Conditioning Work

This was the last workout of this month's "camp" and, as a result, it was pretty brutal. After a very thorough warm up effort the menu of the morning was a lot of high intensity conditioning work followed by a hard run. The conditioning part kept lengthening as the workout went on. It was not intended to be a pleasant experience.

I started in the hole and didn't make much progress from there. I woke up too early and overtired. I got out to the workout but could feel I was lagging and my right hamstring was not cooperating at all. I got through the warm up OK but on the first set of the "real" workout I could tell I was in trouble. I pushed it as hard as I could on the run but the hamstring was not happy. I battled through the second set and that was about as much as I was willing to push my luck with the leg.

To compensate for missing out on the run I made a real effort to get all the way through the conditioning drills and get some more core work while I was at it. I don't think I came even close to the goal of the workout but I definitely gave it about all I had on a not-so-great day.

Training Run

Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 34:33
Pace: 8:38

Comments: The workout yesterday took more out of me than I expected and I slept like a rock last night. I woke up a little bleary and as a result, I got out the door a bit late. The upside was catching a spectacular sunrise at its peak.

This run was pretty solid the whole way. It was definitely faster than anything I've done to date but that's far less important than holding a steady pace the whole way. My splits were 8:40, 8:36, 8:35 and 8:40. Hard to get that close even when you are trying. That's the strength I've been building finally showing up on the clock.

Conditions:
Hour: 6:15 a.m.
Surface: concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 74 degrees
Humidity: 78 percent
Wind: nada
Location: Lewisville, Texas
Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GT 14

Injury update: My right hamstring felt a little wobbly at times.

Conditioning Work

Had a lot of anxiety about this workout for some reason. I guess it's because I was so worn out at the end of last week. It turned out to be fine but the feeling was odd. As usual, the humidity was more of my nemesis than the routines.

We did a decent amount of work slinging around sandbag weights which gave my obliques more work than they have had in years. That'll be a delightful soreness later. Also did some resistance running with elastic straps. Felt that in the hamstrings and quads.

Recovery Run

Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 36:13
Pace: 9:02

Comments: Welp. I set 9:00 as the threshold pace for recovery runs and so I'm gonna stick with it. But in terms of exertion, this was just as tough a workout as the training run last week. It's formidably hot and humid out there again and that's taking a toll on my stamina.

Still, this was a solid effort. A slower first mile to warm up. Two miles right in the 9:00 pace range and a significantly faster final mile. I'm feeling more in control of the run but my form and focus are still kind of all over the place. But that will come later.

Conditions:
Hour: 6:00 a.m.
Surface: concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 79 degrees
Humidity: 75 percent
Wind: nada
Location: Lewisville, Texas
Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GT 14

Injury update: nada.

Long Run

Distance: 8.0 miles
Time: 1:11:53
Pace: 8:59

Comments: I was hoping all I needed was a night's rest for my legs to recover but Saturday was pretty much the same as Friday. I took it easy most of the day and slept almost ten hours. I wasn't 100% this morning but I did feel a good bit better.

The weather was unusually cool but once you add the humidity and the sun things were decidedly challenging out on the pavement. I felt very good the first half of the run, decent the next quarter and struggling not to walk it in the last two miles. Still, I finished with a sub 9 min/mi pace which is good and bad.

Good in that my conditioning is clearly improving. Bad in that my stamina is still lacking. I also probably need to be doing my weekday runs at a slightly faster pace.

Conditions:
Hour: 7:40 a.m.
Surface: concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 68 degrees
Humidity: 88 percent
Wind: nada
Location: Lewisville, Texas
Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GT 14

Injury update: nada.

Conditioning Work

Getting up was something of a challenge this morning and my legs, particularly my quads, were definitely feeling the strain of this week's workouts. Nothing in the realm of injury just sore and tired. Still, I got out the door and to class.

The workout was about as difficult as I expected. My legs warmed up a bit after the first set but every exercise was a battle. And the core work was flat out brutal. I've pretty much given up on making the number of reps and am concentrating on good form every exercise. Which is pretty much kicking my ass.

Training Run

Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 35:44
Pace: 8:55

Comments: As I suspected, the interval work left me a bit stiff and getting started was not pleasant. But I warmed up quick enough and hit a pretty solid stride for the whole way. While my overall speed wasn't awe inspiring, my mile-to-mile pace was a lot more steady than before. I'm sort of getting that "running in control" sense to the workouts again. And while the temperature wasn't inordinately bad, the humidity was (I had to get out the door a bit early to beat the rainstorms that are threatening to inundate the area) That and a less than ideal eating schedule yesterday probably took a bit off the performance here.

Conditions:
Hour: 5:00 a.m.
Surface: concrete
Weather: overcast
Temperature: 77 degrees
Humidity: 90 percent
Wind: none
Location: Lewisville, Texas
Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GT 14

Injury update: nada. 

Conditioning Work

The workout today was intervals which, given my running history, was right up my alley. We did a series of warm ups in preparation for a 40 yard sprint to start and then did a mix of exercises and dashes; very similar to the summer workouts with Coach Dean.

Of course since I was pretty much in my wheelhouse, I pushed it a bit harder than usual. That, added to the core work I'm needing work on and 50 burpees, meant I was a bit more sore after this workout than normal. Of course this was more of the general workout soreness not the specific muscles having issues like the first two sessions.

Training Run

Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 36:01
Pace: 8:59

Comments: Starting something a little different. Thus far I've called these regular runs either "easy" or "recovery" since I'm not doing anything specific, just getting the miles. From now on I'm going to call them "training runs" and leave the other categories for when I'm actually doing that type of run. It'll be a kind of catchall by definition and I think, for now, a 9:00 per mile pace is as good a demarcation line as any.

Which works well since I was just on the right side of that this morning. I actually did every mile but the first well under that threshold. Mile 1 was a bit slower since it took me a little while to warm up. I was more stiff than I expected following the long run on Sunday. Since I'm not doing warm up miles, I have to sort of treat that first part of the run like that by necessity.

Conditions:
Hour: 5:50 a.m.
Surface: concrete
Weather: partly cloudy
Temperature: 77 degrees
Humidity: 74 percent
Wind: 5 mph
Location: Lewisville, Texas
Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GT 14

Injury update: nada. 

Long Run

Distance: 8.0 miles
Time: 1:17:26
Pace: 9:41

Comments: I wasn't as flat whipped as last week but my ass and calves were more sore than they have been for awhile. So the first half mile or so was, again, creaky and unpleasant. It got smoother after that but then I had to contend with the heat. It's nice being able to run in the daylight but, lordy, it ain't easy.

The only real goal today was to hit the eight miles which I plan to hold steady at for the next few weeks. I think I'll keep with the two mid-week four milers and, if I feel stronger by the first of August, add another running day. Between that and the conditioning work, I should be building a nice base.

Anyhow, today's run was solid if not spectacular. I progressively slowed down every mile but that's not surprising given the heat. I also had to stop at one point and help a box turtle heading for the roadway. Hope the little guy didn't make another attempt after I pointed him back toward the marshy area he had left.

Conditions:
Hour: 7:00 a.m.
Surface: concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 80 degrees
Humidity: 60 percent
Wind: nada
Location: Lewisville, Texas
Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GT 14

Injury update: Nada.