Lunch Run

Last run of April 2015 ... I think ,  maybe a little trail and hammock time after work today.  

Felt super duper tired this morning had a really tough time getting out of the hot tub to go to work.   Almost thought of making it a rest day but I did the 5K @ 5:00 pace today on my meal break  

PYP Picture

Not a great picture but at least it proves I was there.  

Allan Park Trails - 2nd Run Today

Headed out to the Allan Park Trout Pond Trails after work with Patrick and Anne.    I was really feeling it trying to keep up with my running mates today but the longer I went the better I felt.   There sure are some really great trails in Allan Park ,   a real gem.   Patrick is always a pleasure to run with and it was great catching up with Anne not to mention she set a great pace.  

Trashing your quads really does improve your cadence... go figure.

5K done on my meal break today.   Cadence is still increased ,  2nd day in a row around the mid 160s!   Hitting the trails at Allan Park after work today.   Still a bit of Quad pain but not debilitating like Mon or Tues.  

You never know

Quads are still quite sore after Saturdays PYP.    I view muscle  pain more as a training opportunity not to be wasted.   My HR was around 10 bpm higher ...blame the pain.  On a positive note I had a higher turnover ,  lower vert osc and less ground contact time.... dam near text book.    Logged a little 5K at a mostly 5:00 pace.

Hair of the Dog

Hurting real good since PYP but managed a 4.5K Run on the treadmill at lunch today.  

PYP 50K - Saturday April 25, 2015

5th PYP done yesterday ....great weather ,  great course , great running friends and a time I am very happy with ... 6 hours 34 minutes 57 seconds.

Previous results ....

2010  6:05:13
2012  6:31:05
2013  7:22:30
2014  7:29:04

 So I have turned back time coming close to my 2012 results but still off my 2010 results.   2010 was one of my "fastest" years yet running STWM in 3:29:09 but it was also the year all my runs on the treadmill were at a 4:50 pace... speed work pays off.

 The theme of this years run was what the heck is my heart doing.   I cant recall wearing the HRM on a "Trail" race and this one was a dozy!    First 12.5 lap high zone 2 to low zone 3,  2nd lap solid mid zone 3 pushing to the high end of zone 3,   3rd loop high zone 3 and 4th loop high zone 3 breaking into zone 4 now and again.  Max HR is 165 BPM,   walking up the Ski Hills I broke into the low 160's ....yes zone 4 pushing zone 5 WALKING ... YIKES.  I can more or less hang out in the 142 to 158 but when I get into Zone 4 159- 164 it cant be for long!!!!!   Watching my heart probably was the main reason for knocking an hour off last years time.  

 The day didn't start out wanting to set a time but when  I came through the first loop in 1:33 I thought I may be able to do something.   2nd loop was slightly faster then the first .  3rd loop heading out I was feeling it a bit on the first 4 K of easy running.    Heading to AS 1 I wore a gel ,  all over my towel and both hands.  Grabbed a handful of M&Ms and they stuck to my hand didn't even have to close my fist.  After consuming the candy I paused and washed my hands in the snow solving my sticky problem.   This was the lowest point of the day I regrouped ,  switched gears knowing the 6 hour was out of the question so I concentrated on trying to bring it home in 6 hours 30 min and thats more or less what I did.   4 lap was somewhat the same as the 3rd maybe a tiny  bit slower .   My Quads were killing me and the HR was always pushing zone 4.    I finished feeling like I gave it my all and that was all I had.

 Garmin has an interesting stat that tells the story of my day ... moving time was 6:28:59 vs my finishing time of 6:34:57 ...just shy of 6 minutes not moving ... AS stops ,  bathroom breaks but no pauses for recovery.   Relentless forward progress!

And now all the data .....

Best line heard on Saturday closing in on 25K mark .... two guys together ...one says to the other "  1 Loop ,  OK ,   two loops I can see that but 4 loops forget it!"    Made me laugh.

Last Run before PYP

7K done @ 5:00 pace with 2 200m fartleks @ 4:45 pace at 5K and 6K.  Last run before PYP 50K on Saturday.  

Lunch Run

5K the usual 5:00 pace way today at lunch.  HR was a little higher topping 141 bpm.

3 Days ...

 First run after 3 rest days logging a 5K lunch run at a mostly 5:00 pace.    I had a pretty good run streak going not logging a rest day in more then a month.   Running every day is great  the odd day here and there off is OK but more then a day sucks!   On the flip side I have PYP 50Ker this Saturday so the rest probably did me a world of good.   Going to do the same lunch run Wed/Thurs then rest Fri prior to PYP.

Trail Friday

10.1K done on my trail loop today. First time wearing my HRM , found out why it takes 90 minutes to run 10K...it aint easy. When I picked up the pace I was bereaking 150 BPM and on the downhill a parts it dropped to low 130s. When I cruised along at a I can do this all day pace the HRv was 120's to 130's but it was a snails pace. If I could log 10Ks on this 0.82K loop every day I wouldn't have to do anything else!

The Heart Rate gives a much better elevation profile then the elevation profile...LOL!

It truly was a purfect day to be looping  in the backyard!   Recovery was sweet ,  no cooler required.

State Of The Union Run

A glorious 36K LSD today.   I have been waiting 6 months for a day like this ,  Sun a comfortable cooling breeze here and there and temps pushing into the mid teens.    Cleared the calendar with one objective and that was to run all afternoon.  I took allot of time at the 21K mark to have Beer and Pizza then shoot some pictures and videos.    It took 5hrs8min to complete the run but my moving time was 4hrs20min with an avg 7:14 moving pace.   Its been a month since I did a long run but I have been running every day and moving faster doing mid distance speed stuff.   With PYP a little over a week away today's run was a good test of sorts of what I have been doing for the last few months.    Coming back on the 2nd is always the best test and today it was smooth sailing.    I was actually faster between 25K and 33K then between 1K and 8K.   I could have used a few more calories as I noticed the HR climbing into the 150's on a could of the bigger climbs.    Did the last few Ks on the trails in behind my house walking the last K as cool down and also because there was still too much snow!

On a really cool note I brought my MiFi ,  iPad Mini and streamed Okemos Brewing off the internet.   5 hours of streaming was only 350mb so I will definitely be doing this sorts of thing more often .... great Classic Rock.

Took a  pictures and a movie  along the river where I stopped for lunch.

Little Lunch

Just a little 5K lunch time maintenance run today.  Long run outside tomorrow and with Sun and temps is the low double digits I am really looking forward to it.    Going to take some $$ and run to the Beer Store in Durham,  grab a can then hit up the Pizza place ...Beer and Pizza on the trail ,  dam near perfect plan!  

What I didnt need I really needed

Tired today , ironic because last night was the first somewhat decent sleep I have had since wrapping up mids a week ago.   A reset day would have been good but the lunch run brought me around and now I finally feel awake.  Logged a shorter 5Ker at a mostly 5:00 pace.  

Fartleks + Hookas = Treadmill Magic

16K the same as yesterday except it was 1K longer.   Avg HR came in at 132 bpm compared to 134 yesterday.    Did 10 fartleks instead of 9 yesterday starting at 5K through 14K where I did a final 600 meters fartlek before beginning a 1.4 K cool down.    The farleks are not only a great way to improve speed they also help to entertain myself on the treadmill.

Wish I had more time!

15K done at a mostly 5:00 pace with 200 meter 4:45 fartekes thrown in at 5K through 13K.   Last fartlek was from 13.0 to 13.6 K then I did my cool down slowing down 1kmh ever 200 meters until I started walking at the 14.6k mark.  Wish I could have logged another 5-10K but I only have so much time on my dinner break.  

Lunch Run ... a little excitement thrown in!

7K @ 5:00 pace at lunch.   Just a little over 2K we took a power hit causing the treadmill to trip off with an error.   Looking at the HR there is a small spike at the moment I was surprised then the HR plummets as I got off the treadmill  and did a power fail restart.  

New and improved!

5:00 pace now and all is great!    Its been some time since I actually started running and in my books the 5:00 pace is the Run/Jog demarc....  it just feels different.   One of the reasons I haven't been running faster is because it made things hurt.  The Hokas were the cure for the hurt and I am more or less pain free...bring it on.  Looking at the Garmin data the faster I run the more efficient I am.   My cadence,  vertical  oscillation  and ground contact time all naturally fall into the "Green" category at the new pace.   HR was a wee bit higher today but probably more due to lack of sleep...again!  

Logged a little 5ker today ,  tomorrow 7K ,  Sat 10K then IO will round out my work weekend with at least a 12ker.

Get er done 10Ker

Trail Tuesday

 Decided to save the long one until next week and opted for a trail runaround the neighborhood.   Still lots of snow around covering 75% of the trail.  Most of the trail was reasonable but some areas the snow was soft and deep still post holing up to my knees.    Logged 11.2K in 1hrs42min.  

Mid 7 - And thats a wrap on this round of the Vampire shift!

15K done this morning on my meal break.   It was tough getting to 5K and at 7K I found out why having to take a quick washroom break.     Did the fartelks again staring at 5K skipping 7K and 9K for bathroom breaks.   Felt much better after passing 5K as a matter of fact the later part of the run felt easy ...wanted to go longer but I had to get back to work.  

Mid 5 - Double up + fartleks

14K done at a mostly 5:10 pace  with 200m fartleks at a 4:57 pace starting at 5K through 12K.   Mentally doubling up is tough getting through  the the first 7K then the rest was a breeze.    At 12K I did a 600m 4:57 fartlek leading up to a 1.4K cool down.    Running at a 5:00 pace or quicker just feels different.  Anything over a 5:00 pace is jogging and under its running.  There is a tempo to going faster thats just plain additive.    After tomorrows last mid I am off for a few days and when I return I am going to increase the lunch runs to a 5:05 pace.  

Mid 5

Thought about going a little longer but I was hot and didn't really feel like it besides I am only suppose to have a 45 minute meal break!   Logged another 7Ker at a mostly 5:10 pace.

Mid 4

One more 7K@5:10 pace this morning.  It was a little warmer in the Gym and I felt a little more fatigue.  May have had something with it being 3:30 am!

Mid 3

Yet another 7K @ 5:10 pace this morning.  

HR was a little lower maxing out at 132 vs 136 last night.   The Gym was a little bit warmer ...I was feeling the heat a bit,

Mid 2

Not enough sleep today!  Really didn't fell like running but I hit the Gym a little earlier at 2:30 am.   First 5 min were rough,  Running felt awkward and my shoulders were tight and slightly painful.  That all melted away 5 min into the run like it so often does at this time of day.   Logged the usual 7K at a mostly 5:10 pace.   HR topped out at 136 BPM ...more or less normal to a wee bit high for this routine run.