Monday, 7/1: 5.1 mi / 47:26 with Bill and Joe. The deer fly reminded me why I don't run much trail in July. Holy ... they were bad!! Began counting how many I killed until it numbered well past 50.
Tuesday, 7/2: Off / with Connor.
Wednesday, 7/3 10 miles, 66:15 on the treadmill at PF. Started at 6:58 pace and brought it down each mile. Last mile went 6:00 pace. Glad for treadmills on 90+ degree days when you have to run at noon!
Thursday, 7/4 - Off. Happy Fourth! Swam a bit in the pool. Back is oddly tight, but not painful.
Friday, 7/5 - Connor duty all dang day. Should have gotten out there, but I didn't.
Saturday, 7/6 - 52:16 / 15.32 . 17.8 mph with 1000 ft of climbing. Went earlier once Connor went down to beat the heat. Felt decent, except my back was a little tight and cranky, especially early on.
Sunday, 7/7
The daily meanderings of a New England runner
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Week 24
Monday: 9.5 mile MTB with Colin in Bear Brook. Took it fairly easy. Colin's first time really riding.
Tuesday: Off. Hung with Connor. Took him to the beach for the first time.
Wednesday: 10.2 miles super fun ride in Bear Brook with Marc, Nate and Tim. Went pretty hard on this, with 800+ ft of climbing and 9.5 mph average.
Thursday: 15.4 miles on the road bike. 17 MPH. A few hills but nothing unusual.
Friday: 6 miles in college woods with Wes. 8:50 pace?
Saturday: 4 miles roads from home at 7 min pace. Not in it today.
Sunday: 5.5 miles in College Woods with Joe. 9 minute pace or whatever the GPS claims. Felt pretty good.
Summary. Good week. First half characterized by riding and second half by running.
Tuesday: Off. Hung with Connor. Took him to the beach for the first time.
Wednesday: 10.2 miles super fun ride in Bear Brook with Marc, Nate and Tim. Went pretty hard on this, with 800+ ft of climbing and 9.5 mph average.
Thursday: 15.4 miles on the road bike. 17 MPH. A few hills but nothing unusual.
Friday: 6 miles in college woods with Wes. 8:50 pace?
Saturday: 4 miles roads from home at 7 min pace. Not in it today.
Sunday: 5.5 miles in College Woods with Joe. 9 minute pace or whatever the GPS claims. Felt pretty good.
Summary. Good week. First half characterized by riding and second half by running.
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
Week 23: Enter summer break
Monday, 6/17: 9 miles / 66:20 / 7:22 pace on the rail trail west from the Epping depot with Brandon and one of his former athletes, Garrett. Temps in the low 80s but fairly dry. Love the soft surface of the trail.
Tuesday: 4.85 mile solo ride in the Meadows. Bent the derailleur climbing a stone wall.
Wednesday: Off - last day of work and enter summer vacation!
Thursday: 5 trail miles / 45 minutes through the woods behind the new house and Bow Lake. Felt average, which isn't exactly a good thing. Great to start getting a sense of the trails!
Friday: 9.7 miles in 66 minutes riding at Bear Brook. Repeated the loop I did in April. Very good, albeit wet and rainy, fun riding. Finished feeling pumped and hungry for more.
Saturday: 9 miles / 89 minutes in the Exeter Town Forest - this was a good slow run through the woods. Never really pushed it but nice and loopy toward the end with no breakfast in my belly. Took a spill around 7 miles in and controlled it nicely... good practice. Coincidentally, the Exeter Trail Race started shortly after we finished up running. Absolutely would have run it!
Sunday: Disc golf with dad and Colin.
Summary:
Solid week. Wish I'd run the Exeter Trail Race. Sore from Saturday, anyway.
Tuesday: 4.85 mile solo ride in the Meadows. Bent the derailleur climbing a stone wall.
Wednesday: Off - last day of work and enter summer vacation!
Thursday: 5 trail miles / 45 minutes through the woods behind the new house and Bow Lake. Felt average, which isn't exactly a good thing. Great to start getting a sense of the trails!
Friday: 9.7 miles in 66 minutes riding at Bear Brook. Repeated the loop I did in April. Very good, albeit wet and rainy, fun riding. Finished feeling pumped and hungry for more.
Saturday: 9 miles / 89 minutes in the Exeter Town Forest - this was a good slow run through the woods. Never really pushed it but nice and loopy toward the end with no breakfast in my belly. Took a spill around 7 miles in and controlled it nicely... good practice. Coincidentally, the Exeter Trail Race started shortly after we finished up running. Absolutely would have run it!
Sunday: Disc golf with dad and Colin.
Summary:
Solid week. Wish I'd run the Exeter Trail Race. Sore from Saturday, anyway.
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Week 22: 6/10-6/16
Monday, 6/10 - Off. Made an offer on a house. There's a lot more involved in that process than I realized. I probably needed the day to let my right hamstring relax a little bit. It has been tight ever since the 400s on Saturday. Definitely feeling better on Tuesday as I write this.
Tuesday, 6/11 - 5 miles / 35 minutes mostly roads with Drew. Plan was 4x800 but his knee was nagging him and my hamstring was oddly tender so we opted for a shorter cruise around the campus. Felt refreshed at run's end. Ran into Max and his dog and later we saw Andy, Owen, Theo and Trevor out for short run. Summer training is heating up!
Wednesday, 6/12 - 6 miles / 39:5x / 6:39 pace - I couldn't decide what to do today. I intended to run Evans steady but I was running too hard so I cut west to do the horse barns loop which involves a bit of trail where then I intended to jump into College Woods... but when I got the UNH field house I realized I was near the last 1.5 miles of the Bobcat Bolt course. Since I was originally slated to run some 800s in preparation for that race (still not positive I'll be able to run it) I opted to push the pace directly back to the high school going 6:00 and 5:49. I was honestly a little surprised to find that pace sustainable. Definitely used my full stride today.
Thursday, 6/13 - Off - unsure of why I missed today. I don't remember.
Friday, 6/14 - 65 minutes on the mountain bike with Bassett and Butler.
Saturday, 6/15 - Off - No race. No run at all. Back is rigged up, probably from the ride yesterday.
Sunday, 6/16 - 39:16 - 6.1 miles 8:40 PM start on the Homecoming Loop. Homecoming Loop with Sloth. It was very muggy and a little rainy. Originally planned to add on Faculty for close to 9 miles but had major indigestion from Father's Day dinner. Speedy little run coming back the last few miles in the low 6s which was fun.
Summary: Not an awesome week. 17 miles running on three days and one decent bike ride. The good news is my average running pace was in the 6:40s. Hoping for a better week.
Down to 175 lbs.
Tuesday, 6/11 - 5 miles / 35 minutes mostly roads with Drew. Plan was 4x800 but his knee was nagging him and my hamstring was oddly tender so we opted for a shorter cruise around the campus. Felt refreshed at run's end. Ran into Max and his dog and later we saw Andy, Owen, Theo and Trevor out for short run. Summer training is heating up!
Wednesday, 6/12 - 6 miles / 39:5x / 6:39 pace - I couldn't decide what to do today. I intended to run Evans steady but I was running too hard so I cut west to do the horse barns loop which involves a bit of trail where then I intended to jump into College Woods... but when I got the UNH field house I realized I was near the last 1.5 miles of the Bobcat Bolt course. Since I was originally slated to run some 800s in preparation for that race (still not positive I'll be able to run it) I opted to push the pace directly back to the high school going 6:00 and 5:49. I was honestly a little surprised to find that pace sustainable. Definitely used my full stride today.
Thursday, 6/13 - Off - unsure of why I missed today. I don't remember.
Friday, 6/14 - 65 minutes on the mountain bike with Bassett and Butler.
Saturday, 6/15 - Off - No race. No run at all. Back is rigged up, probably from the ride yesterday.
Sunday, 6/16 - 39:16 - 6.1 miles 8:40 PM start on the Homecoming Loop. Homecoming Loop with Sloth. It was very muggy and a little rainy. Originally planned to add on Faculty for close to 9 miles but had major indigestion from Father's Day dinner. Speedy little run coming back the last few miles in the low 6s which was fun.
Summary: Not an awesome week. 17 miles running on three days and one decent bike ride. The good news is my average running pace was in the 6:40s. Hoping for a better week.
Down to 175 lbs.
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Week 21: Looking to summer
Monday, 6/3: 6.3 miles / 49 minutes - Camp Yavneh loops with Newbould. Kept things nice and easy. It was great to catch up, and also to learn there is in fact a connector between the two roads on the east side of the pond.
Tuesday, 6/4: 4.02 miles / 30:50 - In the Meadows. Mid-60s and overcast was just about perfect. First couple pretty easy then as I approached the hill on Saddleback Mtn Rd I decided I'd push a little bit and carried a harder effort the rest of the way home. Just a hair under 6min pace for the last half mile.
Wednesday, 6/5: 8.3 miles / 57:06 / 6:53 pace on the Bow Lake counter-clockwise loop from the Dam. 72, humid and overcast. Hints of rain would have been welcomed but no luck. First road run in a long time. I almost changed plans at 1 mile in as I felt really rough but I decided not to worry about it and pushed on. The last few miles are interesting, an almost 300' climb followed by two miles of steep drops scaffolded by flats. Last 2+ miles under 6:20 pace.
Thursday, 6/6: 3.13 miles / 29:29 - My parents came to visit so my dad and I sneaked out for a short easy run out and back from the apartment. I needed an easy day after running 28 miles over the previous four days.
Friday, 6/7: Off. Graduation night.
Saturday, 6/8: 3 miles in 20:40, 6 mile bike ride helping pace Wes through his tempo in 32:xx. 3x400 with 400m jog recoveries in 72, 73, 71. 1.5 mile coold-down in 12:00. 5.25 total miles.
Sunday, 6/9: 9.3 miles / 77:xx with Sasquatch and Sloth through the nudist trails in Lee.
Summary: 36.5 miles on 6 days. One bike ride. I'm left feeling pretty 'meh' after this week which doesn't make sense. By all comparisons with the past two years this was a great week. I almost hit 40 miles, I missed only one day, and I even ran a few laps under 5:00min pace. Thursday and Friday were pretty garbage days though. Goals for this coming week are to repeat something similar. 30-40 miles on at least 6 days!
Tuesday, 6/4: 4.02 miles / 30:50 - In the Meadows. Mid-60s and overcast was just about perfect. First couple pretty easy then as I approached the hill on Saddleback Mtn Rd I decided I'd push a little bit and carried a harder effort the rest of the way home. Just a hair under 6min pace for the last half mile.
Wednesday, 6/5: 8.3 miles / 57:06 / 6:53 pace on the Bow Lake counter-clockwise loop from the Dam. 72, humid and overcast. Hints of rain would have been welcomed but no luck. First road run in a long time. I almost changed plans at 1 mile in as I felt really rough but I decided not to worry about it and pushed on. The last few miles are interesting, an almost 300' climb followed by two miles of steep drops scaffolded by flats. Last 2+ miles under 6:20 pace.
Thursday, 6/6: 3.13 miles / 29:29 - My parents came to visit so my dad and I sneaked out for a short easy run out and back from the apartment. I needed an easy day after running 28 miles over the previous four days.
Friday, 6/7: Off. Graduation night.
Saturday, 6/8: 3 miles in 20:40, 6 mile bike ride helping pace Wes through his tempo in 32:xx. 3x400 with 400m jog recoveries in 72, 73, 71. 1.5 mile coold-down in 12:00. 5.25 total miles.
Sunday, 6/9: 9.3 miles / 77:xx with Sasquatch and Sloth through the nudist trails in Lee.
Summary: 36.5 miles on 6 days. One bike ride. I'm left feeling pretty 'meh' after this week which doesn't make sense. By all comparisons with the past two years this was a great week. I almost hit 40 miles, I missed only one day, and I even ran a few laps under 5:00min pace. Thursday and Friday were pretty garbage days though. Goals for this coming week are to repeat something similar. 30-40 miles on at least 6 days!
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Week 20: Expect a down week
5/27: Off - wedding weekend in Maine.
5/28: Off - schedule was so packed today there was no chance. Work day was 6:30am-7:15 PM followed by dinner and bed.
5/29: Nothing!
5/30: 2.4 miles very, very easy shakeout in the meadows. Testing the knee. I fell on Saturday banging my right knee pretty hard. There's a moderate bruise but no discomfort while running. A little bit of swelling the next morning.
5/31: Off - work then straight to wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.
6/1: 2.5 miles with the groomsmen in Portsmouth. Princic sighting!
6/2: 65:14 / 8.4 miles / 7:44 pace. Met up with Wesley at NHPTV for the classic Radar-Foss Farm. Felt better than I expected. As is usually the case after such an inconsistent week, my knee was a little cranky but nothing concerning. Beautiful weather.
5/29: Nothing!
5/30: 2.4 miles very, very easy shakeout in the meadows. Testing the knee. I fell on Saturday banging my right knee pretty hard. There's a moderate bruise but no discomfort while running. A little bit of swelling the next morning.
5/31: Off - work then straight to wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.
6/1: 2.5 miles with the groomsmen in Portsmouth. Princic sighting!
6/2: 65:14 / 8.4 miles / 7:44 pace. Met up with Wesley at NHPTV for the classic Radar-Foss Farm. Felt better than I expected. As is usually the case after such an inconsistent week, my knee was a little cranky but nothing concerning. Beautiful weather.
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Week #19
5/20: 7 miles / 7:20 pace - on the rail trail in Epping with JVG. 83 degrees, moderately humid made for the first real warm run of the year. I definitely got a little dehydrated and overheated in the last 20 minutes and struggled to get home BUT this was a great start to the week! Great company per usual. Heel was tight but not painful to start and way less stiff in the evening than usual so I think things are sorting themselves out.
5/21: 5.32 miles / 8:07 pace - out and back in the Meadows, 25:00 out, 23:13 back. Cool and very blustery. Kept things easy which has been hard for me to do... especially since being out of shape makes most paces feel at least a little rough. Kept an eye out for widow-makers.
5/22: rest day. Just trying to be smart, which was extra challenging because it was absolutely PERFECT out. Took Connor for a 1.5 mi hike in the Meadows. He snored the entire time.
5/23: 5.6 miles to spruce hole and back in College Woods. Felt alright. Hoped I'd have felt a little stronger after a rest day.
5/24: 4.6 miles in the Meadows targeting single-track. Felt pretty sluggish.
5/25: 8.3 miles completing the full Sweet Trail out and back with Drew and Max. This was a great run.
5/26: Off - wedding weekend in Maine.
Summary: Good start to the week with some great running. The weekend was a bit of a lost cause with learning how to travel with an infant and arriving just an hour before the wedding festivities began. This coming week is going to be challenging with another wedding, this time in which I'm a groomsman with festivities starting on Friday and carrying through the weekend. Oy!
5/21: 5.32 miles / 8:07 pace - out and back in the Meadows, 25:00 out, 23:13 back. Cool and very blustery. Kept things easy which has been hard for me to do... especially since being out of shape makes most paces feel at least a little rough. Kept an eye out for widow-makers.
5/22: rest day. Just trying to be smart, which was extra challenging because it was absolutely PERFECT out. Took Connor for a 1.5 mi hike in the Meadows. He snored the entire time.
5/23: 5.6 miles to spruce hole and back in College Woods. Felt alright. Hoped I'd have felt a little stronger after a rest day.
5/24: 4.6 miles in the Meadows targeting single-track. Felt pretty sluggish.
5/25: 8.3 miles completing the full Sweet Trail out and back with Drew and Max. This was a great run.
5/26: Off - wedding weekend in Maine.
Summary: Good start to the week with some great running. The weekend was a bit of a lost cause with learning how to travel with an infant and arriving just an hour before the wedding festivities began. This coming week is going to be challenging with another wedding, this time in which I'm a groomsman with festivities starting on Friday and carrying through the weekend. Oy!
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Weeks #13-18
4/8: Off - Baby!
4/9: Off - Return from the hospital
4/10: Off - Getting used to things
4/11: Off - Getting used to things
4/12: Off - Getting used to things
4/13: 5.7 mi mountain bike ride / 51:17 - first time truly out on the mountain bike. Trails were pretty saturated. Rode slowly just getting the hang out things. In the Meadows.
4/14: Off
Pretty much a lost week but for good reason!
4/15: Off
4/16 Off
4/17: 3.3 mi run / 34 minutes easy with dad who was visiting. First run in a long time. Felt bad!
4/18 Off
4/19: 33 min mountain bike ride but mostly on roads exploring the area north of Lucas Pond
4/20 Off
4/21: 48:37 mountain bike with Cox and Bass. Raining. Crashed once but it was a gentle fall. Riding in a group was helpful. I could see and understand the lines they were taking. Definitely took the single track to the next level!
A couple days of exercise has been good for the mind and body.
4/22: 40:29 mountain bike ride solo in the Meadows.
4/23 - Off
4/24: 54:56 mountain bike ride in college Woods to the bog and out to Radar before eating it on skinny trail. Good hard ride. Found a few trails I'd never been on in College Woods. Trails were soaked.
PM: Meadows trail run with Joe. 4.6 miles. Felt wildly bad but hey! first double.
4/25 67 minute mountain bike ride with a group of 7 in Bear Brook. Amazingly fun trails. I wish I lived a tiny bit closer.
4/26: 1.5 mile trail jog just to get something in. Night time run.
4/27: 2.1 mil trail jog.
4/28:: 15 minute trail run behind CBNA.
Getting moving again. My sleep deprived brain benefits from getting outside. Exercised 6 out of 7 days which was huge!
4/29: 39 minute mountain bike clumsy and not in it today.
4/30 33:40 mountain bike ride
5/1 85:30 mountain bike mostly on roads.
5/2 66 minute run on the Sweet Trail solo felt good!
5/3 42 minute mountain bike
5/4 44:41 trail run checked out the boulder, ledges and hill loop in from the CBNA trail at the Meadows.
5/5 39:46 mountain bike ride. Heal was sore. Feels like mild PF. I wanted to run a bit today but opted not to.
This was a big week! Feeling stronger and stronger on the bike. 5 rides, 2 runs and no missed days.
5/6: 21 minute run / 3 miles/ 6:55 pace was all I had time for. 4 hrs of sleep last night and first day back at work. Time to adjust, yet again.
5/7: Off. things happen.
5/8: "5.5" miles in 51 minutes on the Sweet Trail. Pretty warm, dry day. According to trail markers, the GPS could be shorting me by up to a mile. But, the trail is very technical and I was dehydrated so I didn't feel great, turning around and cutting things short by 2.5 miles.
5/9: 5.5 miles / 45 minutes on the roads with the girls' squad in Durham. Beautiful day for a run.
5/10: Off - womp
5/11: 67:45 / 7/8 mi trail run in the Meadows with Wes and Joe. Climb on Saddleback was challenging but I'm feeling stronger.
5/12: 75 min bike ride on trails and a little bit of road in Durham. Set Strava segment PRs all over the place which was fun. Cleared the Oyster River trail to Spruce Bog in both directions which was a first. Fun solo ride.
Summary: Four runs, one good bike session. Not bad for the first week back at work with a baby at home. Days off this week mixed with some easy-moderate efforts seemed to be a good balance but I'm hoping to keep it closer to six days on, one off. I'm hopeful to get my runs closer to 60 minutes as an average and I think I'm ready to get my rides up to 90 minutes. I've forgotten about core recently so it's time to get back on it.
5/13: 3 miles: 6:47, 9:01, 6:54 on Meadows Trails. The temp must have dropped 10 degrees by the time I got there and it started to rain so I called it early. Felt good to push it a little bit on the climb coming back. 1 x 60 push-ups.
5/14: 0 - Nothing! Zilch! Nada! Baby shenanigans sidelined me today. Nasty day out so I'm not super disappointed.
5/15: 4.1 miles last couple at 7:00 pace. 6x100m strides afterwards. Trying to dial in my form a bit. Hips feel tight as I get below 5:20 pace. Time for the foam roller!
5/16: 5.6 miles harder than usual in the Meadows. Pushed really hard up Saddleback mountain road narrowly missing the Strava segment there.
5/17: Off - amazingly stressful day at work. Needed a run but my heel was extra cranky after yesterday's run.
5/18: Off - Another rest day for the heel. Felt pretty good going for a couple walks with Connor in the ergo-carrier.
5/19: 7.1 miles / 63 minutes - with Wesley in College Woods after a couple days off. Heel felt completely normal but stiffened up later in the evening.
Summary: Not a bad week but not great. 4 runs, 0 bike rides, 3 days off, no core work. Happy with the run on Sunday. My heel has been showing signs of a little PF but it's not presenting like it usually does. There's basically a single square centimeter that is sore to the touch and my whole heel feels tight after running but everything clears up by the next morning.
4/9: Off - Return from the hospital
4/10: Off - Getting used to things
4/11: Off - Getting used to things
4/12: Off - Getting used to things
4/13: 5.7 mi mountain bike ride / 51:17 - first time truly out on the mountain bike. Trails were pretty saturated. Rode slowly just getting the hang out things. In the Meadows.
4/14: Off
Pretty much a lost week but for good reason!
4/15: Off
4/16 Off
4/17: 3.3 mi run / 34 minutes easy with dad who was visiting. First run in a long time. Felt bad!
4/18 Off
4/19: 33 min mountain bike ride but mostly on roads exploring the area north of Lucas Pond
4/20 Off
4/21: 48:37 mountain bike with Cox and Bass. Raining. Crashed once but it was a gentle fall. Riding in a group was helpful. I could see and understand the lines they were taking. Definitely took the single track to the next level!
A couple days of exercise has been good for the mind and body.
4/22: 40:29 mountain bike ride solo in the Meadows.
4/23 - Off
4/24: 54:56 mountain bike ride in college Woods to the bog and out to Radar before eating it on skinny trail. Good hard ride. Found a few trails I'd never been on in College Woods. Trails were soaked.
PM: Meadows trail run with Joe. 4.6 miles. Felt wildly bad but hey! first double.
4/25 67 minute mountain bike ride with a group of 7 in Bear Brook. Amazingly fun trails. I wish I lived a tiny bit closer.
4/26: 1.5 mile trail jog just to get something in. Night time run.
4/27: 2.1 mil trail jog.
4/28:: 15 minute trail run behind CBNA.
Getting moving again. My sleep deprived brain benefits from getting outside. Exercised 6 out of 7 days which was huge!
4/29: 39 minute mountain bike clumsy and not in it today.
4/30 33:40 mountain bike ride
5/1 85:30 mountain bike mostly on roads.
5/2 66 minute run on the Sweet Trail solo felt good!
5/3 42 minute mountain bike
5/4 44:41 trail run checked out the boulder, ledges and hill loop in from the CBNA trail at the Meadows.
5/5 39:46 mountain bike ride. Heal was sore. Feels like mild PF. I wanted to run a bit today but opted not to.
This was a big week! Feeling stronger and stronger on the bike. 5 rides, 2 runs and no missed days.
5/6: 21 minute run / 3 miles/ 6:55 pace was all I had time for. 4 hrs of sleep last night and first day back at work. Time to adjust, yet again.
5/7: Off. things happen.
5/8: "5.5" miles in 51 minutes on the Sweet Trail. Pretty warm, dry day. According to trail markers, the GPS could be shorting me by up to a mile. But, the trail is very technical and I was dehydrated so I didn't feel great, turning around and cutting things short by 2.5 miles.
5/9: 5.5 miles / 45 minutes on the roads with the girls' squad in Durham. Beautiful day for a run.
5/10: Off - womp
5/11: 67:45 / 7/8 mi trail run in the Meadows with Wes and Joe. Climb on Saddleback was challenging but I'm feeling stronger.
5/12: 75 min bike ride on trails and a little bit of road in Durham. Set Strava segment PRs all over the place which was fun. Cleared the Oyster River trail to Spruce Bog in both directions which was a first. Fun solo ride.
Summary: Four runs, one good bike session. Not bad for the first week back at work with a baby at home. Days off this week mixed with some easy-moderate efforts seemed to be a good balance but I'm hoping to keep it closer to six days on, one off. I'm hopeful to get my runs closer to 60 minutes as an average and I think I'm ready to get my rides up to 90 minutes. I've forgotten about core recently so it's time to get back on it.
5/13: 3 miles: 6:47, 9:01, 6:54 on Meadows Trails. The temp must have dropped 10 degrees by the time I got there and it started to rain so I called it early. Felt good to push it a little bit on the climb coming back. 1 x 60 push-ups.
5/14: 0 - Nothing! Zilch! Nada! Baby shenanigans sidelined me today. Nasty day out so I'm not super disappointed.
5/15: 4.1 miles last couple at 7:00 pace. 6x100m strides afterwards. Trying to dial in my form a bit. Hips feel tight as I get below 5:20 pace. Time for the foam roller!
5/16: 5.6 miles harder than usual in the Meadows. Pushed really hard up Saddleback mountain road narrowly missing the Strava segment there.
5/17: Off - amazingly stressful day at work. Needed a run but my heel was extra cranky after yesterday's run.
5/18: Off - Another rest day for the heel. Felt pretty good going for a couple walks with Connor in the ergo-carrier.
5/19: 7.1 miles / 63 minutes - with Wesley in College Woods after a couple days off. Heel felt completely normal but stiffened up later in the evening.
Summary: Not a bad week but not great. 4 runs, 0 bike rides, 3 days off, no core work. Happy with the run on Sunday. My heel has been showing signs of a little PF but it's not presenting like it usually does. There's basically a single square centimeter that is sore to the touch and my whole heel feels tight after running but everything clears up by the next morning.
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
Week 12: Soreness
Monday, 4/1: Planned day off. I rode my bike on the trails behind my house for a few minutes just to see how much moisture is still trapped in the ground. Still not good enough conditions to venture into the forest on bike. I did one set of 50 push-ups just to see if I still could - it had been at least two weeks since I did one. I contemplated doing a full session but I didn't want to dive in and get myself dramatically sore without purpose, so I'll build back to 200ish in a session gradually over the next week. I like push-ups mostly for the postural benefits and maybe they cross over well for mountain biking but I don't think they offer much benefit to running economy. Looking forward to 50 degrees tomorrow!
Tuesday, 4/2: 5.3 miles / 48 minutes from NHPTV to the historic spruce bog in Lee. Thought I ran pretty easy and things felt pretty good but the right knee is complaining Wednesday morning as I write this up. NSAIDs, stretching and time off the legs is probably necessary. I also need to get back to my lunge and hip strength routines.
Wednesday, 4/3: Off. Grouchy about this one but my right knee held me up. I ended up doing some yoga plus forward and side leg raises, donkey kicks, clam shells, fire hydrants, 5 forward, side, L, and reverse lunges on each leg. Soreness inducing in a good way.
Thursday, 4/4: 4.14 miles / 30 minutes from the high school with the boys distance crew for their pre-meet run. First road run in a while and felt pretty good aerobically. Hip strength started to lapse in the last mile and R knee let me know it was there but not horrible. Hit the foam roller and did some more of the hip abduction exercises in the evening.
Friday, 4/5: Off - Lauren went into labor!
Wednesday, 4/3: Off. Grouchy about this one but my right knee held me up. I ended up doing some yoga plus forward and side leg raises, donkey kicks, clam shells, fire hydrants, 5 forward, side, L, and reverse lunges on each leg. Soreness inducing in a good way.
Thursday, 4/4: 4.14 miles / 30 minutes from the high school with the boys distance crew for their pre-meet run. First road run in a while and felt pretty good aerobically. Hip strength started to lapse in the last mile and R knee let me know it was there but not horrible. Hit the foam roller and did some more of the hip abduction exercises in the evening.
Friday, 4/5: Off - Lauren went into labor!
Saturday, 4/6: Off - Labor!
Sunday 4/7: Off - we have a baby!
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
Weeks 3-11
Monday 1/14 - 7 miles / 6:58 pace on the treadmill before track practice. Felt pretty good!
Tuesday 1/15 - 6 miles / 7:28 pace with the girls' squad.
Wednesday 1/16 - 6.1 miles / 6:58 pace with Drew out to Evans Rd and back. First time running three days in a row in a while, so, that's something!
Thursday 1/17 - 30 minutes on the spin bike. Heart rate around 120 so pretty easy. It was good to get the legs moving. Thought it would be smart to take a day off of running and treat this as an active recovery day.
Friday 1/18 - 7 miles / 6:58 pace with the boys crew. Rolled the last few!
Saturday 1/19 - Off. Travel and family things consumed the day. I brought running stuff with me but just got lazy and didn't want to separate from the good times.
Sunday 1/20 - Off. Snowed all day. Roads were garbage and no gym available.
Good week! 27 miles. Body is cooperating.
Monday, 1/21 - Off - grading up the wazoo. Should have run. 50 push ups.
Tuesday, 1/22 - Off - Finals week. Simply exhausted.
Wednesday, 1/23 - Off - Finals week. Could have run!
Thursday, 1/24 - Off - Finals week. Should have run!
Friday, 1/25 - Off ...
Saturday, 1/26 - Off ..
Sunday, 1/27 - Off .
Lost week. Not good!
Monday, 1/28 - Off !
Tuesday, 1/29 - 4.25 miles / 8:30 pace slow and easy with the girls 4x800 squad headed to states. R Knee was cranky which is always the case after such a long hiatus from running.
Wednesday, 1/30 - Off. 100 pushups (25, 30, 30, 15)
Thursday, 1/31 - 3 miles / 7:45 pace. R knee less cranky than Tuesday but still there.
Friday, 2/1 - Off -
Saturday, 2/2 - Off - 100 pushups (5x20)
Sunday, 2/3 - Off - State Championships. Girls won for the first time in 41 years! Boys third to Ports and Hanover. Top finishes in boys 4x800, high jump, 1500 and girls 55, 300, 4x200.
Two runs. Bad week. Beginning to incorporate some strength work with the back cooperating.
Monday, 2/4 - Off
Tuesday, 2/5 - Off - 120 push-ups (4x30)
Wednesday, 2/6 - 4.5 miles / 7:41 pace. I need a lot more of this kind of run. 181.
Thursday, 2/7 - No run. 2 x 12 (resisted clam shells, glute kicks, bridges), 3 x 12 (75 lb dead lift, 85 lb squats, 30 lb step ups) 1 x 12 single leg hip raises.
Friday, 2/8 - Off
Saturday, 2/9 - push and pull day at the gym. 3 x (10 lat pull-downs 85 lbs, 12 bicep curls 20 lbs, 15 free weight bench press 50, 10 x 50 lb shoulder press, 12 30 lb tricep curls, 85 lb seated rows) some light core and stretching.
Sunday, 2/10 - 6 hours of skiing at Sugarbush. Wrecked as I write this on Monday morning.
Monday, 2/11: Leg day #2.
3x12 of 115lb deadlift.
3x12 of 95 lb squat,
3x12 40 lb single leg step ups.
Tuesday, 2/12: Off
Wednesday, 2/13: 130 pushups (40, 30, 30, 30). Almost fully recovered from Sunday.
Thursday, 2/14: Leg day #3
3x12 of 115 lb deadlift
3x12 of 95 lb squat
3x12 40 lb single leg step ups.
Hardly sore the following day so I think I have the form down and will be ready to increase weight next time.
Friday, 2/15: 5x20 push-ups in 3 minutes. That was surprisingly hard to complete.
Saturday, 2/16: Off
Sunday, 2/17: Leg day #4:
3x12 of 165 lb deadlift
3x10 of 185 lb squat
3x12 50 lb step-ups.
Also hit the bench for the first time... 2 x 12 at 115 lbs. 1x6 at 135 lbs.
Monday, 2/18: Off.
Tuesday, 2/19: 4 miles trail running in the Meadows. Conditions were decent since an illegal snowmobile packed a nice trail for me. Thanks, my neighborly libertarian machine junky! I didn't follow his path across the lake, though. At home I ran through 3x30s left, right, double-arm planks, 3x25 push-ups, band resisted clam shells, side leg raises, and some other pointless ab stuff.
Wednesday, 2/20: Leg day #5: Went a lot lighter than last week since I didn't have as much time to warm up and my hamstrings and lower back felt particularly tight.
3x12 115 lb deadlift.
3x12 135 lb squat
1 x 12 40 lb single let step ups with
150 push ups - 40, 30, 40, 40. Working on bringing the elbows into the body more and taking stress off the shoulders. Felt my back and chest working together which was cool. Hardly sore on Thursday as I write this which probably means I underdid the lifting.
Thursday, 2/21: 3 x 12 at 115# on the bench while the kids lifted. 3 mile run at 7:30 pace afterwards. Felt fine but both knees cranky on Friday.
Friday, 2/22: Off - Oddly cranky knees! Ate well and slept 11 hours
Saturday, 2/24: 5 miles / 35:30 with Joe from downtown Newmarket out and back on Packer's Falls Rd. 7:10 pace.
Sunday, 2/24: Rest and flight to Salt Lake. Arrived around 3am EST.
Overall: Two lifts, three runs, 12 miles. Hopeful this is enough to be ready for a week of skiing out west.
Monday, 2/25 Ski day #1 Alta - good introduction to hiking at altitude (9000')
Tuesday, 2/26 Ski day #2 Jackson Hole - drove here overnight through the storm. Pass was closed so added a 2 hour detour. Skiied a ridiculous amount of powder all day.
Wednesday, 2/27 Ski day #3 Jackson Hole - Camped overnight in a parking lot. We slept 11 hours then hit the slopes for another amazing day. Bent a ski - didn't know that was possible. Traveled in the evening.
Thursday, 2/28 Ski day #4 Grand Targhee - By far the best conditions of the trip. 12" fell overnight. 10" more feel as we skiied. Felt like we had the mountain to ourselves. Never experienced snow like that before in my life.
Friday, 3/1 Ski day #5 Snowbird. 71,000 feet of total vertical over 5 days. 50+ inches of snow in the first three days. Camped in a modified racer van. It was an awesome week! Red eye home arrived around 7:30 am on Saturday.
Saturday, 3/2 Coaching at the New England Championships. Luckily a coastal storm caused the meet to be pushed back to the afternoon granting me a few extra hours of sleep. Got to watch lots of great racing and catch up with out-of-state coaches I don't see often!
Sunday, 3/3: 5.3 miles in college woods with Joe. Micro-spikes were essential!
Overall: one run, one plane ride, 5 days of skiing. Knees and back held up beautifully - credit to the lifting.
Monday, 3/4: 10 minutes on the bike. 2.5 miles on the treadmill at 7:00 min pace. 4 sets on the bench press and three sets of squats. 20 minutes of yoga focusing on hips, back and hamstrings. Hamstrings are particularly tight/sore/probably weak after a week of skiing. Apparently I just don't use them in the way that running demands while on the slopes.
Tuesday, 3/5: 27 minutes in the Meadows on ~6" of unpacked powder. Micro-spikes were not really up to the task and I wish I'd taken snowshoes. Good energy and this makes day three of at least doing some kind of running! Here we go!
Wednesday, 3/6: Off. Work day began at 7:00 AM and rolled until 8:30 PM when I wrapped up the Indoor Track celebration banquet. Absolutely spent. Thought I could sneak in a run in the afternoon but banquet prep was all-consuming.
Thursday, 3/7: Off. 6 x 30 push-ups. Coming down with something.
Friday, 3/8: Off. Exhausted. A little sniffly but not terrible.
Saturday, 3/9: 10 miles / 7:33 pace. About 750 ft of climbing. This was a very long run for me. 40% of it was on icy dirt roads. Felt like the perfect balance of muscular and aerobic training and not feeling too banged up afterward.
Sunday, 3/10: Scratch that. Off. Pretty hardcore DOMS... similar to how I feel after racing 10+ miles. Try again tomorrow!
Overall: Three runs. 15 miles.
Monday, 3/11: 200 push-ups in 10 sets of 20 in 12 min 18 seconds. I tried to start each set at the beginning of a new minute, so about 20 seconds on / 40 seconds off. I needed a 1 min break after 100 and another extra 1 minute break around 160. I did some other core exercises and 20 minutes of yoga with Lauren.
Tuesday, 3/12: Off. Lauren thought she was in labor! Turns out she wasn't. New mountain bike came in the mail so I built that after making dinner. Bring on the 60 degrees and rain later this week - I want my trails back!
Wednesday, 3/13: 4.5 miles / 45 minutes in the snow at the Meadows. Tried the microspikes again and they worked fairly well on the packed snow, particularly in the thicker woods where the sun had less impact on softening things up. Added on a trail I've never run which quickly evolved into some nasty post-holing. Got a little turned around but eventually worked my way back to the main trail.
Thursday, 3/14: 10 x 20 and 1 x 50 sets of push-ups for 250 total. Grounded at home for the evening. Tough, it's a beautiful day out there.
Friday, 3/15: Sick. Took the afternoon off.
Saturday, 3/16: Still sick. Standard but highly unpleasant cold symptoms. Went for a walk.
Sunday, 3/17: 6.7 miles / 62 minutes mix of trails and roads on Dame and Bay Rd in Newmarket. This wasn't a death march but it was close. Feeling worse than the past couple days. I hoped getting the blood flowing would help clear the lungs, but no luck there.
Monday, 3/18: Off. Very much so. 2252 steps in the day by 7:00 PM which could be all-time low, save for maybe the day after my knee surgeries! Hoping to turn the corner soon.
Tuesday, 3/19: Doctor's appointment. Antibiotics to the rescue!
Wednesday, 3/20: Sick
Thursday, 3/21: Sick
Friday, 3/22: Sick
Saturday, 3/23: Sick
Sunday, 3/24: Sick. 5 minute jog just testing the waters.
Monday, 3/25: 2.7 miles / 30 minutes microspikes run in College Woods.
Tuesday, 3/26: 3.5 miles / 36 minutes microspikes run in College Woods. Still under the weather and just getting lungs and legs moving a little.
Wednesday, 3/27: Off. Picked up the new mountain bike from the shop - needed to get the brakes tuned and had a dropper seat post installed. Took it for a quick spin just to test things out but the trails wont be mtb ready for another couple weeks here in Northwood.
Thursday, 3/28: Off.
Friday, 3/29: Off.
Saturday, 3/30: 5 miles / 49 minutes on the sweet, Sweet Trail with Joe. Felt really stale but not altogether bad. Still hacking up junk every morning but energy levels are finally back to normal.
Sunday, 4/1: 8+ miles / 72 minutes beginning in college woods then north in the direction of Cherry Lane via horse barn trails. Lots of deer scat everywhere. Felt a little rough in the first couple miles but kept things very slow and comfortable. Joe joined me.
Overall: 19 miles / 3hrs10min / 4 runs / mostly about recovering from sickness and then getting after it a bit on the weekend. 177lbs. Aiming for 170 by May.
Friday, January 11, 2019
The pace of life
12/20 - Off
12/21 - Off
12/22 - 2 miles / 8:00 pace
12/23 - 2.5 miles / NT
12/24 - 1 mile of strides / NT
12/25 - 2.7 miles / 9:30 pace
12/26 - No data? Assuming no run.
12/27 - Red eye to Dalllas. No run.
12/28 - 3 miles / 7:30 pace with Alex
12/29 - Red eye home. No run.
12/30 - 18 holes of disc golf at Squamanagonic. No run!
12/31 - 2.5 miles / 8:15 pace
1/1 - 3.1 miles / 8:30 pace
1/2 - Girls Wildcat Relays. No run.
1/3 - 5 miles / 8:45 pace
1/4 - Off
1/5 - 1 mile at gym / 8:00 Achilles/calf cranky.
1/6 - Coached at Seacoast Championships. Lots of big PRs! No run.
1/7 - 5.2 miles / 8:33 pace
1/8 - 3.2 miles / 7:50 pace
1/9 - Off. 50 push ups.
1/10 - 8.2 miles / 7:04 pace. Cold dark windy solo Homecoming loop from the high school before coaching at the track. This will feel easy eventually but my training pace is a lot closer to 8:00/mi right now.
46.4 miles in... 22 days. Cranky lower back has me running short and slow with days off whenever it gives me signs I could throw it out. Lots of positive stuff in here since my training was virtually non-existent before I started blogging again. Run on the 10th shows I'm close to the point of being able to run with people which is something I've always loved about the sport.
12/21 - Off
12/22 - 2 miles / 8:00 pace
12/23 - 2.5 miles / NT
12/24 - 1 mile of strides / NT
12/25 - 2.7 miles / 9:30 pace
12/26 - No data? Assuming no run.
12/27 - Red eye to Dalllas. No run.
12/28 - 3 miles / 7:30 pace with Alex
12/29 - Red eye home. No run.
12/30 - 18 holes of disc golf at Squamanagonic. No run!
12/31 - 2.5 miles / 8:15 pace
1/1 - 3.1 miles / 8:30 pace
1/2 - Girls Wildcat Relays. No run.
1/3 - 5 miles / 8:45 pace
1/4 - Off
1/5 - 1 mile at gym / 8:00 Achilles/calf cranky.
1/6 - Coached at Seacoast Championships. Lots of big PRs! No run.
1/7 - 5.2 miles / 8:33 pace
1/8 - 3.2 miles / 7:50 pace
1/9 - Off. 50 push ups.
1/10 - 8.2 miles / 7:04 pace. Cold dark windy solo Homecoming loop from the high school before coaching at the track. This will feel easy eventually but my training pace is a lot closer to 8:00/mi right now.
46.4 miles in... 22 days. Cranky lower back has me running short and slow with days off whenever it gives me signs I could throw it out. Lots of positive stuff in here since my training was virtually non-existent before I started blogging again. Run on the 10th shows I'm close to the point of being able to run with people which is something I've always loved about the sport.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)