Running away with my thoughts

2011-10-08T19:56:00.000-04:00

So Sunday should have been my first ever Army 10 Miler race. But, alas, I'm still here in Massachusetts. You see, 4 ago my baby was born! Sure, he was premature by 3 months, but he's doing great. That's him in our first ever Kangaroo Care session in the NICU. He was intubated then, but now has a CPAP machine (like adults with apnea, or chronic snorers wear), so we don't really share pictures of him. Certainly after the CPAP is gone and you see his FACE we'll share pics!

So my running tapered off by necessity, and pretty soon I realized I would not be running off to Washington DC, when I could be going to Boston each day to hold my boy, or watch Tara hold him. I'm out the entry fee only, and never bought a plane ticket. But I was totally juiced up and trained for a PR in the 10 miles. I'll just have to wait until next year to PR in Newburyport. So there you go. No recent updates, and probably not more to come soon. Then again, nobody reads this, so it doesn't matter, right?

Building Up To An October Race

2011-08-21T13:51:00.000-04:00

Post-race at Yankee Homecoming 10M

Earlier this month I ran a 10 mile race, with a 14 minute PR! I had run it 4 years ago, with much less training, and it was painful. This year I trained up to 10 miles prior to Army Annual Training (15 days together away from home). During that period I managed an 8 mile run on my own, and did one more 8 miler when I got home. The race went really well, and I poured it on over the last 4 miles. That felt good. So the photo above is from that race. I won't wear those shorts for a race again! Looks like I wet myself! Black from now on.

Anyway, I'm running the Army 10 Mile race in October, so I got a training plan from Runner's World, and am busy following that routine. Today should have been a 12 miler, which would be my longest ever run, nice and slow. I got the nice and slow part down, and even fueled well, after having done so poorly last week. Trouble is, I didn't hydrate well enough. So by mile 3 I was feeling thirsty. At mile 4 I knew I was in for a longer run than it should be. Also, the cloud cover disappeared, so it got warmer.

I plugged along at my slow pace, feeling OK, but drinking periodically, while taking gummi bears every mile. This has worked for me very well. But my HR was climbing, and not just on the hills. At mile 6 I rejoice in knowing that the rest was just getting home from where I was. Mile 9 put me close to The Governor's Academy, which is usually early in my run, so that was closer to home, but I was feeling worse. My legs were thick and heavy. I did a few Farleks to shake out the heavy feeling, and got closer and closer. But at 1 mile from home I walked. that was disappointing. Then I walked again 1/4 mile later. From then on it was "get me home, legs." And so they did. I made it, then walked around the house to try returning to normal. Sweat soaked. Dripping. HR not moving.

I went inside and had some water. Tried to stretch, and got very little distance. Had a protein shake, and my HR came down some, so I lost the monitor and my shirt. Still dripping, so I stayed off of the nice rug in the living room. Did some yoga postures and slowly got stretched out. Still dripping, so I took a shower to cool off. Also noticed dark urine, so problem identified! I've been slowly sipping on water ever since. Laid on my back with my legs in the air, too. That felt good.

OK, so I'm supposed to go 12 again next week, and I'm hoping I can do that after a wedding in Minneapolis. Hydrate. Eat well. Rest.

Where Have I Been?

2011-07-31T14:52:00.000-04:00

It seems as though I haven't written in a while, and indeed I haven't. I was working towards a goal of achieving the maximum score on the Army Physical Fitness Test in July. That didn't happen. I needed a 14:06 in the 2 mile run, but achieved only a 14:13. 7 lousy seconds. I hadn't thought about it that way until just now. Of course it didn't matter that much, because I missed the pushups (the first event) by 9 reps, so I knew a max was out. Now understand that I got no sympathy from anyone, because only 5 people came in before me, and the rest had no vision of max points in their heads. So I put on a happy face and accepted congratulations from people, even though I felt as though my training had earned me nothing. That's just sour grapes, I guess. Because I did destroy most of the people half my age!

So during Annual Training I ran some intervals, biked a couple times (never left base, so no real distances to speak of), did some easy runs with friends, and managed an 8 miler in a local park. Oh, and I won a best abs competition we call Mr. Abs! Yeah, over-40s do it again! That was pretty fun. I wore smiley face pajama bottoms and a WI hockey jersey, came to Bad To The Bone, then showed off my abs for the judges. It's a little like stripping, but without getting naked. Anyway, I won some money on that deal, and had a good time doing it!

Since I've been home I've done a couple P90X videos (strength) and some runs. Had to buy new shoes, since my Sauconys developed a hole by my big toe. Bought some Brooks, and they seem fine. I won't have a lot of miles on them by race day (Tuesday), but it will be OK. Today I'll run 2 or 3 easy miles, and do nothing tomorrow.

It's been hard prepping for this, because the race begins at 6 PM. It's usually hot, and that's usually when I eat. Have done some later runs to acclimate my body to later running, but only recently. So that's it. I'm not trying to break records, but beating my last 10 miler would be good. I think that was 1:45, so how hard should that be? I'll let you know!

The Long Run Gets Longer

2011-06-19T20:38:00.000-04:00

What kind of a week in review can I even write about today? All I did for running was 4 x 800s on Tuesday, and 9 miles today. I had the best intentions to test 2 x 1 mile on Thursday, but I gave in to too little sleep and 90º heat. On Friday my wife came home on the early train, so we took a walk together, and I did no run. I might have gone for a run on Saturday, but then I didn't. This is all very uncharacteristic for me, but it's how the week went. Oh, well I did my pushup routine on Monday, and situps on Tuesday, and then did a max test over 2 minutes on Thursday. The results were very good for situps (77), and pretty pathetic for pushups (59). I have 3 more weeks to get those pushups going.

So my 800s were amazing! I went after it, hard, and increased the rest interval from 1:45 to 3 minutes. So my repeats were strong and fast! Loved it. I want more of that.

My long run today was very good. The weather was just at the edge of warm, so I didn't have to fight that. I had drunk plenty of water, and carried a bottle with me, along with gummy bears. Now, I've used Clif shots before, but wondered if gummies would do the same thing. And I think they do. The provide sugar, and moisten the mouth enough that you don't feel like you have to wash it down right away. I was glad with that result!

That's it. Oh, the Bruins won the Stanley Cup this week, and had a big parade yesterday! It was fun watching hockey for once!

Catching Up On Things

2011-06-12T10:37:00.000-04:00

In honor of the Bruins, who are still fighting it out in the Stanley Cup finals! Taken from a game earlier this season, when I sang the National Anthem.

I think I always like to start from the most recent event, so that would be today. It's day two of cold and rainy, and it stayed dark for a long time this morning. I had zero motivation to go out and run my scheduled 9 miles in this. And to add to my lack of motivation, I'm wearing glasses while my left eye heals from a small scratch, and running with wet glasses is a downer. So I fought the battle in my head, and came up with enough motivation for a 5 mile easy run.

Had to wear long sleeves for the first time in months, and I threw on a hat to keep some of the drops off my glasses. Grabbed the iPod with a Fresh Air interview with John Waters, which was a nice break from the history of the CIA I've been listening to, "Legacy Of Ashes" by Tim Weiner. To sum it up, they've scarcely done anything right at the CIA, ever. Pretty good listen (or read, if you buy it).

It was a good run today! Went out easy, stayed easy, and clocked a very low HR, which I love. It was a good alternative workout. Maybe I can get back to the long runs again next week. But let's break down what the rest of these two weeks have looked like for workouts. On Monday (2 weeks ago) I rode 14.5 miles, getting out into the country and zipping around a local pond. It was great to get out there. The next day I did 4 sets of 1/2 miles on a track, with 1 mile warm-up and cool down. I did a day of sit-up intervals, going for max reps in 90, 75, 60 and 45 seconds. I really felt it the next day, too. Ended the week with a 3 mile easy run on Friday, with no Garmin data, just a naked run. Last week I knocked out pushups for max reps, multiple sets on Monday and Wednesday, did the sit-up intervals on Tuesday, along with the 1/2 mile intervals ( a very hard workout, but the gains are tremendous), walked 1.7 miles with my wife on Friday, and did a 4-miler yesterday, with 1 mile and 1/2 mile intervals on a street route. It was good, hard work, with only 1 day off.

This week I'm looking to continue the 1/2 mile intervals, as well as the pushup and sit-up routines, plus close out the week with a mini PT test on Friday, doing max reps of pushups and sit-ups in 2 minutes, and 2 sets of 1 mile all out running. Gotta see where I am at 1 month until the test. ¡Hasta la vista!

Week In Review & Modified Long Run

2011-05-29T19:37:00.000-04:00

I had been so excited about ramping up my long runs, leading to a tie-breaking 9-miler, which is the longest I've ever done in training. Didn't work that way, though.

I started the week with middle school concerts on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, so no workouts at all. In fact, I napped each day, in preparation for those events, and they went great! Final concerts at that school. More info when I land at a new school.

I finally started working out on Thursday, when I went for a 4 mile run. Took the Garmin, left the HR monitor at home. It was a good run! Slightly faster than an easy run, but not fast enough to qualify as hard work. That was for Friday. You see, on Friday I took a personal day. Well, I had an appointment to keep, but it was still a day off work! So I went to a local track (the local HS locks the gate, so I go to the oldest private school in the country, where they don't lock it!) and did 1/4-mile repeats, in which I alternated 1:33/1:34, and 1:35/1:36 in the first and second miles. A model of consistency. But it won't translate into a record-breaking 2-miler. I want only to break 13:30 this year. Well, and my previously stated goal of maxing the APFT and beating all the guys 1/2 my age! Anyway, good workout, and I worked hard. Oh, I also did 9 sets of pushups to max effort before I went to the track. Ow.

On Saturday I dusted off the Trek 1200 for a 10 mile bike ride. The chain looked disgusting, and I had tightened the derailleur cables in years. Time to take this baby into a bike shop. So I got out and cranked it up. After all, 3 months of P90X has my muscles primed for something more challenging. So when my friend Brent says take it easy on the first ride, I'm thinking 'let's get going!' P90X prepares a person for sport-specific training in any event, and I can ride! I've been doing 60 to 90 minutes of strength AND cardio workouts, plus 80 minutes of running, so 45 minutes on a bike didn't scare me off. Let's hit it! And I did. And two miles later I stopped to try to get my chain off of the big ring. That's no way to go through your first ride of the year. And I did, and it was better, but I still need a tune-up.

Today I set out to run 9 miles, before I do a mini-taper next week, while I'm at National Guard and staying in a hotel. Besides, it's time to ramp it down, then get back into gear, in order to prevent over-use injuries. It's like this: today I went out with good intentions, planning to do 9, and feeling good about it. In the first half-mile (still in the neighborhood) I could tell something wasn't right. My hips were tight, my legs were heavy, it was hotter than for any run I've done this year (certainly hotter than the 15º in February that didn't hold me back!), and I was going to get very thirsty very soon. But I charged on. No need for speed. I just plugged along. My hips opened up at 2 miles, but my HR seemed higher than it should for an easy effort. It wasn't easy. And I charged on. At 3.5 miles I walked for a minute. That was the start of walking during each of the final miles. But I still ran most of it. And I couldn't wait to be done. Took a turn towards home, instead of the turn towards the extra mile, making it three 8-mile weeks in a row. Good enough. You have to know when to quit, to avoid injury. And that one required some serious sleeping to get over, too.

Enough whining about the difficult run today. This week I'll do some 1/2-mile intervals, ride the bike a little, and probably hit the hotel treadmill at National Guard this weekend for an easy run of 3 or 4 miles. Oh, and intervals of situps, too. That's key to the APFT this summer!

The Long Runs

2011-05-22T12:04:00.000-04:00

The length of my runs is ramping up! The frequency of my runs is not, but I'll get there, after I get less busy. In the meantime, here's what's been happening.

After my last post I did 2 more P90X workouts: Core Synergistics (my favorite!) and Yoga (really hard, really good). and some easy runs. That's it, P90X completed! I didn't do every day, but I went after it, worked hard, and pushed play as often as I could. Now that's a solid base for APFT training.

After that I had a very good long run 8.23 miles, and started some pushup and situp training. The drill is: 3 sets of pushups for 45 seconds, close hand, regular, and wide arm; 3 sets of the same for 35 seconds, and 3 sets for 25 seconds. There are 2 minutes of crunches and some rest in between, but my abs are already solid, so I substitute some other ab drills, too. That was two days, plus I did a day of situps, for 90 seconds, 75 seconds, 60 seconds, and 45 seconds, max reps each time. I had a good start to that workout, too.

I also did a day of 1/4-mile intervals on the street. Really, I drove a long way to find a track one day, but every one had a HS track practice or meet, so I gave up on that day, and ran on the street the next time. It's not ideal for intervals, but adapt and overcome, right? That was a pretty good day, with intervals of 1:46, 1:44, 1:42 and 1:40 for 8 total laps. But I am burning to get on a track, too! But it won't be this week, when I have concerts on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I hope to get in some kind of work, but won't know until each day what I'm doing.

Today I ran 8 miles in very cool weather. It took 2 miles to warm into the weather (I insist on wearing shorts and short sleeves for the remainder of spring and summer), but felt great the rest of the way. My HR was low the whole time, my form felt good, and I was enjoying the great spring season. Later in the run my legs were a little tired (HR still low), and my back started to give me a little pain, so it was a mental effort to finish strong, but I did it. That's a victory in itself, so I'm happy with it. And I feel better now, anyway.

Next weekend should be a 9 miler, followed by a taper week during a National Guard weekend. But I need to ramp up the mid-week runs, and get the speedwork going! Game on!

A Long Run (For Me)

2011-05-08T13:09:00.000-04:00

Today I ran my long run, such as it is, in a week of little running, and little strength work, too. Let's review: Monday, P90X Shoulders, Arms & Triceps, with Ab Ripper; Tuesday, rest; Wednesday, P90X Back & Biceps, and then I wussed out the rest of the week. Ran 5 miles yesterday, and of course today was longer.

I feel guilty on some level, because I'm completing P90X round 3, but I took a major break last week. Only hit the abs once, didn't do the final Legs & Back workout, and haven't done Plyo in a few weeks. Good enough, because life got in the way, and I still have some Core Synergistics and Yoga to do this week to finish up. No guilty feelings, then. I brought it, so that's all I had as a goal. It's my base level training for what comes next, anyway, so as long as I'm stronger (and I am), then my goal is met.

To the running. Yesterday I ran 5 miles, with 2 intervals of 1 mile at 8:00 pace. That was a hard run, which was the point, given how few strength workouts I did. The run gave me a question: can I run an 8:00 pace for 10 miles? Surely not yet, but maybe. There's plenty of training yet to come for that.

Today's run of 7 miles was an exact repeat of last week, but felt SO much better. Nice, easy heart rate, legs felt fresh the whole time. It was great, so next time I can ramp up to 8 miles. Looking forward to it. Kind of. You see, any time I've ramped up to the bigger miles I've gotten injured, so I can't let that happen. Nice and easy.

This week should include some easy runs before the weekend, along with my strength days. Then I'm on to speed work! Now, however, I have to relieve my wife on the lawnmower!

A New Long Run

2011-05-01T11:31:00.000-04:00

Seriously, I don't think I've run that one before. I've run different parts of it many times, but never just that. That's cool, because I enjoy running new routes, and mine have been more limited lately.

I set out to do a 6-miler, on my ramp-up to 10 mile races this year. The Army 10-Miler opened registration for soldiers today, so that's been on my mind now! So I looked up my previous 6 mile runs, and thought I had it all figured out. I was wrong. I zigged when I should have zagged, and did an extra mile today. And I felt it, too! The last 2.5 miles were a challenge. I walked a little and I slowed down my pace, and made it without any real worry. I even took a tip from Runner's World magazine, and picked up the pace near the end, to recruit fast-twitch muscles that I hadn't been using, and to give my slow-twitch muscles a break. It felt pretty good, too.

Whoa, that route kind of looks like a clam!

So the week in review is pretty easy: I ran yesterday (5 miles) and today. I did P90X strength workouts on Monday and Wednesday, and took rest days on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, mostly because of the long weekend travel before that. I also did Ab Ripper after yesterdays run, so I at least got 3 days of the abs in there. Also, my regular site for posting workouts, Buckeye Outdoors died in a series of storms. That makes me sad, because I have nearly 4 years worth of workouts there. But they lost backups and main computers.

I also came across an old friend from my childhood neighborhood, and he's writing a biking blog! The dude has been through some stuff in his life, but biking is sort of a salvation for him, so click the link and check him out! You'll like his writing style. I know I did.

The week ahead: Final week of P90X strength! Then there's a "recovery" week, which is not easy, but has no strength or ab workouts, which is important before I begin my 2 month Army training. Gotta show the dudes half my age how do a PT test! Again.

And there you have the week in review, plus a look at my friend's new site. Did I have any other observations this week? I've been running with the iPod again, listening to shows, not music. I was digging on No Agenda and The Rock and Roll Geek Show quite a bit. Not sure how long I'll stay on the headphone running thing, but don't worry about me, because I keep the volume down. I like to hear my surroundings, as well as see and smell what's happening. Be alert, right? Later.

Houston and Week in Review

2011-04-25T20:47:00.000-04:00

Last week was vacation week in Massachusetts, so I was home all week, and nothing but time on my hands. I managed some serious workouts, and got in some runs, too. And did you see the Boston Marathon?

On Monday I did a P90X strength workout—chest, shoulders and arms, plus ab ripper—and really went after it. I love doing that, especially when I can still take a nap later! Then I went out for a quick 2-mile run, to celebrate Marathon Monday! That's a doubles workout, which is way intense during a P90X cycle. But running on Marathon Monday is my own little way to celebrate, without being in the race (which I would so win, right?). Also went for a walk with my wife that night.

Tuesday brought a P90X Plyometrics workout, which is pretty intense on the cardio. I'm also getting a little used to it, and looking for a change next time around, perhaps to Insanity plyo. Also walked with my wife later. Yes, she had to work!

On Wednesday I did P90X Back and Biceps and ab ripper. Love that workout, and I added another 5 pounds to the dumbbells. Bringing it! But no run. Saved that for Thursday, when I left the Garmin at home and just ran whatever I felt like: 5.46 miles, and faster than normal, because that was my whole workout for the day.

On Friday we flew to Houston, which turned out to be a terrible experience. The airline (could bash them here, but...) had a delay, and lied about it for 6 hours before we finally took off. What should have been a great afternoon in the 88º of Houston turned into all day at Logan airport. Blah. Went to bed without seeing any family. :(

On Saturday we slept in (a little) and went out for a run. I love experiencing new places on foot like that, and it was cool! Saw things like we had never seen them before (visited twice before), and really took it in. I also took in a movie, while Tara had a brunch thing. Nice. The Lincoln Lawyer. Recommended. Anyway, ran 4.73 and loved it! Also had a wedding that night (reason for the trip), had a brief family visit Sunday morning, then had to hit the road. I ran the Garmin on the plane, but it doesn't look like much on the internet. Good try, though. The plane was doing a mile every 6 seconds!

That's last week in review. Already did a P90X this week. I'm on the last 2 strength weeks, then "recovery" and I'm done! No links today, but I'll throw in a pic from our awesome winter, for fun!

yeah, that's me and the snowblower

Hard to tell, but the trunk of the tree is 4 feet tall!

That's our mailbox in there, somewhere!

The Week In Review, April 11 - 17

2011-04-17T12:42:00.000-04:00

I'm back to running longer miles! It's been since 2009 that I've run more than 5. Sure, I've been running 4.5 and 5.5 on a regular basis, while building my base mileage, but I haven't ventured beyond that in so long. Today I went after it, altered my route and expanded my comfort zone, once again. This is the start of building up to a 10 mile race (or two). But I'll expand on that later.

The week began, as most have lately, with a P90X strength workout: Chest and Back, with Ab Ripper. This is all pushups and pullups, with some bonus dumbbell workouts for the back. I've gone after bigger weights with lower reps, lately, and I like it! Took a well-needed rest on Tuesday, then did Shoulders & Arms on Wednesday, with no abs. Again, raised the weights and went after it. On Thursday I left my batter-depleted Garmin at home (really? I charged it 3 days prior) as I ran my usual 4.3 mile route. It's always a little bit freeing to run sans gadgets. Granted, I rarely run with an iPod, as it is, but my Garmin is standard fare for me. So to run without means to run old-school: just go. On Friday I went hard for Back and Legs (and paid for it later Saturday, and even parts of Sunday!), and Ab Ripper. Gotta build those leg muscles in ways other than running, for my best fitness level as I train for summer events. I love it!

Yesterday I ran an easy 4.3 (usual route), with a truly low HR (recovery, as listed by Buckeye), and that makes me happy. I love when I can propel myself forward with my legs alone, and have that not impact too greatly on my heart rate. Getting more fit! Likewise with today's long run, my average HR was only 3 BPM faster than yesterday, but that gave it the category "aerobic" instead of "recovery." But it felt great! Even with pretty heavy rain at times, it was awesome to be out there. It felt so warm when I stepped out the door, I new it would be a good run! The smell in the air was strange, like sweaty socks at first. But it gradually became a more fresh smell (thank God!), especially during and after the rain.

So now that I've raised the level on miles, I'll start to hit 7, 8, 9 and 10, and probably 11 and 12 before my big races. But not too soon. Next week I'll be in Houston, for a wedding, so no big runs are in the works. I'll be lucky to get anywhere other than a treadmill for that. But then I'll hit it again. And I'm looking forward to doing more! My P90X training has me prepped for heavy duty work, and that's what I'll be doing. Bigger long runs, and starting in May, intense speed work of 1/4- 1/2- and 1-mile intervals. Those stories will reveal themselves as they happen. Later.

Find me at Facebook: Steven Cohen
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isn't my wife awesome?!

Week In Review

2011-04-10T10:10:00.000-04:00

This was week 8 of a 13-week P90X series, and is labeled "recovery." I didn't follow the plan, but did a run with a friend on Wednesday, Core Synergistics on Thursday, yardwork yesterday and a 5.5-mile run today.

The Wednesday run was a 4.5-miler for fun, and we through in some fartleks at the end, with some surprise sprints! That was tough, because he's already a faster runner than I am, but I can motor for some short sprints, and held my own. It was a great run on a surprisingly warm day. Loved it.

Core Synergistics is one of my favorite P90X videos of all of them, so I really go after it! Pushups in strange varieties, squats with curls and shoulder presses, yoga postures, and some plyo-style jumping. It's a sweaty workout, and helps to prevent injuries, which are my plague as I age. Fight on, keep pushing play!

Today I tried out my new Under Armour windbreaker that my wife bought for me, and it was great. Well, I had it unzipped by the end, because what started as 41º became something much warmer in the sun, as the morning cool burned off. I think summer running clothes will be the norm soon! But the run was great. My HR was listed at Buckeye Outdoors as in the aerobic zone, which is probably right, but I had free, easy breathing the whole time, and it felt like a simple little run. No wondering when it would end, no struggles to get over a hill, no little aches and pains. Just free and easy. What a great run today!

I'm now heading into the final month of P90X, changing up the workouts each week, for maximum muscle confusion. Gotta upload 2 vids to the laptop, so I can put them on the iPad for my workouts. Love that! The little bitty computer that displays my workouts for me.

Keep pushing play!

Month (mostly) in review

2011-03-27T17:30:00.000-04:00

This month has been more about P90X than running, but I'm hitting the road whenever I can. Early in the month I complete week 3, plus got in a little snowboarding. I also had Army duty on the weekend, so no workouts there. During the "recovery" week (that simply means no strength days) I managed only Core Synergistics, which is one of favorite workouts, and 2 runs on the weekend of 4.37 and 5.38 miles, both at an easy level.

I hit the next level of P90X hard, doing Back & Bicpes with Ab Ripper, Chest Shoulders & Triceps with Ab Ripper, and Legs and Back (always kills me the next day, always). I did Ab Ripper the next day, after my run. Runs were a Fartlek of 4.38, and an easy run of 4.38. Yes, I hit that same loop a lot. I like it. I also went for a walk with my beautiful wife on Sunday, but I didn't bring the Garmin, because exercise wasn't the point.

This week I hit the same P90X routine as last week (and I will this week, too), plus I managed to do Plyometrics on Tuesday, thanks to my iPad. You see, when I lost the ability to play DVDs on my laptop last fall I also lost my favorite workout space, in which I can jump around as much as needed. But now I have the videos on the iPad, and can push play anywhere I want to! So Plyo is back in the routine, and I love, love, love that workout! Also went for a run today. Pretty sure it was 4.38 miles, but Garmin Connect wasn't uploading anything (still isn't!), so I don't have my complete data. The Twitterverse is going crazy in complaints, to which I added my own. They could at least explain what's going on when you login.

This was me after maxing the APFT last year! Same goal this time!

So I'm just about half-way through the P90X program, so my running will be limited until the end, but what I'm doing is good, and the strength workouts are awesome! Loves me some P90X, so I'll carry on, and then start hitting the track for serious speedwork after I've completed this. More later.

Not Sure What To Make Of This

2011-03-24T06:34:00.000-04:00

I haven't been writing much, but I've been hitting the road when I can, and tearing it up on the P90X. This is my build up period before I really go after repeats of 400s, 800s and miles on the track, and huge reps of pushups and situps in preparation for the APFT in July. This is (most likely) my last year to max the test, before they change it, and I have to figure out how to max the new one.

Last year I did a complete round of P90X and destroyed the test, for a total of 317 out of 300 points possible. I wasn't the fastest runner, didn't do the most pushups or situps (close, though), but I won total points, and maxed the test for the first time in 23 years! So this year I'm attempting the same thing. I haven't hit every workout, and don't worry about it, but I do most, and as I get stronger I really go after it. So now to "this" from the title.

I hadn't done many Plyometrics workouts this round, because I chose running or rest, and my workout space has changed a lot this year with the loss of my laptop (won't play DVDs anymore). Two days ago I got around to the PlyoX routine on my iPad (yay!) and tore it up. Yesterday, near the end of the day, my left calf started to hurt, which is weird, because plyo builds up all the muscle and connective tissue that can lead to injury. So I rested. Today it is still sore. I don't want to cause a real injury, but I don't want to baby sore muscles, either. But my right calf is fine. So I'm thinking rest part of today, see what happens, and maybe do a light back and biceps routine today. After all, there's no running (outside of the warmup), so I think I'm safe there. But I don't want an injured leg! No injuries! This was supposed to be the preventative workout. Arg. And I still want my miles this weekend.

February Review

2011-02-27T09:15:00.000-05:00

Well, I haven't been posting much this year. I think it has to do with using my iPad for most of my computer use. It's just not an enjoyable browser experience, so I don't use the web much on it. This is from the laptop, so I can use actual touch-typing, which is soooooo fast compared to the lame iPad keyboard. Anyway...

My running is progressing slowly, but surely this year. What were my goals again? I know I said Army 10-mile race, and my Army PT test race in July (2 miles), besting my over-40 time of 13:37 from last year. Hope I never said anything about total distance of 500 miles, or anything like that. That's how I started, in 2008(?), but it has nothing to do with my real fitness goals anymore. I'm currently doing round 3 of P90X, even if it will be around 65 or 70 days, not 90. Have to build up a muscle base for apft training. At the same time running is too important to me to do P90 solely, so I run 3 or 4 times a week. I may get into doubles routines later, but for now it's one or the other. And it's working great!

Runs this month, twice on the first weekend for 8.8 miles. One was Fartleks, to get my legs used to some speed work, and the other was after a snow storm and was terrible, with ice on most of the road surfaces. Awful, had to work hard just to stay on my feet. Had a Thursday run to bust some work-related stress, another Fartlek run, and an easy run, for 3 times in the second week of the month, at 13.6 total miles. Did some snow boarding (first ever!) instead of a regular workout the next Thursday, 2 P90X strength workouts (Legs and Back leads to pain for days!), and a group run. That was hard, because the guys are 20 years younger than me, and ran in college. They slowed down, and I sped up for 5 miles of 8:40 pace, which is about 1-1/2 minutes per mile slower than my winter normal. Ouch. This past week I knocked out two easy runs, meaning my HR average was 154, just to prove that I could still have a low HR! Loved it. Also did P90X Yoga, Chest and Back, Shoulders and Arms, Yoga again, and an Ab Ripper after a run, just to keep at it daily. Don't know today's plan yet, but that will make 9 days in a row of some kind of workout! Keep pushing play.

So we're in the middle of another snowstorm now, expecting 4 to 6 inches. That doesn't bode well for running on the street, fighting traffic, snow plows and narrower roads. May do a P90 vid instead. But I'll do something, for sure. Oh, also going to throw this link onto Twitter, since I started that up this month!

New Year And 2010 Wrap-Up

2011-01-01T16:37:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to all (or none, depending)!

I had my first run of the year, so I'm off to a great start for 2011! Gearing up to watch WI beat TCU in the Rose Bowl in the next hour, too.

So how did 2010 go? My goals were thus:

"So new goals: I WANT that Army APFT max! Major goal for the whole year. I want to race the Yankee Homecoming 10-Mile and break 1:30. I want to bike more than I did (pathetic goal, I know). I want to PR the Danvers 5-mile race–anything better than 40:26. I'll accept any 5K time under 23:00! But mostly I want to be injury-free this year, and enjoy what I'm doing."

Goal #1, check! I'm sure I noted earlier this year that I destroyed the APFT in July, and achieved high score for the 215th Army Band! The Army doesn't calculate higher than 300 points, but there is a system for counting over the max, and I got a 317, which beat all others. Amazing! I didn't win any single event, but was well over max on each event. And when it mattered most—the run—I improved by over a minute, coming in 3rd overall, and setting my new PR of 13:37, my best since 1987, which doesn't count anymore. I read in Runners World that any PR more than 3 years old should be discounted, due to aging, so I'll take that for sure!

All other goals were incomplete. This was a high personal stress year, which I countered with a whole round of P90X (complete!) and 2 more months of intense training for the APFT. During P90X I gradually worked into a running routine, but it wasn't a mainstay of my workouts. Didn't even do two of the races I wanted to improve on. Running total for the year: 70 runs for 263 miles. On the other hand, I did 102 strength workouts for over 94-1/2 hours! Yeah, I got stronger this year.

So what's up for 2011? I want to improve on my APFT score. That is to say, I want 300+ points and a faster run, better than 13:30. Danvers 5-mile, improve from 2009. Yankee Homecoming, 1:30 or better in the 10M. And the biggie: US Army 10-mile race! Any time is a PR there, because it's new to me. But I can't guarantee a spot in the race. I have a group attempting to get a team in there. No biking goal this year. Just want to get out and ride sometimes.

Oh, today's run? 60 degrees! No way, on January first in New England? Insane!

What's Up With This?

2010-11-28T13:12:00.000-05:00

Serving drinks to my father-in-law

At the Bruins game, pre-National Anthem

This wasn't much of a running week: Played 10 minutes of single-elimination basketball on Monday (1 and done), P90X Tues, Thurs, Fri and Sat, and 4.26 miles today. There are 4 more weeks until I will have completed round 2 of P90X, so I'm hitting it pretty regularly. The run was a reverse of my usual Nascar-style 4 mile run. That is, I turned right each time, instead of left! Good run. Not fast, just something low-key, to temper the extreme strength workouts.

Following college football? My U of Wisconsin Badgers have been destroying everyone they face, and look likely to play for the Rose Bowl on January 1st! It's a 3-way tie for the Big Ten Championship. WI beat Ohio State, and lost to MI State, but are the highest BCS team in the Big Ten, which should give them the Roses.

Now, my wife and I have a pretty long relationship with this game. In 1994 we went for Wisconsin's first trip in 35 years! That was something. Get this: we lived in an old farmhouse in the country, where cable wasn't even offered. The final game of the season, to determine Big Ten champion was WI vs. MI State in Tokyo, on ESPN only. So my wife and I sat by the (what's this) radio. When WI didn't choke we flipped out and decided to try to get tickets. This turned out to be a chore. Called a tour company (should have used the alumni association!), and had to send my dad to Madison to give a check for the downpayment. We went, had a great time (WI won over UCLA), and vowed not to go back. There were some strange stresses over getting tickets, due to the high demand, but that stress faded in memory.

I've now marched the Tournament of Roses parade twice, and now WI looks to go back to the game for the 4th time in our adult lives! Tara's parents really want to go. We really don't know. Nothing is official for the game until next weekend, anyway, so no rush to decide.

Wasn't that a nice little aside from the usual run talk? I thought so.

Back on that train

2010-11-25T16:56:00.000-05:00

Strange month here, with a mix of reasons to not do this, or not do that. That's hardly a P90X attitude, but it's also live getting in the way. It began as my final month of a 3-month P90X cycle, and I was on track for 3 days with the strength. Then I took a couple days off, found myself gigging 100 miles from home, and late into the night, and couldn't manage a Sunday workout. I did manage a 2+ mile run on Saturday, before I left for the gig. Then my foot (thing? not an injury?) came back into notice, and I stopped running. Felt a cold coming on, and wanted to avoid the flu that my wife had the previous week, so no workouts the second week of November, except for marching in a Veterans Day parade.

On the second Saturday I had pretty much defeated the cold, did a 2+ mile run, still felt the foot, then gigged late into the night. Still no P90X, and the busy week was just beginning. On Monday I sang the National Anthem at the Bruins game (poor baby, I know). On Wednesday night I had to answer questions at a soldier of the year board for my Army division (poor baby, getting awarded by his unit) 70 miles away. Didn't win, but my friend did! Thursday was parent/teacher conferences at night, and on Friday I took my 8th grade class to a concert at the University of New Hampshire for an all-day field trip. Then I went home and crashed.

Ran both Saturday and Sunday. By then my in-laws were here for the week. Took a break on Monday, then got back on track for P90X, finally, and have now done 2 days this week (both strength days). Tomorrow will be either yoga or a run. Or both, maybe. Maybe. Not so into the 2-a-days just now. But I would like to run some this weekend.

I had thought about a 5K on Sunday, but when I couldn't get anyone to run with me I decided to run the streets instead. Lame, I guess, but any run now would be purely social, and there's nothing social about a solo race. Soooo, I'm not racing. But I'm back on the fitness train, and ready to finish the final month of P90X!

2010-10-31T12:33:00.000-04:00

Oh, man, gotta cut that hair!

Workouts this week looked like this: P90X Yoga (90 minutes) on Mon, P90X core synergistics (58 min) Wed & Sat, 4.2 miles running on Thurs and Sunday. You gotta love a week with 5 workouts, don't you? I love the core synergistics, because it's part plyometrics, many parts cardio, and lots of pushups involved. Yoga was on the list twice, but it was all I could do to hit it once.

During the Sunday run I did some fartleks, which represented the first time I tried to go fast since July! It felt really good to get going. And I think the P90X has kept my heart in good condition, so I don't totally lose it on a little 100-or-so yard sprint.

This week I begin the final month of P90X. Round 2 is coming to a close pretty soon! I do have a week when I won't get much done, and many weekends that are busy, busy, busy. But enough excuses. I'll push play whenever I can. And still get in some running. Loves me some running.

I'm Running Again

2010-10-24T12:13:00.000-04:00

Hi, it's me, I'm back. Been away, been bored a little of blogging, been injured. Being injury-free was a goal for the year, but we don't really control that much, do we? I think I hurt my foot walking around Atlantic City in flip-flops. But I'm back after more than a month of not running.

Doing a modified P90X workout now, which means it won't be 90 days, but I'm getting a lot out of it, anyway. Running during the workout is very good. It's easy to miss running, you may already know!

So I wanted to re-visit my goals for the year, in particular the Army PT test. I totally destroyed that test! High score for the whole unit: 319 out of 300. They don't really recognize anything over 300, but one of my E7s figured out my advanced score for me. Pretty cool, going from just under 300 to way over! Especially useful was having a base of P90X, and then really focusing on the running. I spent 2 months on the track, and that really did it. Now I didn't get the most pushups or situps (beaten by one there), or even the fastest run (3rd place). But I was one of only 2 to max the test, and definitely had the highest score. Then they made me NCO of the year on top of it, so it was a good year in the Army National Guard.

Now that will be my only successful goal this year, as I'll detail at the end of the year. Just wanted to get something back out here and check in with, well, nobody I think. Out.

I'm Bored

2010-10-03T17:12:00.000-04:00

Bored of the blog. Bored of not running for three weeks. I'll explain. Some time after Atlantic City I started feeling a pain in my right foot. Thought it might be an injury, so I laid off. Then I ran a short distance, but turned around when it hurt. Haven't run in three weeks. Told my doc about it, and he suggested wait a week and see a specialist if it still hurt. Didn't see the specialist. Pain was mostly gone recently, when I felt it again. That implies—to me—that it's not a break or sprain. Pain shouldn't randomly come and go. I'm pretty much ready to try running again.

Been doing P90X (modified for fewer days) lately, and would like to supplement with running again. Oh, look at me, blogging. Maybe not as bored as I thought. Still don't know that I want to keep it. We'll see.

Atlantic City Vacation!

2010-08-28T07:07:00.003-04:00

AC from the beach looking north
Home for 3 nights
Me in front of the Taj facade
We had a nice little vacay in Atlantic City, staying three nights at the Trump Taj Mahal, and taking in two full days. Included in those two days was a big (BIG) airshow right over the beach, and we saw quite a lot of it. We thought start time was 10, and were walking the boardwalk during that time, but they were just talking it up over the PA system. Things were crowded that early, so we figured that was normal, but it turned out to be just air show traffic. Normal while we were there (weekdays) meant not busy at all! Anyway, we eventually walked back to the hotel to get our beach chairs, found a spot and enjoyed the show. Too far from the PA to hear the narration but it was cool. The best part was the Thunderbirds from the Air Force, by far! Precision flying in deadly fighter planes is remarkable. Loved it.

We walked just about everywhere in AC, at least on or near the beach. Ventured west a little bit on foot, to the outlets, but that city is not meant for walking (cough* Boston *cough* awesome for walking *cough*) and much of it isn't pretty. So we didn't go far from there, and left the car at the hotel. Thanks to Joy for running suggestions, but we didn't drive anywhere, so only boardwalk runs! (tried to link to you, but I can't even get to your posts right now!?!) On our first morning we went out in different directions, with me going south. I went past all the hotels, past where the boardwalk narrows, and possibly into Ventnor, before turning around and re-tracing my steps. 4.01 miles in 33:22. Total elevation: 2 feet. Yes, 2. It's flat there, like crazy. Average pace 8:19, AHR 83%. It felt light and easy. Didn't have to dodge many people at 7 AM. Afterwards I knew I was ahead of Tara, so I walked down to the beach just to enjoy being near the water for a short 1/2-M walk. Pretty nice. Funny thing, though, about running on the boardwalk: no matter how early you are out there, the food vendors are already cooking up their greasy offerings, and the smell is hard to take while running! But at least you get past them quickly. And there's no beating the smell of the salty ocean!

We didn't run on the second morning, because that was to be our walking day. I marked out at least 7.3 miles that we walked (deep into Ventnor, and back on the beach!), plus we were in and out of other casinos and hotels, walking around, taking it all in. That was fun, and hard. We definitely felt it. But on the final morning we were out running by about 8 AM. Very little pedestrian traffic out there that day, but quite a few bikes. It was all tourists taking in the boardwalk, because no serious biker would stroll the boardwalk, right? It looked like fun, though. Tara and I went out together for this one, and then she turned around after 10 minutes, while I continued. Went down as far as the Hilton (about 1-1/2 miles), then turned back around. Average pace 10:07, AHR 74%. This was an easy run. Enjoyed it very much, and kind of miss being right along the ocean. You see, we live on the coast, north of Boston, but there's no beach in our town; just wetlands. It's beautiful, but there's no running along the ocean from home. On the other hand, the ocean smell is strong here, and we love that! Atlantic City has only a faint salt smell. Wonder what's up with that, anyway? It's the same ocean.

So that was running on vacation. I love seeing the Garmin map online, and the various places I've had the satellites hooked up for my running. Good times.

Where Have I Been?

2010-08-20T19:03:00.003-04:00

Well, it's been a long time since I've been writing here. I've been reading (and commenting) but felt I had nothing to write about, I guess. I've run, but not really trained. You see, I had been been working for 5 straight months towards the APFT goal, and I really destroyed it. so 3 months of P90X (yes 90 days, and that's intense like nobody's business) and 2 straight months of sport-specific training for the APFT. That's pushups like crazy (trying to get max sets, and then do more beyond that), situps (combination of max sets of actual situps and Ab Ripper X video), and track workouts 3 times a week. I laid it all out on these pages during that time, but 400s, 800s, miles and do it all again. Plus good miles on easy days. After all that work I decided to take it easy, and there was no struggle over that.

So I never really stopped, but ramped it down a lot. In August it looks like the 1st, 2nd and 5th, 10th and 11th, and 15th, 16th, 18th and 19th. That's it. From 2 to 5 miles, depending on the day. I've done some 400s (and faster than ever), and some very easy runs. I've done some 8-1/2 minute miles over 4, and watched my HR skyrocket. Lesson there, my engine runs hot. It wasn't like sprinting, but Buckeye declares those to be anaerobic runs. Next up is I need an actual race to train for. I think I can set a new 5K PR, if I commit to a race. Of course, I've been invited to race triathalons, but don't feel ready to jump in the ocean to train. When I cross that bridge, I'm in.

Happy training to anyone bothering to read this. I'm always looking to read something good from my blogger friends!

300 APFT! by bandsteve at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-07-25T18:54:00.001-04:00

That's me in my sweaty Army Physical Fitness Uniform, post race.
300 APFT! by bandsteve at Garmin Connect - Details

Here it is, the event I've been trying to hit for three years. I've maxed the pushups. I've maxed the situps. But I just couldn't get past the running threshold. Until now. 2 months on the track, doing 1/4-M repeats, 1/2-M repeats, 1-M repeats, and repeating those sequences again. And it WORKED! I needed a 14:06 for my age group (2 miles, mind you), and I ran a 13:37! Only 2 people finished ahead of me, and for the first time in 23 years of Army service I scored a 300! Actually on the advanced scale I was told I got a 317, so I still have something to aim for next year. It was awesome! Of course, now I don't want to hit a track again for a long time. Well, not really. But not yet for sure. Think I will start doing some P90X videos, just to get back into some intense training again, so I don't have to start from scratch again. Awesome!

1M Repeats by bandsteve at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-06-28T15:41:00.001-04:00

Oh yeah, my band played for deploying soldiers a few weeks ago!
1M Repeats by bandsteve at Garmin Connect - Details

How strange has my training been lately? Had a sister-in-law over last week while she attended a seminar at Harvard (that's pretty cool, isn't it?), and another sister-in-law came on Friday, so we drove to Boston, Newburyport and Maine all weekend, catching up, telling stories and having a good time. My running was a little screwy, but it's not their fault.

Apparently on Monday I did nothing (except maybe watch episodes of Dexter all morning), and that's it. On Tuesday I left the Garmin on the window sill, finding satellites, while I went to the track without any idea how fast I was going. Did 4 x 800s in zero minutes, so that's pretty fast! On Wednesday the humidity was really high, so I did a 4-mile run, progressively slower, with 2 walk breaks and a shirt dripping with sweat. Wow. Thursday must have been a rest day. Don't remember, really. On Friday I did 4 x 800s @ 3:22, 3:22, 3:22 and 3:17, which is exactly what I'm after for the APFT in 2 weeks. Also knocked out 3 sets of pushups until I needed a break, and 4 sets of situps at progressively shorter durations. That was a good workout day!

Saturday was a walk around Boston day, so I counted that as 4.47 miles of walking. Plus it was just a great day! On Sunday (yesterday) I did a 4-mile run @ 8:20 pace, and felt really good. Also went to Maine and did a cliff walk to and from a beach. Stood in ankle-deep water, talking. Ate some chowdah, so the Texas sister could get a local flavor. Today was 2 x 1 mile on the track, and it did not go as planned. Temperature was already 79º at 9 AM, and humidity was awful. First mile was 6:52, which is too slow, but acceptable for a minimum goal, and the second was 7:03. Together they get me the minimum goal, but I hope test day is less humid. Also, I think the Garmin doesn't get accurate readings when it's that humid, because it was off on 2 of the miles. Strange.

So I can't gauge my training at this point, although I know my pushups and situps will be fine. I'd really like to have the most situps in the unit, but can't seem to go any faster than I have so far, and that's key in a timed event. I can hit the pushups max, but would like to make it seem easier. The run is trickier to estimate, because I haven't actually run a 2 mile event yet. My 800s are going great, and my miles are a mixed bag. I did a really good 1-1/2 mile, which was on track for a 13:51 2-mile event. Not sure I've gotten faster since then. But it's better than my minimum goal. I'd just like to achieve my maximum goal, instead!

Incomplete Week

2010-06-06T22:10:00.003-04:00

Had a good week of workouts, and pretty much mirrored my previous week in 800s. The week was thrown off by Memorial Day (2 parades for the Army in Somerset & Swansea, MA) so I started on Tuesday. I did the same 4 x 800 in 3:14, 3:13, 3:19 and 3:17. On Thursday I ran in 3:23, 3:21, 3:20 and 3:19, which is noteable in two ways: that's really consistent, AND those are negative splits! Cool! Not fast, but steady is better in my book. I'm hitting the 6:38 to 6:42 range, which gives me a great PR in July, if I can apply it to a 2 mile race.

On Saturday I would have done another day of 800s, maybe on the road, with full hills and turns and traffic. But it turned into a very lazy day, got hot quickly, and I didn't do so much as a pushup. Also had 10 yards of mulch sitting in the driveway, and it still hasn't moved. Oh, today was a National Guard day, and a really successful concert in New Bedford. My band rules!

So I'm thinking of repeating the 800s again this week, and jump to mile repeats the next 2 weeks, but not sure yet. Guess I can report on that later.

The Week In Review May 24-30

2010-05-30T14:25:00.002-04:00

Man, listen to that wind right now. Middle of the day, pretty warm out, but the wind is howling. We just came in from yard work, so who cares now.

So today (working in reverse order, I guess) I ran 4.32 miles in 35:32. There was no real hard goal, other than to get in a few miles on my legs. I like the 8:13 average pace. That used to seem like pretty fast to me, but not today, with speedier goals in mind, and training proceeding very well.

The week proceeded as follows: M & W were 1/2-mile repeats x 4 times. Monday's totals were 3.45 miles in 34:00, but the time is irrelevant, because it includes rest periods, and the warm-up mile wasn't for speed. Laps were: 3:10, 3:12, 3:18, 3:19. Tuesday was a regular run, 4.19 in 35:43. Wednesday's laps were: 3:22, 3:22, 3:28 and 3:23. A little slower than Monday, still ripping it up. On Thursday I biked 18.8 miles in 1:10:21. I have no comparison for that, other than 16 MPH average, but there was no goal, other than completion. Felt great to bike!

I finished the regular training week with mile repeats: M1 6:31, M2 6:48. That was super awesome! Granted, there were 3 minutes of rest, but at 5 weeks before my APFT I'm on my way to great run! This week I'll repeat last week. Not sure what I'm after on those 1/2M repeats, but I think I just want to give it my best effort every time. Don't need 3:10 every lap, but 3:22 is maybe a little slower than my goal pace. It's all a process that reveals results later. Looking forward to it!

Easy Run by bandsteve at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-05-23T19:04:00.000-04:00

Easy Run by bandsteve at Garmin Connect - Details

This should detail the week, rather than the today's run, as the title suggests. But today's run was a good one! Things have really picked up lately though. So let's begin from the end. Today I went out on my 4-mile loop, which I usually would have done in 10:00 range, using the slower is better approach. Today I went out aiming for about 2 minutes per mile slower than goal pace, which is 7:00. I killed it: 8:28 pace, but most miles were closer to 8. My HR was up there in a higher zone, but seemed unimportant. It was a really good run, and I liked going faster. Actually, it was about the same pace as my 5-mile race last year, which I would destroy this year (if I raced it, which I'm not).

The rest of the week was training and testing. On Tuesday & Thursday I set out to a local track for 1/4-mile repeats (8 of them, same as last week), and I really steadied my pace this time. Monday I did a 1M warm-up, followed by the repeats of: 1:34, 1:36, 1:32, 1:37, 1:37, 1:37, 1:38 and 1:32. Pretty good. On Thursday I did the same workout as such: 1:36, 1:35, 1:38, 1:37, 1:36, 1:33, 1:35 and 1:34. Looking pretty steady there! But I wasn't convinced yet that I could hold that pace for any real length of time. A quarter-mile is still just once around the track. Oh yeah, I was taking a rest of 1 minute between reps. I had tried 1:45, but that was way too long, which is testament to my P90X training this winter! Anyway, on Friday a did a 1-1/2 mile test to see what was really happening with my times.

I knocked out the 1-1/2M in 10:16, which is a 6:50 pace. My goal to max the Army test is a 7:03, so I smoked it! This was only 6 laps, but I still have 6 weeks to go, too. Laps were 1:37, 1:45, 1:43, 1:46, 1:44 and 1:38. The last one is skewed, because I ripped the last part of the track pretty fast. So I'm on track to a great APFT this year! In other testing I'm less than 10 pushups from a max, and less than 10 situps from a max. Nice. Now I have to keep up the hard work without injuring myself (neck doesn't feel too good after all those situps) so I can beat the younger guys in the unit! Yeah, things are looking good right now!

1/4-M on the road by bandsteve at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-05-15T18:47:00.001-04:00

1/4-M on the road by bandsteve at Garmin Connect - Details

This week I transitioned from P90X to APFT workouts. There is no doubt in my mind that P90X prepared me for serious Army training, in a way I have never known before. I can already tell that I'm faster than I've been, and my HR is recovering very quickly from each workout. The biggest difference is that P90X is at least 1 hour every day, and the plan I'm using for the Army can be done in as little as 30 minutes, so I'm not burning nearly as many calories as I had been. While I'm busting my a$$ to do my best on pushups and situps, the total effort just isn't the same. But I'm focusing on 2 specific events, and to do as many reps as I can in 2 minutes, so the objective is way different. I can accept that, and will knock myself out to get there.

As for the running, I'm focusing on 2 or 3 day periods of lap repeats, so this week and next it's 1/4-miles. Then I'll work into 600s, 800s and mile repeats. Today I did 1/4-mile repeats on the road, with times from 1:40 to 1:48, which is pretty steady. On Thursday I did a set of 8 x 400s with times of 1:34 to 1:43 on a track. The track is definitely better for simulating the race, and for keeping it steady. The road I ran had lots of contour to it, and my entire final sprint was uphill! Oh, and on the Thursday sprints I was feeling so good I added 4 more at the end, and reduced my rest time from 1:45 to 1:00. That was a big revelation. And Monday was my first day of sprints, ranging from 1:18 to 1:36. I've since modified my goals from how fast can I go to aim for this mark (about 1:42-ish) and let your HR recover in between.

I'm really enjoying this hard work, probably because P90X really set me up for doing hard work. I worked so hard during that series, that I'm ready for anything now. So I'm going all out to achieve my Army goals: 100 points for each event (about 71 pushups, 75 situps and a 14:06 2-mile run). Oh, and there's a side deal with some members of my unit about trying to hit 90 situps in 2 minutes! That's pretty crazy, but we're all motivated to try to hit it, anyway. Fun! Bring on the pain. (There's no pain it's all fun! I hate it, but I love it!)

I Have Completed P90X!

2010-05-08T13:55:00.004-04:00

Today I completed my last day of the 90 day intensity that is P90X! My final workout was yoga, but in the most intense manner you might ever imagine. The first 45 minutes are spent in various lunges, with names like triangle pose, right angle pose, prayer position, warrior 1, 2 & 3, half-moon. Spending that much time in lunges gets to you. Sure, you get into upward dog and downward dog in-between moves, which is sweet relief, but then you slide into the new positions, switch sides, and sweat. It's awesome! Crane is hard, but I got it today. Yoga Belly 7 kills. And I'm so much stronger now for having persevered through this. At first I couldn't get through yoga without stopping and taking a break. In fact, it's only in recent weeks that I gained enough strength to get through the whole 1-1/2 hours.

The program, as you may have seen on infomercials, is laid out in segments to prevent your muscles from getting comfortable with the routine. So there are 12 videos that rotate through the segments, and really only a few are rotated. In the first month there are 3 weeks of strength followed by a "recovery" week. The two rotating videos here are Chest and Back, and Shoulders & Arms, with a day 5 video of Legs & Back. Each of these has Ab Ripper X at the end, which is 16 minutes of pain! The other days include Plyometrics (jump training, awesomeness), Yoga X and Kenpo X. Day 7 would be either rest or a stretch video. This part doesn't rotate in the strength weeks. The "recovery" week (doesn't include weights but it's hard) is Yoga, Core Synergistics, Kenpo (I learned to substitute running for this, for my HR), stretch, Core, Yoga and rest or stretch.

The second month substitutes Chest, Shoulders, Triceps and Back & Biceps (each with Ab Ripper) in the strength department, but leaves everything else the same, including the recovery week.

The final month is a combination of the first two months, but you alternate the strength workouts each week (as in a week from month 1, a week from month 2, then 1, then 2 again) followed by the recovery week. This keeps your muscles (or perhaps your brain) off balance, and doesn't allow you to adapt to the routine.

So I followed the extensive nutrition guide, carefully at first, and gradually became a little more normal. But we changed our diets in a good way, and I think we're a better off now than before. I lost a lot of fat at first, then stabilized pretty well. I'm also a big believer in a better recovery drink. I didn't buy the P90X brand, but found a 4 carb: 1 protein ratio mix at a nutrition store, which just kicks the brand names ass! Less sugar, low salt, and lots of recovery in this. already went through 2 big packages, and ready for another. I'll be keeping this as a staple. I also have a protein bar as a snack every day (I buy Kashi bars), and I was already eating fruit each day. I also tried egg white omelettes (dropped it; flavor is no good), and modified my breakfast routine to something better.

It wasn't easy getting through this intense (and long) routine, but I did it! And it helped me recover from my leg injury. In fact it made my legs far more resistant to injury. I learned that using resistance bands works, but I think I want dumbbells to kick it up a notch. But what I most want to know is how far along does this put me in my Army PT test training? I'll find out almost right away, as I dig in for 2 months to max my APFT in July!

Long Run by bandsteve at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-05-02T13:55:00.001-04:00

Untitled by bandsteve at Garmin Connect - Details

It's not actually untitled, because I named it Long Run. But it got lost in translation. Anyway, today was my longest run of the year so far! 5.35 miles in 48:36, average pace of 9:04. AHR 165, MHR 181, so I was working hard on this one. That's OK, but it was in lieu of P90X Kenpo X, and this is much harder work than that, so I'll take it.

I've been taking bits and pieces from Galloway that I've read in various posts and interviews, and picked up on this idea of long runs & easy runs being 2 minutes slower than race pace. Now, he's talking about marathon or 1/2-marathon pace, and I'm working on a 2-mile race, but my extrapolation of that info (very narrowly understood by me) is to use that for most of my runs. The last 2 have been at about 9 minutes per mile, and my goal pace is 7 minutes per mile. Today I had a high heart rate, because I was poorly hydrated, having laid around on the couch all morning after having coffee. I drank 2 glasses before I left, but that's too late. So off I went, already feeling thirsty. Didn't matter.

The only real impact of my lack of water was my HR, and a little discomfort. I've been uncomfortable before, so I carried on. My HR didn't get up until after halfway, and there's nothing to do about it then, is there? So I was out doing 9-ish miles— well really the first one was 8:45, then 9:03, then all slower than that, but the average was good. It's an amazing day: 77º and very little wind. In fact, that's much warmer than I'm used to right now, so that didn't help. But it didn't hurt. I felt really good, listening to Phedip (the review of 114th Boston Marathon) and enjoying the outdoors. Good times, these. I saw some things I hadn't seen in more than 6 months. Lots of people were out running, walking and biking, so we shared the road. Just nice. I like that.

One more week of P90X, then results photos, then dig in to Army training!

Long Run by bandsteve at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-04-24T14:15:00.002-04:00

Long Run by bandsteve at Garmin Connect - Details

In the morning!

Today was choice day, again: P90X Kenpo X (a 1-hour video of karate-style punches, kicks & blocks) or a run. I've grown tired of the Kenpo over the last several weeks, because it really doesn't get my HR going, and I've been needing to get my mileage up for race training, coming soon. So I ran. The title "long run" is a little misleading, but it's my second effort at this distance this year, so it's still true. 4.32 miles in 42:04, so it's my longest & fastest distance thus far. I listened to episode 231 of Phedippidations while out there, mostly to keep me company. Some days I prefer to listen to the neighborhood, but it wasn't necessary today. Just wanted to get the miles, sweat a lot and be outdoors. A friend of mine noted on Facebook yesterday that it was 65º (in Rhode Island) and people were on treadmills indoors, and he didn't get it. I agreed. Get me outside whenever I can!

So the run went as follows (actually, you click on the title for real details): 4.32 miles in 42:04; 9:44 average pace, AHR 156, MHR 167 (end of the run is uphill). Mostly it was a perfect blue sky, 65º with a slight wind, and it felt great. I saw 4 horses along the way. People were burning trees that had fallen in the storms of last month, along with other detritus of winter & spring cleaning. Some were mowing lawns (have to do that later), or doing other yard work. I just liked being out there.

This coming week I'll begin the final strength week of P90X! This is followed by the "recovery" week, which still involves doing 1-1/2 hours of yoga TWICE, plyometrics (jump training), a core workout (ouch), the lame-o Kenpo and a stretch day, which is still an hour of video. After that I should do the final fit test, even though I didn't do it at the start. Then I can start serious training to finally break 14 minutes in the Army 2-mile test, along with maxing the pushups and situps, which takes a crazy amount of work to do, but I like it!

Run With Striders by bandsteve at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-04-18T15:44:00.001-04:00

Me with my buddy Tim, who's going to help me train for the Army 2-mile race in July.
Run With Striders by bandsteve at Garmin Connect - Details

Today: 46º, light rain. Didn't feel like doing the Kenpo from P90X, so I had to run. Also wanted to get my body used to the idea that I'd be trying to get faster soon, so I ran some sprints while out there. That was pretty good! I just picked some random goals, like that mailbox over there, and just ran as hard as I could. I actually felt pretty fast! Think that P90X training has done some remarkable work. Well, that's just a feeling from trying to go fast once. Only my goal race results will tell me how it really works. But I've known for a long time now that I'm stronger than I was. It brought my leg back stronger than ever, then I was able to actually run, and now I feel faster. I'll have to be able to hold it for 2 miles to really work, but I feel good about it! Looking forward to more. Yes!

Stress-Busting Run by bandsteve at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-04-15T19:30:00.001-04:00

Stress-Busting Run by bandsteve at Garmin Connect - Details

Wow, today was a day to burn many calories! P90X yoga is 1-1/2 hours (and very extreme), and then I ran my first 4-miler of the year. It wasn't a huge leap of faith, just another .8 miles on top of my previous long run. And I was loving it! I'm still just knocking out base miles, but in early May I'll start kicking ass for my annual Army PT test, which is in July. I have to say that P90X has my heart in seriously strong condition, and my legs are stronger than they've ever been, so I already have a base of a different sort. I'm telling you, cross-training of the strength variety is essential! I haven't been lifting a ton of weights— actually using resistance bands— but the videos have me doing a bunch of pushups, pullups, jump training, yoga, and they have built-in taper periods each month. I'll be ready to start serious pushup, situp and run training. Fired up!

Run by bandsteve at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-04-12T19:51:00.001-04:00

Run by bandsteve at Garmin Connect - Details

Running away from P90X! Well, the workout scheduled was KenpoX, which is karate-style kicking and punching. I usually get a pretty low HR out of it, so decided to run instead! It was a cool morning, only about 45º, but I quickly warmed into it. Pulled off miles of 9:41, 9:49 & 9:26. This is slightly faster than I've been going, so my HR was higher than it has been lately: 158 & 171. But I don't mind, because I was outside and letting my body dictate how fast to go. I also set up a goal at Garmin Connect to run 8 times this month, and I now have 7 more to go! Just tried to make a nice, big target that I knew I could hit. If I get there, I can think about a miles-based goal. By then I'll be in training for my Army test in July, so running will be a priority.

Just finished week 9 in P90X, so the muscle confusion is in full effect now! Alternating weeks 4 times, for maximum muscle gain. I should be pretty cut by the time this is over! Pics? Maybe not. But I'm loving the workouts! Keep pushing play.

P90X by bandsteve at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-04-07T20:45:00.001-04:00

P90X by bandsteve at Garmin Connect - Details

I'm not sure who has seen the P90X infomercials, or perhaps knows someone who has done the series, but it kicks such serious @&&. We're all runners here, and run for various reasons, and at different intensities, so we're no strangers to a hard workout, but P90X really takes it to a new level. At least for me it did. Now, I had a pulled calf muscle since just before Thanksgiving, and struggled while awaiting a full recovery. Marching in the 2010 Rose Parade set me back a week, or so (but was SO worth it!), and I had these videos sitting around waiting for use.

So I finally started up in February. The strength training was really good, but the plyometrics (i.e. jump training) really gave my leg new strength in places I had just ignored. It was awesome to get into that, and now at week 9 I am back, and better than ever! Not only that, but my HR seems to lower during runs, so the P90X was really working me harder, in ways I hadn't noticed. I am so glad I started this program (still have 4 weeks to go), and need to keep parts of it in my routine year round. And for anyone who has suffered running leg injuries, consider P90X (or at least the plyometrics video) to strengthen you up and help make you stronger, faster, and less prone to injury. Well, details on the less prone after I really get back into running as a primary workout. I love it. And I'm sporting some pretty serious muscle these days.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for I RAN!

2010-03-17T18:01:00.001-04:00

Garmin Connect -
Activity Details for I RAN!

2 Miles, 21:35, first time out since before Thanksgiving! I RAN! Did P90X back and biceps, plus Ab Ripper X (76 minutes of work) then couldn't resist getting outside in the 66º, following 3 days of heavy rain and flooding. Had to do it. Couldn't fight the pull. Called into the Extra Mile just to talk about it. So good. I ran.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for P90X- Plyometrics

2010-03-14T09:39:00.001-04:00

Garmin Connect -
Activity Details for P90X- Plyometrics

Love the plyo workout. This is what really brought my leg back from the crutches of a muscle pull in my right calf just before Thanksgiving. With that in mind, I haven't run since then (other than this morning when I dodged rain drops while getting the newspaper!). Plyo is a jumping routine that builds up the connective tissue and smaller muscles between the calf and ankle, while improving quad and hamstring strength and jumping agility. It's because of this routine that I feel ready to run NOW! It's because of the nasty rain (2 straight days now, and 43º) that I still won't be running.

I've done 5 weeks of P90X now, and can really tell a difference. I have more energy (may be eating better) and don't nap every day. Hardly nap at all, anymore. When I was on crutches I napped nearly every day. Kind of miss that, but not really. I'm looking a lot more fit, and have some real shoulder definition and bigger lats. Nice. My wife is liking the changes. ;) Will have to get my running legs under me at some point now. Plan to run a 5-mile race at the end of June, and my Army 2-mile is in early July.

No other real news going on. Some of my regular running bloggers are writing less frequently. I have some followers who don't write about running. Or in languages I don't even know. Huh. Guess I'm a pretty interesting guy. Nope. Not really.

A Third Of The Way To Completion

2010-03-07T18:48:00.003-05:00

This weekend marked the end of the first month of P90X! It was called a "recovery" week, but was still hard work. Yoga twice, a core crusher, stretching and plyometrics. There was another day of work, but a full weekend of National Guard put me on rest for 2 days.

Next up is a new cycle, and I'm jacked to start the new routine! Well, part of it is the same, but 2 days of strength training are for new muscle groups, to prevent a plateau. Gotta dig in and go. Push play, as they say in the videos. Push play. Push play. Keep pushing play...

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for P90X Plyometrics

2010-03-02T20:37:00.001-05:00

Garmin Connect -
Activity Details for P90X Plyometrics

This wasn't my last cardio of the week, but my computer keeps locking up while attempting to upload Kenpo from Saturday.

So this was week 3 of P90X, and it was a good one! Little improvements on pull-ups and yoga, and big improvements on push-ups. Lots of hard work, difficult food decisions (some getting easier), and results starting to show up. On Yoga X I'm almost all the way through the 45 minutes of strength moves, up to the Warrior 3 series, which finally leads my quads to exhaustion. Once I get the strength to make it through those moves I'll have the entire strength series mastered! The only other step I really need is to get the crane. That's a difficult balance move (really strength) that puts you in a low squat, bends you over onto your hands, and you are supposed to rest your arms on your elbows for a minute. I can't hold it for a second. When I can hold my weight I can keep a toe on the ground, but for now it's too much for my arms to hold.

I'm ready and excited to try running now, but not sure when to include it. Been busy at work, and I pick up my wife from the commuter rail, so I hurry home to get in the workout before it's time to go. Sometimes I do it at lunch, which opens up time after school, but I could turn it around, and run on the tread at school, and do P90 later. Yeah, I should try that. Good plan!

Oh, this week is "recovery" week for P90X, which really just means that they change the routine, leaving out most strength videos, and keeping the muscles confused, so they can't adapt and create a plateau. Next week will be the start of a new routine, so I look forward to that. And the "recovery" is just a name. There's no recovery in these workouts!

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for P90X- Kenpo X

2010-02-20T11:23:00.001-05:00

Garmin Connect -
Activity Details for P90X- Kenpo X

Week 2 on P90X is complete! Well, I'll do a stretch tomorrow, but that's just what it sounds like: stretching. No cardio or strength in that. So the next step is another week of the same routines, followed by a recovery week, with cardio, yoga and stretching, but no strength building workouts. Then the muscle confusion begins again with a new series of workouts. Nice. It's good hard work.

This week was perfect for a routine, because I had school vacation week. I'd take my wife to the commuter rail, then knock out a workout, everyday. Very conducive to a workout schedule, indeed! Had a great week of doing that. This week we're back at school, and I'll be doing jazz band auditions after school, plus (hopefully still in place!) a Celtics game on Tuesday! Luckily I can do my Tuesday workout during lunch, and still have time to clean up and eat my lunch. After that I'll be short on time, so that's fortunate for me!

I'm starting to think that during the 2nd month of workouts I'll figure out a way to start running again. I believe my leg is ready to take on the burden, and I know my body is itching to get back to it, after completing zero miles so far for 2010! My first known race will be at the end of June, and my Army 2-mile event will be in mid July, so I really want to knock out that one. Of all the races I could do, all I really want is a 14:00 2 mile. That's not reasonably too much to ask, but I've come up short for 2 years. This is my year. That should be my mantra: "This is my year."

Bring it.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for P90X Kenpo X

2010-02-13T15:19:00.000-05:00

Garmin Connect -
Activity Details for P90X Kenpo X

Week 1 of P90X is in the books! It looked like this: Chest & Back, with Ab Ripper X; Plyometrics (explosive jumping cardio); Shoulders & Arms w/Ab Ripper; Yoga X (this is tough!); Chest & Back w/Ab Ripper; Kenpo X (a little like Tai Bo, with martial arts-style kicks, punches & blocks, but for a whole hour!). I didn't have time for the Ab Ripper on Friday, so I did that after Kenpo on Saturday, which was doubly hard, for an already painful ab routine.

So I've lived through a week! I was aware of the intensity of the program, and had sampled some of the workouts, so I was prepared. I helped my wife plan meals based on a lower carb nutrition plan, made scrambled eggs with egg whites (surprisingly good), english muffins with soy sausage (surprisingly good), had a protein shake for breakfast twice, and a recovery drink for a snack every day. I made a Facebook group to track progress with some friends. I made time at home by changing right after work and getting buy. Mostly, I pushed play every day! Bring it, is the motto!

Next up is 2 more weeks of the same plan, followed by a recovery week, then we change it up, to confuse the muscles. 3 Weeks of that, more recovery, and another 3 weeks that mix up the first two cycles of workouts. And, of course, a final recovery phase. Doing great so far, and looking ahead to more!

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for P90X Plyometrics

2010-01-31T13:01:00.001-05:00

Garmin Connect -
Activity Details for P90X Plyometrics

It's been so long now since my last run, but today was a great cross-training workout. The importance of cross-training can't be understated, because in running all we do is forward (or small turns), usually in the same direction. Sometimes a track asks us to run THE OTHER WAY. Ooh, now we're working it out. So plyometrics is jumping, hopping on one leg, squats and lunges for strength building, and really works all the stabilizer muscles that are unused in running. That can go a LONG way towards preventing injuries. Ahem: wish I'd done this months ago!

I'm working up to the start of my P90X period, which is, um, well 90 days. P 90, you see. Day 1 is set for Feb 8, and a week later is Feb vacation, so I can focus on suffering, and not working through it! But this coming week is production week for the school musical, and I'm drumming in it, so I'll be bizzy. Later.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Untitled

2010-01-16T12:36:00.001-05:00

Garmin Connect -
Activity Details for
Untitled

P90X: Cardio X. Nasty workout, this. I haven't run since before Thanksgiving, right? So I've used my legs to walk, but not to move fast at all! I've worked on strength a few times, and that taxes your heart pretty well, but I was feeling it very quickly on this workout. I'm a novice again. It begins with a simple series of warm-up moves before stretching, which is mostly based on yoga. After so long it begins to take on the cardiovascular system, and I had never done most of these moves before. Series of jabs & cuts, kicks to the front, side & back, swinging legs over a stool, first one then the other, then bring them back, quickly, simulating catching a basketball and shooting a jump shot, all kinds of things I wouldn't have put together, and then he does it all again! I admit it; I stopped a few times to catch my breath. But I know my legs will be functioning properly when I get back to running again, and my heart will have started to progress towards its former fitness level. Good stuff!

Goals 2010

2010-01-10T07:00:00.002-05:00

Well, we're now 10 days into the new year, and all my blogging friends have been knocking out races already. Some of you live in (much) warmer climates than I do, and all of you are currently healthier (cough*ankle*cough*who?*cough), but I'm on the mend. Yesterday I managed to do a P90X chest & back video, so I'm (once again) gearing up to start that program! I can spend seemingly unlimited time on my leg now, and can walk anywhere, so running shouldn't be too far behind.

To wrap up last year, I wanted to "eclipse my 269.4 biking miles this year. Other goals for 2009: Max the APFT AND better than 14:00; 10-mile race time of better than 1:30:00; total running miles (wow, this one is harder to choose) let's go for 700!" How did that work out for me? I ran 99 times for a total of 475.1 miles. Yeah, that 700 wasn't coming to me this year. I got close to 500, but the injury killed it. I'll modify for this year, to something more reasonable; I don't seem to be a real distance guy so far. For biking I did 216, so that wasn't better. I also didn't bike at all during Army Annual Training, like last year when we were close to home, so that was part of it. My Army PT test was about the same this year: I scored 296/300, so pushups and situps were maxed, but my run was slower. Needed a 14:06, but came in at 14:36, or close to it. Didn't race the 10-mile in Newburyport, because it was so close to the Army test, so I ran a decent 5K, with no PR.

So new goals: I WANT that Army APFT max! Major goal for the whole year. I want to race the Yankee Homecoming 10-Mile and break 1:30. I want to bike more than I did (pathetic goal, I know). I want to PR the Danvers 5-mile race–anything better than 40:26. I'll accept any 5K time under 23:00! But mostly I want to be injury-free this year, and enjoy what I'm doing. I'll be traveling to Paraguay for Army training, most likely, so that will be 15 days without most of my exercise routines, I think. Doing P90X will preclude most running, because that's a serious workout! I want to enjoy whatever it is I'm doing, and just get out there. Ooh, speaking of that, more downhill skiing in the next 2 or 3 months! yes!

How I Spent My Christmas Vacation

2010-01-03T19:07:00.000-05:00

Just returned from the CA Rose Parade trip! Man, that was something else. I'd done it before, in '06, but that was in the rain, and this was so different. We left on December 27, after a 2 AM wakeup! The flight from Boston
was pretty easy; I was in charge of a smaller group of 50, and the director and other staff took a group of 100. Upon landing we drove to Hollywood and saw whatever is left of the former glamour, now all touristy stuff, then back to Anaheim for our hotel. We awoke early to rehearse at Angels stadium (the enemy for Boston fans) and prepared for Band Fest the next day, after which we spent the day at California Adventure, which was pretty cool. The next day I was up @ 5 for a working breakfast for all directors, followed by pics @ the Rose Bowl (memories of WI beating UCLA in 94!) and then Band Fest. We spent the morning working on their focus, and they responded with the best field show they had ever done! They wowed the crowd, and made us proud! Then we went to Santa Monica for a little shopping and a nice dinner.
The next day was all about Disneyland. We had a good time on the rides, but our night parade was rained out. Just as well, because we were soaked and cold, so we went back to the hotel for dry clothes and a little more time with the mouse before crashing for the night. The next day was another early riser for directors to get to a banquet, celebrating the accomplishment of being in the Tournament of Roses Parade! It was a great time, and then we met the band at Universal Studios for a day in the sun and fun. I volunteered at a show about special effects (hasn't changed in 4 years!) and was "tortured" and they cut my arm off, plus I operated a giant kitty paw that "attacked" another volunteer (if you were watching the screen, anyway). That was fun. For new years eve we got back early, had a meeting about the parade expectations, then counted down the clock with Boston and went to bed. New Years Day meant a 3:45 wake-up!
After a really early rise and nice breakfast, we got on our buses, drove to Pasedena, and waited for out turn; the last band, #90 out of 94 units! Band after band drove by us (wouldn't want to be late for this!), and we tried to keep the kids calm; nerves run high for this event. When it was our turn, we drove to the drop-off, got in line and proceeded to the warm-up area (can't spook the horses) and started a musical warm-up and final motivation speech. Then it was OUR turn! Thousands of people lined up along Del Mar blvd, blocks from the TV cameras, and wished us the best, and we stepped off to our patriotic theme. Down Orange Grove Rd, until we got the signal, and BOOM, lights, camera, action! There were 1 MILLION people along the parade route, and 1.5 BILLION world-wide watching our 14 - 18 year-old students perform. I lost it at TV row, but then the Navy jets flew over and it was awesome! Down Colorado Blvd for about 4.5 miles (no crutches here!) and smiling, waving to people, and enjoying the awesome feeling of being in this, the best parade in the whole WORLD for bands! Total distance by my Garmin was 5.17 miles, from our step-off to the back of our bus. Everyone made it, which is kind of rare for kids, and then we got an In And Out burger for our efforts. I have pics of Facebook. Good times, people. But now my leg is acting up again, but I don't care; my goal was to complete the parade, damn the torpedos! Now I can recover again. I'll start running when I can, and not worry about it. There's P90X to work me out until then.

Happy new year! Resolutions to follow, but I haven't given it any thought yet, just returning from a 7-day trip with 150 kids!

By this time in 2 weeks...

2009-12-20T13:48:00.002-05:00

...I will have flown 6 hours to southern Cal, set up house at a fine Anaheim hotel, held band rehearsal @ Angel stadium (proudly wearing my Red Sox cap !), participated in the Tournament of Roses Band Fest, marched in the Disneyland night parade, and marched (really walked) 5-1/2 miles down Colorado Boulevard in the 121st Tournament of Roses Parade! Seriously, watch on HGTV for commercial-free coverage @ 8 AM Pacific time. We're the last band in the parade, called the Danvers High School Falcon Marching Band, wear blue & white uniforms, and will have a HUGE American flag carried behind the band, so the networks all want to make a big deal out of us. We should be pretty noticeable.

So I haven't walked more than around the school, or down the block, or around the grocery store since before Thanksgiving, so I have to test it a little and see what's up. Less than 2 weeks to go; it's crunch time! Anyway, I'm super excited about taking the students to this, our 3rd trip to the Rose Parade (please note, this is not a football game, and it's not held in a stadium)! I hope the California weather holds out for us. I'm looking right now at at least 6 inches of snow, and it's still falling at 2 PM. How about some 70º weather for us New Englanders, So Cal?

Day 10 and getting better

2009-12-05T10:20:00.002-05:00

I've been on crutches now for 10 days! This week I found a better range of motion, and finally got my heel down to the ground, supporting my weight! I can walk around a room looking almost normal, but still use the crutches to go any real distance. Have to call an orthopedist, to make sure I'm not causing any damage, and to glean some real rehabilitation strategies. But I haven't done that yet...

That Will Do It For Some Time Now

2009-11-25T12:21:00.002-05:00

Well, I've finally hit the end of this running road for a little while. While playing basketball in a fund-raising tournament I pulled my calf muscles (one of them, several, don't know) and am now on crutches. And my team didn't win, but another teacher jumped in for me right away. So I'm out now, nothing to write about until I can stand on my leg again and start P90X, and maybe do some short miles. I'll have to start over, that's for sure. Bummer. But I'll keep reading blogs and commenting on great training and races. Have fun! Happy Thanksgiving!

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for BUsted Run

2009-11-22T12:32:00.001-05:00

Garmin Connect -
Activity Details for
BUsted Run

Today I had planned to run 6 miles, as I've been doing once a week for a short while. I went out at 10:30 under sunny skies, which would soon turn grey, and 49º, with a projected high a 50. I settled on running pants, a compression warm weather top with a summer running shirt for visibility (yellow). This proved to be too much later on, when I got really warm, but that proved to of little importance after that. At about 3/4 of a mile I felt a lot of tightness in my shins & calves, which happens sometimes when I run, so I wasn't bothered. At 1-1/2 miles it was still there, but I was warm, so didn't focus on it, but after 2 miles I had to take a stretch break. It never got better after that. I took a couple walk breaks and ended up walking the last 1-1/4 miles to home. That's when I got cool, and had to fight it off.

So the end result is a sore achilles tendon on my right side, which will have to rest a while before I can trust it again. I hope it doesn't effect my P90X workouts, which should begin next week! I'll play around with them until I begin in earnest. That's going to be great! I need to have a program to keep me on track, or else I get bored. I'm bored of running right now, because I have no focus, no goal, and it's not fun to just get out there and go right now. Need the mojo.

Flying to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving, so maybe I can run in a new place and enjoy that. Happy Thanksgiving!

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Long Run

2009-11-15T13:09:00.001-05:00

Is that awesome, or what?
Garmin Connect -
Activity Details for
Long Run

Big milestone: 2nd run of the week! So it didn't hurt that Veterans Day is a holiday, so I had the time and I used it well. Maybe I can do that more in future weeks. Maybe not this week.

Nice day today, 53º, light mist in the air, at least at first. Didn't get 1/4-mile before I encountered the dreaded flooded road. We had more than 24 hours of rain here, so the local river (really a creek) had flooded across the road I needed. I probably knew this, because I drove through it last night on the way to get groceries. No matter, I walked through the shallowest part—maybe 2 inches deep—and got my feet wet with really cold water. On I went with wet feet and Phedippidations in my ears. Did the same route I ran a week ago, doing 6 miles. I saw 2 horses, a donkey (I keep looking for his ogre, but no luck), and a bunch of baby cows at my turn-around. Animals make my run better, more enjoyable. It was good today. I managed to not think about the run much of the time. Actually, the mild weather goes a long way in making for a good run at this time of year, when it could easily be much colder & even snowing.

I pulled off 6.11 miles in 1:00:27, so basically a 10 minute pace, literally a 9:53 pace. HR was 163, max 173, so I wasn't killing it, but just enjoying it. With all the P90X I've been doing lately I find it awesome to get out and run. Working out for strength is great, of course, so I'm buying the videos, but I need to keep running. Yes, I bought the vids, and will be able to start the system some time next week, and so looking forward to it! It's a kick-ass workout and brings results fast. Nice. Gotta run, too. Just keep running, just keep running...

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Easy Run

2009-11-11T13:23:00.001-05:00

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Easy Run

Easy run today. It's Veterans Day, so happy Veterans Day to all have served, are serving, and especially those in harm's way! I've been serving for 22 years now, and get some pretty great duties, but I so respect those who signed up for combat specialties and jump right in with both feet. God bless you all!

Thanks for the birthday wishes!

So there's no school today, so I got my wife to the train, then came home and had some breakfast and did a P90X video (back and biceps!), then had a sandwich for recovery, a nap and hit the streets for my run. I've been running so seldom lately that I wanted to get in a mid-week run, so that was great! Nice day for mid-November: 50º with a slight wind. I had shorts and a long-sleeve Under Armour heat gear shirt, which was perfect for this. No, it wasn't hot, but it serves as a nice layer and helps keep me comfortable. 4.34 miles in 41:34, and a good HR. The trees are mostly leaf-less now, and hardly anyone was out. No traffic, for sure, and I LOVED that! Huh, I don't much to say about my run. Oh, I listened to the Phedip gadgets & gizmos episode, but was uninspired by anything new mentioned on there. I don't share the love of barefoot or minimalist shoes, and already have a Garmin & iPod. C'est la vie.

Should manage some miles this weekend. I have a HS football game (that is band, and we NEVER lose!) on Friday, a practice on Saturday in which we'll march 6 miles: that's more than most people run! But then the weekend is mine. I'll also get some pics from the Patriots game up, but they are on my wife's laptop for now. Happy running!

Standing behind the Dolphins bench after the Anthem.

Empty Gillette

Yeah, I stood on the 50 yard line!

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Only Run Of The Week

2009-11-07T10:29:00.001-05:00

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Only Run Of The Week

What a nice day for a run! 30º at the start, 38º at finish, no wind to speak of, and sunny. For the first time this season I had to wear long pants, long sleeves and a winter hat, but I warmed into it quickly, and was comfortable throughout. It was a great run, too, with no discomfort of any kind, and my mind was working on different things the whole time, never dwelling on the run. In fact I had enough left at the end to pick it up make sure I came in under an hour! Total = 6.12 in 58:48, for a 9:36 average. It was great. But that's it for the week. I did some P90 during the week, had HS band practice twice this week, and just didn't get in a run. Can't run tomorrow because I have to get to Gillette Stadium for the Patriots game to sing the National Anthem! Love that gig (but it keeps me busy!).

So I turned 43 this week. Got a whole mess of greetings on facebook, a cupcake from a student, a 150-piece HS band sang happy birthday to me, as did a 50-piece choir. Tara & I went to the Boston Symphony last weekend (Beethoven 6 & 7, awesome!) and went out to dinner in Boston, plus she got me a cake on my b-day. Very nice. And tonight I lead my Army Caribbean band in a military ball, meaning we have to put butts on the dance floor! Staying overnight in Worcester to help me get to Foxboro faster tomorrow.

Only Run Of The Week

2009-11-01T12:59:00.001-05:00

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Long Run

The day after Halloween. Noshing on leftover candy (we'll be "trick-or-treating" in this house for weeks!), enjoying a relaxing day. It's Pack v Viqueens this afternoon, so I hope to see Brent Farv (vaguely remember him, I think...) on his ASS all day long! 'Nuff said. Anyway, I went for a run after a nice morning reading the paper by the fire. Since I only go once a week these days (lots of P90X takes time) I wanted to do something longer than the usual 4 or 5, so I headed out for a 6. My wife went at the same time, so we were together at first, but after 1/2-mile I was itching to get past the 11 minute pace, so I went on ahead. We would have split after about a mile anyway. So wearing the Garmin, but no ipod, I kept a moderate pace and just kept rolling along. First mile was 10:03, but then I stayed between 9:30 and 9:59, finishing hard in the last 1/4-mile. I felt good the whole time, and was loving the fall colors (mostly on the ground), and the smell of fallen leaves. Traffic was pretty inactive, and hardly anyone was out on foot, so I was mostly alone. There were some people walking dogs (or the other way around) and I saw 2 sheep (that's new!) and one horse. Mostly it was me and my thoughts, which didn't stay on any one topic for long.

The book I'm reading (listening to), American Psycho, gets pretty graphic during the murders, and it's hard to take in almost any scenario, so I don't like it while running. But what I like is that I got it from iTunes, even though it's still credited to Audible. Now, I belonged to Audible via Phedippidations, and didn't leave after the free book, so I got stuck with another 2 books, which was fine. But I can get the same product from the same retailer, but via iTunes with no subscription. That's a no-brainer for me! Enjoy your running!

***Next week is National Anthem @ Gillette Stadium!***

Woodvale March

2009-10-31T15:26:00.001-04:00

See what we looked like in the monsoon @ 2006 Tournament of Roses? Hoping for REAL California weather this time!

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Woodvale March

Woodvale is a neighborhood next to our high school, so we take the marching band on a (relatively) 2-mile loop through there as practice for parades. The parade this year is the Tournament of Roses on January 1st (HGTV has commercial-free coverage!), so we'll be doing 6 miles before too long in preparation for that! Today was great for temperature (60º at start, 70º at end), and overcast, so perfect for marching. The wind was strong too, so our giant American flag was trying to fly away. The poor kids holding it were doing all they could to hang on, so some of the staff went back to help. I must have done at least 1/2-hour hanging on to that thing before we finally folded it up and carried it back. It was a good training session, anyway, and I logged a bunch of walking miles! I'll be sure to carry the Garmin in California so all can see exactly what the route looks like!

Oh, I did 52 minutes of P90X and 16 minutes of Ab Ripper X, too today! Nasty!

Easy Run

2009-10-25T12:39:00.001-04:00

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EAsy Run

What a fantastic day! Didn't run until around 11 AM—couldn't resist sitting by the fire, reading the Sunday paper and enjoying some time with my wife—so it had warmed up to a very nice 56º by the time I left the house in shorts and shirt. The leaves are just popping here; especially the maples, which have started losing leaves. The only blemish on the scenery is from the birches, which seem to drop their leaves all at once as soon as it gets cold, so there are some bare spots. But the rest is a mix of red (check out the burning bushes!), yellow, orange, and that crazy mix the oak leaves get between green and brown. It's so beautiful, and the fallen leaves have a smell that can't be denied. I just love it!

Did 5.39 today in 52-ish minutes. I didn't really care about speed, though, just wanted to get outside. No headphones, because that would disrupt the beauty of the day, and frankly I'm getting a little tired of a certain pioneering running program. I listen at work, but get no motivation lately while on the road. Thanks for the many great inspirational shows when I first started a running program, but I'm just tired of the format now. I'll stay subscribed, though. I like to keep connections and look for motivation where I can, anyway. But my run: I did call into The Extra Mile just to say "hey" and describe how awesome it is here now. Also gave the briefest of race reports from the Zen Run 10K. Speaking of which, I gave a shout-out to people who check out this little page. Ahem, cough, cough. Don't you listen to the WWFOR episode anymore? :(

So I joined this health community after receiving numerous invitations, and this little blog will now be on wellsphere.com. Don't know what I'll get from it, but it costs nothing, and they're about health, so that's good. Check it out if you like. Happy running!

Oh, that was bad

2009-10-12T18:41:00.002-04:00

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Man, when I didn't feel like running in 33º, and then 43º, and not really when it hit 50º I should have known enough to stay home. When I finally went out @ 2 I felt lethargic, my shins tightened up, my HR was high, and I had to stop several times. My body said stop and my brain said go. Didn't work. I completed it, but it was an unsatisfying run. Oh, well, it was more than I'd done lately by quite a lot, so I just over-did it. Time to back off and build up slowly.

Zen Run 10K

2009-10-11T12:11:00.001-04:00

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Just ran my 10K for the World Wide Festival Of Races! Let me start with the awesome: 1st in my age group; 1st in males; 1st in all runners! A PR for this distance!

Next up is the obvious: only runner in my age group; only male runner; only runner; 1st ever race at this distance. I ran my own race which makes it tough to dig deep for the finish. It's easy to think of it as just another training run, so I set my Garmin to keep me within a certain range, and it had to yell at me a few times to speed up. So I did.

Laps look as follows: M1 8:13, M2 8:25, M3 8:28, M4 8:39, M5 8:55 (pretty hilly here), M6 8:32, final .2 7:46 for a total 52:47. AHR 181, MHR 198, so I gave it everything I had, at least at the end. And I hadn't been training for speed since early September. I'll take it!

BTW, nice day here, and I got some pics of before, during and after. Yes, I actually stopped to take a pic in the middle! I still have to post those, so that'll be up soon. Hurray WWFOR!

WW10K Warm-Up

2009-10-10T12:27:00.001-04:00

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I've been a lazy boy for a while now, and haven't been out during the week at all. In fact, I've been a weekend warrior, while spending long hours at school catching up on grading and planning. That's all good stuff, but I needed to get back out on the road, so I hit a 5-er today as a tune up for the World Wide Festival Of Races tomorrow. I'm doing Steve's Run Because He Wants To, right here at home. To the best of my knowledge no one else is registered, which is good, because I'm not supplying any support or prizes. My pre-race plan is to read the paper by the fire with my wife, enjoy a cup of coffee and then go hit it. I also plan to PR my first ever 10K race! More details tomorrow. Good luck in whichever race you are doing!

Long Run

2009-10-04T12:46:00.001-04:00

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So this is my 1st long run since July! It was a very nice 51Âº with a cloud cover, but no wind. Shorts and shirt weather! Didn't have a buddy to run with, so I took Phedippidations with me and listened to some old episodes (#27 & 28), which was nice. Still would have done alright with no sound, since autumn is doing its best take hold here, and there wasn't much road traffic to drown out nature.

I took a nice, easy pace, slightly under 10 min/mile, and just enjoyed the run. I mean I haven't enjoyed a run like that since I don't know when! There's been so much effort into hard, fast work that I hadn't done an easy effort for fun, so this was great. I need more of that. Then I need to balance the easy runs with some speed work, but balance is the key. I noticed the local track was open today (the old private school track is open, the public school track is locked...) so that's an option.

On another note, with the World Wide Festival Of Races fast approaching I need a race. So I think I'll create the "Steve's WWFOR 10K" right here near home. I've never done 10K specifically before, so I'll need little work to map out a route that stops here again, but it'll work. Also have to register. I'll go do that now.

Easy Run

2009-09-28T18:00:00.001-04:00

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It's been 8 days since my previous run. Just wanted to get out and do something! So I hit about a 9-minute pace and did it. Just ran. Nice. Consistency is needed.

1st Long Run since Whenever

2009-09-20T11:22:00.001-04:00

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It's been a long time since I've done any long running, not that this was such a long one. Looking back at my training calendar I did some 5ers at the end of August, and an 8-and-then -some in early July, but that's it.

So today was a 5-miler with my Sunday running buddy. He's been out with a back injury, so he's just getting back into it, too. We took it pretty easy, maintaining around 9:00 per mile. It was good, and we talked the whole way. He thought we don't normally talk that much, but we couldn't shut up today.

The weather was great for running, having warmed up to about 53Âº from a nasty 39Âº overnight. I wore shorts and a hot-gear long sleeve shirt with a singlet, just to color up the all black look. Started out cool, but I warmed into it by mile 1.

It was a pretty comfortable run. Easy at first, and some of the later hills took it out of us a little, but mostly just a good run. The leaves are changing on some of the trees already, which may be a little late, but I'm not sure on that. But it's getting pretty already. Glad to be out there!

Bike Ride With A Friend

2009-09-14T17:52:00.001-04:00

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Met with a friend today for an easy ride. Training for running is over for a while, so a cross-train was a nice change.

We went out nice and easy, just talking, since we hadn't ridden together for a month. Every now and then we caught ourselves going harder for no reason, so we'd slow down a little. Gradually, though, we picked up the pace, and for a while we were doing 20 MPH pretty steadily! We ended up at about a 16MPH pace, which is pretty good.

It as a nice ride, and we changed our usual routes, so it was pretty, too, and it's good to see things from another view. Nice ride!

APFT: At Last!

2009-09-12T19:11:00.001-04:00

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We finally had the big PT test for my Army unit! I was all peaked out in August, when we went to Alaska (heard the same thing from many people), and when we got back I did not maintain that high level of work. I ran a few times, including a session of 4 x 800s and a day of 2 x 1 miles within a 5 mile run. I also did a final easy run on Thursday. Hadn't done any real situps since before Alaska, although I worked my abs a few times. And I'd been maintaining my pushup work all along, but less lately.

So here's what happened: This morning was rainy/drizzly and a comfortable 60Âº in Fall River, MA. Had a nice breakfast, a couple cups of coffee on the drive in (2 hours driving), and a handful of almonds for some protein. By pushup start time (approx. 9 AM) I was ready, but feeling a little tired from 2 nights of less sleep than normal. I nailed the pushups! Needed 67 for a max (100 points), and hit 74! It wasn't easy, but who cares? On the situps (approximately 15 minutes later, after we all had done PU) I needed 72 for a max and hit 73! Nailed it! Did a warm-up lap, and then another, slower one with a friend. I get to the other stuff, but I needed 14:06 for a max, and got a 14:45. Say what? Yeah, I added 29 seconds to last year's run.

Excuse time! Sleep as mentioned, because I has HS band practice on Thursday, so I got home later, and a HS football game last night, and the band was there. The band, btw, is 1-0! That's a little band humor. Really little. I know. Oh, the football team won, too. But I got home pretty late, and woke up early for Guard. I didn't have much to give for the run. I did manage a kick over the final 300, so I probably just couldn't bring myself to hurt more than it already did. Excuses over. I set a goal of 300 points on the APFT, and came up with 295. Pretty good, anyway, no? Oh, I hit 4th place on the test (3 younger guys in front of me), and had one of the highest scores on the test. I'll take it!

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for 2 x 1M as part of a loop

2009-09-07T19:34:00.001-04:00

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In case it's not clear, the title to these Garmin posts is a link to the GC site. My favorite part is the "terrain" button, because it actually shows a terrain map (hello, really?) which is useful to see what it's like where I live!

Today was my final run of the "summer." I'm back to school tomorrow, but it's been a fantastic summer! I really hit the speedwork hard this year, getting to know my local track! Of course I won't know until Saturday if it actually helped me drop any time for the 2M race. But it was good to work that hard. Anyway, I set out today on a 5M loop. Did my 1M warmup, then Garmin counted down to my next lap, which was a 1M all-out effort, followed by 3-min walk, then repeat. It was rough! Running on a track is nice and flat, but out on the road you get what comes your way. That's what follows:

7:04, elevation +303, -281, which was mostly a little rolling terrain. 7:16, elevation +218, -181, but there was less rolling and one 1/4M climb that really took it out of me! But I got it back and carried on. The test will be on a track, so these numbers tell a pretty good tale. Especially when I factor in that I hiked for 2-1/2 hours yesterday on some pretty heavy terrain, involving climbing some steep ( and fun) rocks! Good workout, for sure!

Bike Ride With My Wife

2009-09-05T12:03:00.001-04:00

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Tara wanted to ride today, instead of running, so we broke out the road bikes and got going. Easy pace, but a nice ride. She likes to see what's new in the area (vegetation and houses) and notice everything going on. I like to go! We compromise on these efforts, though. Easy in the early part, pick it up as the road encourages me, meet in the middle, and do it again. Well, it's never as easy as at the start. We came across another couple dogging it up a hill, so I blew past them and they picked up the chase! I didn't really want a chase, so I slowed down at a stop sign and let them go. We passed them later on. Had to make a choice 2 miles from home when the road turned to gravel. We chose the gravel for 1 mile, knowing it would end again, but it was a rough ride. Anyway, good workout. Fat burner, I hope!

4 x 800s

2009-09-03T12:58:00.001-04:00

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I Think I like sending workouts directly from Garmin Connect to here. My first intervals since Alaska, like 3 weeks ago, and it HURT! Went out super fast, but I couldn't maintain that, of course. After that it was much could I hang on to any kind of speed. Not bad, but I need to work more before my Army test next weekend.

The Return Post

2009-08-30T16:14:00.003-04:00

I'm fully back from National Guard training (almost 2 weeks now) and becoming recovered, gradually. It went down like this: we were supposed to fly back on Sunday, August 16th, but the Air Force wouldn't let the plane fly. We were pretty unhappy, but adjusted once we were back in the Fairbanks hotel. I got to have an extra day @ Denali National Park (no equipment—on the plane—no training), which was fantastic! See above. Oh, I did run a couple times in AK, and believe I wrote about those already.

When we got back I went straight to high school marching band practice on 3 hours sleep. The next day (camp all week) my in-laws left, and my sister and niece showed up. I planned that pretty poorly, but we had a great visit! My parents came the next night, so I didn't get to recover then. Tara & I drove them all over: Mass., Maine, NH, beaches, tropical storms, Boston, food, etc. By Tuesday my family had all gone, and Tara & I let our guards down. She still worked out the week (yay for teaching!), but we had this weekend to fully recover. I'm actually sad to see the weekend go, even though I don't have much to do this week.

Got in some runs in the last week too. 4.31 Last Monday, 5.25 on Wednesday for a longest in how long? Today I aimed for 6 and got 5.87 in 51:23. Seems I should have zigged when I zagged, but it's still pretty good. 8:45 average pace is pretty good, and that's what I've been doing for all my easy runs lately. I kicked it up a notch! HR is getting up there, but I'll watch it come down later.

Glad to be back, and back to normal! Oh, my whole running plan was for the APFT in Alaska. Here's what went down with that: There was a 2-million acre forest fire around Fairbanks, so the whole place was smoke filled. Really, it was hard to breathe. When that cleared up (just the smoke) we never got a break in which to place a 3-hour physical test for the whole unit, what with training and performances scheduled. Plus the Air Force's schedule for loading the plane. We'll do the whole test in 2 weeks on our home turf. Now I have to find a way to get to a track when it's not out of service for a HS football team! Gotta add a little speed to what I already had going on!

Hey, I Can Blog Straight From Garmin Connect!

2009-08-30T11:28:00.001-04:00

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What Running?

2009-08-16T15:43:00.002-04:00

2 Weeks in Fairbanks, and I ran twice. Once was a fast run with my room mate, who is faster than I am. The other was 800s with a few people. I rode bikes with a couple other people yesterday, and saw more of Ft. Wainwright than everyone else, which was cool.

Today we left the hotel, packed the plane and sat through two engine checks, before they announced that we weren't going anywhere. C-R-A-P! Two more days in rainy Fairbanks, with no transportation, and little money. It's time to go home. End of complaint-fest.

Running In Alaska

2009-08-12T04:16:00.002-04:00

Well, now for something completely different. I'll start by telling you that I have done a couple runs while on Annual Training in Fairbanks, including 4 x 800s on Monday, which was a lot of fun with 3 other people. The APFT is on Friday, but that's not why I'm writing.

Just got back from my first performance with my MPT (Musical Performance Team, which means a small band) and we kicked ASS! The group is a Caribbean band, with guitar, bass, drums, sax and keyboard (me, and I play vibraphone, too), and two of us sing. We played in the hotel bar, and came out with a latin-style jazz piece, then hit up some reggae with HEAVY solos from sax and vibes, and people flipped out. We had them dancing and singing and having a great time. We played Red Red Wine, Volcano, Love Song, Redemption Song, I'm Yours, Breakdown, Moondance, and so many other songs. It was wild, crazy and amazing. If you don't already get the power of music, I wish you great speed in finding it. Running is good, but I was reminded tonight of how important music is to me, and how complete I am when performing in a great band! Man, it was so much fun! I'll run more, but music completes me.

Race Report & Final Post Before Army Training

2009-08-02T09:30:00.002-04:00

I haven't even gone running for today, yet, but want to get out this last post before Annual Training in Alaska. I'll have the computer with, but don't know details about internet connection, so this could be it until 2 weeks from now.

So last Tuesday was the Yankee Homecoming 5K & 10M races in Newburyport. I had done the 5K once before—three years ago, I think—and the 10M last year. Raced the 5K this year, because I have my Army 2M race the week after, and I couldn't accomplish the proper recovery and training after a 10M race, while still giving a best effort a week later. I do enjoy the longer race, though. Some friends of mine clocked in average paces of 7:04 and 7:28 in the 10M, which are both faster than my 5K pace! I love it!

It was a reasonably warm day, especially for New England this summer, which has been cool and wet. But it was 85º for most of the day, and quite humid. Not oppressive, by any means, but warm. We were there about 30 minutes before the start, and needed time to wait in line for the restrooms, and have a good stretch. It was also Tara's first race—EVER! She was so nervous, but I kept reminding her that any result is a PR that can be tackled again next time. She did great, knocking out a 33:40! She learned that feeling good at the start doesn't mean feeling good at the end, and she needs to maintain a planned pace and save some for the end. Tara had a great time, and totally wants to race more!

I got stuck, as always, in the opening traffic, breaking free after about 1/2-mile, and finished the first mile in 7:31, which is about 15 seconds slower than I wanted for a total pace, but good enough, considering the traffic jam that I always see at these events. I felt really good, and my HR was at 164, or around 75-ish%. The second mile was better @ 7:22 and mostly flat, with a nice downhill to downtown (how's that for a little turn of the phrase?). HR still only 177 out of 197 max. In the third mile I was feeling the heat, grabbed a sloppy drink of water (didn't expect to in a short race), and struggled up the hill towards the finish. 7:43 with 183 HR. I was feeling it pretty good now, but knew I had more in the tank for the finish, so I poured it on for whatever remained of the end, averaging 6:20, and kicking to the finish. Official time 23:36, for a 7:36 average pace. It's no PR, but my PR time came in an unofficial weekly race with no chip time, entrance fee or race numbers, so this is my best official 5K time!

Oddly enough, Buckeye lists this race as a PR, because it somehow called it 3.11 miles, while my others were simply 3.10. Strange, but unimportant, I guess. Dave asked me about it, so I thought it deserved an explanation.

The rest of the week included biking 10.52M on Monday and 20.46 on Saturday, this time with a friend. I was in NYC with my wife and her parents Wednesday thru Friday, walking ALL DAY. We took the subway for long trips, like getting to the ferry to statue of liberty, or uptown to the top of central park. We stood for long periods, waiting out torrential rain in Times Square, before donning cheap ponchos and toughing it out. Saw so much of Manhattan, including walking the whole Brooklyn bridge and central park. Total miles are hard to figure, with separate walking excursions leading to multiple maps. Yeah, I tried to map it out on Buckeye, but only got 2 routes out of it. Can't spend all my time on that. I mapped one 5.5M and one 4.5M route, but we did multiple miles on top of those, so my legs (and feet!) were tired every day. It was a great trip!

I'm doing a track workout of some kind today, as a final prep for my Army run. I hope to have a 14:00 2M, but can't predict based on recent events and my huge NYC walking excursion, which doesn't do anything for speed. C'est la vie! I'll report back when I can.

Oh, That Kicked @&&!

2009-07-24T19:35:00.002-04:00

Today I fought off laziness and general tiredness from the week to test my 2 mile run for the Army. I had been laying down, taking a little nap when my friend Tim called to tell me about his 13:30 run, which is his goal for the same race. I was excited for him, and then he wanted me to go do the same. I looked out and saw rain, and said 'I don't think I'm excited to do another rainy run. I'll do it tomorrow, anyway.' Then my competitive spirit got ahold of me, and I had to go.

Well, I no sooner started my warmup mile when it started raining hard. C'est la vie! I did about a 7:45 warmup, then took a break to set the Garmin to count down a 2 mile run, and had previously set it up for 1/4M laps. The laps didn't take. Bummer. So off I went, cranking out at 6:30 pace, which I fought off for the whole first lap! I can't maintain that, but it sure felt good for the first lap. I settled down pretty well, then fought off getting too slow and various tension issues to finally come in at 14:04! That's 2 seconds better than my max time in the Army! Goal achieved! It wasn't easy, of course, and that was a lot of pain to fight through, but fight I did.

The hard work seems to be paying off! Next up is a 5K on Tuesday, then I'll likely do another day of track work to lock it in before my Army training in Alaska. Maybe there's something to all this hard work for the payoff?

Week In Review

2009-07-18T19:47:00.003-04:00

It's now 1 week until my 5K race and a little more than 2 weeks until my Army race. The 5K is my tuneup for the Army race, so my training has been very much about pushups for last 2 weeks, and this week I crank up the situps, too. Oh, I've been working my abs, but not as a full-on situp. Now it's all about cranking them out quickly. Same with the pushups; knock them out with as many as I can in a given time. Gotta max the APFT!

On Tuesday I ran a series of 4 x 1/2M repeats, walking for 2 minutes between sets. I did them in 3:14, 3:08, 3:18 and 3:22, which may relate better as per-mile pace: 6:30, 6:16, 6:38 and 6:44. I also did this workout on Thursday with the following results: 3:13, 3:11, 3:14 and 3:16, or 6:24, 6:22, 6:28, 6:32. That is so awesome! Can't believe I never did this type of intense speed work before. Also ran 4.83 at an 8:54 pace on Wednesday, and 4.84 at an 8:15 pace on Friday, both with a friend. Now the Friday run was probably stupid, because it was crazy hot and humid, but we can't help but go fast when we run together. Drank a whole giant bottle of water immediately after that one. Oh, of course those runs were educated guesses for the times, because I forgot my Garmin both times! Good enough to just run, though, right?

This week is scheduled (changed from 100 meter sprints, yawn) to 3 x 1 mile with 3 minutes rest. Sound nasty? It IS nasty! Can't wait!

Another Week In Review

2009-07-12T14:12:00.002-04:00

I've noticed a change in pace of the blogs I follow. That is, my bloggers are blogging less frequently, so they are either a little bored of the whole thing or not running as often. I'm still running, but have dialed back on the blogging to about once per week, unless something pretty cool or unusual happens. Nothing cool happened this week.

In the spirit of nursing an achilles tendon injury I took last Sunday off, but biked 26 miles, which was pretty fun! So on Monday I tested the tendon with an easy 2-mile run (success, very little discomfort) and then jumped on the bike (well, I changed shoes first, and geared up) and did 7 miles. That was cool, because I'd never done 2 sports back-2-back like that before. Good times. I also did a rockin' set of pushups for my APFT, using Garmin as a timer.

On Tuesday I met up with my buddy for 4.68 miles in the rain. We always run in the rain, I guess, but this was different. I had a swimming pool in my shoes when we finished! It was a good run @ 9:11 pace, and we always have a good time running together. But it took 2 days to dry my shoes!

Wednesday was simply a repeat of Monday's pushups, and nothing more. On Thursday I did a track workout: 1/2M warm-up, 4X 1/2M w/2 min rest, and 1/2M cool down. The results of this were basically 6:42 pace, except I went out too fast on the first one, so that had a skewed number. This is encouraging for my 2M Army race. It's also the same pace I was doing on 1/4M repeats, so maybe I still have more in the tank, but don't know how to access it. Or maybe I need even less rest. Don't know yet. Also did a couple videos of abs and lower back work.

On Friday I fixed up my back tire (limped home with a flat on Monday) and went out for a long ride. Man, I had head wind at every turn on this crazy ride! But the cool part was when I met a new friend. I always chat people up when we're at similar speeds, and I found out he's from the same town as I am. So we rode together, and decided we could be riding buddies once in a while. That's cool! Avg speed was 17mph, so riding together, like running, brings out a faster speed in me.

On Saturday I took an unexpected run with my wife, to help her assess a goal pace for her first 5K in 2 weeks! We did a mile warm-up, then set out @ 10:00 pace. This knocked her out pretty good, and set back her confidence a lot. So we walked some, settled back into her normal pace, and did some fartleks along the way, racing to various targets and then walking to recover. She's back on a confident path, and knows that her first 5k will result in a PR no matter what!

Today I did 8.47 in 1:18 with my running buddy. And without rain! That was nice. He's nursing some kind of infection in his ear, so we stopped to walk a few times, but finished strong. He's training for the 10M run on the day I do a 5K with my wife. Same race, different distance. I have National Guard duty next week, and he won't do a long run 2 days before the race (2 weeks from now) so that's our last pre-race run. Or at least long run. We'll carry on again later. Good run, though! It was 72º and 70º humidity, which seems nasty hot for us up here lately. My shirt was soaked through pretty early on in the one. At the end we grabbed our water bottles and drained them very fast, then I had a V8 on the way home. Something I picked up in Runner's World, explaining different refueling drinks. I already keep V8 in the house, and it's been awesome after a long run. The sodium content is perfect, and there's no carbonation, so it goes down fast. Loved it. Later I had a nice nap and watched Le Tour in the Pyrenees. Good stuff.

Independence Day Update

2009-07-04T20:44:00.002-04:00

I hope everyone did something fun, and also celebrated our nation's history on Independence Day! I started by leaving the house at 7:30 AM to perform in Boston's Independence Day parade and ceremony. It's pretty awesome, starting with some short speeches, a little boy singing the National Anthem, a parade to the Granary Burial Grounds, where a bunch of Boston patriots are buried, the reading of the Declaration of Independence, and some music and speeches at Fanueil Hall—the cradle of liberty, where many of the meetings for planning the revolution were held!—and it was a supremely patriotic and fun way to spend the early part of the day. I played bass drum alongside one of my friends on snare (and the piccolo player, tuba and one trumpet player) in a band of strangers. Well, they play together, but I was a hired gun. I tell you, the Boston tourists are super patriotic, and just eat up all the nationalism we could dish out. Good times. Oh, and we had some sunshine, too!

Our plans to attend some local fireworks were dashed by a postponement that we saw just minutes before we were going to leave. :( So now we're watching the Boston Pops on TV. Apparently most of it doesn't show nationally until the fireworks, which is too bad for the nation! Neil Diamond is laying out the hits, the Pops is in top form, and the Army Herald Trumpets are prominently featured. It's a great show!

So, the week in review. I already layed out the long run from last week, so Monday was the first new event of the week. Now Monday and Wednesday are reserved for pushups and or situps training, but the plan also calls for some cardio, so I got the bike down and knocked out 10.5 miles of easy riding. It was great to get out there! Pretty much a nice day, but in the last 2 miles I got dumped on. Yes, it rained. What's new. We only had 4 days in June that had sun, so we're kind of used to it. But it really rained on me. I was drenched. It dried later. Good ride.

On Tuesday I was feeling some achilles tendon tightness, so I skipped the planned track run. That was a good move, because I was able to get back at it on Thursday. The last of the sprints! I stretched out the sprint distance a little, and decreased the recovery jogs. I also pooped out after 3 laps, and turned the recoveries into walking, which increased the recovery time. My friend who's working on a degree in physical training consulted me on how not to do that. Equal recovery for work, he says, so I blew it that time. But without a training partner it's HARD. Glad that part is over.

On Friday I did another, longer bike ride. 20 miles in 1:29.51. Good ride. Then I felt my achilles again, so that's not good. Time to just recover. We went to a mall later, and all the walking showed me that my tendon was not going to cooperate. So today I called my running partner and bailed out of the Sunday long run. He wasn't too disappointed, because he has some other runs this week. We'll pick it up again this week.

So, I did little work on running, but kept up my HR, and improved my strength. Gotta get that achilles tendon settled down so I can carry on full strength. I'm 4 weeks out from my Army run, so it's crunch time. But I'm happy to have the freedom to work out as I please. I gladly remember that our country came about by fighting against tyranny, so that we might live a better life. It may not be perfect government, but it's the best form ever known. Happy Independence Day, everyone!

Naked Run

2009-06-28T11:26:00.003-04:00

I did my usual buddy run today, so it was naturally rainy again. Well, it didn't really rain on us this time, but there was still mist in the air, and very humid. We cranked it up to 8.2 today, as Mark gears up for a 10-mile race. I left my Garmin at home by mistake, so it was a naked run, and boy were people looking at me!

This run took us to new territory for Mark, which was cool for me, showing him around an area he's lived in for 24 years. It was a good run at a 9:08 pace. I'm starting to like the faster long pace, because I think it makes me a faster runner overall. The truth will come in later races, though.

I think I'm back to writing for just myself, like when I started this, so in keeping it as a journal of my running I'll keep it brief. This week I have 2 days of sprint training on a track, just like last week, but I may throw in some longer runs around the track time. Lots of situps on the agenda, and some pushups for time. Maybe I'll jump on the bike, if weather actually permits this week! Where's my summer?

Road Race & Other Training

2009-06-27T08:27:00.002-04:00

Danvers, MA. (Just north of Salem, which is north of Boston) June 26, 2009, 6:30 PM.

The Danvers Kiwanis Road Race. 5 Miles of, well, how do you see it? Fun? Pain? Camaraderie? I say all of the above. Before school let out this week I sent out an e-mail inviting everyone to join me, and I got 5 others and some who would walk the 2 mile event. We agreed to wear school shirts (cotton. meh.), or modify other shirts with a sharpie. Most of us had the school shirts, which was pretty cool.

The sun came out just for this event, and that's been rare this June! It was 75º according to my car, and humidity was high. I was first on the scene, registered and relaxing with my wife, and others trickled in on their own. Now, I had no expectations for this race, having done a track workout the day before, but decided that 40:00 would be a good result. Jeff was hoping to be around 25:00, Sean—who hadn't been running for 2 months, but is the girls track coach—hoped to be in the 35 to 40 range, and no one else predicted a time. We hung out together, talked, stretched and took some photos.

It was a relaxed start, with just a guy and his bullhorn getting our attention and starting the race. I went out with Mark and Jack—Mark is my usual Sunday running partner, Jack is a Phys Ed teacher who runs on his own and during lunch—and we had a 7:45 pace. It wasn't much more than 1/4-mile in that I decided I couldn't keep up with that pace, so I backed off, but kept them in my sight. The first mile-and-a-half was pretty flat, and I averaged 8:00. Spot on pace, with Mark and Jack no more than 100 yards ahead.

The next mile included 1/2-mile up to St. John's Prep school, including a nasty rise in the last 1/4-mile, so I slowed my turnover and let some people pass, assuming I would reel them in later. I wasn't disappointed. As the grade diminished I picked up the pace and watched as others fell back. Good times, but I didn't take noticed of this feeling until later. 2nd Mile complete in 8:27 with an average HR of 89%, which would prove to be my overall AHR. Oh, and I took water from a student, which is way cool! Saw lots of students and families of students along the way, and took great inspiration from people cheering for me!

Mile 3 was down and up, but the worst was already over. Paced at 8:13. Mile 4 was 8:27, and the elevation chart on Garmin Connect shows the most ups and downs, but I didn't feel it as such. I was passed by fewer people at this point, and started reeling in others who went out too fast. Cool, I already know how to keep it moderated until I need it later!

In the final mile we were going downhill for quite a while, and I caught Jack and poured it on a little. Mark was still up there and also pouring it on, so catching him was out of the question. But I knew what I had left in the tank and cranked out a 7:48 mile with a big finish and 98% HR effort. I had a good sprint left in me, but there was a woman in front of me at the finish who was fading, so I encouraged her to not let me beat her, and she ramped it up to finish ahead of me. No sprint, but that was nice. Final result (unofficial) 40:26! Pretty good for my first ever 5 mile race!

When I saw the "official results" it read 40:55, and Mark's was 30 seconds slower than he saw on the clock. Later they announced some discrepancy, but I didn't stick around for any more. Everyone did great and had a great time in the race! We didn't really get together after, though, so Tara and I went to Mark's for a beer. All in all a very good day!

The early part of the week was all about APFT training: heavy on the abs, track work including sprints of the straights and jog the curves x 16 on both Tuesday and Thursday. It's good work, but my old man legs really felt it by Thursday! The massage I got after the race erased all of that, thankfully. Next up is a group run on Sunday, and more of the same track work Tuesday and Thursday. Happy running!

Group Run/Long Run

2009-06-21T13:11:00.003-04:00

Ran with my buddy from work today; 7.16 miles in 1:03:14. It was rainy and cool, but neither of us minded the weather. It's just good to be out with someone else and talk it up the whole time. He runs faster than I do, so I had a higher HR than would be normal for my long run, but I did OK. Should be good prep for a 5M race this Friday. A bunch of us from school are getting together for a local race, and plan to wear matching shirts.

On Friday I took a rest day. Had an after school party with my team, so there was no starting after that! On Saturday I did my pushups test, with a high of 43, so I need to increase it by 30 in the next 6 weeks. Also went for a 12M bike ride, just to get some cardio in there. Nice ride. I like riding. That's all.

APFT Week 2, Day 4

2009-06-18T19:36:00.002-04:00

I had an interval day that actually felt pretty good! Well, it still hurt, but not nearly as much. It was raining and cool, which may have helped keep me in a good place.

Man, I did not feel like getting out there today. I had a serious case of the blahs, and had to fight my way into running clothes. Once I did I felt more like running. Drove to the track from work, did my mile warmup, and then the rain fell. But that didn't matter. Once I started doing the 1/4-mile repeats the rain started falling pretty steadily, but that served only to cool me off. And I get pretty heated during track runs. I didn't even notice the rain on the repeats.

So I got out there and just did it. Sounds very Nike, doesn't it? L1 1:32, L2 1:38, L3 1:42, L4 1:40, L5 1:41, L6 1:38, L7 1:42, L8 1:39. That's pretty similar to Tuesday, but my HR numbers were slightly better, especially on the MHR side. I'm excited now to try out the sprints next week. That will represent the last of the speed work, I think, and it will go to longer distance (yawn, by comparison to my regular long runs) and pace work. More to follow.

APFT Week 2, Day 3

2009-06-17T19:02:00.004-04:00

I apologize for the lame titles, but they'll help me track down my workouts later on, hopefully just to see what I did right!

Knocked out the pushups again today, and may have noticed some improvement. It's hard to tell on these strength days. Next week is the abs-building week, so the opposite days call for pushups @ 2 minutes, so that should make me feel like I'm building towards the test more. Maybe I'll quit talking about it then.

The 2 minutes of crunches from this week have become variations on the themes of lower abs, obliques and upper abs, and it's working great! I love starting out the training with a strong base already built. More to come. (oh yeah, the pushups don't make for a good story)

OK, then, I also went for a bike ride. Added an extra mile to what I've been doing. Fantastic day out there! I was making some pretty good time, but still trying to keep my HR in the medium range. No problem. I could probably clean up the bike a little bit, and make it run a little better. Ha, ha! My bike is gonna run! peace.

APFT Week 2, Day 2

2009-06-16T19:35:00.002-04:00

Another day at the track. I realized along the way that I now have only 1 more day of 1/4M intervals!

The laps were quite good today. I really settled into a zone and nailed down a lap time. The day was pretty good, with low humidity and about 67º, with the sun in my eyes. Half the time.

1:33
1:43
1:42
1:42
1:43
1:39
1:41
1:39

Wow, the first lap was pretty fast, but I settled in with little variation. And my HR was lower than last week! Small steps, but steps none the less. Tomorrow is pushups, then I'll hit it again on Thursday.

Oh, and I got a group to agree to a local 5M race next week Friday! I'll treat it as a training run, instead of a race. I think.

Long Run

2009-06-14T11:31:00.003-04:00

Today I did what may turn into the weekly group run. It was only two of us today, but we're going to start inviting people to join us. We did 7.27 miles in 1:04 for an average of 8:55. It was a good run, made better by having a partner, someone to talk with and forget about the run. It was raining, and we were soaked early, but it didn't matter. Nice run.

Laps looked like 9:00, 8:53, 8:57, 8:55, 8:58, 9:02, 8:54 and 7:57 as a strong finish. I actually wouldn't know any of this if it wasn't for Ascent GPS software for Mac platform. My Garmin had a hard restart yesterday, so all the settings were off, and I didn't add in the mile auto-lap feature. When I uploaded to Garmin Connect I saw a single lap of 7.27 miles and no breakdown. So I was thrilled to see the the Ascent software automatically broke it into mile splits. Ultimately, though, the splits aren't important for a long run, because I won't try to beat it at any time. I just like to geek out on the data.

Hey, did I say the other day that I "through" in two extra laps? Hel-loooo! That's threw, stupid. Doh!

Yesterday was APFT training week 1 test, which was all about the pushups. I had 2 minutes, 1-1/2 minutes and 1 minute to do as many as I could, with 2 minutes of abs after each, and 2 minutes rest in between. It was a start. Didn't do great, but that's what week 1 is for, so I can keep improving to max the test in August!

Time now for a nap. Good night.

APFT Week 1, Day 4

2009-06-12T20:16:00.002-04:00

Back on the track again today, after talking to my track coach friend. I told him that my first track workout destroyed my goal of a 7:00 pace for the 2-mile race. He advised me to add a couple more laps to the workout, so that the pace work would amount to the full 2 miles I plan to race. Later on I can reduce the amount of recovery, to more closely match the actual race.

So after a mile warmup I did 8 repeats of 1/4-mile pace with 200 recovery. I through in an extra cool down lap for good measure. The laps were as follows: 1:34, 1:43, 1:38, 1:41, 1:44, 1:38, 1:45, 1:37. That's pretty much the same as last time, but the last 2 laps really worked me hard. Got my HR up to 98%. Can't wait to do these a couple more times and see if HR goes down at all. After next week the sprints change. Now, how bizarre is it to claim I'm looking forward to hurting myself more with these workouts? I've not worked this hard before, having done these runs on the street, which brings its own challenges with hills and traffic. I like the track work. It hurts. But I like it.

APFT Week 1, Day 3

2009-06-11T20:21:00.002-04:00

Today was all about the pushups again. Same routine: close, normal & wide arm pushups for 45 seconds, 35 seconds and 25 seconds, separated by the same amount of rest as work and 2 minutes of crunches. This is nasty hard work, so I keep plugging away to achieve that maximum score on the APFT. Then I did a 30 minute bike ride. I love the bike. It's a little cool these days, but I wore a long-sleeve jersey and felt fine.

The ride was nice and easy, just to get in some cardio. The bike is sweet. Needs some cleaning and lube, but I like riding. Need to ride more. After APFT. Tomorrow is track training again. Mini-test day on Saturday. Oh, and anniversary on Saturday!

Intervals On A Track

2009-06-11T13:33:00.002-04:00

On Wednesday I carried my workout clothes to school, changed before I left and drove straight to a local track at a private school. The local public school locks the track (taxes anyone?) so I can't go there. But no one was at the private track, and it was a nice one. This was the first run of my APFT cycle, and I was hoping for a 7:00/mile pace, which would give me a 14:00 2-mile, thus maxing the run (in Army terms)! Well...

I started with a mile warm-up, then stopped the watch while I let my HR settle down and got myself geared up for the intervals. Started out with a 1/4-mile lap, followed by a 200-yard (ish) interval, and did that 6 times, then finished a final mile at an easy pace. Laps were as follows: 1:36, 1:45, 1:43, 1:41, 1:42, 1:33. This amounts to 6:11 to 6:45 pace. Needless to say, I destroyed the 7:00 goal! Time for a new plan at the race, like beating some more people, maybe. I take the laps to mean that I went out too fast, tried to find the right pace, hovered there and finished strong.

Now what do I do with the plan for my next workout? It seems that 1:45 is good moderate pace, but should I try for a 1:40 average? I might go for 8 laps @ 1:45 and see what that does.I just don't know right now. Will talk with some track coach friends and see what they think. This is all good and exciting news! I love being faster than I thought!

The Start Of APFT Season

2009-06-09T20:08:00.003-04:00

It's 8 weeks until my big Army test, so time to kick it into high gear! I actually tried yesterday, but I'm so stuck on doing it my way that when my Garmin didn't show "today's workout" I went online to trouble shoot and found nothing. After an hour I posted a query on MotionBased to find out what's happening, and then gave up on the workout. All day today there was no response, so I sucked it up and did the workout with Garmin. I set up my ipod as a stopwatch and knocked out my sets of pushups: 3 sets each of close hands, normal and wide arms for 45 seconds and 45 seconds rest, with 2 minutes of crunches after, then rest. Didn't time the rest. Next was 3 sets @ 35 seconds and 2 minutes of crunches, then 3 sets @ 25 seconds and 2 minutes of crunches. That was some hard work! Good work, of course. Then I went out on my bike for about 7 miles to cover the "10 minutes" of cardio called for in my plan. Nice ride. Went out really strong, got the chain stuck on the big cog for too long, then settled in to an easier pace for the rest.

Hey, that's one really big paragraph up there! Nice writing! Anyway, there's not as much to say when it's mostly about pushups. A new guy, Chris, left an encouraging message on my last post, so cool. Hope you follow, dude. Rush rules, eh?

A Group Run

2009-06-07T11:18:00.002-04:00

Today I met some friends from work for a group run. I ran solo for about a mile to meet them at a school, then we did about 5 miles together, back to the start and I ran home solo, adding another mile to my route. Great run, if a little faster than I would have done alone.

The details: 8.1 miles in 1:16:14, average pace 9:24, best 7:38, AHR 168, MHR 187. M1 9:28, M2 9:04, M3 8:31, M4 8:53, M5 8:41, M6 8:46, M7 10:42, M8 11:02 (I tried to call The Extra Mile, but the phone # didn't transfer to my new phone).

So these guys are faster than me. Mark kicked my ass by 10 minutes at the 10M race last summer, and Jeff, well he's only 1 year out of college, where he ran cross country, and has a 5K PR of 15 minutes, so I'm not even near his range! But they slowed down, and I still worked pretty hard. Good workout, too! I have tomorrow off, then pick up 1/4M repeats for the next 2 weeks as the start of my APFT training, along with pushup and situp workouts. It only gets hard now, so I've got to jump right in!

Easy Time Running

2009-06-06T12:09:00.003-04:00

Went for an easy run today, because my last 3 have been pretty big efforts. Tomorrow I plan to do a 5-miler with some friends from work, so that could easily turn in to a faster than expected run, but I'm looking forward to a group run for once!

Details: 4.53 miles (ever notice that Motion Based lists a longer run than GC or anyone else? I'm going to miss that) in 40:49. 57º with negligible wind. AHR 159, MHR 179 or 81 %, 91% of max. My goal for this run was a 9:00 pace, and as usual I had to slow down because I had more in the tank. Well, duh! It's supposed to be easy. Results: 9:03, 8:58, 9:02 and 9:14 for a total average of 9:03. Spot on!

This coming week will mark the beginning of my training for the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), so I hope all my base training pays off. Really, it should. I've done 405 miles since October, and 240 this year alone. I've run as far as 9.6 miles, and done various sprints, striders, paces and hills in preparation. Besides burning my muscles and lungs on the runs I'll be burning up my arms, chest, back and abs on pushup and situp training. I've done this training before with good results—came within 3 points of a max last year!—so I know what to expect, but plan to do it on a track this year, instead of simply on the rolling streets around my neighborhood. I haven't done much track work ever, so this should be fun! More to come.

A Pace Run

2009-05-30T11:29:00.002-04:00

I'm back to where I started this thing: writing for myself. For reflection, for future understanding of my workouts, and to just get it out there. Good enough for me, as it was when I started writing this, um, blog.

5.42 Miles in 45:30, for an average pace of 8:26. Garmin Connect lists 7:04 as my best pace, but for how long it doesn't say. According to the graph I saw I simply had some kind of surge to that speed, but didn't maintain it. I guess I could celebrate and say "yeah, I'm really fast out there!" But at least I know what my fastest burst was. So I just checked out Garmin Connect for my HR data, and it gives me a graph (nice) and AHR, MHR data as raw numbers. That's it. No percentages, no details about how much time or distance I spent at each level. That's lame! Excuse me while I go back to Motion Based to figure out the good details... Check all this stuff out: average moving speed, 7.2; max moving speed, 9.0, elevation gain +1172/-1175; temperature 62.6º, wind S 3.5 mph; AHR 91%, MHR 100%, 2.78 miles & 23:26 at 90-95%, 1.13 miles & 9:33 at 95-97%, and there are 5 other categories of stats that I didn't even tough. Love Motion Based, not so much for GC. But I'll be stuck with GC once they kill MB, just because they didn't create, but bought it from another company. Blah.

Just finished watching Fever Pitch, which is about the Red Sox, without being about the Red Sox. Just love that movie! They give short shrift to the way they came from elimination to destroying the Yankees and dreaded Curse of the Bambino in the greatest ALCS ever! Nice.

Where Did Everybody Go?

2009-05-24T13:06:00.002-04:00

Life gets in the way. I know. I've had many times when pursuits like writing about anything become too trivial compared to what's going on in the rest of my life. This is not one of those times, but I'm seeing fewer posts from those friends whose blogs I follow. I just get a little lonely in the blogosphere without keeping up with said friends. Time to reach out to some new bloggers, perhaps. I hope all is well with my regulars, though.

Yesterday I did 10 miles on the bike with my wife, and I left the Garmin on "bike" setting, so as I started running today I noticed some readings that weren't normal for running. After my neighborhood I changed it to running, and it started the timer again. No loss, because my Ascent software combined the two readings into 1 activity. So I did 9.62 miles in 1:48, which is a new training distance record for me! Oh, I've done 9.3 before, last summer, but this one is longer! Yay me! It felt pretty good. At first I was all smooth and low HR, but after about 3 miles my HR was climbing, even as my pace was dropping. I felt pretty good anyway. I alternated listening to Phedip and listening to the world. I prefer the world, any day, but when I'm in traffic I like to have a show on, and when I feel tired I like to be distracted by a show.

I needed distracting a few times, especially towards the end. But when I took the headphones out the world was offering some amazing sounds. I ran past graduation at a private school—The Governor's Academy—which bills itself as the oldest private school in the nation. Then I went by a river that feeds into the ocean, and is effected by tides, and the tide was coming in and making the current go backwards! Awesome! Birds were singing, a dog was swimming in the river. Then I got back to the ipod. So many choices. I love it.

Ultimately it was a great run, and the only one I did all week. I hope to get back at it this week. Oh, check out ESPN on Memorial Day @ 1 PM, where I'll be singing the National Anthem at the LaCrosse NCAA championship game: Syracuse vs. Cornell. Happy Memorial Day.

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-23T19:24:00.002-04:00

I've been pretty busy lately, shopping for cars and doing lessons at school, so I haven't had a weekday run in the whole month of May. But did get a new CAR! On Friday I test drove a 6-cylinder Mazda6 and that was it! After starting with small cars (Mazda3, Corolla), I switched to mid-size cars with 4 cylinders (Mazda6, Camry, Malibu), then—with some prodding from my wife to try something higher up food chain—I drove the badder Mazda and that was all she wrote! What a car! 270 ponies, leather seats (heated), moon roof, Bose sound, red-lit gauges, a warning system for blind spot... Man, it just spoke to me. I pick it up on Tuesday.

Oh, I went for a bike ride with Tara today. Neither of us felt like running, and I had to hurry off to National Guard duty, so we prepped the bikes and did a quick 10-miler. It was beautiful, slightly cool, very little traffic and it still smelled like early morning fresh, so it was great! Very nice ride, and good to be out with my wife!

Happy Memorial Day to everyone! I'll be spending mine by singing the National Anthem for the NCAA LaCrosse championship game at Gillette Stadium! Haven't checked who will be in that game after today's semi's, but it will be a great game, and a nice way to spend a National holiday. Be sure to find a local parade and celebrate with your family and community!

'Cause It's A Lovely Day!

2009-05-17T14:00:00.002-04:00

That's a title straight out of a musical! Really, apply your Big Gay Al voice, or Roger from American Dad. I did take it from an obscure song from an obscure musical called Three Guys Naked From The Waist Down, which I found to be pretty funny stuff. But it was a great day for a run today! We had rain at night, then rain on and off during most of the morning, but by 10:30 it had pretty much ended. That left us with about 57º and a light wind to help cool me off as I ran 8.27 miles in 1:25. Don't have direct access to all my data, because it's on another computer, and MotionBased wasn't taking in anything new today. I'll update it another time, when it's not busy.

So I left behind the Fuel Belt, and carried one bottle of water (8 ounces), my phone and a PowerBar. Go figure, I did great! Here I've been drinking 4 bottles(!), and I can get by on one! Now the chocolate bar wasn't a good idea, because without a pocket to keep it in I just got all messy and looked like a little boy without chocolate fingers. Messy, messy! But the run was great, and I enjoyed taking it all in. Oh, the newest episode of Phedip? Didn't do it for me. The whole rant against Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy thing wasn't particularly funny. The focus on evolution was nice, but came off like a science lesson. But I have to look up that "I Hate The APFT" guy! How funny that he's struggling with the Army run, while I'm trying to beat my maximum time—although I've been in way longer than him! Glad I got something good out of the show.

OK, not much to write about today. One thought: since this is my 4th 8-mile in 4 weeks do I need to change something? Not ready to give more time to a long run yet. Not looking at a 1/2-marathon soon, but my sprint training begins soon so maybe I'll get my miles in a different way. May be time to look at biking more. IDK.

Kicking My @$$

2009-05-16T11:28:00.003-04:00

Finally, the weeks of so much to do are over! As (possibly) previously reported, I had 2 concerts and a jazz festival last week, and another concert to perform, a concert to attend, along with a fancy dinner with the Tournament Of Roses executive secretary, and a cocktail party with said secretary and a host of band boosters. It was a great time, and they are wonderful people, but now I get to enjoy having nothing to do. Ah, relaxation.

Or at least the freedom to relax. My run today was not about relaxing! 5.41 Miles in 50:33. AHR 83%, MHR 97%, so I was really working it out there. The plan was 1M warm-up, then 1M @ top speed (7:14), 1M recovery, 1M @ top speed (7:35) and then take it easy until the finish, plus a 100 yard sprint to the finish. Good run, lots of sweat. Temp at start was 55º, but I quickly warmed in to it, and then some. Last week my laps were 7:31 and 7:39, so I improved over that! Now, what did I do between then and now to improve? Nothing really. I did an 8-miler on Sunday, but NOTHING since then. I probably improved my effort in those 2 miles, allowing for more pain and pushing through it, so I'll take that improvement!

With more time available I should be able to get in some more mid-week runs, along with car shopping. I'm looking at mid-size cars, now, so Mazda6, Chevy Malibu, Toyota Camry, and who knows after that. Maybe VW, Maybe Honda or Nissan. I don't know. Looking forward to trying lots of cars!

Fully Clothed!

2009-05-10T12:17:00.002-04:00

Today was long run day, and for that I felt like carrying the ipod. Actually, I carry a lot of gear, like the Garmin (always!), a fuel belt with 4 bottles, phone and a powerbar. So far I can't do runs of more than 1 hour without food and water. I've heard that more serious folks don't sweat those things until after 1-1/2 hours. Well, good for them!

Totals for the day are 8.3 miles in 1:24:08, AHR 80%, MHR 86%, fastest mile 9:41 (first mile), slowest 10:44 (long uphill), temp 61º, wind 22 MPH and interfering with my audio! Started the run with a pod-novel from Seth Harwood called Young Junius. Now, I've listened to novels from Mark Yoshimoto-Nemkoff and Scott Sigler (much prefer Nemkoff!), but this one didn't do it for me. I thought because it was based in Boston it might appeal to me, but no such luck. It was based on hip-hop music and gang-style warfare, which really doesn't get me going. But I tried a chapter anyway, and linked it. I tried. Then I had a great playlist of classic rock that fired me up the rest of the time! I love great music!

Still have to get out and help mow the lawn, pull some weeds and probably put down some weed-and-feed type stuff. It's a busy week coming up, so I don't expect any running until the weekend, but it should be fun until then!

Naked Running

2009-05-09T11:17:00.002-04:00

Today feels like summer! The temp isn't up there like July—59º @ 7 AM—but the humidity makes it feel like it. So what is one to do but strip down for a run? That's right, I didn't wear my ipod! Scandalous, I know!

It's been a busy week, what with a 6th grade concert on Monday, jazz festival on Tuesday and 8th grade concert on Wednesday. If you're not yet aware, I direct these, not attend them, so I get there before the kids and leave after they're gone, so these are big nights for me. Then, when I wasn't doing concerts I was test-driving cars. That's fun, of course, but it's time away from the run. I have no AC in my old car, so it's really getting to be time. Looking at smallish cars at first, but now I'm also looking at mid-size, so I started with Mazda6, and must now branch out to Toyota (does anyone else think toy Yoda?), VW, Honda, Nissan and Chevy. Plus, next week I have a 7th grade concert, HS band dinner and concert, and a cocktail party for the President of the Tournament of Roses. Yeah, our band will be in the Rose Parade next year, for the 3rd time! Anyway, little running time, and less driving time, but all great activities!

Today I wanted to get in some speed work, and I never hear what's playing when I'm running hard, hence the naked running. I found a 5.5 mile course from last summer and set up the Garmin to race it. It started well enough with a warm-up mile, then I hit it, trying to keep the video game guy on Garmin behind me. So I ran a 7:31 mile, still ahead, then an easy mile during which he caught me (?) and a 7:39 mile in which he passed me and I passed him back. So what was all that? I don't know. I think I didn't pay close enough attention to the previous run log, so that was probably smaller intervals compared to my 1-mile bursts today. Sure enough, just looked it up now, and it was 3 intervals of 1-mile with 1/2-mile rest, but my 2 miles today were at a better clip. Gotta pay more attention to the fine details before I run, but this was a good one. It left me with serious sweat and a new hope for some better races this summer! Yeah, time to dig in to some faster interval work.

In the meantime, it's busy season for a band director, so I'll take advantage on the weekends. Hey, is anyone going to see Star Trek? I love it! Can't wait! (call me a geek, I don't care.)

Man, These Long Runs Are Getting Easier

2009-05-03T12:45:00.002-04:00

8.25 Miles today in 1:25. AHR 154, MHR 168, so 77-ish% to 85-ish%. Motion Based, where I track all this data is not accepting my uploads (and those of many others, according their message board) so I have incomplete data. Good enough, though.

It was a great run! Some background first, though. Last night I went to the Celtics game (goodbye, Bulls!) and had a fantastic time! The Anthem went great, and the place was screaming by "and the rockets red glare," so it was hard to hear, but exciting to be involved in. We changed clothes and were escorted to our top-of-the-whole-stadium seats and the game was well in-progress. The Bulls were leading for most of the first half, but then the Celts had a huge run and never looked back! It was loud, the people were screaming and booing (Joachim Noah in particular) and cheering and singing. We hung around a little afterwards, to the let crowd thin, joined them all in the street and fought traffic to get home. That put me at 12:15 in my driveway, so it was a long night. Woke up at 6:30 and didn't fight it.

So my wife and I had coffee with the newspaper, as usual, then geared up for the; morning run. I fueled as best I could, and carried my Fuel Belt bottles and a Powerbar. It was nice outside, and the smells were good, the horses were out, as were the Cujo dogs who protect their property without regard for oncoming cars. No harm done. My ipod was playing an old (old, old) Phedip, which was kind of funny by comparison to today's episodes, plus a great assortment of classic rock. Man, I have great taste in music, don't you agree? Of course you do! Boz Scaggs, Bruce Springsteen, Boston, Joe Jackson, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Tesla, I don't even remember them all now! Oh yeah, No Doubt. I was charged up for sure!

So today I'm going to try to help mow the lawn today. How smart is that after an 8-miler? Pretty smart, considering I'm married! I can nap later. Mmm, nap...

Hey, That Felt Pretty Good!

2009-05-02T11:23:00.003-04:00

This was a week of no running. Did a bike ride on Monday, then I don't know what got in the way the rest of the week. Well, Thursday I had my final class in an 8-session 4-hour class for school, so I'm glad that's over. I got a lot out of it, and it puts me at Masters +3 on the pay scale, so that's cool. Yesterday I walked around the neighborhood with Tara, which we hadn't done since probably November.

The plan was do my 5-mile loop, but I wanted something extra, so once I got going I kicked it up. I let the 1-mile alarm go, then waited for the first turn (1/10th mile later) and managed an 8:14 mile, even without that first piece of mile! Took it down to normal for a mile and cranked it up again to 8:00, and finished easy. Good, good run!

The fine details are: 5.39 miles in 51:28, for a 9:32 pace. It was 57º with wind @ 10 MPH. AHR 83%, which was for 3.19 miles, MHR 95% for .72 miles, and I was in the 70-80% range for 1.38 miles. I don't always track this stat, but max speed was 9.7 MPH, average speed of 6.3 MPH, and around 9:30 each for ascent, descent and flat terrain. I'm not sure how I would use that data, but MotionBased gives it.

So during the final mile of this run I got to thinking that if I could manage 2 8:00 miles in the middle of a 5-miler I should have no problem knocking of 2 7:00 miles in a row. That's theoretically, of course, but why not? In fact, why shouldn't I do 7:00 pace for a 5K? I need to crank up my expectations a little, don't you think? My next race is 12 weeks away, and my Army race is 13 weeks away, so I have some good time to work on this. I'm on it! Gotta grab some new PRs, and this is the summer to do it! Who's with me?

Oh yeah, I'm singing the National Anthem at game 7 of the Celtics/Bulls playoff game tonight. Turn on TNT at around 7:45 Eastern, just to see if they actually show it!

Running Away With My Bike

2009-04-27T19:57:00.002-04:00

Lately I've had the strange feeling that too many runs could give me an injury. Well, I don't run THAT much, but did relish the idea of a different workout, so I broke out the road bike and got going! It was a pretty sweet day, maybe 68º (projected 80, never got close) and low wind. I figured on 10 miles, so didn't bother with water. Took the reverse of my 5-mile loop, then veered off to my 8-mile route. Spring is so great: the smells are amazing, everything is green and/or blooming, and the weather is fantastic! Ba da ba ba baaaa. That's right, I'm loving it!

The details (can you handle bike details, runners?): 10.5 Miles in 41:19, or 3:56 pace. Pace means nothing in biking. 15.2 mph average, 25.4 mph max. AHR 140 (76%), 85% MHR. Mostly I just liked it. Haven't been on the bike in too long. It still works! good to know.

A Different Long Run

2009-04-22T14:02:00.002-04:00

Whew, what a week! So I had my oral comps on Monday and PASSED! I are a grajeeut! I sweated pretty hard over the various things I had to know, but the profs made it relaxed and conversational, and said they were quite impressed with me! Cool! Also glad that's over, so I can enjoy this vacation, and the rest of my life.

So today I finally did the long run I'd planned for Sunday, but put off so I could do yard work. That was a good approach, too, because today went great. 8.22 miles in 1:29:34, or a 10:59 pace. Really my pace began at 10:26 and gradually slowed down to 11:41, but bounced back up again. It was a new route, so I had to take it all in. I also had to turn my ipod up, first for wind and again for traffic. I'm not used to frequent traffic on my runs, so this route may not last. But after 4 miles it turned off of main roads and towards cows! Calves, really, and they were cute little ones. That's relaxing and comforting to me. Love the farmland. Oh, HR 77% - 86%. I finished strong again.

I had a worry when I started that my HR was too high, even during warmup, but was relieved to see it come down after about 3 miles. And the uploads showed me that it didn't really stay high at all, so no worries anymore. I think it was my easiest long run ever, though. I felt great! Probably could have chosen a short-sleeve shirt, instead of the light-weight sleeves that I chose, but it didn't make me too warm. It was actually quite sunny and warm, which was a pleasant surprise. What a great day!

Oh, the other day I posted a bit about Go-Wagon, and they made a little video thanking me for mentioning them here! That's special treatment, no? Good times.