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.

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.