Where did the warmth go?

As quickly as it came, the nice warmer weather has disappeared. So, back in the brisk 40s (10 or so degrees lower than normal) we are, for the remainder of this week at least. Only got in one run this past week, but did get in another Yoga X session in lieu of a run.

Last Tue (3/22) was a quick 5 miler going in the clockwise direction. I think its was my best pace for that distance, clocking in at a 9:42 mile. It was tough going from the start, probably from Yoga two days prior, but was pleasantly surprised when I realized what my pace was at the end. The plan was to hit 7 miles on friday, but that was put on hold due to extenuating circumstances. I did Yoga X in its place, and thankfully can say it was a touch easier than the previous session. Hope I can keep Yoga in the rotation.

The plan tonight is 8, since I missed out on the 7 last week, and my previous long run was 6 miles, I figure its not too crazy of a jump. Hoping I'm not upping it too quickly, lest I injure myself again, or, further injure myself.  I'm going to take it easy, maybe look to do around 10:30 miles. I did 7 miles back in January, at a 10:51 pace. And lets hope I'm in better shape than I was back then! The planned route: Enter CP at 59th, heading north on the east side. Cross over to go west at 72nd, continue north on the west side, all the way up and wrap around on 110th, repeat that upper loop (from 102 to 110th), then come down the east side to 72nd, cross over again to the west side, then head south on the west side, and complete the loop at the 59th street entrance. I think the exact distance is around 8.04 miles. Wish me luck.

T-Shirt Time!

First, another quick events update: Registered for the American Heart Association's Wall Street Run (3M) on 5/17 as well as the annual JP Morgan Corporate Challenge (not a NYRR race) on 6/15. This will be my third year doing the JPM CC. Very disappointed with last year's time, even given the crowds. So, hoping it'll be better this year (time that is, it'll be crowded regardless).

So the last 3 weeks have been very consistent. Since the beginning of March, I've been able to get out twice/week, and have now re-established my base at 5 miles. So this past Tue I upped it to 6 (outer park loop). Finished in just under an hour, for an average pace of 9:53, which would be the first time I've done a sub-10 min/mile for that distance. Felt good doing it too. Funny thing now is, I used to prefer doing the loop clockwise (the "wrong" direction), but now, I think I actually prefer going counter clockwise, or the "right" direction. And my stats do show that I'm faster going counter clockwise. I should mention the Scotland Run (10k), will be in the clockwise direction. Hmmm...

My second run of last week was on Friday, when the temps soared into the upper 70s! It was such a welcome surprise, but the biggest thing was actually going out for the run in just shorts and a t-shirt. On my way out of the building, I almost felt underdressed without the under armour, running tights/pants, gloves, hat, hand warmers, etc. So on this fine day I tackled hills, doing 6x the hill by the Boathouse. I think it went pretty well, as the 6 repeats went by pretty quickly. I think the most challenging part of the run was trying to dodge all the people in my way, as the warmer temps drew out everyone and anyone. On the last repeat, I continued up to 90th street, took a quick breather there, and then head back down to where I usually enter on 59th. Overall, good run.

Was going to go out for another run yesterday, though not as warm, was still a very nice and sunny day. Laziness got the better of me, so I ended up staying in, but, I did do Yoga X in place of it. And it was a good thing I did.  It was TOUGH. I even had a hard time doing all the push ups in the routine. My hip flexors and groin were super tight, and it felt really good stretching them out through yoga. Moderately sore in my legs, chest and shoulders today. I wonder if it'll be worse tomorrow.

Thats pretty much it for now. Hope to keep the rhythm going, and to hit 7 miles this week. If I can do that, and then up it to 9 next week, I'm going to sign up for the LI Half. If not, then the focus turns to the DC Tri (aka- find a pool to train in!!). 'Til next time....

DC, Vegas and Maybe LI

I'll start with another events update. On top of the races I registered for in the previous post, including the DC Triathlon, I am now also registered for the Las Vegas Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon on Dec 4, 2011! I'm still deciding on the LI Half (I should probably check if there is still availability), and will probably make my decision by April 1, dependent on how my training goes. I'm leaning towards not doing it, so I can kind of focus my current training on the Tri. I dont want to take this too lightly, which I feel like at the moment, I am. Task #1: find a pool to train in. Will probably also sign up for the Wall Street run (3M), on May 17.

I attended a Tri clinic last night, sponsored by NYRR's Team for Kids. Provided some very basic information, so it was good in that sense. But they did gear it more towards the NYC Tri in August, which of course is not the one I'm doing. That one is also Olympic distance, as opposed to my Sprint distance. But got a lot of my questions out of the way. So I think I came out of it better informed. And knowing is half the battle, right?

Onto a little training recap, which I've been super lazy with, the recaps, not the training. Well, maybe the training too. Training has been sporadic, to say the least. Since the start of the new year, I would be good for about a week or 2, then drop off for a week or 2. Rinse, and repeat.  So now that we just started March, I'm trying to get back into some kind of rhythm. Goal for the past week or so was to just re-establish  my base at 5 miles. Went twice last week, and twice this week. Currently hovering around a 9:50 mile, which I'm satisfied with, at the moment. I think my plan now is to have one more 5-miler at about a 9:50 pace, then start cranking out the hills and tempo runs, along with the long runs. Then theres the more difficult part of trying to mix in the cross training for bike and swim. As I said all along, I'm not very concerned about the bike. But what I must concern myself with is the bike to run transition. Many say that is most difficult. I may give it a shot Sunday if the weather cooperates.

So thats where we stand as of now. Many things ahead. Should be fun!

Events Update

4/10/2011: Scotland Run 10k- REGISTERED
4/23/2011: NYRR 4-Miler- REGISTERED
5/14/2011: UAE Healthy Kidney 10k- REGISTERED
6/19/2011: DC Triathlon (Sprint Distance)- REGISTERED (O..M..G!)

And just like that...

Another month has gone by! Its been cold...blah, blah, blah....its been snowy, I can't believe I let a month go by....etc...blah, blah....

In any case, the running has been sporadic, but somehow going well.  The NYRR Gridiron Classic (4M) was this past Sunday (2/6). That went pretty well, finished in 39:05 (9:46 pace)- which would be a PR for me! Since April is quickly sneaking up on me, I think I may have to opt for the LI Half-Marathon in May, rather than the 13.1 NY Half on April 2. That will still give me enough time to train for the DC Tri, which I'm still on the fence about.

So good news is that I've been running a sub 10 min/mile pace for the past several runs, except for when I do hills, of course.  Bad news also is that I've developed a case of plantar fasciitis in my right foot. It was really painful the day after the race. But last night I fashioned a splint for it and today, I'm almost pain free, which is super-encouraging. I've ordered an actual night splint for it, which I'm hoping will help with the pain.

So, this is it for now. Hoping to get another run in (plantar fasciitis permitting) on friday. An hoping to get some yoga in there too, to stay stretched out an limber.

Off the Wagon

Well, its been about a month since my last P90X workout. A month. Sad but true. Three runs is all I've done since the last post on 12/21 (well, 4, if you include the day of the last post, since I went for a run that night). Dec 12 was the last time I did a P90X workout. Now I could start listing the excuses or justifications for my lack of working out, but I won't. At the end of the day, I've just been lazy. No more, no less.

So, to recap a little....I did 6 miles the day of the last post, which is once around Central Park. It was a good run, 10:40 pace.  I went clockwise (the "wrong" way), which is my preferred direction to run in. Temps were right around 32, and was windy. Next run was on Christmas Eve, did a little over 4 miles, but did some hill training. I did the hill near the Boat House in central park. Its about a .2 mile round trip up and down, so I did 5 reps. On the final rep, I wanted to continue all the way up to 90th and come back down, but I was just too tired. So I stopped around 85th and came back down. Tired, but an overall good workout. The type of workout which I will not neglect this time!!

So, after a long layoff (11 days, I believe)- I went back out on Tue (1/4) for my usual 5 miles. My legs felt like bricks. I actually made it a tempo run, after a 1 mile warm up. Did 2x 2miles, and lets just say was probably a bad idea considering it was my first day back after an 11 day break. My feet hurt (arches to be exact), legs were sore. Not pretty. And I wasnt running as fast as I had liked, for a tempo run. Since there was supposed to be snow in the forecast again (which it did today), I went out again yesterday (1/6) and was able to do 7 miles! Legs felt a little better, but were still a bit sore from the previous run. I wanted to just make the 7 miles, so I made it an easy, long run. Conditioning was good, was not too badly out of breath, but my legs struggled by mile 5. Final pace ended up being around 10:50, which actually is not bad, compared to my 10k pace from Cow Harbor (11:10).

So the Mizunos have been doing good, and bad. The Good: my knees, ankles (and hips even) still feel really good after runs, even after the 7 miler. The bad? Well, my forefoot has been getting very sore, almost like a feeling that the bone will rip through the skin! I'm hoping this is due to the fact that I haven't properly "broken" them in yet, as I've only logged 30 miles after last night. Also, these arent quite as cushiony as the LunarGlides. I still like the support, a lot, and is much better than the "squishy" mechanics of the LunarGlides. But, I must mention, that I have again pulled the trigger on another pair- the Asics Cumulus 12. If I'm going to do as many races as I plan on doing, well, I'm going to need them!

Which reminds me, too, I've joined the NYRR. And MAY attempt to do the 9+1 guaranteed entry for the 2012 NYC Marathon. I just need to find the 9 races to do. And I've decided on option 1b from the previous post, which is to wait until the possible second lottery (Jan 15), and if that fails, go with the 13.1 Marathon Series (aka World Vision) on April 2.

Well, that sums up the last 3 weeks. I may have to come up with a hybrid program now to mix P90X and running, since either way, I'll be doing a half marathon in less than 3 months. YIKES! 'till next time....

Disappointing Week

Disappointing in both that I've somewhat fallen off the wagon, and, I was not selected for the NYC Half Marathon. I have several options though, which I must now weigh, for the Half:

Option 1: Wait until Jan 15, in which NYRR may hold a secondary drawing and see if I get in.
  Option 1a: If I dont get in again, then run for Charity (losing 1 month of fundraising time!)
  Option 1b: If I dont get in again, sign up for the World Vision Half 13.1 on Apr 2
Option 2: Withdraw from the secondary drawing, and just run the NYC Half for Charity (maintaining the extra month to fund raise).
Option 3: Withdraw from the secondary drawing and just sign up for the World Vision Half on April 2.

Decisions.....decisions.....

I'm not really sure what happened, but since the last post, I had volleyball that night, and have not done much of anything since, except for a 5 mile run at about a 10:20 pace on friday. So since 12/13, until today, 12/21- ONE RUN! Severely lacking motivation to workout. Its like a switch got shut off, no drive, no desire. To make things worse, my nutrition, though already not the greatest overall, has been even worse the past few days! I'm now debating if I should just wait until after Christmas, then start back up with 2 weeks of Phase 2, a recovery week and then jump into Phase 3. Or, if I should try to start now. Either way, I'm going for a run tonight, to try to jump start things again. I think I may shoot for 6 miles. Regardless of which Half marathon I end up doing, I figure I'll need to start ramping up the training very soon anyway, since they are only 2 weeks apart. Lets hope I can finish off P90X in the process.

Here's to hoping I have a better trainig week.....

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!

Phase 2 and ARX, finally

Well, it seems like forever (and if you think about it, it has) since I've been into Phase 2 of the X.  In fact, I think the last time I did a "Phase 2 Week" was probably June 2009, before the wedding. Since then I've yet to make it out of Phase I. So here I am, thought it deserved its own update!

Chest, Shoulders, Triceips. How I've missed you! (Yea, right!). Just as I remembered, a seriously Tricep intensive workout, as Chest and Shoulder moves will require some tricep as well. Needless to say, my tri's burned out quickly and frequently. Though I felt I did alright, for a workout that I haven't done in about 15 months. My numbers weren't great, and I did take a couple extra breaks in order to let my tri's recover a little, esepecially before the One-armed push ups and Plyo/Clap push ups. Some of you may remember a video I posted (which is still there actually) of me doing the plyo push ups, in which I believe I got up to 7.  Sad to admit that I could only do about 4 clap push ups. Will soon work my way back up. One interesting note was how I felt at the end. Though my triceps were on FIRE, overall, my energy level was still pretty high, and didnt find myself too tired at all. I dare to say that I probably could have gone for a brisk run afterwards!

And I finally decided to do Ab Ripper X in this round. I hadn't touched it yet since starting round 3. I started with 15 reps of each move (except those that required moves in twos, which I did 16). I was thrilled that I was able to get through it decently, at 15 reps. Will up it to 16 next time, and so forth. Glad to see that running has kept my core in decent shape. The soreness for both abs and C/S/T arent too bad. I'd classify it as moderate and tolerable. I mean its definitely there, but I've felt much, MUCH worse.

Had vball last night, so will tackle plyo once again tonight. Hopefully that will go as "well" as it has. My right ankle is still a little tweaky, so I may have to back off the intensity a bit. Thur should be Back and Biceps, Fri: I think I'm planning a run, Saturday: Yoga and Sunday: Legs & Back. We'll see how well I do.

PS. all my "gear" is starting to arrive. All the Nike gear is in, just waiting on my Mizuno's and the New Balance running vest. Uber excited....haha. 

PPS!! The lottery for the NYC Half will take place on Dec. 15th. Will be sure to update once I hear back on that!