May the Mass x Acceleration be with you

Easy morning run of 3 miles in 24:18

5 miles in 37:49 (7:35/mile)

Feeling pretty good after a week that was mostly off. As usual, my legs were a bit sore after the lack of exercise, but was able to get back into the pace pretty quickly. Light rain, 46 degrees. I used the heart rate monitor for the first time. My average HR was 155.

Splits:
7:43 (144 bpm)
7:38 (151)
7:47 (156)
7:24 (160)
7:17 (163)

7.5 miles in 58:08

I started out planning to run 8 miles and feel good and fast. The first half went ok, but then things went downhill. My quads were tired and aching and I had to slow down. In fact, I wasn't trying to slow down, I just did. Around 7 miles I decided I was going to cut the run short, and I took a short-cut back. Except it wasn't a shortcut, it was a longcut. I had misjudged where I was. At 7 1/2 miles I decided I was done and I walked the rest of the way.

Splits: 7:39 - 7:42 - 7:45 - 7:33 - 7:34 - 7:37 - 8:05 - 4:12 (1/2)

Easy 4 miles in 32:10

I'm feeling ok, but definitely suffering from the effects of not much running. The body is getting out of whack and going much slower than I'm used to. I had wanted to take a couple weeks off, but this is really more "off" than intended. Oh well, I expect I will bounce back quickly once I start up again. Going to Disneyland this next week, so I won't do much running while there probably. Lots of walking, though.

8 miles in 1:01:51

Feeling better today, less tightness in the legs. I've come to the conclusion that I need to not take days off, even after long races. My legs get tight and running hurts if I have more than a couple days of break.

Leaving for Disneyland tomorrow. I'm not sure how much I will get in while down there, so wanted to get a decent run in today. I started out planning to do 6,  but would cut it short if things didn't go well. Instead I felt good enough to lengthen to 4 out.

Splits: 8:04 - 7:53 - 7:54 - 7:42 - 7:31 - 7:40 - 7:43 - 7:26

5.75 miles in 45:40, around Disneyland

I wanted to get in about 6 miles, but no more than that. This worked out well. I ran down Ball road to Walnut, tried to run through a neighborhood but it didn't go through due to railroad tracks and a small aquaduct that runs through Anaheim. It was fun to explore a bit, and kept the pace easy. The plan is to head over to the park about 9:30 and spend many hours there!

Splits: 7:47 - 7:51 - 8:05 - 7:58 - 8:06 - 5:53 (.75 - 7:49/mile)

4 miles in 30:34, around Anaheim/Disneyland area.

A little crazy, but I wanted to get just a short run in today. We were at the park by 8:00AM, spent the morning and came back to hotel by 2:30 PM. Went for a short swim in the ice-cold pool, then waited for the heavy lunch from the Blue Bayou to finish going down. Also took a brief nap. By this time it was 4:20 PM, and was 88 degrees out. Now, I am used to running in upper 40s to maybe low 50s right now. Anything over 50 and I am in short sleeves and shorts, so 88 was a bit of a shock to the system. Never the less, I actually felt better as the run progressed.

Kind of a boring course, but I headed out Manchester and Clementine to Katella. There is a Disney Cast Member parking lot there, so had to turn left and head up a block and kept going South on whatevere road that was. Ran down to Chapman. Saw what I thought was the Crystal Cathedral, so kept heading in that direction until I got to 2 miles and had to turn around. We drove by there the next day and verified it was, in fact, the Crystal Cathedral. Pretty amazing architecture!

Splits: 7:46 - 7:44 - 7:43 - 7:21

10 miles around Disneyland aread in 1:20:24

I decided to beat the heat by running early again. Actually, we weren't going into the park today, so it was good to get the run in in the morning and then have a fairly relaxed day. I did not intend to run 10 miles, but only 8. However,  I mapped out the course ahead of time on google maps and didn't pay enough attention to which mile I was at as I went along, so ended up going out 5 miles instead of 4. The good news was that I didn't notice this until 8 was at 8 miles. I tihought I was at 7 with a mile to go, but figured out I was already at 8 miles with 2 to go.

My legs were pretty tired by today, 3 days in the park plus 2 runs. My legs were sore and ached from the first steps and hurt the whole way. Also, my groin injury was more painful that it's been in a couple months and was a problem for the whole run. Other than that it was a good run. I did more exploring, though I checked to find which streets went through. I visited a couple small parks along the way, one of which I was familiar with.

Splits: 8:07 - 7:56 - 8:08 - 8:03 - 8:04 - 8:13 - 7:56 - 8:05 - 8:14 - 7:38

8 miles in 59:25 (7:26/mile) (30:40 - 28:45)

Feeling ok today, not too tired or sore from the Disneyland vacation. After driving almost 17 hours straight, we got home last night just before 10pm.

It was 51 degrees, and sunny at the start. At 5 miles, though, it started to rain. I didn't want to run in the rain, so I sped up. I didn't outrun the rain, but it did stop with about a mile left. Pace felt good, though certainly strong, over the last couple miles.

Splits: 7:54 - 7:36 - 7:38 - 7:32 - 7:25 - 7:17 - 7:12 - 6:51

5 Mile gas loop in 38:21

I woke up with some kind of cold or similar illness this morning, so stayed home from work and took it easy on the run today. Sunny, but chilly at 11:30.

Splits: 7:48 - 7:35 - 7:46 - 7:38  7:35

5 miles in 38:14

Turns out it hasn't been a cold, but strep-throat I've had. I went to the doctor yesterday morning and got on anti-biotics. Still feeling pretty sick today, but thought I'd give a short run a try and see how it goes. I actually felt pretty good, and better as the run went on. Doctor said that tomorrow I should be feeling noticably better, so I may yet try going 12.

Splits: 7:59 - 7:49 - 7:39 - 7:32 - 7:16

Long run of 12 miles in 1:32:13 (7:41/mile)

Day #3 of antibiotics, I'm still recovering from strep, but I felt pretty good so decided I should be able to handle the 12 I originally planned for this week. The first few miles I was a bit out of sorts. Also, I felt dehydrated a lot of the time, I think due to the medication. Thankfully I did bring a water bottle which lasted me until the 8 mile mark. I also had a bout of low blood-sugar just before 4 miles, which made that mile a bit slower. I stopped for a few minutes in the shade and waited for the dizzyness to pass before resuming. It was a gorgeous day, best of the year so far, at upper 60s by the end, and we reached 72 for the high today.

Splits: 8:02 - 7:38 - 7:39 - 7:58 - 7:39 - 7:34 - 7:41 - 7:50 - 7:27 - 7:32 - 7:36 - 7:36

SEJ-5 mile Gas loop - 5 miles in 37:05 (7:25/mile)

I wasn't going to run today. It was raining steady all morning and I was still feeling crummy from last week's illness. The last thing I wanted to do was be out in the rain while feeling sick. However, around 2:30 I noticed the rain finally stopped and it was sunny out. So, I quickly suited up, warmed up and headed out for a shorter 5 mile run. Felt pretty good. It started to rain in the last mile, but only for a minute. The pace was a bit speedier than planned, but it was good and shouldn't be a problem.

Splits: 7:39 - 7:32 - 7:32 - 7:16 - 7:07

Noon

10 miles in 1:14:26 on Military Road route (37:39 - 36:47)

Although still recovering from strep, and coughing and still have sore throat, etc., I feel really good energy-wise, and nothing seems to be hurting significantly anywhere running-related. I keep running faster paces than intended, but I really think that, if I can run a 20k @ 6:30 pace I should not be wasting my time running 7:40/mile or slower on my regular runs. Recovery days, sure, but not other days.

Splits: 7:39 - 7:33 - 7:41 - 7:26 - 7:21 - 7:19 - 7:22 - 7:15 - 7:29 - 7:21

Noon

6 miles in 44:45 (7:28/mile)

Not feeling tired from yesterday at all. Supposed to be an easy day today, but I am still feeling so good I went ahead and let the pace speed up. Actually, didn't have to try, just looked at my watch and saw I was running more quickly than usual again. I had some low blood-sugar problems during the 3rd mile, but was fine after that.

Splits: 7:34 - 7:24 - 7:39 - 7:23 - 7:17 - 7:28

BPA Trail run - 10 miles in 1:15:36 (7:34/mile)

I was definitely a little tireder today. This is also a hillier course, and that got to me in the later miles. Also, my left knee continues to get sorer, and this course has more concrete sidewalk than I would've liked. The knee started to feel tender after about 5 miles. On the BPA trail I tried to run on the grass/dirt edge to the side of the asphalt trail, but it is only about 1 foot wide, and often is overgrown by tall grass or encroaching scotch broom. Still, it helped.

Splits: 7:33 - 7:34 - 7:38 - 7:25 - 7:39 - 7:41 - 7:30 - 7:35 - 7:31 - 7:31

10:30 AM

Still feeling kind of tired. Left knee a little worse, started feeling sore after about 2 miles or so. This is not anything serious, just some tenderness under the knee cap, and of course it would be getting sore right now. I ramped up my mileage this week from 4 weeks of 15-30 miles to running 50 miles this week. Also, my shoes have over 1100 miles on them. And, my runs have had a lot more concrete in them the last couple weeks. Also, I haven't done much strength training over the last 5 weeks. So, 4 good reasons why my knee is starting to flare up just a little bit.

Splits: 7:41 - 7:44 - 7:48 - 7:38 - 7:43 - 7:54

9:30 AM
14 miles combining Vickory route and the SEJ-7 mile loop - 1:44:10 (7:26/mile)

My knee was a little tender, but not as bad as might be expected. I was able to stay on softer ground much of the time. It was sunny and dry, with little wind. The temps were in the  mid-50's at the start, probably around 60 at the end. Somewhere out there is a water bottle I stashed but was never able to find again. But, I got some water from it at 2 miles before stashing it. And, by breaking the course into two 7 mile segments I was able to get some more water at the half-way point.

I didn't intend to run the second half like a progression, but running the same slow pace gets boring after awhile. I figured I'd just pick it up a little bit. Then a little bit more, etc. Honestly, on long runs it feels easier running faster anyway. My knee wasn't bothering me when I ran faster. Overall, pretty good run. I was tired the rest of the day, though. Splits were sporadic. I discovered at the beginning that my Garmin hadn't been charged. Apparently I'd left it on for a number of hours yesterday and measured a 10 mile drive I'd done in the afternoon! Oh well. I'm out of the habit of marking splits.

Splits:
1 - 8:03.5
4 - 30:59 (22:56 for 3 miles)
5 - 38:42 (7:43)
7 - 53:52 (15:10 for 2 miles)
9 - 68:36 (14:45 for 2 miles, including one major uphil)
10 - 75:54 (7:17)
11 - 83:10 (7:17)
12 - 90:17 (7:07)
14 - 1:44:10 (13:52 for 2 miles)