Last run in the Pacific NW for awhile

Did my usual 5:50am run this morning on my neighborhood course. Ran 5.5 miles in 43:54 (7:59 pace) with a 1-mile surge of 7:01. It was sunny, but still a cool 46 when I went out. Tomorrow we're headed to St. Petersburg, FL for a vacation. The running down there won't be quite so enjoyable. Even with getting up to run early, it'll still be quite humid. I'll just reduce the mileage and/or pace & grind away. Incidentally, my new vacation book (and new addition to my running book library) is Bart Yasso's My Life On The Run. I'm looking forward to reading it.
My bike is going into the shop today to get prepped for the race in early August, so I'll pick it up when we get home and get in a few more hilly training rides.
I ended June with 66 miles of running, which is pretty modest, but it's the most in a month this year so far. I'll likely total fewer next month, since I'll be doing more cycling.
Have a great Monday!

Beautiful...and COLD...morning run

I started my 10-mile run this morning at 5:50am...wearing shorts and a tank top. Not a big deal normally, but it was 45 fricking degrees this morning! That said, I'm totally sold on the morning runs now (in summer...when it's not raining, anyway). It was beautiful. Blue sky, sun rising over the mountains, mist hovering over the fields and ponds around the Centennial Trail in Snohomish. Hardly any traffic adjacent to the trail. Bunnies every few miles. This is my out-and-back "long run" course (where I often bike), and when I started I wasn't sure if I'd go 8 or 10 miles. Okay, I really knew it would be 10, unless I felt horrible at the 4-mile mark. Fortunately, I didn't. Ran it in 1:21:28 (8:09 pace) with a finishing HR of 139. Time for some stretching, breakfast, then hopefully back out into the sun to enjoy the day. It'll be a perfect day for the Rock N Roll Marathon here in Seattle. Good luck to everyone running in it!

Here's how my training week looked:
Running - 3 runs, 20.5 miles / 2:44:37 (8:01avg)
Bike trainer - 2 rides / 120 min (incl 5 x 3min intervals)
Cycling - 1 ride, 25 miles / 1:31:41 (16.4mph)
Walking - 60 min
Strength training - 60 min

Have a great weekend!

Bike ride, plus some questions for you folks

Finally got my bike off the trainer and outside for a ride today. Ended up putting in 25 miles around local neighborhoods, including some challenging hills. I'm learning that my hill running is better than my hill cycling. Hopefully I can change that before my race.

Now...I've got a couple of questions for you. Lately, after getting off the bike, my lower back has been very tight and very sore. In fact, the two weeks I didn't ride, I slept better than usual because my back didn't bother me. Well, now the back pain is back. I've never been "professionally" fitted on my bike, but have adjusted the saddle, handlebars, etc, based on what I've found online. Do any of you more experienced cyclists have any words of wisdom regarding why my lower back isn't liking the bike lately?

The other question is more frivolous. When I was a kid riding with my dad in our car, my sister and I used to play "slug bug", where we'd punch each other when we'd see a Volkswagen Beetle. I once commented to my dad that I never realized how many VW Bugs there were on the roads until I played that game. From then on, he'd refer to that phenomenon as "you just have to look for the Volkswagens and you'll see them". I know there's a term for that, but it escapes me. Okay...all that said to get to this point: I've been noticing a LOT more runners on the roads this year than I have in a long time. Yes, I started running again in Jan. of this year, but even the years I haven't run, I was still tuned in to noticing them, being a long-time runner. I think I read or heard recently that running seemed to increase during times of economic downturn. Not sure if that's the case or not. Are any of you noticing more people running lately, or is it just me?
Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your weekend!

Another (quick) morning run

After a pretty lousy night of sleep (wind noise outside, plus a sore back), I was up again at 5:00. I hopped in my truck and drove to Willis Tucker park to run 5 miles around the 1-mile hilly trail. It was cool and breezy, but felt good. I didn't set out to run progressively faster miles, but that's what happened: 8:01/7:50/7:48/7:46/7:28, for an average pace of 7:47/mile. That's approaching tempo run territory, and it's the first training run this year that I've gone faster than 8-minute pace. I probably pushed too hard, since my finishing heart rate was 152 (over 10 beats faster than normal). I made the mistake of saving my splits and noticed that, after 3 laps, I was getting faster each time and decided to continue that trend. There was something else I was going to write that seemed important to me while I was running, but it's gone now. Ah, those brilliant yet fleeting thoughts that grip us during our runs...oh well. Must not have been THAT important.
I ended up doing my strength training yesterday afternoon. I may do some pushups and call it a day, training-wise.
Train hard & smart!

Another spin

As I had predicted, I ended up staying inside this morning for a 60 minute spin on the trainer. I included 3x3min of "hammering" after the first 30 minutes. Later this week, I WILL get out for some hill riding. I'll be running again tomorrow morning, possibly back on my recently-found hilly trail which helped me train for my 5k. Any way I can strengthen my legs for the uphill portion of my bike leg, I'll do it.
Also did 3 sets of 25 situps this morning and will do some other upper-body and core work later today, along with some stretching and foam roller work.
I've probably beaten this dead horse one time too many, but I'm finding it really difficult to switch my focus to cycling. After getting a taste of road racing again after so many years, I'm itching to get out and train hard in my running. I've got a 10k planned for September, but I'm kicking around the idea of running an 8k next month. I probably shouldn't, since I'll be tempted to back off on the cycling and focus on the running again...which probably isn't wise, since the triathlon is on Aug. 9th. I'm grateful to even HAVE this little internal battle, having not run for so many years.

Hey, if you can make it, swing by the runner's round table today at 1:00pm PST for an open mike show. I may actually call in!

Morning run, pre-6:00am!

Sing with me..."oh, what a beautiful moooorrniiing..."
I got up at 5:05, had some water and a granola bar, then hit the road at 5:50 for a very refreshing 5.5 mile run @ 44:14 (8:02 avg pace/mile). It was a brisk 50 degrees, but I wore my shorts & tank top anyway. The sun was rising into a light blue sky, peppered with a few sparse fluffy clouds. Wow, I'm so poetic this time of day.
I'm really enjoying the morning runs & will be sad when summer's over and I either run later, or venture out in the cold dark.
Now I think I'll take a quick ice bath, then I'm taking the day off to go to the zoo with the wife and kids. There's a new penguin exhibit that everyone's talking about, so the kids are anxious to see it.
Oh...back to training - I did decide to do a 60-minute spin on my trainer yesterday afternoon after my aborted ride. It was pretty steady with exception of a couple of 3-minute surges. After I was done, I realized that my back brake was sticking and I was pedaling against even more resistance than I though!
Tomorrow should be another bike ride...outside, I hope.
Enjoy your Tuesday!

MISSION ABORTED

Well, I honestly tried to get in a long-ish bike ride today, but was thwarted by the good folks trimming the brush along the paved trail I do most of my rides on. I got one mile into the ride before being stopped and told they were shutting down the trail. I thought about driving home and riding around my neighborhood, but the traffic gets pretty nasty, and I don't like riding in traffic. So...I'll do a few pullups, dips and situps for good measure, then get back to work (which I need to do anyway) and plan on riding tomorrow.

Earlier and earlier

Got up at 5:15 this morning. Far too early for a Saturday, if you ask me, but I'm adjusting for the time change when we fly to Florida soon. Down there, I'll only be running early in the morning due to the heat, so I need to get used to getting up and running early here on the West coast. Anyway, I was out the door before 6:00 and ran 5.5 miles. My morning pace is starting to get faster as I adapt to it (8:09). Here's how the week ended, training-wise:
3 runs - 18 miles @ 2:28
1 bike ride - 25 miles @ 1:31
2 weights workouts - 40min total
I wasn't able to get the planned bike rides in, but will make an effort to get back out there next week.
Enjoy your weekend & happy Father's Day to all the fathers!

No ride today; weight issues

I'm self-employed and have ridden this economic roller-coaster the last few months (mostly heading straight down). Thankfully, some work has come in, but it's got me hopping to make deadlines, so I won't be able to get out for today's planned bike ride. Oh well. It looks pretty wet outside (finally) anyway.
Yesterday I checked my weight (which I do once a week) and was kind of surprised. I'm down to what I call my "race weight". I reached it a bit quicker than I expected to. Now I need to hold it there and not let it drop further. Here were the stats:
Wt: 149.8
Waist: 31.5"
Bodyfat%: 10.7
Resting HR: 45
I've now lost 14 lbs since January. I'm 5'11", so yes, I'm thin. In fact, my wife told me yesterday that I'm starting to get too skinny. We've been married 14 years, and she's been with me through a couple of these "running comebacks", in which I easily (sorry) drop weight. This is also the point where friends and family members start asking me in a serious & concerned fashion, "are you okay?" I'm built just like a pro marathoner (if only I could run like one!) In fact, when I ran track and xc in high school, I was 20 lbs lighter than this, and at the same height! I had no muscle (thankfully I do now). Some of my friends called me "Ethiopian Man", and not because of my Scandinavian complexion. Yes, it got to me, so right after I graduated, I tried to gain weight. I started lifting weights a few years later and have "bulked up" off an on (most recently in 2005), but that's really not who I am. Running is in my blood. If I have to be thin & look a bit gaunt, I'm sorry to those who are concerned. I feel healthier and more fit than I have in a long time. That being said, I'll be monitoring my weight pretty closely now that I've reached my goal. If that means I have to lift the ice cream embargo, so be it!

8 miler in the A.M.

Got up at 5:25, drove to Centennial Trail in Snohomish (where I do most of my bike rides) and ran 8 miles. For the most part I kept the pace pretty gentle, but on a whim I decided to throw in one hard mile, just for kicks. Here are the splits (I'm sure you'll figure out which was the hard mile): 8:32/8:27/8:29/8:26/8:11/7:07/8:09/8:16. That hard mile made the final two pretty difficult, but I held form and got it done. Heart rate was a bit high at the end (145), but overall a good run.
My right hip bothered me on and off. I'm starting to think that it may be a bit of hip bursitis rather than IT band-related. My knees are doing well. I'm stretching the hip & using the foam roller, but it seems to be persistent. It's not bad enough to cause me to stop running, but I'm worried that it might escalate.
The plan for tomorrow is another easy 25mi on the bike, before riding hills next week.
Happy training, everyone!