Project 365 – Day 172

Wednesday June 22, 2011.

Run 167.

It was back to the running room for a Wed. nite group run.

It was after I finished the run that I figured out it was a milestone day.  Not quite half a year of running, and I passed the 600 Mile mark for the year.  Wooo hooo Party on.

As a group we decided to head down to discovery woods and do 8 – 10 K.  This would give us about 3- 4 k of woods running.

The run was great, the pace was really good for the bulk of the run and then backed off towards the end as one runner dropped and I went back to pick her up. It was probably due to the heat, this was the hottest day I have been out running this year.

My legs were a little tight at the start of the run but other than momentary twinges worked well for the rest of the day.

6.3 Miles for 601 miles in 2011.

Plod On.

Project 365 – Day 171

Tuesday June 21, 2011

Run 166.

I woke up early and hit the treadmill. Today’s goal was to run three miles in under 24 minutes. I started the treadmill at 8 min miles and headed out.

Funny thing was that when I reached 8 minutes I was just under a mile so I cranked it up a little bit, about 15 seconds / mile.  Then at 16 minutes I was a little ahead of the pace so I cranked it up again to about a 7:30 pace.  When I finished the 3.05 miles I was at 24 minutes.  I met the goal but though I was running faster than that.  Something is funny with the treadmill

Plod on.

Project 365 – Day 170

Monday June 20, 2011

Run 165

Hey, Hey, Hey. Day 170. I put off running as long as I could and ended up going down to the treadmill after tucking the youngest into bed. I had planned to do a more serious work out but still not press to hard.

I ended up doing a quick warm up then set the treadmill to 8:00 min miles. I held that for a while and then slowly started to ramp it up by 15 sec / mile.  I think I finished at 7:00 min miles.

Overall it was a good run and everything felt good. I did a 20 minute workout and ran close to 2.6 miles. Not a bad pace, 24 more miles like that and I will have a decent marathon time.

Plod On.

Project 365 – Day 169

Sunday June 19, 2011.

Run 164.

K – I dug myself into a deeper hole and am now 5 runs off pace for the year.  Going to have to run some short doubles to make it up. I found that the interaction of pain and pain killers and antibiotics zapped me for a few days. I probably could have run but seriously was feeling really bad for the week.

Sunday, fathers day, a day to desert the family and get a run in.  I headed to the running room to do a group run.  People were doing different things and I wanted to get a good run in but not push the pace, and run in a scenic place.  So back to Griffith Woods.

When you find something you like stick with it. The run was pretty good we saw some wildlife.  See if you can spot it.

We moved off the pavement to the gravel and encountered the same river redirection that I ran into a couple of weeks ago, It was not so bad this time so we pressed on.

When I got to the corner that headed back to the river the trail ahead was pretty much flooded so the turn was welcome.

The picture does not do justice to the impassability of the trail. It was a little frightening at this point as I was committing to fording the river at the wash out and it was not looking great. As it turned out the crossing was no problem and we headed home.

A great run although a little slow. 8 Miles in 1:29.

Plod On

Project 365 – Day 164

Tuesday June 14, 2011.

Run 163.

This was the run that just about did not happen. On Monday night I was making a salad and whilst cutting lettuce I managed to lop off a large slice of skin from the end of my thumb. There was excitement when I lost consciousness (sounds better than fainted) a couple of times and EMTs and Firemen showed up at the house. Bottom line I got a cute little toque for my thumb.

I was in a little pain all day and did not run as I was concerned about how much more pain I would be in when my heartbeat picked up and the blood flowed faster. 

Finally, after everyone went to bed I decided to do a very controlled run on the treadmill and work my way up to a maximum of 10 min miles.  It just about worked. I started out at a walk and then picked up to 10 min miles, then 9 min miles, then 8:30 then 8:00 then stopped. There was no pain from the thumb during the run.

The run was great but the stopping not so good. The thumb started to throb during the cool off and continued until I had fully recovered and the Tylenol  3 had kicked in.

I finished it, and “that is all I have to say about that”. 2.2 miles in 20 minutes.

Plod On

Project 365 – Day 163

Monday June 13, 2011

Run 162.

After yesterdays 10 miler I had to talk myself into the run this morning.  It would have been very easy to just lay in bed and think about an afternoon run instead of actually doing my morning run. My legs were pretty tired so I thought an easy recovery run on the treadmill might be in order.

So I kitted up, the nice thing about the treadmill is that I only wear shorts, socks and shoes, and headed downstairs.  I started the run at an easy pace 9:00 min miles and then progressed to 8:30, then 8:00 and finally 7:30. It turns out that  the run was not as easy as I intended.

I felt pretty good through out the run, I was aware of some pain in my right shin. But for the most part my hamstring was pretty solid.

Good run, just over 3 miles in 25 minutes.

Plod On.

Project 365 – Day 162

Sunday June 12, 2011.

Run 161.

This was the Sunday group run from the Running Room Store – Westhills.  It was a small group today for a 16 K run along the reservoir. Started out being just Ed and myself, then about 1.5 K into the run Joe caught us.

This is a favourite run, a fairly easy 10 miler that is flat or downhill on the way out and uphill usually with a headwind on the way back.  After about 5 K the run follows the reservoir path system and it is very scenic. This is the third or fourth time I have run this route this year. I ran it on April 3  and April 10 and it looked very different.

The views of the Weaselhead  (the wetlands at the start of the reservoir) seem to change every time I run this.  Today the water levels were high.

As we ran the path it became apparent that there was something going on in the park today.  There were more pedestrians than usual and we saw strange things like hot air balloons and heard music.

And when we rounded the corner and turned north we found the finish line.

Unfortunately it was the start / finish line for the Betty’s run for ALS and we still had 6 km of hard uphills to run. As we turned onto 37th street to start the hard uphill the pace picked up and we ran the long hill quite hard.  It felt very good.

I felt some twinges in the legs after the run yesterday, there was a definite tenderness at the origin point of the hamstring. It was pretty good for the bulk of the run.  I felt my glute after crashing the long uphill. And post run I could feel some tension in both hamstrings.  A little foam roller seemed to help work that out.

All in all a really fun run with great guys.  10.2 Miles in 1:28. Not a bad run.

Plod On.

Project 365 – Day 161

Saturday June 11, 2011.

Run 160.

It was a dark day indeed. A rare day for this part of the world. A day when the skies opened up and the rain poured down all day long. Then in the evening it started to clear up and the sun came out and there was a window of opportunity for an outdoor run. So at 8:30 at night with the family nested in front of the TV I put on my running kit and headed for the great outdoors.

I chose to run a small trail section on the three mile run and see how the footing was after all the rain. Amazingly there was very little standing water but I ended up getting soaked as I ran the section thru the trees.

As you can see the path is really narrow and the branches were sagging under the water load on the leaves.  The rest of the run was not that remarkable except as I was running across the park I ran very close to a couple of bunnies and then a mating pair of ducks that are way too tame.

I ran close enough to take a picture or two with my old canon sd 700 is. 

My legs were fine, I could feel the tightness of yesterdays run all day so elected to go easier (never works).  Still did not feel any pain during the warm up but I did feel some tightness and tenderness on the upper outside of the left glute throughout the run.

All in all a run.  3 miles in 25 minutes.

Plod On.

Project 365 – Day 160

Friday June 10, 2011.

Run 159.

I did not run in the morning as I had an appointment with Dr. Nardella for my hamstring. It was an interesting visit as I brought my notes from the blog about how my leg was feeling and reviewed them and came up with a couple of issues; 1) I am getting an x-ray to determine if my legs are the same length, 2) the firing order in my left leg is wrong. The Glute is firing in the wrong sequence putting more strain on my Hamstring.  Interesting eh?

So I left the run till after dinner and of course as the beautiful day faded and darkness started to set in as I headed out. I did not have a route in mind when I left but decided to run the 4.8 mile dog park run.

Well before I got 500 meters into the run I figured out that the darkness was due to clouds when a light rain started. It was pretty cool as I got the fresh rain on pavement earthy smell for a while and the rain was not falling hard enough to soak me.  It made for some great views as I was running across the top of the dog park as there were some great contrasts in light across the valley from the clouds. And when the sun did start to dip below the horizon there were some great shadows.

When I turned back towards the city I got a different view of downtown. Usually I do this run in the morning and get the silhouette of the towers, today they were illuminated by this awesome soft pinkish sunset light.

   Then as I turned away from the sunset the run was pointed thru the center of the rainbow. It was inspiring running into it and I paused and took a lot of pictures. Unfortunately none of them could come close to capturing the beauty of the reality.

Back on the city streets I ran down Windermere Road thru the tunnel of apple trees with some pinkish clouds framing the picture.

The blooms are starting to fall and there was a snow like covering on the lawns and gutters. The last bit of the run was into the orange skies of the sunset before finished back at home.

My legs were fresh off the acupuncture session, there was no warm up pain but I did feel a little tenderness through out the run. Overall the leg was good.  There is some post run soreness in the left glute area.

This was an awesome run, an inspiring run that will be remembered for a long time. Truely one of the great monents.  4.8 miles – 40 minutes of running time.

Plod On.

Project 365 – Day 159

Thursday June 9, 2011.

Run 158.

Wow am just one run down on the year now. It has taken a while but I am finally catching up.  However, there is a cost. I woke up this morning with very dead legs and a tightness in my right hamstring (wrong one).  I was thinking that a controlled run on the treadmill was probably a good idea after the two hard runs yesterday.  My daughter being ill and my wife having to run to work to grab the computer sealed that deal.

I sort of had a plan to run for 2.5 miles at 9 minute miles. I stuck with the 2.5 miles part and started out with 10 minutes of nine minute miles then cranked it up to 8:30 miles for the next 8 or 9 and finished up with the last few minutes at sub 8:00. 

My legs felt surprisingly good. I had the same pain in the hamstring at the insertion point while warming up and then it was clear sailing for the run. Post run I am feeling a tightness in the middle part of my  right hamstring and in my left lower back just above the glute.

Good run, great hockey highlights – 21:50 – 2.5 miles.

Plod On

Project 365 –Day 158 (pt 2)

Wednesday June 8, 2011.

Run 157.

Double up day! I was not sure I would make it to the running room for my second run given the pace on this mornings run. But the legs felt OK so I headed to the store for my Wednesday group run.

The plan was to do around 4 to 5 miles at a 10 minute pace. A nice easy recovery run. We picked a route that was about 4.6 miles long with some fairly hard hills and headed out.

Things did not go according to plan, well they did for the first half we were a little fast maybe running 9:30 pace. Then on the way back things picked up a bit and the path runs across the base of battalion park which is a slight down hill and the pace picks up naturally, then the cruise into the store was very fast.  I think we were running a better than 6:00 pace for the last kilometre and it felt awesome.

My legs felt great there was a little tenderness from the morning run. After a slow warm up they were ready for the strain. I felt the push on the hard up hills, but nothing on the strides especially at fast pace at the end of the run.  I did feel a little tightness after the run and will work it out with the foam roller.

It ended up being just under 4.6 miles in just under 39 minutes of running time. a great way to end the day.

Plod On.

Project 365 – Day 158

Wednesday June 8, 2011.

Run 156.

Wow big day. I figured out that I can turn on mobile web pages. Now I can view this on my iPhone, and you can too.  It’s celebration time even though all it took was pressing a radio button on the settings page. Still it is progress.

I woke up just before the alarm at 5:30 this morning and was out the door pounding the pavement at 5:45. I decided to run a 3 mile loop all on pavement this morning.  This is a route I have run several times but have been running on a trail along the ridge since the snow melted.

My Garmin says the run is just under 3 miles and mapmyrun.com says it is just over 3 miles so I say it s the average of three. I carried my camera for the run but did not really see anything that was worth stopping to take a picture of.

I had the same issues with my leg, kind of a sharp pain for the first few strides then it settled down as I warmed up and then I only felt it when I really exerted myself.  However , yesterday I noticed it pulling a couple of times in the day after the run. We will see if it holds up.  Had the same back issues this AM, tight when I woke up on the left side but once I had stretched a bit it was fine.

Great run, a slow start but I ended up running the 3 miles in just under 24 minutes.

Plod On.

Project 365 – Day 157

Tuesday June 7, 2011.

Run 156.

I did get up at 5:30 this morning and got my kit on and got out the door. I missed the sunrise as it is just too damn early right now. But it was still dawnish when I headed out. I didn’t really have a plan but ended up running a 5 mile route similar to the May 18th run.

I really love the mile or so in red on this run where you run towards the city and then up along the top of a coolie that cuts away form the river valley, before returning to city streets.  The view of downtown and the river valley through the haze was nice this morning.

And of course I did catch another new wild flower blooming.  As you may have guessed my horticultural knowledge is pretty weak. Don’t know the flowers name but this is the first time i saw it this year.

My legs were tired again, I had 10 hours rest since my last run. No major issues, I can feel the hamstring when I run hills or when I stretch out my stride.  I am beginning to wonder if this is a stretching issue. The other thing I have been noticing is when I wake in the morning my lower left back is really tight and I have to stretch it out before I start my day.

Great run, around 5 miles in just under 40 minutes.

Plod On.

Project 365 – Day 156

Monday June 6, 2011.

Run 153.

Well not sure that I can blame a late night for not running this morning as I was in bed before 11:00 PM. But, I will try to blame a series of late nights coupled with the effects of the Sunday morning hangover 8 mile run for sleeping late.

I did manage to get out at 7:30 PM and decided to drag the dog as my legs were pretty dead.  I ran a very short trail run (just over 2 miles).

It was good for the dog as she can run off leash for most of it. It was bad for me as she could investigate those interesting smells and forget she is supposed to be running with me, there was a little waiting time and a lot of yelling. 

There was a new wild flower out, I don’t know what it is but it seemed to be fairly prolific.

And the Saskatoon blooms have all but disappeared. This picture is taken from abut the same spot as last weeks picture and as you can see it is now a bunch of bushes. Good news is the berries come next.

My legs were tired and not much spunk in them. There was a sharp pain at the insertion point for the first few hundred meters then only when I was running the hills.  I could feel a little extra tension in the lower glute for a lot of the run. I think it may be picking up some of the slack from the hamstring. Otherwise a great run, just over 2 miles in just under 20 minutes.

Plod On.

Project 365 – Day 155

Sunday June 6, 2011.

Run 153.

Hey finally a group run as planned. I headed to the running room store on Sunday morning feeling a little bit worse for wear after a late night at my neighbours 40th Birthday Party.  It seems that it was decided that since we were all walking home, and there was a keg of beer, we might all drink more than usual.

So I found myself ready to run feeling a little off and very tired from the late night no sleep thing. The good news was that the group I usually run with had competed in the half marathon the week before so it should have been an easy run.

We ran the Griffith woods out and back. I started out running slow and then picked it up to a comfortable pace. Then when the group stopped for their 10 & 1 Ed and I continued on alone and did not see the group again until after the turnaround point.

Have I ever told ya this is a great run through the woods and is often inspiring.  This is what running should be like, the path is awesome (even though we stuck to the paved portion).

And some of the scenes beside the path are downright tranquil.

It was a great run and turned out to be fairly quick as well.  Just over 8 miles in 1:07, A very good day.

Plod On

Project 365 – Day 154

Saturday June 4, 2011.

Run 152.

Again I missed my  morning run, and due to busyness throughout the day I managed to squeeze in a fast short run while the kids were having dinner and before my neighbours party.

I kind of chose the 3.1 mile route that starts on trails and ends on pavement along the ridge.

This map is pretty close but I ran down one of the side streets that parallels Bow Trail.

The day was perfect, the footing was good and the views at the start of the run were great. This is looking down the path that I was running up.

As I ran the side street (Windermere Road) that parallels bow trail there was an awesome sight. For some reason when they were planting Elm trees everywhere else in the area, they planted apple trees on this street and they were blooming. It was not fragrant like lilacs would be but the trees were covered in white.

Anyway a great run Just over 3 miles in just over 24 minutes, and that included the stops to take pictures and one stop to tie my forking shoe.

Plod On.

Project 365 – Day 153

Friday June 3, 2011.

Run 151.

Actually run 150 now that I think about it. There was one day in early January, I was staying at a Holiday Inn in Spokane Washington and the treadmill did not work so I used a stationary bike.

This is the day that just about broke the streak.  I had no motivation in the morning and then as the day passed I had less motivation. I actually was getting ready to run at about 7:00 PM and the skies opened up and thunder storms hit us for the rest of the evening. I could easily have gone to bed at 11:00, but I managed to talk myself onto the treadmill.

I started out walking and then  worked my way up to a slow jog, then a little faster, then 9 minute miles, then 8:30 min miles and then I stopped.

2.1 miles 21 minutes – average 10 minute junk miles.

Plod On.

Project 365 – Day 152

Thursday June 2, 2011.

Run 150.

Woo Hoo another milestone, the 150th run of 2011. It was another one of those days where the morning looked pretty grim and I decided to leave the run to later, and later and later. Finally at 11:30 PM I headed to the treadmill for a fairly easy run.  Somehow it did not work out that way.

I started really slow and then the legs were feeling OK so I pushed it up a bit, then pushed it up a bit more. I finished off by running the last 2 min at 10 mph, 6 min mile.  It was tough but it felt great to stride it out.

All in all a good but short run followed by a glass of wine. 2.45 miles in 20:07.

Plod On

Project 365 – Day 151

Wednesday June 1, 2011

Run 149.

I was not very motivated this morning. It started with sleeping through the alarm and then lacking the energy to roll out of the comfort of the blankets.

When I sleep past 6:00 AM I have two choices for the run; 1) postpone it, 2) treadmill it.  I chose #2 and headed down to the dungeon.

Nothing went really right today with the run, the legs were not there when I tried to push the pace and the French Open was on TV and tennis is not good to run to.

So all in all in my 20 minutes on the treadmill I suffered thru almost 2.5 miles of running.  Who knows I might try a double today seeing as this mornings effort was so weak.

Plod On.