Trying Thursday

Another perfect day in paradise, temps in the mid 70’s, sunny. Can’t get any better.  My legs were tired from the ride yesterday and I was feeling  it in every step.

My plan was to do an easy ride minimizing the hills and keeping flat as much as possible.  That meant a north / south route.

I encountered a significant obstacle in the early part of the ride.  There was a house in the center of the street blocking both sidewalks. This was kind of a surprise, they were getting ready to move the house and had it trailered up and moved into the street. The real move must have been set to happen in the dead of night.

I rode 12.5 km in 35:58 on my ride for Stage 18 of Le Tour Challenge.

Only three more days left in the tour.

Plod on.

Twilight Tuesday

It was perfect weather today, the sun was shining, the temperatures were in the mid 20’s and there was no wind. Perfect tanning weather.

We took the dog down to the river for a swim tonight and witnessed first hand how the main channel was changed in the flood. We walked down a gravel bar that was not there a month ago and beachcombed the debris looking for treasures unearthed by the raging waters. Side note there were a lot of shovels.

The sun was setting when we got home. I climbed on my bike and did my Stage 16 of Le Tour Challenge albeit mine was 160 km shorter than The Tour. I rode 8 km in 23:16. 

An easy ride but I kept my tour streak alive.

Plod on.

Mundane Monday

Streak to the beach - Day 91

Time : 29:06 Minutes
Distance : 3.25 Miles 
This Week: 3.25 Miles

Total: 311.35 Miles

Runner’s World Summer Streak - Day 35

Week 5: 3.25 Miles  
Total: 152.15 Miles

A very hot day, hottest day of the year so far. Lucky for me I crawled out of bed and into my running kit and pounded out a 3.25 mile recovery run. To celebrate Canada Day (Dominion Day for us old folks) I wore my Canada running Jersey. I have only worn this for races on foreign soil and on Canada day runs.

The rest of the day was pretty mundane, breakfast, kids, shopping etc. I finished off with day 3 of “le tour challenge”. I rode 10.1 km to MRU in 39:35 minutes with my son.  This was his first ride after being hit by a car while riding 2 weeks ago. He was a little more careful tonight.

For this mornings run I wanted something a little bit flatter to give my legs a little break after the 9.5 miles yesterday and the very difficult climb at the end of the run.

I kept the run at the top of the hill and headed south across a couple of major streets. This let me keep a lot of the run on residential streets (I hate running on sidewalks). I started off really slow and struggled up the modest hill before turning south.  Once my legs were warmed up I got into a grove and just let it flow for the rest of the run. It ended up being a lot of fun.

A good Canada Day run.

Plod On.

Watchful Wednesday

Streak to the beach - Day 87

Time : 30:00 Minutes
Distance : 3.3 Miles 
This Week: 10.55 Miles

Total: 287.95 Miles

Runner’s World Summer Streak - Day 31

Week 5: 10.55 Miles  
Total: 128.7 Miles

Finally a perfect day, bright and sunny all day and temperatures in the mid 70’s. Perfect for running.  But alas, I chose to run on the treadmill tonight.  I wanted to have a controlled run on a flat course to see if the pain in my calf continued for a third run.  The treadmill is perfect for those criteria.

The run itself was simple.  No incline and starting pace of 9:30, then after 10 minutes I changed the pace to 9:00 and then after another 10  minutes I changed the pace to 8:30 and held that for the rest of the run.

I felt some tightness in my right shin but my calf felt ok for the entire run.  So it might just have been stressed from the hills.

I may have been running on a treadmill but my mind was running here.

Plod On.

Twilight Tuesday

Streak to the beach - Day 79

Time : 28:57 Minutes
Distance : 3.25 Miles 
This Week: 6.25 Miles

Total: 259.35 Miles

Runner’s World Summer Streak - Day 23

Week 4: 3.25 Miles  
Total: 97.55 Miles

It was another wild day, raining buckets at noon, sunny in the early evening then cloudy and grey as the sun set. Well I did not run in the rain and I did not run in the late afternoon sun so that left the twilight for me.

Now if today had been Monday the title for this post would have been Mosquito Monday.  As soon as I stepped outside they were swarming around, and when I paused to take this picture I thought I was going to be eaten alive or at least carried off by the buggers.

I chose a route in the neighbourhood that is a shorter version of a 4.5 mile run that I have done frequently. It combines trails and gravel, residential streets and a few hills. 

Tonight there was a little surprise on the route, one of the fields I usually run through had this sprout up on it.

It is time for the Hellenic Festival where the local Greek Orthodox Church hosts a weekend of Greek culture and cuisine.  Every year it is a great weekend party that literally rocks this section of town.

The other surprise was that as I turned onto the street in front of my house a black cat went scurrying across the street and a young buck with it’s velvet horns took off in the other direction. I went back to take a picture but the deer was long gone.

My plan was for a shorter recovery run and I held off  for a while but the pace picked up for the middle part of the run. Overall I ran an easy pace and just grooved out to running in the almost dark. It’s kinda cool for me as the darkness removes all the distractions and lets me focus on the run.

A great night and a fun run.

Plod On.

Moody Monday

Streak to the beach - Day 78

Time : 26:10 Minutes
Distance : 3.0 Miles 
This Week: 3.0 Miles

Total: 256.1 Miles

Runner’s World Summer Streak - Day 22

Week 4: 3.0 Miles  
Total: 94.35 Miles

Today was another day of sun and rain. Afternoon thunderstorms rolled through and cleared off for a nice evening. Buying a loaf of sourdough bread offset the dentist’s visit and a visit to the British pantry to stock up on English treats and tea was just a bonus.

I decided to do a treadmill run tonight to go for the low impact workout and give my connective tissue a little break. After yesterday’s long run it was hard to get motivated to workout tonight. I went down to the treadmill thinking 10 minute miles for one or two miles.  As usual the first few minutes were a tough haul then things eased off so when 5 minutes rolled around I bumped the pace, then at 10 minutes another bump and at 15 minutes another bump and at 20 minutes I settled into a 7:40 pace for the last 6 minutes. In the last interval I could feel my knee start to hurt, so maybe I should back off on speed for a while.

So recovery turned into progression, an all too common experience.

Plod On.

Sudden Death Saturday

Streak to the beach - Day 76

Time : 25:41 Minutes
Distance : 2.8 Miles 
This Week: 21.55 Miles

Total: 244.85 Miles

Runner’s World Summer Streak - Day 20

Week 3: 21.55 Miles  
Total: 83.10Miles

Another Schizophrenic  day weather wise.  The morning started out nice so I busted out the lawnmower and put a some easy miles on trimming the grass in the weather window.  Almost as soon as I finished the thunderstorms rolled in and the rest of  the day was rain on and off. I lit the BBQ in a weather window and ended up grilling dinner in the rain.

I put off the run watching the hockey game, then 9:00 rolled around and the game was going into overtime.  I had a choice to make either watch  the game or run. Then an epiphany! I could do a sudden death run while watching the OT period.  So the rules became run either the minimum or run until a goal was scored to end the game, whichever took longer.

I set the treadmill at a 0.5% incline and 9:30 pace and started up as the players hit the ice.  25:41 minutes later Boston scored and I stepped off the treadmill.

Weirdest run I ever did.

Plod On.

Tardy Thursday

Streak to the beach - Day 74

Time : 30:00 Minutes
Distance : 3.35 Miles 
This Week: 14.55 Miles

Total: 237.85 Miles

Runner’s World Summer Streak - Day 18

Week 3: 14.55 Miles  
Total: 76.10Miles

The day seemed like a rush, I felt like I was late for everything and always hurrying. Even my run was put off until the kids had been rushed to bed. It was a big day for my son as his school soccer team battled for the gold medal in their division on a cloudy and rainy day.

Unfortunately they came up a little short and had to settle for the silver medal. This picture was taken as I was sitting in the relative heat and comfort  in the car whilst they were not!

I had a little nap while watching the tube and then got up in time to put the kids to bed and at 9:00 headed down to run.  My motivation was this youtube video.  I was tired and my legs were rubbery but the thought of 1/2 hour for exercise out of 24 was god motivation.

The treadmill run was kinda boring, at least there is a TV in there.

But it did what the treadmill does best and forced me to run the pace that I planned.  Tonight I did a quick warm up at 10 min miles then set the pace at just under 9:00 and held it there for the majority of the remaining run.

A good recovery run on a cold and rainy night.

Plod On

Wild Wednesday

Streak to the beach - Day 73

Time : 41:47 Minutes
Distance : 5.25 Miles 
This Week: 11.25 Miles

Total: 234.50 Miles

Runner’s World Summer Streak - Day 17

Week 3: 11.25 Miles  
Total: 72.75 Miles

A perfect day for a run 21 degrees and mainly sunny. I decided not to head for the running and to run in a flatter area on even surfaces to destress my knee.

It was meant to be a recovery run, but it turned out more like a tempo. I wanted a long slow run on a flatish course to give my knee a little break. I thought it started out that way I was running a slight down hill (as the river flows) at a very comfortable pace. But the splits were coming out at 5;10 /km.  I made the turnaround point and started the hard part of the run and still was getting decent splits had a vary strong finish and a very decent run.

I took this picture to provide a comparison to the last time I ran this course in April.

The picture from my Run for Boston Run was taken in a location close to this spot and shows quite a contrast.  6 weeks makes a big difference.

Perfect day, almost perfect run.

Plod On

Slowdown Saturday

Streak to the beach - Day 69

Time : 40:49 Minutes
Distance : 4.1 Miles 
This Week: 21.3 Miles

Total: 226.25 Miles

They say timing is everything, and tonight timing worked in my favour. I put off my run until the early evening and then as I finished it started to rain (as in thunderstorm).

The plan for the run was just a recovery run.  Put in some slow miles and keep the legs loose. I decided to run down to the river on the bike path which follows the old Quarry Road.

This was a good choice for running down the hill as the grade is not that severe and the footing is softer and easier on the connective tissue (read knees).

The river is showing the effects of two weeks of rain filling the channel from bank to bank and flooding some of the little islands.

The run back up the hill was steeper and on a route I have not run before.

Not to mention that there was a remarkable contrast between the gravel quarry road (above) and the major road I paralleled here.

All in all it was a good run and a nice change.

Plod On.

Tight Thursday

Streak to the beach - Day 60

Time : 20:00 Minutes
Distance : 2.1 Miles 
This Week: 18.3 Miles

Total: 189.55 Miles

Wow what a weird day, I woke up at 3:30 AM with aching legs and tight SI joints. I headed down to my hovel and started slaving over the computer , then downtown for a 10:00 presentation. As I was walking to my meeting I felt a pulling feeling on my right heel. It made me wonder if that pesky bone spur was cropping up again.

By the time the end of the day came around I was pretty bagged and I did not have the motivation to head out for a run. That is where day 4 of the Summer streak came in, all I had to do to meet the requirement was jog one mile.  Even when you have no energy you can jog one mile, right?

With that in mind I headed to the treadmill to put in my minimum commitment, I set the incline for 0.5%, set the pace for 10 min miles and turned on the fan. I struggled through the first mile, then bumped the pace to a 9:00 min mile then laboured counting the seconds to the 20 minute mark. As soon as the clock hit 20 I shut her down and called it a night.

Junk miles are still miles right.

Plod On.

Tentative Thursday

Streak to the beach - Day 46

Time : 22:00  Minutes
Distance : 2.5 Miles 
This Week: 6.0 Miles

Total: 164.25 Miles

I ran on Monday in the hotel fitness center. Towards the end of the run I felt a little twinge in my right hip SI joint. After the run it tightened up and was a little painful when I moved. By the time I woke up on Tuesday I was definitely favouring it. I decided to take the day off and see how I felt on Wednesday. Wednesday came and I felt another day of was the smart thing to do.

I woke up this morning and headed for the treadmill with the intention of doing a recovery run at an easy pace and bailing at the first sign of discomfort.  I set the treadmill for 10 minute miles for a warm up, then pushed the pace to 9:00 minute miles and kept increasing the pace every few minutes.  In the end it turned out to be a very good run at a very good pace and without pain. I stopped after 22 minutes with the thought that I would rest my hip for a while and then pick it up and finish the run later. I didn’t.

A good run, a good start.

Plod On.

Amalgamated Monday-Wednesday

Wednesday Weigh In – Week 6

This week: 0 Pounds
Total: 13 pounds

What can I say? That is not a pretty picture.  0 losses this week. it was kind of an up and down week that ended up being flat.  I don’t know what is going on it seems that on alternating weeks I have reasonable losses and then I plateau. Looks like I have some work to do to get back on target!  I might have to go out and buy a juicer or go on the soup diet.

I ended up not running on Tuesday or Wednesday as those tinges that I felt in my SI  joint on Monday became tightness and a little painful.  It was enough of a concern that I decided to rest it for a few days and then try again.

Streak to the beach - Day 43

Time : 30:00  Minutes
Distance : 3.5 Miles 
This Week: 3.5 Miles

Total: 161.75 Miles

Another morning another hotel treadmill.  Staying at the Delta in Edmonton, in a very nice but dated suite.  The bedroom had floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the mall. That was kinda weird.

Not that I had a lot of time to get used to it. We arrived late Sunday night, Worked Monday until Midnight and checked out at 7:30 AM on Tuesday. That is not a lot of time to be staring out windows.

The run was OK, the treadmill had seen better days, it squeaked when I ran in the center of the track. If  I ran offset either to the left or right it did not. That made me a little nervous as my footfalls are too close to the edge. I failed to bring my headphones so I was stuck watching sports highlights without commentary.  Who knows that might be a better way to watch.

I set the treadmill for an easy pace and just grooved out the 30 minutes. At the end of the run I started to feel a twinge in my SI joint area, and backed off a bit.

Nice Hotel, Nice Run but no bananas!

Plod On.

Trashy Thursday

Streak to the beach - Day 39

Time : 30:00  Minutes
Distance : 3.2 Miles 
This Week: 15.6 Miles

Total: 144.7 Miles

What a day. I spent 10 hours trapped in a room with 12 Engineers facilitating a meeting and collecting data from a group of people that never make mistakes.  I came home mentally drained and definitely not motivated to run. I managed to put it off until just about 9:00 then it was time to shit or get off the pot.

I started the treadmill at 6.4 mph and tried to settle into a pace but nothing was feeling right, my stride was off, my legs were hurting and I was struggling.  I was ready to pack it in after 10 minutes and take the daily minimum. I continued slogging along hoping to make 20 minutes, then persevered for the last 10 minutes, stopped the treadmill and hopped off.

I ran junk miles but kept the streak alive.

Plod On.

Tardy Tuesday

Streak to the beach - Day 37

Time : 36:00  Minutes
Distance : 4.0 Miles 
This Week: 7.3 Miles

Total: 136.4 Miles

It seemed like everything was late today, including my run after tucking the little ones into bed.  Well one of the little ones anyway, the littlest one. Now if only the tardiness can hold over to the wake up tomorrow!

Yesterday I pulled these out of the drawer to run in.

After a mile or so I found out why it had been so long since I had worn them.  The shorts kept riding up and my inner thighs started to chafe, and I was constantly readjusting them. It is time to do one of the things I find hardest to do, say good bye to running gear.  I don’t know if it is superstition or the fear of new stuff not working right, or maybe each piece holds memories of the runs we did together.  These shorts were the first ones I bought when I decided to run more seriously after the kids were born.  But Alas tonight I said good bye and got rid of them.

The run tonight was very simple. I set the incline at o.5%  I set the pace at 9:00 minute miles and just hunkered down and Forest Gumped it for 4 miles, 36 minutes of no thinking no effort running.

Funny I was still sweating when I finished.

Plod On.

Motivation Monday (NOT)

Streak to the beach - Day 36

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

Total: 132.4 Miles

I was not motivated to get out of bed this morning, I was not motivated to work and I definitely was not motivated to run. It started when I woke up with my muscles feeling generally fatigued from running the equivalent of a half marathon on Saturday and Sunday. I spent the rest of the day moving slowly.

Well if it is not too cold it is too hot. The temperatures hit 27 C  (85 F) here today at peak running time. Too hot to run, for this thick blooded Canadian anyway. Even in the evening it had barely cooled down.

The alternative to running outside in the heat was to head down to the cool basement and do my run in a controlled environment on the treadmill. I opted for the controlled environment and rationalized it as being able to control the pace better to manage a recovery run.

The run itself was simple, I started out slow and then stayed in the 9 – 10 minute mile pace band for most of the run then towards the end slipped to an 8:40 pace then for the last 2 minutes hit 7:30.

A good start to the week.

Plod On.

Tepid Thursday

Streak to the beach - Day 32

Time : 30:00 Minutes
Distance : 3.45 Miles 
This Week: 14.57 Miles

Total: 115.45

Wow, what a day! It was +18 & sunny.  I spent lunch hour lying outside soaking up the first rays of the year.  Then spent an hour outside after school watching my son play soccer on a pitch with a screaming chilly wind.  This is a land of contrasts.

After all of that I still had to run and running in a strong chilly wind was not that appealing. I headed downstairs and jumped on the treadmill.  I started out at a very easy 6.4 mph to warm up, then spent the next 15 minutes running at a 9 min mile pace. After 20 minutes the pace jumped to just under 8:30 pace and finally a few minutes at a 7:30 pace.  All in all it felt really good.

Sunshine, wind and a nice run, a good day.

Plod on.

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.

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.

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.