Garmin Connect

Garmin Connect
lunges, squats, mountain climbers and a dog walk. didn't want to overdo it since I haven't done much recently. L heel has been feeling good lately. only one more ref game on my schedule so time to get moving again.

Day 15.7 - Montessori 5K - 26:43 - 8:35 / mile pace!!

Well, I was shooting for an 8:30 / mile and came in at 8:35 / mile so I'm happy with that. I foolishly forgot the exta .2 miles and expected to finish around 25:30 but upon reflection, I see where I went wrong and I'm pretty happy w/ my time. I've been training at a 9 min / mile pace so this is a nice improvement, especially considering the screwy terrain.

I wore my Asics, shorts, and t-shirt. I forgot my hat and it was wicked sunny, but I survived :-) Can't wait for the next one - and hopefully I'll be down to 210 by then!

Day 15.4 - 4.1 miles - 37:03 mins - 9:02 pace

Ran from the Y to Bridge Street, up to Pulteney, and down to McDonald's. I thought it was 4.2 miles, but nah - just over 4. I had anal retentive issues about 2 minutes into the run and it really took a lot out of me. The hardest part was around the 25th minute - I came extremely close to walking but persevered.

I ran in tights, t-shirt, and Asics. I wasn't too hot but it took me forever to cool down and stop sweating - nearly 20 minutes. I now take 2 days off before running the chemung valley montessori 5K on Sunday (http://sites.google.com/site/cvms5k/).

Day 15.1 - 2.1 miles - 19:15 - Memorial Day

With the baby stroller, uphill mostly, I ran 2.1 miles at 9:10 pace!!! I was down to 214 this morning, too. I haven't eaten that great this weekend, but with all the family & kids around, I have definitely been more active. I was happy with my effort today, especially given the night the baby had, but hopefully I can get below a 9 minute mile soon. Now that lax refereeing is over, I'm hoping to run 4 days a week and tomorrow will be a longer run.

I ran in my Asics, Gear shorts, t-shirt, and Adidas hat. I hit the road right around 8am -- again, I was happy w/ the effort.

Day 14.4 - 1hour - 6.2 miles

I did my long run - FINALLY! When was the last time I ran for an hour? Back when I still lived in Rome I think and that was almost 10 years ago. I was going to run long yesterday, but Brennan was up so much the night before that I couldn't. Last night he only woke up once so I grabbed the chance. Unfortunately he woke Annie up at 5:30.

I wore my Adidas hat, Asics, tights, and a new twist - a t-shirt underneath a long-sleeve shirt. It was about 50 degrees which wasn't cold enough for a jacket, nor warm enough for just a t-shirt and the 2-shirter worked perfectly. I did get really sore nipples, though...I don't think it was chafing necessarily, but they were quite bothersome.

The run was good. I started at the Y, went to Bridge, and then onto Pulteney all the way to route 86 near Denny's. I made the turn at 29:30, intentionally giving myself some extra time on the return trip as I considered that hill near West High. I ended up having an extra 15-20 seconds upon the return to the Y so I just ran a little farther into the parking lot. I guess that means I was a little slower on the return, but I'm okay with that. My pace works out to 9:40 per mile which, given my usual 9:30 per mile, was pretty good.

For the first time that I can remember, I was actually questioning myself as to why I was running so far / so long. It started around minute 40 and though it seemed like a long conversation in my head, it probably only lasted 20 seconds or so. I got rid of it by doing my old Army cadence - "One mile, no sweat, 2 miles, better yet, 3 miles, easy run, 4 miles, lots of fun, 5 miles to the sun, 6 miles, almost done, 7 miles, for the run, aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!". Okay, I added a couple there, but that's what I was saying to myself. It really threw off my breathing :-)

Besides my nipples, there really wasn't much pain anywhere, but there was a ton of discomfort! I could feel the acid in my legs and my right achilles wasn't thrilled, but it never complained so much that I felt the need to stop. My left middle toes started feeling like they were bleeding around minute 45 or 50, but I didn't stop.

I never found a consistent rhythm with my breathing or my stride, but that didn't faze me much. For the most part on the way out I was breathing in & out every 3rd stride. The way back was all over the place as I reverted to breathing in for 3 strides and out for 2. Then when I started doing my cadence I was in and out every 2. Once I realized that, though, I forced myself to calm down so I didn't waste myself. I did some stretching at the end because everything felt like it needed it. Next week I'll run fast instead of long and see how I do - I still haven't found a decent workout plan for that yet.

Day 13.7 - 30 mins - Massachusetts

Ran around Eric's neighborhood on Sunday morning. It was humid and rainy. My Asics were great, but soaked. I didn't run hard or too long - just enough to work off one of the Cinnamon Buns I ate the night before :-)

Day 12.5 - Saturday - Beartown loop

Ran early this morning before work and it was actually a bit chilly which I didn't expect. I wore a Starter t-shirt, Asics, and tights. I ran the loop (2.6 miles) in 24:32. I tried to take it easy because I have a 3-lax game day on Saturday and I really didn't want to drain myself. I think I may have gotten a cold from the run. Should have brought a hat.

Day 11.5 - Friday - Beartown Road

I dropped off the kids today and parked at the Fire Department. I ran counter-clockwise up Forest, left onto South Hamilton, left onto Beartown, and left again onto Forest. I made it back to Fieldview at 24:27:95 which I clocked at 2.6 miles for a pace of 9:25 per mile - a nice improvement over my 10-minute pace. I then jogged another tenth-of-a-mile down Fieldview to Jacob and walked back as a cool down.

It was a good workout with some nice up-hills on Beartown. I definitely think I run faster when I have more of a warm-up. I need to get back to my jumping-jacks & joint rotations prior to running - maybe that will help my calves. I feel pretty good now, but did have to ice up my left shin. My legs hurt as soon as I moved, but it felt good to have pushed through it and completed the circle. I'm surprised my shins hurt, but I did have a game last night with a lot of running.

My weight was 219 this morning and unfortunately I went out to lunch (& dessert) for Regina's going away party so that might go up a bit tomorrow. But I am continuing my downward trend and just need to stay active and keep sleeping.

I wore my Asics (I've GOT to get another pair!) and they were great. I wore shorts for the first time this year and I think it definitely made a difference over the tights. Tights do support the legs & circulation and all, but I think the spandex makes the muscles work harder, too. I wore a long sleeve shirt and my Nike jacket but the jacket was overkill and I ended up carrying it for 1/2 the run.

Day 11.3 - Wednesday - Williams Street

I tried to get up a bit earlier (4:40) this morning to give the body more of a warm up, but I fell back to sleep and awoke at 4:57 so that didn't work out too well. I did tru to do some stretches & rotations to loosen things up and that seemed to work a bit. I started at the YMCA and ran for 17:30 out and then back. I wore my Asics, Nike Jacket & Nike tights, hat & gloves - it was pretty chilly this morning.

I felt great on the way out. I had eaten poorly on Tuesday while being home with Brian & his ear infections, but still weighed in at 219 to start the day so that probably helped my perception that I was feeling good and going faster. I made it all the way to the intersection of High and First streets in Painted Post before turning around. The return trip seemed to take longer and much more energy, but it ended up being faster by about 20 seconds. I did some "bounding" strides and took some liberties with my stride in the "sitting" motion that I do to alleviate the stress on my calf muscles and I also did a few sections running on my toes.

All in all, it felt good. As the day wore on though, my knees were killing me much more and I was getting up and down like an old guy, putting a lot of weight on my hands / arms to assist. My shins & calf muscles are better, but at what price?

Gotta love the Asics, though. They feel great when I run and seem to be the easiest on my lower legs of all my sneakers.

Day 10.1 - Monday - noon - Highland Hills

Brennan kept me awake for over 1.5 hours last night. I'd been up late on the weekend watching TV. My left knee hurt, my calves hurt, and it was cold and rainy. So when my alarm went off at 4:50 am, I turned it off and went back to sleep and resigned myself to missing my run today, even though I'd planned on doing some hills for the first time in forever.

Then, my 10-11 meeting ended and I didn't have anything else going on until 1:30 so I stepped out to talk to Applebee's about the league sponsoring and went home to grab some lunch. On the way, I realized that I had enough time to get in a run and since I had to referee Tues, Thurs, and Friday, it made more sense to skip my Wednesday run instead. So I grabbed my Asics, my blue Nike tights, my Nike jacket, a long-sleeve shirt, and ran out the door.

Getting to the bottom of Lexington was the easy part - but it was tricky with a wet surface and my muscles still hurting. But I got down there, and took a left running up Sunset all the way to Field. Then I turned around and ran all the way down Sunset to Bridge, and then ran up Sunset to Field again (I think - it's a little confusing trying to remember at the moment). Then I jogged down Sunset to Fox, and ran up Fox to Cintra Lane. I went left on Cintra to Hamilton,etc... whatever. Eventually I got home.

There were a couple walk breaks in there and I wasn't setting any speed records, but if felt great that I was so excited to run and that I put as much effort into the run as I did. My shins are shaking - sewing machine leg you might say - but my calf muscles feel a lot better than they have in a while. Hope I'm not too sore to ref tomorrow!

Day 9.6 - Saturday - Jones Rd - 35 minutes

I didn't get to run until 10:30am because Annie didn't feel well and Allison woke up early. I had to worry about heat for the first time in recent memory. I still wore my tights because I feel they help my legs and they feel great, but I definitely suffered some extra heat because of it - glad I wore a short-sleeve shirt. My Asics Kayanos were fabulous as usual - I should get another pair.

I parked at the Fire Dept and ran up Forest, onto Jones, and all the way to the metal gate in 17:30. The return trip was nearly identical. Right off the bat my calves hurt, but I stuck with it. My left shin, again, was an issue but it went away. It's sore now a few hours later - I did NOT take Alleve prior to the run so that may have something to do with it - I'll have to track it. Taking tomorrow off and then running on Monday. Not sure what the schedule will be since I'm reffing Tuesday & Thursday. I like the current rotation though - easy 30 min run day 1, timed fast run on day 2, and long run on day 3. I do have to keep my shins in order, though. Hopefully I can drop some weight and have a positive effect that way in addition to the stretches I'm doing. Maybe if Annie doesn't go to Florida I can add some strength training, too.

Day 8.5 - West High Track 2 miler timed

Today we leave for Virginia so I didn't want to take too long, but I also wanted a decent workout because I was down to 221.4 today! I changed my mind a couple times on the way out there - should I run 30 mins on Jones road again, or should I go to the track. In the end, I chided myself for being so indecisive and went with what I had planned to do.

I ran in my Nike tights & jacket which was a perfect compliment to the conditions. My Asics were great, too. My first mile was 8:59 and my 2nd was 8:58. My first lap was 2:10 and it went downhill from there. I'm surprised that my 2nd mile was as fast as my first since I specifically didn't allow myself to sprint or pick up the pace - I didn't want to be exhausted for the drive. In general, at this stage in my return to running and considering my age, I was happy with 17:57 which shaved a whole minute per mile off my regular jogging pace.

Day 7.6 - 30 mins @ West High

I haven't run since Monday due to shin splints and today I went crazy wearing my new Asics Kayano 15's. I ran 30 minutes non-stop on the dirt track at West High and my legs feel fine! I slept well the night before and got to the track around 7:30. There was a nasty head-wind on the back stretch (I ran counter-clockwise) but I made it through. I still had 25 seconds to run when I completed 3 miles. There were some puddles on the track and a few soft spots, but I'll take that over shin splints anyday.

Love the new Asics!

Day 7.3 - Wednesday - Lots of shin / calf pain

Didn't run today because my legs hurt so much. I did a game in Bath last night and my shins / calves hurt so much I was frequently out of position. I walked for 10 minutes and will try to do that a couple times today as well as the lower-leg exercises recommended on Runners World. I'll keep you posted. I wore my new InSport tights and the new Asics Kayano 15 and they were great - at least for a walk they were.