8 miles

Completed the planned 8 miles, and thought since it was kind of a milestone, it deserved its own update. I mean, its certainly not the first time I've done this distance, but it surely has been a very long time. The stats:

Distance: 8.07
Time: 1:23:05
Pace: 10:21
Weather (at start): 45 degF, sunny and breezy

Thats actually better than the 10:30 I was shooting for. This also included 2 walk breaks of about 1-2 min each. To think if I didnt have to walk?? I think what was most killer was doing the upper portion (from 102nd to 110th) of the loop, twice. Ironically though, one of my better splits included the second time around that loop. Perhaps it was a result of the uber generous couple who were handing out bottles of water! I re-fueled with Jelly Belly's Sport Beans around mile 4, near Lasker Pool. I went against my better judgment getting a fuel source that wasnt liquid (or at least a gel), and I paid for it. I should also mention that my quest to find some Gu energy packs was unsuccessful, which is why I ended up with the jelly beans.  The note on the package even said to take it with water, which is what made that couple handing out water even more of a Godsend. But asides from the slight cramping and other gastric issues from the beans, it did help me push through the final 2 miles of the run, which were basically unchartered territory.

I felt myself struggling just shy of mile 6. Heck, I want to even say in the beginning of mile 5, and I thought to myself, "whats going on?! I do 5 miles all the time, and I did 6 last week at a sub 10 pace!" Thats when I realized it was doing the upper loop twice that took a toll. I also thought I took a wrong turn, and ended up doing less than 8 miles, and was a bit dismayed when I finished in the time that I did. But a quick recalculation in my head, and I realized I DID do the full 8 I had planned, and my night was much better.

All I can say was, I was TIRED. Tired and sore. My legs are incredibly sore, especially in the lower calf on both legs. Hip flexors, hammies are both sore as well, but tolerable.

Looking to do a hill or interval run on Thur, maybe a bike/run combo over the weekend, and then tackle 9 miles next week. 'Till next time!

Phase 2, Week 2: Complete!

Another solid training week in the books. All with the exception of Wed (12/8), where I fell asleep at 8pm, and didnt wake up until the next morning! I guess my body was craving a rest day after 9 consecutive days of working out/activity. Unfortunately, that was plyo day, and since I didnt want to revise my schedule, I commited the sin of skipping it. Sad, but true.

So the night of the last update (12/7), I did C/S/T, and I was able to do FOUR plyo push ups! Felt pretty good. That workout is still hard as heck. I skipped ARX that night. 12/9, after my nearly 12 hours of sleep, was Back & Biceps. I tried to use the 30s as much as I could, and ended up doing a lot of them assisted, which I preferred, over using the bands. Pull ups are still improving. I was able to do 6 unassisted consecutively, and then pounded out 2 more after a mid-set break, then another 2 for a total of 10 unassisted. Of course that didnt continue through the whole workout....

Friday was my first run with the Mizuno Creation 11. So instead of doing the usual 5 miles, I did a 5k, but tried to beat my previous time (according to my Nike+ which was 31:24). I was able to finish 5k in 29:40! Which translates to about a 9:30 pace, which! Is actually my first sub 10 min-mile for any run that I've done! So its either I'm getting better (thank you P90X) or, its the shoes. haha....lets just say its a little bit of both. But the Mizunos feel really good. Provide the support I've long been lacking, though touted as a cushioning shoe, its not quite as soft as the LunarGlides. Best of all, post-run, I had no aching or soreness in my ankles or feet. Good sign, good sign indeed.

Did Yoga X on saturday, was not able to do all of the Warrior 3 sequence as I was able to last week. Not really sure what happened. Had to briefly put the other foot down on each side.  I discovered it may be a bit easier if I lean a little further forward. In either case, its still much better than I have been doing.  L/B last night, amped this workout wiht the dumbbells. Used both 30s for calf raises and most of the squat moves. Also used it on the dead lift squats, even though Tony says not to. I just feel its a bit easy without, and instead of doing 20, I prefer to lower the reps and add the DB to it. I'm starting to feel it already today. Hope it wont affect vball later!

So, thats about it. May throw in a rest day tomorrow, and then restart another phase 2 week. Still debating if I'll extend it an extra week like I did Phase 1. I probably will.  Wed is the NYC Half lottery. Waiting in anticipation......

Full Phase 2 Week

It's been a very good past week, in which I've completed an entire Phase 2 week! With some extras sprinkled in. So, since last update (had done C/S/T and ARX on mon, vball on tue):

Completed Plyo on 12/1, it went pretty well, bonus round and all. Legs felt strong and the ankle didnt bother me much. Been actively trying to go deeper and jump higher to boost the intensity, like I need that! Thursday (12/2) was Back & Biceps, followed by ARX (which I did, AGAIN). I'm starting to see some decent progress on pull ups, which is very encouraging. I could only use the 30's on bicep work for maybe the first couple of moves, then had to resort to the bands. And I must add ARX was harder this time than compared to last time. Probably had to do with the fact that I was still a bit sore.


Friday, as a replacement for Kempo, I did another 5 mile run (in the cold! and dark!) in Central Park. Time was a bit slower than my previous few 5 milers, but was happy with my pace given the conditions. I was also still a little sore from Plyo, which was done 2 days prior. I should also mention I did a few "strides", which from what I read, is interspersing some sprints, so every half mile I threw in a 30 second sprint.  I went to get my gait analyzed at a running store afterwards. Had me walk, then jog on a treadmill. He determined that I'm a very mild pronator. I'm a bit skeptical of his assessment though. I'm almost pretty sure I land on the outside of my feet, which wouldnt make me a pronator at all. But oh well, I already have my next pair of running shoes ready to go!

*edit* - ok, I guess I had this whole "pronation" thing misunderstood. I'm a mild pronator, meaning I'm probably normal. Further, pronation, apparently, is more about how you roll from foot strike to toe-off, and not where you land. Glad I cleared that up for myself...haha

Saturday, after a long day of laundry, I still did Yoga. It's getting better and I can now do all the push ups again. BIG NEWS: I was able to do the ENTIRE Warrior 3/Half Moon sequence!! In fact, I felt like I wasn't even struggling on the right side! I was in utter shock! Big pat on back for me! haha....And Sunday, I was about to complete skip legs & back, as it was a tiring weekend and my legs were sore from running and yoga from the 2 days previous. But thanks to my wonderful wife, who is piecing together the workouts herself now, provided the encouragement and motivation for me to pound out L&B, along with ARX! Pretty decent workout, my left knee is still problematic. Though there are days where it feels FANTASTIC, yet others, like I'm a 90 year old man.


Yesterday was Vball, same ol' same ol'. So that wraps up the last week, havent had a rest day yet, and dont think I will. Tonight I'm flips back to C/S/T. Will get back to do my Plyo push ups again soon. 'Till next time!

Back in the Groove

I completed the planned 5 miles last Friday, as mentioned in my last post. Did well, 10:10 pace, and did it in about 51 min! To think, that's what I could have done for the NYRR 5 had it not been for my rookie mistake. The following 3 days (Sat, Sun, Mon) went well too, doing: Shoulders & Arms, Yoga and Legs & Back.

Nothing spectacular with S/A, as usual. I need to buy some 20 lb dumbbells. Trying to juggle either a 30 lb, or trying to hold two 10 lbs in one hand is getting a bit annoying.  Really worked the biceps, because they were actually sore the next couple of days. 

Yoga went well, did it all the way through (except the ohms) again. The warrior 3 sequence is still KILLER. I will one day be able to do the entire thing without putting my leg down.

Legs & Back, what can I say. Was done on Mon, and as of this post (Thur), my glutes and inner thighs are STILL SORE. Calves arent very sore this time, unlike the last time I did it. My left knee is still problematic. Some days are better than others, but I may need to consider seeing an orthopedist.

Took the next day (tue) off, and then I kicked off "Recovery" week last night with Core Synergistics. And you know what, it wasn't as bad as I remember it being. I'm thinking its probably because my conditioning has never been this good by the time I get to this workout. In fact, of all the times I've done this workout (which admittedly, has not been very much), I don't ever remember having much left in the tank for the "bonus" round. But I went into it with plenty of gas left in the tank. It felt good and was actually a little surprised that it was over so "soon".  One thing remains though, I still get a SPLITTING headache halfway through. I took a couple extra 45-60 second breaks to prevent it from getting too bad. I had thought the culprit were the banana rolls, superman/banana and bow to boat, but now I'm not so sure. I think its the Lunge and Reach, because you're constantly, "spinning". I noticed my head hurt a lot after that move. Will check it when I do it again, which I think should be Saturday.

Was supposed to be Volleyball tonight, but due to a lack of players, its not happening. So, I think I'm doing Yoga. I've also just signed up for the Garden City Turkey Trot! 5 mile race on Turkey day!

Ok, that became lengthy. Til next time!

Progress

10/21 Legs & Back: DONE!

10/22 Shoulders& Arms: Complete!

10/23 Yoga X: COMPLETE!

10/24 Plyo? We'll see....

The Plan

This is more a reminder for myself of how I'm going to handle the coming days...as of the previous update, I had volleyball that night. Last night (thur) I did Legs & Back (a more thorough recap later). The plan, as of now is:

Tonight (Fri): Shoulders & arms
Saturday: Yoga
Sunday: Plyo
Monday: Volleyball
Tue: Chest & Back

This will put 2 days in between plyo days (instead of 1, which would be....dangerous, not that 2 is all tha much better....haha). At least if I go with whats scheduled. I may do another 5 mile run on Wed instead, weather permitting.

Obstacles...

So last Wed., I actually got up early in the morning again, to pound out Shoulders and Arms, only to feel, somewhat "not right". I felt it was probably better to not do the workout and crawled back into bed (contrary to popular belief, I actually REALLY wanted to do the workout and was kinda bummed!). So, turned out my hunch was correct, and I ended up having a stomach bug.  Fortunately for me, it was only about a 24 hour thing, but it did sideline me from working out for three days in total.

Therefore, on Saturday, to sort of make up for the missed days, I did the first half of Yoga X (which should have been done on Thur), and then jumped into Shoulders & Arms. All I had were my 30 lb dumbbells, which were ok for about the first few moves, and had to modify from there. Also had a pair of 10 pounders, which I used for lateral raise type moves. Took another rest day on Sunday (seriously, was going to go for a ride, but was darn tired,  dang it!). But since this supposed first week didnt go very well, I decided to call it 'Week 0', and dive in the next day as my REAL week 1.

I already have to modify my schedule a bit. But was able to get C&B in on Monday (some moves slightly better, others, no as much, I suspect Saturday's Shoulders and Arms having to do something with it). Yesterday, I did a 5 mile run in CP, averaging about a 10:15 min-mile, which to date, is my best pace for that distance, EVER. I'm still wondering how people do like, 7 min-min miles. Crazy.

So today should have been Shoulders & Arms again, but I have volleyball. So, in the next 4 days (Thur-Sun), I need to somehow squeeze in: S&A, Yoga, Legs & Back, and Plyo; keeping in mind it'll be C&B again on Monday. As you can see, its quite leg intensive- so this will be a bit of challenge in how to put it all together.

'Till next time.

Still On Track (Sort of...)

I'm not to sure how my recaps ended up on a Tues, but I guess I'll keep that going until it changes again. So I had volleyball last tuesday, worked up quite a sweat. Took Wed and Thur off (was significantly sore from Yoga!). On Friday, I went out to CP and ran 5 miles.  Being that its been about 2 weeks since I last ran (Cow Harbor 10k), it was a pretty good run. After using the first couple miles as a warm up, I actively tried to push the pace a little bit, to be just outside of my comfort zone, with my average pace being 10:30 for the entire run. Broken down into mile splits (which Nike+ now has), after my warm up mileage, I was actually closer to a 10 min-mile, which is much faster than I had been running.  So all in all, was very happy with that run.

Had every intention to bike at least one day over the 3 day weekend, but it was nixed by trips to Ikea! haha...so though I did not take the bike out on saturday, I did remain active. How you ask? By putting together Ikea furniture! Ok, a bit of a stretch, but it beats sitting around doing nothing.

"Day 1: Chest and Back (~50 min)
One word describes this work out, INTENSE. workout essentially alternates chest (push-ups) and back (pull-ups). and on top of that, after you're done with that, you tackle Ab Ripper X, which is 339 reps of various ab exercises. the key to chest and back? PACE YOURSELF. you think you're all manly and do as many reps as you can in the beginning, when you repeat the set, forget it, i was down to 3 reps because i ran out of gas."

As I'm trying to restart the X, I thought it'd be fun to revisit my first post, from 2 years ago, when I first started P90X.  I quoted it above. I thought I was more descriptive, but I was not. And that last part about being down to 3 reps, yea, that was ON MY KNEES. So Monday I did in fact jump into Chest & Back. and man, its every bit as tough as it was on that day over 2 years ago. I tried to take it easy, but even so, I was pretty spent, ALMOST thought about not doing Round 2, but was determined to. I did have to skip Dive Bombers cuz quite frankly, I couldnt even do 1 at that point. Hoping next week will be better.

and FINALLY, another pat on the back as I, WOKE UP EARLY TO DO PLYO THIS MORNING!! Go t up at 6am, washed up, changed, downed a protein drink, and got started around 6:20.  Overall, it went well, I was able to keep up and not add any extra breaks (thank you half marathon), and my legs did get a good workout. Jump knee tuck and Rock Star hops are still the 2 most exhausting moves, ever. But as of right now, as I write this post, my legs feel fine, and I'm not even really sore from the workout.  In fact, I'm tempted to even say it doesnt feel like I actually DID plyo this morning. Perhaps I dreamt that I did...haha. But no, I KNOW I did =).

Ok, hoping the rest of the week goes as smoothly as the last couple of days, and hoping that I continue to get up to workout in the morning. Thanks for reading, 'til next time!

Chicago Half Marathon Recap and Lessons Learned

Chicago Half Marathon 

I did it! I actually did it! Part of me is still trying to settle with the fact that I completed a half-marathon. Crazy. As expected, my official finish time was 2:38:15, which equates to just about a 12 min-mile.  The day started with getting up at 4:45am, getting ready, and boarding the shuttle to the race at 5:30am. It waited until almost 6am before it left, and with the traffic due to the street closures for the race, we didnt arrive until 6:45am, 15 min before the race. Due to their port-a-potty shortage and my need to use the facilities before I run, the gun actually went off as I was still standing in line for the bathroom. In fact, I didnt join the slow march to the start line until 7:10ish, crossing the start line a little more than 15 minutes after.

It was a beautiful day, 60 degrees, low humidity. We really couldnt have asked for better conditions. I started out really well, taking the first 2 miles easy to warm up. After that, I picked it up a little bit, and was really trying to achieve negative splits, at least for the next couple miles. Made it to mile 5 without a water break.  Was good until about mile 7, and thats where I started to struggle. Got through mile 8 and 9, slowly, then went into a stretch where I was alternating walking and running in 1 or 2 min intervals. Got to the mile 12 marker, and told myself to finish strong. Started running, but could barely make it another quarter mile, before having to walk again. Got to the 'half-mile to go' marker, and sucked it up, and ran to the end. What an experience. All the months of training, all for this one moment. The thrill of crossing that finish line and saying, "I did it".

Lessons Learned
As I look back at my training and all, theres a few things that I really do regret or wish I did, to which I'm certain would have allowed me to have a better finishing time.

1.  Lack of training structure- Since I had signed up for the race so far in advance, somewhere in the back of my head, I kept telling myself that I had plenty of time to train.  This caused me to never get into any kind of flow or structure in my training runs. I would just head out for a run, and say to myself, "oh, I think I'll run this amount today".  
2.  Focusing all my effort in mileage-  I concerned myself too much with just increasing mileage.  Little did I cross-train, nor increase the intensity of my runs. This is what caused me to go from a 10:30 pace in April, to a mid 11 pace later on, even though I had been steadily running about 15 miles per week up to that point. 
3. Lack of intensity- This kind of goes with the previous point, but not being diligent with tempo, interval and hill training really, really hurt me. I did it once in a while, but nowhere near as regularly as I should have.

What's to come
So, there you have it.  I've completed my first Half-marathon. It was a great experience, and was going to decide, based on this experience, if I'm going to do it again. Verdict? HECK to the YES! Haha....in fact, I've placed my name into the lottery for the NYC Half in March! Here's to hoping I get selected! And now that I've purchased a bike, I'm giving the DC Triathlon (sprint distance) in June some heavy consideration.

So here's the plan for the coming weeks: taking the rest of the week off to recover, do 2 training runs before the Cow Harbor 10k on the 25th, take another 2 week break (light training/biking, if I do anything at all), then shooting for Oct 11 for the start of: Round 3, P90X. Yeah, baby. 'Til next time....

Recap: Maine Edition and the Home Stretch

Wow, we're down to single digit days until the half. Cue the anxiety!

Its been 2 weeks since the last update, and I've done only three *gasp!* runs! BUT! (there is a but), I did rack up about 60 miles worth of bike riding! So it's not as bad as it seems.

So I was in Bar Harbor, ME from 8/21-8/28, and only got one run in, on the first full day there. A moderately hilly 5 miles, which entered Acadia National Park. The hills were challenging, and once I got into the more level portion of my route, I was able to challenge myself by doing extended intervals. The temperature was in the lower 60s, but since it was gloomy and on the verge of rain, meant 100% humidity. Overall, it was an "okay" run.

For the next 3 days, as mentioned earlier, we did a lot of biking, to the tune of over 50 miles. The first day was the biggest challenge. Riding up Cadillac Mountain. From the house, it was just over 6 miles, and a 1500 ft. climb to the top, with the bulk of the climb coming in the final 3 miles, taking just under 2 hours. A far cry from the estimated "30 minutes" which the guy at the bike shop advised. Honestly, it was an amazing accomplishment, and had it not been for the running, I think I would have passed out.

Fresh off the 1500 ft climb, I did about 15 miles the next day, with moderate hills. A very scenic ride through Acadia National Park, down to Jordan Pond. Nothing too challenging, at least when compared to the previous day's feat.

The third and final bike day was a doozy, totalling 30+ miles on a rainy cold day. Thing was, it only ended up being 30+ miles due to a couple wrong turns! On some pretty hilly terrain to boot. Rode from Bar Harbor down to Sand Beach, then Thunder Hole, which was about 9 miles. Then the return trip would have taken us back through Jordan Pond, repeating the previous day's return. One swift wrong turn, then another, tacked on a bunch of needless HILLY miles. But hey, in the end, it was a GREAT workout.

Took the next 4 days off to recover (though I should mention that I did kayak one of those days), and did a 5 mile run, in 90+ degree weather. Though hot, humidity was down. First half of the run went great, then deteriorated quickly as the heat caught up with me. Last night's run, though a touch cooler (89 degrees?), the humidity was up, so was cut short after one lap around the southern
loop.

So its been an interesting past 2 weeks, and should be even more interesting next 10 days. The plan is to hit 10 miles tomorrow, and will cap the training there. Two shorter runs for the upcoming week before the race, and then it's showtime. Man oh man, here we go. Hope to have an update before then.

Running Recap (8/13 - 8/19)

Looks like its just about crunch time, 3 weeks left until the Half!

It was a pretty decent week, which included two 8 mile runs. One short 1.7 mile (which was shortened by heavy downpouring rain, yes, got drenched!), and an early morning 3 miler (this morning!). Both 8 milers came on relatively cooler and very low humidity days, which made them possible to begin with. What I realized from those two runs is that, given similar weather conditions, its not my conditioning and/or lungs that will prevent me from finishing (or at least finishing with a respectable time), its my legs. Anytime I surpass the 6 or 7 mile mark, everything starts to ache. From the balls of my feet, ankles, knees, and the newest one, my right hip flexor. This is what I get for not being as diligent with yoga as I had planned. But I completed both 8 milers in about 1:30, so that realistically puts me in the 2:30 range to complete the Half. Not what I wanted, but hey, as I have said before, I'm just looking to finish (in one piece!) at this point!

I cannot believe I actually peeled myself out of bed to run this morning. Got up around 6:15am, washed up, got dressed, and started around 6:30. All the experts recommend that you run in the morning, but man, it was tough. Even though the weather seems nice now, the humidity was around 75% this morning, which is trouble for me, despite the cooler temp.

So now its off to Maine for the week. No plans on slowing down the training though! Hopefully I'll get a long run in there somewhere. We'll be doing  a bit of biking, so at the very least, I know I'll stay active through the week.

Here is the route from this morning, courtesy of MapMyRun.com

Running Recap 5/31 and 100 miles!!

So I decided to make it a taper/recovery week, only doing 1 run for 4 miles. On Monday (Memorial Day) 5/31, I did play some softball and volleyball, which was good and served as a bit of cross training. I was more sore than I expected to be.  On Wed, I did 4 miles in Central Park on a new route: entering at 59th, I went west/north along the west side, crossed over at 72nd towards the east side, then went north on the east side up to 90th. Turned around and reversed course.

Right calf and hammy were sore for the next day or 2, which is what ultimately led to just taking the next few days off. The heat wave didnt help it either.

After my run yesterday (which will be in the next recap), I broke 100 miles for the year! Thought I'd take a moment and celebrate the milestone =)

Day 5: Legs & Back (finally), Day 6: Kenpo X

Ok, so I did Yoga on Friday, and L&B was supposed to be on Saturday. Suffice it to say, the weekend went terribly (workout-wise). Took both days off, so ended up doing Legs & Back yesterday (Monday). It went decently, my left knee is still a little problematic. Got better as the workout went along. I did a few of the moves on the stairs for better form. Bought a new pull up bar which is more accomodating of our new set up. $9 from walmart! Works well. Followed up the workout with ARX. Did 16 reps of all exercises (except leg climb and mason twists).

Tonight should be Kenpo, but I have softball. I'll see how that goes, may even do it after I get home, but not likely. Still working on my diet. Yesterday was about 30/35/35 (protein/carb/fat). Right now, I'm at: 35/40/25.

Tomorrow should be Chest & Back. May have to shift things around a bit, so it might become Shoulders & Arms. Stay tuned....