LSD Tuesday

Took it indoors today. Did a 32K LSD cone in 2hrs50min.

Lunch Run (yesterday)

Working today , 5K done at lunch. 0.5K warm up , 4K at a 4:50 pace then a 0.5K cool down.

Uphill Run

Always trying to mix it up on the treadmill. Today I ran up hill for the majority of the run. Every K that went by I increased the grade 1% and when I hit 5% i started to go down 1% at a time. Managed to get in 10K.

Getting faster and heavier...doh!

Getting faster and heavier...

• New cruise control for the indoor runs is now a 4:50 pace
• New heavier me , up around 6lbs over last Summer weighing in at 176.4lbs

New Years goal is to get to 170lbs by April. Primary factor that will get me there ... no Beer in the house Jan through March. Not quiting the Barley beverage just going to cut having it at home. Also I make some better food choices ... nothing overboard or crazy just the odd this instead of that thing.

Did a 16K run this eve at a 4:50 pace.

Short Christmas Run

Santa didn't bring me a rest day so I had to hop on the treadmill on my meal period and did a 6K run. 0.5 K warm up , 3.5K at a 4:55 pace, 1.5K at a 4:33 pace followed by a 0.5K cool down.

Lunch Run

5K lunch run today , yesterday I spent the evening Alpine Skiing. My legs asked Santa for a day of rest tomorrow!

33K LSD Tuesday

Its was -18C this morning and I just wasn't up to a LSD in the bitter cold. Took it indoors and managed a 33K LSD at a 5:30 pace. I would prefer to run outside, I find the treadmill can be a little hard on the joints. I mixed up my pace an elevation in an attempt to add some variety to the terrain! Pace was anywhere between 6:00 and 4:17 and the elevation was varied -2 to +4 % grade. I drank 1.3 liters of Gator Aide , ate 2 ginger candies ...not enough carbs! The last 5 K were tough , did 4 of the 5 at a 6:00 pace. Off to Christmas shop now, Alpine Skiing tomorrow.

Abbreviated Run

Planned a 16K run at a 4:55 pace last Eve. Got a reasonable start then a few Ks in I felt a little light headed and anxious. Didn't eat more then a bowl of Vector at 4pm , add a Donut , 3X Coffees and some Hard Candy and Gator Aide . Started great but a few K in I felt light headed and anxious , I think this can due to an insulin spike ... too much sugar and not enough of the other stuff.

So I pulled the plug at 5K , good enough. I ate dinner after the run and am contemplating jumping back on the treadmill in a bit.

Longer lunch run

Did a 13K run this eve, 12K at a 4:55 pace followed by a 1 K cool down.

Egg Nog Jog

4am lunch run

6.5 K on the books this morning. 6K at my 4:55 pace followed by a .5K cool down.

4am ... hard to get going but worth it

Working mids its always challenging to get enough sleep! After working last night I put in abut 4 hours of Zees making tonight's run really hard to get into. It only took a little over a half K before it started to feel natural then the next few Ks were a real pleasure. It was almost as if mind and body were disconnected!

Anyhow , 5K done .... half K to warm up and a half to cool down leaving 4K at a 4:55 pace.

Lunch run at 3am

5K done on my lunch break at 3am.

First sub zero run

Its mid Dec and its hard to believe that I haven't run outside in anything below freezing. Tonight its -7C with light snow , a nice night for a run up and down the 2nd. Managed to get in 10K at an Avg 5:16 pace.

5K at 2am

Working mids , 5K @ 4:55 pace done at 2:00 am. Legs were just slightly sore after the Nog Jog yesterday. Biggest problems was a blister under a callus on my left foot... .ouch!

Egg Nog Jog, December 13, 2009

Today was one of those good running days when it just sort of all comes together without giving it a whole lot of thought. The past week has been kinda crazy with the winter weather. The last run I did was Wednesday in very similar conditions to the weather I ran in today. Not running for 3 days was something that I haven't done in awhile and I wondered how the break would affect me. Thurs/Fri we had nearly a meter of snow , got stuck Thursday leaving work at midnight. Hiked several Ks in a Blizzard back to work and spent the night there. Friday Eve my wife had to ditch the same 4X4 to avoid running into to another vehicle. Thur/Fri/Sat I go my share of Snow removal.... good work out but not running!

The Egg Nog Jog was scheduled to start at 10:30 am. Left home at 07:30 am , Rain and -1C. The road were slushy but surprisingly not too slippery. Arrived at Terra Cotta at 9:15 to rain and 0C. The race kit included an great " EGG NOG JOG" Towel! Good thing because I forgot to bring one. The race was slightly delayed starting at 10:36 , the rain had stopped and it was just above freezing! I decided to wear shorts today and was 110% comfortable through the entire race.

The Egg Nog Jog is a 10.8km country road race. This is one race that its OK to go out way too fast! The course takes you down a steep hill for the first 2K , you climb for the next 5K then it flattens out for 3K before very fast downhill to finish line. Didn't have much in the way of a strategy today. I wanted to beat last years 53:33 , the stretch goal getting in under 50 minutes. Just like last year I did the first 2Ks in 4:03 ( due to traffic at the start) and 3:54. The 3rd K was the first incline , did it in a conservative 5:08. I knew that I would be more or less climbing for the next 4K and was feeling pretty good so I pushed trying to keep the climb as close to a 5:00 or less pace as I could. The 4th and 5th K were done in 4:51 and 4:41. At the 5K point I knew I was going to have a good run. I was feeling strong and was about to face the biggest climb of race. The 6th K was done in 5:41 and I had a really good burn in the legs at the top of the "Big One". The first half of the 7th K was a gradual decline and I was able to recover before the last big climb. 7.5-8K was a steady climb but I was feeling good and started my push to the finish. 7th K was done in 5:05. The next 3.8K was flat to declined and a small roller with a real step drop the last 500 or so meters. The 8th , 9th and 10th Ks were done in 4:45, 4:28, 4:26. Throughout the race I watched my Avg Pace and Current Pace but never looked at the elapsed time or distance. I knew I would be very close to getting in under 50 minutes so I flew down the last 700 meters at a 3:50 pace. The clock came into view with around 200m to go it was 49:15 ... I knew I had my Sub 50:00!

Chip time said I finished the 10.8K in 49:44. I finished 59th out of 490 participants, 52nd out of252 males and 17th out of 77 males 40-49. I also shaved 3:49 off last years Nog Jog.

Shorts in December ...YUP!!!!

Its just a little above freezing her today , a few inches of slushy snow on the ground. My right knee was telling me to get off the treadmill do I took it outdoors today and it was amazing! Shorts , long sleeve tech T and my Saugeen Tri Club Sagoi Shell topped off with a hat and running gloves. I was so comfortable , actually a little too warm but that's easy to change by unzipping the Sagoi. Footing was not too bad , 8K of Gravel and 2K of tart and chip made for some pretty good traction. The 4K or so of tractor trails were covered in snow and I was breaking trail slowing me down quiet a bit. Every foot fall was different , after recent treadmill runs it was a pleasant and welcome change. Off to the Hot Tub now before heading to work for 4pm.

Running on tired legs

I felt fine after yesterdays 32K 4:58/km LSD until I tried to run this evening. It was a slow start , took a whole K to get up to speed then another K to get comfortable!!!!!!

Managed a 5k on my dinner break! Once I got going it kinda felt like where I left off yesterday.

32K ...Cruise Control

I was about to do my LSD Outside this afternoon but decided to take it indoors instead! It was snowy , blowy and about freezing but I just wasn't up to a long winter run ...yet! So I grabbed some movies, gummies and gator aide and headed off to the comfort of the great indoors. To get over my metal about blowing up at 26K in the Hamilton Marathon I decided to go 32K today at my 4:55 Marathon pace. No hills. traffic , pot holes and weather sure makes it allot easier but I really needed to go the extra distance today. For a little additional entertainment I wore my HRM to see what the old ticker was up too!

So , it was a 1K warm up with 30K at 4:55 pace then a 1K cool down. The HR started in the low 130's and ended in the high 140's. I fueled by eating gummies and drank 1 bottle of Gator Aide. I weighed my self after and I lost about 3lbs. I never felt like I was getting really tired , it was a very gradual onset but I am sure I had another 5-10K at the same pace in me. If I wasn't pressed for time and racing next weekend I may have done another 10K!!!!!! I ran out of gator aide at 25K and decided to not jump off to get more. I think the increase in HR is more to do with not drinking enough. I am going to do the same run in the near future with 3 times the fluid intake and the same amount of delicious gummies!

Better run this evening

Back on track tonight , 13K done. 7K at 4:55 pace then 5K at a 4:30 pace followed by a 1K cool down.

Eat breafast and lunch ....

Not sure why but I just wasn't up to eating today. Had my usual morning coffee but then I didn't eat the rest of the day. Picked up a Spicy Italian Sub for dinner on my way to work at 4pm. Ate at 5:30 then ran at 9:30 but there wasn't much fuel in the tank. Usually when I feel that way once I get going I usually pick it up but not tonight. So I managed to get 6K in at fairly easy pace!

Evening Run

Did a 11.8K run indoors at a 4:55 pace. I thought I would feel last nights speed but I was 100%. The speed last night made this evening pace seem like an LSD Run. I concentrated on breathing from the belly, not the chest.

Speed Tuesday

Took it indoors on my meal break this evening. A mixed up 10.5K done in 46:41. Started with a half K warm up to a 4:55 pace. At 3K I decided it was time to RUN... picked it up to a 4:30 pace. At 5K I ramped the treadmill up to a 1 degree incline until 6K then I ramped it down to -2 degrees and increased the speed to a 4:00 pace at 7K I flattened it out and decreased to a 4:30 pace then at 8K I raised it 1 degree but the best part was at 9K I raised it to +5 degrees for a half K. Did a half K cool down at 10K. I know I am going to probably feel it a bit tomorrow but with the Egg Nog Jog in 12 days I need to pick up the speed a bit.