5 mile @ Steady State

Steady State Run, Tempo Run, Threshold Run, LT Run, what the heck is the difference? Greg McMillan would say the Tempo Run, Threshold Run, and LT Run are all the same. A Steady State run is some where between an "easy" pace and a threshold run. I would argue that a Threshold run is a Steady State run. It is any run where you hold a pretty consistent high aerobic pace for a set amount of time. Are you still confused?

I didn't plan on running faster this morning, but I started out feeling good and went with it. I ran my Rancho Vista loop that is exactly 7.5 miles, but I always make it an even 8. After my first mile 8:16 I started picking up the pace. The next 5 miles were 7:18 (feeling pretty good), 6:56 (still feeling strong), 6:50 (keeping it steady), 6:42 (let's not get too crazy here), 6:54 (this is my last one). Then right before the 6 mile mark my right calf gave me a quick, "slow down or else!" and I listened. I finished in 8:01 and 8:19 and had twinges again the rest of the day. "Whew, that was close." Total time was 59:15 (avg pace 7:24) for 8 miles. I was feeling great for 5.5 of that steady state run.

These calf strains seem to be contagious this year. Olympian, Blake Russell just pulled out of the NYC marathon due to a calf injury.

Found this interesting article and endurance calculator that computes your carb calories needed to run a certain time in a marathon and then how many carb calories you should "load up on" prerace. I'm not sure I totally understand it but it is interesting to read and play around with.

Ryan Hall is splitting with his coach Terrance Mahon after a disappointing year. Rumor is he is still staying in Mammoth. I am a little surprised actually. His 4th place and American best time in Boston didn't seem too disappointing to me. Of course everyone wants to win or be on the podium. Dropping out of Chicago was a big deal though.


OK YOU HAVE TO READ THIS ONE!

And finally, another great Thirsty Thursday with Jack Daniels. Maximizing performances with age.

"Stepping outside the comfort zone is the price I pay to find out how good I can be. If I planned on backing off every time running got difficult I would hang up my shoes and take up knitting."--Desiree Davila

8 mile aqueduct run (63 minutes)

I woke up a little earlier this morning to drive the two miles up to the aqueduct. The aqueduct is 400ft higher in elevation than my house and I am trying to stay away from hills for the next few weeks since my calf is feeling better. I left a little before 6 am with my headlamp on the paved side of the aqueduct and felt pretty good. My calf fatigued slowly throughout the run. I went out 3 miles and back as to not get too far from my car. I was really hoping to make it 8 miles and after 6 it was whispering then I switched to the dirt side and did another 2 miles for a total of 8 in 63 minutes (just under 8 min pace). It is now tight but not painful. My right glut is also tight from working a little harder to compensate for the calf.

So the question is how do I begin to ramp back up without reinjuring or over doing it? I know that an hour is about my max right now so I will probably keep my long run to an hour until it feels a little easier. Then I can add a mile or two every two weeks to the long run as long as everything continues to improve. During the week I will try and run at least 6 miles (45 min) every other day and not run two days in a row until it is not so stiff the next day. If I do run two days in a row on the weekend the second day will be more of an easy recovery run 4-5 miles. I won't do any tempo runs, threshold runs, or certainly not intervals until it feels a little looser on these long runs (probably not until next month). Progressing your running after an injury is very individual and there is some trial and error. There is not one general formula. The plan can change from day to day depending on how I feel. The 10% rule is good but not perfect. That means an mileage increase of 10% each week. It is very conservative. Last week I ran 9 miles so if I followed the 10% rule then this week I could run 10 (I have already run 13). I first try and get back to 4 days a week and once I can tolerate that well then I start to increase the mileage more.

Here is a link to an article about the Santa Monica 5k that I ran on Sunday.

Santa Monica 5k (19:31)

Friday I ran 3 miles, yeah three miles up and down M-12. It is a half mile from 50th to 55th and I just kept running back and forth as it is the most level road near my house.

I tried to set up the best possible race day situation for my legs, basically by not running. I didn't run on Saturday but got all my yard work done and that afternoon we drove down to Santa Monica. My brother-in-law Jon and I had signed up for this race a few months ago, but since my calf injury I can honestly say I was not looking forward to it. I actually signed up for the 10k but decided in the last few weeks that I would drop down to the 5k. I didn't want to push my luck. Plus I haven't run farther than 6 miles in a month.

This morning Jon and I drove to the starting area. Andi stayed with all three boys at the hotel. Thanks Andi! The weather in Santa Monica was beautiful. I don't know why I was surprised, it is always beautiful in the morning (unless there is a storm). The temp was probably in the mid 50s. We got our bibs and chips and warmed up a bit. We were 40 minutes early, so we hung around the staring line for a while. I spotted a familiar face above the crowds. I knew it was a former NBA player but I couldn't place his name. Later with the help of Justin Patananan we determined it was Kenny Smith, formerly of the Houston Rockets! When it got closer to the start some of the elite runners ran by us and I spotted Jen Rhines and Alistair Cragg of the Mammoth Track Club. I asked them if they would take a picture with me and they agreed. They both ended up winning the 5k! There were also runners from McMillan Elite.




I decided I would start conservatively and see how my leg felt. When the race started there were lots of people passing me. I saw Sergio Reyes warming up for the 10k! I held back but my leg felt good so I picked up the pace and went through the mile in 6:30! I continued to pick up the pace, now passing a runner every few steps, and went through mile 2 at 6:05! I still didn't even have any tightness. I hoped it wasn't just race adrenaline. The course starts and ends at different locations and most of the race has a slight uphill grade to it, but you make the turn after the two mile mark and run back to the famous Santa Monica Pier. During the last mile the leaders were coming toward me. I had carried my camera in my right hand the entire race so I slowed down, pulled over, and took a pictures of Alistair (13:54) and Jen (16:00) as they were finishing. Then I made the turn and picked up the pace again toward the finish line. At one point I looked down and my garmin said 5:34 pace! My official finishing time was 19:31 (6:18 pace). I did a little cool down to make sure my calf didn't tighten up too bad after the race. My brother-in-law ran 30:25, bettering his time from the Newhall 5k in July. It is a very competitive race with 78 runners under 20 minutes! See results here.

We stuck around to see Sergio place 3rd in the 10k with a time of 29:11! We found his wife Aimee and cheered him in. Afterward he told us it was a fast race considering it was a minute faster than when he won the race in 2007. Justin Patananan, of Palmdale, was 16th in 31:41 (also a course best). He said he has been dealing with some plantar fasciitis that has made his training inconsistent. 10k results here.




My leg is a little tight tonight but not too bad considering what I put it through today. We had a great weekend in Santa Monica. After the race we took the boys to the beach and also found a great park!

Labor Day Weekend

I just looked back in my blog. Two years ago I was in pretty darn good shape over Labor Day. I was training for a half marathon trail race (Boney Mountain) that was postponed, but later in October ran an aqueduct half marathon time trial in 1:24:33. Last year I was recovering from a summer left knee injury and trying to get ready for the Twin Cities Marathon.

This Saturday I ran 6 miles (48 min) easy and felt ok about it. My calf was tired the rest of the day mowing the lawn etc but not too tight. The weather has been very calm all weekend. When it is calm this time of year we get gnats! I ran most of the run with my head down trying not to get a gnat in the mouth!

Sunday I woke up and thought about meeting Dale and Chuck but decided I didn't feel like driving and my calf was feeling a little stiff so I stayed around Quartz Hill. This was also the first time I had run on back to back days in over a month. I started slowly up M-12 from my house and then ran down 55th all the way to L. My leg felt great and I was cruising in the low 7 min range. Then I turned up 70th and could instantly feel the right calf telling me, "Don't push it up hill." By the time I got to M (1 mile up 70th) I knew my run was over. I jogged down M to 55th and then walked it home. Total running mileage was 6 again. I had planned on 8. I stopped before any cramping or pain but it has been more sore today. I guess I should have gone out to meet Dale and Chuck after all. Since I can't run any positive grades, the aqueduct would have been the place to go.

Got my October issue of Runner's World Magazine this weekend. It was actually the best RW issue maybe this year. Great workout ideas, great hip and core exercises, and great article about excercise when pregnant and returning to running post-partum. It is about time, I was close to giving up on that magazine. The last issue was worthless.

Sorry my blog is becoming so pathetic and boring. Trust me, I wish things were going differently.

3 miles today, 63 miles in August

Do I have to say any more? It was a pretty pathetic month. Actually I am suprised that I ran 63 miles. It has been just over 4 weeks since my initial injury. It is certainly better, I felt a little better on my 3 mile run today. It feels weak and tightens up after about 40 minutes still. Every once in a while it gives me a sharper "I'm still here" reminder. Hopefully September will be better. I am contemplating switching to the 5k in Santa Monica on September 12th.

5 miles...no improvement

I ran 5 this morning. I started out feeling pretty good. After about 4 the calf started to tighten. By 5 miles I was altering my stride due to the pain/tightness and called it. Ice massage afterward. Sore most of the day. No improvement since Monday. Getting tired of this.


In more positive news, Molly Huddle, formerly of Notre Dame, broke the American Record in the 5k on Friday with a time of 14:44.76. She broke Shalane Flanagan's old record by 4 hundredths of a second. This was her third time this season under 15 minutes. She got into a fast race (ended up 10th) and hung on to the pace to set the record. 10th PLACE WAS AN AMERICAN RECORD! That shows you how far behind we still are. See her post race interview here.

Even more interesting is to watch her post race interview from two weeks ago after running 14:57 in London. She says, "I'm not calling anything out or pointing at it or anything...but...if you can run 14:51 maybe you can try for some 14:44.7 range...its just something to try for...a goal for the summer. It's not really that serious of a goal...that's just what I'm going for." Well she did it!


BTW: Sergio Reyes was 5th today at the US 10 mile road championships at Crim Festival of Races in Flint, Michigan with a time of 48:32 (4:52 pace). See results here.
See the full race here...if you have 65 minutes to spare. Fast forward to 58:00 to see Sergio finish.

9 mile week?

I decided I needed to just rest the leg more. I didn't run at all last weekend. I did have a good time being the lead bike at the AV Fair wave race though. I started the race with Roger "Woody" Wood in the 70+ age group. We stayed together for 1.25 miles until Alan Brown (60+ AG) caught us. I then continued on with Alan for another 1.25 miles until we were caught by Steve Brumwell (50+AG) and I rode with him until 14 year old Vanessa Lopez caught us and won by 8 seconds. It was a fun race, I hope to be able to run next year. In decent shape I think I could have cracked the top 10 (I would have a 14 minute disadvantage)!

I ran 5 miles on Monday and my right calf said that was enough after about 4 miles.

I ran 4 miles today (Thursday) and again I was done after 4.

As I rested last weekend I started to wonder if maybe I actually have some small tearing in my soleus. Fortunately, it has been feeling better all week. My 10k on September 12 has turned into a "hope to finish without pain" run.


There has been some great articles and blog posts this week, that I would like to share.

1. A world record in the men's 800m last weekend by David Rushida of Kenya by .02 seconds. Watch the video here. Amazing!

2. A great interview with Alberto Salazar on getting through hard workouts!

3. A fun interactive site on How Marathoning Affects the Body.

4. A very intersting article from the USATF on stretching and injury prevention. If you read one part of the article read the discussion. My take on stretching is just like my take on running shoes. There are so many factors involved that to make a generalization like "running shoes prevent injury" or "stretching prevents injury" is hog-wash. Running in different shoes or daily calf stretching would not have prevented my calf strain. Does that make stretching bad, no, but it doesn't make it good either. It has to be specific to the athlete and their needs. Also, when you read an article about running injuries make sure you find out what the author classifies as an injury. Their definitions will vary.

5. Deena Kastor is 3 months pregnant. She will not be running the NY Marathon this fall. I didn't pick her to make the 2012 Olympic team anyway. Now she will only have 9 months to recover and prepare for the trials. I don't think it is enough.

6. Both Chicago and New York Marathons are shaping up to be very exciting races. Maybe a morning marathon party is in order. I will let you know when the races get closer.

7. Nick Arciniaga, one of the top US marathoners with a PR of 2:11:47, wrote a good blog post on the mcmillanelite athlete blog page on August 16, 2010. He talks about his coach Greg McMillan's mantra "Go for it," meaning to go into every race with the ambition to run a breakthrough performance. I think what we mid-packers can take from this is that when you are in good shape don't let your watch limit your pace. Yes, run within your own means, but if you have been training hard and you never push it just a little bit harder, then you will never know what your true potential could be. If you are close but you never go out at your Boston Qualifier pace, you will never "break through." Sometimes when you try this you will not make it. This has happended to me twice in marathons. I went out in the 2006 Las Vegas Marathon with a half split of 1:25, hit the wall hard, and scrapped together a 3:04. In 2008 at the Boston Marathon I had a goal of sub 3 hours again, went out in 1:28, blew up again, and walked in the last 5k to finish in 3:14. But if I had not run these races, I would not remember what this feels like to go out that hard, and may not have run 2:57 at CIM last December.

8. Coach Jay Johnson also had a great blog post on August 23rd titled The Uncarved Block. The part I like is the 8 points listed for the high school coach when training runners. My favorite is number 8 because so much of coaching and training runners is trial and error. He writes, "Volume. I know – wait, I think – two of the athletes I work with need to run more. But maybe they don’t. Maybe they need to run more of their current volume hard. Or maybe they just need to run the hard volume they were running harder." What does each individual athlete need? More overall volume? More hard volume? More intesity? There is no right answer. My pal Ron said it best in an email to me recently (I hope you don't mind me posting this Ron): "It seems like that fine line is where all the gravy is. I mean too easy and there isnt enough stimulus to change, and too hard and you invite trouble."

Enough time-wasters yet?

3 mile...Jog

We stayed out in Acton with my sister-in-law last night. I got up early and jogged to the Acton Park. There is a nice dirt path around the park which is almost a half mile long (.45 miles). I started to have calf tightness after a mile or so. I was able to make it through 3 miles, then walked a cool down. I found that I had less pain with a forefoot strike versus a heel strike due to less dorsiflexion, and less stretch on the calf. More on form later. I did some massage and ice baths today. It was pretty stiff and sore all day. Very similar to my run on August 6th, but not quite that bad.

FYI Frank Shorter ran his first race after having surgery on his hip at the beginning of this year. He had a hip resurfacing, not a hip replacement. He ran the Falmouth 7 miler in just over 70 minutes. I can't imagine how it must feel to run nearly twice as slow as he did in his prime. I hope he is just happy to be running again. I know I will be.

Two steps forward, one step back

I felt pretty good this morning. My nasal congestion was better. I was able to start running at a good pace without any calf tightness. My calf felt good so after two miles I decided to pick up the pace. I did my Quartz Hill zig zag hill workout and was ok on the hills. I decided to try and keep my pace even on the rest of the workout. I was running strong uphill at 7:30 pace and easy downhill at 7:30 pace. It is nearly a 7 mile course so I had to add an extra bit at the end to make it 7 even (I finished in 52:30 avg 7:30 pace). As I was running up the last 30 ft hill to my house my right calf tightened up again. Luckily this time I was home and just stopped running. So I immediately went to the back yard, made and ice bath and soaked for 10 minutes before showering and heading off to work. I have been using "the stick" off and on for self massage today and will do an ice massage after posting here. It was definitely a set back. It is sore and tight this afternoon, but not as bad as two weeks ago.


In the US Racing news Leo Manzano ran a PR in the mile this weekend running 3:50.64 putting him 9th on the all time US list. Why is that significant you ask? Well, that time bumped Jim Ryun off the all time US top 10 mile list! Jim's 3:51.1 in 1967 was a World Record at the time. Interestingly, he didn't run that time in Europe, he ran it in Bakersfield, CA just a little over an hour north of here. Now the World Record for the mile is 3:43.13 by Hicham El Guerrouj in 1999. Records are made to be broken, but Jim will always be one of the best, most exciting, and a trail blazer for US track and field.

Weekend Update

Here is the weekend update. Saturday my goal was 8 miles slowly building back some mileage on my calf. I ran the Rancho Vista Loop from my house (7.5 miles) then tacked on an extra half mile to make it an even 8 in 62 minutes exactly. My calf felt pretty good but every once in a while it would remind me that it is still not 100%.

Here are the mile splits: 8:41, 8:03, 8:11, 8:00, 7:39, 7:30, 7:10, 6:47.

I felt good about my run. Good enough that I emailed Dale about meet in up for the Sunday morning 10 miler. That evening I started getting a sore throat, headache, and could feel my resting heart rate was elevated. I bailed on the run in favor of extra sleep. It has been a tough month for training so far. I don't think I will be reaching my mileage goal for the month. I will use the last two weeks of the month to build back up to where I was in July.

Race Results from the weekend:
A friend of ours, Dawn Schneider, ran America's Finest City Half Marathon in 1:52 in San Diego today. Congrats Dawn!
A high school teammate of mine, Ryan Fitt, ran a PR at the Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon in 1:24:06. Nice work Ryan! In high school he was like a 1:56 800m guy.


I thought I would write briefly about my running shoe history. I used to be an Asics Gel-Kayano guy. I can remember even in high school asking for a pair for my birthday because I liked them so much, and I new they were expensive. Then in college I switched around quite a bit, mostly because of lack of money and lack of shoe knowledge. I remember a few pairs of asics that I didn't like (in hind sight were neutral) and a pair of New Balance that I did like (that were probably motion control). I had a bad bout of shin splints my freshman year in college that I even got some custom orthotics for. I sure wish I had the knowledge then that I have now. My shoe selection and orthotics use would certainly have been different.

After PT school I still didn't have good shoe knowledge. I was picking shoes based on comfort and price. I ran my first marathon in a pair of Nikes and seemend to do ok. After that I finally went back to the Asics Gel-Kayano and stuck with them for the next 5 years. Finally last year I switched to the New Balance version of the kayano, the 1224. They are both in the stability plus family. I really liked my first pair and after the Gel-Kayano 15 was giving me blisters, I made a permanent switch. I also found a deal on the New Balance 1224 for 40 bucks a pair and stocked up! When the Kayano 15 was bothering my ankle right away I took it back to the store and exchanged it for the New Balance 1225. There was a big change from the 1224 to the 1225, mainly the material used for the medial heel portion and arch support. I was able to run in them, but never liked them as much as the 1224. This new material was called "stabilicore" and just felt much more rigid then the material used in the 1224 which is similar to the Kayano. Well, I noticed in the recent Runners World shoe preview that the New Balance 1226 is coming out and they are still using the "stabilicore" material. Interestingly, it is now classified as a motion control shoe. No wonder I thought it was too rigid. I recently found a deal on the New Balance 769, which is their stability shoe, so I gave them a shot and found that I like them quite a bit more. I also have another pair of 1224s that is waiting in a box for my fall training. I still like the kayano and would run in them again but can't bring myself to spend over 100 bucks for a pair of shoes, and the kayano is rarely on sale.

The moral of the story is, the shoe manufacurers are contantly making changes to their shoe models. Just because you think a particular shoe is perfect for you doesn't mean that it won't be different next year. Make sure you try them on in the store again if they have upgraded. Or just forget the shoes and go to barefoot running (just kidding).


Ever want to ask an expert in your field a bunch of questions and get answers to all of them. I found a video interview with Pete Pfitzginger a US Olympic marathoner in 1984 and an exercise physiologist who writes for Running Times Magazine. They are about 10 minutes each but worth watching.

Pete Pfitzinger Part 1

Pete Pfitzinger Part 2

Finally a video interview with Alberto Salazar on training Galen Rupp, how he started training Galen Rupp, and how important well rounded athleticism is to distance runners. A great interview!

5 miles back at it...& product review

I took the weekend off! I could have run Saturday but I was sore from Friday (3 miles) and decided another day would be better. I took the boys down to Pelona Vista to watch the HDR Cross Country Finals. There were some good times with a nice cool morning. So I didn't run this weekend. During the day on Sunday I felt great and planned to run 5 miles as a test on Monday morning.

I ran down to Joe Walker this morning, around the block, and back home then did another mile on M-12. My calf started feeling tired and stiff after 3-4 miles at around 8 to 8:30 pace, but I still made the planned 5 miles. It felt WAY better than last week so hopefully I am on the up swing. I will still run easy this week and shoot for 10 on Sat or Sun.


A few weeks ago my friend Ron, who is sponsored by Snickers Marathon Bar, gave me some sample bars. He asked me to let him know what I thought. There were two kinds: Crunchy Honey & Toasted Almond, and Carmel Nut Rush Protein Bar.

The Honey and Almond bar is delicious. I like the combination of honey, almond, and chocolate. I couldn't see my self eating one before or after a run though because it was dry and had large chunks of almond. It was a great snack at work though, with 10 grams of protien and only 150 calories.

The Carmel Nut Rush bar has 20 grams of protein and 40 grams of carbs with 290 calories! It is a great post hard workout recovery food. It is also a little dry but goes great with water (or coffee in the morning).

Both bars are dipped in milk chocolate and Mars is known for their chocolate so they taste GREAT! Thanks Ron!

Update

If you are wondering what the lack of blog posts meant, well it meant a lack of running. I strained my soleus last Sunday. There is two muscles that make up your calf. The gastrocnemius being the more superficial and the soleus the deeper. The gastrocnemius crosses the knee joint but the soleus doesn't. To stretch the gastroc you dorsiflex or extend the foot with the knee stright, to stretch the soleus you dorsiflex or extend the foot with the knee bent. The soleus stretch is typically felt lower in the calf just above the achilles tendon. I have no pain when I stretch my gastroc, but I feel the same tightness and pain when I stretch my soleus. Here is the rundown of the last week.

Monday: Calf sore all day from cramping Sunday.

Tuesday: Calf feeling better. Tried to jog to my car...not happening.

Wednesday: Thought about running in the morning but the calf was very tight first thing in the morning.

Thursday: Stayed up too late Wednesday night and was too tired. No pain with walking. No pain jogging to my car.

Friday: Decided today was the day to get in a slow easy run. I just ran up and down M-12 so I wouldn't get too far away and have a problem. It was tight the whole time and after a mile started to get a sharp pain with every step. Now, I have been running long enough to know when a pain is saying, "stop now" and when pain is saying, "be careful." Today it was saying, "be careful" so I stopped at 3 miles. It was sore and painful with every step the rest of the day.

I did an ice bath tonight.

I looked back at the last time I got a cramp as bad as this one. It was April 19, 2009 and I complained about it for exactly 14 days. Although on the 14th day I ran the OC half marathon in 1:27:22. If it takes me that long to recover again I will be ready next weekend.

Tyson Gay beat Usain Bolt in the 100m in Stockholm, Sweden today clocking a 9.84. Watch Tyson turn it on at 60m. His turnover is amazing. He is 6 inches shorter than Usain!

Track and Field Videos on Flotrack

Sunday Long Run with Sergio and Justin..cut short

I had made plans to meet Sergio Reyes and Justin Patananan on Sunday morning for part of my long run. They start their long run at 7:00 pace, so I knew I could run with them for at least an hour. I needed to start earlier so I could get home in time to let Andi get out for a 10 miler with Dawn.

I drove up to 70th and the aqueduct at 6:15 and was greeted by 30mph gusts of wind and white caps on the aqueduct. I ran out two miles then came back, then out and back another two miles before Sergio and Justin arrived. I averaged 8:00 pace for the first 6 miles.

When I met up with Sergio and Justin we headed west toward the fire damage. We were running at 7:00 pace easily with the wind at our backs. 7:00 pace, just slower than marathon pace for me, is nearly two minutes slower than marathon pace for them (VERY EASY), so their easy runs are my tempo runs. Our miles splits were 7:09, 7:12, 6:53, 7:02, 6:53. Just after 5 miles, my right calf started to cramp badly. I told them to go ahead and I slowed to nearly 9:00 pace. I was still 4 miles from my car and decided to get home quicker by cutting under the aqueduct and down 55th. I was bummed not to finish with them. I had planned on running with them for an hour (8-9 miles). It was a little embarassing to have to pull up early, but there was no way I could continue at that pace. I hope I can tag along on their long runs again as they would be great tempo runs for me. After an hour at 7:00 pace they usually pick it up closer to 6:00 pace for the next hour.

I got home, took some advil, and did an ice bath for my right calf. These kind of cramps usually happen to me after a few nights of poor sleep and dehydration, which is true of the last two days. It usually takes 7-14 days to fully recover from this, so there will be a cut in mileage and easy running only until this loosens up.

Total mileage for the day was 14.


Sergio and Justin, if you are reading this, I really enjoyed running with you guys. It sure was windy out there. How did the rest of your long run go? I am really not a wuss, and the cramp came on so suddenly that I had to stop running asap. I hope you don't mind me tagging along in the future for a few more miles.

Good News and Bad News

The bad news is that there has been very little running going on this past week. I took the week off due to continued right knee pain that was now bothering me even when walking and at work. I was doing some self cross friction massage and icing on occasion. Friday morning the weather was beautiful and I was going to test it and go for a run, but I woke up feeling ill. I was sick all weekend with different symptoms every day. I tried to run on Saturday and got in a 4 mile run but was exhausted afterward and had a headache the rest of the day. So there was no running for me today either. Andi got in a long run on Saturday and a short bike-run brick today in preparation for her triathlon this coming weekend. I have run 4 miles in the last week and feel like I am starting over again. I just hope I can get back into some kind of 5k shape for July 4th. It may not be as fast as I would like it to be.

The good news is that I had no knee pain on my short 4 mile run on Saturday.


I was reading Kara Goucher's blog and she had some good advice on running when sick. She says she is always sick this time of year and is never able to run the Stanford Invitational.

Kara wrote: "Like most competitive runners I used to try to train through sickness. And as most competitive runners eventually do, I learned the hard way that it’s usually a bad idea. It accomplishes nothing except to make me run poorly and stay sick longer. Now my policy is to do easy runs only when I am sick without a fever and to not run at all when I have a fever. Not only that, but I also wait until a few days after I feel better to start doing harder workouts again. I’ve learned that jumping back into hard training too quickly after a cold or flu seems to have gone a way can make it come back."

Good advice.

April monthly recap

I got in an easy 6 miles this morning. My right knee didn't start bothering me until mile 3! Progress! I am excited to start training consistenly for some shorter distances but will wait until this knee heals up before writing a plan for the summer.

Total mileage for April was 111 and I was at 444 after March (that math was easy!) so I am at 555 for the year. Just less than half of my April mileage came on April 17th. Pathetic. I seem to be walking on thin ice this month with nagging injuries. Last year my April total was 90 and I was dealing with some calf issues so I guess this year is better than last.

Thirsty Thursdays with Jack Daniels is back. I recommend watching this weekly video interview with one of the greatest running coaches and exercise physiologists out there. It is not every day that you get to hear from someone with so much knowledge and experience for free! Thank you Mr. Daniels for offering your knowledge on Flotrack.

This weekend is another big one with the Peyton Jordan Cardinal Inviational at Standford tomorrow and the OC Marathon on Sunday. Sergio Reyes will be running the 10k at Stanford in the slower heat with hopes to get a qualifying time for Nationals. You can watch the meet live here. There are many Olympians and hopefuls running, the distance races are stacked! Jen Barringer is making her professional debut in the 1500m!

My friend Dan is running the OC half marathon and I assume Chuck is running the full since he has a streak going there. Good luck to you both!

7 mile slow run 58:00

I haven't felt great all week. Very tired in the morning, a tight left hamstring, and some upper back pain. I have started back to my lunch workout routine and had good workouts on Monday and Wednesday for 20 minutes each. I usually feel better after doing those workouts. They involve band walking, reverse lunges, kettlebell swings, pushups, planks, mountain climbers, side planks, and different variations on all these exercises.

This morning I ran my Quartz Hill hill run which included 3 half mile hills in the second half of the run. My left hamstring gave up on the second one and I took it really easy. I finished the 7 miles in 58 minutes. I hope this hamstring loosens up before the AVC track meet on January 30th or I will not be ready to run on the track.


The Zoom! Yah! Yah! Marathon in Northfield, MN is this Sunday. A marathon in MN in January? Well, they run it at the 282 meter indoor track in the athletic facilities at St. Olaf College (my dad's alma mater). It's only 150 laps, anyone interested? The course record is 2:52:31. Don't ask me how they keep track of laps.

"Nothing hurts more, but is so rewarding at the same time."
--Runner Sandy Zanchi on the Marathon

Test run 5 miles in 39 min...calf still tight

I took the last 3 days off completely. I have been massaging, icing, ice massaging, taping and stretching during this time. The calf felt pretty good this morning and I felt like I should test it today and not Friday. The morning weather has been excellent the last two days. I ran down to Joe Walker and did two laps. I slowly picked up the pace until I was at 7:00 pace and the right calf started to tighten up again. So I backed off and finished the run: 5 miles in 39 minutes (7:50 pace). Sunday will not be a fast run for sure. I will have to run totally based on how the calf feels, it may be a SLOW day. This is getting very frustrating.

April mileage total was 90. I thought I was getting more consistent this month but this calf issue slowed that down.

In more positive news Rick Ball out of Canada broke the world marathon record for below knee amputees with a time of 3:01:50! That is incredible, he could run a sub 3 hour marathon on almost any other course. Truly inspiring.

Finally, Amby Burfoot blogged about new research that shows hip weakness causes injuries in runners! Doesn't sound like any new mind blowing cutting edge findings to me. I see it almost every day. Take a look at a still picture of yourself running. If one hip is lower than the other you probably have a hip/glut weakness or imbalance. Try some of these:

Long run cut short by calf cramping again!

I felt great yesterday and woke up this morning to fairly calm conditions so I decided to get out while I could. I was hoping to get in 10 or 11 miles easy. I felt great through 7 and then my right calf started to cramp again! I stopped to stretch and then attempted to run again and quickly stopped to walk. Luckily, this time I was only about .25 miles from home. I stretched again, self massaged, and then iced. I finished the 8 miles in 1:03 (7:52 pace).

We all went down to Malibu this afternoon and all the walking actually helped loosen it up today. I will probably have to take it easy this week if I am going to run 13 at Orange County next Sunday.


Scott Jurek started blogging again this year. Check out his blog here. He usually has some great nutrition information and ultra-marathon news.

Meb Keflezighi and Dathan Ritzenhien ran the London Marathon this weekend and both PR'd but were 9th and 11th respectively. The winner, Olympic champion Sammy Wanjiru, broke the course record. There were 3 men under 2:06!

7 miler (run cut short by calf cramp) 53 min

We got into Las Vegas late on Friday night. Then I got up early, and drove out to Lake Mead to see my buddy Ron at the Rage in the Sage Triathlon (see picture). He was faster than predicted on the swim, then right on after the bike, but had a tough run mostly due to increased temperatures (it got into the mid 80s). It was fun to watch and I got some good video around the transition areas. The bike course was an out and back 40k which he predicted would take him about 1:40 so I wore running gear and did my own out and back on the River Mountain Loop Trail. I planned on a 10-12 miler but at 3.5 miles out I got a nasty R calf cramp and decided to stretch and turn around as it was quite painful. I finished the 7 miles in about 53 minutes. It seemed to improve a bit by the time I was back but was sore all day. I think it was a combination of dehydration and lack of sleep.

Two weeks until the Orange County Half Marathon. I better get there in one piece.

The Boston Marathon is tomorrow. There is a good chance for an American man or woman to win this year. The last American to win the Boston Marathon was Greg Meyer in 1983! Ryan Hall and Kara Goucher are the US favorites, but Brian Sell and Elva Dryer are also running.

Flotrack has already had some great interviews with the US elite runners. Check them out.

Newcomer Kelly Jaske is also running Boston. She was second at the US half marathon championships.

Finally, a local Palmdale, CA resident is also in the elite field at Boston. Sergio Reyes, who was 27th at the Olympic Trials Marathon in November 2007, is hoping to PR there. His current PR is 2:18:31. If he did he would certainly be in the running for a top 15 finish and prize money! Go Sergio. We will be following the race at work Monday morning.

It's hard to believe that I was in Boston running the marathon a year ago. I haven't run a marathon since.

My wife Andi and I are officially signed up for the Twin Cities Marathon in Minnesota on October 4th, 2009!

Great day for a run!

Today may have been the nicest day of the year so far. After a week of windy days we had a great weekend. I was busy with family activities but was able to get in a run Sunday morning with Andi. We ran 5.5 miles and averaged 8:13 per mile. She is running a 10k on April 26th at CSUN and we decided she should shoot for 50 minutes.

I have one month until the Boston Marathon. I am still having some right shin pain that is irritating more than anything. After about 5 miles today it started to feel a little better and I picked up the pace, it didn't hurt any worse. Eventually I will have to test it with a run around marathon pace. I have really been trying to rest and baby it.

No other news to report.
Here are 50 great things you never knew you could do with tennis balls.