Yesterday at the track, today rest

Yesterday before procrastination set in . I wanted to wait for the sun to burn off clouds before I left but I I layered up and headed out into the cold fog On the way after a mile and a half the sun broke through. It quickly got warm and I tied my jacket around my waist. As I neared the track I saw a couple of runners doing their rounds, I filed in behind them. One of them was going really fast, though I did get to pass him on a straight. He returned the favor several times passing me effortlessly.

My workout felt good. I did 2 miles of straights & curves which worked out to 16 HR intervals for the sprints on the straights. I did them all strong up to the last lap (though I was fading at the end). My HR was pretty high for the intervals but I was able to get it down to 144ish on the way back. I ran the canyon hoping for no mud. There wasn’t much on the trails, pretty dry for the most part.

Oh, I almost forgot. I wore my other new pair of shoes for the run (Asics gel kayano 16), again breaking the golden rule of doing a short break-in run first. They were also 2E, which I have never done before. I always thought I might want to try a wide shoe thinking my feet might like the extra room (especially on the side I wear my lift). They were actually reasonably snug and I think I like the wider shoe so far.

I had lots of work today and it just made sense. Made it a rest day. My mileage is pretty high for the week already – 18 mi. I’ll do at least 14 more before Sunday is done.

Mile high intervals

This morning I made it over to the high school track. It always brings back memories of those years even though I didn’t run track in HS. The extent of my time in the stadium was spent marching for half-time shows with the band. Still it is kind of neat to run there. I didn’t think I would be able to get in at first as all gates were locked. I had given up and headed to the Jr. High just to the north when I saw what looked to be an open gate used for maintenance purposes. So I sneaked in and was able to crank out some straights and curves, two miles worth. The run ended up being just under 5 miles in total.

I am still noticing the elevation here. My HR seems to stay 5-10 beats higher than normal and my speed on the straights was lessened. I noticed that my recovery seemed to be affected as well. As I would finish my “sprints” on the straights I would fall into a slow jog on the curves and my HR continued to rise for longer than I am used to. In fact it kept going up for nearly half the curved portion before it started falling. Of course it then didn’t get back to as low as I usually liked before it was time to run fast again. So 150+ was a bout as low as the distances would allow me. For the last two laps of my run I was feeling pretty pooped out, the humidity was killing me. I almost gave up but decided that I would continue on and force myself to complete the full circuit of eight laps.

My cool down was pretty slow and I plodded along past an old girlfriend’s house, the library and an astonishingly large corn field in someones lot that used to be a pet cemetery. This is my last run of this trip to Winslow and I find myself missing the chance to get out in the town to relive memories. But I have to say I will not miss the heat, the humidity or the elevation.

Track work

Visitors in town last week brought on a four day layoff from running. While I blame them, really it was just a convenient excuse to postpone making the switch to early morning heat avoidance runs. Seriously my laziness is getting out of hand! I’ll get in the groove of it, I just need to commit to setting my alarm and dragging my butt out of bed. So today was a start. I didn’t set the alarm but I let the sun wake me up instead. I had committed last night to doing a quality run of some sort, so I rolled out of bed and got ready.

The track was relatively empty this morning so I had my choice of lanes. I like to start on the outside and make my way toward the inner lane, changing lanes every lap as a way to keep count. Seems to work out well. I manage to do three miles of straights and curves with a 2.25 mi warm up and 3.25 on the back end. It was really cool this morning and it made for a great run. Now I just need to keep up with these morning runs.

I also think I would like to do an occasional hot daytime run, maybe even schedule one in every week. As long as I keep hydrated I think I would see some benefit form doing it.

440s + heat = cramps

I got a late start to my day today. It was really nice out, sunny and warm. I say nice (and it is) just not so much for running. We have had a very cool and wet spring which I think is perfect for running. So this was my first real warm run (an not even that warm – 74) and of course I am on schedule for a quality run. So I headed for the track. At first I was unsure what I was going to do once I got there. I decided on 440 intervals with a 220 recovery jog. I knew it was going to be a rough one so I had lots of water and forced myself to drink sips throughout. I also had a pack of sport beans and they helped a bit as well. After the first couple of them I was really feeling it. I ended up doing six altogether (actually one of them was a 550 as I had started out of my recovery early and wanted to keep on pattern.) The final two were brutal and I slowed down a bit, I still felt ok. Tired and hot, but I had energy to keep going.

After the 440s I headed home which was another 2.5 miles. I took the canyon on the way back. With all the rain we have had the canyon is bursting with vegetation. As I was heading down a corridor of 5 foot high yellow blooming plants on either side of me I noticed a big blackberry vine across the path. Never one to pass up on a junior parkour moment, I picked up speed to hurdle it. A soon as I leapt my push-off leg totally cramped up for a few seconds. I figured this had to do with the heat and my exertion. Closer to home going through the park another obstacle was in my path, this time a discard kids bike. So of course I had to hurdle it. This time as soon as I left my feet on the jump both legs cramped up. I made it over the bike, but my landing was really awkward and I had a really tough time keeping upright. I wobbled along on my painful legs and after a few moments I was back to normal. It was an odd feeling as I normally don’t have an issue with cramping when running. I really think the heat and electrolyte loss was affecting me. I probably should have been more liberal with the running candy or had some replacement drink with me other than water.

Once I made it home I gobbled a whey protein bar which I think really helps is recovery for me if I eat it soon after I stop. I also have a big glass of G2 that I am slowly drinking in order to really take advantage of absorption. I’ll live, but that was a tough one. Just one of several lately. I think it would behoove me to get up an run earlier.

Full week of running

So far this week I have run every day. Today I went to the track to run 440s. When I first got there the place was empty, just like I like it. But it soon filled up with quite a good amount of folks. I wasn’t feeling all that energetic despite downing a gel as I got to the track. I was running a pretty good pace (sub 7 min miles) for the first several 440s which I separated with a recovery 220 that managed to get my HR down into the 140s. After five 440s I decided to call it a day and head home. As I ran through the Reed campus I decided to head to their pathway and add a couple more 440s in. So all in all I did seven of them today. I was greatly aided by some cool weather we have been having. Soon I am going to have to start getting up early again which won’t be a totally bad thing. I am making no promises for tomorrow, but a nice recovery run would be a perfect cap on the work week. Not sure what I am going to do for a long run this week. Maybe busing up to Duniway track and heading up the hill would be good.

Intervals at the track

By the time I got around to going running today it was past noon and really muggy. After last nights long run in the rain I was still pretty tired and I started out at a slow pace. Just outside the track I gobbled a gel I had in my water pack. The track was crowded, mostly the high school track team and or possibly just PE. It was hard to tell. I figured this a good place to yell “track” when they were all gathered in a big group in the lanes. Nobody listened to me, but I think the teacher explained it to them after I passed as the next time around they were clear. There was a good sized group running a pretty good pace. We didn’t run into each other too much as I would pull ahead on the straights and they would catch up on the curves, they passed me a couple of times though. All in all I did seven laps, or 14 strs and crvs. I wanted to do 8-10 laps, but this was enough and I was really feeling the muggy heat.

I think I am going to try for another 40 mile week. For my long run I think I will go to this place I found on Google maps. It is a development, might be gated that surrounds a lake. I have gone bu the area many times and never knew there was a lake. It is nine miles+, and I think I may add some miles on. OR I also want to do a run down to Milwaukee, I guess run the downtown area and then back. That will more than likely be further which will be better for my mileage. If I am increasing by 10% I can do 44 this week, not that I am increasing my mileage, 30 – 40 is good for now.

440 interval workout

Today I did one of the more difficult workouts that I ever do, the dreaded 440 interval workout! As part of my efforts to add more quality runs alternating with recovery runs, I headed to the track this morning. I have been somewhat lame this week and took the last two days off, so a tough run was in the stars for me. As I headed down the street for the track, I remembered I had to send a next day air letter out today so I headed back, grabbed the envelope and sped off toward s the UPS store. This added some steps to my run, but essentially it was equivalent to my normal route to the track, only backwards.

Right from the start my HR was pretty high, but so was my pace. I had a good wind at my back so that was helping. It really wasn’t the sort of gradual warm up that I had intended to begin with. But the temp was cool and I figured if I got the HR up before I got to the track that would be ok, basically like doing another set of intervals, just not as structured. I was a little concerned with being to tired to do a full set of six 440s, but I was willing to be flexible.

The track was empty except for a couple of walkers and runners. I did some additional warm-up and then picked up my pace for the first 440. I didn’t go all out like I do on the straights and curves, after all I had to do a full lap for my 440, but I got it going pretty well. Turned out I spent most of my time right around 7 minute miles, sometimes less, more often closer to 7:30, but a good pace none the less. My HR on the intervals got up around 180 or so at first, then down to 150 or so on my 220 recovery. That was basically my pattern, full lap of 85-95%+ and then a half lap of recovery with the goal of bring my HR down as much as possible.

The max heart rate that I have been working with is 184. I got this number from a formula (205-(age/2)) that is supposedly reasonably accurate for most people with the caveat that I might discover changes in that over time. The highest I have ever seen my HR has been 183. Even though I felt I wasn’t really going all out when I saw it, I know I couldn’t keep that up for long. When I saw it the first time during the Shamrock Run it sort of freaked me out a bit, especially since I was feeling sick then. So, I have always wondered if 183 was my actual max. Today I saw 186 twice on the intervals, so I am going to have to say “NO” to 183. Even at 186 I still felt I could give more and that is what the max is all about. Still makes me a little concerned to be working so hard at such a hard level. The ghost of my  father who had heart trouble follows me even though he was over weight and definitely not a runner. But genes are genes. I had taken a half an aspirin beforehand, so that always makes me feel more confident that I am not going to die! Also, I hear in teh news that I can now eat a small amount of dark chocolate once a day as medicine for my heart and stroke prevention. Sounds good to me!