I pace ( 2:45, 2:49)
2x400 R pace (79,81)

I like the feeling of faster and shorter. Negative splits, anyone?
Definitely was feeling those last 400's (and getting flashbacks to
high school where I ran the 400)

Calf feels fine. I'm so ready for the SF 1/2 marathon.

David out

Day 68: 4 miles

I felt fast today! (and stiff in the left calf. But I made sure to warmup and stretch sufficiently)

My nominal pace ("aka a good clip"), if I'm not paying attention or looking at my watch, is 7:30/mile. I'd like to push that down to 7:15, or even 7:00. That would be fabulous. I can sustain the faster speeds over short distances (4 miles today, especially felt good at about mile 2.5) but I wonder if I can push myself over longer runs.

Distance: 4.00
Time: 26:18
Avg Pace: 6:34

David out

Day 69: Cross

In other words, recovery day. Pool was open today at 8 since the Olympians are on their way.

It felt awesome to get back in the water and stretch. I felt slower than usual, but perhaps that's because I was wearing my blue drag shorts (as my speedos mysteriously disintegrated...)

4x100 freestyle
4x100 Kick and pull
4x100 freestyle
3x50 butterfly
2x100 freestyle

and then I rushed off to work.

David out

Day 70: 13 miles (long)

Did a training run with Alice today (hi Alice!) . Though it was the longest I've run this season, it was by far the most pleasant

Distance: 13.20
Time: 2:28
Avg Pace: 11:13/mile
Total Calories: 1569

There's something quite satisfying about completing a set distance, like a half marathon. Mostly because you can drop it in conversation casually. (e.g. "Oh yeah, I did a half yesterday to train. No problem. Yeah, that's half of the distance that killed the original runner, but no biggie")

Also, I'm going to miss having company on my everyday runs.

Right now, I am bushed. I think I'm going to go rest my eyes...

David out

Day 71: Ride to the coast!

Can you find the hills to and from the coast?

Hal Higden suggests cross-training for about an hour a week to let the running muscles recover.

Well, I've got my own brand of relaxation, it seems.

First, the stats:

Cycling
Distance: 60.55 miles
Time: 4:30
Avg Speed: 13.4 mph
Total Calories 4435
Total Ascent: 7951 ft

Our route was to climb Old La Honda, then ride down Pescadero road to the coast. We'd stop in Pescadero for artichoke bread (artichoke bread!) and then climb 84 to descend woodside.

Translation: 2 big climbs and lots of fun!

Fellow riders: Bob, John, Cissy, Magda, Alicia, (and Michael, briefly)

Narration: The first stretch to OLH was warm up, as usual. Ah, Old La Honda, my old friend. 3.21 miles with 1641 feet of climbing and -no- flat spots. I did it today in 24:47. Not great (definitely 1-1:30 slower than my PR) but not bad for not having cycled for a bit. I was struggling in granny gears, though, to be honest. The descent was breathtaking and made it all worthwhile. The climb through Sam McDonald Park was beautiful, marred only by the hordes of motorcyclists out today.

Pescadero came just in time at about the 30 mile mark. 6 hungry triathletes tore through 2 of these delicious artichoke garlic herb loaves

We pressed on, as the day was getting hot. The climb up was pretty painful, and the descent was like a blast furnace, but we all were feeling pretty good. Congrats to those on their first coast rides (this was my 2nd)

Nutrition tally: 2 bottles of Cytomax, 2 bottles of water, 1 pack of shotbloks, 1/2 a powerbar, 2 strawberry banana gus (they really helped!), and a good chunk of artichoke bread. mmm.

1/2 marathon tomorrow, and the SF 1/2 marathon a week from Sunday.

I'm actually feeling pretty good! Legs aren't even that sore.

David out

Day 72: Rest

Gonna have a busy weekend.

David out

Day 73: Cross training

I did the Alpine/Portola loop today on my bike. Felt great to stretch my legs.

Distance: 16.06 miles
Time: 55:16
Avg Speed: 17.4 mph
Total Elevation: 1005 ft

David out

Day 74: Track (3.5 miles)

A progression of last week's workout.
3x 800 (90 s rest, I Pace) 2:41-2:42
200 (R pace) 31 s
200 rest

Repeat
3x800 2:39-2:46
200 ? (but certainly felt fast)

Spent most of my time chasing after Carlos. He's got quite a kick!

David out

Day 75: 6 Miles

The good ole' Dish for today. Much faster on the way down than the way up...

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 42:33
Avg Pace: 7:05

David out

Day 76: Cross training

Well, my training this week is a little off, just because I did my long run early. Today I relaxed with a nice bike ride through the Arastradero Preserve. It's funny that my intense long run translates to a quick, easy bike ride.

Distance: 10.36 miles
Time: 38.45
Avg Speed: 16.0 mph

David out

Day 77: 4 miles

No satellite data from today, but I ran for 30 minutes at a good clip. I figured it was about 4 miles, but I very much prefer running a set distance, rather than time. (It gives more of an incentive to run fast!)

Hot day today in Chico. I need to train more in the heat; definitely saps my strength. I estimate that I sweated out 1.5 lbs of moisture. Didn't feel too bad afterwards.

David out

Day 78: Cross training (swim)

Ok, not really a workout. More like a dip in a cold creek on a hot day.

David out

Day 79: Rest

Did a lot of stretching yesterday. A day off will do me a world of good.

David out

Day 80: 12 miles (long)

A word to the wise: cycling jerseys = great for cycling! For runners, they don't wick nearly enough sweat away and cause some chafing in unpleasant spots.

In other news, today was the hardest training day thus far. Legs felt really dead midway through; OK at the start and end. That's what I get for stacking my training poorly- hills, track, then long workout is...punishing. Time to ease off for the weekend; cross training, anyone?

Distance: 12.42 Miles
Time: 1:29
Avg Pace: 7:13/mile
Elevation change: 1794 ft
Total Calories: 1475

David out

Day 81: Track (3 miles)

Today was 6x800 with 90 seconds rest. My goal time was 3:01; my actual run times ran the gamut from 2:50 to 2:39 (negative splits!) I'll have to upgrade my VDot from 52.

I've always dreaded the calm before the storm. It's a peculiar feeling to be gasping between sips of water and trying to calm your heart rate down, knowing that you'll be leaving in 45 seconds...44...43. Once I'm going, I'm fine. All I have to do is convince my body that "no, this amount of discomfort is normal. you're fine" and let the festivities commence.

Why do I run? Singularity of purpose. That's the phrase that I'm tossing around in my head these days. On the track or on the trail, your world narrows from the whirlwind of stress down to "trying to make the next split." It's like utilizing the immediacy of physical sensation to drag you into the moment. The trick is learning to enjoy it; I'm certainly learning to. Having an upcoming race gives me a point to focus on, and a reason to push hard each day. Singularity of purpose- often times a luxury that's missing in the rest of my life.

I'm getting faster. Thanks to Sherry and the team for the encouragement; sorry for the distant demeanor on the track. I'll use the excuse of focus for now.

David out

Day 82: 7 miles

I think my performance is very much correlated with the amount of sleep I get the night before.

Distance: 7.27
Total time: 52:19
Avg Pace: 7:11

Well, it certainly felt slow on those hills, but the numbers say otherwise.

David out

Day 83: 3 miles

Felt good today. It's 64 degrees and overcast: my kind of weather.

Distance: 3.01 miles
Total time: 20:43
Avg Pace: 6:52/mile

Hey, that didn't feel too bad; I must be getting faster!

David out

Day 84: Sea kayaking!

Went down to Monterey today to sea kayak! Monterey was overcast, but quite pleasant. We saw dolphins, sea otters, jellyfish, seals, and sea lions (oh my?) Kayaking was fun! Falling over was pretty hard in these open top models, and so I could concentrate on hauling myself through the water. Fun times!

Sailboats are big and can move quite fast. That is my lesson for today.

Distance: 3.05 miles
Time: 1:46:47
Speed: 1.7 mph = 1.4 knots


Pictures when they get developed.

David out

Day 85: Brick 30/5

Couldn't take it anymore. Had to get out on my bike, so I turned today's workout into a brick.

Bike portion was out and back along Canada with Alicia (Hi Alicia!) We joined the cyclists out on the Bike 2 Breathe race and had a grand time. Much better than the 2 guys pulled over for not stopping at a stop sign (on their bikes!) Yeesh.

Weather was cloudy and cool. Quite enjoyable. I love my bike!

Distance: 28:20
Time: 1:47
Avg Speed: 15.8 mph
Total Elevation change: 1583 ft

Run was out to Gunn and back along the Arastradero bike path (Hi Jeff!)
Legs felt fine coming out of transition, but I was definitely generally fatigued on the last mile or two and could have used a drink. Feeling fine for recovery, though.

Distance: 5.08 miles
Time: 36:01
Avg Pace: 7:05 (whew!)

Feeling good and feeling fast. Just for kicks...
Total calories burned: 1487 + 596 = 2083

I've also started playing with ergogenic supplements. Today I took a dose of Branched Chain Amino Acids before hopping on my bike (to prevent muscle damage) and Vitamins C and E during recovery (for antioxidants) Too soon to say if they're anything more than placebos for me. Cytomax, while still not too tasty, is working pretty well. That and a powerbar got me through with plenty of energy.

It's SO lunchtime...

David out

Day 86: Long run "7" miles

Did the back of the Dish today. Now with extra hills!

Distance: 7.96 miles
Time: 59:50
Avg Pace: 7:15

Total elevation change: 1596 ft

David Out

Day 87: 3 miles

Ran around "Lake" (pond/puddle) Lagunita.
My legs felt a bit stiff at the start today, but once I warmed up and stretched out, they were fine.

I get the feeling that this is going to be the norm as I continue increasing mileage.

Distance: 3.06 miles
Time: 22:07
Avg Pace: 7:14

Rehydrated with a bit a accelerade; I'll start tweaking my recovery food.

David out

Day 88: Track

Legs felt quite dead at the start of the workout today. Gotta learn to push through it

Distance today was a bit more than 3 miles. We ran it 5 minutes on, 2 off. I finished more than 12 laps within 21 minutes, so I was running a good clip. I really must bring my gps watch to these workouts.

David out

Day 89: Long Run 10 miles

Makeup long run today. Made my Cytomax too strong; the correct proportions are 1 tsp to 4 oz. Ended up drinking only about 7 oz today, mostly water. Felt a little unsettled in the stomach, but otherwise fine.

Distance: 10 miles
Total time: 1:14
Avg Pace: 7: 24

David out

Day 90: 3 miles

Ran around work today. Will post map when I get home

Distance: 3 miles
Time: 20:31
Pace: 6:51

David Out

Day 91: Recovery 3 miles

Feeling better after a bout of indigestion, but not quite 100%. Will make up the longer run during the week.

Distance: 3 miles
Time: 23:07
Avg Pace: 7:42

David out

Also, if I don't get on my bike again soon I *will* go mad.

Day 92: Enforced Rest

Day 94 and 93

Rest

David out

Day 95: 4 miles (track)

Yet another happy coincidence with a speed workout exactly the length as planned.

Warmup: Chip trail, striders
Workout: 4x1600 (1 lap fast, 3 laps....faster. Rotate the fast lap through)

1. 5:40
2. 5:50
3. 5:55
4. 5:49

Looks like I'll have to bump up my VDot from 52. My goal time was 6:11.

David out

Day 96: Pool

Cross training today. Man, my swimming skills have suffered, but it still felt great to get back in the water.

Warmup:
Swim (crawl) 100 m
Kick 100m
IM 100m
Drill 100m
Swim 100m

Then the ladder:
100
200 100
300 200 100
400 (and then I had to go to work)

I found the tri group at work (Hi Keenan?) Considering doing a sprint distance in Santa Cruz in August.

David out