Today's workout

8 minute warm up, 4 x 5:00 up tempo with 1:00 jogging rest in between. Ended up going 7 miles total in 52:47 (7:32 ppm). Went from apt. down Bellaire highway to torch lake, which is exactly 3.5 miles one way. Halfway at 24:25. Did three of the fast sections on the way out and one plus 35 seconds on the way back, which meant I had about a two and a half mile cool down, which I plodded because I was feeling a bit sick.

Two of the fast sections were up very steep, long hills. The whole seven miles is up and down numerous big hills. The way out was west into the sun and directly into a headwind. The way back probably sucked worse though. Had stomach cramps the whole time and seemed short of breath. I think I got a little dehydrated. Just happy to be done.

June total: 86.9 miles

8 mile morning

I ran 4 miles this morning with Raj.  I ran the first mile in 10 mins, but I ran the second mile pretty slow, and  my time at 2 miles was 20:23.  I picked it up to finish 4 miles at 40:03.  When I got back, mom was waiting for me to walk.  We walked 4 miles.  I timed that too, just for fun, and we finished in 1:01.  My legs felt strong the whole time.  It was very encouraging!

Looks like it's going to be a beautiful day here :)  

3.4 miles easy

Ran 3.4 miles easy this morning in Cadillac. First mile was 10:00 and 17:00 at the turn (10:00 ppm). 24 minutes at 2.4 miles and finished in 34:26 (10:07 ppm). Was definitely on an easy and steady 10 minute mile pace until I met LoLo, Pat L. and Anne N. walking. Chatted with them briefly while I ran, but apparently it did slow my last mile down a bit.

Workouts 6/29-7/6

LISA AND DAD

Sunday: off/easy

Monday: 3-4 miles easy

Tuesday: .5 mile warmup, 1 mile hard, .5 easy, 1 mile hard, .5 easy, 1 mile hard, .5 easy. Try to get the hard sections at like 9:05-9:10.

Wednesday: 3 miles easy

Thursday: Hill loop. 10 minute warm up, 5 x 3:00 up tempo (not race pace) w/ 1:00 jogging rest in between. Cool down.

Friday: Off

Saturday: 4 miles easy

Sunday: 6-7 miles easy

2 mile easy run

Ran 2 miles easy at Silver Lake this morning in 19:56 (9:58 ppm). Walked 3 miles with Mom before the run. Had a few sharp pangs in right knee during the run so limited the workout to 2 miles.

Seaway Run 2008

Lisie Rae and I ran together until the last 150 meters when Lisie sprinted to the finish in a 5K personal record time of 28:06 (9:02.67 ppm), and I was close behind in 28:11 (9:04.28 ppm), also a modern day 5K p.r. Lisie was 14th out of 40 in her age group, and I was 11th out of 17 in mine. Our first mile was 9:21 and second mile was 9:06 (18:27). The pace for the final 1.1 miles really picked up to 8:46 ppm (Lisie) and 8:51 ppm for me. Weather was sunny and warm, but the heat was really not felt until the last mile when it got hot with no shade. Both of us met our race goals so we were very satisfied.

Saturday, June 28

Long run in a.m. with Van. 1:40:33 (8:58 ppm). 11.2 miles. 14.5 mile canoe after that. A bit sore today.

Charles D.'s recent Seaway Run 5K times

2006 29:32
2007 28:52 (modern day 5K P.R.)

2008 Goal: Beat last year's time (i.e. a new modern day 5K P.R.) and at least 4 people in my age group.

Tempo run

4.5 miles at tempo pace, although I was going pretty hard. 28:50, CR (course record); old 28:59 on 6/2/08. 1st mile was 6:15. 14:25 at church turnaround; 22:24 at 3.5; 6:26 last mile. Got the spell with about a quarter to go and nearly crapped my pants. Went at about 8:15. Was still warm, 75 degrees and humid.

This is a tough course with the first and last miles being flat but the middle 2.5 is very hilly.

easy run

Ran a new route and kind of explored Bellaire a little bit. Ran down the rails to trails pathway. It's only about a mile long. total time 32:27. About 4.3 miles. Very hot. Watching tigers blow another game now.

weight loss

I have been periodically keeping track of my weight since coming home in April. I just went back and checked my notes today and am quite pleased.

April 10, 2008 201 1/2 lbs.
May 13, 2008 198 1/2 lbs.
May 29, 2008 195 lbs.
June 19, 2008 191 1/2 lbs.

3 miles easy in Cadillac

After my physical therapy and MRI this morning I ran 3 miles easy over the noon hour. The temp was 77 degrees so it was good training for the Seaway Run. The weather forecast for Saturday is warm and quite humid. First mile was 9:35, and the time at the turn was 14:20. Second mile was 9:25 (19:00 and 9:30 ppm), and last mile was 9:55. Total time was 28:55 (9:39 ppm). I eased up the last mile as I tired a bit in the heat.

Blast From The Past

Eleven months ago on July 25, 2007 I had Lisa do this workout:

7 minute jog at 12 ppm (pace per mile), 12 minutes at 9:45 ppm, 3 minutes jog/walk rest at 12 ppm max, 12 minutes at 9:45 ppm, 3 minutes jog/walk at 12ppm max, 7 minutes jog at 12 ppm minimum (minimum meaning no slower).

That seems pretty easy now considering that she ran a 5k just two weeks ago at 9:19 per mile. That's 28:54 without stopping, or 4:54 longer than she had to do that workout and at 26 seconds per mile faster. And, again, with no break in between.

It's curious then that this was Lisa's email to me at 8:26 a.m. after she finished on that Wednesday morning 11 months ago:


Subject: you are satan

That was the hardest workout I've ever done. The second set of 12 minutes nearly killed me. I have no idea how I finished it, but I managed to do it. I did the 12 min. parts at 6.1 speed, which is 9:50. I did the 3 minutes at 4.0 (fast walk) and the 7 minutes at 5.0 (jogging). Like I said, it nearly killed me. I feel good now that it's over.

Morning Run

I did 3.4 miles this morning.  I was worried because I knew my legs would be tired from last night, but I did it in 33:31.  It was cloudy and about 70 degrees, which helped.  I ran to the end of the trail, turned left, and then went up the hill and back.  So, my time was actually pretty good, considering how tired I was, and that I had a "hill" in there...

Coach's Corner: Training vs. Jogging

There are basically two kinds of runners: trainers and joggers (really I only consider trainers to be real runners). Runners are trying to make themselves better at running, and joggers are just out for fitness.

The workouts I'm giving you are designed to make you better runners. Obviously, increased fitness is a natural byproduct of becoming faster.

The trick to training successfully is to run as hard as possible without getting injured. Whenever you are running at your best, you are always just a sliver away from being injured. There's a thin line between training and overtraining or burning out. The goal is to come as close to that line as possible.

As I mentioned in the comments of Lisie Rae's post, often it is just a matter of faith. You have to know the difference between being burned out and just having a bad workout. You have to be able to put up with slower times while you're in a base building period. Basically, during training you have to believe that you're better than what you've shown up to that point. You have to enjoy the good times and maintain confidence in yourself through times of adversity.

You also have to be smart and know your own body. There are so many variables that go into a performance that in the end it really does just come down to trusting in your abilities and doing the best you can. Sometimes you win; sometimes you lose.

Just jogging demands an incredible amount of energy as it is. Running and running well is a physical, mental, and emotional drain pipe. But the thrill of a PR makes it all worth it. So does winning. In all my life I've never found anything more satisfying than crossing a finish line in first place.

Burnin' up the track

It was a balmy 81 degrees when Raj and I headed to IWU's track at 6:00 tonight.  We did a .5 mile warm-up, and then the fun began.  I did 6 x .5 mile repeats, with 2:00 rest in between.  Raj stuck with me for the first 4, but then he had to take over coaching duties, yelling out times for me as I did the last 2 by myself.  He is still nursing his sore foot.  This was an incredible work-out, and I really enjoyed it.  I have not had this hard of a work-out for as long as I can remember.  My times were as follows: 4:26, 4:16, 4:23, 4:22, 4:20, and 4:18.  There is something about the track that really makes me push myself.  In fact, I was so wiped out after the last .5, I could only walk one lap for a cool down.  Raj and I have decided to try and go once a week to the track, since we both liked it so much.  

Workout

3 x 1 mile down Genessee with 2:00 rest in between. Went 5:41, 5:54, 5:59 (5:51.4 average). Very hot, 80 degrees. 7:17 warmup, 8:02 cool down. Calves sore. Was pretty spent at the end. Good workout.

3.5 miles of intervals

Did 1/2 mile intervals for 3 1/2 miles this noon at Silver lake starting with an easy half (5:00) then a race pace half (4:22) followed by another easy half (5:23) and then a race pace half (4:41). The last 3 halfs were 5:00, 4:25, and 5:30. The 3 mile time was 29:51 (9:57 ppm) and 3 1/2 mile was 35:21 (10:06 ppm). Weather was a sunny and warm 70 degrees.

Back on the streets

4.5 miles in 31:03. 6:54 ppm. 6:55 first mile, 13:59 after two miles. Calves are sore from new shoes... IT band and shin felt good, layoff definitely helped. Was just going easy today but after time off had a bit more energy. I had to concentrate on going easy.

2 miles easy

Did 2 miles easy this morning at Silver Lake. Time was 19:46 (9:53 ppm). Did this run after a BIG bowl of Mom's oatmeal.

Running in Philly

basically the extent of my running the past five days.

6 miles easy with Lisie at Silver Lake

Lisie and I did 6 miles easy at Silver Lake this morning. It was cloudy and cool which made for ideal running conditions. Lisie had the GPS watch. The first 2 miles was 20:28 (10:14 ppm). We were 31:30 (10:30 ppm at the turn) and then picked up the pace to 41:00 at 4 miles (10:15 ppm) and finished with a total time of 60:49 (10:08 ppm). We both felt good at the end.

Lisie and I do an easy 2 at Silver Lake

Lisie and I did an easy 2 at Silver Lake. She had a GPS watch, and the white birches are exactly one mile from our mail box. Time was 20:04 (10:02 ppm). We saved some energy for the 6-miler tomorrow morning.

Friday run with mom

Mom wanted to run together so we did an easy 3. She had only run 2 thus far this summer, but she pushed herself to do 3. I decided just to stay with her, and we went really slow. It was nice though, because it took no effort! It was truly an "easy" 3... 33:45 total time.

Thwarted at every move

Didn't run Wednesday or yesterday, and it doesn't look like it's going to happen today. Yesterday Val and I went to Valley Forge and were going to rent bicycles to bike around the park but we got there at 4:30 and you have to rent them for an hour and they close at five... so we walked instead. Today we were going to go running but Val talked me into going swimming instead. Probably a good thing since my left IT band was getting to be quite painful and it could use a couple days rest. We're going to Cape May tomorrow. Maybe I'll run along the beach there.

Look for me tonight at the Phillies/Angels game!!!

3.4 miles tempo

Did 3.4 miles at tempo pace along the Walnut Street, high school, Chestnut Street route because North Boulevard is still flooded. I've measured it for accuracy at least 3 times when going to town. Weather was a nice 63 degrees. I went out too fast and did the first 1.7 miles at 9:21 ppm. Last 1.7 was a 9:59 ppm. Total time was 32:52 (9:40 ppm).

Tempo Run

Did 35 min tempo run this morning on the treadmill.  Chip advised 30 secs slower than race pace, so I did 10:00 pace.  Going to work and then heading off to Silver Lake after lunch!

Lisie's 3 miles easy

I ran 3 miles, but it wasn't easy.  It was in the low-80s, but I must say, it actually felt good compared to that 92 degree run I did in J'ville.  I went to the end of the trail, turned left and thought, what the heck, I'll do the hill.  So, I did the hill.  It wasn't too bad.  I finished the 3 miles in 29:26.  I felt pretty good the whole time, just way too hot...Tomorrow will be a treadmill day.

3 miles easy

Ran 3 miles easy this morning along Walnut Street to the high school through the Chestnut Street bus entrance and down Chestnut to Consumers Power 2nd driveway and back home. My times were fast for an easy run so I'll measure it again today. Weather was a cloudy and cool 50 degrees. Total time was 30:09 (10:03 ppm). The mile times were 10:07, 9:49, and 10:13.

Tuesday workout

Today I did the 3x1 mile workout.  I ran each mile @ 9:30, with 3 minutes rest in between.  It wasn't bad at all, but I did it on the treadmill, so that probably was a factor.  

Run

Fit in one mile, 6:53. Had to stay at work late and then get someplace by six. Left IT band is getting bad. Was going to do a hard workout but probably good that I couldn't.

4 miles easy/race pace combo

4 total miles today with a combination of easy pace and race pace. First 1/2 mile easy in 5:12. Next 1 1/2 miles race pace in 14:04 (9:23 ppm) followed by 1/2 mile easy in 5:23. Next was 1 mile race pace (legs wouldn't respond) in 10:05. Last 1/2 mile easy (very easy) in 5:36 for a total time of 40:20 (10:05 ppm). Although the 1 mile race pace was slow, maximum effort was put forth.

Photos of Asparagus run

Morning Run

Ran 4 miles this morning.  My legs felt like they weighed 100 lbs. each.  I had a hard time getting started, but once I was a mile or so into it, I felt o.k.  My time was 40:49.  I used Raj's new GPS watch, which was really cool.  It tells you exactly how far you've gone, so there is no risk of running even .1 more than necessary!  

Long run

Ran at the Grass River Natural Area (on the far side of lake bellaire between bellaire and alden). Have no idea how far I went. Ran for 53:23. I'll just call it seven miles. Wasn't going very fast. Running on boardwalks, very narrow trails, and around a lot of turns.

3.4 easy along new route

The Kenwood Park/bike path route to M-115 is flooded near the canal and impassable to runners so I measured out a new route by going the back way to the high school, through the parking lot to the middle school and down Chestnut Street to the boat launch. 54 degrees and cloudy. Ideal running weather. 34:33 total time (10:10 ppm). First and last miles about 10:15 each. Except for knot in left hamstring again, I felt pretty good.

Workouts 6/15-6/28

LISA

Sunday 6/15: 0ff

Monday: 3-4 miles easy

Tueday: 3 x 1 mile w/ 3:00 rest in between. Try to get each one within 15 seconds of your Spear-It race pace. warm up and cool down.

Wednesday: 3 easy

Thursday: 35 minute tempo (30 seconds slower per mile than your 5k race pace)

Friday: 3 easy

Saturday: easy 2 or cross train

Sunday: 5-6 miles easy

Monday: off

Tuesday: 6 x .5 miles at 4:30-4:35 each. 2:00 rest in between. warm up and cool down.

Wednesday: 3-4 easy

Thursday: 2-3 easy

Friday: 1-2 easy

Saturday: Seaway Race

DAD

Sunday: Off

Monday: 115 and back easy

Tuesday: 4 miles total, first half mile easy, then run 1.5 miles at close to race pace (sub 9:30 pace), jog a half mile easy, then run a mile at close to race pace, then easy rest of way back.

Wednesday: 2-3 easy

Thursday: 2-3 easy

Friday: 115 and back at tempo pace (shoot for sub 10's)

Saturday: off or just real light

Sunday: 5-6 miles

Monday: 1-2 miles easy

Tuesday: 3.5 miles, .5 easy, .5 at race pace (4:40), .5 easy, .5 at race pace (4:40), .5 easy, .5 at race pace (4:40), .5 easy.

Wednesday: 2-3 easy

Thursday and Friday: See how you feel, just run real light or take one of the two days off.

Saturday: Seaway race

Spear-It 5k

Ran 18:36, which was exactly my goal. Splits were 5:45, 6:07, 6:08. Faced a fairly strong head wind over the last half of course. 5th overall, 1st in age group. Not bad for only about 10 hours of sleep last two nights combined. Probably could have pushed harder over last mile. New racing flats are awesome. About a .8 warmup, 3.9 miles total.

Weekly total (Sunday through Saturday): 23.9
Summer total (since June 1st): 42.4

Did not run on Sunday (today). Calves are sore.

2008 Asparagus Run

Beautiful sunny and cool day. Excellent running weather. Ran a 29:08 (9:23 ppm), which met my goal of beating last year's time of 29:21 (9:27 ppm). Chip and Lisa both medalled in their age groups. I was 6th out of 6 in my age group, but I was satisfied with my time. Lisa and I ran together almost all the way, but she had more kick at the end. The three of us had a lot of fun.

Charles D.'s recent Spear-It 5k's

2005 30:59
2006 30:19
2007 29:21

2008 goal: beat last year's time which means 9:25 ppm or better

shake out

1 mile shake out in cadillac on way to battle creek 7:32. left leg is worse than shin now.

Chip's History of the Spear-It

Spear-It Race Chronicle

1995: 24:06
1996: 24:08
1997: 19:43, 5th age group
1998: 18:40
1999: 19:00, "mowed uphill for 2.5 hours in 90 degree heat yesterday at work, may have had some effect"
2000: ACT test
2001: At Camp Hayo-Went-Ha
2002: 17:21, 3rd overall, 1st in age group
2003: 17:10.99, CHAMPION! (5:23, 5:33, 5:43 last 1.1)
2004: DNR
2005: 18:57, 7th overall, 2nd in age group. Val ran this year.
2006: 18:10, 8th overall, 2nd in age group
2007: 18:22, 2nd overall, 1st in age group
2008 goal: Sub 18:36 (6:00 minute mile pace)

easy run

3.5 easy in 26:31. Left leg is now sore, probably from overcompensating for right shin. Shin is more sore today than yesterday.

2 miles tempo

Ran 2 miles tempo pace in 19:44 (9:46 and 9:58) at noon. Temp was 70 and humidity 68. Only negative was left hamstring, which knotted up again in different places after about 1/2 mile. I will be asking for a volunteer to rub my hamstrings down before the Asparagus Run with sports cream that I bought at Walgreens yesterday.

Last hard run before asparagus

Fartlek, 3.5 miles total 23:22 (6:40 ppm). 1 mile warm up (6:56), 5 x 2:00 hard with 1:00 jogging rest in between. Somehow the hard sections always seemed to be on the uphills.

Shins felt better today, so that is good news.

3 miles after 2 day layoff

Ran 3 miles in Cadillac along Kenwood/Lake Cadillac route in 31:15, which is 10:25 ppm. First and second miles were each 10:19, and third mile was 10:37 (didn't want to push too hard today as I am recovering from a bladder infection which struck Sunday night.) I wasn't too disappointed, but beating last year's time in the Asparagus Run may be difficult. Just very glad to be able to participate.

Easy run

Two miles easy after I got back from softball quarterfinals. 14:14 (7:11, 7:03). Shin felt better than yesterday, amazingly. Probably because kept to a flat course today.

Bellaire won, so that means I have to go to Battle Crick on Friday. The game is at 6:30 pm. If they win, I have to be there on Saturday at 6:30 again. If they lose, I can probably still squeeze in the asparagus run.

6/9 run

3.5 miles in 23:53 (6:49 ppm). Goal was just to run sub 7:00 pace, so not quite easy but not really tempo either. Was going to go 4.5 but legs were sore from yesterday and wanted to be fresh for the spear-it so just went 3.5.

Right shin is sore. Same shin in same spot as last fall and in every time I have ever had this problem. Don't really know what to do. Taking time off doesn't help cause I just run for three days and it comes back. I might not last long after the asparagus run.

6/8 hills, long run

5.5 mile Vandemark hill loop (which features a 1.6 mile straight climb up a glacier-carved hill from mile 1.1 to 2.7) plus an extra mile. 6.5 miles total in 48:37 (7:28 ppm). 41:13 after 5.5, so 7:24 last mile.

Had to pee whole time. Thought about stopping and going in the woods but didn't want wang to be devoured by a bajillion mosquitoes. Bad news is that caused me to cramp up a bit last half of the run. Not too hot but very humid. At the top of the hill was literally running through a cloud.

Calves a little sore. Shins so-so but I fret now over every little twinge. If I wasn't obsessing over it I might not have felt it. Didn't feel them all day or yesterday, then mysteriously right before I left to go run started to feel something.

First day in new shoes, Asics DS-Trainer 13. The DS-Trainers are as old as my running career and I've had at least one pair of all 13 of them. They felt great today. A couple years ago I started using insoles for more cushion when I started getting shin splints. Even though I'm having trouble with my shins now I'm not using the insoles in my new pair based on the theory that the insoles flattened out my arches thereby causing my shins to actually absorb more shock. The insoles also caused the shoe to be heavier and less flexible, which I think made my foot strike harder and caused the shoes to wear out more quickly. This is my theory anyway, and the insoles obviously haven't been working in the last two years so I'm sticking to it.

The shoes felt like a million bucks today without the insoles, much lighter and more flexible, and reminded me why I've only used these shoes my entire running career. Hopefully my theory pans out. The fact that my calves are sore and they've never been sore before after doing this run makes me think I'm getting more muscles involved.

BTW: Last week's total mileage was 18.5. I took yesterday (Saturday) off.

June 8, 2008, 5 miles easy

After an off day Saturday, I did 5 easy miles at Silver Lake (Mac Woods and back). First mile 10:10, 2nd mile 10:34 (20:44), 3rd mile ???, 42:30 after 4 miles, last mile in 10:20 for a total 5 miles in 52:50 (10:34 ppm). Not as good as Lisie Rae's 5 miles in 10:00 ppm but not too bad in rainy and humid conditions.

Comments

If you visited the blog today in the past few hours, you'll see I posted something where I said I disabled getting email notifications of new comments. I decided that was a dumb idea and re-enabled it.

Life on the treadmill

I ran 5 miles today on the treadmill in 50 minutes.  I drank a whole bottle of water and had the fan blowing on me the whole time.  It's almost 90 degrees here today.  I couldn't imagine running outside.  

Yesterday I felt horrible and ran 3 miles in 30 minutes...with rest breaks.  I was so weak it was unbelievable.  I think this trial has sapped every once of energy from my being.

I cannot believe I am driving back to Jacksonville in a few hours... It's like knowing that you are going in for a painful operation that will last another week.  I'm dreading it.

6/6 easy run

Plodded 3.5 miles. Shins a little sore. Waited until 8:30 but was still very hot, over 80. 28:22. 8:06 ppm.

June 6, 2008 (waxing philosophical and poetic)

This was supposed to be the crucial workout of the week, but as the poet Robert Burns said, "...the best laid schemes o' mice an' men/Gang aft agley."

5 minute warmup went fine, but first mile was 10:07. One of the strongest Silver Lake southeast winds (35 mph) combined with a temp of 77 degrees and dew point over 70 at 10 am soon sapped the strength of even the strongest 61 1/2 year old. Mile 2 was 11:01 (21:08) and the last mile was a walk/jog 11:43 (32:51). The first mile into the 35 mph direct headwind in hot and humid weather was wilting. This "performance" is not likely to strike fear in one Lisie Rae, but tomorrow is a new day.

6/5 workout

1 mile warmup (7:33), 3 x 1 mile, 2:00 minute rest, 1 mile cool down (8:37). Ran 5:59, 6:01, 6:01. Was going to do 3:00 rest but felt rested enough to just do 2:00 rest. 75 degrees and muggy. Went at 5 pm. Went faster than I thought I would have.

June 5, 2008, 3 miles easy run

Ran 3 miles easy in the rain along Lake Cadillac route. 63 degrees, wind out of the southeast at 14mph. Hamstrings very tight and motivation low. Need change of scenery at Silver Lake.

1st mile in 10:26, 15:46 at turnaround, 21:10 at 2 miles and 32:12 at 3 miles for 10:44 pace.

6/4 easy run

3.5 easy in evening. Warm and muggy. 26:46 (7:39 ppm).

Lisa to join soon

Good news. Lisa has announced that she will become an author on the blog as soon as her trial is over.

June 4, 2008

The workout today was supposed to be 40 minutes up-tempo, but I went out too fast and did the first mile in 9:28 and was 19:02 at the 2nd mile turnaround (Peterson's Westside). Hit a wall at mile 2 1/2 and clocked 29:18 at mile 3. Last mile was 10:46 and finished 4 miles in 40:04 (10:01/mile).

Weather was cloudy, cool in the mid-50's, but much more humid than yesterday. Too much nervous energy at the beginning and dressed too warm (long sleeve shirt over t-shirt). Regretted it last 2 miles.

6/3 easy run

Squeaked in two easy after work and before 6 pm commitment. 15:10 (7:35, 7:35). Legs felt pretty tired.

June 3, 2008

3 miles easy in Cadillac along usual route past Kenwood Park to beginning of bike path and back home.  30:53 or 10:18/mile.  Cool cloudy day, 52 degrees.  Perfect running weather.  Had knot in left hamstring shortly after first mile (10:04), but it loosened up after one and a half miles (15:20).  2 mile time was 20:30. 

6/2/08

4.5 miles in 28:59. First mile 6:11, 14:25 at church turnaround, 22:30 at 3.5, 6:29 last mile. Back/hamstrings sore from shoveling all day yesterday at lake.