Seeking a better country...

15 degrees outside, but sunny.  I had to tend the napping girls, so I stayed inside and watched the Outback bowl.  Yesterday's issues seem to have resolved; I kept things at 8 minute miles.  It's amazing how 25% slower yesterday felt like death, and things felt fine today.  I really overworked with those snowstorms.  Good for the billing cycle,  not for training.  

Week one of Boston training is over.  I kept runs at the recommended paces on 3/4 runs, worked in New Year, and several dozen driveways.  It was all manageable...oh yeah, I only showed up to work ONE DAY.   We'll see how week two and three resolve.  Work this week, then Disneyland the following...

Family plank contest.  I got 3:26, good for third place.  My 6 year old daughter won with 3:56, my 11 year old came in a close second at 3:54.

Six on the treadmill, 5.25 at 8:00.  The balance was warmup.  I got through football night in america and the first half of the Seahawks and Rams.  I'm already looking forward to the "speed" workout this week:  warmup and cooldown with two 6:20 miles, .5 mile recovery jog in between.  Treadmill or Legacy?  I hope it's outside.

Plank:  4:06

2 episodes of Jeopardy and 1 of Survivor.  Today's workout was warmup, followed by 2x1600 at 6:22, 800 jog recovery, cooldown.  The miles felt fast, but not out of control fast.  The warm-up and cool-down felt fine.  I'm glad I was inside, rather than choking down this worse than cigarette smoke gunk we like to call air.  How is it that people look askance when I suggest building more roads is a bad idea?  

 Later--plank 3:26.  I just didn't have it...but I beat all the kids.

3:30 plank.  No kids beat me.

7 in the evening.  We are getting set to drive to Anaheim tomorrow, so it was a squeeze to fit this in.  7.25 miles, 61 minutes.  Not great, not terrible.  I'm looking forward to a 14 miler in the California sunshine on Sunday.  Sure beats this cold.

14 miles, 7:47 pace, in Anaheim.  What great weather.

We got back from D-land at 8:00.  Had to get some runs in this week.  7 miles at 7.2 mph.

Loops around the Motel area.  Finished up at the lost and found looking for my hat that went missing on Space Mountain.  No luck.  Bought a new Angels hat as a replacement.  It's much more aesthetically pleasing.  Long drive home tomorrow.  Back to the snow.  65 degrees for the run, after all day at the pool.  My little ones are burned.  Oops.

Did this long run on the treadmill.  Overall pace was 8:33, but the most common setting was 8:06.  I had some walk breaks for drinking and one pit stop.  No comments about the scenery, but I got to watch playoff football.  The new used tv is working out great.  3 weeks in, feeling good.  I'm getting blisters on all my long runs.  I may have to try better socks.  New shoes came in the mail while we were away, so I'll be wearing those on the shorter runs next week.  I'm sort of looking forward to the stepback week, but not getting back to work.

Ah.  A great day with temps in the high 40's.  I left work early to squeeze in a run before darkness fell.  As I exited Legacy, there was a huge cloudburst right over my planned route.  I drove through a maelstrom of hail, wondering if I would be forced inside.  By the time I pulled in the driveway, the weather abated.  I changed quickly and got out the door.  

I had been looking forward to this run all day, reflected by my fastest mile up to the BST ever.  (9:39, including 400+' of climb)  The road was wet, but well drained, so mud wasn't much of a problem.   The view of the valley was incredible; a fantastic sunset was imminent.

 The trip back home on the pavement was less resplendent, but still great.  Breathing freely outside was a welcome change, and the sunlight reflecting orange off  the clouds gave everything an otherworldly appearance.

Overall pace for the run was 8:20, which represents a solid effort given the terrain.  Splits are: 9:39, 9:57, 8:26, 8:47, 7:43, 7:32, 7:00, 7:33. 

I've been dreading this 5 mile tempo run since I missed it last week while we were perusing the offerings at Disneyland.  This week is "stepback" so I figured I could do a make-up today.  

Usually these entries have a weather and air quality report, so I'll say it was around freezing, with a slight wind from the west and clear air.  Running 10 yards from a highway probably negates any clean air advantages.  Also, running directly east of a sewage treatment plant when there is a slight wind from the west tends to reduce the air quality, at least in the smell department.

So I warmed up for 1.675 miles, and pushed start.  6:47, 6:47, 7:03, 7:04, 6:50.  Cooled down for the balance.  I'll blame the 7:03 for decelerating to turn around.  I have no answers for the 7:04.  I was gratified to hold pace.  I felt side-achy for 40-60 seconds during the last miles, then it would go away.

7 miles @ 8:40 on the treadmill.  I never really got in a groove.  Probably should have gone outside.

My son dropped me off where the pavement ends, which saved 400' of climb.  BST to Freedom hills, 3 loops around the park then home.  It was a nice afternoon, and Tyler got the tile all cut for the bathroom counters while I was gone.  Now I gotta set it and grout it to be ready for sinks.  The kids will be excited.  I'm not.

Thus ends the stepback/recovery week.  I haven't even looked ahead to see what lies in wait...ignorance is bliss.  How long does it take for 6:45 to feel like 7:30?

7 miles at 8:00 pace.  I wore the hrm.  First mile was 160, then settled down to 125 for the next couple miles,  rising to 140 and holding at the end.  Interesting reaction, but what does it mean???

On a separate note, I nearly concluded Survivor Samoa.  I'll probably get back to that, then expunge it from my DVR permanently.

1 mile warmup at 9:13.  6 miles at 6:53, 6:40 for the last .75.  

Heart rate was in the 120s for 9 minute pace.  I was in the 130's and 140's for the first 4 miles, then the 150's, peaking at 155 for the last 2.  What a sweaty mess.  I'm glad the basement is in the low 60's.  It's nice to complete a workout I've been half-way dreading for the last six days.  I shouldn't be such a mental wuss.  

Now I get to go play booby trap with my 4 year old.  How are you supposed to play that game correctly, anyway?

I got home from work at 8:30.  Said hi, and jumped on.  60:30 minutes, last two miles @ 8:00.  Slow.  But it felt fast enough for today.  18 on Saturday.  I hope the air clears up by then, but I'm not holding my breath.  (8:39 overall pace)

Plank:  0:00   Well, actually I demonstrated one for a co-worker for about 0:15, but that's not really worth mentioning.

The long run.  So, I went out for the first nine myself.  I ran to Freedom Hills, (3.1) then did laps (3) and came home again to meet my sister for the second half.  Legacy seemed like it was too close to a freeway today, so we headed back to Freedom Hills, did laps and came home again.  I wanted to target 3 faster miles on 14, 15, 16.  The laps around the hilly park weren't very conducive to this, so I ran hard on the road for 16 and 17.  Regrettably, I inadvertently pushed stop while I was scrolling back and forth from distance to heart rate, and lost record of those faster miles.  HR was in the 160s, so I figure I was around 7:20 for miles 16 and 17.  I had a 5 hr. energy at mile nine, and I much prefer that over gels.  I was as strong or stronger for the second half of this run.  I was a bit short on liquid at the end, but overall I'm really pleased with this workout.  I didn't just complete the miles like I usually have on a long run.  

My new shoes felt great; I think I'll order a couple pair more.  I hope they are still clearing them out at Runners Warehouse.  

Overall pace for the run was 8:02, including walking up the hill to the park.  Shannon was tired.  This run included 2000' of elevation gain, plus those two quicker miles, so...for me, that's a very solid result.  Hopefully I can stay home today and relax instead of heading into work again... 

7:40, 7:33, 7:46, 8:10,  8:41 (hill climb to park) 7:51, 7:55, 7:29, 7:47, 8:15, (Shannon joined) 7:46, 7:46, 9:37 (walk up the hill) 7:55, 7:42, 7:20?, 7:20? ....  

To celebrate the air you can breathe and not taste, I ran inside.  I rebooted "24" season 1.  Good show.  7 miles, 57 minutes.  Take away a <1 mile warmup, and that's 8:00 pace.  

Several toes are messed up from Saturday.  Bummer.  I like the one purple toenail better than the black one.  Gotta keep those nails trimmed.  5k and 20 miler on tap for this Saturday.  Why did I sign up for that winter series?