Routine, Routine, Routine

Hospital Hill is just over three weeks away and I've packed my week with a training routine that will get me ready for the race in a relatively short amount of time... or leave me very worn out.

I've been pretty good about working in a day off here and there, but my routine now has me running 6 out of 7 days in the week:

Monday - Speedwork with MO Run Co.
Tuesday - Hill Repeats on Top Notch.
Wednesday - Middle Distance or Rest.
Thursday - Hill Repeats on Never Ending Hill Of Doom.
Friday - Short Speedwork in FiveFingers.
Saturday - Long Run.
Sunday - Rest (Or a short, Easy Run).

I thought running this morning after last night's workout would be counterproductive so I saved it for later today. I was able to leave work a little early and ran hill repeats before dinner.

I ran 6 x Top Notch again this week and even though it was the day after some tough speedwork, I felt better than when I ran the same thing last week with a day off in between. Still, before I went to bed, I got out The Stick and tried to work out some of the soon-to-be soreness. I like our foam roller, but The Stick is great for hitting more specific muscles and working out knots and kinks. I'm a big fan and should use it even more often than I already do.

(The Stick.)

Tuesday
Goal For The Day: Hill Repeats.
Distance: 3.49 Miles.
Time: 29:02. 8:19 Avg. (7:43, 8:12, 8:59, 4:07*).
Route: 6 x Top Notch.
Conditions: 72 degrees. 4:59PM.
Run Details On Garmin

Notes: Free, all-you-can-eat chips 'n' salsa totally hit the spot after a good workout!!! Last week, I averaged 8:48 per mile on this run... today was 8:19 per mile!

Daily Miles: 3.49 Miles.
2012 Totals:
  Run - 334.67 Miles.
  Bike - 0.00 Miles.
  Swim - 7,450 meters.

Back For More

I decided to stick with Missouri Running Company's track workouts for a while. Last week felt really good and it was fun running with a group so I came back for more tonight.

(University City High School Track.)

It was hard to tell, but it seemed like there were about the same number of people this week as last week. I think some people weren't able to make it this week and some new people joined us but it must have balanced out.

We broke up into three groups again and my group was a little different this week. Two of the three guys I ran with last week were there and we gained a new guy and a new girl. We did the prescribed warm-up and then got to work.

Last week was 12 x 400 meters. This week was the same overall distance, but in longer chunks... 8 x 600 meters. We were given a goal time of 2 minutes per interval with a one-minute rest between intervals. 600 meters is a lap and a half so we walked diagonally across the infield after each interval to get back to the starting line.

After the first interval, another coach asked our coach how long he was giving us for breaks. When he said 1 minute, the other coach was a little shocked that it was so short. Our coach ended up extending our breaks to 1:20. (Which was good because a minute was just long enough to walk back to the starting line.)

The first couple of intervals went fairly smoothly. I was still feeling confident after last week's workout. Then, during #3, I realized this pace was actually faster than last week's even though we were running longer intervals. Last week, our goal was adjusted after some grumbling to run 400 meters in 1:25 instead of the original goal of 1:20. (We averaged between 1:21 and 1:23.) That would put us at 600 meters in 2:07-2:08. This week, our coach took us back to the original, faster pace without us thinking about it. To run an even 600 meters in 2:00 means crossing 400 meters in 1:20. In the middle of the third interval, I did this math and began to doubt my ability to run 5 more intervals at this pace.

Sure enough, intervals 3 and 4 were on pace but 5 and 6 started to drop to last week's pace. Number 7 was even slower and then I recovered some on number 8. Two of the guys in my group kept closer to today's goal pace and really pulled me along. Otherwise, I probably would have fallen off even more.

I think yesterday's long run affected today's workout. I should have gone with Friday's plan of switching my long run to Saturday and having a recovery day on Sunday. Lesson learned.

Monday
Goal For The Day: Speedwork.
Distance: 5.00 Miles.
Time: 8 x 600m (1:59, 2:00, 1:58, 2:00, 2:07, 2:06, 2:11, 2:07).
Route: U City H.S. Track.
Conditions: 68 degrees. 6:30PM.

Notes: At least it wasn't as hot. It felt mercifully cool tonight but the humidity still had me drenched.

Daily Miles: 5.00 Miles.
2012 Totals:
  Run - 331.18 Miles.
  Bike - 0.00 Miles.
  Swim - 7,450 meters.

Not Acclimated

Today, I planned to get in the Long Run that I ended up shortening last week. I wanted to run 8-10 miles this morning and figured I could just go late enough in the morning that I could cut the grass when I got back without waking the neighbors too early on a Sunday. My plan to leave later in the morning meant I didn't successfully beat the heat.

I left the house around 8:45 and it was already hot and crazy humid. The first three miles were fine because there was an occasional breeze, but when I got into Route 66 State Park, the air was dead. The park is nice and flat, but today it was like running in a sauna and I'm definitely not acclimated to the heat and humidity yet.

Pic Source

(This guy ran an 'underwater marathon' for wounded troops.

His name is Brad and the guy who wrote the article is named Brad.

And my name is Brad and this is what it felt like running outside today.)

Each mile was slightly slower than the one before it. Then as I was leaving the park, I stopped to give someone directions to get back to the highway. I also realized I really had to pee so I went into the brick oven that they call a restroom in Kircher Park. When I started running again, I was drenched in sweat and even less motivated to worry about my pace.

Thankfully, there was more of a breeze when I got back into the hills of town but I still took it easy. In fact, I pretty much jogged the last mile as a cool-down. When I hit 8 miles even, I was still about a quarter of a mile from home so I stopped and walked the rest of the way to cool down some more before going back in the house.

I downed some Gatorade and towelled off before cutting the grass. By the time I was finished, I was feeling pretty wiped out. I should have taken a nap because I felt drained the rest of the day.

On the bright side, I put on my new compression sleeves when I finally sat down for lunch and they felt amazing!!! I think I'll get a lot of use out of them!

Sunday
Goal For The Day: Long Run.
Distance: 8.01 Miles.
Time: 1:00:29. 7:33 Avg. (6:55, 6:56, 6:57, 7:21, 7:30, 7:48, 7:50, 9:01, 0:07*).
Route: To Rte. 66/1 Lap/Home
Conditions: 78 degrees and humid. 8:42AM.
Run Details On Garmin

Notes: Today was a good reminder that Hospital Hill could be a hot one. Most of my marathons and halves have been cold-weather runs. I realized I was imagining a cold morning for Hospital Hill. That isn't very likely for the first week of June.

Daily Miles: 8.01 Miles.
2012 Totals:
  Run - 326.18 Miles.
  Bike - 0.00 Miles.
  Swim - 7,450 meters.

Being A Good Consumer

Today, I did my part to boost the economy as a good little consumer.

Liz and I went to a morning showing of The Avengers. I'm a huge fan of movies... I'm a totally nerd... and I Love superheroes and comic books. This movie was made for me and I was surprised that it not only lived up to my expectations, it exceeded them. I would have guessed that The Avengers was doomed to be a let-down after years of build-up and all of the hype. I'm glad I was wrong!

Pic Source

I was also a consumer in the sense that I settled in for the movie with a Mountain Dew, some theater popcorn, and some Twizzlers. Yum! There's no better way to see a movie!

After The Avengers, we went and pretty much finished registering for baby stuff and in the process, I bought a pair of Injinji toe socks for my FiveFingers. I'm excited to see how they feel.

We also stopped at Fleet Feet to use a loyalty voucher we earned recently. I picked up a pair of compression sleeves for my calves. Liz did some research on compression socks and we've been eager to give them a try.

Finally, after a long day out, Liz made her delicious chicken pasta that we Love so much and I definitely consumed a good-sized bowl full! I know we ate pasta on Cinco de Mayo but we went out for Mexican last night and you can never go wrong with this pasta... so good!

No running today, but some new gear and lots of good times!

Saturday
Goal For The Day: Rest.
Distance: 0.00 Miles.

Notes: We've had summer-like temperatures this week and the humidity is ramping up this weekend so I had no problem taking a day off today. Blah.

Daily Miles: 0.00 Miles.
2012 Totals:
  Run - 318.17 Miles.
  Bike - 0.00 Miles.
  Swim - 7,450 meters.

Making Tracks

I'm still new to running in my FiveFingers and today I was literally getting my feet wet.

(My FiveFingers Footprint.)

It's been hot and humid this week and this morning there were storm clouds hovering over Eureka. Most of the actual storm was off to the east so I drove to Berry Park for a quick jog to the track and a short set of sprints.

(At Berry Park.)

When I got to the field that leads to the track, I could clearly see two sets of footprints that some kids left on their walk to school. Apparently, there was a lot of dew on the grass this morning and every step I took left a very clear footprint. By the time I crossed the field and started jogging around the infield of the track, my toes were wet.

(This was an oddly cool view in person.)

I try to take very good care of my shoes because it's one of the only big expenses of this pastime. I was hoping to avoid pavement and rain in my FiveFingers for a while... to avoid wearing down the treads, to avoid pain in my feet from the pavement, and to avoid smelly shoe funk. Even though only a few raindrops fell this morning, my shoes definitely got damp. Surprisingly, it didn't bother me much. I know a lot of people use FiveFingers in the water and for boating and I can see why. They were just as comfortable while wet and they dried out very quickly. Good to know!

I ran the same workout as last Friday... a half-mile jog to warm up... 8 x 100 meter sprints at full speed... and a half-mile jog to cool down. As if sprinting nearly-barefoot in the grass weren't enough, the stormy weather made it even more fun to run this morning.

Liz and I have a busy day planned for tomorrow but I might try to get up early to do a long run. Normally, I do my long runs on Sundays, but the Hospital Hill Half is on a Saturday. Plus, if I decide to run the speedwork again on Monday night, I'll have that extra day of recovery on Sunday before hitting the track. Then again, I do enjoy sleeping in.

Friday
Goal For The Day: Speedwork.
Distance: 1.50 Miles.
Time: Untimed.
Route: Eureka H.S. Track.
Conditions: 70 degrees and humid. 7:30AM.

Notes: I wonder if I'll be as tired and sore tomorrow as I was after last week's FiveFingers run. Hopefully, I'm getting in better shape and getting more used to sprint workouts.

Daily Miles: 1.50 Miles.
2012 Totals:
  Run - 318.17 Miles.
  Bike - 0.00 Miles.
  Swim - 7,450 meters.

Registered For Route 66

It's official! I'll be running the Williams Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa, Oklahoma on November 18, 2012!!!

Pic Source

I registered today and beat the price increase by a few days. This is the only marathon I'm running this year and it isn't until mid-November so I have plenty of time to get ready for it. So far, that means I'm registered to run the Hospital Hill Half in exactly one month and Route 66 in six months. The rest of the races on my wish list will depend on scheduling and available funds. After all, we're going to have an extra mouth to feed soon!

As for Hospital Hill preparations, I went ahead and ran a second consecutive day of hills this morning. I was feeling a little sluggish and only ran The Never Ending Hill Of Doom twice, but I plan to step it up to three climbs next week. I didn't sleep very well last night and my legs still felt heavy from yesterday's run but I made it to the top twice and got my day off to a productive start.

Tomorrow... Five Fingers!

Thursday
Goal For The Day: Hill Repeats.
Distance: 3.94 Miles.
Time: 32:19. 8:12 Avg. (7:37, 7:51, 8:36, 8:14*).
Route: 2 x Never Ending Hill Of Doom.
Conditions: 70 degrees. 7:25AM.
Run Details On Garmin

Notes: The Hill was almost all shade even at 7:30 so the heat wasn't too bad. I'm sure the kids waiting at the bus stops think I'm insane as I slog my way up The Hill. The map from my Garmin readout looks like it shorted me a little by starting late and finishing early. Silly technology.

Daily Miles: 3.94 Miles.
2012 Totals:
  Run - 316.67 Miles.
  Bike - 0.00 Miles.
  Swim - 7,450 meters.

Rain Delay

My plan for this week was to run hills on Top Notch Tuesday, rest on Wednesday, run hills on The Never Ending Hill Of Doom on Thursday, and run some FiveFingers sprints on Friday. (Basically, a repeat of last week.) But my Tuesday morning run was rained out so I'm shifting things around a bit.

Pic Source

Normally, I don't mind running in the rain... especially when it's as warm as it was yesterday. But there was quite a bit of lightning around and I didn't think running to the top of the tallest hill in the neighborhood was a good idea. So yesterday was an unscheduled day of rest.

That meant making up yesterday's run today so I hit Top Notch for some hill repeats. I stepped it up to 6 repeats this week and will probably work up to 8 before winding down for the half marathon.

Today's run wasn't that noteworthy except that it was a warm one. The heat and humidity are settling in this week and we're getting a mild taste of summer. There was a breeze today and all of my downhill running was in the shade so it wasn't that bad, but when I got home, it took a long time to cool off. Bring on the cold showers!

Tuesday
Goal For The Day: Hill Repeats. (Postponed)
Distance: 0.00 Miles.

Wednesday
Goal For The Day: Hill Repeats.
Distance: 3.53 Miles.
Time: 31:06. 8:48 Avg. (8:06, 8:49, 9:32, 4:38*).
Route: 6 x Top Notch.
Conditions: 72 degrees and humid. 7:31AM.
Run Details On Garmin

Notes: I'll have to decide if I'm doing back-to-back hill days. The Never Ending Hill Of Doom is calling.

Daily Miles: 3.53 Miles.
2012 Totals:
  Run - 312.73 Miles.
  Bike - 0.00 Miles.
  Swim - 7,450 meters.