A Relaxed Six

Today I convinced Otto to do 2 laps of Glendoveer with me at lunch time. We reversed direction so as not to put undue strain on our legs. We covered the six in 41:40 or thereabouts and proved my rabbitting skills by correctly guessing the pace we were running (6:50/mile). Otto was off by about 20s.

After class I attended my 4th consecutive OBF Thursday (http://www.oregonbrewfest.com/). It lived up to the hype.

Miles: 6 for the day/26.5 for the week
Pullups: 12 for the day/52 for the week

Double Up

With Wednesdays being short, I like to run twice! Though I have discovered that I can make it school with shower time to spare even leaving my house at 6:45AM, which means I can run in the mornings. Next week I am hoping to start implementing this practice with 4 miles easy and progressing to 5 miles easy, which will aid in my mileage chasing goals.

Well, today I did 2 laps of Glendoveer; one in the morning, solo and one after my phys test with Otto. Went 27:50 in the morning and 27:40 in the afternoon, though the afternoon was much much easier.

Miles: 8 for the day/20.5 for the week
Pullups: 12 for the day/40 for the week

Workin' It Out

Because I'm running the BAC 5k this Saturday I decided to squeeze in a workout Tuesday in hopes that an extra day between workout and race would be beneficial. Plus, it was mostly threshold running which can be beneficial even if you're tired. The workout was 4x1600 w/2 min recovery, then 4x200 w/ 200j recovery. Goal paces were 5:20-:25 for the 1600s and :34 for the 200s. I opted to workout at Portland Christian so that I could still study a little bit for my Physiology test after.

Summary:
2 miles warm up, drills, 4xstrides
5:18.6/5:15.7/5:12.6/5:06.8
31.0/32.1/31.5/31.9
2 miles cool down, stretching, cold shower (yeah, you wanted to know that)

This workout went very, very well. I never was out of control and really only pushed hard the last 800 of the last repeat. Considering it was fairly windy (as usual) I wasn't surprised by the 200s. But the miles felt really easy. I was just relaxing and letting everything flow, I guess I gained some strength from Ragnar!

Miles: 8.5 for the day/12.5 for the week
Pullups: 0 for the day/28 for the week

Another Easy One

Since Monday usually comes as a shock to me and I nearly slept through my Gen Pathology class I decided to just run an easy 4 with Otto around Glendoveer. We did it in 28 min and made sure to get a good stretch in. Ragnar was a blast, but it definitely takes something out of you to run that hard with that little recovery.

Miles: 4 for the day/4 for the week
Pullups: 28 for the day/28 for the week

Day of Rest

In the Bible, Sunday was the day the Lord rested, so I did the same. Though in my own way. I ran an easy 4.5 miles in 31:25 on soft surfaces and made sure to stretch very well. I didn't feel too bad all things considered.

Overall at Ragnar I covered 21.5 miles in 2:05:48, which is a 5:51 per mile average. It was a blast running the event because it appeals to my wacky side that enjoys pushing myself like this. The experience was great, though I still prefer Hood to Coast!

Miles: 4.5 for the day/58.3 for the week
Pullups: 6 for the day/35 for the week, ouch.

Ragnar Leg 3

For leg 3 I took off around 6:00AM which is generally a nice time to run anywhere in the world, excepting equatorial locations, like Baton Rouge. Several factors combined to make this leg the best one yet: I got 2.5 hours of sleep, I ran solo through farmland, I watched the sunrise on the Olympic Mtns, it was mostly flat. Here is the map: http://ragnarrelay.com/race/northwestpassage/legs/31 This leg was by far the easiest of the 3 legs I ran.

Generally in these overnight relays there is precious little time to sleep, but I guess we got lucky and pulled into the van exchange first. I saw the soccer field and immediately grabbed my sleeping bag, therm-a-rest, and ground cloth and hopped in as soon as I could. The night was cool and clear and after gazing at the stars for a bit, fell asleep pretty quickly. My alarm went off at 4:45AM and, admittedly, could have been a little later. But why be stressed when you're trying to run well? No reason in my mind. I puttered around and took my time loosening up and checking on where the other van was and downing 2 Red Bulls. On my "warm up" jog (about 5 min, barely qualifies as anything) I noticed that the Olympics were catching some sun and looking quite beautiful. I was sad to turn around and head home, but had to as I had a team depending on me. Fortunately, the sight kept me company as I ran toward Admirality Inlet through some lovely farmland. To me there is a real romanticisim wrapped up in "The Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner" and I had a fantastic time running the early portion of this leg. I was alone, it was early (not even the farmers were up!), and I had the most beautiful scene open to me. It was the kind of experience only a runner can get, which is why I love them so much. It's easy to push when you have something that beautiful to take your mind off the pain.

After cresting the peak of my leg, I knew it was all downhill and flat, so I really pushed hard and stopped the watch at 43:05, a 5:31 average mile pace. I was extraordinarily happy with this result, it shows that I still have some strength in me.

Miles: 7.8 for the day/53.8 for the week
Pullups: 0 for the day/ 29 for the week

Ragnar Legs 1&2

I ran my first leg around 12:30PM, which usually isn't optimal time to be running, unless you live in the Pacific Northwest. It was overcast and 60ish with a slight breeze, which is just about perfect. I took off with the goal of averaging under 6:00 pace and figuring that my first leg would be the toughest due to the big uphill in it. Here's the map of it: http://ragnarrelay.com/race/northwestpassage/legs/7
Well, I was right as my last mile was in the 7 min range due to the large hill and getting a little confused, though I still covered the 6.5 miles in 40:29, which is a 6:13 average pace. Considering I stuffed my face with toast, eggs, and OJ about 90 mins before running, I'll take it!

I started my 2nd around 9:00PM which was also a very nice time to be out running. This leg took me through the Swinomish Indian Reservation and over a couple of rolling hills, which weren't as bad as they looked on paper. This leg was rated as "Very Hard" though I found it easier than my first leg. I guess I have a warped perspective. Here's the map of it: http://ragnarrelay.com/race/northwestpassage/legs/19

This leg offered some very nice views of the sun setting behind Skagit Bay, whenever a driveway was cut through the trees. I've always gotten a huge kick out of starting a run in daylight and finishing a run in darkness, or vice versa. For this one, I ate a little less and drank a Red Bull to amp me up and ran 42:15 for the 7.2 miles, which is a 5:52 average pace. I felt a little better and pushed a little harder and was again very happy with how I felt.

Miles: 13.7 for the day/46 for the week (OK, it's really 45.95, but there was some jogging involved)
Pullups: 0 for the day/29 for the week (I'm really slacking)

Pre-Ragnar

Otto talked me into run this weekend's Ragnar Relays - Northwest Passage event (http://ragnarrelay.com/race/northwestpassage), which I figured would be a good way to get some nice, hard running in. In preparation for that we just ran one lap around Glendoveer, in 27:30, just keeping it easy knowing the hard stuff was coming.

Miles: 4 for the day/22.25 for the week
Pullups: 0 for the day/29 for the week

Morning + Workout @ HQ

I don't have class until 8:30 on Wednesdays, so I got to school at the usual time and ran a loop of Glendoveer. 4 miles in 26:30 after biking a little bit makes for a fun start to the morning. Especially when you thrown in cinnamon, cranberry, raisin oatmeal and Community Coffee!

Because I am slightly inefficient I went out to Nike's WHQ in Beavertron to run this little workout. It consisted of 4x1000 w/ 60s, 2x1000 w/ 3 min, 4x200 w/ 200j. Goal paces were 3:24/3:07/34. It was an absolutely perfect day for running and I really took advantage of being on Nike's notoriously windless track.

Summary:
2 mile warm up, drills, 4xstrides
3:22.0/3:21.03:20.6/3:20.9
3:06.6/3:05.0
30.9/33.1/33.1/33.4
2 mile cool down, stretching, a little biking because I have to get home somehow.

Another good day's intervals in the tank. I think I'm in better shape than what I think I am, but we'll find out at Ragnar Relay this weekend as I run 21 miles in 24 hours(ish).

Miles: 12.25 for the day/18.25 for the week
Pullups: 0 for the day (I am slacking)/29 for the week (I did 5 yesterday)

Monday Morning!

It came way too quickly. When my alarm went off at 5:30 this morning I was shocked and tired. I even resisted the temptation to go out drinking with my roommate! Though I did go bouldering inside for a couple hours before consuming a couple more beers with my burrito.

After making it to school, I sat through 2 hours of Pathology lecture and 3 hours of Physiology lecture before being released to the wild and 6 easy miles. I did 2 loops of Glendoveer, sans Otto, in 39:35, to average about 6:36 for the run. Pretty satisfactory in my opinion. I'm happy with how I've been able to get back and I'm hoping for some good stuff coming up.

Miles: 6 for the day/6 for the week
Pullups: 24 for the day/24 for the week

Salmon River

I couldn't pass up a chance to sleep on the ground, rain or no rain, so I went camping with some BAC folks. We ran about 40 min on the Salmon River trail and a little on road too. I could've done some pullups in nature, but decided to keep it at 72 for the week. I'm gonna call it 5.5 on the trails, even though it felt pretty quick.

Miles: 5.5 for the day/42 for the week
Pullups: 0 for the day/72 for the week

Morning Festivities

Due to a class cancellation, I didn't have to be at school until 10:30, so I made the most of my time. I woke up and ran a workout at Cleveland HS, near my house. The workout was a little quicker paced this time around and not as much volume. It was 4x200 w/ 200j, 3x1000 w/ 2 min j, 2x400 w/ 400j. The goal paces were 34-3:07-69. Because of the expected paces I spiked up for this one, in hopes that it would feel easier.

Summary:
15 min warm up, drills, 4xstrides
34.9/35.5/34.0/34.5
3:06.9/3:06.9/3:06.2
68.5/69.2
15:30 cool down, stretching

I was really happy with this one as well. Part of me was a little concerned given that I started my warm up at 7AM and it can be hard to run fast first thing in the morning. The 3x1000 was the real meat of the workout and I ran that particularly well and was very consistent in my splits. Overall I'm happy with how everything is feeling and there's not much better than getting your workout done before 9AM!

Miles: 8 for the day/36.5 for the week
Pullups: 6 for the day/72 for the week. At least I'm still ahead!

Double Down

Today I ran twice, known as "doubling" in the world of distance running. The idea is to try and squeeze in a few more miles, if you've got the time. My double consisted of running about 5.5 miles in the morning in 38:00, then running another 4 in 28:00 in the afternoon with Otto around Glendoveer. My morning run took me to the Rose Quarter TC to catch the train out to school. It's a lot of fun when you can see the train coming over the Steel Bridge and know that if you hammer you could probably catch it in time. Once I even did the sideways slide into the train as it was departing, with some great looks from the passengers.

Miles: 9.5 for the day/28.5 for the week
Pullups: 6 for the day/66 for the week

I Did A Workout!

The abbreviated 5K training plan I am following called for 3x2 mile w/ 2 min recovery or 6xMile w/ 1 min recovery. In actuality I ran 2x2 mile, 1xMile. Owing to this being the first real workout of the season (last Friday was mostly for sanity) and considering that I'm starting the plan on week 22 of 24 and it assumes you ran the first 22 weeks, I don't feel bad about cutting it a little short.

The goal was to run these at T pace (close to half marathon pace), which for me is 5:28/mile based on current race results. Without really knowing what to expect I dove in headfirst!

Summary: Warm up-2 mile-2 min-2mile-2 min-Mile-cool down
15 min jogging, drills, strides
10:52/10:50/5:20 = 27:02 5 miles, 5:24 average
15 min jogging, stretching, showering.

I was pretty happy with how everything felt. I decided to cut it short when I started to feel some sharp pain in my left hamstring, figuring that discretion is the better part of valor. Opening up in 5:20 really didn't feel that challenging, even with fairly windy conditions. Forgot just how good it feels to run hard and steady like this. The feeling after is like nothing else in running!

Miles: 9 for the day/19 for the week
Pullups: 18 for the day/60 for the week

Less Class, More Pullups

Somehow I missed the memo that we didn't have Microbiology lab until week 5. I think it is baby related. Anyway, I ended up with less class than anticipated which is always nice.

Today I ran a solo 6 miles around Glendoveer in 40 min even, did 18 pullups, and broke a watch strap. It was a great day for running being all coolish and cloudy. Tomorrow my 3 week buildup to the BAC 5k begins!

Miles: 6 for the day/10 for the week
Pullups: 18 for the day/42 for the week

One Pullup per Mile

So my new challenge to myself is going to include performing at least one pullup for every mile I run that day. Now I know what y'all are thinking, "4 pullups is not all that hard!" and y'all are right, 4 pullups are not all that hard. In fact, I can do 6 of them! What's going to make it hard is trying to keep ahead of the game as my mileage starts increasing. I figure it'll be a fun way to incorporate some upper body strength into my pretty dull routine of looping Glendoveer with Otto and sitting in class. Which is exactly what I did today.

4 miles, 24 pullups for the day. I did more to make up for not running Sat/Sun.
4 miles, 24 pullups for the week.

Beer Mile!

July 8th marked the Annual Cascadia Beer Mile Championships at an unnamed location. What is significant about this event is that it was my debut Beer Mile. Given the fact that I successfully completed the Bicentennial (100 beers/100 miles) in 6 days, some running friends were curious as to my beer mile potential. Well, I have a dirty little secret.....I can't chug to save my life. Though lack of a gag reflex and cast iron stomach did come through to help me in a big way.

My beer of choice was 1 PBR and 3 Copper Bell Lagers (Whole Foods brand, cheap). The catch here is that I don't know if they comply with official Kingston Rules (http://www.beermile.com/faq.beer#rules) as I don't know what the %ABV of my beers was, officially speaking. I think the PBR does, though I can't find official note of that. Anyway, I was doing this for the experience. Next time I will have beers that do comply.

My time was 7:48, with a 66s last lap, which is a pretty solid debut. Like I said, I can run with damn near anything sloshing around in my stomach but I can't chug. Obviously, I lost the most time chugging, but would pass people running who had passed me chugging. With a little more practice, I feel like I could challenge the 7:00 barrier.

Quite an experience. I encourage everyone to either witness or participate in one at some point because they are pretty unique experiences!

Shake, Shake, Shake It Up!

Technically I'm supposed to have a 2-hr break between Microbiology lecture and Soft Tissue lab on Fridays. However, I think I'll be skipping the 1-hr Micro lecture in favor of doing a tempo run in the morning.

Anyway, today I rolled out solo and did just a tune-up type workout. The goal was to run quickly, comfortably, and get used to turning over again. I settled on 8x400 w/ 2 min recoveries and aimed to run no slower than my first one. It all went pretty well, mostly owing to the cool temps and general lack of strong wind that usually possesses the track at Portland Christian School. I ran no slower than 69s, which was my first one, so I met my arbitrary goal!

Summary:
15 min warm up, drills, and 4 strides
69.1/67.4/67.0/67.6/67.5/66.4/67.4/65.1 average = 67.2, really pleased with how relaxed this felt!
15 min cool down, stretching, coolish shower

6/18

Found My Legs

Today was not nearly as bad as the other two days of running, most likely owing to the fact that I am getting used to running again. The run consisted of an easy 4 miles w/ Otto around Glendoveer in 27:30 again, this time I added strides and some pullups, so that was fun. No arms/abs today though.

Get used to the Glendoveer loops w/ Otto, they'll be a mainstay of my easy days I'm sure.

4/12

Four And Done

Owing to the fact that I only have 4 hours of class today (8:30-12:30), I think Wednesdays will become my interval workout days. It'll be glorious to work out in the middle of the day when it's warm out. Hopefully the wind won't be too much of an issue. Though Lincoln HS in downtown Portland won't be the shit show it is during the spring track season.

Today I just ran another easy 4 miles w/ Otto around Glendoveer in 27:30. Did arms/abs but no strides, which was probably just fine.

4/8

The Old Grad School Try

So I'm going to give this thing a try again. Hopefully I'll be more committed to it this time around.

Anyway, today was the first day of my 4th quarter of chiropractic school. I ran 4 miles in 27:15 with Otto around Glendoveer golf course. I did some strides on a grass field on the way back to school and then some arm/ab work back at school.

I am too fat from my time off over break to run shirtless, even though it's kinda warm out. Oh well, such is the price we pay when we're used to eating 5000+ calories/day, stop working out and keep caloric intake high.

Day/Week Totals:
4/4

Double Down

Today I was still reeling from the past two days and "slept in" until 5:45AM. I ran an easy 4 miles around Glendoveer during a break, then ran another easy 6 miles around Glendoveer when class was done for the day. My calves feel better and I don't feel as bad as I did this morning. I'll take that as a good sign.

LSU vs Tx A&M tomrrow in the Cotton Bowl, plus a workout. Can't wait.

Foot Transport

Having been a runner for 15ish years, I've generally thought that I could run pretty much anywhere if I had to. Now, sans car, I have actually considered using running as a viable means of transportation. Today I actually ran to school, which was interesting to say the least.

Consider: I finished working out at 8:00PM yesterday, I take the bus home, I had to eat before passing out, it was chilly and rainy in the morning, I woke up at 5:30 to run some more. Suffice to say I felt like 10lbs of shit in a 5lb bag. Somewhere along the way I got the bright idea that I'd just stop at Gateway TC, catch the bus, and run again later. So I beat the bus to Gateway and was waiting for a mocha to be made for me when the bus showed up. I asked the bus driver if he wouldn't mind waiting, he said nothing, then proceeded to pull away as soon as my tasty beverage was handed to me. Damn. So I caught the train for a few more blocks and ran it in to school. Ended up being about 10 miles and taking about 80 min. It'll take less now that I know where I'm going.

Intervals, Intervals!

Got back on the track today with Hoss and Jon Marcus to run 4x(600/400/300/200), all faster than 5k race pace. It was brutally cold again, but at least there wasn't any wind. I'd have to say the workout was a success and went something like this:

Set 1: 1:43/66/44/31
Set 2: 1:41/65/47/30
Set 3: 1:41/64/47/29
Set 4: 1:42/65/47/30

My calves were incredibly sore, despite running in flats. Considering this is the first fast stuff I've done since last May and it was near 32F (0C), it's a good sign for a good season. BUT, one workout does not make a season.

First Day of School

Today was the first day of the rest of the Winter Quarter, 2011. One thing that confuses me about the first day of school is how teachers just go over the syllabus. We're in grad school, taking relatively difficult classes, we can read. I showed up 20 or so minutes late to every class and didn't miss a thing. Really, really?

Ran a couple loops around Glendoveer and called it a day. Just recovering from yesterday and prepping for tomorrow's interval fun.

Back For Some SLR......

Stayed with Hoss in order to run long with him in the morning. It was brutally cold out, especially by Portland and Baton Rouge standards. We bundled up and hit the trails of Forest Park for some running. We gained access at Lower MacLeay Park, ran to the Stone House, down Wildwood to Fire Lane 1, down FL#1 to Leif, then back to Hoss's. Never, ever, ever will I ever go DOWN FL#1 again. It was awful and killed my quads. Run totalled 95 minutes and I'm calling it 14 miles, but it may be less.

Also, I have resolved to streak this year. Not the kind that involves going through the quad to the gymnasium, but the kind that involves running daily. My resolution is to accumulate 30 min of running each day. Doesn't have to be all at once, just has to add up to more than 30 minutes.

New Year's Resolution

Would be to update this slightly more frequently than I do. Generally I call this run "The Worst Run of the Year" because technically it is.

Had a relatively relaxed NYE, where I flew back to Portland from Baton Rouge, drank a few beers, and called it a night before midnight. I finally caught up on sleep somewhat, which was great.

Ran 30 minutes around Westmoreland Park and stretched. Not running for 5 days, then sitting on an airplane can really make you tight.