Back in the saddle - last two weeks

I was still recovering at the beginning of last week but was on vacation this week and had plenty of opportunity to get in the workouts. And the workouts are going to change slightly to be like this:

• Tue - Hill Repeats or possibly intervals
  
• Wed - Easy 4
  
• Thu - Long road run (17 miles) or long track run (16 miles)
  
• Sat - Hill Repeats
  
• Sun - Long trail run
  

The goal for both hill repeat workouts is 4k' climb in 10 miles.
The Thu run is going to stay at around 17 miles.
The Sun run hopefully is going to grow to 50k as preparation for 50 mile races.

Since John Davis proposed the Baldy Peaks 100 mile run and I started training for that, I've found that hill repeats not only prepare me for mountain running, they also improve my speed. And the other thing I'm finding these days is that you can run the next day.
So -

• Tue 1/3/2012 - 2x2k in Twyla Reid park (I was still recovering)
  
• Thu 1/5/2012 - 17 miles (Seal Beach run)
  
• Sat 1/7/2012 - 4xS Ridge (2k' climb, 5 miles)
  
• Sun 1/8/2012 - Whittier - Schabarum Park loop - 19 hilly miles (I bonked)
  
• Tue 1/10/2012 - 5xS Ridge (2.5k' climb, 6.25 miles) - felt very comfortable. Could easily have done more.
  
• Wed 1/11/2012 - 4 miles easy at Signal Hill (hilly)
  
• Thu 1/12/2012 - Harding Truck Trail - first time in a long while, maybe a year. 3300' climb, 18.3 miles
  
• Sat 1/14/2012 - 13xRose Hills Road (new and really like it). 3k+ climb, 7.8 miles
  
• Sun 1/15/2012 - Seal Beach run - 17 miles. Probably cut about 1 min/mile off previous pace.

So obviously from the Sunday run, I'm feeling pretty good. I was pretty much over the cough from December until the 1/8 run. That brought it back.

The advantages of the new Rose Hill Road repeats are

• Much less likely to get kicked out because the park is closed compared to S Ridge hill.
  
• Nice surface, even climb. This plus the shorter distance allows me to run this repeat better than S Ridge, both up and down.
  
• Not as popular as S Ridge. Minor advantage but this reduces distractions.

Rose Hills Road:


Harding Truck Trail (to 9.15 mile mark):

End the year - with a whimper

I got sick - the same cold everyone has been getting. On 12/21 I tried going for a 6 mile jog. That run exhausted me to the point that I got chills. I started recovering a bit on Xmas when I ran 3 times this hill in Whittier. I think I should be mostly recovered this next week although I am going to slowly ramp up the interval workouts on Tuesday.

Gary and Pam Hilliard are the new RD's for the Orange Curtain races. These are scheduled for 3/3/2012 so I plan to run the 50k. I think I should be running 50k on the weekends by then if things go well.

I'm Blaming Last Week

I missed my long run on Wednesday because of my typical sore ankle. I ran a quarter mile and then walked back home. So...

• Monday - 2 miles easy plus the usual pushups, situps and pullups.
  
• Tuesday - 5x2k in Twila Reid park - for the first time. The local Larwin park is torn up a bit after the city removed 3 trees - why, I don't know.
  
• Wednesday - 0.25 and out.
  
• skip to Saturday - 4 mile tempo on the track
  
• Sunday - about 15 on Maple Springs Truck Trail (2.6k or so of elevation gain)
  

So I've reverted to run hard on Tue/Sat and long on Wed/Sun. I'll do another week or so at status quo and then lengthen the Sunday workout.

Not Perfect But Not Bad

I missed my Tuesday workout and Sunday didn't go as hoped but not bad.

• Monday - Usual easy 2 with calisthenics
  
• Tuesday - Missed my 5x2k workout
  
• Wednesday - 18 mile road run
  
• Thursday - Easy 2 with calisthenics. Probably will double my pull-ups next week.
  
• Friday - 4 mile tempo run
  
• Saturday - 14 mile in mountains - Maple Springs Truck Trail
  
• Sunday - (only) 7 in Whittier Hills. Quads were dead. I was adding this workout (replacing an extra easy day on Friday) and I hadn't run hills for a few weeks. So it isn't surprising that I struggled. When I've struggled like this in the past, often things go just fine the next week.
  

Google Earth view of Maple Springs Truck Trail (in red)


Plan for next week:

• Weather is good so track should be in good shape for Tuesday. Looks like rain on Thursday so may do Friday workout in park by work (1k loop on firm grass). May explore a different park near home since the local park (Larwin) is a bit torn up due to removal of some trees. That makes it a little sketchy to run hard in the dark.
  
• Don't know weekend weather yet but hope to run 14 on Saturday and 7 or so on Sunday, both with plenty of vertical.
  
• Planning to do sets of 8 pull-ups and more push-ups.
  

I'm Happy

Missed one of my long runs due to working long hours on Wed, but I'm still happy. Longest run yet - 18 miles.

• Monday - 2 miles easy plus 3x16 pushups, situps, pullups
  
• Tuesday - 5x2k on dirt loop in Irvine (hard on the flat, uphill, jogged downhill)
  
• Wednesday & Friday - worked late, Thursday - went to happy hour (or so) for my departing boss.
  
• Saturday - 4 mile tempo run
  
• Sunday - 18 mile road run.
  

Weeks in review - 10/24/2011 through 11/13/2011

Here's the last three weeks of workouts since I moved my long run from Thursday (where it wasn't working out) to Wednesday. This move made Tuesday/Wednesday and Saturday/Sunday both fast/long pairs of workouts (fast for me, that is).

10/24/2011 - 10/30/2011

• Monday - 2 easy pm, 3x16xpushups, situps,3x4 pullups
  
• Tuesday - 2 (warmup)+ 5x2k
  
• Wednesday - 10 (road run) To El Dorado park
  
• Friday - 2 easy
  
• Saturday - 2+4 (tempo run)
  
• Sunday - 14.2 on trails - Whittier 3 loops

10/31/2011 - 11/6/2011

• Monday - 2 easy pm, 3x16xpushups, situps, 3x4 pullups
  
• Tuesday - 2+5x2k
  
• Wednesday - 12 (on river route) to Edison Park
  
• Thursday - 4 easy
  
• Saturday - 2+4+1
  
• Sunday - 11.33 on trails - Rowland Heights (cut short because it was raining)

11/7/2011 - 11/13/2011

• Monday - 2 easy pm, 3x16xpushups, situps,3x4 pullups
  
• Tuesday - 5x2k at Larwin (10 total). (Running on) grass gets me to drive more.
  
• Wednesday - 14 on river. Rolled lt ankle just before turn around but apparently no problem.
  
• Thursday - 2 at lunch
  
• Saturday - 2+3
  
• Sunday - 16.6 on river - Left knee a little touchy, probably from running in grass
  

Negatives

• I've been consistent about missing an easy workout on either Thursday or Friday.
  
• I have not been doing pushups/situps/pullups on the second easy day of the week.
  
• Sunday has been deviating from plan the last two weeks (partly due to weather).
  

Positives

• This is really quite consistent for me, certainly more so than before I had heart problems.
  
• I've dealt effectively with weather and conflicts (like today).
  
• I'm increasing my workload roughly according to plan because the plan is based on how well I've been able to increase the workload.
  
• I got the road run pretty much up to the full distance.
  

Adjustments

• I'll try to cut the grass runs back to once per week for a while.
  
• I'll focus on getting in the Sunday workout (keep it on trails and hills/mountains, coordinate in advance), especially since increasing that to the 19 to 20 mile range is the next change planned.

Here's the Google Earth image of my beach/river run. I ran to just the 8.3 mile point on Sunday (end of the bike path).

Running in Grass

We're getting rain now and I run on dirt tracks so I've had to find an alternative. The nearest all-weather track at Cypress College is often crowded with walkers so I ran my 5x2k workout in the park the other night. One figure-8 lap around the park is 3/8ths of a mile so each interval was 3 laps plus. One thing I really liked about the workout is that I needed to drive more with my flexed leg in order to not wallow or lose form. I really liked that so I'm going to continue running sometimes in the grass. Some slightly negative aspects (although the first might be viewed as a positive) are 1) the ground is uneven - I try to route around major holes 2) I got a pin stuck in my shoe and 3) I got cat crap from the feral cats on the bottom of one shoe.
Last night, I ran 14 on the beach route. This ultimately will be 18 miles. I might have gone for 16 last night but just before the 14 mile turnaround, I stepped on the edge of the path and rolled my left ankle. However, it seems like no damage was done and it is not painful nor stiff at all today.