When Things Don't Go As Planned....

get in the kitchen and make some food!   Making and eating good food solves everything. For you gluten free folks, check out the Quinoa bar recipe just posted. Tova fired these out last night and they didn't stand a chance. I don’t have the specific nutritional breakdown for y’all but for sure the protein/carb ratio in a few bars would be right on the money for the pre and post workout nourishment. Even better, negate a portion of the sugar content and they would work well for breakfast on the go.

The Infirmary Report

I’m down and out. I have to be honest, I’m really bummed about it too. There is something different about this one. Its not tendonitis whereby a little patience and TLC and you are back crushing some miles in a few weeks. Its not a cold, virus or general lack of sleep which has the similar treatment and resolution. This one is the big unknown, I mean, its the “what if I can never ......”. I suppose this is the downside of our access to so much information today. I lay awake all night wondering if I had any cartilage left in my knee and had decided that my running days were over. I have an MRI on Friday to get some detail. Looks like its a meniscal injury of some sort from lifting my 18 month old out of the bath tub from my knees. It does not appear to be related to overuse or a tendonitis type of injury.

Here is where I was after 7 weeks, hopefully I can jump back into the game again soon. Cross your fingers for me. The Boston dream must live on!

Lastly, I posted a link (at the bottom)  to a note on an interesting way of looking a fatigue. I have been spending a lot of time reading about the mental & spiritual relationship of this pursuit.  Check it out..

WK	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY	TRM	Notes
1	Core	T- 4m	HR - 6 x 70min	EZ - 6m	CT - Spin	OFF	LR -50 min	20 miles	Great week. Nice transition into 2012
2	Core	T- 5m	HR - 7 x 70 min	OFF	CT - Spin	WT	LR -60 min	23 miles	Good group Tempo on Tuesday helped
3	OFF	Prog run 7M	EZ - 6M	HR - 7 x 90	EZ - 5	ST - OFF	LR - 75 mins	26 miles	Long way to go, form, breathing all off
4	OFF	T - 6m	EZ - 5	CT - Spin	HR - 8 x 70	OFF	LR - 90 mins	28 miles	Re learning how to breath, HR is still a little high
5	Core	Prog run 8m	CT - Spin	INT  5 x 400	ST - OFF	REC RUN	LR -105 mins	32 miles	Really Trashed and suffered,  pull back next week
6	OFF	OFF	T - 6m	EZ - 6	INT 6 x 400	CT -Spin	LR - 90 FF	20 miles	Knee Sprain - pulled up on LR
7	OFF	OFF	OFF	OFF	OFF	OFF	OFF	0	Right off possible torn Meniscus

http://www.runningplanet.com/training/elements-of-running-fatigue.html

Its late on Friday night,  exhausted from a long week with some very big runs,  especially one tonight.  Feeling the power of the buzz from a big 9 mile rolling hill session in the dark cold dank air of the night.  I absolutely love this feeling.    I live for this fight, the pounding, the sheer push of this goal.  A runner buddy of mine sent this to me.....I can't wait to run again tomorrow.....enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6xLYt265ZM&feature=related

Thumbs up for Lance

I have to give some kudos to one of my favs.  Lance busted off a 1:17 on the run in Panama 70.3 Ironman today, good enough for a second place finish overall.  That is the epitome of getting it done in your 40's.  I am sure he turned a few heads today and served notice to some of the elites of the field that he will be a force to reckon with.  I'm really looking forward to seeing where he takes this early result in the months to come en route to the full Ironman championships later this year.

Here is the week that was for me.  I am back, officially.  There is no doubt in my mind now.  The last 30 days of fighting through what felt like starting from scratch has been a brilliant struggle.  I was very concerned with my HR a few weeks back. It was just beating much to high for easy workouts.  Not only did the fitness leave,  it felt like I forgot how to breath.  My stride remains laboured and choppy, but overall I have seen decent progress.  Today's longrun really helped my confidence.  Nothing wrong with that pace over a tough terrain in very cold temps. 

Back for some more thoughts and notes later,  ciao for now.

MONTH	DAY	WORK OUT	DETAIL	NOTES
Feb/Week 2	MONDAY	CORE w/o	50 minutes, 8 excerises, EZ pace	Beer gut must go.  (its all December's fault!, damn you holidays)
	TUESDAY	TEMPO	4.7 miles (10 min warm & cool)	Cut short, just to tough too early. 7.53/7.49/7.24/7.30 / mile  splits
	WEDNESDAY	HILL REPEATS	7 x 65 sec repeats (10% grade)	Normally a rest day, coach pounded me, very trashed at the end
	THURSDAY	EZ RUN	6 miles (9.37/m pace)	Surprisingly felt ok here, made sure to keep it real light
	FRIDAY	CROSS	20 miles on the bike trainer	Cancelled.  Felt the need for a break here,  laid right off
	SATURDAY	BODY W/O	Sublexing exercised on knee	45 mins of mindless movement for left knee,  no choice.
	SUNDAY	LONG RUN	105 mins at an easy pace	Last 2 miles uphill, pushed pretty hard at the end, coach changed it up.Put in approx 12 miles and 20 mins warm and cooldown.

Leave the time behind

I have battled the folks at Garmin for five years now.  Longstory short,  I picked one of their first GPS running watches up back in 2006, five years later I am now in need of my fifth replacement.   I get a year at most out of these puppies. Shows you what four hundo gets you these days.   I’m onto the forerunner 610 now, the latest and greatest, we will see what that gets me.  I vowed never to patronize this company again,  but there just isn’t anything on the market that does what this watch does (trust me I have spent way too much time on it).   I won’t bore you with the details,  the point of the matter is that I would now have to suffer an entire week of training without a watch while waiting the transition for a new one.    I lost sleep with this on my mind.  I must be able to see my pace, my heart rate, and mileage on my left wrist.   I mean, what would become of me?  The longrun is already a sufferfest,  what if I run too fast, and burn out to quick, there goes the whole session.  If you are thinking I have a problem, possible running addiction,  well for sure I do.  I guess there are worse problems to have.  Well I got through the week,  I’m here,   life didn’t in fact end,  and I’m still hungry as ever. Actually, I thoroughly enjoyed the  Sunday longrun  watchless sufferfest .  In fact,   I learned a timeless lesson (Ron McLean pun intended).

Listen to your body.  It tells you everything you need to know.  I got back into the practice of zoning in and out of my runs, relying on my gut feeling of how hard I was working vs  breathing and speed.   Sunday, the longrun, was extra special.  I just ran.  Met some people along the way, engaged in some banter.   I’m pretty early in the training program so the run only called for 90 minutes.   Its all about time on my feet right now, not speed.   So rock the bare wrist people,  leave the watch at home once in a while and just go for it.

The Program Update

Two solid weeks in the books, with 8 days of running, some core and  cross train (cycle) workouts.  Looks like I have shed 3 lbs, weighing back in at 175.   I need to get inside 160 to have any shot at a Boston Q of 3:20.  No rush, lots of time. The key really is staying focused and healthy.   I ran a scheduled Tempo Run tonight,  coach called for  5 miles at approx  7:10/mile,  couldn’t get to that pace in the wind, so laid back and averaged 7:40’s. I cut it short at 4, just felt like I was working  way too hard for that pace.

Infirmary Report

Some interesting left knee pain,  its not my patellar (an old scary injury that took me out of  a marathon program a few years ago. In fact I was worried that I would never run again it hurt so bad) .  I’m not concerned,  I think I over stretched it by accidently sitting awkwardly bathing the kid after a run….. (It’s the boy’s fault again!).  Just need to keep it lose with some mild massage.

The weeks ahead

I will be hitting 33 and 36 miles per week.  With an 105 minute LR this Sunday then a cutback the following week.   Focus will be pounding the hill repeats,  need to build some power and kill some weight.  I’m really enjoying the added weighttraining  and cycle routines that coach has me on.  We are really going to go after my endurance this session, only achievable by developing a better frame.  One month until the first half marathon and 7 weeks until that nasty 30K.

The road remains rough...

Well here we are, January gone in what feels like record time. Oh, what should have, could have, would have been! Let’s see, approximately 100 miles logged, new speedy quick feet, noticeable improved fitness, not so much unfortunately. The road has been and remains rough. I suppose these roadblocks and challenges,  are in itself, what motivates me. Suppose I had qualified for Boston 4 years ago, would I be here today obsessing about running, nutrition, being in better shape? Maybe this is my destiny, perhaps  this is all meant to be…



9 Weeks until Bay Race. It’s not about time anymore; it’s now about just finishing. This 30k is without question, the toughest track I have ever battled. The weather, a huge x factor.  I walked it in once before, I can't let it happen again. 



Week 1



SUNDAY - 75 min LR - Very easy

MONDAY - core w/o

TUESDAY - 25 miles cycle

WEDNESDAY - Hill Repeats - right outside my front door

THURSDAY - 25 miles cycle -

FRIDAY - 6 mile temp run

SATURDAY – OFF



Week 2

SUNDAY - 90 min LR

MONDAY - free weight, core w/o

TUESDAY - 20 miles

WEDNESDAY - Speed w/o - 9 x 400 (200 m recoveries)

THURSDAY - core/body weight workout, easy 20mile cycle

FRIDAY - Temp 7 miles

SATURDAY – OFF



With the help of a new coach, here is where we feel we can start.  I’ve missed most of my pre training other than a couple of weeks with some spotty runs.  Onward and  upward.  Hopefully pounding some hills for the next few weeks will help get some strength back not to mention kill some pounds.  It is the best way shed pounds on a tight schedule.  If you are limited to only a few workouts a week, make sure hills are one of them.



Back for more later!
Ciao for now

Back On The Horse

Good riddance 2011, and don’t be offended if I already forgot you.  Certainly, that was the most challenging year of my life.  The fact that I was snoring logs well before the ball dropped on new years eve was not indicative of my pure elation that renewal was imminent.  So here is a big thumbs up for 2012, I am ready for you and so is my holiday belly.  I’m proud to say, four weeks behind on my training goals and 10 lbs heavier, we are officially back on the horse. 

Last week I scrounged out 14 miles on the run, and 60 easy minutes on the bike just to reacquaint my body to training.  I have to be careful with the restart, I jump in too fast, and injury will be probable. I’m sitting here in my hotel room in Montreal (pursuing new employment) rewriting the training program, stiff as a board from a solid 45 minutes on the treadmill a few laps of the pool. ( I loathe the treadmill by the way).  So here are the next few weeks of start-up.  Who is with me!!!!! 

Two races coming up, with a focus on the Bay Race 30K end of March. That will be the indicator if I can take a shot at a spring marathon.

Week 1 – 15 miles – All easy miles

Week 2 -  18 miles – All easy,  with a 70 minute run this Sunday.

Week 3 -  20 miles/ 120 mins on the bike  -  all easy run miles.

Its good to be back
this is going to be a great year!

Taking Inventory

I just finished off a great first week for pre training It feels so great to be back on my feet pushing for a goal (stats will be posted at the bottom every week). Tremendous weather this week certainly made it easy for me to lace em up and get out there. Along the way this week however, I felt something was not quite right. It felt like I was working far too hard for my pace and distance. Perhaps you can relate and have struggled with your training at times as well. My breathing was up, my stride seemed more laboured, I just didn’t have a lot of zip, especially on the rolling hills portion. My easy long run pace is 8:30 – 9 min miles, I was well within that range. So, with that being said, I think I need to take a close look at my upcoming core training program, and my current pre train. Its great to just fire it up an get at it but to actually achieve goals and see some faster times, I need to have a plan based on where I am today.

So for the next few weeks, I’m going to do an inventory count with the heart rate monitor. Its truly a great measure of my current fitness level and a solid indicator of where I need to focus my training. If my easy pace is pushing 75% of my max HR then obviously that is not really an easy pace anymore. I’ll report back in the weeks to come.

Coming up, winter running gear. I have mastered it! I will actually video for you the gear you need for the both the temp & conditions. Its based on four years of winter running and several experiences of being a long way from shelter with the wrong gear on, so trust me, I have you covered here.

Check out the recipe of the week, its actually a sauce. Making a variety of good sauces is all you need. This one is a fav that I actually liberated from a local establishment here in TO.... enjoy!

TRAINING DIARY

Monday 21st – RUN – EZ 3 miles – tired

Tuesday 22nd – RUN – EZ 4 miles (8:40/m pace) - slow, sluggish

Wednesday 23rd – SPIN – 60min total (20 min Time Trial) – Total burn

Thursday 24th – RUN – EZ 4 miles – (8 50/mile pace) – slow, every sluggish

Friday 25th – OFF – Some walking and stretching

Saturday 26th – RUN – 60 min run (7 miles ez) – exhausted finish, felt better overall

Sunday 27th – SPIN – 60 min very EZ, for some stretching