Easy Run With No Hill Sprints

I'm still feeling on the verge of getting a cold. My throat is still scratchy. I didn't sleep that well (my younger son ran into our room a few times in the middle of the night...luckily my wife got him back in bed since I dealt with this on Sunday and Monday night).

So, when my alarm went off at 5:45am, I was seriously considering scrapping the run.

That would be three days in a row without a run. Which I did not want to do. However, the idea of pushing myself to do Hill Sprints when I feel so yucky did not sit well for me. So...I reached a compromise (yes - I was negotiating with myself...two separate voices inside arguing their case - "Run!" vs "Don't Run!"). I went for the run and did the first part of the workout (45 min easy run) and not the second part (8 x 100m Hill Sprints).

I'm glad I ran this morning. It was good to get the blood pumping again. Good to have some endorphins released to counterbalance the icky feeling of "about to come down with a cold". On the other hand, I'm also glad that I did not push myself too much. This is probably why I ended up on the verge of a cold anyhow - Half Marathon on Sunday, Interval workout on Monday, not much sleep either night since at least one of my boys woke up in the middle of the night on Sunday and Monday and they were my responsibility as I was flying solo.

As for my run - my normal 4.4 mile neighborhood loop at a 11:01/mile pace with average HR at 151 bpm. My pace is getting back to normal. Two weeks ago, I ran this at a 11:59/mile pace and last week at a 11:20/mile pace. I think I observed in my marathon training that it took me three weeks to fully recover from a blood donation - that is that it took three weeks for the running pace at my training heart rate to get back to normal. Well...Monday was three weeks after my last blood donation and voila! I'm back to the pace that I was at beforehand.

No Run Today :-(

I was supposed to put in a 45 min easy run with 8 x 100m Hill Sprints this morning. However, I went to bed way too late last night (I was helping my sister set up her new iMac...yeah!) and I woke up with a scratchy throat.

I'm going to try to hit the sack early tonight and get up and do the run tomorrow morning. Hopefully I'll feel a bit better.

Today's Sub-25 Minute 5K!

Today was my first intervals run on the training plan.  Instead of hitting the track, I ran it on the treadmill at the gym while I had my younger son in the babysitting room.  I was originally thinking I would get to the gym later in the afternoon - when my older son was back from day camp - however, I had an hour to spare in the morning and by clearing up my afternoon schedule I was able to take the boys to the pool before dinner.

Back to running...the intervals for today was 8 x 600m with 90 seconds of recovery between intervals.  This seemed really odd to me at first.  I had always run either 400m intervals (once around the track) or 800m intervals (twice around the track) - but one and a half times around the track???  Since I'm shooting to run the 5K around an 8 minute mile, I chose this speed as my interval speed - on the treadmill that's 7.5 mph...if I was running at the track, I'd try to run each 600m interval in as close to 3 minutes as possible.  I also decided that my recovery runs would be at a 12 minute mile or 5.0 mph on the treadmill.  This (a) allowed me to recover fully before the next interval and (b) worked out to 200m in the 90 seconds of recovery time.  Which meant that each interval plus rest was a half mile.

I started with a warm-up mile, starting at a slow 12 min/mile pace and working up to an 11 min/mile pace before the first interval kicked in.  When I started running at 7.5 mph, I was really surprised to see that my heart rate was still in a reasonable area - the low 160s - and it stayed there for the entire 3 minutes.  During my recovery my heart rate got back to the low 140s.  I felt really good for the entire 5 mile run that I logged.  So good, in fact, that I ran the last 600m interval at a 7:30/mile pace - or 8.0 on the treadmill.  OK...so my heart rate jumped into the mid-170s on that one - so perhaps I pushed myself a little too much there.

As I was running, I was trying to figure out - Why 8 intervals of 600m?  Then it dawned on me.  I was running a full 3 miles at my interval pace - and the intervals were long enough to ensure that I couldn't just sprint them out, but short enough to allow my body to still be able to recover in a short time afterwards.

Since I ran all of the intervals in an 8 minute mile pace (or faster), if you string all of those intervals together, I ran a sub-25 minute 5K today.  My 5K PR is 26:21 right now - it looks like I may be on the road to breaking that on August 30!   :-)

One Pound Down...

Monday is weigh-in day.  I started watching what I ate last week when the scale tipped at 166 pounds.  This morning I'm one pound down - 165 pounds.  A tad discouraging the day after running a half marathon, however, I can't be too upset as somewhere around Wednesday I stopped logging what I was eating.  And I did eat those brownies that my wife made during her Pampered Chef show.  And I did have some other sweets along the way.  So....I'll take the one pound and grow on it for next week.

Last night the kids both woke up in the middle of the night.  My oldest around 2:30am ran into our room and said he had a bad dream.  I put him back in his bed and he fell back asleep quickly.  My youngest woke up around 2:55am and I rubbed his back until about 3:15am when he finally dozed off.  Luckily they slept in until close to 7am (that's sleeping in for them).

While I was rubbing the little one's back around 3am, I felt a dull ache in my right hamstring.  I'm not out of the woods yet :-(   I'll try to ice it a bit today and self-massage it.  I'll see how it feels before I try to go to the gym this afternoon and run on the treadmill...

Riley's Rumble - Long Run / Race

This weekend's run on the training plan called for "Endurance Run - 70+ min".  I did a bit of exaggeration with the 70+ min part :-)

Today was the Riley's Rumble Half Marathon.  I did my first half marathon on this course two years ago and ran it again last year.  It is a "low key" race of the Montgomery County Road Runners Club - and since I'm a member of MCRRC it's a free race for me (MCRRC dues are $25 a year).  With most Half Marathons being in the $45-$70 range, a free race is a great relief to the wallet.

However, this is not an easy course.  There are a lot of steep hills.  And the two times that I have run this race, I have had to walk a lot during the second half of the race since my legs (mainly my quads) were in lots of pain.

Since I hadn't really trained up for a Half Marathon - and I'm only a few weeks from getting over the hamstring/calf injury and did not want to re-aggravate the injury - I decided that I would run this race, but as a training long run instead of as a race.  I thought of it as running a 13 mile long run with a bunch of other runners and water stops along the way.

My plan for running this race today was as follows: 1) keep the pace like a training run and 2) walk up the steep hills.

I stuck to the plan....but it was difficult.  There's a big hill in the first mile and a second one right before the second mile marker.  I don't think anyone likes to stop to walk during the first mile of a run - but I had a plan and wanted to stick with it.  I also know from experience that these two hills really takes a lot out of you which makes the rest of the course more difficult.

The end result - 2:26:30 - an 11:11/mile pace.  My splits were nearly identical - 1:13:23 on the first half and 1:13:07 on the second half (it's actually a slight negative split - which I have never done in a race this long!)  This is about 10 minutes slower than my best Half Marathon time and about 6 minutes slower than my time last year.  However, I felt a lot better after this run.  I was not in pain - which has happened to me the last two times I ran this race.  Also, I was walking when I decided to and not because my legs were on fire and I couldn't get them to run for me.  Most importantly, I did not re-aggravate my injury.  I think I may be out of the woods on this one!

I did have a dilemma this evening - how do I represent this run in my training log?  It was a race - but I ran it like a training long run.  I decided to make it a race and add notes in my log that I ran it like a training run.  I've decided that if I have to pin a number on to run, it's a race no matter how slow I take it...

Sherry is out of town for the next two days, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a run in.  I think the only way I'll be able to is if I go to the gym and put the kids in babysitting.  Given timing of activities, it would have to be tomorrow afternoon when my older son gets home from camp.  I'll see how I've recovered from this morning's run and make a "game-time decision".

Rest Day

I normally do my long runs on Saturday morning before going to synagogue.  However, this weekend I'm going to do my long run tomorrow - at Riley's Rumble Half Marathon.  I'm not going to "race" it tomorrow (not that my race pace is so fast...), but I'm going to use it as a slow, long training run.

I'll try to do some more abs exercises at some point today.  My ab muscles are still a bit sore from Thursday morning - believe it or not!  And I should probably do some stretching as well.

Beuatiful Morning for a Run!

When I stepped out of the house this morning at 6am, it was not into the thick, warm, soupy air that I have gotten accustomed to running in lately. Instead, the air almost had a crisp to it. It was 60 degrees and not much humidity. And although 15 minutes earlier I felt like laying in bed was a better option than going out for my run, I'm glad I laced up my shoes and got out the door - since mornings like this in July in Maryland are few and far between.

Today's plan - jog up to the QOHS track. Do 5X50m short strides with a 2 min rest between intervals (this is a 300m jog for me, so each complete interval is 350m or 7/8 around the track). Then jog back home.

It ends up that I was so sleepy this morning that I had forgotten how to use my HRM watch. After the jog up to the track, I stopped the watch to put my water bottle down and stretch a bit. When I went to start my first interval, instead of hitting the "start" button, I hit the "complete" button. Grrr. So instead of running at that time I looked in the File (my HRM watch only saves one "file" of your last run) to see how long it took me to run up to the track and what my average HR was. Then I was off to do my intervals. After my intervals, I stopped my watch to take a drink of water and walk a bit before jogging back home. And wouldn't you know it, I did the same exact thing and hit "complete" instead of "start"! So...I had to remember two times and HRs to put into my log.

Personal Trainer - Core and Back Exercises

This morning I met with Dave - a personal trainer at Fitness First.  As I had mentioned before, the personal trainer services are included in the membership fees (I'm sure there is some limit as to how many sessions you can schedule, but since I'm not going to be in the gym everyday I'm not going to worry about it).

A few years ago, when I had joined Fitness First the first time, the personal trainer pretty much gave me a weight circuit to do.  It was as generic as you could get - or at least that is how I felt about it.  I was going to have none of that this time around.  When I requested to meet with a trainer this time around I said that I wanted to work on core strength and flexibility.

One of the first things that Dave said to me was that he really doesn't like using all of the machines...he believes in "free form" training.  Hallelujah!

Of course that did not mean it was going to be easy...

The exercises that I did included crunches (with legs up in the air), reverse crunches, side planks, seated twists with dumbbells, dumbbell rows, push-ups on dumbbells adding a single arm row after each push-up, back extensions, a few back exercises with the exercise band and two different plank exercises.  I think that's all of them, but I may have missed one.  It was a good abs workout - but more importantly a great back workout.  I felt muscles in my back that I didn't know existed!  Assuming I continue to do these a few times a week, my back muscles will get stronger and I'm sure that I'll get a better workout in my abs as well.

Hill Sprints Again

This morning was another Hill Sprints day - 50 minute easy run plus 6 x 100m hill sprints.

Again, I used the same plan for the easy run - try to keep my HR below 150 as much as possible; if I get over 155 bpm walk until I'm at about 147 and then start to run again.  This morning I only had to walk 4 times (in comparison to last week's 6) and I was very happy that I kept things under control during the big hill.  My overall time for the 4.43 mile loop was 50:09 - 3 minutes faster than last week, but still not where I was aerobically a few months ago.  Patience, grasshopper...

Hill sprints were a little easier this morning.  I didn't feel like quitting after the second one.  This morning, I wanted to quit after the third one! :-)  However, I was able to convince myself to keep on going by saying "I'm already halfway done...come on!"

While doing the hill sprints, I was thinking how silly I must look trying to sprint up a hill.  I mean, I am no Carl Lewis, Michael Johnson or Tyson Gay.  They looked graceful while their muscular bodies were sprinting around the track at top speed; I probably look absurd as I'm trying to haul my pudgy body up a short hill.  I wonder if the neighbors happen to be looking at me from their window and thinking "what is that poor guy trying to do?" or perhaps they are just laughing hysterically doing their best to keep from bursting out in laughter and spitting their breakfast cereal across the room.

Anyhow, one more week of Hill Sprints are behind me.  Thank goodness.  Taking a look ahead at the training plan, I only have one more week of Hill Sprints to go.  After that, I trade in Hill Sprints for Long Strides.  It looks like I'll be spending oodles of time at the track come August.  I'm not sure whether I should cheer or groan.

Tomorrow morning, I'll be taking advantage of one of the great perks of my new gym - Fitness First:  Free sessions with Personal Trainers (OK...not totally free...they are included in the monthly membership fees, but still it's a good deal).  I let the trainer know that I wanted to work on flexibility and strengthening my core muscles.  We'll see how that goes (I'm sure it will be good blog fodder for tomorrow!)

Weight Creeping Up and Tempo Run

Earlier in the year, I had designated Mondays as my "weigh-in" days.  I had tipped the scales on Jan 1 at 172 pounds and I knew I needed to get it back down towards 160...so I was back to counting calories and weekly weigh-ins.

I brought my weight down to 161.5 at it's lowest point in March.  At that point, I have a few weeks where I was running out of energy and I decided that with the marathon training plan ramping up my mileage, I could just eat when my body was telling me to eat.

The problem was, that I didn't get "back on the wagon" after the marathon!  For the past two months, I have been eating more than I should and not burning it off like I was doing at the beginning of the year.  So...my weight is back up to 166 pounds.  With my birthday and anniversary around the corner, I'm in serious jeopardy of returning to last year's cycle.

So, I'm back to counting calories as of today.  I'm meeting a friend for lunch today at Cosi and I checked out a few options at CalorieKing.com - it looks like I'll be getting either the Hummus and Fresh Veggie Sandwich (432 Calories) or the Tomato Basil and Mozzarella Melt (666 Calories) and not my usual Tuna Melt (1,012 Calories).

Also, I'm going to try and limit the desserts (to zero?) until my birthday in two weeks.  I'm not sure how that will go as my wife has two Pampered Chef shows in that span where she will be making these awesome chocolate caramel nut brownies as part of the demonstration - and there are usually leftovers that she brings home.  UGH!!!!

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After stepping on the scale this morning, I went out for my tempo run.  The plan was like last week - first mile with HR less than 150bpm, then bring it up to tempo pace of 165bpm for 30 minutes, then slow it back down for the remainder of the run.

I ended up with a total time of 45:48 - a 10:24/mile pace.  The first slow mile was at 11:04 and 138 average heart rate.  The next 30 minutes I covered a little over 3 miles - 9:57/mile pace at 168 average heart rate.  It was a bit faster than last week - even with the warmer temperature - and I felt good.  I'm starting to "see the light" and I have confidence that I'll get back to the pace that I was running a few months ago.

Once again, no more pain behind my knee.  I may have finally shook this thing!!

Sunday Afternoon Cross Training

This morning was my wife's turn to work out...only fair, I went out to run yesterday morning.  So, I was with the kids in the early morning while she went to the gym and I was delegated to a "rest day".

However, I found a "loop-hole".  My older son had a birthday party to attend this afternoon...so I offered to drop him off or pick him up and I would go to the gym during the birthday party - score!

I did 30 minutes of the elliptical machine and then some stretching and crunches.  Not enough stretching and crunches, but you have to start somewhere...

This week I'm hoping to get back on track with the training plan.  30 min tempo run tomorrow, Hill Sprints on Wednesday, Short Strides on Friday and a Long Run on the weekend.  I'm thinking I may run the Riley's Rumble 1/2 marathon next Sunday for my long run.  I've run it the last two years and I like it because it's cheap (it is a "low-key" race of the Montgomery County Road Runners Club).  Otherwise I would hate it because it's hot, humid and a demanding course with lots of steep hills.  I'm not sure if a half marathon is a good thing at this point - since my long run the past two weeks have been 6 and 7 miles - however, it's a great opportunity to run 13 miles on a course with water stations (instead of schlepping my own water) and some other people to help you along.

Morning Long Run

I did my scheduled "long run" this morning.  Ironically, a few months ago, a seven-mile run was part of my during-the-week workouts - and now it's a long run once again :-)

I didn't get out of the house until 6:30am.  I was really tired last night and didn't want to set an alarm to get up and run...that's what my kids are for, right?  Anyhow, my older son woke up a little before 6am to go pee - he hasn't learned the art of being discrete yet, so the entire house was semi-awoken from hearing him run to the bathroom, slam the toilet seat up, turn on the faucet at full blast to wash his hands, etc.  I took this as my cue to roll out of bed and run.

I decided to wear my Amphipod water belt this morning.  I have been really thirsty the past few times I have run - most likely due to the heat and humidity.  I ended up taking my first drink about 3 miles into my run, and then at about 5 1/2 miles I started to drink regularly.

I lucked out on the weather this morning.  It was still in the high-60s when I got out the door, and the humidity wasn't too bad.  On my walk to synagogue later this morning (around 10am) I saw a few runners and felt sorry for them as it was already approaching 80 degrees.

The run itself was not too eventful - I took it nice and easy, running an 11:26/mile pace, completing the 7.3 miles in 1:23:47.  I didn't bring music with me as I wanted to keep it slow and I know that I normally speed up to music when I run.

There were two big positives to today's run - 1) I was able to keep my heart rate down for the most part - my average HR was 151 - and 2) I did not have the pain in the tendons behind my knee!  My hamstring and calf muscles are still a tad sore (no longer tender...thank goodness!), but the discomfort that I was feeling for weeks on end did not appear at all during the close to 84 minutes that I was running.

Tomorrow I'll rest/cross-train again and then on Monday I'll get back to the training plan.

Yoga In The Morning

I took the day off from running, like I mentioned yesterday, to give the hammy a chance to heal more.  It's feeling less sore and tender - hooray!

I got my behind downstairs and in front of the TV around 6:20am to do yoga with the Oxygen network's Inhale show.  I had set my DVR to tape it, so I rewound to the beginning and started in 20 min tape delay.  Two observations:  a) My back and neck are really stiff first thing in the morning so it was difficult to do some of the stretches at 6:30am and b) trying to do yoga while my two kids are running around the house is not as relaxing as when they are asleep...which is most likely why I normally run or workout outside of the house.

Tomorrow morning I'm planning to run 6 or 7 miles.  I'll need to wake up early to avoid the heat...it was 95 degrees and humid today.  ICK!

Easy Run + Hill Sprints

This morning's run on my training schedule was a 50 minute easy run plus 6x100m hill sprints.  It was actually scheduled for yesterday, but I was still really sore from the massage the day before and really tired from watching the MLB All-Star Game the night before.

I have been noticing that my heart rate on my easy runs has been higher than where it should be.  I'm not sure if this is due to me losing some aerobic capacity during my post-marathon, nursing the hamstring injury rest period, or perhaps still some lingering effects from my blood donation last week.  So this morning, I decided that I would do what I could to keep my average heart rate in the 140s during the easy part of the run - no matter how slow I slogged along.  The plan - no music (I sometimes get "lost" in the tunes or match the cadence of my gait to the beat of the music), go slow and if my heart rate goes up to 155 or higher I need to walk until it gets back down to about 147.

Well...I kept to my plan, and it was the slowest I have run in a long time.  I had six walking breaks - mostly during the hills where my heart rate started to creep up.  Luckily, these breaks were all short.  My final pace was 11:59/mile.  OUCH!   My average HR was 148, which is where it should be for these runs.

I'm hoping that by keeping at this pace I'll build up my aerobic capacity again in the next few weeks.  I remember how frustrating it was for me when I first started HRM training - slowing down to get in the HR range, when all I wanted to do is run at the pace that I knew I could.  However, after a few weeks, my pace at the lower HR improved - and my race pace got much faster - so I'll slog it out for a few weeks.

After the slow, easy part of the workout, came the hill sprints.  Today there was 6 of them.  After number 2 I was ready to quit!  Geez, those are not easy.  When I first saw them on the training plan I thought, "Oh, it's only 100m - piece of cake".  Now I know better.  So, after the second hill sprint, I said to myself "OK, one more and I'm half way through".  After that I kept counting down "I can do 3 more / 2 more / 1 more...".  It was definitely a tough workout.  I'm glad I slowed down for the easy run beforehand.

The best news - although my hamstring is still tender and sore from the massage on Tuesday afternoon, I did not feel the pain/discomfort that I had been feeling behind my knee.  Thank goodness!

Since I'm still trying to "rehab" this tendon / hammy / calf injury, I think I am going to skip tomorrow's short easy run plus Short Strides, and instead I'll do yoga or cross training.

Semi-Scheduled Rest Day

I did not run today.  I'm scheduled to run either today or tomorrow, so I decided on tomorrow.  Two big factors contributed - I stayed up waaaaaay too late last night watching the MLB All-Star Game (I watched through the 11th inning - I can't believe it went to 15 innings!  and hooray for Michael Young for hitting the game winning RBI for the second time in three years!), and I'm still hurting from yesterday's massage.

Good news on the massage front, though.  I had a chiro appointment today and although I'm really sore, the chiro mentioned that the muscles in back of my leg are much looser than before.  So the massage therapist definitely did her job well!

I had hit a lull at work this morning around 10am, and I was considering going for the run that I could have done earlier in the morning.  However, then I stepped outside and realized it was already really hot and humid...no way I'm running in that if I don't have to.  I'd rather wake up at 5:00am tomorrow.

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I finally posted some marathon pictures on my family website.  I actually have finally updated the family website - the last pictures that were on there were from January...now I'm "current" through May.  I still have my son's sixth birthday party and our trip to Michigan for June pages and then I'll really be caught up.  I don't think I'm going to do those tonight, though.  I have to wake up at 5:00am tomorrow to run, remember???

Lunchtime Massage

Sounds relaxing, right?

NOT!!!!

I went to the massage therapist in my neighborhood that I have been to before, in order to work the muscles in my leg - hoping to help the healing process with the tendon/hamstring/calf issues.  So, this was not slated to be a relaxing, stress-release massage.  However, I was thinking that there may be some "ooohs" and "aaahs" of relaxation, and not so many "YOWWWs" and "UGHs" of pain.

She spent the entire hour working my legs - probably 45 minutes on my right leg (where the pain has been mostly) and 15 minutes on my left leg.  She told me that my left leg was almost as tight was the right leg and it was just about a matter of time before that leg got to where the other leg is now.

Truth be told, I needed this badly.  I needed someone to dig into those tight knotted muscles and loosen them up - or else the discomfort that I was feeling during my runs over the past few weeks could become much worse.

Maybe the next time I go for a lunchtime massage it will be for relaxation....

Tempo Run

Today called for a 25 minute tempo run.  I decided on my plan for the run by using heart rate instead of pace.  With the injury, I know I've lost a good deal of my training base so I'm not sure what speed my 5K/10K/half-marathon race paces are right now...but the HRM gives me an idea of how my body is responding to the pace I'm running.

Today's plan:  run on my 4 mile neighborhood loop - the first mile at a slow pace (HR <>

I do not do many tempo runs.  I'm normally either slogging away at a nice, slow pace or hitting the track to throw in faster intervals.  So this was definitely a nice, welcome addition to my training.  Unfortunately, on the training plan I only do Tempo Runs during the first three weeks - and I missed last week's - so again, I won't be doing these often during the next few months.

My first mile was awesome!  I kept my HR low (avg 143) and finished the first mile in 10:21.  I then pushed the pace up a bit and got my HR to 160 pretty quickly.  It was really great to be "running".  About 1/3 mile into my tempo pace, there is a really steep hill, so I had to slow my pace quite a bit in order to keep my HR in the 165 range.  After that, I think the high temperatures/humidity along with the hill got to me, and my pace started to slow while trying to keep my HR in the 165 range.  I ended up covering 2.5 miles in the 25 minutes of "tempo run" which is a 10:00/mile pace.  I slogged out the last .85 miles of the loop in 11:13 - in a desperate attempt to bring my HR back down to 150.  I couldn't do it - my avg HR during that last part of the run was 163.

My finishing time was 46:37 for the 4.4 mile loop - a 10:32/mile pace.  Looking in my training log, I found that in April I was running this loop as an "easy run" in under 44 minutes with an average heart rate in the low 150s.  Of course, the temperatures were in the 40s - not high 70s!

Tomorrow will be a rest day - and a scheduled massage!!!  I hope the massage therapist can work out the knot and other issues in the tendons behind my right knee.  I want to run without discomfort again!

Weekend Run

My schedule this weekend was Saturday rest day and Sunday "long run" of 60 minutes.  I definitely needed the rest day as I had re-aggravated the tendon injury in the back of my right knee with last week's training.

Today almost turned into another rest day.  My oldest son - who is the early bird of the house - was sleeping at my mother-in-law's house last night.  Since "the rooster" wasn't in the house to wake everyone up, we all slept in.  I woke up at 7:10am and got out the door for my run at 7:30.  Luckily, the weather was not too hot yet - and the humidity wasn't too bad.  I ran 5.5 miles at a slower than 11:00/mile pace - however, I was starting to get pains in the back of my legs again, so I did not want to push it.

I may try to get in with a massage therapist this week and see if that will help the tendon thing.

This week's runs include a 25 minute Tempo Run, a 50 minute easy run followed by six Hill Sprints and another 4 x 50m Short Strides.  Next weekend's "long run" is 70 minutes - not a long run compared to a few months ago, but it should be fine for a 5K program.

Speedwork - Short Strides

Today was a speed workout of what the training plan I'm using is calling "Short Strides". This plan says to run these short intervals (today was 6 x 50m) at "near max speed". So I ran to the QOHS track this morning, and did six sets of 50m sprints with a 2 minute jogging rest between intervals (RBI).

One small problem - my calf/hamstring tendon issue started to flare up again. It started to get worse on the jog back home (it's about 1.7 miles from my house to the track), so I ended up walking the last half mile or so.

Luckily, I had a chiro appointment set up for this morning. And a rest day on the calendar for tomorrow.

First Hill Sprints

Today's workout on the new training plan was a 45 min easy run and then 4 X 100m hill sprints.  There is a hill right near my house - I measured it out on RunningAhead's mapping tools and it was longer than 100m, so I ran part of the hill (after my run I re-measured the part that I sprinted and it ends up it was closer to 120m).

I had never done Hill Sprints before.  My thinking was - "what's another 100m after a 4 mile run - right?".  Well, sort of.  First of all, it is really tiring to run fast uphill.  I felt very winded after each sprint, but by the time I walked back down the hill I was ready for another.  The feeling I had while sprinting up the hill was "I'm doing this so I can finish strong in a race that ends uphill" - although I'm sure there will be other benefits as well.

I'm definitely feeling the effects of the workout more NOW - a few hours after the run.  My legs are more sore now than usual (a good sore - not an injured sore that I endured for 8 post-marathon weeks).  Next week when I conquer the hill it will be 6 x 100m.  In two more weeks it will be 8 times (with walking back down the hill, that's a full extra mile!).

Tomorrow is a short, easy run (probably my 3-mile lake run) and then short strides 4 x 50m.  I'll have to find a flat 50m piece of sidewalk to do those on - or I'll head to the track.

Mac Ownership

I took a trip to the Apple store today to visit one of the techs at the Genius Bar (that's their FREE in-house tech support).  I have been trying to update the Operating System of our household "flagship computer" - a 5 1/2 year old iMac G4.  This computer has all of our photos and videos on it and I create our family webpage and DVDs on this computer.  I have tried the OS update multiple times and the computer has locked up or had an error.

Since the computer is so old, I am out of my extended warrantee period.  However, I can still get free tech support at the Apple Store with the Genius Bar.  Hooray!

I backed up the computer last night and I schlepped the iMac into the store this afternoon.  The first thing the tech did was run a disk utility which showed there were unrepairable errors on the hard drive.  YIKES!  In order to proceed we were going to have to erase the hard drive - which meant, if that didn't fix the problem than I wouldn't be able to get any OS on the computer and I was looking at a $300-$400 hard drive replacement (or more likely a new iMac...I was secretly hoping this was the case, although I know we can't afford it right now).  Luckily, the reformatting of the hard drive worked and I was out of the store in about an hour with a new OS on my iMac!  The best of all...NO CHARGE for the tech support.

I know I paid for that support up front - Mac computers are much more expensive than PCs.  However, I also paid for a computer that had features that most PCs did not have at that time (Firewire ports, a card slot and antenna for a wireless card, etc.) which makes the computer still relevant today.  How many 5 1/2 year old PCs can run the latest Windows OS (that's Vista) without a major overhaul?

So tonight I was busy restoring my documents, data and applications on the iMac.  While I was restoring from the backup, I took some time to do yoga again.  I'm now nice and relaxed and ready to hit the sack!

Training Plan Tweaks

Yesterday, I posted my training plan for a faster 5K.  I took a look at what was posted and made a few changes which I've implemented.

First, I added some notes to the bottom as to the plan's definitions of Short Strides, Long Strides, Hill Sprints, etc.  I also corrected some spelling mistakes (nit-picky, I know...but I didn't like looking at the work aeorbic)

Most importantly, I shifted the schedule one day of the week.  Originally, the schedule had runs on both Saturday and Sunday with a rest day on Monday.  However, that doesn't work in my house - if I'm going to run on Saturday morning, I like to have my wife take Sunday morning.  So, now my "long run" is on Saturday and my rest day is on Sunday.  I was used to this schedule from my marathon training and I think it will do much better for "shalom bayit".  It also makes sense since the race is on a Saturday - but that was a very weak reason to shift the schedule...I could always just move a few workouts around the week of the race to make things fall into place.

Since I gave blood on Monday, I did not run my scheduled workout today.  I also didn't do a tempo run on Monday morning like the plan says (OK...I didn't realize I was going to follow this plan until yesterday - so give me a break!).  I will get with the program starting tomorrow - either by running 3 days in a row or by running Thursday, Friday and then on Sunday, taking Saturday off.  Either way, I'm not going to expect a stellar week given the blood donation and the lower mileage leading over the past two months due to the hammy injury.

New Training Plan - Fast 5K

I think I have settled in on my next running "adventure"...a faster 5K.

I don't have a particular time in mind yet - although with my PR at 26:21, I'm assuming it will start with a 25 (or smaller).  That means I'll have to average an 8:00 to 8:30 per mile pace over the 3.1 miles.  For me, that will not be easy - but I'm up to the challenge!

The race I have my sights on is my neighborhood 5K - the Kentlands/Lakelands 5K - on August 30.  The training plan that I'm going is use is from July's Runner's World.  It is not posted on-line, so I posted my copy here.  The plan has four main runs per week - along with other days that say "easy run, cross-train or rest" - guess which I'll be doing ;-)

It's an 8 week plan, which makes this week the start.  Since I gave blood yesterday, I will miss one of the runs - most likely the run that was going to be today - a 2 x 10min tempo run.  However, I did run 5.5 miles on Monday, so I'll take that as an exchange.

The cool thing about this program is that there are many different types of runs:  Hill Sprints (I'm going to have to find a 100m hill close to me...before Thursday), Tempo Runs, Short Strides (50m bursts at max speed), Long Strides (150m runs at "mile pace"), 1 and 2 mile Time Trials, along with the Intervals and Endurance runs that I am used to.  Another interesting twist - the Interval runs are done at different length intervals - 600m, 1200m, 1600m, 400m, 1000m.

One thing is for sure...it is going to be interesting following this plan.

No More Olympic Trials...

Yesterday was the last day of the US Olympic Track and Field Trials.  I really enjoyed watching these - especially the middle- and long-distance races - and I am so psyched for the Olympics!

I watched in awe last night as Shannon Rowbury surged ahead for the last lap in the Women's 1500.  She is such an efficient runner - it almost looks like only her legs and arms are moving and everything else is still and focused.  Watching Bernard Lagat win the Men's 1500 I wondered if he was just toying with the competition in both the 1500 and 5k - holding back with the leaders until the very end when he turns on the burners.  Does this guy ever tire out?

Three notables who will NOT be going to Beijing are Alan Webb (American Record holder in the mile - and University of Michigan alumn), Gabe Jennings (featured in July's Runner's World and also ran the 1500m) and Adam Goucher (Kara Goucher's husband who was trying to make either the 5k or 10k team).  Although these athletes did not make it, the US teams look strong and I'm hoping they'll medal in August.

Now that I won't be focusing on other people's running, I'll have to start focusing on my own :-)  Since I gave blood during my lunch break today, I'll take two days off and then start running again.

Since I knew I was going to give blood today, I went out for a morning run.  I left the house at 6am and I was still soaking wet about 3 miles into the run.  I don't know how I ever trained for half marathons in the Maryland summer humidity!  I better get used to it...

I am really thinking about doing the training program from July's Runner's World to improve my 5K time.  I had my best 5K in Sept 2006 (26:21) and since then I have not been able to get near it.  I know that this PR was partially due to a beautiful fall morning, a flat course and successful training for a half marathon that I had completed a few weeks prior.  However, I should be able to equal that time now.  I'm not ready to admit that "father time" is making me slower as I get older...

Four Miles and What's Next???

This morning I finally got out the door at 7am for a run.  The neighborhood loop that I run I can do either 4 miles, 5.5 miles, 6.5 miles or 7.5 miles - depending on where I re-enter my neighborhood.  So I went out this morning and decided that I'll make the run as long or short as need be, depending on how I felt.  Well...I only did the 4 miles.  I didn't feel horrible - or injured (thank goodness) - however, I didn't feel great either.  It could have been the two pints of Hoegaarden during last night's dinner, or the fact that I'm not drinking enough water lately, or the fact that I didn't take a pre-run GU, or that I was just tired from not sleeping enough, or the fact that it was really humid - but I just didn't want to continue my run.  So I took the turn to make it a 4 miler and that was that.

As I was finishing my run, my thoughts turned to the fact that I don't have a definitive running goal right now.  I have a few races on my calendar - but I'm not really training for them, per se.  I'm going to mull over it during the next week as to what I want my goal to be.  Here are a few potential goals:

• Train for a sub-2:11 half marathon (2:11 is a 10min/mile pace and my race PR is 2:16)
• Train for a new 5K PR (my current 5K PR is 26:21, but I haven't run a sub-28min 5K in 2 years)
• Run 2 (or 3) half marathons between now and the end of the year 
• Hit 1,000 miles for the year
• Just run to enjoy it

I believe that if I choose either of the first three goals, I'll reach the fourth one.  I'm already on pace for 1,000 miles for the year, but the pace bunny is slowly creeping up behind me (I'm foxeygoblue - and only 26 miles ahead of Mr. Bunny on the 1,000 mile chart right now)

The 5K option wasn't even on the radar until I read an article in last month's Runner's World.  There is an 8 week program for a faster 5K that looked pretty interesting.  The nice thing about training for a 5K is that the mileage doesn't have to be so high.  And my community's 5K race is only 8 weeks away - hmmm....

Rest Day and Olympic Trials

Today was a scheduled rest day since I ran the 5K yesterday.  Also, my chiropractor told me to take it easy for the next week or so - I was originally hoping to run long tomorrow, but I'll either do a short run or cross-training at the gym (rower or elliptical).

This morning - since I wasn't out for a run - I watched the Olympic Track and Field Trials from the night before (you gotta love DVR!  What did we ever do beforehand?).  It still amazes me how much I am getting into the longer distance races - where years ago I never paid attention to them and I only watched the sprint events.  It also amazes me how fast the elite runners finish these races - 5Ks in 14-15 minutes / 10Ks in less than 30 minutes - it takes me twice as long to finish races at those distances.  They are truly unbelievable.

Watching the trials, I am getting so psyched for the Olympics!  I can't wait!!!

Best of Both Worlds

No...it's not a post about Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana :-)

For this morning's 5K, I decided to run with my sister.  It was very nice to hang out with her since when we see each other lately it is usually with the kids (she has two daughters - a 3 year old and a 9 month old).  We started out at a nice 10:30/mile pace.  The weather was in the mid-70s and about 75% humidity, so it was definitely enough to break a sweat - but not get too tired out.

At about the halfway point to the race, my sister wanted to slow down a bit and told me just to go run.  So, that's what I did!  I probably did the rest of the race in a sub-9:00/mile pace to cross the finish line at 29:42 (watch time...it took us a good two and a half minutes at the beginning to cross the starting line).

So, today I got the best of both - I did half of the run with my sister and the other half at more of a race pace.

The best thing - NO HAMSTRING PAIN.  NONE AT ALL.  NADA.  שום דבר

It's amazing.  After 8 weeks of resting, icing, stretching, taking Ibuprofen, etc. for my injured hamstring the thing that worked was a trip to the chiropractor.  Lesson learned.

Change of Plans??

I'm running in the Autism Speaks 5K tomorrow morning.

My original plan was to take it easy and run with a friend of mine who is a recreational runner but says he's not in good running shape and wanted to take it slow.  However, I got a call late this afternoon that he will not be able to run tomorrow.

So....I now have a few choices:  My sister will also be at the race, so I can run with her (I was starting to get excited about running a race with someone, since I've always run them solo), I can still take it easy but still run alone, or I can flat out race it.

It should be an interesting decision.  I'm leaning towards running with my sister and forgetting about time.  I'm still only a few days removed from the hamstring pain disappearing and the last thing I want to do is aggravate it again, so taking it easy may be the smart way to go.

After tomorrow, I'll have another decision to make about races.  I originally had the Riley's Rumble Half Marathon on my calendar.  It's July 27, which is three weeks away.  My mileage has been quite low lately due to the hammy issue, however, now that it is improving should I try to ramp up for this one?  I was really hoping to do this race, the Parks Half Marathon on September 14 and then another half marathon either in October or November.

Yoga Yesterday and 4 Miles In The

As planned, I took a rest day from running yesterday and did Yoga in the evening once the kids were asleep.  Sherry joined me in Yoga, which was really nice.  She is much more flexible than I am and has taken a lot of Yoga classes throughout the years, so I got her help - she brought me a foam brick that she had which helped me do some of the stretches that I could not do properly since I'm not very flexible.  She wasn't such a fan of the Inhale show from the Oxygen network that I have been doing - in the first 40 min of the program there is a lot of doing "upward-facing dog" pose transitioning quickly to "downward-facing dog" pose - there was no "child's pose" which is a resting pose in these segments which is a really nice stretch and makes it a bit more relaxing.  However, the last 20 min or so were seated poses and relaxation - which was very nice.  We both slept very well last night!

After Yoga, I watched the previous night's Olympic Track and Field trials on my DVR - specifically the Women's 5K Semifinals and the Men's 5K Finals.  What amazing races!  I'm a bit disappointed that Adam Goucher did not make the Olympic team for the 5K (keeping fingers crossed that he'll make it for the 10K), but I was psyched to see his wife Kara Goucher win her Semifinal heat for the 5K just two days after making the Olympic team for the 10K.  Watching these elites run is very humbling.  They finished their 5K races in under 15 minutes - I'll most likely finish the 5K I'm going to run this weekend in twice that time!

This morning I went for another easy run.  I didn't get out of the house until 6:30 (see yoga above...I slept like a rock!), but the weather was beautiful - clear skies, temps in the low 60s, very low humidity.  It was a lovely morning for a run!  And would you believe it - virtually NO DISCOMFORT IN MY HAMSTRING!!!!!  My Chiropractor is a genius!

OK - I did say virtually.  I had some pain behind my knee, but instead of the pain going up to my hammy, I had some pain in my upper calf muscle.  So either the pain is moving down my leg, or (and this is probably the case) I stretched something in my right calf too much last night doing yoga.  But the good news is that after 8 weeks of having hamstring discomfort, there is some improvement.  Hallelujah!  Score another one for the chiro!

Trying To Get Back On Track

This morning I got out of the house at 6:15am and ran my 4 mile neighborhood loop.  It was cooler than normal - we got some rain last night which helped - but still on the humid side.  I think I'll need to get out a bit earlier if I want to run in more comfortable conditions, but since I'm not training for anything right now I don't see the point in setting an alarm to go running.

My hammy still had discomfort.  GRRRRRRR!   So today I went to see my Chiropractor (OK...my neck and shoulders needed the Chiro as well after the 11 hour drive each way to Michigan!).  He basically told me the same thing that the sports doc did - the injury is where the muscle meets the tendon.  He did some electro-stim and trigger point work to get the blood flowing in that area.  The back of my leg felt better this afternoon than it had for a while, so I think he's on to something.  He wants me to come 3 times this week and 3 times next week to "attack" this area - I'm ready to try anything to get rid of this discomfort/pain!  If the chiro doesn't work, I'll hit the physical therapy center in the same office building as the chiro - however, for some reason I think the chiro may do the trick (at least I hope!)

My plan for the rest of the week is to not run tomorrow (yoga? cross-train? plain ol' rest?), run on Wednesday, rest on Thursday and do the Autism Speaks 5K race on Friday morning.  Perhaps I'll do a "long" run on Sunday - we'll see how I'm feeling hamstring-wise.

Bye Bye Bally's!!!

I went to the gym this morning for some cross-training on the elliptical.  I went earlier in the week to use the rowing machine.

I know that I have complained a lot on the blog about the gym I belong to - Bally's Total Fitness.

Well, this week Sherry and I finally decided to switch back to a local gym - Fitness First.  I was a member here a few years ago, but switched to Bally's when my company started a corporate membership plan with them, as it ended up being a lot less expensive.  As they say, you get what you pay for!

Here's a list of some of my gripes about Bally's:

• Child Care - this was the biggest gripe.  The caregiver at the child care was consistently late (posted Sunday hours started at 8am, however, she would rarely be there before 8:45am), and she did not interact with the kids much.  The room did not have many toys - and what they did have were old and not in great condition.  At Fitness First, I've been there twice now, and when my kids walked in this morning, the caregiver asked my older son how his karate class went the other day - it's a world of difference!
• Equipment - Bally's was missing one of my favorite cross-training machines - a rower.  Fitness First has two Concept 2 rowers in both of the locations that I have been to.  There are also a bunch of weight machines for abs - which Bally's did not have.
• Environment - Bally's felt like a factory.  And it was always too warm.  Fitness First has a much more relaxed atmosphere and there are fans near the cardio equipment!
• Locker Rooms - Fitness First has shampoo, conditioner and body wash in the showers - Bally's had only the industrial soap.  Another nice touch - Fitness First provides plastic bags to put your sweaty clothes in (it's simply a roll of the produce plastic bags that you find at grocery stores...but it makes such a difference).
• Television - Bally's claims their TVs are controlled by "corporate" so they can't change them.  Even if there is an important game on (i.e. Game 7 of the Celtics/Pistons Eastern Conf Finals...).  At Fitness First, if you want to change the channel and it's OK with others around you, they'll give you the remote control!  Also, a bunch of the treadmills have built-in television screens (which I don't like to use...I somehow can't run while continually looking down)
• Weekend hours - Bally's opened at 8am on the weekend; Fitness First opens at 7am.  Since my family wakes up early, this is definitely a plus.

That's some of the main issues I had with Bally's.  I'm soooo glad to not be there anymore.

Three Hot and Sweaty Miles

I slept in this morning until about 7am and left the house at 7:30am for a short, easy run.  It was my first run in 6 days - I've been resting the hammy and plus I was on vacation.

I took it easy - a 11:04/mile pace - but with the heat and humidity I came back home soaked!  Yuck!  How the heck did I train for half marathons in this stuff???  I'm just going to have to wake up a bit earlier so that it is a bit cooler when I run.

I felt a bit of discomfort in my hammy for a good portion of the run, but I kept the pace slow enough that there was no pain.  I'm running a 5K on Friday - I'll most likely take it easy but I'll go faster than my training runs for sure.  It should be interesting how my hammy holds up in the 28-30 minutes of harder running.

Down On The Farm!!!

No running for me today, however, I got some exercise (cross-training?) as a "farm hand" at our CSA farm today.  We joined the House In The Woods Farm - a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm in Frederick County, MD - and continued again this summer.  We have half a share - which means we go up to the farm and pick up a full share of vegetables every two weeks and we have to work at a minimum two "farm hand" days during the summer.

I learned so much about farming, which crops are in season at what times and was introduced to many new vegetables last summer.  Right now, greens are in season - so we have been receiving kale, chard and lettuces.  Last week we got some bok choy and tatsoi which I made into a great salad with ramen noodles and a soy sauce based dressing...yummy!

I can't wait until later in the summer when we get into tomato season.  Their heirloom tomatoes are amazing!  I won't have to worry about getting salmonella or e-coli because I know exactly where my produce is coming from.

This morning I went to the farm to work.  I helped set up some t-posts in the tomato patch to add support for the wiring holding up the cages around the tomato plants.  The contraption that I was using to knock the posts into the ground was made of metal and vibrated each time I hit the post.  My "delicate" hands took a beating and I have two or three blisters and a bunch of cuts on them.    This experience definitely gives me a great appreciation for our farmers and helps me not take for granted the food that I eat each day.

Back From Michigan

I'm back from our family trip to Michigan.  We had a nice time as a family - although there were definitely the usual stresses of traveling with two small children, staying in someone's house that is not your own and trying to coordinate plans with everyone's interests in mind.

A few of the highlights:

- Meeting my running/blogging buddy Rick.  Rick lives in Michigan right near the Ohio state line, so we met up for some ice cream on the way up.  It was great to finally meet Rick, his wife Tammy and his daughter Lindsay face-to-face...I have been reading his blog since January (we both were training for marathons at the same time) so we both felt like we know each other pretty well already.  Here's Rick's synopsis of our meeting.  He did a great job summarizing so there's really not too much to add.

- The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum.  This was a fantastic place for the kids...and I learned a bit myself (when I could actually read the placards that accompanied the exhibits instead of running after my kids who were already at the next cool thing).  Of course, while we were in Ann Arbor, we went to Pizza House for lunch - Sherry and I split a chipati (those things are HUGE...and to think I used to be able to polish off one of those solo...) - and then we went to Stucchi's for ice cream.  YUMMM!

- Seeing friends and family.  We stayed with my father-in-law (Papa and Grandma Judy).  In the three full days we were there we a bunch of Sherry's family members and good friends of ours Melissa (with her son Xavier) and Carone and Jim. 

The kids were really good car travelers so driving there and back was not so bad.

And as always - it was great to go and also great to return home!

BTW, on the running front, I did bring running clothes but I decided to rest my hamstring and not run while we were there.  I'm not sure when I'll start up again - most likely next week with a few tune-up runs before the Autism Speaks 5K on July 4.

My Body Is Telling Me That I Need To Rest

I went out for a short run this morning around 6am.  Another 3 mile lake loop.  Another beautiful morning with temperatures in the high-50s and sunny with low humidity.  I could run every morning in this type of weather!

However, I think this is a bit of my problem.  Today was the third morning out of the past four days that I went running.  They were all short runs, but I'm supposed to be re-habbing my hammy.

Well, said hammy rebelled this morning.  About 20 min into the run - which is earlier than the discomfort has started since the week after the marathon.

I believe my body is telling me to rest.  I'm really considering not even taking my running shoes with me on our trip...that way I'll be forced to rest for 5 days.

Five days of being with family and not having an "out" to go running?  Am I nuts????

Yoga, Take 2 - And a Beautiful Morning

Last night after the kids were asleep I decided to do Yoga in front of the television.  I have a few episodes of "Inhale" from the Oxygen network on my DVR - mainly in hopes that I will get off my lazy butt and do Yoga when I find the time.  Last night I had no plans and the NBA Finals are over so I decided this was the time.

My first attempt at Yoga was last week on Friday.  So this was attempt number two.  I actually felt that some of the poses were a bit easier to do this time around - however, I still am shaky on some of the balancing poses.  I'm sure that if anyone videotaped me doing these poses, it would be up on YouTube giving tens of thousands of people a good laugh in a matter of minutes!

After I finished the hour of Yoga (I jumped through a few commercial breaks, so it was probably about 40-45 minutes of Yoga in total), I felt really good.  And I slept like a rock last night.  I'm not sure if I slept so well as a result of the Yoga, as a result of trying to catch up on sleep since I had been staying up way too late recently, or as a result of the 800mg of Ibuprofen I'm popping at bedtime.  Either way, I probably could have slept through an earthquake last night (OK, I've never lived anywhere that had earthquakes, so I can't be too sure about that...)

This morning I was out of the house for an easy 4 mile run at 5:45am.  It was a sunny and crisp morning - about 56 degrees...awesome weather for a run!  My hammy did start to get a little uncomfortable around 36 minutes into the run - the good news is that I'm able to run longer without the pain...the bad news is that I'm still experiencing some pain.  However, I believe it is getting better.

I may try to run tomorrow as well, since Saturday we are leaving for Michigan to visit my wife's family.  I'm not sure how much running I'll get in during the trip...I'll bring my running shoes, etc., and I'll try to budget in a run or two.  We'll see.  I'll definitely need the calorie burning as I'm sure I'm going to be eating a ton!  Especially when we head to Ann Arbor on Wednesday (I think it is pretty amazing that I only gained about 10 pounds during my 4 years as a student there)  One other exciting tidbit for the trip - I am hoping to meet up with fellow blogger (my "dot-comrade"?) - and fellow marathoner - Rick on the drive up.

Lunchtime Run

For the umpteenth day in a row, I went to bed much too late - and I know with the NBA Finals being on tonight, I'll be up past midnight tonight as well.  Basically, up too late = sleep in too late to run.

Luckily, the temperatures have fallen a bit over the last few days, making a mid-afternoon run not so unbearable.  The stars aligned - the weather was good, I had no calls between 12:15pm and 2pm, and I'm currently not swamped at work (this will change in about 6 weeks when my project ramps up in full force...) - so I ducked out and went for a short run.

I did the lake loop once again.  My HR was a bit higher than normal - probably due to me keeping up with the beat of the music - but my pace was also faster than it has been lately: 10:08/mile.  Best of all - no pain in my hammy!!!  (OK, it was only 3.25 miles and the last few runs the pain didn't start until around 3 miles into the run...but I'll take positive news any way I can get it!).

The soundtrack to this afternoon's run was Arash - a Persian singer whose songs I just downloaded from iTunes with the gift card that I received on Father's Day (thanks Sherry!).  A few of his songs have been used for some newer popular Israeli dances (there is a pretty sizable Persian community in Israel now - mostly due to the Jewish community in Tehran being virtually non-existent after the late '70s / early '80s).  Anyhow, the songs have a good beat even though I have no idea what the lyrics mean.

In other news, I signed up for my next race - the Cure Autism Now 5K on July 4th.  It's a neighborhood race, however, last year there were lots of runners from up and down the East Coast who came to run in teams to raise money for this important cause - it was very inspiring.  I'm not much of a fundraiser, however, if anyone wants to donate towards this cause, you can visit my page for the race here.

Your Kids Are Watching You...

Yesterday was Father's Day. I had a very nice day - including a 7 mile run in the morning, a family brunch with my parents, sister and her family, riding bikes with my 6 year old, swimming with the family at the community pool and then dinner with the family. It was a lot of family time and I know that my two boys - ages 6 and 2 1/2 - enjoyed the family time.

I was reminded a few times this past week that my kids are subconsciously watching my every move as they start to determine what is right / wrong, safe / unsafe, etc.

I took my 2 1/2 year old for a short bike ride to our synagogue last weekend. I put him in the bike seat, strapped him in and put his helmet on. Since it was only 1/4 mile from our house and it was really hot outside, I had decided not to wear my helmet. However, just before we were going to leave, my son says. "Abba, where's your helmet?" I knew I was sooooo busted.

My 6 year old also consistently reminds me in the car to drive with two hands on the wheel since it is safer (I'm normally driving with one hand on the wheel and the other arm resting either on the window or on an arm rest/console).

I respectfully take their reminders and put on the bike helmet or put a second hand on the wheel. I know that in a good 10 years the tables will be turned and I will be the one reminding them to be safe during their more volatile teenage years. I just hope they give me similar respect that I am giving them in terms of listening to their recommendations...

Sports Doc

I went to the sports doctor/Orthopedic surgeon this morning.

He asked about the marathon - where I was originally injured - and was very surprised that I decided to run Frederick as my first marathon. 'Wow! That's hilly for a first marathon' was his response.

I brought my running shoes - he asked where I got them (he was happy to hear that I got them at a running store), he checked the wear pattern of the soles and said that he didn't see any issues from the wear pattern. He then did some range of motion checks on my legs - pushing them, pulling them, stretching them, etc. There were no "pain points" so he said that was a good sign.

His viewpoint is that I probably still have leftover inflammation in the area where the muscles meet the tendons. He had asked if I took any anti-inflammatories and I let him know that I took some ibuprofen (Vitamin I) for a week after the marathon. When he asked about the dosage I told him I took 1 or 2 pills at night. This was met with a bit of laughter...he explained that this is fine for a "analgesic" dose, but for an anti-inflammatory, you need to take 800mg (4 pills!) 3 times a day. He wants me to take an anti-inflammatory dose of ibuprofen for a week and see if this helps clear up the issue.

So...I may be dragging a bit this week. On an Ibuprofen high :-)

Father's Day

This morning, I was reminded that I'm a father at 4am and 5:30am by my two and a half year old. He had woken up at 4am to tell us he needed to go to the bathroom (potty training has been pretty smooth for this little guy), and then did not go back to bed.  At 5:30am he was jumping in his crib asking for his brother.  I went in to quiet him down and put some stuffed animals in his crib to play with.

I did not fall back asleep, but I did lay in bed for a while.  I left the house at 6:30 for my run.

Due to some pretty severe thunderstorms yesterday afternoon, I was not going to attempt my Clopper Lake loop.  I have slipped on the loose leaves and tripped over tree roots on the trail there before and I did not want to run it in even more slippery conditions.  Since the kids were up, I decided to stay local and not drive to one of the other locations I was considering running at.  I ended up running around the larger roads that surround my community - about 7 1/3 miles around.

My hamstring did start hurting again about 3 miles into the run.  Again, the pain is not severe, however, it is noticeable.  Whereas normally the pain goes away immediately after the run when I'm only running 3 or 4 miles, today I still have some pain.  Just in time for my doctor's visit tomorrow morning :-)

I did hit a pretty major milestone during todays run....500 MILES for the year!  Since the year is not half over yet (15 days shy of the year being half over), I am definitely on pace to top 1,000 miles for the year.  WOW!

It's a pretty big progression.  Here's my mileage for the past few years:

2005 - 325 miles

2006 - 535 miles (first 1/2 marathon)

2007 - 600 miles (two 1/2 marathons...although I trained for three)

2008 - 500 miles by June 15 (full marathon!)

No Shabbat Long Run

I normally had run long on Shabbat morning. However, since tomorrow is Father's Day, I've decided to do my long run tomorrow. However, I'm not sure which route I'm going to run.

Last year, I drove down to the C&O Canal early and ran on the towpath for an hour. It was a really nice run - I love running near water for some reason. I saw a few great blue herons on the way and lots of ducks and geese. I always get a kick running under the American Legion Bridge - as I used to slog across it in my car during rush hour when I had a commute.

There are a few other ideas I have for a long run tomorrow: The Capital Cresent trail in Bethesda, Rock Creek Park trail (I would also pick this one up in Bethesda), or the Clopper Lake loop run that I can do from my house.

As I was thinking about it yesterday, I was really leaning towards Clopper Lake - however, around the lake is a trail through woods and I don't like running it alone (although I normally do...yes, I know I'm pretty stupid that way - but at least I'll bring my cellphone if I do run it alone). I called up a friend of mine yesterday who is getting back into running to see if he wanted to join me, but he's not available.

Either way, it should be the perfect way to start Father's Day. And if my hamstring starts to flare up mid-run, no issues - I'm going to the Sports Doc the next day :-)

Yoga - Finally

I know that I've posted in this blog a few times that I should really try Yoga.

I really need to work on my flexibility and I don't stretch nearly enough - so either taking a weekly Yoga class or doing a Yoga video should really help. With my hamstring issue, I looked into it a little more on RunningAhead - there are a few threads with which DVDs people had success with, etc. However one poster mentioned the show "Inhale" on the Oxygen Network - I saw that it is on at 6am every weekday, so I decided to record it on my DVR.

This morning I woke up at 6:15am (a bit late for me...I was watching the Boston Celtics' improbable comeback last night - after being down by 24 early in the third quarter, they won the game!), I grabbed my wife's Yoga mat and started to do Yoga.

Ouch!

I thought this was supposed to be relaxing!

It was not easy for me. I did not have the strength or balance to hold some of the poses as long as they were doing on the show, and I did not have the flexibility to even do some of the poses without some type of "modification". We kept on going back to the "downward dog" pose, and I can't get my heels on the ground (yes...I'm THAT inflexible!)

I'm going to chalk it up to being my first time. It was definitely a humbling experience, however, so were some of my first runs, right? I remember my first few 5K "races" when I couldn't complete them without walking, and look where I am now...

I will definitely try to bring Yoga into my routine. My tight, inflexible muscles need it.

Five and a Half at Half Past Five!

It was so wonderful to run this morning.  By the time I walked out the door at 5:30am the sun was shining, but it wasn't too hot - 63 degrees - although the humidity was still on the high side, so it was still a sweaty run.

I decided not to do speedwork...I'm still not 100% with my hamstring so I don't want to push it.  However, I did run longer today than I did earlier this week:  5 1/2 miles.  10:32/mile pace with average HR of 152 - nice and easy.

Unfortunately, my hammy did start to get uncomfortable somewhere in the 3-4 mile range.  Pain of 3 or 4 on a scale from 1 to 10.  Not enough to stop me from completing the run, but definitely enough to not cancel my sports doctor appointment on Monday.

This morning I listened to a bootleg of a Billy Joel concert from May 1977.  A shout out to my friend Norm for lending it to me!  I was a HUGE Billy Joel fan in High School - I played piano and sang, and I have fond memories of banging out many of these tunes in my teenage years.  What was great about this recording is that it was very early in Billy Joel's career - his voice is still very pure and he still has a very distinguishable New York accent when he speaks.  Many of the songs he played were "deep tracks" from Streetlife Serenade and Turnstiles albums that he would not play in concerts nowadays...this show was before his breakthrough album The Stranger was released.  I got a kick out of him introducing one of the songs - "This is a new song....A Premier!....It's called 'Scenes From An Italian Restaurant'"  If you went to a Billy Joel concert today everyone would be singing along - but at this show, it was the first time anyone had heard the song!

A Break In The Weather!

Hooray - today's high temperature will only be 87 degrees!

Unfortunately, my schedule today does not allow me to run :-(  Of course, if I didn't stay up until midnight watching the basketball game last night, perhaps I would have gotten a morning run in...

I will plan to run tomorrow morning.  Maybe even some speedwork?  Jog to the track, do 3X800 with a 200 recovery in between, and jog back for a full 5 miler???  It sounds WONDERFUL!!!  I hope my hamstring doesn't kill me...

Four at Five-thirty

For some reason my body woke up at 5:18am this morning.  The sun was starting to rise, the birds were starting to chirp, the rest of the house was quiet.  Definitely, a great time for a run!

Since my last two 3-mile runs were successful in the sense that I did not have the hamstring pain, I decided to go for a longer run this morning.  I did my regular "4-mile loop" run (which is really 4.43 miles).  It was nice to run a bit longer - however....

It's UNCOMFORTABLE out there!

At 5:30am, it was 71 deg F with 91% humidity.  I was drenched at the end of my run.

How the heck did I ever train for half marathons in the stuff?  It's almost unbearable!  I know I may have complained about running in sub-20 degree weather a few months ago, but I'm starting to thing that I may prefer cold winter runs to melty summer ones.

The good news is that my pace on the run was pretty good for an easy run 10:38/mile which means I haven't lost too much while resting my hammy injury.

The not so good news is that I had a bit of discomfort in my hammy around 24 minutes into the run.  It came and went throughout the run, but didn't get too strong.  So it's not at 100% yet.  I guess I'll keep the sports doc appointment just to get an opinion on what's really going on and if I'm prolonging the healing by continuing to run...

Another Run With No Hamstring Pain!

I'm not saying I'm out of the woods yet - this was only another 3 mile easy run this morning. However, my right hamstring did not have the pain that I've been experiencing in all of my other post-marathon runs.

That's two days in a row pain-free!

I'll try to run a little longer this week and see if the pain returns. If so, I'll keep my appointment with the sports doc. Otherwise, I'll cancel.

No Pain!!!

I ran The Race For The Cure this morning (OK...it was a slow jog) and I made it through the full 3 miles with NO PAIN in my hamstring!  Hooray!

I'm convinced it's because I already made an appointment with a Sports Doc :-)

I'm not giving myself a full, clean bill of health yet.  However, it was definitely a step in the right direction.

Race For The Cure Tomorrow

My body is in no shape to run a race tomorrow. I'm still getting that hamstring pain about 25 minutes into a run (BTW...I have made an appointment with an Orthopedic Surgeon / Sports Doc for the week after next - we'll see how that goes...). So for tomorrow's 5K in downtown DC, I won't be going for a PR, but I will not miss this race.

I will be running Race For The Cure tomorrow in memory of my friend Barbra.

Barbra and I were very close friends during our teenage years. We became friends through a Jewish youth group we both were active in - the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization - and during our senior years in High School we were co-presidents of DC Council. The two of us would spend many hours together in the BBYO office and on the phone, and we went to a few semi-formal dances together throughout the years. During the first few years of college (she went to Duke and I went to Michigan) we spoke off and on and saw each other over the summers. Interestingly enough, I believe the last time I spoke with her may have been after the NCAA Basketball Finals in 1992...Duke creamed Michigan and I recall our conversation being a bit on the obnoxious side.

After college, I moved to Dallas, TX and I started to grow apart from many of my high school friends. When I relocated back to the DC area 5 years later, I got back in touch with a few of my old friends, but not many...I had new friends that I had made at college, work and with other activities and just didn't make keeping up with these old friendships a priority. I thought of my old friends from time to time, but I rarely picked up the phone or sent an email to reach out.

In early 2001, I received an email that Barbra has passed away. She had fought off breast cancer successfully, but then had a relapse that was not caught in time to treat. I was in shock! How could this happen?? We were so young for something like this to happen (30 years old).

It was at that point that I realized that if I really cared about my old friends, that I needed to reach out. I have been making an effort over the past few years - calling and emailing some of these friends now and then and also set up a few play dates for our kids to get together and play. I've even reconnected with some friends via Facebook.

Unfortunately, it is too late for me to ever reconnect with Barbra. However, when I started running a few years ago I decided that I could run Race For The Cure in her memory each year.

Still Feeling Pain...

I went out for another easy 3 mile run today at lunchtime.  I took it easy due to the weather, and still again - around 25 minutes into the run - the pain behind my right knee came back.

Perhaps it is time to consult a Sports Doctor, eh?

Luckily, the pain isn't excruciating.  I was able to finish the run and the pain goes away within a few minutes after I stop running.  I just want to be able to run more than 3 miles at a time again!

It has been over 4 weeks since my marathon and I have only run a little over 18 miles in that span.  A few months ago, I ran more than that before 9am on a Saturday morning!  Needless to say, I'm a bit discouraged...

How To Get Back Into A Groove?

On both the blogging and running fronts, I am no longer "in a groove".

On the running front, I know it is because I'm trying to rest my hamstring. I'll try to take a few short runs again this week - but I have been going to bed too late each night and the thought of waking up at 5:15am to run is not palatable. I also have The Race For The Cure on my schedule this Saturday, and although this is not a 5K that I'll be "racing", it is still an easy jog that I have in my schedule (more about Race For The Cure in a future post this week...)

I'm not sure why I've hit a blogging "funk". Perhaps it's due to the fact that I'm not running (this is mainly a running blog, right?). Most of my physical activity over the past two weeks has revolved around Israeli Dancing - which is another reason I'm not running as much.

So, I'm a bit stuck here - now that the marathon is over, will I continue this as a mostly-running blog? Will it become a "the life of Mike Fox" blog? Will I retire the blog? Time will tell. I know that other recent first-time marathoners are having the same issues with their blogs.