VT Dad’s fight vs. inertia & flab

Today was our second glorious day in a row, so I was chomping at the bit to go for a run.  I worked in the morning, then went with my wife and youngest to see Race to Witch Mountain, a nice kid friendly action adventure movie.  The movie got out at 2:40, and I was ready to run when we got home.  Unfortunately my wife wasn’t feeling well, and needed to rest, so I picked up my 16 year old from orchestra rehearsal, and set out for the gym in my shorts and a long sleeve shirt at 4:30.  It was 50F, 10C and sunny when I started my run, and I decided to run an 18 mile out and back from my club to the end of the Burlington bike path.  The entire route was on the bike path except for the first 2 and last two miles.

At 4:40 on this warm day the bike path was bustling with people doing a wide variety of exercising.  Bicycles, walkers, rollerbladers, skateboarders, runners, everyone was out enjoying the weather.  I maintained a steady clip, reaching the turn-around point in 1:27.  As evening began to approach, and the sun began to set across the lake over the Adirondack Mountains, the temperature began to drop.  Somewhere around the 20K point my run turned ugly.  Everything fell apart, and I was unable to do anything about it.  My pace fell from 10 minute miles to 12 minute miles.  I was no longer able to generate new sweat, and my body was going clammy, and I was feeling the cold.  All I wanted to do was get to the end of the bike path, and then take the shortest route back to the club and my car.  My pace slowed to 13 then 15 minute miles.  I got out of the bike path as dusk was approaching.  I then walked back another 1-1.5 miles to the club and my car.  By the time I reached my car, the temperature had fallen to 39F, 4C

I ended up running the same distance as last Sunday, in nicer weather carrying some shot bloks and water, while last week I only drank ~4 ounces of gatorade. Last week I was running as part of a group, while today I ran alone.  Last week I was 25 minutes faster covering the same distance as today.  Hopefully I will get back on track with next week’s long run.

What a glorious day for a run, 35F, 2C, sunny and calm.  I put on shorts, and stretched while I prepared for my run.  I set out, and had nothing.  NOTHING!   The nearly 2 hours of volleyball I did yesterday had zapped my legs.  I am fine with that, but now I know why last Friday’s run was so disastrous, I had played 40 minutes of volleyball earlier Friday afternoon.  So it’s time to rest my legs, lift, and work on my core.

During the past 2 weeks, after winter sports season is over, and before spring sport practice begins my high school has an intramural volleyball league.  This year 30 teams competed in 5 divisions with the top 2 in each division moving into the playoffs.  I could only play on Fridays, and heading into yesterday’s last round we had to win by a score of 21-9 or better, or we were eliminated.  My team prevailed 21-7, and we moved on to today’s playoffs.  

Today we easily advanced into  semifinals, winning both a play in game, and our quarter final match.  In the semifinals we lost the first set, faced double match point at 12-14, before pulling out the second set, 16-14.  We won the third set relatively easily, and coasted to a win in the finals.  I led our team in kills.  I was exhausted by the end of the day.  I don’t know the last time I’d jumped so much in such a short span of time.

Today was another blustery day.  With the temperature back below freezing 25F, -4C, and winds whipping at ~20 k.p.h. it was not the ideal situation for a run outdoors.  After running indoors yesterday my soul needed to be refreshed with an outdoors run.  I dropped my daughter off for her weekly tennis clinic, and set off along the bike path, from my club towards the University of Vermont.  With measured mile markers, and even a 1/2 mile marker it was easy for me to choose a nice recovery run of either 2.3, 3.3, or 4.3 miles.  I was running pretty well at the start, so I decided to go for the full 4.3 mile out and back.  The second mile which was up hill and into the wind was a bear.  There my form deteriorated some, but I relaxed on the downwind down hill leg, and regained my form, finishing nicely.  Last week when it was nearly 40 and calm there were lots of runners out.  Today when it was 25 and windy I saw glimpses of only 2 other hearty souls.  Everyone keeps saying that spring is just around the corner.  I can’t wait for its arrival.

Today was a miserable day for running outdoors.  This morning when I woke up it was 37F, 3C and raining.  So, I decided to postpone my run.  This evening it was 35F, 2C with the winds gusting to 40 m.p.h., so I again decided not to run outdoors.  At 9:00 PM, I drove over to my health club and ventured onto the 8 laps to the mile track.  I ran my 1&1/2 mile warm up at 10:33 pace.  Then came my 1K intervals 5:00, 4:51, 4:48 not quite reaching my 4:45 goal time.  I was also unable to complete a fourth interval :>(.  I relaxed during the next half mile, and then finished strong with a 9:14 mile.

This afternoon had fabulous conditions for a run: clear, cold, and calm 36F, 2C.  I went on a run with my 17 year old son for the first time in several months.  About the only running we did together was at the start.  By the top of the hill at the end of our street he was already 5 seconds ahead of me, and at the first mile the gap had widened to 30 seconds.  I wasn’t running that slowly, clocking an 8:40 mile, but my son was running away from me.  At about 2.25 miles, after climbing the 1K hill my son was about 1 minute ahead of me, he had reached his turn around point, but I still had a 10K+ to go in my run.  

Although I ran alone, the nice running conditions brought quite a number of runners onto the roads.  I reached my turnaround spot about 20 seconds of what I needed to reach another of my short term running goals, throughout the second half of my run that goal slipped further and further away.  The second half of my run was lackluster.  It lacked fire, spirit, and focus.  I didn’t run slowly, I just didn’t maintain my focus and drive.     For my run I averaged about 10 seconds per mile faster than Sunday’s long run, but I only ran 8.5 miles compared to Sunday’s 16 miles.

My performances much of this past week were disappointing, but I believe that an excellent long run salvaged the week.  I totaled 37 miles for the week.  My schedule for the upcoming week is as follows:
Proprioceptive Cue: Navel to Spine
Monday:  Off
Tuesday: Base Run + Drills: 8 miles@Base Pace, 2X20 seconds of stiff legged run & running no arms.  PM Core Workout
Wednesday: 1K intervals @5K pace: 1.5 mile warmup and cool down, 4X1K intervals (4:45 goal) with 3 minute active recovery.  PM Core Workout
Thursday: 2-6 miles Recovery Run
Friday: Tempo Run @ 10K pace (7:53): 1.5 miles warmup and cool down, 4.5 miles @ 10K pace.  PM Core Workout
Saturday: 2-6 miles Recovery Run
Sunday:  Long Run 16 miles @ Base Pace.

Today was a fabulous day for a run, cold, clear and calm, 38F, 3C.  It was the first Sunday in over a year when I could run with the local running club.  I was excited by the opportunity, but also a little anxious because of my poor form on Friday’s run.  The group meets to run at 8:00AM, and I arrived right on time.  The first person I saw in the lobby was a neighbor who is training for Boston in 6 weeks.  I saw more familiar faces, as some of the members were with the club when my schedule had allowed me to run with this group on a regular basis.  There were also some newcomers to the group, three of whom were training for their first marathon.  Before we ran we discussed our distance goals and time goals I found that I would plenty of others were running 14 miles, but that most of the runners there were faster than me.  When I last ran with the group, I struggled to keep up with any runners, and was only able to keep up with those runners for 5-6 miles.
 
Today, I searched to find my own pace, and after about a mile I was with a group of 2-3 other runners.  We talked as we ran about our training, our goals, and our experiences.  The run was mostly along the bike path, much of which was the course for the Vermont City Marathon.  At about 4&1/4 miles we crossed the marathon finish line.  I was the only one in my small pack that had completed the VCM.  I shared with the others my opinions of the race, especially pitfalls to try and avoid: 1. getting caught up in the excitement and running the first 2 miles too fast.  2. worrying about your time at the first mile (it is an uphill mile, and it may take you 2+ minutes to get to the starting line) 3. where the most difficult stretches of the race are from a mental standpoint.  4. where the worst hills are, including a tough downhill at mile 20.  5. not getting frazzled by fresh relay runners passing you.  The only time the conversation stopped was for ~1/3 mile stretch of the bike path that was covered with ice and snow.  When we were 5 miles into our run our pack had dwindled to 3, one of whom took an alternate route home. So at mile six, I was running as part of a pair.

Patty, my running partner, was training for her first marathon.    Last week she had run 14 miles for her first time ever.  Today, I was planning to only run 14 miles, but Patty wanted to run 16.  I knew if we split at our turn-around spots we’d both run worse alone, so without hesitation I agreed to run 16 with Patty.  I didn’t bring with me any water or food on today’s run, and at our turn-around spot, I drank some of Patty’s Gatorade.  We had reached 8 miles in an hour and 15 minutes, about 9:25 pace.  On the next stretch of the return leg it seemed as if we picked up our pace.  We slowed to waddle through the ice field, and then resumed our pace.  During our eleventh mile we passed a pair from our running group who had turned-around at 7 miles on their way to 14.  The last 3 miles of the run are the most challenging, not just because they are at the end, but also because they have the only significant hills.  Rarely in past years did I run the last section in under 30 minutes.  With Patty pushing me, and me pushing Patty we finished strong completing the last segment in 28:29.  Today, while running with a partner, I exceeded all my expectations for today’s run, and accomplished one of my short term running goals:  running a long run at faster than 9:30 per mile pace.

Today was warm enough to run in shorts, and I jumped at the opportunity.  It was 45F, 7C, and breezy when I stepped outside.  I chose a 7.35 mile loop, ~2.5 miles of which were on dirt road, that was softened to mud.  My run was scheduled as a tempo run with he middle 4 miles at ~7:54 pace.  When I went to pick up the pace and go up tempo, I had nothing.  Nothing.  No fluidity, no acceleration, just a grinding ugly stride that was hindered by a blustery wind.  Nothing I tried salvaged this mess.  For my last 5&2/3 miles, I was just a wreck.  None of my struggling or tinkering improved my situation. Overall, I finished the run ~10 minutes slower than my target.  So much for enjoying my first run in a while wearing shorts.

This afternoon the weather was wonderful for a run, 32F, 0C, cloudy, and calm.  I dropped my daughter off at her tennis clinic, and set off for my 1K interval run.  I was psyched that the ice and snow had melted enough to go for a run on the bike path.  This was a great place for my run, not only do I like the bike path, but towards the University of Vermont it has measured miles, and measured kilometers.  I rolled along for ~ a mile and a half, and prepared for my measured kilometer.  To my dismay at ~ the 1K marker part of the bike bath was still under snow and ice, so I had to run an approximate kilometer rather than a measured kilometer.  My intervals were excellent, but I don’t believe that I came close to meeting my goal pace.  After the intervals I ran back with more bounce in my stride.  About 1 mile from the end of my run I was passed by a running pixie.  A small, young lass in full running tights, and a tie dyed t-shirt over the tights.  She seemed to run effortlessly, so I tried to match her stride and cadence, and see if I could add some grace to my running form.  It was wonderful, I ran freer, easier, more relaxed, and faster.  Hopefully I can duplicate this running again on my own.