Getting Slower to Get Faster

Three miles very easy. Achilles not aggravated. Past high risk period of rehab? Likely.

Aerobic

Warm-up for 10 minutes on a bike. Ran 20 min on treadmill at ~9:30/mile.

Weights for general joint and muscle health (light)

Light squats and romanian dead-lifts for range of motion and general muscle health.

Lunge walks

Dumbbell military press

Calf press + one-legged high-load eccentric to continue achilles tendon rehab.

Core work

Leg raises on dip stand.

rotating incline sit-ups with 12lb medicine ball.

Incline sit-ups with 45 lb plate.

Single leg raises on mat

3 miles easy + 3 ~80-100m accelerations.

I run with Adam and Steve up City Creek Canyon. They were gracious enough to run slow (9 min/mile on the way up--7:15ish/mile on the way down). 9 minute pace up that grade was ~aerobic threshold/long threshold pace and the 7:15s on the descent were ~marathon race pace.

A nice, solid run that will certainly jump-start my return to fitness.

4.5 mile hike up Mount Olympus. Turned around when I reached the snow pack.

Easy run with 2 accelerations/strides. Ran on the wood chip trail at Liberty Park for the first time. Very soft.

I ran to the track at East High and did 6 x ~100 meter accelarations on the football field. Most of my training for the time being will consist of easy running and relaxed alactic speed. The purpose of this is to induce general aerobic fitness, build speed, and prepare myself structurally for racing and more intense interval work later. I may include some occasional tempo runs on the track as a diagnostic to assess my fitness.

Ran sugar house loop easy. My hamstrings are mildely sore from yesterdays accelerations which means I challenged them but not too much.

I'm still running very slow but my sense of rhythm is starting to return.

Aerobic

10 minutes on the bicycle.

20 minute run on treadmill. 1st 15 minutes at Base I which is around 9:30/mile right now (yeah, pretty slow--but better to be honest about it and enjoying improving). I increased the speed 30 sec/mile each minute for the last 5 minutes to finish off with a mini-progression run. I'm still wary of re-injuring my healing achilles tendon so I am being very, very careful. Tuesday's accelerations caused some irritation which by itself isn't bad if it subsides. Working it to the point of mild irritation that does not persist is the natural route of functional rehab.

Weights/Core work

2 x 8 squats, 8, 5 x romanian deadlift, 2 x 8 (each leg) lunge walks, 2 x 10 incline rotating sit-ups with 12 lb ball, 1 x 8 glute-hams with slightly bent knee, 1 x 10 incline one-legged sit-ups (each leg) with 12 pound ball, 1 x 8 side raises, 10 x deep incline sit-up with full extension with 12 lb ball, incline sit-ups with 35 lb plate (ab started cramping so I stopped after 5 reps). 10 double leg-ups laying on end on bench.

1 x 8 calf press + 2 x 3 high-load eccentric calf press on each leg for achilles rehab (very, very effective for tendon rehab). 

21st east loop: Standard easy base I (9:30-10:00 pace?) run with acceleration on a grass field I ran by. Tomorrow I will do an LT run on the track to assess my fitness.

Today I assessed my fitness with a 20 minute LT run on the track. I define LT as one-hour race pace. I've used this workout for years as a fitness diagnostic for me and those I've coached. To do this right you have to have a feel for LT pace and be honest about what you're experiencing during the run. I often finish these with a quick 200m. If I can accelerate nicely I've stayed appropriately within myself--if not the workout was more intense than LT. If anything, today I may have been slightly slower than LT pace.

I warmed up for one mile with a couple of strides.

Anyway, here are my splits:

1:49, 1:55, 1:50, 1:50, (7:25)

1:48, 1:48, 1:49, 1:46 (7:10),

1:49, (0:08 to change directions), 1:47, 1:46 = 20:06;

Average pace = 1:48.9 = 7:18.2 mile.

I continued 200m more with a fast finish in 30.7 (could have continued another 200m but am not out to race!)= 20:36.

I did not feel pain or irriation in my achilles during either the LT run or the fast finish 200m. It will probably be mildly sore and irritated, but that's okay and is functional rehab.

I still have a very long way to go to regain fitness. (You know you are green when one mile of running is a sufficient warm-up!). I also weigh 190 lbs right now which is 20-25 pounds over racing weight. A lot of the excess weight is muscle so at least its not dead weight.

I'm not in a hurry to jump of my mileage. I have a plan that I'm sticking to and will slowly increased my workload. The long-term technical goal of my training program is to maximize my running economy. The best way to kill your running economy is to overtrain. Often training very hard when getting back in shape will be bring a rapid increase in performance level but at the cost deep physical exhaustion. The object of a base whether it be running or weight lifting or anything else is to build substantial general fitness while avoiding deep fatigue. This means that it is often optimal to progress slower in your training than you could. The pay-off is that a plateau will occur much later and at a much higher performance level.

I took the day off. I accomplished what I wanted to last week and my healing achilles won't suffer for the rest. I did a few calf raises on the stairs to keep blood flowing to it and followed that up with some general full-body stetching.

Ran 3 laps at Liberty Park with a couple of gentle pick-ups to loosen up.

Weight (a.m., before run) = 190.X

Although in principle I'm against jumping up my mileage I may have to go to doubles soon simply to drop weight. I am really against restricting my food intake to reach racing weight--the training alone should take care of most of it.

I went to a chiropracter certified to practive active release. He treated my achilles. He seemed to have good touch, but didn't seem very familiar with athletes. Wednesday I will see the only other active release certified practioner in the immediate Salt Lake area. After seeing both I'll decide who is best for me.

Ran on the treadmill and did my usual weight/core routine.

Today's run exemplifies a foolish workout. Because I was bored on the treadmill I ran 3 x 3 intervals at AT pace. I was tired today and should have just jogged and rested. Running AT intervals at 8:00 pace is not going to do me much good at all.

I'm really limited by my achilles rehab. Were it 100% I could do the speed work that I personally respond very well too.

Weight 189.5

First run with a garmin. I Like it. Average pace was 9:40/mile (really more like 9:15-9:20 because I started out even slower.

I saw the other active release practitioner. This guy is an athletic trainer and is clearly more familiar with athletes. I'll stick with him.

Weight 188.9 (a.m. before run).

The ART practioner I worked with suggested taking a few days off of running. As much I am loathe to do this, I'm going to. My achilles is almost better. As soon as it heals up this last little bit I can follow through with my training plan.

Because I'm so out of shape, I can take a few days off if without losing fitness.

So, today is a day off.

I bike for 20 minutes on the same bike I always use at the fieldhouse (U of U). I set the resistance at 6 and kept my RPMs ~90. Heart rate was in the mid 130s. When I started retraining the same workout had me finishing in the low 150s so I've definitely gained cardiovascular capacity. In some ways using an stationary bike is a better measure of absolute fitness because weight loss/gain doesn't have near the effect that is has on running.

I followed this up with my usual core and weight routine. At the ART practioners suggestion I modified my romanian dead-lift by putting a ~20 degree bend in my knees. This really increase Glute recruitement and gave a better overall stretch of the whole hamstring muscle. Definitely a keeper.

I got another ART treatment and took the day off. I purchased some cold packs and ace bandages so I can ice immediately after finishing my runs.

I ran my standard 21st East loop. Last time the Garmin measured the distance as 3.26 miles (my first run ever with a Garmin) and this time (my second run ever with a Garmin) it measured it as 3.26 miles. Pretty cool. I iced right after the run and will ice 1-2 more times today. I felt zero pain during the run, but after the run if I palpated the sore spot it was more painful then on my healthy right achilles.

D = 3.26 mile in 31:06 = 9:31/mile at HR = 140.

I'm going to arbitrarily designate the first 5 minutes of every run as a warm-up because it is not ever representative of the whole run.

T = 5:09 @ 11:06/mile; HR = 122

T = 25:56 @ 9:15/mile; HR = 143 (Overall this second segment is a Base I run although I crept into Base II the last half mile or so).

So overall, doing very little running I've seen a slight increase in fitness. I'm still far, far away from where I am aiming, but as I've said before, I have a plan, and I'm sticking to it as much as possible.

I could improve much faster than I am but this would not be good for my long term progression. I'm working extremely hard on core strength/flexibility/symmetry which has been a big problem for me in the past. That being said, as soon as I completely kick this achilles niggle I'll move back to my plan lock-step. Right now I would like to be doing fast accelerations/striders 2-3 times per week but can't because I think I would re-injure myself. The way I'm going about things I expect to experience slow but steady and unbroken progress.

Sugarhouse loop:

4.04 miles in 38:49 = 9:36/mile @ HR 142

A very hilly run = ~9:20 mile/pace for road loop in park.

My achilles was barely sore at all this morning when I woke up. Iced after run and iced before bed.

A.M. weight = 190.4

Ran to the track at East High (its a Mondo). Did a few minutes of drills + 5 broad jumps.

Ran 4 x 200 relaxed and easy with a very easy 200 jog recovery to test my achilles and prepare for faster work.

200s = 43, 44, 39, 36. 1600 with the 200s interposed = 7:50.

Considering the current fragile state of my achilles I think the track may be a better surface than grass to do strides/accelerations. I really like 200s because they are long enough to settle into rhythmic, fluid movement, but not long enough to go acidotic (at these speeds anyway).

I ran this entire workout in my Idaten flats. I did not wear my HRM. I iced within 5 minutes of walking in the door at home.

A.M. Weight = 188.5

Will add more detail later.

A.M. Weight = 189.9

Base I workout: ran laps at Liberty Park.

3.7 miles in 35:04 = 9:29/mile (9:20/mile = ~ average pace after warm-up).

No HRM; Iced as soon as I got in; A.M. weight = 190.6 (sore muscles retain more water). 

I am still sore from my lifting and core work on Wednesday and tired from consistent training (minimal as the workload is--its more than I was doing a couple of weeks ago and I feel the strain).

Accordingly, I ran a very easy, relaxed base I run this morning. This was just what I needed. I'll do some relaxed 200s tomorrow at East High.

4.16 miles in 41:58 = 10:03/mile @ HR = 137.

A.M. weight = 189.4.

Iced ~5 minutes after finishing my run.

Ran to the East High track and ran a few warm-up laps and then did a few minutes of drills. I watched my HR and pace while on the track so I could calibrate a little. My final warm-up lap was at ave HR 149 in 2:15. As I'll explain shortly, this puts my current upper limit of Base I in my flats on the track at ~9 min/mile. This is is definitely faster than it would have been a month ago.

After some drills I ran a warm-up 800 in preparation for 4 planned 200s. I ran the 800 in 3:08 (1:38/1:30) with a finishing HR of 186. This was hard enought to get my system up, running, and completely online without being hard enough to take away from my impending workout. For me a brisk 800 is extremely effective warm-up for speed-work or racing. I was somewhat pleased with this because I haven't run anything sustained this fast for a while.

On Wednesday (which I still need to log) I did a pretty intense core workout. In the middle of this I started a set of lunge-walks (which I do with a very deep stretch in my hip flexors--which I had just worked pretty ferociously on the incline board) and my left hip flexor cramped really hard--I was done with lunge walks for that workout. My hip flexor was very sore the next day and each day has become a little better. However, I could feel it during the warm-up 800. Accordingly, I decided to save the 200s for another day and instead run a hard 1600. (A few years ago I probably would have compulsively proceeded with the 200s--I hope I'm a little smarter about things now).

My 400 splits:

400: 1:30, HR 185

800: 2:59 (1:29), HR 192

1200: 4:26 (1:27), HR 195

1600: 5:49 (1:23), HR 197

This was a very hard run for me but certainly not all out. I did not go lactic and I recovered pretty quick. In retrospect I should have run the last 400 harder because I don't think I hit max HR. If I saw it right, my HR blipped at 198 right after I finished. Max heart rate drops with age and some with training. Before running this I guessed my max HR was at least 195. For now I'll call it 198.

This workout tells me a few things:

1) I have a large dynamice range for cardiac output; ie, resting HR of ~50 and a max of 198 means I have almost 150 bpm to work with. This is helpful information for pace calibration. (I don't believe there is anything magical about my personal training zones. They could be arbitrarily set somewhere else and called different things. However, because I have worked within my system for a while they have become meaningful to me in defining an intelligent training system. I know how it feels to run at Base I, Base II, AT, LT, etc. and generally know a priori how many recovery days, if any, will be necessary following a workout at X training zone for Y duration. Essentially, its a personalized lexicon to describe and recored precise physiologic challenges aimed at inclusively and continuously cycling stress, rest, and adaptation.)

2) I have a LOT of aerobic conditioning to do. Top athletes race 5k at very near max HR. I have to work like crazy to even reach it. This has always been the case for me.

3) My gentle, slow approach to regaining fitness is working. Last spring after essentially 6 weeks of hard training I ran a certified, loop course 5k in 18:29 with a body weight of 185 lbs. I injured myself shortly thereafter. I am not in a hurry this time.

4) It feels good to run hard every once in a while.

A.M. Weight = 187.1; Iced within 5 minutes of finishing this workout; ran whole workout in my Wave Idatens.

Thanks for reading. This post has become quite the tome.

5 minute warm-up on bicycle

Standard weight and core work.

A.M. Weight 187.1

4.85 miles over a hilly loop in 48:19. Post-warm-up at 9:44/mile, HR = 145.

Achilles feeling better and better. Iced right after run.

A.M. weight = 187.5

Jog to East High. Drills. Spontaneously ran the very end of the Black Sheep group's workout (600 (~2:07-HR 186, 200 jog, 400 (72, HR 191).

This was great as I have not run any kind of interval workout with a group or training partner for almost 3 years. I think I'll run with this group more. I'm on their email list now.

Jog some, then 3 x 200 with a ~200 walk:

32-33 (didn't start watch--guessing)

33.3

31.3

Jog home.

The pace was pretty manageable on everything today, but I felt out of alignment. I need to take a tennis ball to my hip rotators.

Iced after run. Achilles feeling better and better.

A.M. Weight 188.1

Standard 21st east loop.

3.24 miles in 31:56.

Post-warmup = 9:35/mile @ HR 144.

Achilles more sore than the last few days, probably because of yesterdays 400 and 200's forefoot striking. I've seen a lot of progress here but still need to be careful. Some mildly sore glute/hip muscles. Felt pretty good on the run and lined up much better than yesterday. Iced within 5 min of run.

A.M. Weight = 187.7

Achilles still a little touchy from the Tuesday's speed workout. I chose to not run today so I could avoid the possibility of being forced not to run. I am not interested in reverting.

15 minutes on the bike (HR dropping at same RPM/resistance).

Standard weights and core workout.

Iced after workout.

A.M. weight = 187.1.

Alright, so I am very pleased with today's run. I knew a fitness jump was inevitably coming soon. On the roads, in trainers, I've been stuck at ~9:30 pace to stay in the HR 140's (Base I pace for me).

I ran my standard 21st East loop which I ran at 9:35 pace at HR 144 on Wednesday. At my first checkpoint I was ahead of pace but then I noticed that my HR was lower than before too. I readjusted my pace to bring HR up to the 140s which felt awkward but not hard.

I finished the run at 9:12/mile HR ave = 144 (first ~5 minutes not counted in pace calculation as always). This is a nice jump. I was likely at 10:00/mile 6-7 weeks ago. I may do an LT run on the track tomorrow to see where I'm at there since it will clearly be faster.

Iced immediately after run.

A.M. Weight = 187.7.

Run to Track at East High

Drills

LT run on Track Changing directions after 6 laps.

Lap time (Ave HR)

1:45.01 (161), 1:41.82 (175), 1:43.95 (177), 1:45.67 (176)

1:46.63 (176), 1:46.18 (176), 1:45.60 (176), 1:47.60 (175)

1:45.25 (176), 1:44.97 (178), 1:45.86 (179), 1:46.04 (180)

Fast finish 200 = 30.78 (189 ave, 196 just after finish)

HR creeping up as I anticipated the fast finish (probably started on 10th lap).

Interior laps are the best indicator of LT pace because my warm-up is over but I'm not getting excited about the last 200.

Average pace of laps 4-9 = 1:46.16(175.83) = 7:05.7/mile.

Daniels VDOT Based of LT = ~47.5

Performance equivalent for 5K+ (I could run a mile at a much higher VDOT right now):

5K = 20:50, 10K = 43:13, 1/2 = 1:35:35, Marathon = 3:19:15.

Iced immediately after run.

A.M. Weight = 187.9.

Ran Sugarhouse Park loop. Last time at Base I was at 9:20 pace for the loop in the park. Today I was at 8:57/mile = HR 147. Another indicator of a fitness increase.

Iced achilles immediately after run. Iced again in the afternoon and again in the evening. Its been a little more flared up the last few days--probably because of the speed work. I'll back off the speed a little this week and raise my mileage a little.

My other hobby outside of running is mountaineering. I will be attempting to summit Gannett peak (Wyoming) the first week of July. This will be long, very physically demanding trip. Accordingly I'll start putting in some longer runs sooner than I probably would otherwise. The key with these multi-day climbs is to arrive at summit day feeling strong. Long runs help tremendously with tolerance to long approaches which is what makes Gannett the second most difficult state high point after Denali in Alaska.

A.M. Weight = 188.1.

Very easy, gentle run up through UoU campus. Silence and solitude still the soul. I went minutes at a time without passing another person or car, hearing only my steps and the gentle rain which erased the background noise of the city. I wished it rained on every holiday.

5.89 miles in 1:00:19. 10:07/mile = HR 135

A.M. Weight 187.0

Iced immediately after run.

Crazy workout with the Black Sheep. This was my first full workout with this group. This will definitely jump my fitness. I'll soon found out if I really upset my achilles tendon. I'll bike and do core work tomorrow regardless as this workout is quite a bit more than I am adapted too. Its great to run with a group.

After warm-up, ran lap around sugarhouse park 1 minute on, one minute off (~3k pace?).

Next alternate bounding then running up a steep grass hill for a total of 10 reps.

Finally, ran 6 x 400 (2 x 3, descending time in each set) with ~50 second recovery.

400/standing recovery: peak HR

1:34/53: 184

1:28/57: 186

1:25/56: 191

1:37/46: 185

1:36/48: 188

1:08.3: 198 (Max?)

Cool-down.

Iced as soon as I got home. I forgot to weigh this morning (not used to getting up this early).

Mr. Achilles is definitely upset at me. I will have to abstain from speedwork for a while I fear.

Day off. Iced 4 times.

A.M. Weight = 187.7

30 minutes on the bike:

5 min warm-up

20 min of 30 seconds moderate 30 second hard

5 min cool-down.

Weights and core work.

I think it could be a few more days before I run AND NOT RUN SPEED WORK!

I've definitely made progress in my fitness. I stick with intense workouts on the bike to maintain it. At the least it will keep my blood volume up.

A.M. Weight = 186.9

Day off.

A.M. Weight = 187.5

On the bike; achilles is feeling better, but not ready to run on yet.

5 minute warm-up

20 minutes of 30 seconds at 85-90 RPM/30 seconds at 110-115 RPM, all at the same resistance. This is a phenomenonal workout if one is forced to cross-train. You can really push up the VO2 without going lactic which is really hard on the bike if you are a runner  (its a great running workout too). I took splits with my Garmin at ~5, 10, 15, and 20 min. My HR at the end of each split was: 166, 178, 182, 189. Stayed ~180 for the final 15 minutes but crept up the last 2 reps when I stayed at ~120 RPM rather than 110-115.

5 minute cool-down.

Very, very easy 30 minute bike ride. Its funny how fatigue works. After sizzling through yesterday's ride and feeling unstoppable while doing it, today, riding over 75 RPM with minimal resistance felt strenuous. . . So I stayed ~75 RPM and kept today perceptually easy.

Core and weights after ride.

I may run tomorrow. Everyday since re-injury with my overly ambitious speed workout my achilles has felt noticeably better than the day before--a good sign. Also, it was a little sore out of bed this morning, but after riding and weights, felt better, also a good sign. The week I will run very easy on my easy days and put in some nasty bike workouts on the hard days. If an easy run causes a flare-up, I'll stick to the bike for a few consecutive days and test again.

Standard 21st East loop. Running again feels very nice. As expected I felt awkward and out of sorts. My pace was a little slower than before re-injury. I'm fairly certain it's not because of fitness loss but due to the aforementioned rustiness. My achilles seemed to handle the run very well. It felt better at the end then the beginning which is a big positive.

When I woke this morning my achilles was a little more sore than I would have like so I debated biking instead. However, by past experience I've found that sometimes an easy run after several rest days helps swollen tissue expel the excess water--I think because of the effect of the "muscle pump" on lymph flow. Biking (at my level) doesn't work my calves anywhere near what running does so a run would be better to pump out debris. In today's case this appears to have been correct. If I'd been wrong, my plan was to bike the next 2 days.

3.25 mi/32:14. Post ~5 min warm-up: 9:33/mi = HR 144

Iced after run.

A.M. Weight = 188.9 (retaining water because of bad diet and lack of running).

Foothill loop in 47:23. Post ~ 5 min warm-up: 9:46/mi @ HR 144.

Did not ice after run. As with any treatment, I think it is good to take a break from icing. So, one week after running a lot more speedwork than I should have, my achilles is starting to feel pretty good again. I need to get my mileage up to prepare for the Gannett Peak climb. It will help with weight loss and will be safer for my achilles than speedwork. The nice thing about being as undertrained as I am, is that about anything will make me faster. For peak performance my training volume will have to go up a lot anyway. All these things considered, it is a no-brainer to bump up my mileage a little and lay off the speed. I'll likely to one really intense workout on the bike. That and my weight work will keep me primed for speed work when I am ready.

A.M. Weight = 189.2

Ran laps and various surfaces at Liberty Park. Will log more later.

5.99 mi = 60:26 = 10:05/mi at HR = 143 for whole run.

Iced after run.

A.M. Weight = 188.1

I've had three days of running in a row when this time last week I was still walking with a limp. My achilles is not at 100% and probably won't be for a several weeks, but I'm able to run pain free as long as I keep it easy. Rather than push my luck, I thought it would be better to cross-train this morning and then finish the week with a 45-50 minute run on Friday, a longer run on Saturday (75-90 min--VERY long for me right now) and perhaps a quick solo climb of Mount Olympus Sunday morning. Besides getting back in running shape, I need to do some climbing/hiking to prepare for a Gannett Peak which I'll attempt to climb the first week of July. Gannett is difficult because of the extremely long approach with a heavy pack. It's considered the 2nd most difficult state high point after Denali in Alaska.

10 minute warm-up on the bike.

Weights and core work. Added step-up lunges.

A.M. Weight = 188.1

So, I'm still figuring out where the best places to run in the Salt Lake area are. Fortunately, Adam is always coming over to the lab where I work in to use some equipment. He suggesting running along Foothill and across the foot bridge to Wasatch Dr so I tried this route. I like it a lot because the way out is slightly uphill and the way back is of course slighly downill.

Despite having fairly sore glutes from yesterday's step-up lunges I managed to settle into a good rhythm and felt pretty good overall. Taking what my body was giving, I stepped up the effort just a little to Base II territory for the return trip. It felt great, I was totally confortable with easy breathing but with the more enjoyable rhythm of a faster tempo (it is strange to me that 8:30/mile can feel like a faster tempo--that used to be my regeneration pace). The length of the run was about perfect because I could feel the depletion in my legs the last 5 minutes or so but didn't have to cash in any chips to finish strong.

My achilles felt pretty good on this run but I have been getting a little nervous about it not being ready for the Gannett Peak expedition. I decided to pull out one more stop and see a Sport's Medicine Doc in hope of getting an oral corticosteroid to knock-out the last bit of inflammation that NSAIDS can't quite reach. I've worked with Rus Toronto before but he is out of town and his office recommended either Drs Betteridge or Richards. Betteridge had opening on Friday that I drove up to Bountiful to take.

Dr. Betteridge performed some ultrasound imaging on the achilles. Overall the integrity of the tendon looks very good. There was just a little extra water on the small localized spot at the lateral muscle-tendon junction that pains me. Given the general health of the tendon he agreed that trying an oral corticosteroid was the next step. So I got a Medrol (methylprednisolone) Dose Pack where you take 6 pills the first day, 5 the next, and so forth down to 1. I took the first 6 today. If this doesn't work, then  we'll move to a more aggressive approach focusing again on high-load eccentric lifting and a very aggressive form of massage called Astym (even more aggressive than Active Release which seemed to help me) that will serve to re-introduce the inflammatory process and help the cycle go to completion. I was thorough impressed with Dr. Betteridge and based on this first experience would recommend him (I'm usually, very, very critical of Drs because far too many don't know their stuff when it goes beyond the basics).

7.88 mi/1:14:20

Out (post ~ 5 min warm-up)  = 10:10/mi @ HR 141

Back = 8:32/mi @ HR 152

Average post-warmup = 9:16/mi @ HR 147.

A.M. Weight = 187.5

Iced within 5 min of finishing run.

I intended to summit Mt. Olympus this morning hiking at a hard pace. However, about 2 miles up I could feel my right heel getting a hot spot where it was rubbbing against my boot. than Rather foolishly push it to a blister, I decided to turn back. I descended with intermittent periods of jogging and walking where the terrain did not permit jogging. As it was, it turned out to be a great workout because of the pace I set carrying 20 lbs of gear. Although I didn't cover a lot of miles, I did spend a significant period of time at an elevated heart rate. This was definitely much more demanding on the legs than a simple run.

4.20 miles in 1:44 @ HR Ave = 133 (144 up/118 down)

Took 5 Medrols today (see yesterday's entry). I can still feel the inflammation although it is subsiding. I've gone the oral corticosteroid route in the past and seem to remember it taking a few days to really knock-out the inflammation.

A.M. Weight = 186.7

Day off

4 Medrols (see entry from June 6th).

A.M. Weight = 187.8

My hips are a little sore from the power hike I did on Saturday so I kept it short and easy and ran my standard 21st East loop. Today's run was the fastest my pace has been at this HR(Base I) on this loop yet, so I'm pleased with that. Despite having to be very cautious with my training, I am seeing continued improvement which is all that matters in the long term.

The Medrol (See June 6th entry) has definitely reduced my achilles inflammation to a level not reached by the NSAIDS but it is still mildly present if I push on the sore spot. I'm worried about it coming back full-force once I finish the scheduled dosage. I've got some left-over prednisone from a few years back that I may extend the dosage cycle a few days with before the taper. I know of at least one Doc who has advocated a 14 cycle rather than a 6 day one because he has observed that 6 days is often just short of what is needed to erradicate the last traces of inflammation.

3.23 miles in 30:17.

9:06/mi = HR ave 144.

3 Medrol's this morning

A.M. Weight = 187.8

13th East Foothill Loop. I felt a little awkward and sleepy on this run but stayed relaxed and didn't push anything. For this route I drop down towards the city and then climb back up and higher on 4th South and Foothill and then ride a mild descent back home.

I'm still not moving super fast but continue to see improvement. My pace at all heart rates is consistently faster than it was a few weeks back and so forth. The Medrol has helped my achilles for sure, but at this point in time I don't think this one cycle will have been enough to erradicate the last vestiges of unwanted inflammation.

4.66 mi in 45:06 = 9:27/mi @ HR 139

2 Medrols (See June 6th entry)

A.M. Weight = 187.8

Last week I enjoyed my long run on Foothill towards Wasatch Dr. I decided to run that way again but keep it at ~1 hr for a mid-week longer run. My plan was to run at Base I pace on the way out and then run by feel on the way back, settling into the fastest pace that felt effortless.

At the start of the run I felt a little hyper and jittery. Maybe I was getting exciting for the second half. Could be the gradual reduction in the Medrol (see June 6th entry). Nonetheless, my legs felt good and responsive. I knew I would come back faster than I went out so I turned around just after 33 min thinking I would make it back in about 27 min. I got hailed on at the turn-around point which was kinda of fun, especially when my Garmin did something weird and I had to stand and get hailed on while I figured out how to fix it.

I settled into a good pace on the way back without focusing on speed or heart rate, just my fastest effortless pace. I made it home in under 26 minutes so I knew I'd run a decent pace.

Out: 33:16 = 9:36/mi at HR = 146 (up a slight grade almost the whole way)

Back: 25:48 = 7:45/mi at HR = 158 (obviously down a slight grade)

Entire run including warm-up and cool-down = 6.74 mi/60:10 = 8:55/mi @ HR = 149

I'm really pleased about getting back in to "the 7s" on a non-tempo type effort. I still have a long way to go (when I'm running 6:15s at this HR then I will be officially back) but I've seen continuous improvement in my fitness. The one positive about having to baby my achilles is that is has been nearly impossible to over train. My deep energy feels strong. I feel healthy and running feels good and thats the way is should be most of the time.

1 Medrol

A.M. Weight = 186.0 (lowest weight yet, I should start seeing some 185s soon).

3.22 miles at 9:49/mi without HRM. Kept it very easy. Today was my first day off of the Medrol so I'm a little anxious and curious to see how much inflammation comes back.

1 x 10 heel drops with straight leg.

1 x 10 " " with bent knee.

P.M. Repeat heal drops

A.M. Weight = 186.5

Ran 21st east loop. I felt hyper again this morning. Probably more fall-out from clearing the Medrol (see June 6th entry). If I thought about racing or track work or anything remotely exciting my HR would shoot way up so HR/pace means nothing on this run!

3.23 mile in 31:04 = 9:36/mi @ HR 146

Some weight work at home. A.M. and P.M heel drops.

A.M. Weight = 184.0

(This was nice surprise, I re-weighed a couple of times to make sure this was right. Corticosteroids cause mild water retention so maybe the Medrol masked some weight loss. Also, I could be losing plasma volume due to a lack of intense work).

While falling asleep last night I decided that today would be a nice day for easy mile repeats. The East High Track is closed for some sort of production so I went the track at Highland High. After a warm-up and some drills I ran 3 x 1600 with a lap jog inbetween. I started all of them off at an AT (sub-LT) effort for the 1st 2 laps and then gently accelerated a little on the last 2 laps. I pushed a little more on the last lap of the 3rd repeat to spike my HR to help maintain plasma volume acquired from the more intense work before I mildly re-injured my achilles tendon. The final product was workout that was probably equivalent to 3 x 1600 at 10K pace from stress perspective. Peak HRs are elevated because of the progressive increase in speed.

Rep     Time    Ave HR    Peak HR

1.         7:05       169          181

2.         7:10       174*        184

3.         6:50       175          194

* Artefactually elevated because of fast recovery lap

These were a little slower than I expected based off the increased pace of my easy runs at same effort and HR. Its been a few weeks since I've run anything faster than base work so I'm not real surprised. By past experience improvements in faster work/LT usually lag a little after improvents in basal fitness but can be fairly substantial once they set in--the whole point of periodizing and modulating training. Vice versa is true for track work translating to faster easy runs.

My achilles is doing very well. The Medrol knocked out quite a bit of inflammation that doesn't seem to be coming back. Now, I'll keep working with heel drops, stretching, massage, and not doing speed work until I certain it will tolerate it which isn't now (the above doesn't remotely come close to "speed work.")

A.M. Weight = 184.1

Easy endurance run out to Wasatch Dr. via Foothill. My legs were a little tired from yesterday when I started. I exercised a lot of discipline to keep the run easy on the way back. The purpose of the run was endurance and I did not let myself run greedy. Yesterday was more intense and I would have gained nothing by pushing the pace today.

Out = 10:16/mi @ HR = 141

Back = 8:46/mi @ HR = 146

Total run time = 1:31:45 (My longest run in a long time--I wouldn't be going this long this early except that I need to push the endurance button a little extra for the Gannett Peak climb)

A.M. Weight = 186.5

~30 minutes on the treadmill @ ~9:10/mi, no HRM

Core/Weight work

Heel drops

A.M. Weight = 186.3

I climbed to the top of Mt. Timpanogos and back sort of following the Aspen Grove Trail. Somewhere between the 2.5 and 3 mile mark the trail became covered by snow and remained so for virtually the remainder of the climb. At this point the crampons went on and the ice axe came out. We ascended two large snow fields with much of it a 45 degree slope. We ended up ascending the glacier because the top of the saddle was blocked by a large cornice. Once ascending the glacier the final stretch to the summit along the western ridge was 99% snow free. We glissaded down the glacier and a few other spots and were able to descend much faster than we went up. Total round trip was 15 miles with 4,900 net feet of vertical gain to 11,749 feet on the ascent. Round trip time was 13 hours.

The safety level of a climb like this in these conditions is quite high IF you do it right technically, which we did. It required long periods of time with unbroken concentration. Thus it was a very taxing climb physically and mentally. My calves are quite sore this morning (6/18) and I'm a little sun burnt despite applying sunscreen. My achilles felt sore this morning but after a few sets of heel drops it instantly loosened up and ceased to pain me. If I was in competition on the mileage board, I wouldn't count this as mileage, but at this point in time I will. It taxed my much more than a 15 mile run would have.

A deserved day off.

A.M. and P.M heel drops.

My legs feel like absolute lead today. Going up the slighest incline was hard. Clearly Tuesday's climb was very strenuous and I still fatigued. A run of any significance wasn't going to happen. I had to labor to push my HR over 120. Hips are locked up and calves are sore. Thus, today became a 20 minute regeneration run. Tomorrow I'll likely feel much better.

1.63 miles in 20:04 = 12:17/mi @ HR 118.

A.M. Weight = 186.2

I'm still recovering from the climb and have sore muscles. However, unlike yesterday, I didn't feel exhausted when running faster than a 12 minute mile. I "pushed" the pace up to the HR 140s to loosen up and make it a normal run. Its hard to tell whether my effort level and HR are out of sync right now because of the climb. A few days time will tell on that. Nonetheless, on today's run I took another significant chunk off my Base I pace. My slightly increased mileage with some longer runs may be manifesting itself also. The net result of very small improvements over the past 2 months is that I am running over a 1 minute faster per mile at the same HR while training very much within myself. I'm still running relatively slow, but I'm not looking for a quick fix hear and am allowing myself a year to return to fitness. So on that count, I'm on track.

Standard 21st East Loop

3.24 miles in 30:19 = 8:57/mi @ HR 144.

A.M./P.M. heel drops

A.M. Weight = 185.6

Once again I sucumbed to the siren call of the track--but, I came away unscathed. I ran 1.5 mi warm-up + drills and a little stretching then 4 x 800 with a lap jog. I ran each one faster than the one before and generally negative split each 800. I was very much in control the whole way and was pleased with how easy it was. Based off this workout I think I could hold 6:15s for a 5k, far from the 5:00 miles I am aiming for, but it is one more indicator of continued progress.

My achilles is holding up fairly well. I think the Medrol and its immediate pharmacologic effects have completely cleared my system. The inflammation is still present, but it seems less touchy and sensitive to activity. I could feel it a little today while running but was essentially pain free. I'll keep with the heel drops and stretching but need to get some very aggressive massage whether it be Astym, Active Release, or something else. A workout like today is likely the fastest I can get away with.

On the rehab note, I don't beleive that by continuing to run on it that I am delaying my recovery or damaging it more. I really don't believe that at this stage total rest would have any different result and in fact could lead to atrophy. The ultrasound 2 weeks ago showed that it is in general very healthy. What I am trying to do is induce tissue remodeling and build a strong supple tendon which is what the heel drops and continued running do.

3:11/183

3:05/187

3:01/191

2:53/195

Recovery laps were ~3:30 followed by a 30 second circle walk to grab my shirt and wipe the sweat off my brow. Again, I was very much in control during this workout and am pleased with the result. By effort it was a 7.5 out of 10

A.M. Weight = 185.4

5 minute warm-up on the bike

Weights/core work

A.M. Weight = 184.8

This morning I found myself suffering from the terrible curse of the Sunday afternoon nap. Yesterday I took a nap--too long. When I finally awoke, I spent one hour trying to rearrange my nap face and make the walls stop spinning. No, I was not drunk nor do I get drunk. I was stricken by a severe case of the grogs, a insidious ailment known to make manly men feel like teetering children who tried too hard to get dizzy. It took several hours to become completely cognizant. Then, horribly, at night, I was tired but could not fall asleep. Consequently, this morning I was sleepy and felt as coordinated running as a drunken elephant. I ran a windy, loopy, hilly course in my loopy state through the streets by my home.

3.56 miles in 34:35 = 9:24/mi @ HR = 144.

Heel drops with 15 lbs weight. (Last night I worked out my achilles with a very aggressive bare knuckle grind/massage. It felt GREAT to walk around on today but is VERY sore to the touch. I'm on the right track for fully recovery with a little more time and patience--then I can do some real workouts).

A.M. Weight = 185.6

I ran a regeneration run this morning because I am tired. I think I'm still recovering a little from the climb (see 6/17). If I feel normal tomorrow I'll run a 75 minute progression run. I'll make a strong effort to stay relaxed at work today and get to sleep a little earlier tonight.

5.09 miles in 54:17 = 10:24/mi @ HR 128

A.M. Weight = 186.5

Yesterday I wrote that I would run a 75 minute progression run if I felt normal. I still feel a little off and felt like I needed something quicker and shorter.

I went to the large grass field just off Sunnyside and Guardsman and ran 20 minutes of 30 sec fast followed by 30 seconds moderate to slow. This workout is great for jumping fitness, especially for a middle distance runner who doesn't respond as well to long slow distance. You can run the fast portions pretty quick without going lactic. The overall feeling of the workout is like a threshold run.

Ideally the 30 off is kept at a moderate pace rather than a grandma jog. I did fine for the first 10 minutes but started to flame-out at the end. The last "on" segment I ran for 60 sec rather than 30. Running on grass allowed me to take a little strain off my achilles which is definitely not 100% but it is more stable and less touchy than a few weeks ago. I was willing to take the risk anyway because all this slow running is driving me crazy.

Ave HR for 20 min = ~177, Peak = 189. I missed the lap button on my Garmin but going by the graph of the workout I covered 2.6 miles during the 20 minute period for an average pace of 7:42/mi.

A.M. Weight = 186.2

Initially I had planned to run 45 minutes easy this morning, but due to a full morning ended up having barely 30 minutes to fit in a workout. To compensate I ran my 21st East loop a little faster to make it a Base II run.

3.28 mi in 28:42 = 8:32/mi @ HR = 154.

A.M. Weight = 185.9

13th East Foothill loop--easy. I still don't feel normal, but definitely better.

45:03 = 9:42/mi @ HR 146

A.M. and P.M. heel drops.

A.M. Weight = 184.8

I got 8 solid hours of sleep last night and energy wise felt a lot better today, almost normal. I ran a 60 minute progression run with the last half at the aerobic threshold (just a little easier pace than for a traditional 20 minute tempo/LT run).

7.01 miles out and back on foot hill.

Out = 28:10 @ 9:15/mi = HR 153

Back = 25:16 @ 7:27/mi = HR 169

A.M./P.M. Heel Drops

A.M. Weight = 184.7

Day off.

I've got a long week back-packing and climbing coming up. As not quite right as I felt last week, I decided to rest. I won't do anything very strenuous Monday or Tuesday. When I get back from my trip I'll recover and then hopefully be able to train as I would like, unencumbered by my SLOWLY recovering achilles tendon.

(How it got injured in the first place is a mystery to me. What I can say is that it wasn't running but some sort of freak off-chance event that I didn't even notice when it happened. One day I woke up and it was sore--I hadn't run for several days before. It's one of the most perplexing and frustrating injuries I've ever had).

13th East loop with an uphill interval and 2 short sprints on grass.

Overall run = 41:58/4.55 mi = 9:13/mi @ HR 149

Up hill interval = 3:17/.43 mi = 7:42/mi @ HR 188 peak

A.M. Heel Drops, RDLs, bicycle crunches, and set-ups.

A.M. Weight = 185.5

Standard 21st East loop.

3.24 mi/30:23 = 9:06/mi @ HR 147

I fly into Las Vegas this afternoon and then drive to Bishop California to climb several peaks in the Evolution Basin of King's Canyon National Forest. It should be great.

A.M. Heel drops

3.27 mi/32:43 = 10:00/mi. No HRM.

A.M. Heel drops.

A.M. Weight = 183.6

Easy run = 2.74 mi/28:32 = 10:10/mi.

Jogged one-lap around the East High Track barefoot. Surprisingly, my left (the injured one) calf-achilles complex was noticeably tighter than the right one. I do not feel this when running with shoes suggesting the shoes are allowing me to compensate. I'll continue to add barefoot running to my rehab routine.

I had my first Astym treatment today. It was interesting and not very painful (I had expected it to be pretty intense--we'll see how it works). The PT gave me the usual stretches and exercises + 1 new one that I think will be very good.

With my back-packing trip completed, my complete focus is rehab. . . and then I can start training the way I want.

Various exercises and stretches including heel drops.

A.M. Weight  = 183.3

Lots of jogging and drills (including toe-off walk for rehab) w/ 2 laps barefoot running.

1 x 400 = 76, very easy, very relaxed.

Calf stretches 3x today, P.M. heel drops w/ 60 lbs.

A.M. weight = 184.4

3.44 mi @ 8:22/mi

With long back-packing trips out of the way, I will stop messing around with all the super slow running (9-10 min/mi) on all but pure recovery days. My first intermediate goal will be to run a sub-5 mile again. If my achilles cooperates that should be doable with 6 weeks. After 5, then 4:40 and then 4:20.

P.M. heel drops w/60 lbs.

A.M. Weight = 183.3

Ran to East High Track

Did a bunch of general strength and athleticism drills including toe-offs and burpees.

3 x 200 with a 200 jog

34.5/2:00

32.8/2:18

31.7

I felt my achilles on the first rep but it loosened up on the 2nd and 3rd. It felt normal throughout the rest of the day. I'm definitely turning the corner. Intensity will be the name of the game until I plateau and have to go back to base. Because my first goal is to run a sub-5 mile again, I will do a 1000-1200 rep at 5 minute pace or faster pretty soon, then train a little more, and then get someone to pace me to a sub-5 when I'm ready.

Ran home

Stretched 4x today, + P.M. heel drops/60lbs.

A.M. Weight = 181.9

1000m Time Trial at Short-term Mile Goal Pace

My bodied handled yesterday's 200s quite well. I had minimal soreness when I woke up this morning. Accordingly, no recovery day was needed. This was a great time to put on my spikes and do a 1000m at my short term mile goal pace (5:00).

I warmed-up with a bunch for drills and stretching. Then I ran a warm-up 800 at LT pace to bring my aerobic system online. I put on my spikes and jogged a lap with accelarations down the straights. My achilles winced a little with the acclerations but then loosened up (its been a while since I've run in spikes). I gathered my focus and set off, running the second half a little faster than the first. The speed was effortless and comfortable. I felt some burn coming just a little before the 600 mark but my legs still felt fluid and powerful. I accelerated over the last 200 to the finish and then walked a lap and nearly dry heaved a couple of times. I also got some lung burn which I always used to get after the first couple races of the season. All that said, it was not a 100% effort nor was it intended to be. The object was to run 1000 m at goal pace and I did just that. I didn't lock up at all and could have gone at least to 1200 at or below pace, but then I WOULD have thrown-up.

Warm-up 800 = 3:27; HR = 175

1000 m = 3:07.27 (38, 39, 38, 37, 35);  HR = 195 (stayed level at 189 from 600-800 until I accelerated, still didn't hit max)

1 lap cool-down.

Day off of running, rest will be good after yesterday's time-trial.

Some stretching and rehab work.

P.M. Heel drops: 1 x 20 w/60 lbs, 1 x 15 w/70 lbs, 1 x 15 w/75 lbs.

A.M. Weight = 185.1

Standard 21st East Loop + one lap around the block to reach 30 minutes.

3.65 in 31:49 = 8:25/mi w/ no HRM. Felt fluid and relaxed.

A.M. Weight = 183.6

Ran to the grass fields at Guardsman and Sunnyside.

Drills/burpees/stretching

4 x 2:30 controlled hard w/2 minute recovery.

In many places the grass was long and wet and the ground soggy which made for slow going relative to my effort.

.37/2:33 = 6:50/mi, HR = 179 

.38/2:35 = 6:45/mi, HR = 186

.37/2:32 = 6:51/mi, HR = 188

.40/2:40 = 6:36/mi, HR = 189

Ran home at Base II effort.

Rehab stuff, "Astym" on myself.

A.M. Weight = 184.3

13th East Loop

Hips and obliques are a little stiff/sore from yesterdays grass intervals. Although running on wet, hilly, soggy grass isn't the best for building speed, I think it is great for overall conditioning because it makes you use all your stabilizing muscles. I have to think this will prevent injury.

4.57 mi/40:16 = 8:32/mi; no HRM

A.M./P.M. Heel drops w/75 lbs.

A.M. Weight = 184.0

With pretty solid runs (given my fitness level) for several training sessions in a row, this morning was time for a recovery jog. I didn't sleep the greatest last night and I am retaining water--2 good indicators that rest is needed. After starting, I thought, "When I'm tired like this, plodding along at 10 min miles is pointless and counterproductive." So, I turned back home and did some extra stretching to loosen stiff muscles.

Ballistic heel drops without extra weight; calve stretches 3X.

A.M. Weight 185.5

High end fartlek workout at Liberty Park. Resting yesterday was smart. I slept great and felt ready to run this morning. Initially I had planned on a Base II run, but as Paul Tergat once said, "Don't waste the opportunity for a hard workout on a day when you feel great."

I added 2 x 30 sec strides to my warm-up to speed it up, then moved into a Base II and then AT effort. Once I settled in I ran 4 x 2:30 controlled hard with 2 minute running recoveries. I wanted to keep the pressure on my aerobic system high so I ran the recoveries as fast as I could to still recover. Because I hadn't planned on a hard workout I did not wear my HRM but would guess by effort that HR at the end of the intervals was high 180s and that I maintained 160-170 during the recovery portion.

Pace for the whole workout including warmup and 1.5 mile cool-down was 8:27/mi for 5.74 miles.

Time, pace, and distance for the "on" portions:

2:33 6:25 .40

2:35 6:44 .38

2:40 6:51 .39

2:33 6:22 .40

I'm not very efficient running on the wood chips and would likely be quite a bit faster on the roads or track. If I think it is safe for my achillles, I'll run 4-5 x 800 on the track at the same effort level soon. I'll keep with these aerobic capacity workouts for a while because that is a weak system for me right now. Even though I've done zero true speed training, I'm still much much faster than I am strong so I need to close that gap some.

A.M. Weight = 184.1

I was in Park City for a family reunion and ran along a trail with my brother-in-law. Yesterday's workout was pretty taxing, so taking it easy today was just right.

The purpose of my current training block is to increase my aerobic capacity. I'll do two sessions per week as long as I can tolerate it physically and mentally. Last week was my first week--ideally I'll make it through 6 before I reset and go back to base with a slight bump in my mileage. I am not trying to hit certain times right now, but a certain effort level instead. Running on grass and woodchip trails is great for effort based work but the surfaces are very slow so it is hard to guage fitness. I decided to run on the track today, but didn't want to start racing the clock; rather, I wanted to run 4 x 800 controlled hard focusing on effort. I wore my Garmin with HRM but switched the display so that I could not see how fast or how hard (HR) I was running. The split pops up anyway so I accidentally saw my 2nd time but made sure I didn't see the rest.

The workout was a great success and I'm very pleased. Six-minute pace is a nice benchmark and I'm happy to be working below it again. Times were relatively consistent. Times and HR were slightly lower and higher, respectively, than I expected. Aerobic capacity training is just plain old hard. There is no way around it. But this is what I need to do right now rather than messing around with slow distance running. Despite the apparent complexity, my training is really very simple. I train as hard as I can while still recovering. Right now the the MO is intensity.

Ran to East High.

Drills and Stretching

4 x 800 with 200 jog+

Time   Peak HR   Recovery

2:53        189          1:45

2:57        193          2:34

2:54        195          3:39

2:49        197          2:11

A.M. Weight = 184.8

Base II Run: out and back along Foothill.

My muscles and joints were somewhat stiff this morning but my energy level felt pretty good. Hips were locked up despite last nights yoga but loosened up a little after my mid run stretch. Its time to take a tennis ball to my hip rotators to release the knots. Left patellar tendon is acting up, probably because I'm out of alignment.

I wore my Garmin with HRM but set it to show only time so that I would run by feeling and effort but be able to get stats afterwords.

6.08 mi in 52:29 = 8:25/mi @ HR 159

A.M. Weight = 183.5

Fartlek with 19 short accelerations on grass

I like to mix up the surfaces I run. Since Monday was track and yesterday was concrete/asphalt today seemed like a good day for grass. I wasn't ready for a hard day but didn't really feel like jogging either so I went to the fields at Sunnyside and Guardsman and did a bunch of short accelerations, 19 to be exact, with easy jogging as recovery. I made the last 2 longer and went flat-out the last ~30 meters of each. No HRM, but based on feel I would guess HR probably leveled off at ~160, so not too stressful. As I am writing this, I am noticing that my upper gastrocs and hammies are starting to feel sore--pretty early (I expect my weight will be up tomorrow). So it was probably harder on me than I had anticipated. No matter the distance, I'll keep tomorrow pretty easy and plan on more aerobic capacity work on Saturday.

A.M. Weight = 184.3

Pure LSD Run

With the more intense work I've put in recently, it was time for a long easy run. I'm tired of always running out and back along Foothill so I decided to explore and do something else. I essentially went up and over Research Park. Very hilly but I kept it very easy and relaxed.

I slightly aggravated my achilles with yesterdays workout. I don't think today's run stressed it too much but I need to be careful. As much as I would like to keep hitting the aerobic capacity work, I may need to go back to base for a couple of weeks to help my achilles get over this last phase. I seem to be able to tolerate the 5k paced stuff, but I've reached a stasis where although it is not getting worse, it is not getting better.

A.M. Weight = 184.0

4.64 mi/42:08 = 8:33/mi @ HR = 148

Will update later.

A.M. Weight = 185.5

Rehab Workout

Today I exercised great discipline and did not run my planned aerobic capacity workout nor did I run hard at all. The healing of my achilles tendon has basically halted since I started track work again. I'm guilty of pushing too hard too soon. I think subconsciously I know what I can get away with and have been going right up to that line. This is not good for the long term as I would remain injured in perpetuity and be stuck forever in training limbo.

Pulling back right now is hard because I got in about two weeks of harder training and was just starting to see some of the results as Friday my HR 14X (Base I) pace was down to ~8:30/mi and my 5K intervals are now below 6 minute pace. Reading the recaps of the Des News 10k makes it even worse. I feel like a caged lion right now. I am ready to rachet up the training but cannot. I know what I'm capable of, understand the training requirements to get there, and am willing to do the work. Overall I'm still sticking to my one-year plan to get back into competitive shape which means I hope to be racing fast by next spring.

So, I'm retreating to biking, easy running, light weights, and rehab work and will only maintain an increased workload if it does not aggravate my achilles. As some sort of compensation I bought an exercise bike today so that I do not have to go the gym every time I need to bike.

10 minutes of jogging.

20 minutes of biking.

Weights/Core.

Ballistic heel drops A.M. Slow drops with 75 lbs P.M.

A.M. Weight = 183.4.

Rehab Work (see yesterday's entry)

My achilles is feeling better today. My last harder workout was Wednesday so I think the base training days Thursday and Friday plus the rehab day yesterday have been helpful. This is a good sign. I reason that if I can tolerate interval training than I should be able to more than tolerate easy base runs. I've thought very carefully about what should be the best way to fully rehab it and devised a systematic plan.

Four things need to happend for my achilles to heal:

1) Elevate blood flow to the achilles as much as I can. 2) Load it with very limited periods of very high tension, and 3) maintain/increase the strength of my calf musculature, and 4) keep my whole kinetic chain in alignment so it encounters stress at normal angles.

Probably the limiting factor for achilles healing is blow flow. Blood flow to the achilles is very poor, consequently healing takes a long time. I will do two things to increase blood flow. 1) I will workout 2x/day (easy) by running and biking. The second workout will be shorter for now--just enough to raise core temp and get my calves working. The higher pulse pressue will drive fluid exchange in the tendon itself. 2) I'll do Astym/Active release (myself) on the tendon every 48-72 hours and then workout on it immediately after. The microtrauma caused by these techniques will also increase blood flow (and initiate a chain reaction with will lead to repair of old damage in addition to induce microtrauma).

Tendons are load bearing but not contractile. This means they cannot get tired and therefore can't respond to fatigue. Rather, they respond to load. Accordingly, the most potent stimulus to induce tendon growth/strengthening is tension itself. The art here is in loading with enough high tension to stimulate growth but not enough to cause damage. Interval workouts are apparently too much right now. I'll continue to apply high tension in the form of ballistic heel drops.

To strengthen calf musculature I'll continue to do slow eccentric heel drops with a weighted back-pack as well as calf raises toe-off drills. Eccentric weight work/resistance training seems to promote healing better than concentric work. I think I know why but will save that discussion for another time.

To keep my whole kinetic chain in aligment I'll continue with core work, light weight, yoga, and some stretching. Basic stretching has a role, but I have always acheived better results when stretching is incorporated into some sort of strengthen exercise, like Romanian dead-lifts for hamstrings and deep squats for hips. I'm not lifting heavy, just stressing joints and muscles through full ranges of motion to maintain robust muscle-joint integrity and stability.

I Will Win this Battle.

----------------------------------------

A.M.

30 minutes of biking + 20 minutes of easy running. Ballistic heal drops.

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P.M.

10 minute of biking + 5 minutes of easy running. Slow weighted heal drops.

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A.M. Weight = 184.8

Rehab/Astym/Base I

So far, so good with the new plan. Saw another PT today and received Astym treatment. He's pretty confident it will help and gave strict instruction to continue running. We shall see.

-------------------------

A.M. 20 minutes on bike, 10 minutes jogging, romanian deadlifts, squats.

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P.M. 21st east loop @ Base I

3.24 mi/29:43 = 8:56/mi @ HR 148

My first P.M. run in a LONG time. Quads are little tired from the addition of biking the last few days. Should harden up to it soon.

--------------------------

A.M. Weight = 184.8 (With doubles this will start dropping quickly if my 32 year body responds like it did in its late 20s--although it brings back unpleasant memories of waking up at 2 am starving and sitting in the dark eating cereal!)

Base I/rehab

Sticking with my overall rehab plan (see June 26th entry). So far so good. Achilles seems to do okay with base mileage. Definitely a little more sore after second run today. I'll double again tomorrw but P.M. will be strictly on the bike.

---------------------------

A.M. Base I run out and back along Foothill, no HRM.

5.7 mi/51:01 = 8:43/mi,

9:25/mi out, 8:08/mi back. Achilles felt pretty good except for a few minutes following a short sprint to cross Foothill quick enough to avoid becoming road kill.

----------------------------

P.M. Base I run to East High Track + a few laps around then back home.

3.38 mi/30:31 = 8:52/mi, no HRM,

I'm not real tired from this morning but felt totally uncoordinated on this run. A midpoint stretch at the track helped some. Small muscles must be tired.

+ 5 min on bike after run.

----------------------------

Achilles rehab stuff.

----------------------------

A.M. Weight = 183.6

2x Base I, Rehab

A.M. 13th East loop at Base I effort.

My hips/SIs have been locked up pretty good for a couple of weeks now, especially the left one. Midway through this run they released and what a difference that makes in rhythm and symmetry of stride--makes running much more pleasurable. When I was running my very best, I always felt like I was floating when running downhill or at high speeds. Definitely need to get that back. Doubles will help. I really believe that running is a skill like golf, tennis, or playing the piano. A higher frequency of practice sessions (ie doubles) results in increased skill.

41:22/4.54 mi = 8:54/mi, no HRM.

-------------------------------

P.M. 21st East loop Base I effort + 10 minutes of biking at same HR

Yesterday I said this would be biking only; however, my achilles seems to be liking these doubles--it has 1/2 as much time to stiffen up and overall blood flow has got to be a lot higher. I added 10 minutes of biking at the end because a little cross training is good, even when not necessary. Running is repetitive enough that mixing things up helps maintain general muscle health.

30:07/3.33 mi = 8:51/mi, HR = 147

+10 minutes of biking

------------------------------------

A.M. Weight = 183.8

Base I/Bike/Rehab

My achilles seems to be tolerating the doubles quite well although biking this evening seemed like the smart thing to do. Slowly but surely my training paces are coming down. I should see a nice drop after a couple of weeks at this higher volume. More time will come of with the weight loss that will surely come. I could lose a little fat but I'm also carrying too much muscle. In college I raced at ~165 and so no reason why I can't get back there with a decent workload.

A.M. Out and back on Foothill.

7.08 mi/62:06 = 8:33/mi @ HR 149

         Out = 8:49/mi @ HR 150

         Back = 8:16/mi @ HR149

------------------------------

P.M. 30 minutes on the bike

Legs were pretty stiff this morning with dead quads and felt my achilles a little more than the last couple of runs. I obeyed the signs and biked rather than run. Still, over 90 minutes of aerobic training today. Even so, my achilles felt great during the day. I have another Astym appointment tomorrow. The last one certainly didn't hurt. Time will tell if it helps.

-----------------------------

A.M. Weight = 184.8

Base I, Weights, ASTYM, Base I.

A.M. 17th-Sunnyside Loop: Tried a new loop this morning in an effort to find another ~40 minute run. Worked out about right. Was super stiff this morning and took a long time to get warmed up and moving at a respectable pace. Achilles felt pretty good on this run. ASTYM appointment at 2:00.

4.36 mi/41:06 = 9:06/mi, no HRM

Weights for ROM: RDLs and Deep squats, right aductor cramped a little, I hope it doesn't leave me sore for a week.

--------------------------------

Afternoon: ASTYM

Hard 5 minutes on a bike to warm-up legs.

ASTYM on both legs. Not too bad but it hurts like crazy on hamstrings. A bunch of stretches and calf exercises after

---------------------------------

P.M. 13th East Loop

Ran very very easy (HR lows 130s?) until the last 5 min or so when I picked it up.

3.24 mi/30:20 = 9:06/mi, no HRM. Quads are hammered. I'd like to go long tomorrow, but it may have to wait.

--------------------------------

A.M. Weight = 183.2

A.M. Regeneration run.

4.10 mi/45:19 = 10:47/mi @ HR 128 over hilly terain.

------------------------

A.M. Weight = 181.8 (Doubles already starting to show)

LT Diagnostic Run at East High Track/Base I:

A.M. LT run at East High Track.

Felt pretty good. HR drifted a little at the end when I played around with different stride patterns. Accelerated over the last 200 but avoided my customary fast finish to protect achilles--could have ripped it if I 'd decided to.

Lap times (HR):

1:41(173P), 1:41 (176), 1:42 (177), 1:40 (177),

1:42 (180), 1:43 (178), 1:44 (177), 1:42 (178),

1:42 (181), 1:42 (182), 1:42 (183), 1:31 (191P)

Ave = 1:41.88/Lap = 6:49.89/mi @ HR 178.9

LT Diagnostic History:

May 3rd = 7:18.2/mile

May 24th = 7:05.7/mi

August 1st = 6:49.9/mi

I expect this to crash with doubles and weight loss.

----------------------------------------------------------

P.M. 13th East Loop+ @ Base I pace

Felt better than expected and somewhat smooth.

3.35 mi/30:23 = 8:47/mi @ HR 148

----------------------------------------------------------

A.M. Weight = 183.8

Base I/ASTYM,Base I-

A.M. 13th East Loop:

41:47/4.58 mi = 8:53/mi, no HRM = Base I effort. Felt out of sync. Noticed that my shoes seemed to be broken down and that the heel is too prominent. Time for a new pair.

----------------------------------

ASTYM

----------------------------------

P.M. 21st East Loop:

31:11/3.24 mi = 9:19/mi @ HR 140. Purchased a new pair of Wave Riders. Ran very, very easy and slowly gained speed over the course of the run. New shoes are soft! Achilles a little more sensitive today.

-----------------------------------

A.M. Weight = 183.9

WVs = 3.24

Base I+/Base I

A.M. 60:33/6.65 mi = 8:53/mi @ HR 150

Out and back along Foothill. First Adam sighting ever (on a run). Nice to see someone I know.

-----------------------

P.M. 46:38/5.10 mi = 8:47/mi @ HR 142

High mileage days are more important than high mileage weeks. The idea was to load today up relative to current capabilities. I intended to run 40 min but underestimated my add-on and ended up farther out than I wanted. Tomorrow will be less. Legs were definitely depleted during this run but that is exactly what I want.

-----------------------

A.M. Weight = 182.8

-----------------------

WVs = 14.99 mi

A.M. 31:14/2.74 mi = 10:53/mi no HRM

Muscles very stiff this morning, especially my calves. Debated whether to do a regeneration run or bike. Opted for the run because I thought it would stretch things out better. May bike tonight.

---------------------------

A.M. Weight = 182.9

A.M. Out and back along Foothill.

Legs were definitely tired this morning but my overall energy was good. I threw in a spontaneous segment of AT pace to catch a runner a couple hundred meters ahead. He was wearing head phones so I didn't bother him. Achilles was quite irritated after this run and surround tissue was edemic. I iced with high compression to try and clear it out. Fluid build-up probably due to the absence of a P.M. workout yesterday.

6.09 mi/52:53

Out = 9:04/mi @ HR 150

Back = 7:42/mi @ HR 153

---------------------------

P.M. 21st East loop:

Legs felt like concrete at the beginning and progressed to old, dry timber by the end as they became slightly pliable. Achilles felt much, much better.

30:36/3.24 mi = 8:59/mi @ HR 141

--------------------------------

A.M. Weight = 182.5

A.M. Up and Over Research Park

78:50/8.40 miles

Up = 10:03/mi @ HR 143

Down = 8:18/mi @ HR 145

These paces and HRs are averages and thus for this run are very deceptive. There is an abundance of stop and go on this run because of changing, uneven terrain. Some segments were a lot slower at lower HRs while others were brisk with HR in the low 160s. I really enjoyed this run. These kinds put steel in the legs. I have a full evening tonight and some hiking tomorrow so this could be my last run of the week. If so, its a good one to end on. My mileage has shot up so quickly that I will still feel great about my week if it is.

------------------------------

A.M. Weight = 182.5

A.M. Easy warm-up run to loosen up for this afternoons hike.

21:27/2.08 mi = 10:18/mi no HRM, last portion at sub-8.

----------------------------------

P.M. Summit of the Pfeifferhorn = ~10 miles, 11,326 feet, ~4000 ft of vertical gain.

I'm tired and a little sore from yesterday's Pfeifferhorn summit. When we reached the top thunderheads were starting to role into the area. We took a few quick pictures and then noticed that we were accumulating static electricity--my hair was starting to stand up. That's when I shouted "we've got to fly!" Our initial descent was very fast and owing to its rapidity I slipped on loose dirt and squarely planted my hand in a thistle plant (the barbs of which I finished picking out of my hand with a sterilized needle this morning). Lightning never got close but it was a little eery for a while nonetheless. Overall, a great hike, ~10 miles with lots of class 2/3 scrambling and beautiful scenery.

Strictly for the purpose of recovery and keeping blood flow up to my achilles, which did quite well yesterday, I ran a very easy run this afternoon and feel much better after doing so.

31:15/2.86 mi = 10:31/mi = regeneration pace.

------------------------------------------

A.M. Weight = 183.1

A.M.

51:37/5.42 mi = 8:52/mi @ HR 149

Hips are still a little sore and very locked up. Did not feel smooth, at all.

--------------------------

P.M.

43:09/4.52 = 9:13/mi @ HR 144

Nice easy run with Adam (who it was even easier for). Hips still locked and HR still slightly elevated given the pace. Light intervals tomorrow morning to test my achilles.

--------------------------

A.M. Weight = 182.5

A.M. 3 miles slighly sub-LT effort Hips still very tight during warm-up, but loosened up after 2 laps of jog/stride plus some good stretching. Its 3-days post hike so soreness should start dissipating now. 3 x 1600 @ half marathon pace, HR leveled off ~172-173 during each rep. 1 lap jog recovery + 20 second walk. Times were 6:59, 7:00, 7:00. Felt pretty good, well under control. Definitely feel the mileage in my legs--ie that depleted but not damaged feeling.

-----------------------------

P.M. 21st East Loop @ Base I. Not near as locked up, run felt half-way decent. HR at pace is coming back down, probably because mechanics are normalizing.

29:40/3.22 mi = 8:49/mi @ HR 145

---------------------

A.M. Weight = 182.0

A.M. Crazy winding run through the streets of Sugarhouse. Lots of uphills, downhills, and turns. Effort greater than pace would indicate. Need to get a second new pair of shoes. Ran this one in my Glycerins--they are pounded down pretty good in comparison to my Wave Riders.

1:04:11/7.04 miles = 8:48/mi @ HR 153

-------------------

A.M. Weight = 183.1

If its not one thing, its another. So, just as I am making great progress with my achilles rehab, to the point that most of my runs are 100% pain free, without any medication, I've gotten bit by some nasty bug on my leg and it has puffed up like a marshmellow. I'm pretty certain the bite occured on my climb of the Pfeifferhorn.

The morning after the climb I noticed several mosquito bites including a couple along my outside lower left leg. The rest started getting better but these two starting getting worse with painful swelling. I've been to 2 doctors in the last 48 hours and they both think that it is just a strong reaction to whatever bit me but that it is not infected. I'm taking a strong antihistamine and have a topical corticosteroid. Both doctors gave me the go ahead to run (one has run 3:20 for the marathon and has a St. George entry this year). Nonetheless, I took last night off and this morning (there goes my planned 60 mile week). Tonight was an easy one hour run to keep the muscle pump active and thus drive lymph and blood flow. If the swelling is no worse tomorrow morning, I'll run 4 x 800 at solid but controlled sub-VO2max effort at East.

P.M. 2 laps of 21st East Loop.

60:53/6.46 mi = 9:25/mi @ HR 142

--------------------------------

A.M. Weight = 183.1

A.M. 4 x 800 at workout specific LT. Recovery was 400 jog + ~20 meter circle walk to change directions. Workout specific LT is the fastest pace for a given workout that does not induce a lactate spike. This applies whether one is running 800s, 200s, etc. I generally run these by feeling rather than trying to run some predetermined pace. These workouts provide a nice training effect without costing one much. With a few exceptions I generally aim for one hard workout a week and a couple of easier ones. This allows for consistency and continuity in training while avoiding injury.

Today's workout was the first one where I can tell that the increased mileage is increasing my fitness. My legs were stiff and ease of pace was missing but I felt very comfortable from on the cardio side. The ease of pace issue will quickly resolve itself with some faster rep work. My achilles has held up pretty well so next week I'll add something a little quicker in addition to my 2 lighter workouts. This will be the final piece to bring balance to my full training repertoire. I'm very happy to be reaching the point where I can integrate a decent amount of base mileage with a regular schedule of track workout.

800/Recovery;  Finishing HR

3:07/3:35;  177

3:06/4:32;  181

3:03/3:54;  183

2:56/NA;   187 (Acceleration over last 200 spiked HR)

Will finish this entry later. I'm pretty confident I can now run 5k at 6 minute pace.

--------------------------

A.M. Weight = 182.7

A.M. I drove out to the Jordan River trail for my first run there (thanks Adam for the directions). It was great. Since moving to Salt Lake I've been unable to escape street traffic for any meaningful length of time during runs. Running along this trail was a very welcome reprieve.

I had been thinking about running for two hours but decided to keep it at ~90 minutes and then get in a P.M. run. I am very, very against extreme workouts because they disrupt training, lead to injury, kill running economy, etc. I also think that the benefit of long runs is highly overated unless one is specifically preparing for a marathon. Both long runs and interval workouts can easily become extreme. I do have a St. George entry that I am contemplating using. A few weeks ago I had completely ruled it out. However my achilles is doing very well and I think that with consistent training I may be able to hit the Boston qualifying time of 3:10:59. Then I'll several months to properly prepare and run a respectable time. Having Boston to train for will also help me stay motivated and train well through the winter. All that being said, I'm just starting to feel in the zone and thought it better to maintain flow by going up to 90 min this week and then 120 the next. The good thing is that 94 min was well within me and really didn't leave me tired. In fact, I felt awesome on my P.M. run.

1:34:23/11.04 mi = 8:27/mi @ HR 150. Felt good.

P.M. 21st East Loop (fastest yet at this HR)

32:05/3.67 mi = 8:25/mi @ HR 147. Felt super good.

As with Thursday's interval workout, this run indicates my fitness is improving.

----------------------------------------

A.M. Weight = 182.5

P.M. Regeneration/Base I Run.

38:09/3.86 mi = 9:53/mi, no HRM.

Just a very easy run to keep blood flow up and muscles from tightening. I also think of it as a warm-up for tomorrow morning's light track work. I'm tired from yesterday and started up quite stiff. Legs felt unpliable, not springy like yesterday. Felt better the last mile or so.

-------------------------------

A.M. Weight = 182.1

A.M. 12 x 400 with 200 jog, 1-9 at workout specific AT, 10-11 "" LT, 12 gradual acceleration. + 1 x 200 fast and relaxed (actually slow, but it feels fast right now). Felt a little dehydrated during workout. May have raised HR a little.

400   Recovery  Peak HR

1:42     1:16     172

1:40     1:17     172

1:40     1:12     174

1:36     1:15     178

1:40     1:15     176

1:38     1:31     177

1:38     1:15     175

1:38     1:17     176

1:39     1:14     175

1:32     1:22     182

1:34     1:25     182

1:17      N/A    192

200 = 34.07

--------------------------------

P.M.

34:07/3.56 mi = 9:21/mi, no HRM

---------------------------------

A.M. Weight = 181.5

Ran to Liberty Park for easy Base I run. Always slower on the wood chips and grass. Coming up 13th South to 13th East is always fun too--super slow but stretches my calves out super good.

59:29/6.02 mi = 9:31/mi (Park portion), no HRM

------------------------

37:16/4.03 mi = 9:03/mi @ HR 144

21st East loop plus some add on. Ran relaxed and easy. Some sort of interval work tomorrow morning. Probably a few fast, relaxed 200s with full recovery.

------------------------

A.M. Weight = 182.0

Speed work at East High:

Drills,

800 Warm-up = 3:18, gradual acceleration

4 x 200 = 32.55, 30.52, 31.05, 30.03

1 x 400 = 69.92

Full recovery between all.

Will fully log later.

------------------------------

P.M.

3.93 miles = 8:22/mi @ HR 149

-------------------------------------

A.M. Weight = 181.5

7.81 mi/1:17:22 = 9:32/mi. No HRM

----------------------------------------

P.M.

3.24 mi @ 8:48/mi

Will fully log later

-------------------------------

A.M. Weight = 180.9

Drills, 800 warm-up, 2 x 1 mile at East High

800 Warm-up = 3:18

2 x 1 Mile

6:03, HR 183, Rec = 3:30 lap jog + stand for 30 sec.

6:01 HR 185 (leveled off at 183, ticked up with slight acceleration over last 200)

Fitness has definitely increased--a lot. Those are 10k Race HRs and are legit because that is plently of time to equilibrate.

Will fully log later (got a lot of those built up).

--------------------------------

A.M. Weight = 180.8

Long Run

Started at on Jordan River Trail at 53rd South and headed North. Last week I went South and ran out of trail after ~40 min so I thought I would explore North. I had trail the whole way but took a diversion into a golf course right before turning around. It was great to be away from traffic again, but this was the most winding trail I've ever been on. It seems I was always turning, turning, turning.

14.63 mi/2:00:08 = 8:07/mi @ HR 150

 Out = 8:04/mi @ HR 149

Back = 8:09/mi @ HR 150

I'm very pleased with the way my fitness is increasing. I knew after yesterday's 800s that I had made a significant jump and today's run corroborates that. I was over 20 seconds per mile faster today then last week at the same HR. This was my longest run in quite a while and although my legs were very tired at the end I still had significant fuel in the tank and could have fully opened the bellows at will.

I have increased my training volume a lot over the last 4 weeks going from a few months of 20-25 mile weeks to consecutive weeks of 42, 52, 58, and now 69. I'll cycle down this week and use it as a taper for the Salt Lake Half Marathon next Saturday. I've got little time to work with to prepare for St. George so I'll probably wear trainers for the half and hold back just a little the first 10 miles and then run the last 3 all out. I need to get one long, hard race in, but want to minimize the risk of injury. I'm not near PR 1/2 shape so I don't have much to gain by going all out. That being said, I expect to be in the mid to low 1:20s, and if I feel perfectly balanced and fluid, I may redline it anyway. 

------------------------------

A.M. Weight = 182.3

Base I Run out and back on Foothill.

6.05 mi/53:30 =

   9:13/mi Out @ HR 147

   8:03/mi Back @ HR 147

Felt pretty good. A little heaviness still in legs from Saturday's long run. Lined-up fairly well and ran pretty relaxed. The traffic is annoying; I haven't been out that way for a while so I need to get used to the cars again. I'll take tonight off and then double tomorrow. I'm cycling down this week because 1) I've pushed my workload up for several consecutive weeks and 2) I'm running the Salt Lake Half Saturday.

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A.M. Weight = 181.5

A.M. Track work at East.

U of U ski team was working out there so my pacing was thrown off a little and having other people on the track (running fast) made me feel a little hyper because I usually workout with a few old women walking. All this makes it harder to judge effort. Anyway, the 1600s felt really easy but HR was higher than I would have thought. I could have run more 400s but felt like 3 was enough to send the message to my body so I left with more in the tank. If all goes well, this is my last easier week until the taper for St. George (the first few days of next may be easier if I need them to recover from the half) so I want to avoid doing anything really hard.

3 x 1600 @ AT/LT type effort (lap jog recovery).

6:40, 6:44, 6:38, HR stable in mid 170s, uptick with small accelerations over last lap on 2nd and 3rd, maybe 3-4 sec faster than other laps.

3 x 400 with short jog recoveries = 78.2 (188)/1:04; 78.5 (190)/1:19, 77.3 (192)

Recovered very fast after 3rd 400. I ran these very fluid and smooth but they felt like 65s should feel, not 78s.

Overall these was a medium workout, certainly not hard.

-------------------------------

P.M.  21st East Loop + lap around the block.

31:52/3.61 mi = 8:30/mi @ HR 143

Fitness definitely has improved as pace/HR is coming down. This just confirms what the workouts at the end of last week were suggesting.

--------------------------------

A.M. Weight = 181.5

A.M. Very easy Base I run. Jogged to the grass field at Sunnyside and Guardsmen and ran a few laps and stretched some. Yesterday's 400s didn't seem to make me sore.

3.39 mi = 9:36/mi @ HR 139

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P.M. 21st East Loop + 1 lap around block

This run is becoming ritual for me because it is a very nice loop. The grades on the ups and downs are slight which makes this a good run for getting into a nice rhythm. Traffic is low and there is plently of shade. I need to figure out how to add on but still keep the run the same. That being said, I had no rhythm tonight and felt out of sync most the way. Hips feel locked. Maybe I didn't eat enough today. Thus far I've been pretty successful at maintaining a very consistent pattern of gradual weight loss. I'd like to maintain this but its always a juggling act to keep up with variation in training. I'm still 15 pounds over racing weight. If I could be down to 175 by the marathon it would make things easier for me.

3.61 mi = 8:42/mi @ HR 141

-----------------------------------

A.M. Weight = 180.9

A.M.

Ran to East for very light track work to keep my muscles supple and loose. I ran very slow to get there and then jogged backwards around the track, did some form and warm-up drills, and then started running the straights and jogging the turns until I started to loosen up. After warming up, I ran 2 x 400 in 1:30 with a 200 jog, then a few slow laps followed by a slow jog home.

Although I really have no idea what the Salt Lake Half course is like, its seems like it will be pretty downhill so I anticipate running ~6:15-6:20/mi, even if I am backing off some. All I wanted to do today was run a little faster than race pace without stressing my CNS. This is an area where I've really become more discipline and mature as a runner. In the past, I would run something harder and faster to get that one last workout in or to reassure myself of my fitness. This is a mistake. The fitness is there, the hay is in the barn, and this is really my last chance to come down some until I taper for St. George so pushing anything would be short-sighted and counter-productive.

I generally do track work in road flats, but ran today in trainers because I will probably race the half in trainers. I'm not near PR shape so I'm willing to sacrifice a minute to save my body some trauma. By experience I've found that when I race in a less agressive shoe (road flat vs. track spike; trainer vs. road flat)  than I've been working out in, I tend to clomp more and spring less, probably because the foot/calf stretch-reflex is suppressed. By not wearing flats today, hopefully I'll be as springy as I can be in a trainer. I still could end up wearing flats though:)

--------------------------------

A.M. Weight = 181.5

A.M. 30:05/3.34 mi = 8:30/mi @ HR 149. Pre-race tension and jitters. Will probably jog for 10-15 minutes tonight and then stretch.

----------------

A.M. Weight = 181.2

This was my first race in a long while. I had anticipated running low to mid 1:20s a few days prior to the race. However, I was in for a big surprise--the first 4 miles were a truly formidable climb. I also clearly need more work running downhill. Here's a mile-by-mile recap.

 The consensus view seems to be that this course is short. I found it to be short also, so I'll report splits by pace per mile marker rather than the actual split time; I'll also include Average HR in parenthesis. According to my Garmin, which I have to found to be very accurate, total distance was 12.90 miles with course miles varying between 0.92-1.04 Garmin miles.

1. Started good off the line on the slight downhill. My legs respond but my gait does not feel light or smooth. Downhill quickly becomes flat and then uphill. I apply solid effort here but just am not moving very fast.  7:45 (180).

2. I settle into the effort I want to maintain but the grade gets steeper. I get passed by ~8-10 people on this portion. My gait is still feeling uneven. I feel like I have a hitch in my stride. My left leg is a spring but my right leg is not. On a positive, the effort level feels very comfortable and sustainable. I'm working hard, but not really suffering.  8:44 (176).

3. This mile offers a little reprieve from the heretofore relentless uphill. I pass a couple of people back on the flat/dowhill part. Gait starting to feel more even. Still feeling in control.  7:50 (175).

4. A couple people pass me but one is running on a relay. I catch a nice view of a resevoir below and the set of switchbacks we had climbed up. Nothing but uphill until the last ~50 meters when I reach the Crest of the climb. I stop dead in my tracks to get water and guzzle quickly. 8:22 (175).

5. Down the precipice. It's rather strange to go from a 4 mile, 800 ft climb to immediate descent. My right calf is hurting where it has been sore. I am worried about it cramping. I'm enjoying the change to downhill but do not feel smooth. I feel like I'm pounding. When I was running my best I used to float downhill. Currently there is no such sensation. I'm really, really, really glad I'm wearing trainers rather than racing flats. I'm a little dissapointed to see my split. I thought based on my track work 6s would be reasonable. I'm not trying to push things yet, just trying to get a grip on the downhill and keep my quads from exploding. 6:21 (172).

6. More of the same. I notice that my feet seem to be landing in front of me rather than underneath me. I think that I'm overstriding. I work on planting with a flat foot underneath me with my best Ryan Hall imitation. My cadence increases and I quickly catch and pass 3 people who had been a steady 50 feet ahead. I feel more fluid with less pounding. I notice that my quads feel shaky and that running this way strains them in a way that I am not used to. I tell myself that I really need some hard downhill running in my training. 6:14 (173).

7,8. Again more of the same. I notice that I missed the 7 mile split a couple of minutes after passing it. I alternate back and forth between overstriding when I am not concentrating and the higher cadence, flat foot plant I discovered during mile 6. It is harder to sustain. My quads feel like they are quivering. Nonetheless, I feel strong centrally and my energy is good. At mile 8 I take a Gu as planned--my first Gu ever in a race. My stomach reacts in contortion but then settles down. 6:36 Ave (171).

9. I feel my central drive waning a little, but do not worry as 1) I'm expecting to get a nice glucose boost from the Gu, and 2) my plan all along has been to stay in control and then work the last 3 miles. I just focus on relaxing and running the minimal distance by taking the tangents. 6:33 (173).

10. Same as last mile. I'm thinking that when I work the next mile, that the accompanying mental state will carry me through strong to the finish. Running requires more focus. My legs are weary but my heart is strong. A couple people are 100-200 feet ahead of me. Will I catch them over the last 3 miles? I hear footsteps behind me someone is going to catch me almost as I will hit the 10 mile marker. This is funny to me because this is where I will accelerate. 6:43 (172).

 11. I pass the 10 mile marker, hit my lap split, and accelerate. The footsteps that were right behind me quickly fade into silence. I feel my emotions surge and energize my very weary legs. My drive is good. I am running with very good form and pounding less. I am catching the 2 people ahead of me very quickly. I pass them and find myself alone and am unable to maintain the same speed but am still moving quicker than before. The next person is far ahead. 5:55 (182)

 12. I'm tired now but focused and determined. We come out of the canyon and into the sun which seems very bright. I'm concerned about it getting hot but its okay. My heart rate is still up so I know I'm not slacking off now that I am in no-mans land. 6:13 (181)

13. I'm really tired now. Just maintain this effort I tell myself. This mile is slightly uphill. I start to hear footsteps again. They are approaching slowly enough that I am not concerned. I will attach myself to this person as they go by and outkick them. I turn off Sunnyside and head into research park and turn my head to see if I have more than 1 chaser. I do not. I am caught. I attach. With about 100 meters to go I am very tired but accelerate with ease and open up 20-30 meters by the finish. Very glad to be done. 6:44 (182, peak = 189)

Final time = 1:29:59 = 6:59/mi @ HR 176

Post-mortem analysis.

1). I ran hard, generally stuck with my plan, and got exactly what I wanted out of running this race. It was a success.

2). I need some more practice on down and uphills. I need to learn to float again.

3) Hauling 180 lbs up a mountain is hard. Getting down to race weight will help tremendously.

4). I need to be patient with myself and allow time to reach competitive fitness. I used to do flat training runs this fast and its frustrating to be working hard at a relatively slow pace. Effort is the Gold Standard and I can't forget that.

A.M. 21st East Loop @ Base I

Quads are very sore from the half but do not seem quite as bad as they were yesterday evening. I napped a lot yesterday and feel pretty refreshed today. I'm excited to see how much faster I run in my next race (whenever that is--might do the Greek Festival 5K).

3.63 mi = 8:18/mi @ HR 149

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A.M. Weight = 183.8 (Swollen and edemic muscles are retaining water).

A.M. Workout w/ the Black Sheep at Highland

My quads are still pretty sore from the half, but good enough to run on. I enjoy working out with a group and being healthy enough to do so. My achilles is not 100% but it is pretty close. With the base work I've gotten in over the last few weeks I handled today pretty well and was faster than I would have expected--certainly a lot faster than my half performance would suggest. This is the kind of work I respond well to and working it in with some decent mileage should get me pretty fit. Recoveries were walking/jogging and usually 2-3 minutes.

Warm-up

1600 = 6:39 (HR 177)

1200 = 4:21 (186)

1200 = 4:27 (186)

800 = 2:52 (184?)

800 = 2:52 (186)

400 = 77.1 (185)

400 = 74.4 (186)

400 = 75.6 (186)

400 = 68.2 (188)

Cool-down

---------------------

P.M. Off. My quads are still hammered from the half.  How I managed to do track work this morning is a mystery to me. Probably because it was fun.

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A.M. Weight = 183.6

A.M. Easy Base I run up 13th East and then into the Avenues. Lots of stop and go. Still sore from SL Half plus a little from yesterdays track work.

64:10/6.95 mi = 9:03/mi @ HR 138

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P.M. 21st East Loop. I've got all kinds of sore muscles so I kept this one really easy and relaxed.

3.28 mi/30:03 = 8:51/mi @ HR 138

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A.M. Weight = 182.8

A.M. 10 x 5 minutes @ AT with 45-60 jog recoveries.

Parked at the end of 11th ave and ran 10 x 5 minutes at the aerobic threshold (AT) on the road loop by City Creek and up and down city creek. I clearly need more uphill and downhill training and marathon-specific training. This was a way to get both. I got in lots of up and down running with extremes up and down City Creek Road where I managed 3 intervals up and 2 down. I chugged along on the uphills where it was generally more difficult to sustain target HR (168-172). For the downhills, the first one was awkward with too much pounding but on the second one I was able to sustain a faster pace with much softer landings. I reached that depleted feeling by intervals 9 and 10 which is exactly what I wanted.

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P.M. Standard 21st East Loop

31:11/3.60 mi = 8:16/mi @ HR 149.

This is my fastest yet at this HR. Legs felt very light when I started which means I haven't come down from this morning. I will need to take extra care to keep things very easy and slow tomorrow morning.

----------------------

A.M. Weight = 182.5

58:14/6.04 mi = 9:26/mi @ HR 139

Legs very tired. P.M. will be off as usual for Friday. Tomorrow I will go long.

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A.M. Weight = 179.9 (Finally a measurement under 180!)

A.M. Long run along Jordan River Trail

While talking after last week's Half, Fiddy told me that he likes to pick up the Jordan River Trail at 13th South. I thought I would try the same so I drove down and found a nice place to park just off 9th West and ~1100 South.

I planned to go 18 and keep the first 16 at Base I pace and then run the last 2 miles at marathon goal pace which given my current lack of fitness is 7:18/mi. This is the pace for by Boston Qualifier cut-off of 3:10:59.

I kept the intensity at mid/low HR 140s for the first 12 or so miles and then HR started drifting up as I became fatigued and dehydrated.  Took at Gu at ~14.5 miles which was about when I really started to tire. It didn't seem to do much. I was really tired by 16 so dropping down to BQ pace seemed risky (from a CNS perspective--frying one's CNS is BAD, BAD news, probably worse then physically injury) so I sped up just a little for the last 2 miles.

The pace today was slower than I would have expected which is likely a direct result of the hard training week I've had. Last Saturday was the half, then Tuesday was the most demanding track session I've done all year, then 50 minutes of thresholdish running up and down hills on Thursday, and then what is probably the longest run of my life today (I've gone 18-18.5 probably 10-15 times before, but I don't think I've been over 18.5 before. Also, they used to be at 7-7:15 pace so they were shorter, relatively speaking).

I'm really torn about whether I should run St. George or not. As I've said before, I do not like to be rushed into things that I am not ready for. I'm extrordinarily short on long runs and in infancy when it comes to getting competitively fit again. If I was a slow guy who had put in 12+ 2 hour+ runs over the summer I'd feel much more ready. This, in fact, is not the case. I'm a guy who used to be somewhat competitive on the roads at the local level and much more competitive on the track. I'm 15 lbs overweight (mostly muscle which is harder to safely lose--it's not going to instantly melt away on a skiddle of 60 mile weeks--this here's tough bacon!) and basically running off a moderate to good amount of natural ability. This is long way of saying I'm not sure if I have the steel in my legs a marathon requires when you are out to more than jog it. I may not have time to get it and trying to quickly get it may be a mistake.

The biggest training mistakes I made in the past involved trying to force my fitness with "magic workouts" rather being patient and consistent. To get fast ,or strong, or whatever with training requires that one pay their dues with consistent effort over TIME. When I started training again, my mantra and allegiance were to patience and consistency, and crash training for St. George is surely a violation of that.

I told myself that I would allow a year to get back in shape. My freak non-running related achilles injury kept me from really training until about 6 weeks ago. The problem is I'm an intensely driven perfectionist, often to the point of blind idealism. The pragmatist and idealist are at war in my head right now. They both have value, and wisdom is knowing when to let which one rule. At times I've let the idealist over-rule the pragmatist and it has paid off. Other times I been burned, badly. Time will tell.

Long run, long post!

18.62 mi/2:43:01 = 8:33/mi @ HR 146 for miles 2-18

Miles 16-18= 7:55/mi @ HR 161

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A.M. Weight = 180.4

I'm about to commit heresy. Stay tuned!

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A.M. Weight = 180.9

A.M. Speed work followed by short AT run.

Yesterday it struck me that the best thing I can possibly do right now to help my marathon preparation is some very intense speedwork--800m training speedwork. Now I'm a heretic. Don't I realize that anearobic work will destroy my aerobic capacity? I'm pretty sure this is a myth and that the real culprit is overtraining in general. My personal experience has been quite the opposite. In a broad sense, intense exercise is the more potent fitness stimulus but it is also very demanding on the CNS. The key is to get in and get out, and limit a high intensity phase to a few weeks at a time and then stay away from it for a while. At very high intensities, little volume is required to generate a maximum stimulus for adaptation (the kind of adaptation speedwork induces).

My training will still be marathon training, but with an element of 800m training thrown in. I'm not naive enough to think that I will run a good marathon training off 800m training. The long run is still king and I'll keep my mileage up, but I have some very good reasons for adding some short but very intense speed sessions into my training. I write about those later on, but the purpose of today was to crank of the intensity, generate a lot of lactate, and then run a couple of miles at marathon goal pace or faster carrying the lacate burden from the speed.

An old stand-by for me, both as a runner and a coach, has been sets of 4-5 200s at 800m race race with 30s recoveries. 3 sets of 4 x 200 or 2 sets of 5 x 200 is the usual format. I decide to start with 2 x 4 x 200. I had pretty good rhythm, held my form, and generally stayed in control. That said, it was tough. Via the etching winds of my hard breathing I acquired some nice trachea burn, from the first set alone.

The AT portion was interesting. I ended up running 2 miles but probably would have gone 3 if I hadn't had some extra stuff to do this morning before work. My lap times generally decreased at the same HR throughout the run, down to about 7 minute pace by the end. This is likely because my heart and slow muscles were utilizing lactate as fuel and therefore chewing up protons too.

Lactate metabolism is critical during the final miles of the marathon where almost every organ in the body, even the skin, starts releasing lactate to use as a fuel source. This is one of the reasons I've added the speedwork, albeit a minor one. During the next few days I'll try to fully explain why I think this is a good decision for me.

Drills

800 warm-up = 3:12

2 x 4 x 200 with 30 seconds between reps and slow 2 lap jog between sets.

33.62, 34.06, 33.60, 33.67

33.14, 34.15, 34.00, 33.36

These will get faster as I sharpen.

Slow 2 lap jog

3200 at AT effort

7:18, 7:10, HR leveled off around 172

P.M. 21 East Loop+

31:45/3.62 mi = 8:08/mi @ HR149

My fastest yet with ave HR under 150! I'm eagerly awaiting the run when I dip under 8. 

More neuropotentiation. I've noticed the PM run after a hard AM workout tends to be at a faster pace for a given HR even though I'm obviously not fully recovered from the workout.

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A.M. Weight = 182.5

A.M. Base I/II run out and back along Foothill

I felt suprisingly good this morning after a solid day yesterday. The long runs are starting to kick in and make an hour seem short, which is very nice. This is decent run because there arent very many places you have to stop. Rhythm can be erratic because a lot of it is on sidewalk with curbs, low hanging tree branches, significant cants, etc.

1:01:17/7.05 miles

     Out = 8:51/mi @ HR 149

     Back = 7:48/mi @ HR 152

     Ave = 8:20/mi @ HR 151

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P.M. Very easy Base I, 21st East Loop

Ran super easy, especially last half.

30:02/3.24 mi = 8:57/mi @ HR 140

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A.M Weight 181.4

A.M. 400, 400, 200, 400 @ 800 race pace followed by 5 miles at AT pace.

I was a little tired this morning, and my legs started off not fully refueled from yesterday. Nonetheless, I had a very good workout. I intended to run my hardest workout of the week today, so that I would have 72h recovery for my long run on Saturday. I'm working off of the same idea as Monday, but packaged the workout differently.

Because I haven't done this type of work for a while, I wasn't sure how I would respond. I went in thinking that I would run 2 x 400 at a minimum, and possibly more. It was more important that I run the 400s quickly than that I get in more reps, so that I could activate my fast muscles. I'm training for the marathon but to some extent I also have to train me. Its always a balancing act between training for the event and training the person. I have always responded very well to fast, intense intervals, much better than I do to even VO2max or 3k-5k pace work. When I have done fast work like this in the past, it has made my threshold, and even easy run pace, significantly faster at the same heart rate. 

My intention was to run fast relaxed 400s. I did not know how fast this would be. I thought that 68 would probably be the slowest. I wanted to reach the point where my legs were just starting to fail. I ran the first one and held form and stayed relaxed the whole way. I was breathing very hard by the end and could feel blood starting to flood my glutes during the recovery--a good sign. Although pretty tired at the end, I seemed to recovery quickly and ran a second one. I felt significantly more fatigue at the end, but my muscles did not fail. Nonetheless, I was starting to feel uncomfortable, and debated whether I should do another. I decided to do at least 200, which I did. However, after the 200, I decided that I was feeling too good and had not yet reached the level of fatigue that I wanted, so I ran another 400. My muscles started to fail over the last 200 and much more so the last 50, I did not break form though.

I jogged 2 very easy laps and then started a 5 mile run at AT effort. I got a severe side stitch 600 in but was able to stop and stretch and get rid of it so that it did not trouble me for the remainder of the run. The first 2 miles were the most uncomfortable, and my pace continued to get faster, even over the last mile. I ran this portion of the workout in trainers because I will probably wear trainers for the marathon. This workout was indeed taxing. Mission accomplished.

Drills

Warm-up 800 = 3:16

1 lap with hard accelarations on the straights

400 = 67.60 (Recovery = 3:00 for all, allows only partial recovery)

400 = 66.24

200 = 34.28 (got kind of lazy here)

400 = 69.63 (200 split = 33, then muscles started failing)

Jogged 2 laps

5 miles AT run:

1. 7:21.7  (HR 173, stopped after 600 to stretch, made this mile easier)

2. 7:25.4  (171)

3. 7:14.2  (171)

4. 7:17.0  (170)

5. 7:06.7  (170)

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P.M. 21st East Loop+

Definitely tired from this morning's workout, but I was able to run relaxed and felt more in synch as the run progressed. I would not have been able to run relaxed had I tried to go any faster. One thing I've learned the hard way, is that it is pointless to force the pace on recovery runs. Running relaxed keeps prime movers lining up the right way thereby avoiding the application of abnormal mechanical stress and concomitant injury. I'm grateful my achilles is nearing 100%, and that I am otherwise very healthy. I've continued to increase my training load but have been completely free from anti-inflammatories for a few months now. Its often frustrating for me so see how slow I am running during training, but training within myself has kept me healthy.

30:08/3.33 mi = 8:42/mi @ HR 140

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A.M. Weight = 181.6

A.M. Base I run into lower campus. My legs are more flat than tired from yesterday. I felt like I was pounding much more than normal and had to really focus to run softly. Given how hard I worked yesterday, I'm not too concerned, more annoyed than anything.

62:47/7.08 mi = 8:40/mi no HRM

-------------------------

P.M. Had a great run with Adam. I finally ran under 8 minute pace, @ HR under 150, for my standard 21st East Loop--7:58/mi @ HR 148, was 8:03/mi @ HR 149 with the add on. I'm very pleased. I enjoyed the company, good conversation, and reaching yet another benchmark on what has been a slow but consistent journey to return to competitive fitness.

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A.M. Weight = 179.6

A.M. Base I run down to and around Sugarhouse park a couple of times. Charged down the dowhills. I'm starting to customarily do this whenever I have to run down a steep hill because I need all the practice I can get.

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A.M. Weight = 179.2

A.M. 22 miles along the Jordan River trail.

This run was a great finish to what has been a very solid training week. I decided to make this a dry run for the actual marathon regarding eating, refueling, shoes etc. I adopted Adam's (Adam_RW) general fueling strategy and it seemed to work very well. This runs leaves me feeling cautiously optimistic about being able to run under my Boston Qualifier time of 3:10:59 (7:18/mi).

I woke up at 5:00 and ate a piece of toast and jam at 5:15 (-2 hours), a Gu at 6:00 (-1:15), another GU at 6:45 (-0:30), GU @ 2 miles, 7 miles, 12 miles, and caffeinated GU with amino acids at 17 miles. I felt very energetic at the beginning of the run and after easing into things over the first 2 miles, gradually increased my speed over the course of the entire run and dipped under BQ pace from miles 20-22. At 22 miles I was tired and glad to be done, but I wasn't really suffering. I felt many times better at 22 miles this week then I did at 18 last week, and the pace of my last 20 miles today was faster than my fast final 2 miles last week, where I picked things up, but was suffering quite a bit. So overall, today was a totally different experience. Were this the actual marathon, I'm certain I could have held sub-BQ pace for the final 4.2. I will use this fuel strategy for St. George but will take another caffeinated GU + amino acids at 22 miles. I also did better with consistent water intake today and finished less dehydrated.

Initially I had intentions to run by HR, but stopped paying any attention to it after the first few miles. I felt good enough that I wanted to go beyond LSD and see how my body would handle sustaining a more moderate pace. It did very well. Here is the way my run broke down:

Miles:      Pace,      Ave HR

0-2:         8:58,       N/A

2-7:         8:08,       152

7-12:       7:58,       153

12-17:     7:44,       158

17-20:     7:35,       163

20-21:     7:18,       173

21-22:     7:15,       176

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2-22:       7:50,     ~156

From 2-22 miles was a round-trip loop, so net eleveation change was zero, at a pace 32 sec/mile slower than my goal pace. My guess is that the grade at St. George would convert this to around 7:30-7:35 pace which is 12-17 seconds slower than goal pace. As strong as I felt today, I really like my position if I manage my training correctly and stay healthy over the next 3 weeks, which raises a big question for me.

I've only been training at a decent level for seven weeks. Consequently, I still see measurable improvement every week as my workload has continued to climb. I have a pretty good idea of how I want to handle training from 10 days out, but am thinking I will probably be best served by training pretty hard this coming week, minus the long run. I also need to fit in some more downhill work. It would have been great to have had a summer of full training and pushed my training gains to the limit by now, but achilles tendonitis kept me at 25 miles/week for way to long.

------------------------

A.M. Weight = 179.3

A.M. 3-part Track Workout at East High.

No ill-effects from my 22 miler. I felt surprisingly good.

Warm-up

Drills

4 x 800 w/ 1 lap jog at somewhere between 5k and 10k race pace, difficult to tell this morning, not hard though, that much was clear: 3:04 (179), 3:02 (182), 3:00 (181), 3:00 (181)

2 x 400 fast and relaxed: 65/3:00/66

2 miles at AT/LT: 7:01 (173)/6:44(177) (slower than real AT/LT because I'm dealing with fatigue from the 400s, by design)

Cool-down

HRs from memory because I somehow deleted this file after I uploaded it. They should be at most 1 beat off.

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P.M. Easy Base I Run.

Easy, relaxed run. Felt pleasant as I put in more distance and time on my feet.

5.68 mi/51:11 = 8:48/mi @ HR 142

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A.M. Weight = 180.7

A.M. Easy Base I run out and back along Foothill, 8.1 miles

Despite some good miles and a workout yesterday, I felt pretty good today. I was light on my feet and had good rhythm. Nonetheless, I made sure it stayed easy because I plan on running down Emigration Canyon tomorrow morning and need my legs to be responsive.

Out: 8:49/mi @ HR 145

Back: 8:18/mi @ HR 143

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P.M. Easy run without HRM. Blood sugar felt low and overall I did not feel good. First time in a very long time I've felt this way. I think I didn't eat enough today and my body is reacting to the increased volume. I need to be careful here. I'll eat some extra dinner tonight. 

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A.M. Weight = 179.0

A.M. Laps around Liberty Park.

Laps were 1.39-1.40 miles

Time,            Pace,          Ave HR

1. 14:01,      10:01,          129