Weekly Status: 9 weeks to Eugene

A shout out to Michael  another 50+ runner/blogger out there doing his dardest to stay fit.

...this Sunday was his first marathon  at the Cow Town (Fort Worth, Tx)....from peeking at the race results it looks like  he totally SMASHED his A goal and had a great race. We'll know more how it went when he posts the race report!

Congrats Michael!

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Monday: Normally a rest day but since no Sunday run we did 70 minutes of biking, 5 of rowing. 


Tuesday: 10 min row 2x1 min hard + 30 min biking 12 x {1 min @ level 15/20, recover to 115 bpm}, Lb weights.


Heel is getting better, but I can still feel it when going down stars or jogging on it so I'm not going to mess things up.. Another couple of days may just do it. 


Meanwhile, cross training allows me to really push hard without hurting it. It's hard to get the HR up with biking but the 1 minute intervals I did today got me just up to 140bpm or so.. It's the legs that are really complaining however! 


I remember fondly my cross training this summer during my previous issues and I had one heck of a time on the bike when I first started ;)


I managed to keep the cadence at 100 the entire 30 min....(I try to keep the cadence in the same range as running cadence.)


Wednesday: A test...5 miles at high base pace. Wore the Brooks Launch shoes. 


It felt ok, I run at 11am and it was already close to 70 and SUNNY, so I was hot compared to my usual early morning runs.  


Legs felt good, even with yesterdays hard bike intervals. The heel was way way better...and running in the Launchs seemed ok. I did ice after just in case but the proof things are able to improve is tomorrow.

Split	Dist	Pace	HR	% WHR	Cad	YPB
1	1.00	9:27	124	63.9	87	1.502
2	1.00	9:16	125	64.8	87	1.521
3	1.00	9:23	126	65.6	86	1.487
4	1.00	9:25	127	66.4	86	1.472
5	1.00	9:17	133	71.3	86	1.424
6	0.04	9:52	132	70.5	84	1.250
Sum	5.04	9:22	127	66.4	86	1.479

If we are lucky the rest days and the slightly higher drop, more forefoot cushion shoes will let us stay ahead of the game.


Thursday: 5 @ 10:23 m/m (HR 113), recovery pace.


I was all set to do some speedwork to test out the foot...but I was draaaaggin'. Usually after a mile I'll be warmed up and ready to go, but not today..for some reason I was tiirrrred. Kept it slow, enjoyed the sunshine. foot ok during the run...no big hit from yesterday's run...a good sign.


We'll see how we feel tomorrow...spent a bunch of time working all the trigger points out of both calves..there were 3-4 on the left leg.


Friday: 2 m warm up + 9 x { 4 min @ sub 8:00 pace + 2min recovery} + 2 m cool down.


This morning after sleeping like a brick, I felt a lot more energetic and so headed to track with calf sleeves on, temps around 50 and bright sun!  Time to see if I could take some speedwork. The foot was feeling quite good so I decided to try 800s.


I guess what I did are modified Yassos....800m @ 8:00 pace takes 4 minutes...but I don't take a full 4 min recovery like a Yasso, but two minutes. 

Split	Dist	Pace	HR	Max HR	% WHR	Cad	YPB
1	1.00	9:53	116	168	57.4	87	1.534
2	1.00	10:02	120	127	60.7	87	1.462
3	0.51	7:54	136	141	73.8	92	1.640
4	0.21	9:58	128	138	67.2	87	1.361
5	0.51	7:59	138	141	75.4	91	1.606
6	0.21	9:47	130	141	68.9	87	1.391
7	0.54	7:45	138	142	75.4	90	1.654
8	0.21	9:54	129	138	68.0	86	1.358
9	0.52	7:50	138	146	75.4	91	1.643
10	0.20	10:01	130	142	68.9	85	1.343
11	0.52	7:47	138	148	75.4	91	1.649
12	0.20	10:25	135	148	73.0	85	1.232
13	0.50	7:59	142	146	78.7	90	1.547
14	0.22	9:18	137	147	74.6	87	1.396
15	0.52	7:49	143	148	79.5	91	1.581
16	0.21	10:01	138	148	75.4	85	1.281
17	0.51	7:49	145	150	81.1	90	1.542
18	0.22	10:33	136	150	73.8	84	1.225
19	0.51	7:54	139	146	76.2	90	1.603
20	1.00	10:47	123	146	63.1	85	1.328
21	0.95	10:34	125	128	64.8	85	1.335
Sum	10.26	9:09	130	n/a	68.9	88	1.478

During the 8th it was getting tough..I was having to push to keep the pace and really concentrate on form. I knew I could do a full 10 but my little "inner voice" was telling me to be prudent..the heel was feeling very good but this was quite a bit of fast running..so perhaps I should stop. Sneaky that inner voice..always looking for a reason to cut things short.


I compromised at doing 9...the time was also getting late and I did still have 2 miles to get back home. I'm happy with low drift in HR and especially happy with the 90 cadence in the 2 oz heavier Launches!


Iced the foot after. Felt pretty good...proof will be how it feels tomorrow.


Saturday will be rest but not sure what to do Sunday, Jill?....12.5 @ base with last couple of miles fast?


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Not much rain around here this "La Nina" year and it's already sunny and warm (70F+ today) and Spring! 


And that means pollen..the flowering trees are out and the mustard is starting to bloom in the hills. After my run Friday I started sneezing later in the day..dear dear..what a messy runny nose..time for the meds!














Sunday: Jill says try to do 14 @ base pace..monitor the foot and abort if required. I was really looking forward to a long run....


It was a cool morning, 50s, some high clouds but pretty sunny. 

Split	Dist	Pace	HR	% WHR	Cad	YPB
1	1.00	10:11	110	52.5	87	1.571
2	1.00	9:54	118	59.0	87	1.507
3	1.00	9:51	120	60.7	87	1.488
4	1.00	9:41	118	59.0	87	1.540
5	1.00	9:49	121	61.5	86	1.481
6	1.00	9:40	119	59.8	86	1.530
7	1.00	9:23	121	61.5	86	1.550
8	1.00	9:48	123	63.1	86	1.459
9	1.00	9:33	126	65.6	87	1.463
10	1.00	9:24	126	65.6	87	1.487
11	1.00	9:31	128	67.2	87	1.445
12	1.00	9:25	127	66.4	87	1.470
13	1.00	9:12	132	70.5	88	1.450
14	1.00	8:48	140	77.0	89	1.429
Sum	14.01	9:35	123	63.1	87	1.494

A decent run, pretty good HRs..not fully peaked yet but getting there..the foot didn't bother me much it was there during the run but didn't mess up my form, however after 10 miles I could tell it was going to be sore after, and yes, it was..icing as per usual.


I was happy I could do the run after doing a pretty hard set of intervals on Friday. Hopefully the foot will bounce back after the rest day tomorrow.


Total: 34.3 miles


For the first time in a long time I managed to hit <170 lbs on the scale. The weight bounces around from day to day so I don't obsess over it but watch for the min values...they are gradually going down. This morning I had to stop and cinch my water belt ..the default setting was just a touch too loose.


9 weeks to go.....