Recovery Run

Really feeling crummy, I managed to push through and complete my goal of 6 miles. Battling some head cold/allergies. Pace was slow, but going 6 actually allowed me to get loosened up towards the end. Just ran around my neighborhood.
Miles: 6
Time: 49 :40
Pace: 8:16
Garmin Map and Splits -  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/155268783

Miles for week: 19.3 miles on 3 run. 1 medium length run at normal pace, one track workout, and 1 recovery / sick run at slow pace.

Where were we...?

Jan 18th, Wednesday:
After some days rest, went back at it with a great run. After an easy mile to start, notched it up a little bit because my legs were feeling pretty good. With bursts of speed and then backing off - repeat, I hit the second mile in 6:48. Over the next 5 miles I would throw in surges and relax - repeat, and clicked off some decent miles: 6:53, 6:29, 6:39, 6:36, 6:28. Here, I was running well because my legs felt nice, had my iphone in with some great music, and enjoying the beautiful dusk and nice temperatures. Closed with a slower .4 of a mile at just under 7, and then called it a run. Prob could have benefited from a cool down, but what are you gonna do....
Miles: 7.4
Pace: 6.47
Time: 50:10

Jan 19th, Thursday
Next day hit up an easy recovery run with David over in Madison park.
Miles: 4.14
Pace: 7.48
Time 32.16

Jan 21st, Saturday:
Set out from Woodlawn by Selwyn on a grey wet morning where the pace was relaxed. My legs felt pretty heavy and stiff, perhaps a result of Wednesdays run and not giving them a proper cool down. Anycase, I was able to loosen up after 4-5 miles and get comfortable where the pace dropped to a couple mid 7s.
Miles: 8.65
Time: 1.07.55
Pace: 7:51

Week recap - 20.19 on three days

Jan 24th, Tuesday
Again, after some rest days, was able to have another good run with some faster stuff. The first mile I felt pretty tight and didn't think I could pull off anything quick, but after a mile and a half of easy running around 8 mins, I ratcheted up a bit. Kind of like last week, worked on various surges for the next couple miles, while backing off and slowing it down before the next random flurry. Saw splits of 6:49 and 6:48 here. Going into the next mile, I kept my surge going, as I was trodding downhill a bit and looked at my watch and realized I was under 6 min pace. Decided to make it a full mile of a surge and stay under 6. Worked out fine. Was focusing on form and economy, and it didn't feel too taxing at all. Split 5.43. Nice to have something like that under my belt, and a good confidence builder too. After that, cooled down better than last week, and ran over 8 min pace for almost a mile.
Miles: 5.5
Time: 39.15
Pace: 7:10

a lack luster week of running

Wed. Jan 11 - 6 miles - First run after a 3 day break. PF is still a factor, but the run was tolerable. Felt pretty dang fresh. About 7:20 pace.

Thu Jan 12 - 6 miles - Run with Mitchell and David. A little bit slower, which was probably a good thing. 7:40 pace.

Sat. Jan 14 - 6.18 miles - Hard day to find motivation to run. Ran in not enough clothes and was cold and unfocused to top it off. Too hard in the beginning (trying to get warm) and limped in with a 8 min last mile. 7:27 pace average.

Sun. Jan 15 - 8.4 miles - Pushed Avery in the jogging stroller for 3.7 miles at a very slow pace (8:40). Then finished up with David (7:30,20,10). It's cool seeing how the slow miles early set me up naturally for quicker miles. No doubt, this was good for the body, and something to try and implement in runs, especially on recovery days. It is true I have a tendency to start out to fast and finish tired, so this was a nice change. See for yourself here ----> http://connect.garmin.com/activity/142065332

Not the weekly mileage I wanted. Slack with not starting the week until Wednesday. Did have a basketball game Monday, so at least some exercise. PF is still bothering me, so I took Friday off to rest the heel. The LR got shelved as I struggled to find motivation for long miles. At least got a couple decent runs in anyway. 26.5 miles on 4 runs.

easy run, but feeling good!

just a shake out run as the workout was yesterday and the long mtn run in the following day. My legs actually felt the best they had in a couple weeks, but i kept the brakes on despite it - also because I was with Brinkley and he was wanting to keep it slow. No problem.

Miles 5.16
Time: 39:43
Pace: 7:42

signs of hope

don't call it a comeback...yet. But my legs felt a little better on this run, and while they were still nothing close to springy, bouncy, and light - the pace was quicker dispite that. We are heading back in the right direction!

Just did an out and back, with only enough time to get in 45 mins or so of running, due to having to be somewhere at 6:30pm.

you can see the run started off slower and I got stronger as I went along. Pumped the brakes at the end so as not to spend too much on the effort.

miles: 6.04
pace: 7.30

i've lost that loving feeling

grinding...I tell you what, it took me over 7 miles until my legs felt decent. Tightness, stiffness, and the like plagued my legs for most of this run, as I was struggling to hit 830 miles (hilly). While I had slight relief Saturday from taking Friday off, the 19 miles set me back a little bit on the road to recovery. But that's fine, that's why I am out here grinding for just a little while longer, until the magnificent taper.

Miles: 8.11
Time: 1:04.29
Pace: 7:57

Garmin  -

maxed out - need rest

just so when i look back and read this later, I will know how I felt during this stage of my running: not since college have my legs felt this tired. I'm in great need of a day off. Thankfully, Friday will be that day. As I have mentioned before, increased mileage, less days off, more workouts with races in a short span (8 mile tempo,15k,8mile tempo within 8 days), have all lead me to absolutley feeling tapped out.

Hoping I can get through my 18 miler Saturday, then just need to focus on one more solid week of training.

but today's run, here are the stats:

8.46 miles, 7:53 ppm

yep, my legs are officially beat up

Like the post title says, I can tell with some of my slowest runs of the year that I am not into a part of training that I didn't reach all calendar year unil now. And I know why. I have been running longer, harder, and more consecutivly the past 2, 2.5 weeks than ever, and the toll is being taken. The good news is not injuries are developing...just tired legs. My goal is to run 6 days this week, and that will mean I will take off this Friday. Last week I ran 6 days as well, and after this Thursday's run I will have run 7 days in a row. Through all that, we have had quailty long runs, workouts, and races. And higher mileage. I should get over 50 this week. Then I just have to gut it out for one more week where I hope to hit close to 60, then I can let my legs rest and taper until the marathon.
Garmin

Miles: 6.14,  ppm 8:17

hard training

Monday (10/10) set out to run 7 miles, easy - but how slow it would be I didn't expect. Perhaps my slowest run of the year. My legs were just trash. But I got the miles in.

miles: 6.92, 8:12 ppm

Tuesday (10/11) - another TEMPO RUN. after a 1 mile warm up, set off down Seneca with David where we "eased" into the quicker stride. A little faster than the beginning of last week's tempo, but not too quick. Dropped the pace the next few miles consecutively as we made our way around the Booty Loop. After 4 miles I was starting to feel it, and from here on in it became of battle of mental toughness. My legs didn't feel fully recovered after last weeks tempo and race, so here I was fighting to stay on pace. I actually dropped a quick 6th mile, but the 7th mile I really slowed down. The course was much flatter than last weeks, but I felt like I was really pushing myself harder. I was running pretty much solo after 4 miles, after David pulled away. Even though I felt like I was slow, my splits were not too bad. The last mile I dug down real deep and started to catch David, and so I focused on finished as best I could. Was happy to see I just got under 6 mins! Not terribly disappointed from the day's effort at all, and know that I have just a week and a half of crunch time before I begin my taper. Check out the Tempo miles splits and course here!

faster tempo than last week, despite tired legs: 6:30 ppm, (52.00 mins), 8 miles, 5:59 8th mile.
miles for day: 10.5

rest of: week of last GPX race. LungStrong 15k

Tuesday (10/4) met Brinkley (he jogged over) at my house and headed out for an 8 mile tempo. Not much of a warm up (for me), as we went right into the first mile at nice but conversational clip. The route was going to be hilly, as we were going to go out towards Huntingtown Farms, but do the standard loop in reverse. The second mile we brought the pace down a good bit, and started to hold it and ride it for the hills in miles 2,3, and 4. Mile 5 was pretty flat, as we were on the greenway, and mile 6 was the beast of Colchester Hill (which is .3 miles long and rises over 100 feet. Still, we held a strong pace, and miles 7 and 8 we dropped the hammer a little bit for our fastest splits of the day. The run was almost a progressive tempo with the splits, and with the hills, it was a GREAT workout. Found myself hurting, and having to push - something I haven't had in a while, and no doubt, it helped train me mentally as well. CHECK OUT THE SPLITS AND ELEVATION CHANGES. (9.12 miles for the day in total)

6.32 average ppm (for 8 mile tempo)

Wednesday (10/5) arrived in Dallas, checked into my room, and headed out the door for a warm easy recovery run. Legs were tired, and a slow pace was in order. Garmin stats.

6 miles, 7:55 ppm

Friday (10/7) got home, and slipped on my new racing shoes and jogged around for a few miles, making sure they felt alright. Shoes felt fine, and so did my legs. Ready for a good race.

3.19 miles, 7:54 ppm

Saturday (10/8) LUNGSTRONG 15k.
Last race of the Charlotte Run For Your Life Grand Prix 2011 series. I was 4th going into the event, and it seemed I would settle there unless I would run out of my mind and win or something.
The weather was perfect, and I had a decent week of training, sleep, and nutrition leading into the race. Warmed up with David and went to the line for a couple strides to loosen the legs. The gun went off, and I got with David and we settled into a nice comfortable pace of just over 6 mins. The first few miles clicked by easily, and it was actually conversational as David and I and the group would converse just a little bit as we got into the meat of the race. I was ahead of my time after 3 or 4 miles, from last years race, and I was feeling okay. In the back of my head though, I felt I might be pushing it a little hard if I was going to have a second half of the race that was just as quick or faster. I wasn't suede, and in the 4th mile I started to pull away slightly and only momentarily from David and the group. We started passing the group ahead, and once I was alone, I looked back and called up David to come join me. We ran side by side, with only Eric Bilbrey up ahead in our sights. I said, "let's go get him," and we focused on trying to reel him in. We encouraged one another until about 6 miles, when I started to fade and David got some gap on me. I could tell I was starting to hit my wall, and wasn't able to go with him. Now, I just was going to have to make sure I didn't fall apart. As the 7th mile split passed, I looked at my watch and thought I would have really slowed down, but was pumped up when I realized I hadn't fell off too much. I closed my eyes as I ran right into the sun going up the hills on the 8th mile, and felt as if I could have drifted to sleep, while my body kept being pulled to the center of the road. I was just trying to hold on here, and not let the group behind me, have an easy time catching up. The 9th mile, 2 guys behind me came up. The first guy I went with for mabye 200 meters, then he got a little gap on me, and I tried to keep it as close as I could. With less than half a mile to go in the race, another guy came up with me and this time I went with him about 300m and he pulled away. Here, we clicked the 9 mile split, and had .3 miles to go. I remembered last year I fell off at the .3, and decided I was going to have an all out kick. I started my kick and immediatly passed the guy who had just passed me, and started reeling in the other guy who had passed me about a mile ago. I caught him on the last turn to the finish, and sprinted in the last 100 meters with everything I had, and came across the line in a new 50 sec PR. I was happy.

My pace for the run was the same as my pace for the Hit the Brixx 10k race, so that is something right there (although I was sick with strep thoat that race). I felt I ran as best I could, and I was happy.

Splits: 6.10, 6.14, 6.06, 5.59, 6.10, 6.03, 6.13, 6.20, 6.18, 1.47 (.3)       for what it's worth, I didn't wear a GPS watch, and recorded my splits as I hit the mile markers on the course. David, who was wearing a GPS watch, recorded the course as 9.44 miles. Also, I was in a group who went the long way around an island in the road as we made a turn, not taking the inside lane as the course intended, no doubt extending the distance we ran.

Cooled down 4 miles with John Compton and Brian Baum, and went and had a nice breakfast at Toast afterwards with the guys. It was a great day of running.

miles for day: 15  ;    race: 6.10 pace

last year's post: http://danjeggers.blogspot.com/2010/10/lungstrong-15k.html

Sunday (10/9) didn't get to my recovery shake out run until almost 8pm. Just did the standard 4 mile loop at just a hair under 8 min pace. Needed for the legs.

4 miles, 7:59 ppm

Miles for week:  41

first time running to work

Car back in the shop, and wife leaving early than I wanted, I chose to run to work and knock out a run. This probably will be it for the day for me. I think I need a nice recovery, and maybe the next time I run will be Tuesday night. Anyway, other than it being chilly, and having to carry a backpack, the run wasn't bad. Legs felt fine.

Miles: 3.92
Time: 29.52
Pace: 7.37

Looking back, I did 42 miles last week. A nice comeback from the lack-luster week prior. Also, good confidence from the 17 miler the other day.

shake out

easy little 4 mile run, standard loop, early this evening to shake the legs out from the long run yesterday. legs felt a little sore but my pace wasn't sluggish.

29.20 time
3.98 miles
7.23 pace

(42 miles for the week)

catchin' us up

Well I finally got a Garmin watch. So far I've enjoyed it.

Listening to some Game R.E.D. album while I type here. Daddy fat stacks, big boi...aka ATLiens, let's go Braves! Get that wild card <---current song

sorry...

Tuesday (9/20) night I went out into the night with my new Garmin, since I had to watch for it to charge, the darkness all around...and let my feet dictate a new path. Rode Archdale up Park to Selwyn and went around Montford back up Seneca and home for 6.26 mi  check it out

Thursday (9/22) morning I got up, asked the receptionish about some local trails down the way from Asheville. Found Mills Creek North of Henderson in the Pisgah National Forest. Couldn't find any trails other than small paved Camp Site roads. Got on the "main" camp site road leading out the other way from the Parking Lot and it turned into a gravel road heading up the hill/mtn. Kept going, past some campsites as I climbed, then past the creeks rushing, and up into the mist/clouds, cloked humid heavy air. I got sweaty as hell, but I kept climbing, and noticed I was running some 8:30 into 9+ min miles, but I wanted to climb until I got to the top of the distance on my watch read "4.0 miles". Hit it and turned around, and road some nice downhill 6:30 miles. Kept the distance going after I got to the bottom. 15k   9.3mi    check it OUT Look at the Elevation GAIN

Saturday (9/24) my legs were treated to a nice flat recovery slow run around Oxford, MS before the gameday. Felt slow until the 4th mile or so, and just rode it out 5.62 mi

(28 miles for the week)

----
Tuesday (9/27) after FULL Recovery from the festivities of Ole Miss, I ran with David and felt really light and rusty. Also, my Garmin died so I had no watch. Other than that, I didn't care about pace - just wanted to run 10 or so with David if I felt alright. Guess my legs felt fresh after the days off and recovery run, cuz we started off low to mid 7 pace according to David. We just made a big loop around where we live around the southpark area. He gave me the time and distance when i parted and according to him, we clipped:

10.25 miles
in 7.22 pace

Wednesday (9/28) streak of 2 days, and I felt pretty hurry to get it over combined by just running some recovery miles (4.09) which didn't feel as good.

and still a new neighborhood untapped

even though i've been running from home for 2 years, I haven't discovered all the roads within my reach.

Went down Archdale, cut up to Huntingtown Farms like I do a lot, but kept going down Old Reid Rd and took it across Park Rd, and Park South, all the way to Sharon Rd. Turned up to the Harris YMCA, then cut into Beverly Woods neighborhood and did a loop which connected me back on the road back to H-Town and back towards home.

Tacked on a few more minutes until I got to 8 miles.

Legs felt alright, no complaints. Pace was not too fast, just cruising. My legs actually were not springy, and I could tell they need the recovery from the race last Saturday.

Miles: 8
Time: 1.00.07
Pace: 7.31

MMR Link: map/stats

Recovery run

Time: 42.11
Miles: 5.5
Pace: 7.33

Legs felt alright. Splits: 7.49, 7.29, 11.30 (1.5), 7.30, 7.15

Went out down towards Seneca and Park through Madison Park, and down around the west side of Montford Drive for a little bit, and then back the same way.

another recovery run

so...what's this business about the legs taking a week to recover from races, and then feeling good for a day to get through a semi-quick long run, and then feeling poor again the very next day? I guess that's called running, and training. Despite the difficulty it lends, I stayed deligent and put in 5.5 miles of easy recovery running. I was just happy my overall pace was a few ticks under 8 min pace. Either taking tomorrow off, or something easy and short again. I'm leaning towards the latter as this weekend looks like my running may be shot (guys beach golf trip!).

Here is the garmin link, via running buddy David Brinkley.

and another one...

dear blog,

today i ran 4.5 slow miles. my legs still are not fresh, but that's okay because they aren't injured. I also did a couple strides at the end to try and wake them up a little bit. nothing else much to report.

time: 35.04
pace: 7.47

still getting the trash outta my legs

another one of those slow plodding runs. Went out 3 miles and turned around. Weather
was real warm, and I listened to my body and kept the pace easy.

Miles: 6
Time: 47:46
pace: 7.58

motivated?

Of course once Katie and I woke up Saturday, we were quickly on our way home as we both missed our little daughter, Avery a great deal! After spending some time with her, I decided to get in 7 miles since the weather was absolutly gorgeous. Kept it at a slow pace, which wasn't hard as my legs were pretty banged up from the race - and my lack of any sort of cool down after it.

Anyway - went out and up to Huntingtown Farms, down the big Colchester Hill and out the greenway trail. Once I got to the end of the trail I decided to turn around. The clock showed 27 mins approx, and at that point I was pretty tired. Not a great run as I had to use the bathroom, felt dehydrated, and my legs were just pretty beat up.

Distance: 6.8
Time: 55 mins
Pace: 8+

West Coast easy run

(Marina del Ray, L.A., where I ran)

Got up at 5:30 this morning to get ready and head to the airport for my flight to L.A. at 7:45. Slept on the plane for most of the way, which I useually don't have a problem doing. I also have window seat as my preferred seat, so I can prop my head against the side. Anyway, got to L.A. around 11am, and after my lunch meeting, went over to Chris Bohle's and hung out for the afternoon. After my lunch was digested, I left his place and jogged down the L.A. River which lead me to the Pacific Ocean in about 25 mins. There, I headed south and jogged along the path at the beach down the coast for about 10 more mins before heading back. Finished in 1.04.39 for the run, and figued it was about 8 miles. My legs actually were still pretty heavy and dead, I think from the race, and I chalked it up as a nice recovery run with a beautiful backdrop.