Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Monday

Jogged a couple miles very easy. Felt okay. Lower back and left hip have become extremely tight and hip is showing signs of muscle spasms. Funky stuff. Maybe caused by several days off? Hip is spasming consistently as I sit here at my desk. Going for an easy trail run this afternoon and rolling out light crazy afterward. Sometimes a run helps "reset" all of the muscle groups... On the bright side, quad is no longer sore in the original spot. Progress?

Monday, April 29, 2013

Weekend Off

Rested the leg as much as possible. 400mg of ibuprofen 3 times each day, ice, compression... hard to elevate but did my best. Had a few cold ones feeling sorry for myself. It's so tough not to train when you're hungry to get out there, so hopefully easy running Monday will result with some positive feedback. We'll see!

Friday, April 26, 2013

Vastus Medialis Strain - Help!

All of the muscle cramping after Wednesday's workout is probably to blame, but the quad wasn't sore until Friday morning. Thursday I ran 9 miles in 67 minutes on trails. I did take a funky step which made me feel something in the quad, but it wasn't exactly painful. 

Now, Friday morning, there is a ~2 inch area right in the thick of the Vastus Medialis (inner quad muscle just above the knee) that's sore to the touch and is painful if I contract the quad. I'll be all over RICE, but in the meantime, can/should I run? Really hoping for some feedback here. Going out to buy some ibuprofen in the meantime. Thanks in advance!

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Workout Wednesday, 4/24

30 minutes of football with the 6th, 7th and 8th graders.
4 miles with the MS/HS practice. Drills and strides. 10 minutes of core.
1 mile before the MVS workout. Led two series of drills and strides.

Around 7:10 Jose met me at the track and we warmed up 2 miles, then into 20x400 on 200m/1 minute @ 75-77 recovery. Got windier has the workout progressed. Mean headwind on the homestretch. A lot of the intervals looked like 39-40 for the first 200 and 35 on the backstretch. Dark by the time we finished. 1.3 mile cool down to the cars for 10.5.

15.5 miles on the day, good drill work, really smooth workout despite the wind. Almost every muscle group was cramping on the ride home. Tomorrow will certainly be of the easier variety. 

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Monday

3ish miles? I can't call it a zero since I paced the MS and HS meets for a bunch of 300m intervals around a field, but it wasn't really a run either. Moved fast, felt great! Not even sore from the 5 miler.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Sunday: Red's Shoe Barn 5 Mile

My buddy Tim told me he was running this race, and so was his friend Humza, and since I've always been interested in checking it out, I decided to run it too. My dad, along with my cousin Colin and some other friends were also in attendance, so I was pretty distracted. Eventually I warmed up with Sam Wood after losing track of just about everybody else. We did a few small loops of downtown Dover. I didn't have a watch so I ran until I generally felt ready to go. I stretched lightly, shed some layers at the car, and headed for the starting line. It was pretty chilly in the low-to-mid 40s so I was eager to get moving.

After a moment of silence for the fallen at the Boston Marathon and a sweet rendition of the National Anthem, which I should add, was harmonized to by a significantly greater portion of runners than usual, we were off. Nate Huppe took it out and since I wasn't sure where we were going, I followed suit. Dave Dunham was also off the line and moving well. I trailed Huppe through maybe 800 meters before making the pass as we crested the first short hill.

From there it gets kind of boring. I didn't have a watch so I don't know any splits. It was a beautiful crisp morning and we had a tailwind on the way out, so I felt like I was cruising. Somebody called 5:06 at the mile. Nobody at the 2 mile. Somebody called 14:30 at the 3 mile which I immediately discounted as crazy-talk. Mr. Collins shouted hello to me as I passed around 3.5. Then I ran into Erik Travis around maybe 3.75 as the only major hill began. We caught up, running together for a bit, and he told me I had at least 20 seconds on second place. I was probably talking too much by this point as I really sucked wind up the hill.

Finally, cresting the hill I knew I had 1 mile of mostly downhill running to the finish and I opened up the stride and cruised. I wasn't in rough shape at all, but I wasn't smooth either. Worked through to the finish in 26:15. I'll take it. A good clip for a good distance is all I can ask for right now. For a race like the Carter 5 miler I'd hope to go faster, but on a day like today, less than a week after the harrowing experience of our Boston Marathoners and the ensuing chaos, I'm thankful and psyched to be alive and running.

69 miles on the week. 1 lift, some light core here and there, one workout, one longer run, and one decent race. Good vacation week, all considering. Also, shout out to my brother Alex who broke 14:00 in the 5k for the first time at Mt. Sac on Friday!!!! He ran 13:55 and earned every penny of it.

Saturday, 4/20

Off! Tired, a little stiff and had family visiting so I opted for a full "rest day" before the race tomorrow.

Friday 4/19

11.5 miles with Tim Mallard. Ran Andover reservation trails for the first 50 minutes or so and and cruised home roads from the Haggett's Pond trail head. Averaged 6:45s, which on that terrain, is definitely moving.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Thursday, 4/18

Slept in and after a nice breakfast I headed for a recovery run of sorts. A bit sore from yesterday's speed session so I opted for trails. I checked out a small reservation hidden behind Phillips Andover, took a lap in the Sanctuary, and headed back roads. 9.5 miles / 72 minutes. Rolled probably a little too quickly the last couple miles, sub 6:30. No worse for the wear. I'll probably take things easy into the Red's 5 Miler this weekend.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Wednesday, 4/17 Track Workout

Lifted arms, chest and back with Greg at Latitude before heading out to the track. Got to Phillips just in time to see kids carrying track spikes arriving at the track. I talked to the coach briefly and he welcomed me to join them, but I decided with all the added traffic of a track practice to change location. Arrived at the Andover (public) HS to a clear track. By the time I warmed up, a couple young soccer players had conveniently dropped all of their gear in lanes 1 and 2 on a turn. By the 7th rep I got annoyed enough to ask them to reconsider where they dropped their stuff, and they helped me out pretty quickly. I guess when you're 15-years-old some things just don't occur to you!

I ran 15x400 on 60-65 second recoveries. Took a 400m extended jogging recovery lap after 8 intervals. Splits: 70, 69, 68, 69, 69, 68, 67, 68, 67, 67, 68, 67, 66, 64, 64. Felt really strong today. The first several intervals felt easy, but the shorter recoveries started to catch up with me. It was awesome to close the last couple in sub 65.

30 minute cooldown in the Indian Ridge, Baker's Meadow and Pomps Pond reservations.

6 PM: 3 miles easy before the MVS workout to loosen up and be ready to lead warm-up activities.

13 miles total on the day.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Tuesday 4/16

105 minutes / 15 miles. Most of it on single track. Ran from my house to the connector at the River Trail and back. Felt good to be alive.

Thursday - Monday

4/11 6 steady / 6:10 per mile

4/12 0 off

4/13 0  off

4/14 0 off

4/15 70 minutes on trails oozing fury and sadness

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Wednesday, 4/10

3:00: 1 mile with the Middle Schoolers. 10 minutes of core.

5:30: 2 miles with MVSers.

No time. Wednesdays are looking to be an "off day" for the remainder of the school year unless I can manage the willpower to be up and running by 5AM.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Tuesday, 4/9 Speedwork

I started running after work at Weir Hill in North Andover and shortly after 12 minutes running, I rolled my ankle hard on a mossy plank. Wiped out. Dirty, bleeding and my ankle was pretty sore. It took a few minutes to be able to run on it again, but soon enough I was back and running straight for the car. Had enough of the trails for the day.

My next stop was coaching duties at the North Andover MS track, but I had time to kill. I hung out in the car for a few minutes before finally convincing myself to run a few 400s and see if the ankle would hold up. It was a pretty short workout, but the speed was good for this point in the year.

Ended up going 8 x 400 with 60 s standing recoveries. Splits: 72, 69, 67, 66, 65, 65, 66, 66

Monday, 4/8

Easy/Off: Played about 60 minutes of soccer with the kids. Changed up and coached the MS and HS practices. Warmed up 10 minutes with 'em and taught several drills and core exercises. We'll call it a day off. Energy levels good by the evening. Ready for a good week!

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Sunday Light Tempo

12.2 miles / 82 minutes Busy little Sunday but managed to sneak out for a good hilly run. Felt sluggish from the beginning, but warmed up enough to want to go tempo from miles 5-8. (5:40 pace). Moved well but still just felt tired. Looking at a very light day tomorrow.

70+ miles this week for the first time in a while. Almost 50% of my miles were on trails which is excellent. Hit the River Trail, Ward, Deer Jump, Indian Ridge, Skuj River and Fells Reservation systems.

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Saturday, 4/6

10 miles / 76 minutes on trails in the Fells Reservation. This was only my second time ever running this trail system and the place is much larger than I first gave it credit for. I ran out 30 minutes along a similar path to the one Matt showed me last week and then tried to cut a route back to the car to make it 50-55 minutes. Well, that plan quickly failed as I realized I had no idea where I was or what trails to be following. Eventually found a trail map and realized I didn't even know the name of the location where I parked!  I got lucky eventually stumbling upon the open field I recognized from the beginning of the run. Looking over the GPS data, it could have been much worse as I barely avoided a 2-3 mile detour. Good run, though. I can see myself doing a fair amount of training in the Fells this summer.

Friday, 4/5

Good steady trail run with Tim on Andover/ N. Andover trails. We hit the Ward reservation, some of the Bay Circuit trail system, and a lap in the Sanctuary. 4 120m barefoot strides to call it a day. 10++, 80 minutes

Friday, April 5, 2013

Thursday, 4/4

10 miles / 60:35 steady cruising from the store before a short shift. I've decided after running this loop several times that it is super fast. There are basically no hills. Felt great out there. First spin in the New Balance 1080v3s and they are awesome.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Wednesday, 4/3

10 miles / Easy running in the Andover Sanctuary and the North Andover Common. Right heel / ankle has been cranky for a couple days so I backed way off from standard run pace today. Probably playing too much touch football in dress shoes at school... I need to roll out. I need to stop slacking on core. I need to run some miles this weekend!!

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Tuesday, 4/2

10 miles / 71 minutes on trails with Tim. It was cold with the wind but comfortable once I got into it. Feeling good!

Monday, 4/1

Easy 8 miles on trails, 56 minutes. Felt good.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Weekly Wrap-up

Sunday: 0 - Planned day off. A nice day spent with family.

55 miles on 6 days this week with one weird workout, one decent race, and a few steady runs in the mix. It was good to get back into the trails after a couple months without them.