Weekly recap: 7 weeks to Eugene

Monday: Rest


Tuesday: 4 miles @ base, 2x20 of 3 drills, LB weights after


Cool, crisp air and bright sun today...really windy: 15-20 mph with official wind advisory in effect. Flags were all flying straight out 8)

As with last week I was still a bit sore on my foot after the long run Sunday, but unlike last week I am not feeling that bad later in the day after icing. i.e. some progress even after a hard week, so that's good.


This run came out pretty well considering the huge winds: I ran an out and back course but you never benefit as much from the tailwinds as you lose from the headwinds. I also did the drills in the middle of the run which jacks up my HR quite a bit and usually leaves my legs a bit toasted but this time they felt pretty good after. Overall ypb of almost 1.5 is good considering all that.

Split	Dist	Pace	HR	Max HR	% WHR	Cad	YPB
1	1.00	8:40	130	159	68.9	88	1.562
2	1.00	9:25	128	133	67.2	89	1.459
3	1.00	9:25	126	131	65.6	88	1.482
4	0.84	9:54	121	132	61.5	87	1.475
Sum	3.84	9:19	126.2	n/a	65.8	88	1.495

Garmin TE 3.0


Wednesday: 7.5-ish miles: 2 wu + 4x1 @ 10k pace with 3 min active recoveries between + 1 mi cd

Split	Dist	Pace	HR	Max HR	% WHR	Cad	YPB
1	1.00	9:22	132	179	70.5	88	1.424
2	1.00	9:09	125	130	64.8	88	1.540
3	1.00	8:00	144	149	80.3	91	1.527
4	0.28	10:38	130	146	68.9	85	1.251
5	1.00	8:00	144	150	80.3	90	1.529
6	0.29	10:25	127	142	66.4	85	1.315
7	1.00	7:53	142	145	78.7	90	1.574
8	0.29	11:26	122	141	62.3	83	1.250
9	1.00	7:50	142	148	78.7	91	1.581
10	0.85	10:14	127	148	66.4	85	1.356
Sum	7.71	8:51	133.5	n/a	71.7	88	1.487

Mile 2 was 9:09 pace @ my easy 125 bpm pace....only one mile of that so not conclusive but still a good sign. The 4x1 mile@10k YPBs  were pretty good too. 5 mph headwinds out there for splits 3 and 5..the other splits more sheltered. 

This was my first run with a slight lift in my left shoe. It felt pretty good! My stride seemed much more symmetrical and there felt like less pounding on the left foot.  It will be interesting to see if this helps my left foot (and doesn't hurt the right one ;)

Garmin TE 3.8

Thursday: 40 min XT + myrtle


Foot feels excellent this morning...happy happy! 30 min of light spinning on the stationary bike. level 8/20, cadence @ 110, HR started at 100, ended at 115. 10 min of easy rowing then myrtle routine.

Friday: 6 miles @ base, 8x10sec hill sprints

Did the sprints after 1 mile of w.u. I felt a lot more symmetric in my gait with the lift in my left foot!.  My left glute was acting up after the 6th sprint..not enough to stop me but it was there. Pretty toasted after so did the 6 miles at very slow base!

Split	Time	Dist	Pace	HR	Max HR	% WHR	Cad	YPB
1	8:16.9	0.86	9:41	124	150	63.9	88	1.474
2	:11.5	0.03	5:32	132	135	70.5	105 ***	2.087
3	1:01.2	0.05	22:34	132	145	70.5	60	0.654
4	:10.7	0.03	6:15	116	124	57.4	93 ***	2.552
5	1:13.6	0.06	21:47	130	144	68.9	60	0.662
6	:09.9	0.02	6:44	117	121	58.2	106 ***	1.823
7	1:05.1	0.05	20:09	129	139	68.0	59	0.629
8	:09.3	0.02	6:15	122	126	62.3	104 ***	1.861
9	1:20.8	0.06	22:47	131	145	69.7	57	0.599
10	:10.3	0.03	6:12	117	122	58.2	99 ***	2.629
11	1:26.8	0.06	24:47	130	145	68.9	56	0.562
12	:09.5	0.03	6:02	119	122	59.8	99 ***	2.802
13	1:13.5	0.06	22:13	132	144	70.5	58	0.653
14	:10.5	0.03	5:56	120	128	60.7	104 ***	2.514
15	1:11.3	0.05	22:38	132	144	70.5	58	0.561
16	:10.7	0.03	6:12	120	130	60.7	99 ***	2.467
17	1:13.3	0.05	22:28	133	145	71.3	58	0.542
18	2:32.4	0.24	10:29	121	128	61.5	85	1.374
19	10:11.4	1.00	10:11	123	130	63.1	86	1.404
20	10:13.9	1.00	10:14	122	126	62.3	85	1.410
21	10:00.3	1.00	10:00	122	129	62.3	85	1.442
22	10:05.2	1.00	10:05	125	128	64.8	85	1.396
23	7:11.6	0.68	10:32	123	131	63.1	84	1.353
Sum	6.44	10:49	124.9	n/a	64.6	82	1.303

Later in the day I found BOTH of my glutes were pretty sore. I guess that's good ..at least I'm using them! Long before Coach Jill and PT I never used my glutes for running, I think.


Later that night I went to the movies (the Banff film festival..amazing) and my glutes were SO sore..I kept shifting around in my seat to be comfortable. Good news was left glute no worse than right...however hamstrings and quads were also sore.

Garmin TE 2.8

Saturday: 100ups + 3 miles easy + UB weights + myrtle


I only did 1.6@11:00 pace and decided to call it quits. I was still sore enough that my form wasn't very good. I decided rest was a better idea.


In the afternoon, we went to see Cirque du Soliel "Totem" (which was fantastic) and my glutes were still sore, but less so.


Sunday: 13 miles @ base

As I got dressed for this mornings run I was wondering if 13 miles would be a great idea. I was still sore in both hamstrings, quads and slightly in the glutes. Lifting a leg to put it in my running shorts required some determination 8/...but anyway..out the door we went: I did some fast walking for a bit, then trotted to my stretching place. Ouch! Putting my foot up on a post to stretch out my leg was tough.

I set off for the baylands  and decided I would take it easy for a few miles and then see how things felt. As I warmed up I felt better and got into a good 'shuffle run' form which I have become very comfortable with. On days like today it's a good thing because no long strideouts are possible ... Going over the bike overpass I walked it....the uphill muscles were still sore....

Once on the trails I started to speed up a bit..glanced at my Garmin and could not believe what I was seeing for HRs. It also became clear that I would be able to do the full 13.1 and also that my sore heel or whatever the heck it is was going to be ok for the run. I felt good other than all the soreness...whenever the trail got lumpy I had to work harder because various stabilizer muscles were also complaining.

Split	Dist	Pace	HR	Max HR	% WHR	Cad	YPB
1	1.00	10:32	107	116	50.0	86	1.562
2	1.00	10:01	115	119	56.6	87	1.529
3	1.00	10:03	116	124	57.4	84	1.510
4	1.00	9:40	117	124	58.2	85	1.557
5	1.00	9:45	119	124	59.8	85	1.518
6	1.00	9:35	114	119	55.7	84	1.611
7	1.00	10:12	115	120	56.6	85	1.501
8	1.00	9:42	120	127	60.7	86	1.512
9	1.00	10:05	113	122	54.9	85	1.546
10	1.00	9:05	122	127	62.3	86	1.588
11	1.00	8:57	124	128	63.9	86	1.585
12	1.00	9:38	122	126	62.3	85	1.496
13	1.00	10:11	121	130	61.5	84	1.430
14	0.11	11:03	116	118	57.4	82	1.350
Sum	13.11	9:48	117.2	n/a	58.4	85	1.530

Garmin TE 2.4 

On the way back I stopped at the Gamble house gardens to fill my water bottle...lots of flowers in bloom, bulbs up. Took a couple of shots with the phone camera.


Although I felt ok I could not easily speed up...I could feel the sore bits more when I did. I headed for the Paly track to run the mileage up to 11...that would be 13 when I got home. On the track I pushed the pace and put in two faster miles. (10, 11). The HRs for these miles were still insanely low...marathon paces at 122-124 bpm...ypbs of 1.58!  Whhhaaatt? 

This run turned out to be freakin' amazing: this piddly-ass 9:48m/m run was the most efficient 10+ miles I have ever run.  (i..e covered the distance with the fewest total beats of the heart)


This run just goes to show you how your body can surprise you. I was so stiff and sore and ready to abort and instead I get a present. Does it make sense to give your own body a hug? That's what I feel it deserves for such a great response today. Monday it gets some well deserved solid REST. 

Total 32.7 miles


I found out I can get a deal on body fat "dunking" for only $35 so I signed up for 3/21. My weight seems to be stuck around 170-171 but I feel like my fat is less..at least when I use my usual stomach pinch method. 


It will be interesting to see the actual % body fat..the last time I did this it was before all Jill's strength training stuff (and I was 18.4%).  I also have an incentive to keep the calories reasonable for the next 10 days 8)