smally

Instead of strides, I did 8 times 1 min fartlek's @ 11.2, I am guessing 4:50 pace.

I would run for 3 mins at 6:55 pace then run the 1 min at 4:50 pace.  A bit of a cool down at the end to run a total of 6 miles.

3 miles really slow 7:45 in the P.M to flush, I could not have ran mp miles if I tried, exhausted from work and the run I guess but at least I got another 3 miles on the old feet.

recovery day

I put down easy miles because most of them were however I negative split the last 10 miles so they were more like marathon miles at this stage of the game.  I don't have what I had before Boston yet but there was a glimpse here and there out there today.

20.30 miles 6:59 average - 2:21:40

13 degrees mostly cloudy, wind was 20k but seemed less, perfect weather I thought.

recovery - 4 miles 7:11 avg

1 mile 8 min mile.

felt great but not when i got on the tm, recovery was needed.  hope to feel better tomorrow for a longer run in the am.

Fantastic day outside,county run today. Ran past my son Julian at the bus stop, all the kids were giving my high fives, cute.  Next thing you know I was 6:24 for the first mile.  I was going to run a recovery med. long run of 14 miles today because of the 20 mile run on wed which was a pretty decent run averaging 6:59 for the 20.3 miles.

I just felt comfortable so I kept a good pace which I thought was a bit more than MP at times but not a half marathon race pace for sure.

Anyways, great run 127:42 for 13.1 (6:42 average)

I ran the last mile home easy, what a beautiful day.

Legs felt pretty good, no knee pain but still feel the right side a bit.

5 miles at 6:55, 1 mile easy.

2 miles late afternoon, wanted to pass 70 for the week

late night last night, 80's party, blast.

recover today for the rest of the week

Wanted to run 10k faster than tempo but I had nothing in the tank after 4 miles.

4 miles 23:44 (probably 5:52 average)  Before I got to 10.3 on the TM at the start it took 18 seconds, therefore a lot longer than in a road race, I wonder how long it takes in a race, I am guessing 10 seconds max.

Ran 1.5 easy with some mp miles.

Plan on running some miles tonight as well.

Fun run today on Riverside drive.

first 5 miles I took it easy because I was concerned about the right side, I had some shooting pain down to the knee, got adjusted and acupuncture last night and if felt much better.

all first 5 miles were between 7:03 and 7:14

ran mile 5.5 to 7 at 5:56 avg, felt pretty good as I was able to locate a couple runners to pass.  I ran the rest of the run around 6:45's which felt decent.  I ran the last half a mile with a high school gym class running so I was picking them off one by one, I ran that half mile in 2:41 which is decent considering it was the after 9 and half miles.

I don't feel I have the 36-37 10 k speed yet but hopefully I can get that back with the increased volume.

Running Miles clinic tonight, taking the gang to the track.

3 miles of jogging while coaching and a couple strides on the track.  great turnout, fun.

Not very motivated to start, great finish.

Ran around a bike track which was .80 of a mile, got sick of that so I headed out into the county.  Each mile ranged from 7:07 to 7:25.  I felt really tired around 9 miles but had a spike on the way back so I decided to run the a 5k at a bit better than MP.  6:46, 6:34 and 6:21.  Cooled down for the last mile home.

Tired and I feel like I should take a day off tomorrow regardless so I guess I will be have a free lunch to get my paper work done.

Have 2 pairs of shoes on order, excited.  Around 500 right now.

Hey David, how did you do in your 5k?  My guess if it was flat and good weather - 18:49??????????????????

3 easy, ok.  should be ready for a med long tomorrow

Had some pretty good discomfort in the right groin, leg area yesterday, today it is a ton better.

However because I am scheduled for a 6 mile recovery run today I am going to take a day off, it has been over 20 days with no rest and I have increased my miles per week by 15-20 to 72 instead of 52 which I am used to so this day off is better than a recovery run.

I have to think in the terms of improving and not be selfish, I want to run to get the high for the afternoon with patients ect but a day rest will help repair.

Excited, 2 pairs of new shoes on order and bought a recovery mix to have everyday that has good reviews, I had it yesterday and it helped.

What a nice morning, nice and easy med. long run 7:16 average.

No tempo pick ups, felt like I could have kept running and running.  Ran the last mile in MP or what I thought was comfortable with a bit of effort and it was 6:49.  Glad I did not push it today, I would like to do a little recovery run tomorrow and then hopefully run a 5k race on Sunday and then some recovery miles after the race.

Golf tournament yesterday and today.  Had a chance tonight to run 4-6 recovery but I am exhausted and I think a total day off is a nice break for the legs. 

First round of golf this year, crazy because its June.  Had a weird round yesterday 45 on the front and 34 on the back, 5 birddies.  On the second last hole we thought I had a hole in one but as we drove up it was 7 feet behind the pin and I missed the putt.

80 Today with only 1 bird, golf is a ton of fun but its sure a different pace than running.

Hopefully I'll log 10-12 miles tomorrow, plan on running from my house to a race 4.5 then running the 5k race then run a few more miles and back home again.

Been awhile and actually I was quite nervous because after Boston I have been increasing my volume which has decreased my speed workouts so I was pretty happy with the run today.  I could have pushed a bit more the last mile but I had 3rd place and I was 10 seconds behind first place so I concentrated on running a solid pace.

Ran with Giancarlo 7 plus miles right after 7:15 pace overall.

Gorgeous day not sure of the temp but it was a shaded course and nice and sunny when we were done.

Glad I did the race because I need to work on the nerves before races, I really think I was to over nervous for Boston.

tough 10 k race this coming Saturday would be nice to break 37, its has some trails and lots of turns so I don't expect to hold today's pace for 10k but I will try.

10k-36:32

.3 cool down

.5 (mp)

Have to get some work done at lunch so I decided a TM run at the gym instead of an easy 10 miles outside.  Had my flats so I started at 10.2 and left it there for the entire run except for the last mile I pretended that I was trying to pick it up in a 10k race.  I was happy with this run because I was really in control for the entire run.  I have run about a minute faster on the TM before boston but it was full out, this did not feel full out at all.  I hope the 10k race on Saturday is as easy as today but of course it won't and I am up for the challenge. 

The faster you get the faster your done, love it.

Recovery run at lunch, I took it easy and ran around the area where the race will be saturday.  I did 7 strides for the last 2 miles, first time ever for strides.  Ran 7.30 total, average 7:18.

PM - was my running club Running Miles.  I had all runners and walkers do 6-8 200 meters speed then recover 200 meters.  I did 5 in a row, tougher than I thought.  I did not have a garmin so I have no idea of the pace etc.  About 4 miles total with warm up.

new shoes today, I am wearing mizuno's again because my pearl izumi's are not available.  They told me they were between a flat and the ones I have now and that if I am doing 70 plus miles a week I should wear a something with a bit more support especially for my long runs.  Maybe there is some truth to that and I will have more support, I will wait for the izumi's to come in and run in those for my long runs that have mp in them and some med long runs that are tempo.

Today was meant to be nice and easy, no pick ups because of the 10k race on Saturday.  Happy to get it in.  I had 2 stops for drinks which I never do but seeing it was an easy long run I decided to chill out a bit and not worry.

Humid for sure and rainy on the last half bit of wind nothing crazy.  stopped the watch for the 2 stops. 

21 miles - 7:22 avg.

Not really sore but a tweak in the right groin as usual and I had a rare headache so I packed in my recovery run short and had lunch with my wife which was fun.

3 miles in the am before my wellness talk, felt pretty crappy because I was rushed and I really don't care for my new shoes but I will wear them more on easy runs and long runs for more support.

3 miles in the afternoon, can't stop thinking about the race tomorrow.  first mile I ran at 5:50 then I took it easy and visualized tomorrow's race.  I know there will be some very good local elites there so winnig is not going to be my concern but its hard to let the ego go because I have a lot of people that are expecting me to do very well.  I have decided to grind it out and do everything possible to run the entire race under 6 min miles, I know that this is easy for me on a tm or a flat fast course but tomorrow's course is challenging and its suspose to be crazy humid.  I am looking forward to the opportunity because that is exactly what it is.

I think these races are great for me so I can be less nervous for races like Boston.

Was at the race at 5pm for a 7pm start, anticipation had to have hurt me a bit.  I had to set up our running group to promote our charity race so I was pretty busy right up until the race time.

So hot outside and muggy, sun was beating down and to boot is really windy especially seeing I ran the entire race by myself, 9th place was 35 seconds ahead and 11th place was 45 seconds behind me so it was tough not being near anyone.  My shoes were soaked because of the water around the start and there was some trail running involved, grassy and a bit of mud as well. 

First mile was 5:54 and it was right into the wind for most of it, I could hardly open my mouth I was so dry and I was breathing like a monster, sucked.  I tried to settle in but the trail for the next mile had some mud with bike tracks and a lot of turns so I was pretty much ready to give up when I saw my second split was 6:06 because my goal was to keep everything under 6 min mile.  When I came out of the trail I came head to head with a kid on a bike and lost my footing but did not fall, I think the kid fell off the bike though, now I really wanted to quit.  The race then had you go around a pond a couple times which was intense heat.  I kept saying don't do this just walk and say it was not your night but there is something deep down that lets us battle through and I knew that this is what I needed for future marathon's like Boston.  I kept telling myself get to 4 miles and its going to be easier and it was but the leg turnover was not there so I think my last 2 miles where 6:30 and 6:22.  Had a little sprint in the grass and mud around the final corner but still could not beat 39 mins.

I won my age group and cracked the top 10 which was not bad because there was 950 race participants.  Our charity handed out flyers for our event in September and we had about 10 people sign up for our Running Miles group. 

The best part was not quiting and being positive despite wanting a better time, proud of myself.  We stood and watched all of the group from our running factory finish giving everyone high fives it was fantastic because a lot of these people were running/walking there first race.  We all had our new shirts on and it really was a team event which made it very special.

Going to run on the TM today for 10k instead of 14 outside in this muggy weather.

overall a good couple races in the last week and also I don't think I fully recovered from the 21 miles on Wed.

decided to run something fast on the TM, 18:10 at 5k then had to take it back but decided to fight for a 10k and beat my race time last night which I knew I would. 

37:24 and I was tired so just shows how tough last night was.  1.8 cool down.

did not run in flats, cutting grass shoes.

Decided to run on the TM at home so I could watch Phil win the US open which did not happen.  10k @ 6:39 average.  Right side started to feel weird, cool down until 7.5 miles.

2.5 miles easy in the P.M, felt off so I just did pushups and situps with the kids to music etc.

Feel better today (Tuesday)

some speed at lunch at home.

5k-17:33, slow start up.  kept the tm at 10.5 with pick ups so I was thinking I would break 17 but not this time.  I timed my TM and it takes around 17 seconds to get to 10.5

ran another half mile in there at 5:50 and had a bit of a cool down.

Running group at night 3.6 miles easy.  right groin was acting up so i did not even attempt any speed work.

hopefully med long to long tomorrow depending on sarah.

tough day mentally emotionally.

Left at 7:45am, did not have a clue it was going to be such a hot day.  I was more focused on my right side because it was bugging me the entire run.  Took it easy and really felt the heat by mile 8-9, finished 7:23 average and the last 2 miles were the quickest but that is because I was starting to suffer so I just wanted to get home and drink my swimming pool.

why I ran is beyond me, I should of taken a rest day, running a long run tomorrow morning at 530 because of the heat.

Hardly broke a sweat, dislike my new shoes on a TM, felt heavy.

Right side not perfect but will be by the morning.

Ran 18 miles, started at 5:30am because of the heat and humidity.754,732,727,722,723,727,722,723,725,727,729,725,609,(302 first half of this mile -702),657,655,658,640

felt the right side for the first 5 miles, did not get my bathroom duty done so needless to say the first 5 miles where not fun and i thought i might pack it in at 12 miles but G said lets just run for 2 hours easy.  At mile 10 I started feeling good so I told G that we needed to run a tempo pace through Roseland, he is very good at that becase I leave him and he never complains.  I ran a 609 and kept that pace for another half mile, I had more but I wanted to run in easy with G.  He made us do an extra loop in Southwood lakes and once again started to pick up the pace again.  There was a hill which is only .25 but a good grade and I attacked that as well.  The right side felt better and we took a cool down for a half mile with some walking.

Played around with the kids and Julian wanted to run on the TM with his new shoes so the next you know I did 5.5 easy miles for a total of 24 miles. 

We are leaving tomorrow for our vacation which is my fave running week of the year, lots of hills and great friends.  I am going to chill and not worry too much about speed etc, just easy miles and some tempo runs.

Have not made an entry for 8 days because of our vacation at Cleveland's House in Muskoka.  The hills were amazing and plentiful, what a wonderful vacation and running was only a fraction of what took place.

Saturday June 27th.

We got there last Saturday and I had a little window to go and run before dinner which I wanted to do so I could enjoy dinner and the first night, I felt pretty good after the day before running 24 miles but on this run I felt very sluggish and it was a struggle because I was not used to the hills, I only did 5 miles but of course felt awesome for dinner and our first night.

Sunday 28th - feeling pretty sore from the long run and in hind sight should have not ran Saturday, decided to skip the run in the morning that I usually do at Cleve's and golf with my wife after dropping the kids off at kids camp.  Glad we got the golf in because it rained hard all day, I managed getting a total of 7 miles in at the gym on the resort.  Oh ya I ran 4 miles easy 730 pace then picked it up to 625's, I had to get off because I looked at myself in the mirror and I was white as a ghost, puked and then got back on the tm  and did an easy mile and had to stop.  I was also sick later that night so I had something but was fine the next day.  7 miles total.

Monday 29th - We booked golf on Mon and Thur so I thought to myself another day with no real good running but luckly we were back in time to do a run before picking the kids up at the their camp.  This turned into a great run, I planned on 6 miles but ended up finding a new route and ran 11.5 miles and the hills on this route were massive, I was so impressed.  There were multiple hills but 3 of them were half a mile long and the grade was 3-7, just fantastic.  I managed to feel better the last half and run 7:28 average for the run, I really did not want to push it too hard because of the right side that is still bugging me.  However 7:30's is more like running 6:30's with all the hills.

Tuesday 30th - 16 miles total.  Great run, same as yesterday but longer.  Felt again better as the run went on.  Played tennis for about 2 hours and Josh and I won the doubles competition against everyone, fun.  Won 2 rounds of poker and had a great water ski and swim in the lake.  What a day.

Wed July 1st - Raining again and I was really feeling beat up from all the hills so I decided to take it easy in the gym.  Of course I decided to do some speed work at the last second.  3 miles @ 5:52,  half a mile cool down at 640 pace then finished another 1.5 miles at 552 pace with a cool down at the end for 7.5 miles total.

Thur 2nd - sore from the speed so I ended up running 3 miles easy just to burn some calories before dinner.  Also had a round of golf booked at a resort which left little time to run. 

Fri 3rd - G arrived thursday so I took him on a hill run, he was shocked and I had to force him a little to see the massive hill, ended up running 11 miles total, great run.  Skied later and played some tennis.

Saturday - 8 miles with G, easy at first, really slow and then had a tempo at the last 2 miles, more down hill the last 1.5 so I took off not knowing G was trying to take me over, he caught me by surprise so I stepped into high gear and ended up running a 5:24 min mile, the mile before that was 6:01.  We had a dip in the lake, played the little 9 hole course then played some tennis. 

Sunday - drove home and did 5 miles on the TM, MP.

This was a great vacation, I have only mentioned the running and activities but the best part was all the things we did as a family, tons of fishing, meals together, boating etc etc.  This is by far the best vacation that we look forward to every year.

See notes Saturday June 27th, Cleve's vacation

See Cleve's vacation notes Sat June 27th