Myopic Monday

Streak to the beach - Day 29

Time : 30:00 Minutes
Distance : 3.30 Miles 
This Week: 3.3 Miles

Total: 104.18

Tough Day!  I had a busy day workwise and then a meeting at the school and now get to spend the next two days doing the single parent thing. This makes it hard to find time to run. It was 9:00 before I got the kids settled into bed and then I hit the treadmill for what was planned to be an easy workout.

I started off with five minutes at a 9:22 min mile pace then ran the next 25 at 9:00 pace. A very simple run, a fairly easy run. Not a bad way to end a busy day.

I got off the treadmill, headed upstairs and looked outside to see a significant covering of fresh white snow on the ground. So much for the rain they predicted. This is the price you play for living so close to the mountains.  Natures playground has it’s rewards and punishments.

Plod On.

Solo Sunday

Streak to the beach - Day 28

Time : 54:44 Minutes
Distance : 6.00 Miles 
This Week: 28.45 Miles

Total: 100.88

Woot broke 100 miles this month!

I woke up at 7:30, thought about getting up and driving to the Running Room to run with the group. I did not. Instead I stayed snuggled in my warm bed until the rest of the house started to move and then reluctantly left my cocoon and joined the world.

This meant I had to pick a longer route and run it on my own.  I selected a 10 K route that starts out running on the streets around the neighbourhood and then does a steep run down the escarpment to the river pathway system. The route then runs along the south side of the river for about 3 km and then climbs back up the river valley on the way home.

It is quite a hard run on the ascent with some switch backs and steep inclines on a gravel bike path.

This is a view of downtown from the pathway, you can see the towers in the center of the picture at the tree line. This is about 5 km from the core.

It is hard to believe you can find runs like this so close to the down town core of a major city. Some of the paths a few meters from here run several km up and down the escarpment.  That is a little harder than I was ready for today.

Plod On.

Super Saturday

Streak to the beach - Day 27

Time : 40:00 Minutes
Distance : 4.50 Miles 
This Week: 22.45 Miles

Total: 94.88

Super because the weather was perfect, 20 C and sunny, the only down side was there was a wee bit of a chinook  breeze blowing.  It felt like summer for the first time today and that made it super.

Ran a route that circled through the neighbourhood and was sheltered from the wind.  this meant the entire run was on residential streets and hard pavement.  Something my knees are feeling tonight.

It made for a great run though, there was a beautiful blue sky, the lawns were starting to green up. If only there were leaves on the trees it could have looked like summer.

A perfect day, a great run.

Plod On.

Fatigued Friday

Streak to the beach - Day 26

Time : 31:00 Minutes
Distance : 3.20 Miles 
This Week: 17.95Miles

Total: 90.38

I could start this post the same as yesterday’s, complaining about how tired my legs were all day (true) and in fact how fatigued in general I felt all day.

It is a gorgeous day here with temperatures in the low 20’s, almost summer like.  Unfortunately the nice temperatures came with chinook winds. These are very strong winds from the west  that bring warm moist air over the mountains.  It makes for very pleasant conditions except for when you run into the wind.  I did a quick assessment and determined that I did not have the energy to do that.

It was back to the basement and onto the treadmill for a very easy paced recovery run.  I started off on the flat at 6 mph then eased it up over time to 6.5 mph and just cruised for 31 minutes.  I ended up running a little further than a 5K at a leisurely pace.  Sweet!

After the run we loaded everyone in the car and headed for the dog park for a 2 km trek with the pup.  We saw the first signs of spring.

Prairie crocuses or is it croci. Every spring they bloom for a few days and then go dormant for a year.  This year they arrived earlier than expected especially given the hard spring we have been experiencing.  It made for a nice way to end the day.

Plod On.

Tender Thursday

Streak to the beach - Day 25

Time : 26:10 Minutes
Distance : 3.10 Miles 
This Week: 14.75Miles

Total: 87.18

All day long my legs were feeling the impact of yesterday’s efforts. It was another explosive workday, with a mad dash at the end to make a deadline.  Then kids activities and finally some time to hit the treadmill.

My plan was to run an easy recovery run and kind of take a day off.  I did not stick to the plan.  I set the speed at 6.4 mph (9:23 pace) for the first mile.  It was a struggle for the first few minutes to hold the pace and I found my feet hitting the back of the treadmill. Then around the 5 minute mark it just got easier. I finished the first mile and hummed then my fingers found their way to the speed button and poof we were running at 6.9 mph (8:45 pace). I struggled with this for one mile, then poof my fingers did it again and I found myself  running at 7.6 mph (7:54 min mile). Again I struggled to hold this for one mile, staring at the screen trying to calculate how long it would take to hit the 3 mile mark.  Once the countdown was done and I had I finished that mile I backed off the pace, cooled down and collapsed beside the treadmill.

A good hard progression run grew out of a recovery run.  Not a bad day.

Plod on.

Wednesday Weigh In

Wednesday Weigh In – Week 3

This week: 4 Pounds
Total: 11 pounds

Streak to the beach - Day 24

Time : 40:04 Minutes
Distance : 4.50 Miles 
This Week: 11.65Miles

Total: 84.08

Double up day. I did a fairly hard run this morning in the freezing cold (-5) then did the evening run with the running room in spring like condition +12 and windy.  Quite the change in conditions in 15 hours.

We ran the lower Springbank -  Batallion park 7.25 route.  The route is one of my favorites from the Running Room store.

The run starts out with a downhill then a long straight flat for 2.5 km. Usually this is a fairly easy section of the run but tonight was very hard because it was into a strong head wind. The next 2.5 km is intermittent uphill sections and is usually a hard run.  The rest of the run is a slight downhill and tonight with a great tail wind and was very fast.

I was surprised that the run went so well given the 4 Miles this morning. I felt great throughout and even was holding back for the last section. 

A great running day.

Plod On.

Tumultuous Tuesday

Streak to the beach - Day 23

Time : 36:39 Minutes
Distance : 4.00 Miles 
This Week: 7.15Miles

Total: 79.58

It was one of those days where everything comes together to get in the way of running. It was a perfect storm of events.  I got bogged down at work, my daughter broke her wrist at cheer and had to go to emergency, and relatives were visiting from out of town.  Anyway 11:00 crept up and I could not use the treadmill as it is right by the guest room, and I did not feel like running outside, so I postponed the run to Wednesday morning.

I was out of bed and out the door well before the sunrise (still could not use the treadmill, same reason).  I took an old favorite route that I have not run in a while.

The route starts on city streets that parallel the river escarpment which gives great views to the north.  It then cuts back through the neighborhood to the river valley and finishes on a couple of km of trails that run along the top of the valley.

This is what the view looked like from the trail looking east toward downtown just before the sunrise.

There is not much to say about the run, it was chilly, it was dark, and the first half of the run is all up hill. 

It felt good to hit the streets in the morning without any ice and snow.

Plod On

Middling Monday

Streak to the beach - Day 22

Time : 30:00 Minutes
Distance : 3.15 Miles 
This Week: 3.15Miles

Total: 75.58

What a day, not a good day, not a bad day, just a day. I woke up this morning with calves of steel, not that they were strong but locked up stiff and sore from yesterdays run.  I should go back and look at my splits to see what pace that last km was because I sure feels like my out of shape body used my kick.

Having run over 10 miles in the last 2 days I decided that we would back off on the pace for tonight’s run. The goal was to pick a leisurely pace and call it a recovery run.  Not a bad way to start week 4 of the “streak to the beach”.

My target was to keep the pace in between 9 & 10 minute pace. I set the treadmill at 6.2 mph and 0.5% incline, turned on the TV and settled into the run. I moved the pace up to 6.5 mph then finished at 6.7 mph. Nothing remarkable happened.  It was not a good run, it was not a bad run it was just a run.

Plod On.

SnownCold Sunday

Streak to the beach - Day 21

Time : 42:07 Minutes
Distance : 5.75 Miles 
This Week: 28.85Miles

Total: 72.43

I woke up to a smattering of snow on the grounds and temperatures well below zero (Yes I know it is supposed to be Spring). The wind was still coming out of the North West which means cold and still no sun. 7:30 came around and I was still lying in my warm bed debating whether I should move and join the crowd at the Running Room for an 8:30 Sunday run. 

I listened to the good angel and headed out for the store. I met up with Ed I was thinking 10 km, he was thinking 8km. So we headed out on what we thought was an 8 km route.

The route turned out to be 9.25 km, a good compromise.

We started out a a slower pace as, my legs were still tired from yesterday’s Run for Boston effort then slowly picked it up.  When we reached the 6 km we spotted another group of runners ahead of us and started to pick up the pace. It took a few hundred meters to catch the group in front of us, pass them and pick up a runner from that group. Then the sun came out, the route flattened out with a slight down hill all the way home.  With a kilometer left to go we opened up our strides and brought it home at a fast pace.

A very good way to end a week of running.

Plod On.

Run for Boston (Calgary)

Streak to the beach - Day 20

Time : 42:51Minutes
Distance : 5.0 Miles 
This Week: 23.10 Miles

Total: 66.68

The weather went to crap this morning, the temperature plunged overnight and the wind shifted from the North.  North winds are never a good thing here, usually are bitingly cold and in spring could bring white stuff.

I laid in bed until 10:00 then decided that if I was going to do this “Run for Boston” event to show solidarity with the running community I had to get up. I drove down to the river and met up with the assembled masses.

It was a pretty good turn out for an ad hoc event thrown together on social media and on a day when the weather was turning nasty. There was no route, there was no distance you just showed up and ran. 

I decided to run towards downtown (with the masses) and then loop back on the other side of the river.

At the bridge there were still many people following and continuing on. It was a great way to show support.

On the way back conditions deteriorated.  There was a section of the path that was still covered in ice and snow.  The wind picked up and it was a fairly strong head wind with no protection. Then it started to snow, not really hard but c'mon on April 20th Snow. Give us a break.  I looped back to the finish area and much to my surprise there was bananas, water and coffee. It was still very chilly so I grabbed a banana and a bottle of water and headed home.

many thanks to Trevor Haufbauer, a Sait student for organizing this event.

A good Day

Plod on.

Flexible Friday

Streak to the beach - Day 19

Time : 30:00Minutes
Distance : 3.1 Miles 
This Week: 18.10 Miles

Total: 61.68

There was no plan today! I headed down to the treadmill with only the thought that I would hold back on the pace and let my legs recover from the workout that I gave them last night.  I had thoughts of running 40 minutes or 60 minutes at a slower pace.  I ended up deciding after 15 minutes that I would go for  30 minutes.

I ended up watching the CNN  coverage of capture of the second of the Boston Bombers while running, and listened to the post capture press conference. It cemented my plans to run in the “Run for Boston” tomorrow morning.  This is a grass roots run that has been thrown together to show support for events of the last week. Ultimately this was the decider on the 30 minutes, saving some for the run tomorrow.

I kept the pace in between a 9:00 minute pace and a 10:00 minute pace with a slight incline. An idiosyncrasy of either the  treadmill or my stride is that there is less movement and vibration at a 0.5% incline. So that is where I run. 

an Ok run.

Plod On.

Tired Thursday

Streak to the beach - Day 18

Time : 30:00Minutes
Distance : 3.6 Miles 
This Week: 15.00 Miles

Total: 58.58

I woke up this morning feeling very sluggish and with very tired feeling legs. It did not get much better as the day went on. Thank the stars that I have a sitting down kind of job and did not have to use my legs much.

Having said that, I went down to the treadmill right after work with the intention of putting in a tough progression run. I started off the first mile at a 9:00 minute pace, then hit the second mile at an 8:15 pace and ran the final mile at a blistering (for me) 7:45 pace. The total time for all three was 25:40. The cooled down lasted until the 30 min mark and was done in between an 8:45 and a 9:00 pace.

I went into this run feeling tired and finished feeling more tired. A great progression run.

Plod On.

Wednesday Weigh In

Wednesday Weigh In – Week 2

This week: 1 Pounds
Total: 7 pounds

Streak to the beach - Day 17

Time : 43:10 Minutes
Distance : 4.6 Miles 
This Week: 11.40 Miles

Total: 54.98

What can I say about my underperformance on the weight loss front. No excuses, no explanations, I thought I was doing the right things but I guess I was snacking too much.

I went to the running room to do a group run on my tired legs.  The only problem was that none of the people I usually run with showed up so I ran in a group of one.

I ran the lower springbank road 7 K route which comes back along the base of battalion park (pictured above)  I love the finish of this run as the last couple of km are all on flats or slight down hills.  This makes it a fast finish and lets the legs get some good strides in.  Tonight was a slow run on tired legs.  I was alone so there was no one to pull me along and I ended up running at a comfortable slow pace.  I guess these days happen every once in a while.

It was still a fun run.

Plod On

Treadmill Tuesday

Streak to the beach - Day 16

Time : 30:10 Minutes
Distance : 3.5 Miles 
This Week: 6.80 Miles

Total: 50.38

It was back to business after the Boston Terrorthon yesterday.  It will be a long time before we get answers to the who and why, if we ever do. I don’t understand why they bother with press conferences and questions and answer sessions when they prevaricate or outright do not answer the questions.

It was back to this today. I find treadmill runs are great for doing tempo work and controlling pace. Today I did a progression run starting with a mile at 9:00 pace, then a mile at 8:30 pace, then another mile at 8:00  pace then a cool down at 9:00 for half a mile.  This is still a very hard pace for me and I was feeling it when I finished.

A good effort, a good run.

Plod On

Marathon Monday

Streak to the beach - Day 15

Time : 30:00 Minutes
Distance : 3.3 Miles 
This Week: 3.30 Miles

Total: 46.88

Today was a good day, I got to watch the streaming of the Boston marathon  on Sportsnet.ca/sportsnet-live and follow the tweets on @canadianrunning. It was exciting to watch Canadian Robin Watson streak to the lead and hold it for a while mid race, and not surprising when the Ethiopians ran him down in the Newton hills. Still an 11 place finish is remarkable.

I had hoped to do a treadmill run while watching coverage on TV. It would almost be  like being there except I would be able to run with the elite athletes.  Alas no coverage on our cable channels.

I went to work after the men finished an was amazed to watch the coverage when the marathon turned into a terrorthon.  And when I finally made my way to the treadmill for the run I was watching coverage of the senseless madness that the marathon became. It is beyond comprehension how someone can take out their grievances on innocent spectators. Nuff said.

Plod On.

Slippery Saturday.

Streak to the beach - Day 13

Time : 27:30 Minutes
Distance : 3.1 Miles 
This Week: 17.15 Miles

Total: 37.48

New shoes! This does not happen very often, I’m a little retentive when it comes to shoes. I wear them until they wear out and are torn and then a little bit. Changing shoes scares me, will they fit will they hurt my feet, there is just too much uncertainty. Anyway the bottom line is that my old shoes were worn out and I left them at home so if I was going to run, I needed to buy new shoes.  This is what I got.

Sexy huh?

The day started when the dog woke me at 5:30 to address her urgent need.  We headed for the hotel elevator and out for an early morning Edmonton tour, then back to the hotel room where everyone else was still sleeping.

She looks relaxed doesn't she? That is the new shoe strapped on my foot. I broke one of my cardinal rules about only wearing my running shoes for running to break them in a bit before I woke my 13 year old son and we headed to the fitness center to run.

The run was kinda cool, started slow and then when I was sure that the shoes were ok settled in to a 9 minute pace, then finished closer to 8.  The run felt good, the shoes felt good and it was cool to run with my son on the treadmill next to me.

The rest of the day was tough. We made it to the cheer competition, saw my daughter’s team compete, then rushed to check out and head for Red Deer for my son to compete in the provincial fencing championship.  It was tough drive through snow, slippery roads and blowing snow for 90 Miles. We passed several cars that had slipped into the ditch.  Then we found  the fencing competition and spent the next  3 hours spectating a sport I know little about.  The toughest part was the drive through a blizzard for the remaining 90 miles to get home.  Again passing numerous vehicles either in the  ditch or backwards on the highway.  There was zero visibility and it was a very tough drive and it was very good to be home. 

A very hard day for Dad.

Plod On.

Far Away Friday

Streak to the beach - Day 12

Time : 28:00 Minutes
Distance : 3.0 Miles 
This Week: 14.05 Miles

Total: 34.38

Hopped on the treadmill this morning feeling lackadaisical, started the run at a 0.5% incline and a 6 mph pace, then just cruised through 30 minutes increasing the pace every five minutes or so.  Got off the treadmill feeling rejuvenated and ready to face a grueling day of time sheets and financial crap. Yay me.

After the day of numbers, picked up the kids from school and headed for the hills, well actually Edmonton for an early morning cheer competition, then off to red deer for an afternoon fencing competition. It is gonna be a busy day.

On top of all that I forgot to pack my running shoes so ended up buying a new pair on the way into town. Now I can go for a treadmill run in the hotel fitness center in the morning before all the excitement begins.

Wake me up when it gets exciting.

Plod On.

Trekking Thursday

Streak to the beach - Day 11

Time : 25:00 Minutes
Distance : 2.6 Miles 
This Week: 11.05 Miles

Total: 31.38

This morning was the second time this week that I have done 2 runs within 12 hours, both of them after a longer or harder effort. This morning I woke to a cold dark world that was threatening snow. Before the rest of the house woke I headed down the treadmill and slogged out a run to hockey, baseball highlights and masters speculation.  It is hard to run to a Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer interview where they actually talked about nothing. It is easier to run to the highlight reel.

It started to sleet as I was driving the kids to school and by lunch time there were a couple of inches of white stuff covering the yard and by supper time it almost all gone.  The kind of spring moisture that farmers love a soaking kind of rain/snow.

I set the treadmill for a 0.5% incline did a quick warm up at 6 mph then varied the pace between 6.2 and 6.5 mph for the rest of the time, then did a quick cool down and stepped off the track feeling very tired and a lot better.

A very good way to start the day.

Plod On.

Wednesday Weigh In

Wednesday Weigh In – Week 1

This week: 6 Pounds
Total: 6 pounds

Streak to the beach - Day 10

Time : 38:20 Minutes
Distance : 4.10 Miles 
This Week: 8.45 Miles

Total: 28.78

Great night for a run it was +10 and melting. I headed for the running room and met up with no one from my usual group but I did meet up with Scott and we went for a run.  After a brief debate we headed from the store down to the Griffith Woods Gate and back.  This is a great run, mainly flat with 2 big down hills heading out (good news) and 2 big hills on the way back (bad news).

I ran a little harder than I planned and it felt better than I  thought it would.  Post beer runs are difficult for me I find it difficult to gauge whether the pains I feel or real or imagined. I generally go with imagined and end up paying for it later on.

Finally a good outdoors run.

Plod On.

Torturous Tuesday

Streak to the beach - Day 9

Time : 30:00 Minutes
Distance : 3.25 Miles 
This Week: 4.350 Miles

Total: 24.68

Up early (5:00) and down to the treadmill to get a run in and then be cleaned up and ready to head downtown for an early morning all day  meeting. The tortuous refers to the meeting part of the Tuesday, I always leave these things wiped and barely able to function.

The run was ok, I started off slow 6 mph and then worked my way up to 7.5 mph in five minute intervals and then did a little cool down. I am still feeling some issues in the SI joint during the run and some tenderness in the knee post run, but it seems to be getting better with each run.  Who knows I might be able to start working on some speed soon.

Early morning, good day to run inside.

Plod On

Minimum Monday

Streak to the beach - Day 8

Time : 10:00 Minutes
Distance : 1.10 Miles 
This Week: 1.10 Miles

Total: 21.43

The day started off with a lot of fresh snow on the ground so I put off a run, then I was working so I put off the run, then I worked late and put off the run, then the final game of the NCAA tournament was on so I put off the run, then it was 10:00 so if there was going to be a run it had to be now, so I headed to the dungeon and climbed on the tread mill and started churning.

I decided to run the minimum because I was feeling exhausted and wanted to be able to get an early sleep as I have meetings all day tomorrow (which is why I was working late tonight).

It may not have been the best run but it is in the books and that is all that counts.

Plod On.

Snowy Sunday

Streak to the beach - Day 7

Time : 48:10 Minutes
Distance : 5.00 Miles
Total: 20.33 miles

I’d like to say the weather got better but it did not, in fact it took a turn for the worst.  It started to snow  in the morning and continued for the day with accumulation toward evening. 

We had an overnight houseguest so missed the running room Sunday morning  run and got a later start than I would have liked.  Then waited for a break in the weather ( that did not happen) then finally buckled down and headed for the treadmill for one of my longest treadmill runs ever. Set the treadmill for a .5% incline and 6 mph then let the monotony set in.

The run was OK (but boring) I took an easy pace and slowly worked the pace up but overall maintained a reasonable tempo. I can not figure out how people run that far on treadmills on a regular basis. But to each their own and my own is the great outdoors.

Plod On

Stay Inside Saturday

Streak to the beach - Day 6

Time : 25:10 Minutes
Distance : 2.75 Miles
Total: 15.33 miles

It was a cold grey depressing kind of day, we woke up to fog and progresses to a light snow. There is only one thing to do on a day like that, head to the dungeon and start the torture of the treadmill.

I don’t know that I would ever complete a treadmill run if I did not have a TV to watch.  As it is I do a lot of counting to keep my motivation going. I average 80 right foot strikes a minute, I count them ( I know I should be doing 90 but lets face it I ain’t getting younger).  Sometimes I just count to four over and over again, and sometimes I practice strumming patterns to a four count.  Who would have thought that running was such a mathematical sport.  But for the bulk of my runs I watch sports center and it turns out that 25 minutes is the perfect amount of time to catch all the highlights of yesterday’s sports action. It gives me adequate information to appear knowledgeable and caring when I have to enter into casual conversations with business colleagues. “Did you see that goal that Iggy scored” …  Otherwise I really do not give a rats ass how the Flames or the Blue Jays are doing.  Now it would be very cool if I could find live coverage of Boston and run with the elite runners. I’ll have to think about that.

This mornings run was OK. Had a nice warm up then settled into a groove in around 9:30 min miles and slowly progressed to 8:30 on a 1% incline.  I was pretty happy when I got the speed over 7 mph for the last few minutes of the run and not so happy when my SI joint started to ache. All in all a fun run.

Plod On.

Friday on the Flat

Streak to the beach - Day 5

Time : 30:00 Minutes
Distance : 1.80 Miles
Total: 12.58 miles

This was not an exciting day and certainly not motivating.  I was woke up at 3:30 by the dog wanting to visit the great outdoors and then could not get back to sleep.  I headed down to the office and worked until it was time to get the rest of the family out of bed and out the door. Then as it was the second Friday I had to vacate the premises to let the cleaning lady have free reign over my domain.

This is the morning to run all the errands and in this slot I managed to gather the dog and head to the dog park and get a quick run/walk in. Actually it was more of a brisk walk than a run but hey I am counting it.

This was not really an invigorating run, not really an energetic exercise but my legs were aching and it was about all I could do in the morning.  I also had an afternoon “meeting” in the “office” to review progress. The burger and  refreshments made an evening run more difficult, not to mention their interference with my weight loss plans. C’est la vie!

Plod On

Tired Thursday

Streak to the beach - Day 4

Time : 20:00 Minutes
Distance : 2.10 Miles
Total: 10.78 miles

It was a tedious Thursday run, an early meeting that required a little pre-work left no time to run in the morning.  An unstructured debrief in the “office” (which just happens to be located inside an Irish Pub) provided a couple of pints of Halifax lubricant .  Then ferrying the daughter to cheer and back made my window of running opportunity later in the evening than I would like.

How was it you ask?  It was a terrible treadmill run. The lubricant combined with the tired legs from last nights effort made tonight a tough go.  I started out at a 10 min mile pace and slowly dialed it back towards 9 min miles but it was a slog all the way.  The only sunshine is that I was not sure if the pains that I was feeling were real or a product of the Keith’s. The song da da da da da and it is over now kept repeating itself on my internal stereo and it is over now and I am glad that I slogged it out.

Cheers Plod On.

Wednesday Weigh in

March was an awful month for my body image. The exercise dropped off and the weight went on.  I stepped on the scale on April 1rst to a shocking number and nobody said April Fools and it was not a joke. Up 5 pounds in march (expletive). 

So not tracking weight lead to unprecedented gains, and I am embarrassed by the number posted so am starting to track:

Wednesday Weigh In – Week 0

This week: 0 Pounds
Total: 0 pounds

Maybe I should also track %body weight like on the biggest loser. Thoughts?

Streak to the beach - Day 3

Time : 41:20 Minutes
Distance : 4.51 Miles
Total: 8.68 miles

After temps in the +20s yesterday we woke up to a fine layer of snow on the ground this morning.  By the time I met the group at the running room the snow had melted but the temps were starting to drop.  The wind picked up and it started to snow as we started to run.  By the time we reached the turnaround point big heavy flakes were falling and the visibility was dropping as we were running uphill into the blinding snow.  It was a great run, there is nothing like a little adversity to make a run seem worthwhile.

Plod On.

Streak to the beach

Day 2

Time : 15 Minutes
Distance : 1.52Miles
Total: 4.17 miles

Treadmill Recovery Run.

Interesting morning, it was a bit of a struggle getting up and motivated for day 2.  The plan was to do a recovery run, the minimum distance at a slower pace just to work the kinks out.  I almost followed the plan, I turned the pace down to just better than 10 minute miles and then extended the run for an extra 5 minutes.  I could have gone farther but was feeling it my SI joint  and my right shin was burning and tired. Weird. That made the decision easy to not  overdo the first week of this madness.

I still have to find a simple strength routine and start it!

Plod On.

Streak to the beach

I have been running intermittently over the past year as I have struggled moving from injury to injury while trying to maintain some semblance of decent milage. Frankly it has gotten easier to not run than to run and running has been much more organic and less directed.

Spring has sprung (fingers crossed) and it is time for a new initiative. I thought that "streak to the beach" would serve two purposes 1) motivate me to be less ad hoc in my approach to running; 2) help me combat my growing belly. The new running streak includes running a minimum of one mile daily from April 1 to July 1 and 3 strength sessions a week. And it Starts today.

Streak to the Beach: Day 1

Time : 25 Minutes
Distance : 2.65 Miles
Total: 2.65 miles

Treadmill Run.

Plod On.