Today was different because of Mary Anne's work schedule. I had child transport duties this morning, and had to create my own solo fartlek workout instead of rolling around the lake with the herd.
This morning, I visited Gold's again, for core and upper body weights. Even though it appeared that I was lifting weights with stick-figure arms, I completed a single set workout of everything at various reduced weight and reps. Pleasant soreness was the result. Again, they didn't call my bluff and kick me out as some sort of interloper, so I guess I'll just have to keep going.
This evening, after delivering Sarah to All-City Band rehearsals down south at Covington M.S., I decided to use the intervening time before going back to pick her up by running a fartlek workout around LBLake. I arbitrarily chose a 10 minute warmup, 10 x 1:00 fartleks with 1:00 rest, and then cooldown running from the end of that back to my starting point. The Congress Ave. loop was my turf tonight. It was 85 degrees, according to the trusty car thermometer, but it felt much more pleasant than that on the trail. I guess it was a combo platter of lake effect, breezes, and copious shade along the route. Nice, though.
Without a gang to bounce paces off of, I just picked things up on the accelerations to some perceived level of effort, and then backed off, after that initial warmup. I'm sure I had that focused frown going during the tougher bits, but I was happy that I pushed through and finished the entire workout as I had mapped it. I ended up with something like 7:40/mile pace on the 10 minutes of accelerations, and 9:20/mile or so for the entire loop, including cooldown and warmup miles. 4.82 miles, 44:32. Avg HR was up there, but lower than it was for the 400s last Wednesday.
I saw Carrie out there, putting in some recovery miles just 10 days after her AZ Ironman dream race. I told her it was too early to be out there already, and she just shrugged. Those triathletes are just a different breed, I guess. You need to read her blog about that race. She was amazing!
So, another day of honest physical work, another drop in the physiological bucket, another baby step back towards fitness. Onward.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
HR Recovery Running, again
Today, my legs didn't feel nearly as destroyed as they did last week after the 400m repeats. I'll take that as a sign that I'm creeping back into shape. Slowly.
I finally got to the gym today, and I felt like an impostor. However, no one asked me politely (or impolitely) to leave, so I guess it was okay for me to be there. :-) I just cruised through an introductory gym routine with core and leg weight evercises, using lighter weights or lower reps or both from my past gym days. Just one set all around, too. I wanted to get there to reacquaint myself with the routine and to let my body know that we were going to get back to work. No rebellious muscles snapped, and I'm sort of looking forward to future visits.
Tonight, I rolled out into the 'Hood for another exciting HR recovery run. Again, my goal was to run 30 minutes at a very controlled overall HR for a true recovery effort. I was successful. My legs felt pretty good from the start, and I was able to get a little more distance at a little quicker pace and a little lower overall HR than last Thursday's similar effort. Victory! The stats were still quite modest: 2.82 miles, 30:42 time, 10:53/mile pace, and avg HR 152. For me, 152 is sort of loafing. For Frank, I think, it's close to 10K HR pace. Such are the vagaries of cardiovascular numbers.
I am starting to look forward to running again, and that's a big step for me. Tomorrow, I have to craft a fartlek workout on my own here in the 'Hood due to home responsibilities, so that will be a bigger test of my willingness to work out than today's efforts.
I finally got to the gym today, and I felt like an impostor. However, no one asked me politely (or impolitely) to leave, so I guess it was okay for me to be there. :-) I just cruised through an introductory gym routine with core and leg weight evercises, using lighter weights or lower reps or both from my past gym days. Just one set all around, too. I wanted to get there to reacquaint myself with the routine and to let my body know that we were going to get back to work. No rebellious muscles snapped, and I'm sort of looking forward to future visits.
Tonight, I rolled out into the 'Hood for another exciting HR recovery run. Again, my goal was to run 30 minutes at a very controlled overall HR for a true recovery effort. I was successful. My legs felt pretty good from the start, and I was able to get a little more distance at a little quicker pace and a little lower overall HR than last Thursday's similar effort. Victory! The stats were still quite modest: 2.82 miles, 30:42 time, 10:53/mile pace, and avg HR 152. For me, 152 is sort of loafing. For Frank, I think, it's close to 10K HR pace. Such are the vagaries of cardiovascular numbers.
I am starting to look forward to running again, and that's a big step for me. Tomorrow, I have to craft a fartlek workout on my own here in the 'Hood due to home responsibilities, so that will be a bigger test of my willingness to work out than today's efforts.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Mile Repeats
This morning was pretty muggy, but it was still reasonable conditions that we'll be begging for in a few months. It's just such a drag when the last nice cool spell comes and goes. Sigh...
Gilbert was back today after his London trip and his subsequent trip to meet Chuck Norris. Really. Apparently, the Chuckster was a nice guy, and knew all about Gilbert, so G had a very nice experience meeting one of his childhood heroes. That's a good thing. I'm glad that Norris did some research and he seemed to enjoy meeting and talking with Gilbert.
As for today's running, we went for mile repeats on the traditional rolling course at Zilker Park. I found my new group once we got there, and settled in for 3 repeats. I'm still slowly returning to training, but I turned in respectable times of 8:00, 7:56 and 8:10 for my three laps. Way off of my PB for this workout, but not too bad today. My HR numbers weren't pegged like they were with the 400s last week, so that was a sign that I was pacing better today.
I had a nice relaxed run back to RunTex with Courtney, Marty and Mary Ann(?), and spent some time getting in a good stretching session once we were done. My hamstrings were pretty tight and sore, so I'll dig into those later on with the foam roller, etc.
For the day, about 6.8 miles. I feel better every day that I stay on my running path, and I hope that things get better sooner rather than later.
Gilbert was back today after his London trip and his subsequent trip to meet Chuck Norris. Really. Apparently, the Chuckster was a nice guy, and knew all about Gilbert, so G had a very nice experience meeting one of his childhood heroes. That's a good thing. I'm glad that Norris did some research and he seemed to enjoy meeting and talking with Gilbert.
As for today's running, we went for mile repeats on the traditional rolling course at Zilker Park. I found my new group once we got there, and settled in for 3 repeats. I'm still slowly returning to training, but I turned in respectable times of 8:00, 7:56 and 8:10 for my three laps. Way off of my PB for this workout, but not too bad today. My HR numbers weren't pegged like they were with the 400s last week, so that was a sign that I was pacing better today.
I had a nice relaxed run back to RunTex with Courtney, Marty and Mary Ann(?), and spent some time getting in a good stretching session once we were done. My hamstrings were pretty tight and sore, so I'll dig into those later on with the foam roller, etc.
For the day, about 6.8 miles. I feel better every day that I stay on my running path, and I hope that things get better sooner rather than later.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Slooooooowwwwwwww Runnin'
Today was the first HR recovery run since I've returned to the fold. And it was a wildly eye-opening experience. What is a HR recovery run? Well, there is some discussion amongst training peeps that you should stick very carefully to a low HR range for recovery runs, even if it means almost crawling along on your run. There is further discussion about what "low" means in relation to HR. It gets to be pretty confusing and contradictory if you go between the various HR running gurus.
However, I've decided on what "low" means to me, given my current max HR and waking HR, and for me, that means trying not to get too far over 155. For me, that's around 60-65% range (my max is a scary 202 bpm, and my waking pulse is 48). Not so long ago, I could cruise around at that HR range at a running pace of somewhere around 9:30/mile, and sometimes quicker if the weather was nice and chilly. Tonight? Well.....
I was way too stiff and sore this morning to go out for an early run, so I gently stretched, did some foam rolling, and worked out some of that junk instead. After the day had run its course, I eased out at 7:15pm for 30 minutes of carefully monitored HR running. And off I went. Keeping a careful eye every couple of minutes, I managed to find the pace that kept the HR number at 155 or below, for the most part. Imagine my surprise when my first mile "split," if one can call it that, was 10:57. Wow! Continuing on, I turned in a second mile in 11:21 (some hilly stuff that forced even more slowdown on the inclines), and a last .77 miles at 10:39 pace.
Totals were 2.77 miles at an average of 11:00/mile. Golly! Sure, my average HR was 155 for the full run, so I did that properly, but that's darned slow compared to just a few months ago, before the dark days of late February and March. There is much work to be done, that's for sure.
On the good side, I stuck to the required workout plan, discovered some things about my current shape, and my legs felt pretty good once I was finished. A nice stretching session later, and all things considered, it was a good workout.
So, I have a ways to go to recover my former fitness, but it will come. I have to become reacquainted with the gym, too, so that I can burn off the anatomical goo more efficiently. I'll keep you apprised of my progress. I will not mention things like my weight, but let's just say that when you keep eating like a marathoner, but you are training like a truck driver, certain things happen to you. They are mostly not great. :-) Time to kick up the old internal physiological furnace once again!
However, I've decided on what "low" means to me, given my current max HR and waking HR, and for me, that means trying not to get too far over 155. For me, that's around 60-65% range (my max is a scary 202 bpm, and my waking pulse is 48). Not so long ago, I could cruise around at that HR range at a running pace of somewhere around 9:30/mile, and sometimes quicker if the weather was nice and chilly. Tonight? Well.....
I was way too stiff and sore this morning to go out for an early run, so I gently stretched, did some foam rolling, and worked out some of that junk instead. After the day had run its course, I eased out at 7:15pm for 30 minutes of carefully monitored HR running. And off I went. Keeping a careful eye every couple of minutes, I managed to find the pace that kept the HR number at 155 or below, for the most part. Imagine my surprise when my first mile "split," if one can call it that, was 10:57. Wow! Continuing on, I turned in a second mile in 11:21 (some hilly stuff that forced even more slowdown on the inclines), and a last .77 miles at 10:39 pace.
Totals were 2.77 miles at an average of 11:00/mile. Golly! Sure, my average HR was 155 for the full run, so I did that properly, but that's darned slow compared to just a few months ago, before the dark days of late February and March. There is much work to be done, that's for sure.
On the good side, I stuck to the required workout plan, discovered some things about my current shape, and my legs felt pretty good once I was finished. A nice stretching session later, and all things considered, it was a good workout.
So, I have a ways to go to recover my former fitness, but it will come. I have to become reacquainted with the gym, too, so that I can burn off the anatomical goo more efficiently. I'll keep you apprised of my progress. I will not mention things like my weight, but let's just say that when you keep eating like a marathoner, but you are training like a truck driver, certain things happen to you. They are mostly not great. :-) Time to kick up the old internal physiological furnace once again!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Return to Speedwork
Let's see...Monday I was pretty stiff and sore from my modest effort at the Bun Run 5K, but as they like to say, it was a good kind of sore, earned from actual effort. Anyway, I figured 2000m repeats probably weren't the best idea given my current state of (non-) fitness, so I did some recovery running instead. 40 minutes of nice and easy running on the trail, and by the end of the run, my legs were feeling better. Just over 4 miles, but for now, that's just fine.
Today, Wednesday, I rejoined the herd for some speedwork. I decided before I drove down for the workout that I would purposely shift groups, and I planned on doing 8 repeats, maybe 10. So, when Bernard said that 10 was the minimum number of repeats, I was already a little bit off kilter. Still, the group I hung with was just perfect for me, and everyone took turns leading the pack, so it was a communal effort. We were really solid on pacing, knocking the 400m repeats out at an average of 1:51/400m, with a slow lap of 1:53 and a fast lap of 1:50 for the first 11 repeats. On the 12th and final repeat, I picked it up a bit to 1:44. I wouldn't have done 12, but no one else was stopping at 10, so I sort of was shamed into staying with the pack for an even dozen. I'd point out that 10 is an even number, too, but Monique was persuasive, and our pack of 6 runners stuck together.
I ran back with Frank, and all in all it was a nice return to the morning workouts. It was fun to see everyone, and now I can approach future workouts with joy instead of trepidation.
Except for my HR being much higher for a slower pace, I felt okay out there. My legs felt a little clunky, but that's to be expected. It'll come back to me, but I must be patient. I figure by June I'll be more or less back to normal. Whatever "normal" is... :-)
Today, Wednesday, I rejoined the herd for some speedwork. I decided before I drove down for the workout that I would purposely shift groups, and I planned on doing 8 repeats, maybe 10. So, when Bernard said that 10 was the minimum number of repeats, I was already a little bit off kilter. Still, the group I hung with was just perfect for me, and everyone took turns leading the pack, so it was a communal effort. We were really solid on pacing, knocking the 400m repeats out at an average of 1:51/400m, with a slow lap of 1:53 and a fast lap of 1:50 for the first 11 repeats. On the 12th and final repeat, I picked it up a bit to 1:44. I wouldn't have done 12, but no one else was stopping at 10, so I sort of was shamed into staying with the pack for an even dozen. I'd point out that 10 is an even number, too, but Monique was persuasive, and our pack of 6 runners stuck together.
I ran back with Frank, and all in all it was a nice return to the morning workouts. It was fun to see everyone, and now I can approach future workouts with joy instead of trepidation.
Except for my HR being much higher for a slower pace, I felt okay out there. My legs felt a little clunky, but that's to be expected. It'll come back to me, but I must be patient. I figure by June I'll be more or less back to normal. Whatever "normal" is... :-)
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Schlotzsky's Bun Run 5K
He's baaaaaaack...we hope. Anyway, after months of moping and rib injury and general malaise, I'm creeping back out on the roads and trails to see about turning myself into a shape that is not round. :-)
Mary Anne's work schedule has caused me to miss a ton of Gazelles workouts, too, so that created different mental stresses. You know how it goes...I'm way slower than I was a few months ago, so I get embarrassed about going to speed workouts, so maybe I don't go to the speed workouts because I'm slower, and so I don't get faster because I don't go to speed workouts because I'm slower. I know the logic is twisted, but our minds do strange things to us from time to time.
At any rate, I did get out yesterday for a super easy 3 miles of jogging before the Stretch-A-Thon with the Gazelles, and my legs didn't explode or anything. So, I did the only logical thing, which was to walk over and sign up for the Bun Run held this morning. I tend to run this race every year, and I like the shirt, so what the heck? Also, I had no expectations of time for the race, and could just run it for fun to get my psyche jump-started.
This morning, after rolling down to park near RunTex, I did some very gentle warmup stuff. I wasn't even in shape (I thought) to join the herd for the usual warmup, so I walked for 20 minutes or so, did some drills, stretched gently, and finally did some very easy jogging. No strides, but I figured I'd be running nice and relaxed, so who needs strides for that?
I eased into the mob about 30 yards back from the start line, but moved up a bit in the crowd when I realized that surely I was faster than most of the folks I saw around me there. The weather was a perfect crisp and clear 48 degrees, and I was fairly serene as the wheelchairs went off, the National Anthem was sung, and Evel blared the starting horn for us. No worries. Just go out and see what happens.
So, I did. I weaved my way through the crowds ahead of me as I crossed the starting line, passing walkers, very slow runners, and those who went out fast and quickly came to a crawl (young runners, mostly). The course has changed this year from the traditional Dog Pound loop, presumably due to the Arts Festival that has taken over Cesar Chavez street this weekend. Thus, we zigged and zagged over to Congress, and did that sneaky climb up Congress to the Capitol. I saw Rich and Banjo right at the one mile marker, and noted a sedate 8:55 for that mile. Okay. Traffic caused some of that, and I felt pretty good, so I eased into the next running gear, and moved on.
Mile 2 featured all of the hills on this course. Up 12th Street, where scads of folks slowed to a walk, up San Jacinto , which had some bumps for us, and then the turn west onto 15th, where the last significant hill came and went. Even in my current (lack of) shape, I was pleased to note that I was passing folks left and right. That's encouraging. We turned south at Lavaca and then tucked into the Capitol grounds for a bit. Mile 2 came and went, and I was happy to see a second mile split of 8:06. It was a harder mile than the first, but I felt about the same, so it was all good.
Except for quick little hill at the Governor's Mansion early on, Mile 3 was mostly downhill and/or flat, so one could expect to pick up a little time here. I continued to roll through the crowds, and I don't remember very many, if any, people passing me during this part of the race. Just sort of relaxing into a higher turnover, I picked it up a bit, and soon enough we were back at the First Street Bridge and the 3 mile marker. This year, the course finished on the bridge, so it was a bit easier to concentrate on the finish line since it was right in front of us from farther back (no corners to negotiate late in the race for a change). I did a modest finishing kick over the bridge, and was pleased to cross the line at a decent pace. Done!
Mile 3 was 7:34, and the 0.11 mile finishing kick was 0:46 for a 6:58/mile pace. Way slower than in years past, but much faster than I had expected. Final time 25:21, or 8:09/mile pace. I've run half marathons faster than that pace, so I'm way off my game, but it was comforting to be able to turn in a respectable race coming off of basically no training.
I hung out afterwards with Frank, Larry, Ava, Alicia and other folks, and in ways that they might not recognize, that simple activity made me feel much better. I forget how much a part of my social network that the Gazelles are. When I drift away from the herd for a while, I miss the human interaction, and that can snowball into all sorts of grumpiness on my part. Perhaps I've learned a lesson...again?
At any rate, as I told Frank, my goals for the next 3 months are to get into shape so that I can begin White Rock marathon training in late July. Shouldn't be a problem, but I have let myself drop way off my former fitness. I'll get back to the Gazelles workouts, albeit at a slightly slower pace than usual, and fight my way back into shape. No other grand pronouncements except to remind myself that running improves most aspects of my life, both mentally and physically, and when I drop off of that, I'm a lesser person for it.
Onward!
Mary Anne's work schedule has caused me to miss a ton of Gazelles workouts, too, so that created different mental stresses. You know how it goes...I'm way slower than I was a few months ago, so I get embarrassed about going to speed workouts, so maybe I don't go to the speed workouts because I'm slower, and so I don't get faster because I don't go to speed workouts because I'm slower. I know the logic is twisted, but our minds do strange things to us from time to time.
At any rate, I did get out yesterday for a super easy 3 miles of jogging before the Stretch-A-Thon with the Gazelles, and my legs didn't explode or anything. So, I did the only logical thing, which was to walk over and sign up for the Bun Run held this morning. I tend to run this race every year, and I like the shirt, so what the heck? Also, I had no expectations of time for the race, and could just run it for fun to get my psyche jump-started.
This morning, after rolling down to park near RunTex, I did some very gentle warmup stuff. I wasn't even in shape (I thought) to join the herd for the usual warmup, so I walked for 20 minutes or so, did some drills, stretched gently, and finally did some very easy jogging. No strides, but I figured I'd be running nice and relaxed, so who needs strides for that?
I eased into the mob about 30 yards back from the start line, but moved up a bit in the crowd when I realized that surely I was faster than most of the folks I saw around me there. The weather was a perfect crisp and clear 48 degrees, and I was fairly serene as the wheelchairs went off, the National Anthem was sung, and Evel blared the starting horn for us. No worries. Just go out and see what happens.
So, I did. I weaved my way through the crowds ahead of me as I crossed the starting line, passing walkers, very slow runners, and those who went out fast and quickly came to a crawl (young runners, mostly). The course has changed this year from the traditional Dog Pound loop, presumably due to the Arts Festival that has taken over Cesar Chavez street this weekend. Thus, we zigged and zagged over to Congress, and did that sneaky climb up Congress to the Capitol. I saw Rich and Banjo right at the one mile marker, and noted a sedate 8:55 for that mile. Okay. Traffic caused some of that, and I felt pretty good, so I eased into the next running gear, and moved on.
Mile 2 featured all of the hills on this course. Up 12th Street, where scads of folks slowed to a walk, up San Jacinto , which had some bumps for us, and then the turn west onto 15th, where the last significant hill came and went. Even in my current (lack of) shape, I was pleased to note that I was passing folks left and right. That's encouraging. We turned south at Lavaca and then tucked into the Capitol grounds for a bit. Mile 2 came and went, and I was happy to see a second mile split of 8:06. It was a harder mile than the first, but I felt about the same, so it was all good.
Except for quick little hill at the Governor's Mansion early on, Mile 3 was mostly downhill and/or flat, so one could expect to pick up a little time here. I continued to roll through the crowds, and I don't remember very many, if any, people passing me during this part of the race. Just sort of relaxing into a higher turnover, I picked it up a bit, and soon enough we were back at the First Street Bridge and the 3 mile marker. This year, the course finished on the bridge, so it was a bit easier to concentrate on the finish line since it was right in front of us from farther back (no corners to negotiate late in the race for a change). I did a modest finishing kick over the bridge, and was pleased to cross the line at a decent pace. Done!
Mile 3 was 7:34, and the 0.11 mile finishing kick was 0:46 for a 6:58/mile pace. Way slower than in years past, but much faster than I had expected. Final time 25:21, or 8:09/mile pace. I've run half marathons faster than that pace, so I'm way off my game, but it was comforting to be able to turn in a respectable race coming off of basically no training.
I hung out afterwards with Frank, Larry, Ava, Alicia and other folks, and in ways that they might not recognize, that simple activity made me feel much better. I forget how much a part of my social network that the Gazelles are. When I drift away from the herd for a while, I miss the human interaction, and that can snowball into all sorts of grumpiness on my part. Perhaps I've learned a lesson...again?
At any rate, as I told Frank, my goals for the next 3 months are to get into shape so that I can begin White Rock marathon training in late July. Shouldn't be a problem, but I have let myself drop way off my former fitness. I'll get back to the Gazelles workouts, albeit at a slightly slower pace than usual, and fight my way back into shape. No other grand pronouncements except to remind myself that running improves most aspects of my life, both mentally and physically, and when I drop off of that, I'm a lesser person for it.
Onward!
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