Shorts in February

4C, Sun and a light Breeze made for a rather pleasant day to take it outside. Wore Shorts, my Breath Thermo Top and Shell as well as a compression Toque and Gloves. I was quiet comfortable to a we bit warm. All those runs last week as well as wearing shorts made for a much quicker pace today. Went North on the 2nd then east on Holland Glenelg line until I headed South on the base line to Grey Rd 12 towards the second again. Covered 17K at an avg 5:29 pace. I wasn't trying to run faster it just turned out to be today's comfortable pace. It was really good to be running outside again ...miss the hills. The running surface was really variable , icy to mucky and everywhere in between.

Last Night Shift

Final night shift for 6 weeks and it was my last run at a 5:00 pace for awhile. Originally I planned on a repeat of yesterdays run but cut it a little short logging 12K. The deciding factor making me cut the run short was suffering the affect of a rather stressful day...

Running truly has a calming affect on life but if there is one thing I know for sure is when I lace up those shoes and something is bothering me I loose the simple joy of running. 95 out of 100 times when I run my mind is clear and I am happy and get lost in my thoughts. When major stress hits and I try to run and I focus on how hard it is , things that hurt and my mind never wanders from the task at hand which makes running not so much fun anymore.

1/3 of a Marathon

Logged just shy of 1/3 of a Marathon 14K at a mostly 5:00 pace. Once again the 5:00 pace felt comfortable. Temps were a little cooler in the gym tonight so that helped to make the run more comfortable. Weighed in after the run and am tipping the scales at 174lbs.

5:00 pace is feeling more natural

Speed week continues , another lunch run done logging 7K at a mostly 5:00 pace. The faster pace is starting to feel allot more natural. Starting is still tough , first few minutes its awkward ... groin hurts a little then goes away!

Yet another lunch run

6K at a moslty 5:00pace on my meal period this morning.

Tempo Thursday

1am run again! Today it was an 8K Run , 7K at my 4:30 tempo pace followed by a 1K cool down.
It was a much easier start today. Only a small discomfort in the groin but I was a little winded until I settled into the pace 6mins in. I really want to do this pace for 20K sometime in the next week or 2 ... still thinking about doing as many 4:30Ks as I can at ATB , its going to HURT!

Similar to yesterday

7K logged at lunch this morning , 6K at a 5:00 pace followed by a 1K cool down. Groin pain bothered me for the first 1/2K.

Working mids ... 1:00 am Run

Just a little 5K at a mostly 5:00 pace this morning.

Watching My Heart

I was going to head to Blue today but Noah didn't want to go and being that it was family day I figured it would be pretty well Skied on! So it was plan B ...Run. Thought about going outside but there was a breeze and a mix of Sun and Clouds with temps around freezing... the roads were wet and mucky so I took it indoors at work instead. Hitting the treadmill allowed me to stick with my " speed week " plan. Did a continuous 5:00 pace through 21K then a 1K cool down logging 22K in total. Watched the heart rate today.... at 5K 137bpm, 10K 141bpm, 15K 148bpm and at 21K it was 150bpm. I was surprised that it kept creeping up ending at 85%-90% of my maximum heart rate. I thought about continuing through 30K but decided that it was time to get on with the rest of my day. I would like to repeat the run in a week or so but this time at a taxing 4:30 pace ....I think I can do it!

Speed Week

Last week was long, this week it will be short and fast ( working nights ). Today I logged 12K, 1K to get up to a 5:00 pace then 10K at a 5:00 pace followed by a 1K cool down.

Outside Today

Took it outside today. Temps a little above freezing and falling Snow made for an interesting Run. Headed North on the 2nd to the Holland/Glenelg Townline the back South on the Baseline. Covered 17.1K at an average 6:23 pace.

Lunch Run

Missed running this morning , it was like something was missing all day. Tonight I took a late lunch and did a short 5Ker at a mostly 5:30 pace. It felt a little awkward at first but within a few hundred meters I was feeling good.

100km - 4 days

Covered 100km in the past 4 days. The best and easiest was today!

Just logged 5K at a 6:00 shuffle on my lunch break this evening.

Ditto yesterday ....

For the 4th consecutive day I rolled out of Bed , did a lite breakfast then jumped on the treadmill. Strangely enough its getting easier ...2nd day was the worse! Today it was a constant run at a 5:45 pace for 20K then a 1K cool down. Entertained myself by watching a show on Oasis showing the earth from the Space Shuttle Endeavor ... cool show . The second hour was Music Videos.

Looked at the heart rate on Sunday 1 hour in and it was 13obpm, checked yesterday 1hr45min in and it was 129bpm and then checked today at 1hr50min and it was 128bpm. Back to back to back to back 20+K runs are not stressing things much. So far no pain but I do carry around this giddy high sort of feeling....what a dopamine addict I am!

Lunch Run

Its was hard to get to the Gym , it was hard to get started and it took a good K to fell comfortable but once I did I felt like I could run for hours. 5K logged at a 6:00 shuffle.

Again

Another 21K logged on the treadmill at home today. It was a better run physically but I struggled a bit mentally. As long as I didn't think about what I was doing I was OK but the thought of doing my third consecutive 2 hour + run on the treadmill was a little hard to take. Today it was just short of a continuous run at a 5:45 pace . Jumped off once to restart the DVD I was playing. Today I entertained myself watching Pink Floyd's the wall filmed live in Berlin in 2005.

Creemore Snow Run - Video Report

If you have a good Internet connection choose the HD option. The clip was shot and edited in 1080p.

Tired legs with a full tank!

Running on tired legs with a full tank! 5K done at a 6:00 pace this eve and it felt wonderful.

Running bits are OK

Wiped out going full tilt last night at Blue. Cant lift my left arm above my shoulder. Left calf took it pretty good too but fortunately the hips and knees were spared. All I could think as I was tumbling along is god please don't let me get hurt and why the hell isn't my bindings releasing!!!! The helmet saved me too...took such a good whack to the head that I couldn't hear for minute or so. I am trying to go back to back top back ... longer and slow this week. Logged another 21K on the treadmill this morning ...watched the Grammys! First 10K were at a 5:45 pace the picked it up the second 10K to a 5:30 pace ending with a 1k walking cool down. Off to blow snow now.

Skipped the Eighter

Decided against driving to Waterloo this morning. Lack of sleep , blizzard like conditions and a general dislike for running in the cold were the three strikes that made me decide not to Race today. The taper yesterday was without cause .... hope to log some longer runs this week. After a leisurely breakfast today I fired up the home theater and jumped on the treadmill logging a total of 22Km. Covered 17K at a 5:45 pace , picked it up for 4K through 21K at a 5:00 pace then I did a 1K cool down. Could have gone longer but I want to do Blue tonight and then repeat a 20+K tomorrow....its going to be a busy week.

Shorter Slower

5K at a mostly 5:30 pace ... racing Saturday!

Same as yesterday

7K logged at lunch , mostly at a 5:00 pace.

Little Slower and Shorter Today

7K logged at lunch at a mostly 5:00 pace.

Things are working pretty good. The Groin pain has really settled down , almost gone and its the same for the left Knee. I think the Asics Gel 3010s have been really good for me on the treadmill. Its the only Road Shoe I am running in now so its going to have a chance to hit the pavement on Sunday.

Weighed in today and I am up a few pounds from late fall tipping the scales at around 175 lbs.

Tempo Tuesday

Wow , two days of not Running and then a tempo Run.

Sunday I was busy helping my wife pick out here new pet...



Was going to Run after work last night but ended up doing this with the kids ....



I am on Eves next week so I shouldn't have any problem getting some back to back to back longer runs in .

Managed to log an 8K tempo run at lunch today. 7K at a 4:30 pace followed by a 1K cool down. It wasn't that hard to go from Saturdays trail Shuffle to a full out run today. As a matter of fact it felt really good to actually Run for a change.

Creemore Snow Run

Almost didn't make it today. Woke up at 1am and that was it until 5am that I went back to sleep. There was no way I was going to make the "race" start. Being a fun Run it was very informal .... a 7K loop do what you want, start around 09:00 am finish around 3:00 pm. Woke up a little after 08:00 ...was hesitant at first but as soon as the cobwebs cleared I wanted to Run. Made my way to Creemore a little after 11:00 am and was on the trail at 11:13 am. Ran the first couple of Ks with Kinga , Steve and Adi a few hundred meters ahead. I caught up with Steve and Adi on the up hill road section and stuck with them for a few Ks. Started taking HD Video shots here and there and shot lots of footage over the next two loops. The footing was pretty good. Being late the snow covered trail was pretty beaten it was about as good as you can possibly get in the Winter. It was overcast with flat light which made things a little tough to see but wearing Sun Glasses really helped. The temperature was hovering just around freezing .... very comfortable. I was wearing tights, long sleeve breath right thermal and my Saugoi Firewall Jacket. I thought I may be a little overdressed but it seemed to be OK. When I was hot I unzipped the Jacket. Half way through my second loop I ran with Kinga for a bit. We chatted about he H.U.R.T experience...a truly amazing accomplishment. Heading out on the third loop I was alone, grabbed a bottle of water as I headed out. I didn't do any nutrition and only consumed one bottle of water and was quiet OK. I also turned on my iPhone and listened to tunes over the speaker ... I quickly got lost in the music and my thoughts and didn't give much thought to the effort. I wasn't really sure if I was going to do a 4th loop but then I realized that next weekends short race meant that I wouldn't be able to do an LSD. I was feeling great after the third loop so I headed out trying to make it the fastest loop of the day completing the 28K in under 4 hours. Half way through the final loop I felt like I could use some nutrition. I managed to keep the pace up and finished 28K in 4hrs8min7sec.

I will be posting some videos when I have had a chance to do some editing.

I did and it was OK

5K 6min pace logged at lunch.. no problems today!

Should not have run....

I logged 5K at lunch today but it probably wasn't a good idea. I have been fighting an infection in my mouth and the solution is a root canal on Monday! So I was just starting to feel less pain and decided I could run but I got fevered and the rash that accompanies it so I wasn't doing too good after. So I packed it up and went home at around 12:30 ...once I rested for a bit I felt fine.