Making the Most of the Master Years

Steady state run on the Brookwood Manor route.  Felt good today.  Stride and pace were very manageable.  Some slight pain in the left SI/IT band area and some mild ache in the left foot at the end.  But all in all, it was a very good run in terms of effort, energy and mechanics.  Goal was 7 min/mi by the McMillan pace calculator, but I slowed it to 7:15 thinking about where I am in reality fitness wise.  Judging by my increased ventilation rate with relatively less muscle fatigue, I believe it was the right pace.  The HM pace was 7:38 so I figured the steady state would be something quicker than that but not down around the 10K pace which would be a tempo run.  Splits were 7:25, 7:09, 7:10 and 7:17 for an avg of 7:15.  Had a side stitch at the end of the run and a left kidney pain at the end.

13 mi long run at avg 8:47 mpm on the Crews, Craig, Holly Brook, Mtn View, Kohls route.  Felt good today. Some intermittent mild ache in the left foot and mild pain in the left SI/IT area.  Foot hurt some after and the  posterior tendon around my left knee hurt after I drove Katie to work.  Felt very strong the whole run.  Could have run more miles easily.  The weather was yucky.  Kinda rainy and blustery winds at times.  Streets very damp.  I noticed to today that on the left side I tend to not let the joints hinge on the foot strike and through the stride.  It produces the effect of "pole vaulting" over the left leg.  Concentrating on letting the ankle and knee hinge freely seems to take the pressure off the hip and reduce the pain in the foot and SI/IT area.  Woke on my own at 04:50 hours. Went to bed at 21:30 hours the night before.

easy pace 5 mi in an avg of 8:39 mpm on the Craig and back route.  good run today.  felt good.  38 degrees and very windy.  First day back at work so the first day getting up to an alarm, which went off at 03:50 hours.  Went to bed a little after 22:00 hours the night before.

10 x 300m fartleks in approx 70s each on the BHS track.  Best was 69 seconds and worst was 73 seconds. Followed by 2 x 100m sprints.  Felt really good today.  Stride and pace were very good.  Some mild pain in the SI/IT band area.  Largely unaware of the left foot, which was good.  No pain after the drive to work either.  1.5 mi warm and 2.0 mi cool. 

4 mi recovery run in 35:50 (8:58 mpm). Felt ok but legs a little heavy today.  some pain in the left SI/IT area throughout and some in the right SI/IT area in the last 0.25 mi.  Also, strangely some muscle soreness in the last 0.25 mi across the top of both gluts.

7 mi in 55:43

Brutal run this morning.  3 mi steady state run avg pace 7:10 mpm after 1 mi warm on the treadmill and 1 mile warm on the road at easy pace followed by 2 mi cool at easy pace. Stride was good today but the pace felt brutal after the first SS mile, including the cool down.  The left foot felt fine again today.  The left SI/IT area had some mild pain in the first mile but was fine after that.  Had some soreness in both hip flexors for the last mile.  Not sure why the pace was so hard today.  Ran 1 mi shorter on a less hilly route but only averaged 5 second per mile quicker than last week. (The target was to run 15 sec/mi quicker this week.)  I haven't slept well this week, it was very cold (10 °F) and I had to bundle up against it but I didn't feel very restricted.  The 5 seconds aren't as concerning to me as the greater feeling of fatigue than last week.  I felt very very spent at the end of the run today and still feel that way at this moment 2 hours after the run is over.  Perhaps I need to investigate the fueling as well as the sleeping.

15 mi 2:18:35 at Riverside in Roswell

First 4 mi with Cherie then 11 mi alone.  Cold but clear weather.  left foot hurt by the end. But otherwise felt good today.  Felt strong throughout.  Struggling a little bit after to refuel.  Recovery was interrupted by some errands on the way home from the run.

5 mi in 43:28 on the Bridgewater course.

easy pace run.  Felt just ok today.  Didn't feel heavy exactly but the easy effort produced a much slower pace than normal until deep into the run.  Stride was ok.  Did a good job of keeping the right stride mechanics.  But there was some mild pain in the left foot intermitently and some mild ache in the left SI/IT area the second half of the run, also intermitently.  The weather was ok.  It was very damp.  100% humidity but I dressed correctly so I was comfortable on the run.

7 mi in 57:34

10 x 25s strides on the Brookwood Manor loop.  Felt good today.  Stride and pace were easy.  Some mild pain in the left SI/IT area.  Was mostly unaware of the left foot.  Damp streets but the air, while probably still very humid, wasn't as foggy or wet as yesterday. Sleeping better this week.

5 mi in 44:21

felt good today.  some mild pain in the left foot once and in the left SI/IT area toward the end of the run.  But things are getting better.  Stride and pace were easy.  Mechanics good.  Weather about like yesterday, wet streets but no misting or rain.  Ran the Providence route after going by Crews.  BIG hills.

7 mi 1:03:06

10 x hill repeats on FC up from the front pool to Providence in 75 to 80 sec each.  Felt good today.  None of the usual pains.  Left hip flexor got sore/tight abt halfway through  the hill repeats.  Didn't feel as strong today on the hills as I usually do.  Was able though to maintain the good stride mechanics through the whole run.  Weather was good.  Abt 31°F and foggy but the streets were dry.

17 mi in 2:29:02

great run today.  felt really good and strong the whole run.  stride mechanics and pace were on point today.  Some mild ache in the left foot intermitently from 11 mi on.  ran the River Rd through Hannary estates and Tom Smith.

5 mi in 44:03

easy pace run today.  felt just ok.  little bit tight for 3+ mi.  landing heavy on the footstrike.  left foot had a pain in the tendon running across the top from my femur to the top and inside of my foot.  Had to stop twice to adjust my shoe to relieve the pressure.  Mildly aware of my left SI/IT connection a few points later in the run.  maybe I should call this a recovery run.  ran alone on the the Webb Gin into Brightwater route.  Weather was great, clear and dry.

7 mi in 55:37 on the Moon Pl course

4 x 3/4 mi repeats w/ 1/4 mi recov in between. Splits were 4:52, 4:50, 4:53 and 4:57 for an avg of 4:53 which is 6:32 mpm pace.  Target was 6:20 pace.  Missed a little but I felt really good today and the pace wasn't too easy so perhaps it had the right effect anyway.  Two moments of mild pain in the left foot in the plantar facia area as has been there for months now.  Some mild pain in the left SI/IT area intermitently over the run though not by the end.  Felt good and strong on each of the repeats, though I thought I ran the last one faster than I did.

4 mi in 35:47

recovery run on the Kenilworth route.  good run. felt good for the day after a hard WO.  overslept though, missed the alarm.

5 mi in 43:09

Felt really good today.  Nice recovery week run down past the front pool and up 5 Forks.  Stride and pace were easy and fluid.  Some mild SI/IT pain early.

13 mi in 2:00:09

Didn't feel it today.  Wet and windy (though not actually raining) from the Lilburn Park.  8 mi alone then 5 with Jonathon and Neal.  Felt much colder than the thermometer would indicate.  Hands frozen by the end.  Left foot and SI/IT area had some pain today especially by the end of the run. Planned to go  no more than 12 but inadvertently ran t 1 mi too many before meeting Jon and Neal.  Supposed to be a recovery week. Glad that one is over. 

6 mi in 50:24

Great run today on the Dogwood loop.  Felt strong and smooth.  Stride and pace were excellent.  Probably attacked the hills too much for an easy run.  Some periodic mild discomfort in the left foot and left SI/IT connection.

7 mi in 54:01

Great tempo run today on Moon Place. Little slow from the target pace but 10+ sec quicker than this WO in the last marathon training cycle. Had to concentrate on my stride mechanics, but no pains or discomforts other than the hard WO. 1.5 mi warm followed by 4 tempo miles (target was 7:00 mpm or slightly less). Splits were 7:04, 7:04, 7:02 and 7:01 for an avg of 7:02.75. Really surprised the last one was the fastest b/c it "hurt" the most. I would have guessed I backed off the pace. it did have the most decline, but I wasn't running well on the declines. I had been slowing for a little recovery on the declines after concentrating on maintaining pace on the inclines just before. 1.5 mi cool down. Switched this WO from Thursday when rain is predicted. Didn't want to run this one wet.

5 mi in 44:49

Recovery run.  The running part was good.  Stride and pace were excellent.  I woke with a headache and a crick in my neck.  So I'm not feeling great.

7 mi in 55:43

Felt really great today on the Brookwood Manor loop with 14 x 30s fartleks at around 6:20 pace with 1 min recovery at 8:05 pace.  Went out for 10-12.  The 12th fartlek was 45 seconds because I thought it would be a good way to end a strong run.  Since I was feeling really strong still, and since I wasn't struggling to hold form during the fartlek and since I wanted to get closer to 2 miles for a cool down, I tossed on 2 more fartleks.  Still felt great running the last 2.5 miles at near 8 min pace.  Good run today.  

4 mi in 37:28

Recovery run with Neal from his house to the park and back.  Felt great.  It was really windy but tried out some new gear which felt good too.

18 mi in 2:36:40

Great run today.  Felt really strong.  Weather was clear and cold.  Ran the hilly Dogwood Rd 6 mi loop 3 times, counterclockwise, clockwise and then counter again.  Was strong on the hills even on the last loop.  Some slight discomforts in the left foot and left SI/IT connection, which also has some intermittent pain.  But concentration on the running form improved things and by the end I was very good.  No residual afterward either (so far).  Fought the stride a little after 13.5 mi.  But up until then, the stride was smooth and comfortable mainting form without any effort.  I felt really good at 17 but by 17.5 I was struggling a little bit.  Still finished well.